Okay, okay, Lunar New Year was like a month ago. I’m busy y’all, and you’ll see why below.

Anyway, Lunar  New Year is also called Chinese New Year but since it’s also celebrated in Vietnam and Korea, Lunar New Year is the more appropriate name. I was very pleased that DCA honored all different kinds of Lunar New Year celebrations.

I dressed Violet up in her qipao and off we went!

This was also the first time I successfully got her hair up in a little top ponytail to get her bangs out of her eyes

The festivities were held in the walkway next to The Little Mermaid

Archway to the whole shebang

Closeup (sort of) of a pillar

I loved the Mickey head design.

I kept trying to get a picture of both kids standing still and smiling, but as anyone who’s tried to take pictures of multiple kids know, it was a challenge.

We’ll interpret Violet’s squint as a smile

Probably should have moved them out of the sun or something. Oh well.

The Lunar New Year celebration had some crafts you could do. They were very cool. Since this is the year of the snake, Theo got to make a paper snake.

The helper was extremely helpful

She spent a lot of time with Theo helping him, which he needed but still made him feel like he made it himself

Proud boy and cute snake!

Then he insisted on making one for Violet, which was a pain because I had to then keep her from eating it the whole time.

There was also a lantern-making booth where you colored a piece of paper and then cut it up for a lantern. I don’t want to pick on my child, but Theo is pretty much the World’s Worst Colorer. He doesn’t have any patience for it so he just randomly scribbles and calls it done. I already had my hands full because he decided to bring along his kid camera (a kid-proof real digital camera with questionable quality photos), I was holding two paper snakes, and Violet is a runner so you can’t let go of her hand at all. So, I forbid the lantern. He pouted for a while but got over it when I bought the special (overpriced) almond cookies, that he then didn’t even really like. He liked the idea of the almond cookies, and liked the little white Chinese take-out box, but the cookies themselves? Great investment, Mom.

No lantern for you!!

They had women wearing traditional outfits twirling ribbons. They invited the kids to twirl the ribbons too, but Theo wanted no part of that. I have no idea why.

But twirling ribbons is fun!

They also had special characters. We missed getting a picture of Mulan and Mushu, but we got both Mickey and Minnie. Violet actually stopped moving for once while we were in line for Mickey

After this she immediately took off

She was fascinated by Mickey’s outfit. Unfortunately that meant she wouldn’t turn around for a picture.

Mickey Attempt #1

Mickey Attempt #2

Mommy steps in

I realized later I was wearing my Hong Kong Disneyland shirt. I promise, that was a complete coincidence.

Theo was very impressed that Mickey even took a picture with the “helper doggies”

He spent a lot of time petting them while we were in line

And here’s a montage to explain how I spend my days now. Violet likes to run. She never stops moving. My dad calls her Hurricane Violet. It’s difficult when I’m by myself with both of them to take pictures because she’s usually taking that opportunity to make a break for it.

Making her escape

Theo tries his best to hang on

There she goes!

And she’s off!

She never misses an opportunity to dash

I’ve lost over 10 pounds chasing her around.

Minnie did turn into a more successful photo shoot.

Minnie being non-intimidating

I had to step in again

One of Theo’s favorite parts was taking along his camera. It doesn’t have a strap of any kind so it’s a pain in the butt to carry around, so this is the first time I’ve let him take it to the parks. He promised to hold it the whole time, which means that I ended up lugging it around most of the time. But we might have a budding photographer in our midst! He was fascinated by the Photopass photographer taking pictures of Minnie and begged to take his own picture of Minnie. I lined him up on the other side of the stanchions thinking he could just grab a shot whenever, but the cast member/handler overheard us and invited him in. She asked the next guest in line to hold off a second, then the Photopass photographer moved over and showed Theo where to stand. Minnie posed, and he got his picture. It was adorable.

So cute!

Finally, we watched a troupe of Lucky Lion Dancers perform. They were fantastic!

Violet was a little unsure about the whole thing though.

Or maybe she was just mad that I cramped her style by strapping her into the stroller

All in all, it was a great celebration and we had a really good time!

I started this blog for a simple reason. At the end of December 2010 (Christmas Eve, actually), Theo turned two years old. At three years old, you have to start paying for a child’s admission, and there is no child discount on an annual pass.

