Saturday, March 29, 2014

Disneyland Day 3

The night before our 3rd day at the parks we get a message saying that even though hotel guests get to take advantage of Magic Mornings where you can enter 1 hour early, the last day it wasn't going to be available to us. That magic morning hour is kind of a joke anyway. I thought that during this extra hour we have we'd get to the places that were going to have the biggest lines and go there first but that didn't turn out to be true. I thought I'd get in line to see the Frozen Princesses but they don't get there until 10 am and that's already an hour after the park is open to the public. Then I said I'll just go to ToonTown to see Mickey because that's pretty popular, but nope, ToonTown didn't open until 10 as well. It didn't make sense to me...

So while there was nothing to wake up early for we slept in on our 3rd day. When I woke up my feet felt like they were in cement. It was so hard to move! Walking is no big deal. Pushing a 40lb wheelchair with a 57 pound kid in it uphill and back around a huge park takes a toll!!

When we asked Hailey what she wanted to do she right away said, "Disney Jr. Live!!!" Here we go AGAIN!! Out of the 3 times we went Josh only went twice. It's easier on the little kids when a huge 6'4" man isn't sitting in front of you...LOL! Josh went and stood in line so he could go on the roller coaster and I went in with Hailey. I totally didn't mind. I really liked the show! It got better and better! 
Selfie of Hailey and Mom! 


After the Disney Jr. Live show we waited for Josh and Hailey loved the trolly car people that drove by and sang. They reminded me of Newsies! 

We saw Donald again, but he didn't have time to stop and take a picture so he just waved as he passed us by. 

We looked EVERYWHERE for the Toy Story characters and couldn't find them anywhere. Finally someone said that Buzz would be around soon, so we waited for him. Hailey really wanted to see Jesse but they said she wasn't going to be there...sad face! 

 Goofy didn't have time to stop for a picture either so he fist bumped Hailey and went on his way. 


 Hailey wanted to kiss his nose. It was against my better judgment because who knows how many children have kissed that nose before us...
After all that we did Luigi's Flying Tires...AGAIN and we then we did something that we weren't too sure of and it may have been a good idea at the time, but in the end it wasn't too smart. We passed Soaring over California and I asked the line guys what they thought about us taking Hailey in. You sit in a row and there is just a seat belt and it wasn't spinning or jerking. He said that she'd probably LOVE the ride. I asked Hailey if she wanted to go flying. Hailey asked if it was a plane? Well...sort of. Now if you are just a regular normal person this ride is pretty amazing. You feel as if you are actually flying over California scenery. If you are a person with balance and brain issues it feels as if you are ACTUALLY flying over California with nothing to hold on to. Hailey was shaking and having spasms cause she felt as if she was suspended in the air and falling and flying. It was very rough for her. I didn't know if I should cover her eyes or what. We were stuck in the ride for the full 60 some seconds and it felt as if it were forever. It really did a doozy on her. Not a good choice and now we know... We did some window shopping afterword.  I love how Disneyland has the caramel apples in the shape of different characters for $10 each. That was going to be my souvenir from the trip!
Hailey had patiently waited 3 days for a Mickey Balloon so Josh snuck off to get her one and she was ecstatic! We ended up leaving the park pretty early that day and heading back to the hotel. We took the long way through Downtown Disney and checked out that HUGE Disney Store. I think Hailey would have been happy spending all day in there! 

So while day 3 is over we still have 1 more day of fun planned for Hailey right before we leave the next day. Hailey didn't know it but tomorrow we were going to have lunch at the American Girl Store and it was going to be very memorable!! Stay tuned!  

Friday, March 28, 2014

Day 2 at Disneyland 2014 - Autographs Galore!!

Princess Hailey was ready for day 2 at the Parks. Today will be mostly about meeting characters and obtaining autographs. This will be the highlight for Hailey. Since we aren't having the greatest luck with the new Guest Assistance Pass and there are only about 5 rides total Hailey could go on, this is our mission for today. 

One place you are sure to find Mickey is in ToonTown, at his house. This day Fantasia Mickey was there. We've never seen him before, we've seen regular Mickey. Again Hailey was determined to stand on her own and I was in the background holding my breath ready for a quick catch if necessary.


