Disney World 2012

We had been looking forward to our Disney trip for most of the year. Emily loves all things Disney (surprise, surprise) with Mickey and the gang and the Disney Princesses at the top of the list. We planned to stay at the new Art of Animation resort because we would be able to stay in a Little Mermaid themed room, which is Emily's absolute favorite. When we arrived late in the evening she was sleeping, and she woke up to see the giant pictures of Simba, Ariel, Nemo, and Lightening McQueen near the entrance. Needless to say, she knew EXACTLY where we were and she was more excited than I have ever seen her. I can't even begin to  describe her excitement when we opened the door to our Ariel room.That was just the beginning of an amazing week at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Teacup time! 

 Emily & Daddy on Dumbo

 Meeting Ariel for the first time - so happy for her that I cried!

Goofballs

Loving the lights at Hollywood Studios

She became a pro with the map

 Now that's the way to see Disney!

 Eating with Chef Donald

 Serious conversation with Mickey

 

 Loving the Nemo themed pool at our resort 

The big cheese :-)

 Waiting for the parade - she loved seeing all of her favorites

We even got to see Santa - what a trip!

Elf on the Shelf

We started watching the Elf on the Shelf movie after Thanksgiving to get Emily excited about an elf of her own visiting us during the holidays. She couldn't wait! When we first asked Emily what we should name her elf, she proudly announced, "Vegetables!" That was that. As soon as our elf arrived, he was given that name, although she also referred to him as Elf as well. Vegetables didn't cause too much mischief this year, he just showed up in a different place almost every morning (sometimes he was a little too sleepy to remember to find a new spot!) He even visited us while we were on vacation at Disney World! Here are a few pictures of our North Pole breakfast welcoming Vegetables to our home:

 Vegetables brought socks to keep Emily's toes warm

 Enjoying "snow" covered doughnuts

 Tiny cup of hot chocolate - she loved it!

Rudolph pancakes

The Pink Pig!

We kicked off the holidays with a visit to the famous Pink Pig at Lenox. Emily was a little hesitant at first, but we ended up riding it three times! She had a blast and even ended up giving the giant pig out front a hug :-)

Halloween

We had a blast trick-or-treating with Emily this year. She really understood it and was so excited to ask our neighbors for candy and say thank you...in theory. We talked and talked about how fun it was going to be, but on the big night, our little girl decided that it was a little too overwhelming to actually talk to the neighbors, so daddy had to help her out a bit. She gladly said "TRICK OR TREAT!!!" between houses, but just couldn't do it when our neighbors answered the door. Here's our little Minnie Mouse and video evidence that she actually could say it:

 Ready for action!

 A little worried about some of the neighborhood kids and their costumes

She was so happy to get candy :-)