M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!!!!

Creed doesn't really enjoy TV for the most part, but there's always been one show that catches his attention, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He loves Mickey Mouse so much that he can spot him everywhere and performs little dances of joy every time he spots him, even if it's on a paper cup. I was talking about this with the Randall's at their cabin last weekend when they announced that they have annual passes to Disneyland and happened to be going that weekend and had plenty of extra room in their mini-van. Knowing Larry wouldn't get time off for ages and I was not ready to brave Disneyland with Creed on my own, I decided on Wednesday to tag along. So bright and early Thursday morning (well, actually dark and early) we were on our way to Disneyland.

Now normally, I would be extremely hesitant to take a trip like this with friends. I would worry about Creed having a rough time and ruining everyone's trip, but the Randall's have a baby the same age (Sara) and are completely understanding and helpful. Creed and Sara are so much alike that I would swear they were separated at birth if I wasn't absolutely positive that I only had one baby. The whole trip we were all marvelling at how similar they are and struggling to figure out which one of them was crying or talking because they even sound exactly the same.
I couldn't resist making matching shirts for them right before we left because Sara loves Minnie just as much as Creed love Mickey. I just thought the shirts would look so cute when they wore their mouse earsAnd I was right! I just hope Melinda got a better picture of it than I did. (Did you know that they make those cute baby clip-on Minnie ears for babies? That was news to me) Thank you Randall's for the best trip ever!
Since Creed doesn't even like to swing I was nervous about what Creed would think of the rides. At first he wasn't much of a fan, but he loves the Casey Junior train in Fantasyland.
The highlight of the day for the grown-ups was snagging these Dream Fast-Passes. Disney gives away all sorts of surprise things as part of their year of a million dreams theme. Jason saw someone handing these out just in time for us all to get one. It had two cards with Fast-Passes for every single ride that had a fast-pass in Disneyland and California Adventure. And it just so happened that it was also the day Larry's mom and step-dad we coming to stay with the kids in the hotel room after they fell asleep so the grown-ups could ride the grow-up rides. It was AMAZING! We just walked right on to every ride we wanted to ride. Between that and Jason and Melinda's Ride-Max schedule, the longest line we waited on all day was under ten minutes!

So, so cool!
Truth be told, it was a much needed break that evening because Creed had a rough day. He didn't quite get the rides and started teething again and seemed miserable for about an hour in the middle of the day. He was crying and I couldn't figure out what he wanted so I finally let him just pull everything out of my purse during lunch and he pulled out the Motrin, pointed to it, pointed to his mouth, and pointed back to the motrin. Sure enough, I looked in and there was the sharp points of new molars. Poor guy! Amid all that, he still was very excited to meet the characters. I let Melinda take most of the photos so I didn't have to juggle so there are sure to be more photos later, but I did catch him meeting Goofy on my camera. When it was our turn, he ran right up and hugged him.The evenings were cool so I slipped on his babylegs under his shorts and he looked so cute!We took a day off to hang with grandma and hit the beach, and then it was back to Disneyland again the next day with the Randall's. Creed had to sit by himself on the train ride again. Larry bought a little stuffed Mickey for him before we left on the trip and he carried it everywhere so you will notice it in a lot of our pictures.

The crowds were a lot bigger on the weekend, but it was worth it because Creed was so happy to be there and actually started to enjoy rides (although, you wouldn't guess it from this photo, but you have to have a picture with the castle, right?)
By far his favorite thing was the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show. Can you see him standing up and clasping his little hands because he's so excited to see Mickey on stage. He dances and bounced through the whole show and kept grabbing my hand and trying to go closer to the stage.
We also got to meet of with the Giglias for lunch (which Creed slept through, but it was still fun to chat with PJ).

He also really loved Bugs Land in California Adventure. I have to include this lame picture because it's the only one that I took on Flick's Flyers and when we got off the ride, Creed pointed back and said, "More, more!"
He actually expanded his vocabulary quite a bit on this trip saying things like Mickey, Minnie, and pointing out the letter O everywhere (his favorite letter, but he only knows like three letters). Every time we passed this sign, he tried to escape to see the O so we had to take a picture.
I've always loved Disneyland, but it's so much better being there as a parent and watching your little one enjoy the magic.
Thanks to the Randall's for letting us tag along to the happiest place on Earth.