 Mary Poppins and Bert were going for a stroll through the park. I don't know if this is a new thing or just something I have never seen before. You can walk with them and they will sign your autograph books. It's a little harder to do in a wheelchair. I was afraid I'd run over someones foot...
 Hailey's ABSOLUTE  favorite princess is Merida from Brave. Last year Hailey was NOT able to bare weight on her legs or get out of her wheelchair. Lucky us this was the same Merida as last year and she REMEMBERED Hailey!! That meant SO much to us! She told Hailey that Hailey was a Brave girl and that she was so happy that Hailey came to see her and that Hailey was standing on her own!


Merida made Hailey pinky promise that Hailey would keep being Brave and would come back to see her again next year and every year after that. 
 Again I teared up. Hailey listened so intently to the words Merida was telling her. Merida might never know how much that meant to me and how I know that Hailey will remember this moment, but I wish she did.

 Hailey was the last child before Merida "had to go feed Angus her horse." Merida asked if Hailey could go for a stroll and I could only nod my head because if I spoke I'd cry. Hailey got to walk with her favorite princess! Last year at the hospital before we went to Disneyland and Hailey was wheelchair bound we were told she'd most likely never walk again. Her disease was progressing too fast. One year of not being able to walk and tons of physical therapy and leg braces and determination and our little girl is taking steps at Disneyland with a princess.  
 Merida had so much patience as she walked with Hailey and I knew that this would be once of the best experiences for Hailey to have. We took a video as well and posted it on our Facebook page. 
 One last very long hug. Hailey did not want to let go. This was the most amazing moment of our trip. I think of all the issues we had during our trip and when I see this photo or see the video I forget all about that and think back to this moment when my daughter was elated with happiness!! Thank you Merida! 

 Another character we had found while on a stroll was Alice. Hailey hasn't seen Alice in Wonderland but that didn't matter. Alice was so nice and held hands with Hailey and signed her book for her. Alice had to hurry, because she was chasing a white rabbit who was late for a very important date. That was her story and she was sticking to it. I loved how Hailey said she wanted to go look for the rabbit too...

 Hailey knew right away who the next charter we found was. From her chair she pointed and yelled, "HOOK!!" She talked about her friends Katie and Bry who love pirates and made sure I let them know we found Hook! This was the first time ever seeing Hook for any of us. 

 We now know that we can NOT go to Disneyland without an autograph book. When that book isn't being signed Hailey is flipping through the pages over and over. She LOVES it! 
 With Pixie Hollow kinda being tucked away the lines aren't too terrible and Wheelchairs ARE allowed. Last year we saw Periwinkle and Vidia, today we found Tinkerbell. We've never met her before either. What a day of firsts!! 

We had found Mickey and now we were on the look out for Minnie. Hailey could have just spent all day in Minnie's house in ToonTown. Everything was her size and she was having a ball looking at every single detail. 


 Hailey loves Minnie's autograph by the way! 

 The only place you can catch 5 princesses in one place and guarantee you get time and an autograph is over at Ariel's Grotto for a Character Dining experience. I made reservations to have lunch with the princesses and Hailey was beyond excited for this. If you remember last year this did NOT work out very well. This year and this experience was awesome! 
 Hailey again looking at the autographs. 

With the issues we had about not being able to take wheelchairs through character lines I talked with Josh about doing this lunch. Yes it's expensive and No Hailey doesn't eat any of the food, and they don't give tube fed children a discount, me paying $100+ is almost worth not fighting the lines.  


 Phineas, Ferb, and the Campfire Girls! 
 These guys were dancing in the street so I stood by while Hailey joined the party. 

Before our day had even started I had remembered that I forgot sunscreen. I had to stop at the gift shop to spend a small fortune on some Coppertone. While there Hailey spotted a little boy wearing a Make a Wish t-shirt and she said to him, "I HAVE that shirt too!!!" There was a family that was there on their Make a Wish trip and we told them that they are going to have SO much fun and that it was Hailey's 1 year anniversary. This family was staying at the same hotel as us and we were happy to wish them the best day ever! Little did I know I'd run into this family again. You would think that Disneyland is SO big you'd have a hard time seeing the same people twice, but it was meant to be. While in line for the Disney Jr. Live show (which we've seen 3+ times) we ran into the same family again! I started talking with the little boys grandmother, Missy, and we just instantly clicked. We got on the topics of g-tubes somehow and as soon as I mention "tubie" Hailey wants to show off her new belly pad she had on. Missy hadn't heard of tubie/belly pads so I told her that I have extras and since we are in the same hotel I will send one over to her. She can sew, and it wouldn't be hard for her to make her own. Her grandson, Bubba who is battling Neuroblastoma for the 3rd time, has trouble with granulation tissue and I told her Hailey had the same issues. I didn't know about these pads until my friend Mary sent Hailey some and they have been the best thing ever. 
 The next day when we left the park early I got a message from Missy saying that she and Bubba loved the belly pads and she was going to go home and get started on making them herself. She had needed some syringes and I had extra so we met up at he hotel and sat down to talk. It felt as if I was talking to a friend I've had for years. We are staying connected on Facebook and I am so happy we met! Hailey right away wanted to share the Mickey lollipops she got and she even let Bubba pick the red one! That's true friendship!

