Princess Day With Alyssa.....

It was Alyssa's 3rd birthday and time to take her on our grandparent date. She loves princesses and so when I heard that the Disney on Ice this year was the "Princess Classics" I jumped on the chance to buy tickets.

We knew this is something that Lyss would really enjoy

Our tradition over the years has been to take a picture

of us before we start our adventure.

The sibling NOT going with us always jumps in for a shot or two.

You could tell that Karah was trying VERY. VERY hard not to be jealous of her sister going with us. I think the older the kiddos get the harder it will be on them because they know how much fun we are going to be having. This date with Lyss is probably especially hard for Boo also because She LOVES princesses so much. Steve and I actually felt a little guilty throughout the night thinking how sad it was that Karah wasn't there with us to enjoy it. :(

Some goofy pictures before we leave for the weekend....

I love how she is looking up at Howie

to make sure he has his tongue out!

I love this picture of us all together. I love her cute cheesy grin!

Ready to go! Fun times are about to BEGIN!!!

Lyss has a lot of allergies and so there are some foods that she can't eat. Her mom packed a bag of treats for her weekend and the moment we seat belted her into the car she was pulling them all out to eat. She thought it was so neat to have her own bag of goodies.

We headed up to the Delta Center for the show but got there a little early. We had decided to take Lyss to Build a Bear at Gateway.

We had taken Karah there when she turned 3 years old. Karah still to this day plays with and cuddles her "Kate" bear that she got. We thought since Lyssi just recently lost her favorite teddy bear this would be a great time to get a replacement. April had "Coached" me on what "type" of bear we could get her! She knew that once we bought it, Lyss would be dragging it around EVERYWHERE SHE WENT!!! April wanted to make sure that it was not some hideous looking stuffed animal, because it would be next to impossible to pull it away from her. Alyssa becomes extremely attached to stuffed animals and blankets.

Alyssa was very quick to find which one she liked the best!

It was a darling little bunny bear with a cute little face.

PERFECT! I think her mommy will be okay with this choice!

They have a foot pedal which controls the STUFFING MACHINE. They have the kids be in control and step on the pedal to fill their bears.

Once she stepped onto the pedal the bunny started to really take form. Lyss was focused on her job of making the machine work. Lots of concentration.

Before the bunny was stitched up they had Lyss hold a little heart and do a variety of things. I was surprised how much she followed the directions. Karah, when she was here several years ago, would HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS! She just cried and cried and clung to Howie. She was so afraid of the lady, the machine, the loud noises. She was NOT a happy girl! Lyss on the other hand was loving it!

When it was time to put the HEART into her bunny she was told to close her eyes and make a wish. I'm sure she had no idea what a "WISH" was. She squeezed her eyes tight and said..."WISH".

It was fun to watch Lyss take such care in building her little bunny bear.

After her bunny was stitched up it was time to take it over to the bath area to be cleaned and fluffed.

These two shower head looking things blow out air

and they have these cute brushes for the kids to comb it's fur.

Lyssi hard at work.....

BIG BUNNY HUGS.... All clean and ready to go!

After the bath you go to these computers to make a "birth certificate" for the bear. This is where the kids choose a name. When we asked Lyss what she wanted to name her new bunny, without any hesitation AT ALL... she said, "Whitney!" I assumed that she must have a friend or neighbor with that name but later found out, after talking with April, that she doesn't. Not sure where she came up with that name but we liked it. We do have a niece named Whitney but I don't think Lyssi knows her that well. Anyway.....Cute name for a cute bunny bear.

Steve was so cute when he was doing this with her.

He let her type the majority of the information.

She took a long time but he was so patient. GREAT GUY!

All done!

A BEAR IS BORN!

She was so funny. The entire time we were in the store she was grabbing one thing after another off the shelves that her bear NEEDED! She was ALL about accessories. Purses, outfits, jewelry, hats. You name it.....She wanted it. The funny thing is that she really has a great sense of style. The things she chose would have been DARLING with her bear. She is going to take after her mom when it comes to shopping. I think she had 4 or five things that we put up on the counter to buy and the checker nicely "HID THEM" for us till we could distract her.

BURRRR! Baby it's COLD out here!!!!

Lyss was excited when we told her that we were going to EAT

and that Whitney her new little friend

would be able to come along.

When Lyssi eats she almost NEVER sits down....

She stood the entire time as she slurped up her noodles.

She was talking with her bunny the whole time......

After dinner we headed back to the car to change.

We passed these candy machines and Lyss wanted some.

When we asked her which type of candy she wanted

she pointed and said,

"I want this one, and this one, and this one and this"..........



And of course Papa Howie was prepared with the coins....

Lyssi has her Papa wrapped around her little finger....

I think she could get anything she asked for!


