Lunch time with Daddy

I forget where I was but Donald had Payton one day & this is what they had for lunch. One of the many papers she brings home from preschool talked about doing this & since it was easy.

Payton kept talking about making & eating reindeer sandwhichs but I had no clue what she was talking about.

What thru me off was the M&M's & since chocolate usually doesn't end up in sandwhichs, I just kept saying, "oh yeah, I bet that was fun". It wasn't until I took the pictures off of the camera that I fully understood what she was talking about.

Lunch time with Daddy is so much fun!

What do you do at 5pm?

More often than not this is where Payton is, or at least wants to be.

She loves seeing her dad come out from behind the door & then she runs to him.

Donald will give me a call when he's 5 minutes away & we'll be ready & waiting.

Happy Birthday Payton 12/16/09

Payton had been saying for several months that she was going to Disneyland on her birthday. Even when I told her that she may not get any presents (knowing that she would from other people of course) she was still not swayed. So Donald took the day off of work & we headed down to the happiest place on earth.
Every time Donald & Payton got on a ride I was so grateful I didn't have to go, especially the carousel... that thing goes seriously fast.
Payton loved every minute of her day but what she was looking forward to were the Princesses!
We waited in line for only 45 minutes (which I've heard is not that bad) & we got to see 3 of them. Payton also got an autograph book that we had everyone sign. I was so glad that she was not shy.
She wore a pin so that everyone knew it was her birthday & what her name was. Let me tell you there is a smart mom('s) out there working for Disney.
Every one of the Princesses called her by name & said Happy Birthday. Each & every time she had this grin from ear to ear.
I don't think she understood why her parents kept shoving this book in her hand to have signed until after we printed the pictures & put the picture of Payton & the character next to the signature. She looks thru that book every couple of days & wanted to sit down & talk about it.
While in line she said that she wanted to see Cinderella, Belle & Sleeping Beauty. By the time we got to the front of the line she didn't seem to care about who was there. After seeing Mulan we were walking out the back & it was shift change & here came Sleeping Beauty, Jazmin & Snow White. I was happy that she at least got to see them but it was even better than that. Each & everyone of them bent down & said "Happy Birthday Payton". When the last one went by she turned to me & said, "See I told you they would know it was my birthday" satisfied she walked off & well, what more can you ask for. She was showing her dad all of the princess dress up stuff they had available when she noticed the princesses she had just seen leaving. When she went to the gate to say bye they ALL remembered her name & wished her a Happy Birthday again. I'm sure they must know how special it is & I can't even begin to tell you how much Payton loved the whole experience.

Donald & Payton rode the train while I waited in line for the Princesses & they saw a motor boat ride that Payton wanted to go on, Small World.

I included the picture above because I have so many people tell me that Payton looks a lot like me but in this picture she is all Donald. Her chin, cheeks, smile creases, nose, squinty eyes, & ears, basically everything but the eyebrows. Yes there are times that I do think she looks like me especially when she is giving attitude but I think she is at least 60% Donald & 40% me.
Mickey was fun to see but she really enjoyed the stationary cartoon car outside. It all went really quick & it was over before she knew it.
Payton was really funny with Minnie. She told Minnie it was her birthday & when Minnie didn't respond she told her again. We had to explain to that some of the characters don't talk.

Payton was the head navigator. Helping us to decide where to go next.
Unfortunately her 'driver' didn't always listen.
We also stopped by to see the fairies from Tinkerbell.
Silvermist was there.

At this point we thought she was a pro at meeting the characters until...

she met Tinkerbell.

She was no longer the chatterbox & responding to the questions she would ask. Didn't even offer up that it was her birthday, like she did with every character before that.
She was NERVOUS! I couldn't believe it. I think she was actually a little star-struck!
The above picture was the only one where she was looking at the camera the rest were like the ones below.
So funny! See how she is playing with her shirt too. Oh I just love it!
There is one thing that is amazing about Disneyland during Christmas & that is the castle! Payton just sat there & watched it. It is truly amazing! She loved it when it turned purple.
There wasn't any part of the day she didn't like. She also didn't put up a stink when it was time to go.
We took some pictures in front of California adventure before leaving.
And once we got on the freeway this is what we found. We did end up getting a pass so that we can go back again so we are hoping to make it down there at least once a month.
She had so much fun on her birthday & still a month & a 1/2 later still talks about she was there. Who ever thought about giving the kids a pin on their birthday is a genius & deserves a raise. It seriously made Payton whole day that the Princesses knew who she was & that it was her birthday. Now I just have to figure out what to do so that next time we go they still know her name....

It's my party & I'll cry if I want to...

Don't you hate it when things go bad even with the best of intentions! Payton freaked out when we brought out the lite candles. I don't remember for whose birthday but she leaned over the candles to help blow them out & she singed her eye lashes. There were no other signs of damage but there were a lot of tears. I guess since then she has never come face-to-face with candles.

So Grandma helped her blow them out & after calming down she enjoyed her cupcake when swollen eyes.

Of course presents always make it better.

Especially when one of those presents reminds you of the fun that is in store for the next day.

Decorating the Tree

When it was taking too long for us to decorate the tree, Payton decided she would help.

Although she did a good job I helped her redo it.

She put up every single ornament on the tree (except for a free fragile ones that were at the very top.

And I didn't even move any around afterwards! Yeah I'd say that was improvement.

This nose knows!

So I picked up a blanket this morning that was on the floor & was carrying it to the other room & my bionic sniffer caught a whiff of something. The blanket wasn't anywhere near my face so I didn't suspect it. Since I was by the bathroom I put the blanket down & inspected Payton's bathroom. When nothing was found I check the Christmas totes in the hallway. I was stumped. Then I picked up the blanket & walked with it again & the light smell was back. Apparently water seeped in thru the walls during the last rain & we didn't discover it until this morning. Oh joy.

So our morning started out with a lot of work. And Payton was very helpful & really did work hard. Harder than I think she expected.
She helped me empty out my whole fabric cabinet.
On to my bed...
She never once commented on the quantity, only the quality of the fabric. Yes she is such a good girl, if only Donald could take a lesson in appreciation. :) "ooh mommy this would be so beautiful for the baby, maybe this could be a blanket, I can help you make it today!"
I guess the manager isn't even immune! So right now pads are on the paito drying, carpet is pulled back & is being dried with a fan.
You can see where the concrete is wet after we pulled out the pad. Unfortunately Payton's room got a little wet too, but not like ours.
But she loved paying in the mess with toys she hadn't seen in a while. I heard several times "oh there you are, I thought you were lost, here lets go play" with equal sincerity each time.
Maintenance will be here to waterproof again (this happened last year too!) & then once the rain is over on Wednesday (yeah it's suppose to rain again starting tomorrow early morning) then the company is sending someone to clean the carpets.

So much fun! So in this case it's good my pregnancy nose knows when something is lightly funky. Of course now the whole apartment is smelling wonderfully, so I predict we won't be home too much today or this week.

Hey Mom... here we come! :)