I didn't used to be able to just start talking to people I didn't know. I was so shy growing up. If it wasn't for Hailey and our situation I don't think I would be able to just start talking to people. When I learn something I want to share it. I know there are other people like me who are doing this whole parenting medically fragile or a child with special needs for the first time, and don't know what to do sometimes. The things that people have shared with me I'm very grateful for and I feel good passing along the information. We are all in this together.

Day 3 is just around the corner and maybe 3 days at the park is a day too much. We'll be sleeping in tomorrow and taking our time. Stay tuned to find out how we spent our day!


Thursday, March 27, 2014

Guest Access Pass or Disability Accommodation Pass for Disneyland 2014

This is a very hard post to write. I've had many bullet points listed that I want to address. I don't want to completely harp on Disneyland and how this new accommodation pass just plain doesn't work with out offering a solution to the problem. I know that it is not my job to offer suggestions on better ideas, but if this is a problem that affects my child I feel I at least should put what I think out there. 

You can get the new GAC or Guest Assistance Card at Main Street or guest relations at either of the parks. It doesn't take much to explain our issues. My child is sitting in a wheelchair. Not a rented wheelchair, a super heavy duty wheelchair customized to her specifications. It's not fun to travel with this monstrous wheelchair but it's a part of her so it goes where we go. Even when we travel 4,000 miles across the country it comes with us.

The other side of why we need accommodations are things about Hailey that you may not be able to see. She's tube fed and if it's hot outside we'd go back to the hotel to do her feeds that take an hour or more. She takes medications throughout the day. Even though she's not bashful about showing everyone her "tubie" I'd rather go to the first aid station to administer her medications via G-tube and not have to do it while standing in line with people all around who might feel uncomfortable with me doing this. Hailey wears diapers and there are only a handful of companion restrooms that I could use to do a diaper change. The bathrooms aren't accommodating for a 5 year old 57 pound child that is diapered. The diaper "area" is more fitting for a child up to about 2 years of age. Because of this issue, I can't change her on my own. Josh will hold the pull down flat table while I do the changing. I know Hailey exceeds the weight limit on those things so I try to find the bathrooms that have the tables build of concrete that she barely fits in but is more sturdy. I still need Josh to lift Hailey out of the wheelchair and up on to the table.  I know there is one of these restrooms near Autotopia and one in Toon Town. Hailey gets overstimulated very easily and doesn't make staying in a line very easy.  
I wanted them to explain to me how this new GAC works. Hailey gets her picture taken and they ask you how long your stay will be. They make a card with the picture and her name on it and how many people are in our party. It's similar to a folded card with blank lines on the inside. In each park there are 4 kiosks. You tell the Cast Member which ride you would like to go on. They look up the wait time subtract 10 minutes and write down a time for you to return to that ride. Example: Luigi's Flying Tires has a 40 minute wait and it's 1:00pm. They will fill out that you need to go back to the ride at or after 1:30pm. You need to wait until that time to go to the ride where the other cast member will cross off the time let you on the ride and you will then need to go back to any of the kiosks and pick your next ride. You can not have multiple times written on your card. You have to do this for every ride you go on. If your child is like mine and can only do a handful of rides you are stuck going back and repeating this experience for the same ride many times over.

You can not use this card to meet the characters and I was also told in lines such as the one to meet the newest princesses from Frozen, wheelchairs are NOT allowed in the line. The cast members told me I must have someone (either me or Josh) wait in the line even if the wait time is 120 minutes or longer. There are a couple reasons this doesn't work for us. 1) How are wheelchairs not allowed in the  lines? 2) If I need to change Hailey's diaper and I need Josh and we have to walk over to Tomorrowland or Toon Town from Fantasyland we'd either loose our place in line or irritate the other people waiting while we get out of line and come back 1/2 hour to 45 minutes later. Same goes for medications. 2) What if we run into a tube feeding time? I'm not going to bring our whole set up for her feeds to the park and hook her up for all to see and have her be stared at. Meeting these characters is a really special thing for Hailey to do and I don't want to take that away from her because she's in a wheelchair and can't stand in line. There are multiple Mickey's, Goofy's, and Donald's. Why aren't there multiple princesses like these ones that are so sot after? There is a way to cut down on that horrendous line! How hard is it to add more Princesses???!!!


