. Bambina Mia: Rites of Passage

As a native Southern Californian, the first trip to Disneyland is a huge rite of passage. Never a question of if you'll go, only a question of when. And although my sister and nearly all of my mommy friends seem to hold annual passes to the Magic Kingdom, enjoying the park for a couple of hours here or a late afternoon there, I always liked the idea of keeping the big D as something special. A rare treat to look forward to maybe once a year, if that.

So we weren't planning on taking Abs until she was at least three, but my mom surprised us and got tickets for my birthday this year. And it's so funny because I started to tear up a bit when she did. Just the thought of taking my own little one for the first time kinda got me inexplicably misty. So we set a date to go, began talking it up to the babe and headed on down Harbor Boulevard.

Wanting to make her first trip extra special we started the day off at Goofy's Kitchen, where Disney characters come to your table and dance the Twist with diners. At first she was a little overwhelmed coming face to face with these larger than life furry creatures, and understandably so. But soon enough she was in the groove and dancing the frug with Alice in Wonderland.

Go with your instincts, girl.

Then it was off to the park to meet up with my sister, mom and Kailey. First stop was to get Abby her very own pair of those iconic mouse ears. Again, just one of those classic moments.

Brad gets in on the act.

My mom also insisted on getting Abby's silhouette done. She still has my sister and mine from when we were the girls' age and wanted to continue this little family tradition, which I just love. And even though the woman who cut the silhouette was a total crotch, she did a great job.

The rest of the day was spent chasing down big game for autographs (we scored with the Big Mouse first thing), standing in line for kiddy rides (which were all a little darker and creepier than I remembered) and exploring the park. I was really worried that we might have a melt down and have to go home mid-trip, but Abs was a total trooper and had a fantastic time. I really couldn't have asked for more to make this first trip to Disneyland any better.