What do you do if a 4-year-old’s little heart is broken?

Today Boo was asked to say prayer for her school’s morning circle….she stepped into the middle of all the children and teachers and prayed with everyone repeating after her:

Ava is one of Boo’s friends at school…a year older than Boo. Boo has a doll named after her, she writes Ava letters a few times a week and Ava is the topic of almost every conversation. Boo even named one of our new sewing machines “Ava.” Every morning when we drop Boo off at school she doesn’t even say goodbye….she takes off across the playground straight for Ava.

But last week…..Ava moved away with her family.

And Boo is devastated.

She tears up at any mention of Ava’s name. She cries when we drop her off at school. Her lip trembles if we ask her to talk about Ava. And things that were okay last week aren’t okay anymore. Reading The Giving Tree last night she got a little teary and said:

While brushing her hair tonight I asked her if we should draw a picture of Ava so we could hang it up….the corners of her mouth turned down, tears formed, and she said “I can’t remember exactly what she looks like.“

And then…..I found a letter tonight on our dresser…..a letter she wrote Ava using a box of old papers and antique photos I let her play with:

It reads inside “I don’t miss you” (she still writes backwards) and I can’t make the words out at the bottom.

She chose an old antique photo of two girlfriends…..as if that would be her and Ava one day:

So tomorrow….I’ll ask the school and see if they can find out Ava’s new address for us and hope that if we write Ava…..Ava will write back.

*As teary as this entire post makes me as I write it…..I can’t stop giggling at two things:

1. She chose a photo slide of an elderly couple for the card as well.
2. The last time she said the morning prayer for the school she thanked God for “kittens, puppies…..and Sienna” (herself) which was hilarious with everyone repeating after her.

Boo turned 4 yesterday and we took her to Disneyland today for the first time!

For those of you that know me well…you know that this was a huge thing for me for several reasons:

1. I can’t stand crowds or lines (especially amusement parks and sporting events).
2. I am germ-a-phobic.
3. Princesses….boring.

And…finally…don’t hate me:
4. Disney is creepy.

Yes, I said it. I think all of their movies, and many of their rides, have a weird dark streak to them. I’m convinced Boo will have nightmares from a few rides that were marketed to kids and should have had an “R” rating on them to warn us. Even Sleeping Beauty’s Castle tour was ridiculously creepy and scary.

But, regardless, Boo had an amazing time…..and that’s all that matters. We did Disney and we don’t have to go back for another 20 years now, right?

She loved the tea cups….

My mother-in-law was in town and it’s her birthday this week as well so it was a special treat to take her to Disney too:

Boo loved riding with Daddy on everything:

I wasn’t about to stand in a princess line for a photo op, so we just kept our eyes peeled and finally found Sleeping Beauty. The conversation went a little like this:

Boo: I’m four today.
SB: It’s your birthday! What is your name?
Boo: Um, have you seen Cinderella or Belle?
Me: Sienna, let’s just take a photo….maybe we’ll see Cinderella later.
Boo: I don’t want you to take a photo. I just want to eat my hotdog. (we had just bought it when we spotted the princesses)

Then Sleeping Beauty (or Aurora? no idea what I’m supposed to call her) taught Boo a princess curtsey which I’m pretty sure Boo thought was a little ridiculous judging from the look on her face (I don’t blame her, who “curtseys” in a recycled knit dress):

Then onto Snow White:
Boo: Hi. It’s my birthday today.
SW: Let me guess….are you four?
Boo: Yes. Um, have you seen Cinderella or Belle?
Me: Sienna, please let’s just take one photo….maybe we’ll see Cinderella later.
Boo: I don’t want you to take a photo. I just want to eat my hotdog.

We never saw Cinderella….but I kept reminding Boo that she DID make an appearance at her birthday last year. We went to Toon Town and met Mickey and Minnie…ho hum…

….until we checked out Minnie’s refrigerator. Cool!!! We love the unexpected:

Rides we rode that were WAY too scary for a toddler? (learned my lesson and didn’t ride anymore dark rides)
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Pirates of the Caribbean
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin

Favorite rides that we rode over and over?
It’s a Small World (Boo woke up singing the song first thing)
Mad Hatter Tea Party
Casey Jr. Circus Train
Alice in Wonderland (Boo wanted to know why the Queen was so mad)
Finding Nemo (One small scary second)
Astro Orbitor
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Gadget’s Go Coaster

Random Photos

Wow Disneyland is beautiful at night! I loved the park more once the sun went down. Then I do what I always do in crowds….randomly snap photos on random settings to see what I end up with:

Streetlights

Balloons

Carousel

Paint cans

Toon Town Ride

We stayed for almost 7 hours. As soon as I saw this face I knew we were done…even though she insisted we stay longer:

Happy 4th birthday Boo! We love you!