I understand that people without disabilities where abusing the system. I don't think that CHILDREN with real disabilities should be punished for this. This new system has a lot of BUGS that need to be worked out and I know that they are brainstorming on new ways to use this GAC card. The way it is set up now is an even EASIER way for those awful people to cheat the system. You hear people with the new GAC cards say, "Screw going to the kiosk, write your own time in." You have a big group of people who get multiple GAC's and they all get different times for different rides and they all take turns getting later times. 

While getting a time to be able for Hailey to go on the Storybook ride I go up to the cast member at the kiosk and ask for a time. He said that the wait for that ride is only 1/2 hour that I should ask for a time for Splash Mountain or Star Tours that have wait times of over an hour. I tell him I'm not here to ride the rides for me, I'm here for my daughter and she wants the storybook ride. I think he thought I wasn't taken advantage of the pass. Another issue we had was at the kiosk when a cast member gave us a time for a ride and wrote the time in blue ink. When we go and redeem the time we are scolded because times are only written in BLACK ink and any other ink it's considered fraudulent and that time gets voided and you must get another time. That was NOT our fault! The Disneyland EMPLOYEE did it. When I went back to have a word with that cast member she was gone. I did find her the next day and tell her the grief and annoyance her mistake caused us and I also told guest services how appalled I was that I was accused of writing in my own time. To make up for THEIR mistake they gave me a pass that let us go on any ride we wanted with NO wait. 

Like I said before in my first post about going to Disneyland, there are only a handful of rides Hailey is able to go on and that she likes. Maybe Disneyland can take this into consideration and have kids with certain disabilities pick 5 or 10 favorite rides and have us have passes that we don't have to wait for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes in-between to go on. Hailey would be perfectly happy going on the Little Mermaid ride 10 times instead of the 3 times we were able to because of the wait times in-between going to the kiosks. If they did this in conjunction with the GAC pass that might be an idea!

I know that the American Disabilites Act doesn't allow for any kind of proof of disability so if you say you have a disability they take your word for it.
One more thing that we experienced was when we went to see the Aladdin Musical. Strollers are NOT allowed. Wheelchairs are. A lady had her child sleeping in his stroller and she wanted to take the stroller into the show. The cast member told her strollers aren't allowed. The woman said that she could not carry her child into the show and she wanted him to remain asleep so she asked again to take the stroller into the show. Again she was told strollers aren't allowed and the women said that if wheelchairs are allowed strollers should be as well. The cast member asked if the stroller is a wheelchair? If it is that is fine but you need to get a special tag from guest services." The women said no, that the child is asleep and she can not carry him as he is too heavy for her to lift. I could not help myself from saying that, "sleeping is not a disability." This woman started FUMING! She asked for the cast members name and said that she wants to speak to a manager. The cast member told her name and even how to spell it. I mean, you don't even have to be a parent of a child with a physical disability to know that conversation should not have even taken place.

With this new system in place a person in a wheelchair can NOT enter through the wheelchair entrance without first getting a return time. Isn't the purpose of the wheelchair entrance is so a person in a wheelchair may enter through there? That is how it was previously and it seemed to have worked pretty well. Now, not at ALL!? It's very frustrating. 

There were the cast members that went above and beyond to make sure that we at least felt like we were being heard with our questions and concerns. We saved up ALL year long to be able to take Hailey on a short vacation to celebrate such a special occasion to us as her Make a Wish Anniversary, to be able to continue to create these precious memories with our terminally ill daughter. Some of the memories I have from this trip I don't want. We did our best to make the most out of this trip with our daughter. At the end of the trip we simply ended up leaving early and spending time talking with other families and taking Hailey to watch movies in the concierge area. I don't think I could pay Josh to do this all over again. 

The people at Disney just need to put their heads together and get this taken care of immediately. If they need help from the people that this effects then ASK FOR INPUT. I'm more then happy to help lend my insight and opinion on these matters. 