Background information here: Kevin and I moved here in 2004 and pretty much the next day went out and got our annual passes because really, wouldn’t you? A couple of years later I got a job in Downtown Disney and got a cast member pass while Kevin kept his annual pass. I left the job when Theo was born, so we got annual passes again. But they get pricey (especially this year) and by the end of 2010 we thought well, we’ve been going to Disneyland nonstop for six years and next year it will be expensive to get Theo is own pass after he’s not free anymore, so let’s just do one more year and call it done.

I then realized that there was a ton of stuff I had actually never done at Disneyland. Stopping to watch atmosphere entertainment, for example, or riding on attractions I’d considered “throwaways” like the Main Street Vehicles. I thought gosh darn it, if we’re going to do one last blow-out year, I’m going to do it all.

And while I’m at it, I’m going to blog it because…blogging is trendy. Or something. So My Year With The Mouse was born. My first post was on December 18, 2010, and I only got around to 3 posts that December. The first one was this:

“To all who come to this happy blog: Welcome.”

Leave a CommentPosted by Shelby on December 18, 2010 Edit

Which is what Walt would have said had the internet existed in 1955 and if Disneyland were a blog instead of an amusement park. Alas…

We’re about to go on a journey, you and I–a journey to a magical land where there are lots of things to do and a whole year (more or less) in which to do them.

Hold on to your hats and glasses, ’cause this here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!

And please, remain seated with your arms and legs inside the car at all times.

Oh, I’m so witty! *insert eyeroll*

Well, My Year With The Mouse was both an astounding success and dismal failure. A success because I’ve met so many amazing people and made good friends and really got to know the parks. A failure because I ended the full year with things still left undone.

So My Extended Year With The Mouse was born. I was addicted. Call it Mouse Fever. I couldn’t give up my pass. We opened our wallet and got Theo his own pass too, and went another year.

And then I failed again because there’s STILL stuff I haven’t done. Like, I haven’t posted on the Haunted Mansion yet (either the holiday version or the regular one), or Splash Mountain. Plus we were talking, and we realized that poor Violet–we’ve got hundreds of pictures of Theo at Disneyland over the years and we’re going to give up our passes right when she enters the family?

I think not. We renewed.

Being a mom of 2 is SO different than being a mom of 1. I know, even you childless readers are like “duh.” But I’m so excited to have a whole new person to share my love of Disneyland with. And Theo’s finally reached some height milestones that make him eligible for even more fun. I will still be blogging here. No guarantees on what kind of schedule, but you can click on the “Subscribe Me, Baby” button on the right to have an email sent to you when I post, and I’ll always update with links on the MYWTM Facebook page. Thanks for reading!!!

And a retrospective–Theo on January 5, 2011:

Theo looking skeptical on Jan 5, 2011

 

And now:

Theo on November 18, 2012

 

And the reference picture for next year–our whole family at CA Adventure:

December 2012

 

 

In 2006, Kevin and I decided to grow our family through adoption. We started the process of adopting a little girl from China. After 6 long years, our dream has come true.

Please meet the soon-to-be newest member of the My Year With The Mouse family…

Violet Yuemin Hogan

A dream is a wish your heart makes…our dream was you

On the evening of November 7th we will board a plane to China. On November 11th we will hold Violet for the first time, and on November 21st we will officially become a Forever Family.

Please gather up your Pixie Dust and Disney joy and celebrate with us!

And in anticipation of some questions I know you have, here are some joyful facts:

• Violet will be 16 months old when we adopt her.
• She is currently living in Yunnan Province in Southwestern China.
• Her Chinese name is Yue Min. Violet Yuemin Hogan is the name we have chosen for her.
• Kevin, Theo, my mom, and I are all going to China for our adoption trip. Our adoption is finalized on the 21st, and if you’re looking at the calendar, that’s the day before Thanksgiving, and also 3 days before our wedding anniversary. We have so much to be thankful for this year!
• No, I haven’t purchased Violet’s first pair of mouse ears yet. But soon…very soon!!!

What was that you said? One more cute photo? Sure!

Violet is about 9 months old in these two pictures

(as for the future of this blog–please don’t worry, I WILL continue to blog about Disneyland! But I can’t make any promises about what and when. I always keep information current on Facebook so if you follow MYWTM on Facebook you can keep track of new posts when they arrive. You can also subscribe by clicking on the “Subscribe Me, Baby” button over there on the right. That will send an email directly to you when a new post comes up. Thank you all so much for being faithful readers and for understanding my new life circumstances. I hope you continue to read and enjoy MYWTM!)