See Eee Eee!!!

Saturday was the big day - Cora's first trip to the Happiest Place on Earth!
It was my sister's 21st birthday - Happy Birthday, Mel! - and Dean and Jenny are here, so it was a great time to introduce Cora to Disneyland.

Since we aren't a family that goes to Disneyland several times a year, I'm so glad we waited until now for Cora's first time. She is definitely old enough to really enjoy it, and to even look forward to it.
She's been talking about seeing "Eee Eee" for weeks now, and asking about when we were going to go. (She still refers to some animals by the noise they make, and "mouse" is one of them. When we would ask her who "Eee Eee" is, she would clarify - "Mee Mouse!")
She even woke up a few times in the middle of the night Friday night, and when we would go in to comfort her, she would stop crying immediately to say, "See Eee Eee?"
The park was quite crowded, since it was a Saturday, but Cora had a great time. She went on the carousel, which she loved, and the Roger Rabbit ride, which she deemed a "stary ride." (Oops - hope we don't regret that, with future nightmares!) We also took her on the Winnie the Pooh ride twice. After the second time, she said excitedly, "Wee Pooh ride fun!" That made me melt! I hadn't heard her use the word "fun" before.
She also liked the classic "It's a Small World" ride, and I caught her clapping her hands during the song. Cora also loved running around Tom Sawyer's Island, and later, she was amazed at the fireworks show.

We also went into Disney's California Adventure park, and Cora enjoyed watching three shows. During one of the shows, which she watched with Grandma and Grandpa, Stace, Dean, Jen, Melanie and I went on the Tower of Terror ride - just the way to end our night!

Other than one meltdown, she did amazingly well on her very long and exciting day. She took a 45-minute nap on Daddy's lap when we stopped for a bite to eat and watched the "Billy Hill and the Hillbillies" show.

There is something special about taking your child to Disneyland for the first time, especially if you've grown up in SoCal going to the park on a regular basis. I was as excited as a little girl on Friday night, looking forward to Saturday. And, just like when I was little, I was sad when our day was over.

The top photo shows Cora on our way to D-land Saturday morning, with her breakfast and her Minnie Mouse doll. And the last photo shows her napping on Dad's lap.