After our busy morning at Animal Kingdom and a nice afternoon nap back at the hotel we got ready to go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Hailey decided to dress up as Snow White for the Halloween party.

We got there just in time to see the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party.

Then we went to Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe for a yummy dinner.  Hailey enjoyed playing horseshoes while we waited for our food.

After a yummy dinner Hailey was begging to go on Splash Mountain.

Last year when we were in Disney World Hailey was about 39 inches tall- one inch too short for Splash Mountain.  So for the last year she has talked about how she would be tall enough to go on Splash Mountain on our next trip.

Sure enough- she was tall enough!

She ran off to get on the ride.  There was no line at all- we walked right on- one of the advantages of going to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Hailey didn’t want to exit- she was ready to ride!

On the boat and off we went.  She loved the ride.  She was a little worried about the drops but she said she loved it!

After we rode Splash Mountain we collected lots of candy and then went to Woody’s Happy Harvest Roundup dance party.

Hailey danced with Woody,

Bullseye,

and Jessie.

Then we went to see the Villains Mix and Mingle.  It was a really fun show with all of the villains.  For some reason Hailey always loves the bad guys so she loved this show.  After the show the villains came down off the stage to meet people.  Everyone was trying to push to meet the villains and it didn’t seem worth the wait to us.

Hailey got to get her picture with The Queen of Hearts.  Then we went to see the Haunted Mansion, which also had no line.

Hailey was so excited to get to meet the 7 dwarfs!  Doc took her by the hand and walked her over to the rest of the group.

Snow White with the 7 Dwarfs.  (Grumpy was mad that she didn’t stand next to him!)

All of us with the dwarfs- this time Hailey gave Grumpy a hug.

Hailey was so excited to get to meet the Stepmother and the Stepsisters.  They were a pretty funny group to meet.  Hailey told Anastasia that she is her favorite stepsister which resulted in some funny arguing between the 2 sisters.

Happy HalloWishes was an amazing fireworks show!  We loved it!!

I had a yummy Pineapple Dole Whip- amazing!!

Hailey told Jasmine all about riding on Splash Mountain.  Jasmine talked to Hailey for several minutes and told her a funny story about Abu riding on Splash Mountain and how he didn’t like it.

Hailey with Jasmine, Aladdin and Abu.

Hailey and Baloo

We got a great spot for Mickey’s Boo to You Halloween Parade.  The Headless horseman came through about 10 minutes before the parade actually started.  Unfortunately my picture didn’t turn out very good.

The official start of the parade.

Clarabelle Cow

Goofy and his candy machine.

After the parade we went on some more rides- including Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Stitch.  All of the rides had no wait times, which was wonderful!  Hailey didn’t like the Stitch ride- we were afraid she might be scared of it.  But actually she thought it was boring.  As we were getting off she said, “When are we going to do the fun part of Stitch?”

We collected lots more candy and as the party was winding down around midnight we headed back to our hotel.

A few Halloween decorations on our way out of the park.

We didn’t get back to the hotel until after 1am.  Hailey had fallen sound asleep on the bus and I was able to get her all ready for bed without her waking up.  She was exhausted!!  Before she fell asleep on the bus though I asked her what her favorite parts of the day were.  Her favorite character was Stitch (at Animal Kingdom earlier in the day) and her favorite ride was Splash Mountain.

Day 2 was Rich’s birthday and we started bright and early.  We had a breakfast reservation at 8:10 at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom so we had to get up nice and early in order to leave in time to get there.  After a fun wake up call from the characters we got ready and we were off to Animal Kingdom.

We were some of the first ones waiting for the bus to Animal Kingdom at our hotel.

Hailey and Rich at the entrance to Animal Kingdom

Us in the empty park

What Animal Kingdom looks like before it opens.

Hailey entering Africa

Posing for a picture with Donald Duck at the Tusker House.

Rich was thrilled to be celebrating his birthday and enjoyed his birthday cupcake.