I imagine all the hoops I have to jump through to prove Hailey has a disability even though it's completely obvious when I apply for different services. I have to supply doctors reports, proof of prescriptions, I argue with insurance companies. I wouldn't claim my daughter was disabled if she was NOT. I have to live this nightmare fighting for my daughter EVERYDAY. I shouldn't have to fight for her to go on a couple of rides at the "Happiest Place on Earth..."





Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Disneyland 2014 - Day 1

I know that a lot of people are curious about the new "Accommodations Pass" that has be enforced at Disneyland as of this year. I will talk about that, but it'll be it's own post. I don't want the negativity of our experience with that pass combined with the time we spent as a family. That post goes live within the next few days. Carrying on...

Disneyland Day 1 -

Before you go to Disneyland there are a few things I find to be necessary. First you MUST have either a cute hair style, cute bows in your hair, or you have to wear Mickey ears. For our first day Hailey wanted to  wear her Minnie Ears. I decided a cute addition to those Minnie Ears would be a bow made with Hailey's own hair! I watched a video on YouTube on how to do it and it was TO easy not to do. I loved it, Hailey loved it, and it sure brought some attention to us!


Next, being at such a public place as Disneyland you MUST wear a Disney theme shirt or a Hugs for Hailey shirt. We want to share our story, we want to start conversation, we want people to see how far Hailey has come and the obstacles she faces on a daily basis.
Trying to find suitable rides for Hailey can be tricky. Since we've been before we knew the majority of the rides Hailey could go on and we know that most of those rides are at Disney California Adventure. Since there is literally only a handful of rides Hailey can enjoy we also plan our day around the shows they offer.

One of the rides that Hailey really enjoyed was Luigi's Flying Tires. It's a mellow ride which you control the movement of. It's like your a puck on a giant air hockey table. This was her first time on the ride and she was worried at first, but after she figured out you don't really have to go anywhere and if you do you aren't going fast she started enjoying it. The first time she went with Josh, the other 3 or 4 times we went all together.
 Another highlight for Hailey is seeing all the characters. You can even ask the photographer to have the CARS turn down their sounds for sensitive kids. Mater, McQueen and Red like to rev their engines and honk their horns in excitement to see you and you can have them turn that off, which we did. They will even wait until you are far enough away to turn back on for the next guest.

 Hailey is SO funny how she talks to the characters. She could carry on a 10 minute conversation with each one. She tells everyone how old she is, how to spell her name and that I'm her mom and the guy with us is her Josh.
 I was so happy when I took this picture below and looked at it in the camera. She looks like a healthy "regular" little girl. She wasn't ataxic, she was standing on her own, you can't see her feeding tube, she's out of her wheelchair. Yes I got teary eyed and I still do when I look at it. I imagine for a short moment how different our lives could be. This picture gives me a glimpse into that world and I get sad wanting to be living in that world with a healthy daughter. It's only for a moment. I know that's not our life, but I'm happy I saw it, if just a for a few short seconds. It's almost a mirage.

Another Hailey friendly ride is Heimlich's chew chew train. It's a very easy going interactive train ride. As you ride on a friendly caterpillar he takes you through the oversized giant favorite foods of his. As you go through a watermelon you smell watermelon. As you go through the box of animal crackers you smell vanilla. It's less then a minute for the complete ride but it's a favorite of ours.

 Finding the characters can be a HUGE task! Once you find them you see the long lines and you wonder if you should just skip it? We usually take turns standing in the line while the other one takes Hailey into a store. Hailey has an obsession with getting autographs. It's one of her most favorite things to do. Besides, we've gotten very good at making friends in those awful lines!

Hailey did NOT want to take pictures in her wheelchair. It was with us the whole time and she sat in it as we strolled, but she wanted OUT when it was time for a picture. Since we spent our morning at California Adventure and couldn't find very many characters we headed over to Disneyland to see who we could find.
 Jasmine, Aladin, and Genie are kind of hidden. You can find them over next to the Jungle cruise in their own little area. I love how Hailey feels that these characters are there JUST FOR HER. She takes their hand and knows the drill. Autograph, Smile, Photo, Go.

 As I said before Disneyland doesn't have Hailey friendly rides as you might assume. Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Mr. Toads Wild ride, King Arthurs Carousel, Tea cups, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo. All those rides are a NO go for Hailey. They are either rough/jerky, spin and cause dizziness, or have black light or strobe lights. She can't do any of those. I almost didn't know if she could even do Mark Twains Boat ride. I didn't know if she'd get motion sick (like me) but we tried it and she LOVED it. Her great grandpa was a avid boater so she must have his genes to be a boat lover.

