Just us - there’s a little of the before, but mostly it’s the after...

We're All Kids at Heart

Day 7
December 31, 2010
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Yep,that's my 30-something year old brother on the kiddie coaster.
It's nice to be around people that actually have a sense of humor.

Imagine all of these people multiplied by a gazillion.
Now imagine the happiest place on earth handing out free hats and horns.
It got really, really loud - very quickly.

What'd you know...back on the flying elephants.
I was amazed that they kept letting them on!
I think you can barely see the top of Addie's hair.

Day 7
December 31, 2010
~~~
We spent most of the day focusing on rides that Addie would enjoy...after all, it was her big day!
We took a break for lunch and as Addie chomped away, we learned that the park had officially closed.
This meant that if we left for our dinner reservations, we risked not being able to return.
That left us a lot to ponder as we went about our afternoon.

Addie was just happy to sit and people watch while she ate her lunch.

My Mother threatened me on several occasions, warning me not to take any pictures of her.
I do believe there were threats of bodily harm and a few statements that would make your average sailor blush.
As if she really thought that would prevent me from taking her picture.

After lunch, we headed right back over to the rides.

Sweet Addie was thrilled to go back over to the flying elephants and went on them as many times as we would let her!

It Started With a Ride on a Ferry

Day 7
December 31, 2010
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We knew the crowds were going to be awful and so we were prepared.
We got to the park right as it opened.
From the time we got out of the car until the time that we stepped through the gates of Magic Kingdom was one hour and twenty minutes.
It really didn't seem like it took that long.
The weather was beautiful and we were surrounded by nice people.

(Look Shellie!!! Steelers training camp made it to Orlando!)

Addie was so happy to see all of the characters and as long as they didn't try to touch her, she wanted nothing more than to sit and watch them.

Addie would wave at all of the characters, but I think that Pooh and Tigger were amongst her favorites.

Here is rotten baby girl with her maraca(s).
When we were at Epcot, she spotted them as we were browsing through a shop in Mexico.
I asked her which color she wanted to see, holding up a blue and then a yellow one and she responded, "blue".
I found two blue maracas that fit her little hands and then went to the register to pay for them.
I asked the man how much they were and he shook his head and told me, "for her, they cost nothing".
After a bit of back and forth conversation, I left in disbelief and Addie left very, very happy.
She hung on to them for the rest of our time at the park.

December 31, 2010

I lay next to Addie as the clock turned to 6:00 a.m.
The fourth anniversary of the birth of my sweet baby girl.
I was softly rubbing her back as I whispered to her and told her how much I love her.
I told her "thank you" for allowing me to be her Mommy.
I kissed her sweet little face and I thanked God for trusting me to be the Mommy of one of HIS most precious angels.

I owe it to Addie to be there each December 31 at 6:00 a.m. to remind her of how precious she is and how much she is loved.
I owe it to her to hug her and kiss her and to make up for those minutes when she was not celebrated and when no one treated her like the angel that she is.
I will always spend my life making up those minutes, the minutes before she was placed next to me.

December 31, 2010 - the fourth anniversary of the beginning of our new lives.
The day was amazing.
We were a million miles away from all of our worries, fears and heartache and Addie's Birthday was celebrated in a way that truly honored her.

Day 6 - December 30, 2010

Wrapping up day six.
After leaving the rain forest, we headed out for a bit of mountain climbing, only stopping long enough to check out just about some of the cutest monkey's ever!

We closed out the day at Epcot. It was really awesome. We spent most of the time in Germany, taking turns at Test Track, watching fireworks and wrapped it up by taking Addie on the Nemo ride right before closing time.

I want everyone to pay special attention to the photos below. These photos are so rare that they may just be worth money one day.

This is the evil Monkey car crier...sleeping, with her hand in a cup of cheerios. We were almost too afraid to take the picture. The thought of waking her made us break out into a sweat and sent our heart rate through the roof. Thank goodness she remained in a deep sleep.

Wow...luck was on our side!