The first character to stop by our table was Mickey Mouse.  Hailey was so excited to see him.

Posing for a picture with Mickey.

Hailey and Daisy Duck (sorry for the blurriness)

Hailey and Goofy

The buffet area at Tusker House, one of my favorite places to eat.

After breakfast we went right to the Safari ride.  We were there early in the morning before it got too hot and we got to see lots of animals.

Next up we took the train out to Rafiki’s Planet.  Hailey got to meet Rafiki,

Pocahontas,

and Jiminy Cricket.

Hailey also enjoyed the petting zoo.

I found a “Hidden Mickey.”  Do you see it?

On our way to the Lion King show we got to meet Lilo and Stitch.  This was one of the best character interactions we had during the entire trip.  They were so funny and had everyone in line laughing at the things Stitch was doing.

Hailey with Lilo and Stitch.

We went and saw the Lion King show next which is definitely my favorite show.  I love to see it every time we go and it never gets old.  After the Lion King we went back to our hotel to take a nice long nap because we were planning to go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party that night and knew we’d need our rest!

We celebrated Hailey’s birthday several different times.  First a couple of days before her birthday I took cupcakes to her pre-k class at the day care center she goes to 2 afternoons a week.  I don’t have any pictures to post from there because they all show her friends eating with her and I can’t post pictures of those kids.

Next, on her actual birthday I took a pizza to her UPK class (they don’t allow cupcakes or cake).  Here she is with her birthday crown on.

Later on her birthday Grandma and Pa came over to have some dinner and cupcakes and to open gifts.

Hailey was just a little bit excited to open some presents.  (She had just gotten home from ballet, which is the reason for her ballet outfit.)

Happy Birthday!!

Then 2 days after that we went out to eat at the Olive Garden with Grandma, Pa and Aunt Winnie to celebrate Hailey’s birthday again.  They brought her a cake- but they didn’t sing.

The next weekend we had Hailey’s birthday party with her friends.  Here she is all ready to go.

The princess cake

Blowing out her candle

Hailey had about 19 friends come to her party!  I don’t have permission to post pictures of all of the other kids, so I’m just posing a couple of pictures with her cousin Anika in them.

Playing with Anika

Fun with Daddy and Anika

We had lots of fun celebrating Hailey’s birthday!  I can’t believe she’s already 4!!

Hailey with Tigger at 4 years old

Hailey with Tigger at 3 years old.

Hailey with Tigger at 2 years old.

Hailey with Tigger at 1 year old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 4 years old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 3 years old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 2 years old.

Hailey actually turned 4 about 2 weeks ago but she just had her 4 year physical so I wanted to wait until after her physical so I could post her new stats.  Hailey is now 41 3/4 inches tall which is in the 90th percentile.  Her doctor thinks she might slow down a little this year and average out a bit with her growth. We’ll see- she’s always been around the 90th percentile.

Developmentally- Hailey is still doing fantastic.  Of course I’m her mother so I think she’s perfect- but even her pediatrician says she’s pretty smart.

I love Hailey’s pediatrician- he is fantastic!  Her physical took an hour and a half- that’s a long time!  He wasn’t in the room the entire time, but he was for most of it.  He did a thorough exam and talked to her a lot.  He asked her if she sleeps in her own bed, so she told him she has her own bed but that she also sleeps with mommy and daddy.  I told him she comes in every night around 3 to get in bed with us.  His response- “You know she won’t do that forever.  No one ever walks into my bedroom in the middle of the night anymore and says ‘Dad, I’m cold, can I sleep with you?’ So enjoy it.”  Which almost made me cry… she’s growing up way too fast!!

A few of Hailey’s favorite things at age 4- “My Baby All Gone, princesses and princes, SpongeBob, singing songs, reading books, coloring, watching TV and DVDs, going to school and playing outside.  My favorite friends are J (her prince) and Anika.”