This short video clip cracks me up.

Her mouth is full of candy, her left hand is also full

and she is grabbing more.

But then she realizes that she has no way of

holding all of this candy so she asks for a pocket

to store her "STASH"

After our little "Candy fix" we headed back to the car to change.

April sent her with a princess dress and tiara to wear to the show.

This smile assures me that we had made the right choice

as to what to do with her for the birthday date.

She was dressed and so excited to go see the PRINCESSES!

It was so cute to see all of the little girls

walking through the streets on their way to the show,

all dressed up in their own little princess dress.

Once we got into the building there was music playing throughout the halls. Lyss instantly started dancing and twirling around in her little dress. All of the other girls in the lobby were

doing the same. SO CUTE!

If you ever wanted to see what a DRUNK PRINCESS looked like then you should check out this video. She had spun around so much that she couldn't even stand up. She was crashing into the wall and falling over. She was in HEAVEN!

Well....See this sweet smile on our princess.......

I think the candy that she gorged herself with finally set in.

Before the show began she was all over the place.....

Making crazy faces at people passing by....


and acting EXTREMELY goofy!



Have you ever seen a lizard Princess????

WELL HERE SHE IS!

What a crack up!

Once the show began she was calm and very entertained...

Cotton candy is ALWAYS a MUST when you come to a show like this.

She was "SHOVELING" it into her mouth so fast.

Like she hasn't had enough sugar ALREADY!

I don't think she took her eyes off the show for even a second!

She was totally mesmerized and entertained with the characters, the skating, dancing, colors and lights of the show.

We had SUPERB seats. Front and center and just about 10 rows up. PERFECT!!! The show highlighted all of the different Disney Princess stories.

Everything was so bright and colorful.....

and entertaining......






And we had the perfect seats to see all of the action....

Pictures with our own little princess....

"My Papa is the BEST!!!!

This crown came along with the cotton candy that Howie bought. It had these Micky Mouse ears on the side of them. She was convinced that the ears needed to fit on HER EARS. This CROWN is MESSED UP!

She wanted Howie to take a turn wearing it.

He's my KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR!

"HERE GRANDMA"T"....Your turn to be a princess!"

Oh man I love her baby blues!

Well the show was nice and it was time to head home and get our little princess to bed. LONG DAY! But very fun!

I Love to read bedtime stories to my grandkids.....

It brings me so much joy!

The moment I laid her down with "Whitney" she was ZONKED! At first I thought that she was teasing me and just pretending to be asleep. But she didn't budge the entire night. I think we really wore her out!!!

She was awake BRIGHT AND EARLY ready for breakfast. She helped me make GIANT pancakes. She was in the cutest mood that morning! All smiles :) :) :)

Waiting patiently for the pancakes to cook......

"OOOOHHHH" look at the bubbles"

She was excited because the pancakes were as big as her plate. I told her she had to have a BIG MONSTER MOUTH to be able to eat all of this pancake! She would open her mouth as wide as she could and ROAR like a monster :) She is so dang cute!

Open wide... Yummy pancakes comin' in!!!!

All ready for a day at church.....

She has the sweetest smile!

I love this girl :)

When we got home from church it was present time. We had bought her a bunch of princess activities to do with her.

And some princess makeup.....

I fugure this girl is always drawing on herself

she should use makeup to do it instead of markers.




Of course Howie is always a good sport.

Lyss had fun putting makeup on him.

He has such a sweet way of bringing our grandchildren JOY!

I love to hear their giggles as he plays with them.

Pink cheeks and sparkly eyeshadow!

LOOKIN' GOOD PAPA HOWIE!


She was pretty entertained as she put makeup on Howie

and herself. She had GOBS of makeup on the brushes

and would just SMEAR it all over.

Grandma T needs a makeover too!

We also enjoyed some time coloring with these cool coloring books. I LOVED IT! I seriously want one for myself. It amazed Howie and I to see how these magic crayon things work. NEAT STUFF!

Time for painting before she goes home.

I love the way Howie is always beside our grandkids joining in on their activity. It doesn't matter what they are doing you can always find him right by their side.

I love to see her at work.....

I do need to work on how she holds that paitbrush. That use to be my job at work to help the children learn to hold their pencils and crayons correctly. Well....as long as it is functional it really doesn't matter. She does BEAUTIFUL work!!!1

Painting is always a messy job but Lyss was so kind to clean it all up.

It was so tender to watch her wash off her Papa's hands.

Very cute!

All cleaned up and ready to go home.

Once again we had a very enjoyable time with our grandchild. I absolutely LOVE this tradition we have made. Such quality one on one time with our sweet princess. Happy 3rd Birthday, ALYSSA TAYLOR!

WE LOVE YOU OOOODLES!