Leif's FIRST Disneyland Trip!

YAY!

We bit the bullet and decided to take Leif on his FIRST Disneyland trip!  The main reason we went was because hubs' best friend from Seattle came down with his girlfriend and kid just for Disney.  We tossed the idea around all week long, and we were really hesitant because it was supposed to rain all day Sunday.  Saturday rolled around and started off like any other weekend (and was super sunny even though the forecast said rain!).  I made breakfast, then took Leif to Gymboree since we weren't sure what we were going to do Sunday.  Then I contacted our dog sitter to see if they could watch Miles Saturday night through Monday, and then we finally came to the conclusion that we should drive down to Anaheim Saturday night, stay the night and go to Disneyland on Sunday.  :) :) :)

What's funny about all of this was I was 90% sure we weren't going to go-I didn't want to take Leif to Disneyland for the first time in the rain and being so young he's not going to remember it.  But we knew the crowds weren't going to be crazy, and I think that's what pushed us to go.  Oh, and after talking to a few parents at Gymboree who took their babies/toddlers to Disneyland-they had nothing but positive reviews.  That helped!

And guess what...Leif was a champ!  He had a couple fussy moments where he wanted to be carried, or he was hungry, but that was it.  No crying in fear of the rides we went on, no serious meltdowns.  What a wonderful little boy!

Here are the photos we snapped-we only used phones since hubs didn't want to break out his camera in the rain:

Saturday, February 28

We arrived around 6pm to our hotel we booked through hotwire.com...this hotel was seriously only a 10 minute walk away from Disneyland!  It wasn't the cleanest/nicest hotel, but we got a great deal.  

Leif absolutely LOVED the hotel room more than anything else on the trip...he had a fun time playing with the alarm clock-that's pretty much where he spent most of his time!

We decided to walk over to Downtown Disney for dinner and then to meet up with friends.  We settled on Taqueria at Tortilla Jo's-a quick build your own Mexican joint.  No reservations required.  It was packed, but we managed to get a table after waiting a couple minutes. Leif loved his quesadilla and grapes...and grape lid...

We found our friends and had a quick drink with them.  Leif colored for a little bit!

It started raining on our walk back to the hotel, so we stopped in a convenient store and bought ponchos and an umbrella for the day ahead.  Good choice instead of spending lots of $$$ in Disneyland!

Sunday, March 1

While I got ready, hubs watched Leif.  Behind him is his makeshift bed for the night!

Almost ready to go!

We made it!  After a silly morning of crazy shenanigans at our hotel breakfast (it was packed with strange people), driving around to find the Disney parking lot only to look at our hotel pass and realize we could have left the car there (thus driving back and walking), we made it.  And we had bought our ANNUAL passes the night before so didn't have to wait in line for that!  (Thank you hubs-apparently it was my very early birthday gift).

Leif's first ride at Disneyland-the carousel in Fantasy Land!  

We came back around and snapped photos of us in front of the castle...

Leif with the Cheshire Cat

I believe this was us waiting in line for Pirates of the Caribbean?  I can't remember, but Leif was getting antsy.  He really wanted to touch everything!

Quick shot of us while the sun popped out...

Nap time!  First one of the day, and one more towards the end of the trip.

We ventured over to California Adventure midday

Standing in line for a ride in A Bug's Land

Family photo!

This ride was really fun!

Absolutely love this little face

First character photo with Flick!  No cries from Leif, but no big smiles either.  Not too shabby!

Car's Land!

Leif not amused

The soldiers from Toy Story putting on a show

Another Carousel ride, Little Mermaid style!

Happy little Leif!

In case anyone is wondering, here are the Pros & Cons of taking a toddler to Disneyland:

PROS
-He's not walking all the way yet, so it wasn't hard to carry him/push him in the stroller
-We could take it easy and didn't have to stand in super long lines of the popular, older kid rides
-Loved watching his face light up and seeing how curious he was about everything
-Went on rides I've never been on before
-He's still free admission!

CONS
-Can't ride everything (not that terrible)
-Have to hit the baby center a few times to change/feed
-He can get a little antsy, and holding him can get tiring/hard
-Strollers are a little bit of a hassle even though it carried the diaper bag (hubs almost forgot it a couple times!)

I was a little envious of all the moms with the front-forward baby carriers (I had our ergo carrier on half the time), but since Leif is so close to walking without assistance/falling, I feel like I'd be wasting money if I purchased one now.  I feel like the next time we go, he'll be able to walk on his own!  All in all, I had such a wonderful time.  I guess it's the big kid in me, but I can't get enough of Disneyland.  :)  I'm so happy we have passes-this means everyone who comes to visit we can take them to Disneyland now!  Well, with the exception of the 50 blackout dates, but that's not terrible at all!  Hooray Disney!

Oh, and yes, my hair is still honey-colored with a tinge of green in the bangs.  My hairstylist Friday night said one more week of intense washing and then we'll be able to color it...so cross your fingers this Friday it will change!