Amy does Disney and our 10 month "Gotcha" anniversary

First, thanks for checking out the blog. And Happy Holidays. I hope you are doing more partying than suffering in malls and traffic.

Amy was an absolute angel on the flights to and from Orlando. Of great help was the fact that less than 50% of the flights, both ways, were unsold. This left little Amy with her own (free) seat between us, which made her very happy. We went to the magic kingdom one day. I was surprised at how different it was from my memory. Did it change? Or did my perception change, since I'm now the parent creating the experience? I don't remember people waiting on lines to take pictures of the characters. It seems like they were ubiquitous and had spontaneous time to spare when I was a kid. Now, you either had to wait on line throughout the park, make reservations at some overpriced schlocky food place or pay for an expedited line. We never saw a random Mickey or Minnie. It seemed so contrived. Okay, it's a small world after all was as charming this time as I remember it. No rants here. But the Winnie the Pooh ride. We waited 20 minutes (in the OFF season) and the ride was over before we all got our seatbelts fastened. What a rip.....

Amy had the majorest meltdown to that point in time at lunch in Magic Kingdom. She was inconsolable. She fell asleep in the stroller throughout a marching band event. She actually slept and hour and a half or so while we bought overpriced Disney-wear and watched our favorite past-time, glass blowing (tee hee). Our goal? To finally show her a glimpse of characters. We all made it to 3:00 for the parade of characters on main street. And just when we thought she'd see characters, we found out it would take another 20 minutes for the parade to hit our spot. What saved the day from meltdown #2? Big, expensive lollipops!

We went to Epcot to fulfill my fantasy. Having been there twice during the wait for Amy, and having been there many times before we ever initiated the adoption, it was very important for me. I couldn't wait to show Amy my favorites, the Japanese drummers, the Chinese acrobats and then lunch at the Chinese restaurant in China. Well, wouldn't you know that the shows were on a skeleton schedule because it was the off-season? So no shows until the afternoon. Amy had her biggest meltdown to date, starting right there in my fantasy Chinese restaurant. She wouldn't even eat a grain of rice and wouldn't relax or be quiet for anything. She napped in the stroller through my favorite shows that afternoon. You might say she didn't smile in all of Epcot, until we got to the parking lot at the end of the day. It was crazy. She was clapping her hands, smiling, making funny sounds and expressing joy- when we headed out for the car.

The next day was her best. We walked 10 yards from our hotel to Downtown Disney. The toy stores there are as big as a theme park, and were within her stimulation threshold. No meltdowns. Just incredible joy from a $5 Mickey Mouse cell phone and mashed potatoes at lunch. That night we went to Gloria Estefans for a fantasy Mojito (the best), and Amy grooved on a kiddie cocktail. We then went to Wolfgang Puck's and enjoyed being able to order rice and apple sauce, a la carte, from the great chef.

She's napping and I'm catching up on the blog and email. Dad is out for a run. Thanks again for checking in!