Jasper's First Disneyland Trip!

Oh my goodness, this was SUCH a treat!  Something you dream about doing for your kids for years!  We took little Jasper to Disneyland!!!

                                           

Thanks to our very generous friends, The Hoppes, we were escorted into Disneyland free of charge, because Ben works for Disney and has some serious hook-ups.  It was a Saturday at Christmas time (December 8th) so it was WAY busy, but we had a wonderful time.  

                                          

We spent the first part of the day at California Adventure and Jasper loved this Toy Story ride.  

We ate at the Grand Hotel in California Adventure where the place was so beautifully decorated for Christmas.  Hi Hoppes!  Hi Champions!

We got to poke around the new Cars Land in California Adventure.  Very cute!  Since lines were long and I was attending to the toddler most of the day, we only rode a few rides: Toy Story, Ariel's adventure, Soarin' over California, and the rest was mostly soaking in the atmosphere.  What a gift from our sweet friends, huh?  I still can't believe how nice they were to do that.  Means so much to us.

Around dinner time, we finally got to Disneyland.  I mean, what is not to love about this place?

My favorite ride at Christmas time, not to ride, but to look at.  :)

We got to see the World of Color, which Jasper loved.  He kept pointing to the water when it would light up.  So cute.  And he'd turn his face away when the fire came on.  One of the best stories from the whole day was when we got him three scoops of ice cream after dinner at Hagen Daas (that we all shared.)  We were eating it on a bench outside in Downtown Disney and after it was all gobbled up, we told him, "it's all gone," at which time he promptly hopped down off my lap, bee-lined it back to the ice cream shop, and started banging on the counter.  We were laughing so hard!  ("All gone?!  Nonsense, I know how to fix this!")  I've said it before, but it remains true that you never have to guess how Jasper feels about things at any given time.  You'd never believe a child could be so expressive without the use of words.     

But perhaps my very favorite thing about the whole day is the souvenir we got him.  I wanted something to commemorate his first trip to Disneyland.  I wasn't sure what to get him, and ultimately decided on this Mickey.  It is perfect.  Jasper's never really been one for stuffed animals, but I presented this to him like it was really something special, which it was, and he immediately hugged it and held on tight.  He loves it so much.  When I give it to him, he hugs it over his shoulder and pats it like a baby.  It is absolutely priceless.

Success.

And those two are best buds.  Mickey watches shows with him, takes road trips.

But mostly, they are bedtime buddies.  I think I have also said this before, or someone said it to me: that a world of wrong is undone when a child is sleeping.  And honestly, what could be sweeter than a baby  boy and his Mickey? 

Sweet dreams!

I'm happy to tell you, Jasper, the fun with Disney has just begun . . .