Speaking of boats...Hailey LOVES the Jungle Cruise! She thought this boat ride was great. The animals were funny to her she laughed and laughed. We did this multiple times as well.


Another boat ride Hailey was weary about was the Storybook ride. When she saw that all these people pile into a boat and go into a Whale's mouth she panicked! She literally saw the people go in to Monstro's mouth and she covers her mouth with her hand and screams, "NO!!!!" So we had to make sure that she saw that the same people made it safely back to shore and that the whale didn't in fact eat all those people. We took her on it and she was fine until she got closer to the Whales mouth, then she freaked, then calmed right down once we were out and the story houses were around us. 
It's a Small World hasn't been open the 3 times we've taken Hailey to Disneyland. Isn't that super odd?
We thought since Hailey had been liking boat rides she might like Pirates of the Caribbean. Well..she did until you go down the water slide in the dark. I didn't remember it being as big as it was. I didn't blame her for not liking that one. Sorry my child, my bad...

Hailey was pretty wiped out and the sun hadn't even began to set. We decided to pack it on up and we'd watch the fireworks from the balcony by the pool. When we got to the room Hailey's eye's lit up as she saw her bed. The housekeeping staff went above and beyond putting Hailey's toys on the bed and adding balloon animals, chocolates, rubber duckies, and crayons and coloring pages. That was very fun to see and Hailey LOVED it! 
Tomorrow would be day 2 and we have a big surprise in store for our girl and I can't wait to tell you about some GREAT people we met!!!!

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Our Trip to California First Stop Build a Bear

We were so beyond excited to tell Hailey that we were going to get to go to California to do some SUPER fun things for her Make a Wish Anniversary that was coming up. The actual date of her anniversary is April 7th, but we planned to go a little earlier so that the weather would be nicer.  Last year we stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel, this year we stayed at the Paradise Pier Hotel. It was a great hotel, but if I get to pick our hotel next time we are going back to Grand Californian. It's just easier to stay closer to the park with medications, feedings, and diaper changes!

Checking into the hotel they had some fun buttons and surprises waiting for Hailey. She even got an autograph picture of Cinderella! 





Hailey was pretty excited about the decor of the hotel rooms. The beach ball pillows were a big hit and were played with every moment we were in the room.  We happen to be on the same floor as the pool and you were able to see the fireworks from the balcony.

 Our first stop on the list of SUPER fun things to do was take Hailey to Build a Bear. Our child LOVES this place. Not only do we have to stop by every time we walk passed in the mall we have to listen to Hailey cry every time we have to leave. I almost want to make detours so we don't have to pass BAB when we go to the mall, but she loves the place so much I can't bring myself to do it...


 She got to pick which Bear she wanted to build, but if you know Hailey, you know that if she has a choice between a bear and a pony, she's going pony. She LOVES horses as you all know. It was an easy choice. A pink pony = Hailey



 Hailey knew exactly what to do when it came time to build the bear pony ceremony. She loves the story that the person helping tells you:

Pick a heart for your animal...

Rub it on your nose so your animal smells nice?

Rub the heart on your cheek so it will have your smile...

Hold it tight and MAKE A WISH for your animal.

Give it a hug to make sure it's got plenty of stuffing...


Hailey LOVED every minute of picking her new friend and getting it all ready to get dressed and come home with us.

She got to take her pony to the "bear wash" and fluff it up with air and a brush. She had so much fun doing this. This pony is VERY fluffy, especially after 10 minutes...

Hailey was FULL of smiles at Build a Bear. She was very excited that we let her pick out clothes and shoes for her pony.

Hailey wanted Pinky Pie (the pony's name) to have the same shoes as her. So it shall be!! Pinkie Pie was dressed in pink sneakers JUST like Hailey!

My happy girl getting to take Pinkie Pie back to the hotel with us. I also posted a tweet while we were there because every tweet with #sharebabwwishes $1 was donated to the Make a Wish Foundation. I was happy to see our tweet recognized by Build a Bear as they favorited our tweet. (if you are on twitter that made sense. If you are not on twitter that was pretty confusing...LOL!)


If Hailey thought a couple hours at Build a Bear was fun she was in for a BIG treat the next day. We made sure to get to bed early so that we could wake up early and head into the park! Disneyland HERE WE COME!!!