Over the break our family decided to take an impromptu trip to Disneyland.  The Tiny Dancer is a huge fan of Mickey and his crew and we wanted to spend some quality time so we thought we’d drive down to Anaheim for a quick trip.  Ali and I used to take annual trips before the Tiny Dancer arrived but once we started taking her the way we approach the park is very different.  We used to focus on going on as many rides as we could but now we focus on what the little one wants.  Her favorites are meeting the characters, watching the parade and going on the kiddie rides.   We knew going during the holidays would be super-busy but we still managed to do everything we wanted to do.  I prefer going in the summer when the park is a little less crowded but there’s something about Disneyland during the holidays – it gets transformed into a winter wonderland.

Now that the Tiny Dancer is older I wanted her to experience breakfast with the characters but I thought you could only experience that if you stayed in one of the Disney resorts which are very, very expensive.  Since staying at a Disney hotel was out of our budget, I thought we didn’t have any other options but thankfully I was wrong.  On the last day of our last trip to Disneyland last summer I noticed that the Plaza Inn had a breakfast with characters so I was determined to make it happen for the Tiny Dancer this time around.

I did some research and found out my answers so I thought I would share them with you. You and your family can have “Minnie and Friends – Breakfast in the Park” at the Plaza Inn at Disneyland. If you want to guarantee a seat you should definitely make a reservation for priority seating by calling ahead at (714) 781-DINE or (714) 781-3463.

Our reservation was for 8 A.M. and they recommended getting there about five minutes early. Since the park opens at 8 A.M. you can go through a special entrance that is open earlier. We made it into the park early and once the park opened we were seated within seconds. The Tiny Dancer didn’t have to pay because she was under 3 years of age but my husband and I had to pay $23.99 each. That cost got us a buffet breakfast, three Minnie Mouse Plaza Inn pins (one for each of us), and the joy of seeing the Tiny Dancer so happy to see her favorite Disney characters. It’s a bit pricey, but everything is at Disneyland and it’s one of those gems that is worth it. I think we’ll be having breakfast with Minnie and Friends in the park as long as the Tiny Dancer gets this excited about it…

A few weeks ago we went to see Yo Gabba Gabba! in the early kick-off of their 2013 tour.  The Tiny Dancer loved the show and she had a great time.  She let the sillies out, had a party in her tummy and danced up a storm.  There’s nothing better than seeing my daughter’s smile and laughter at seeing some of her favorite characters sing her favorite songs.  Going to see a Yo Gabba Gabba! show makes for great memories (and photos) so if your kids are fans – this would be a great surprise for them!

Clockwise from top left: Macy’s, Little Marc Jacobs, Janie and Jack, Gymboree

I love this time of year because as I look into the season’s new offerings of holiday dresses, I’m actually also secretly shopping for my Tiny Dancer. This year was difficult as there were so many cute dresses to choose from. You can go for traditional colors like red or white, you can get your little ladies their very first little black dresses or you can get festive and go for something metallic. Whatever you (or your little ladies) choose, I’m sure they will look adorable. Oh, and I did find my Tiny Dancer a dress – I went with the red Polo dress pictured below.

Clockwise from top left: Gymboree, Janie and Jack, Crazy8

Clockwise from top left: Macy’s, Jason Wu for Neiman Marcus x Target, Stella McCartney, Stella McCartney, crewcuts by J.Crew, babyGap

Clockwise from top left: Carters, Old Navy, Zara, Zara, Zara

Clockwise from top left: Rykiel Enfant, Macy’s, Dior,  Janie and Jack, Janie and Jack

Clockwise from top left: Nordstrom, Macy’s, Polo, Laura Ashley, Alex & Alexa

Clockwise from top left: Old Navy, Old Navy, Burberry, Macy’s, Nordstrom

Clockwise from top left: Gymboree, Macy’s, Children Salon, crewcuts by J.Crew

Clockwise from top left: Chloe, babyGap, crewcuts by J.Crew, Janie and Jack, Marchesa for Neiman Marcus x Target, Old Navy

Clockwise from top left: Children Salon, Gymboree, Gymboree, Crazy8, Janie and Jack

One of my favorite childhood toys were Legos. I remember building places for my little Lego people and I especially loved the funny little hats that my little Lego people wore. Fast-forward thirty years and when I had the Tiny Dancer one of the first toys I wanted to get her were Legos. I was happy to learn that since the time I played with them, Lego introduced a line of blocks for younger children – Lego Duplo.

Lego Duplo blocks were one of the first toys we bought for the Tiny Dancer because the beauty of Lego toys is that they are gender-neutral and they inspire creativity. Legos are a wonderful toy to entertain the imaginations of little ones while they play, explore and develop their multiple senses. The Tiny Dancer creates her own world with Lego Duplos and she can play by herself or with us. Sometimes I wonder who likes playing with the Legos more – my husband or the Tiny Dancer. When I was approached by Lego Duplo to buy more Lego Duplo sets for the Tiny Dancer there was no hesitation – I already knew that we were fans.

Courtesy of Lego, I purchased the Lego Duplo Read & Build Let’s Go! Vroom, Lego Duplo Read & Build Grow Caterpillar Grow! and the Lego Duplo Large Brick Box.

The Read & Build sets are a great way to interact with the little ones. Each set comes with a story book and lego pieces. As you read the story, you are prompted to build characters in the story. The Grow Caterpillar Grow! story tells the growth story of a caterpillar and her outdoor friends. Let’s Go! Vroom! allows kids to build vehicles like cars and planes. At the moment, the Tiny Dancer loves vehicles and animals so I focused on those two stories. She didn’t have any of the Read & Build toys her in collection but she really enjoys the stories. It’s a great way for us to play together and she could hear the story over and over and not get tired of it.

We already had some Lego Duplo sets so I also bought the large brick box so she could have more building blocks to add to her other sets. She has a great time with her papa playing with them but sometimes I’ll find her sitting in her room by herself just building stuff on her own. She’s two-and-a-half now and she’s starting to interact with her toys more and I love seeing her role play.

The Tiny Dancer loves her Lego Duplo sets and I’m sure we’ll keep adding to her arsenal of building blocks. She (and her dad) have years of fun ahead of them and the building and playing opportunities are endless.

You can enter for a chance to win $100 worth of LEGO DUPLO products! Here’s how to enter:
Step 1: Go to www.pinterest.com and log onto your account.
Step 2: Go to the Tend by Glam Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/TendByGlam) and click “Pin To Win” tab where you will be provided with the Contest image which you must pin to your Pinterest board.
Step 3: Fill in your email address and click “Submit & Pin”
Step 4: Re-pin the Contest Image to any Pinterest board, along with at least one (1) additional image from among a library of images available on the Tend LEGO DUPLO Pinterest board.

All steps must be completed during the Promotion Period to be eligible as an Entry. Sweeps ends November 30, 2012.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by LEGO DUPLO via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of LEGO DUPLO.

The Tiny Dancer had three days of Halloween fun last week.  It started on Monday when her dancing school had a small Halloween party at the end of dance class.  The kids were welcome to dress up and in the class photo, all the other kids posed for the camera and the Tiny Dancer was jumping around like crazy. I guess that’s what happens when you only eat the icing off of a cupcake (I wonder where she got that from? Let’s just say the apple does not fall far from the tree).

The following day the Tiny Dancer’s Montessori school hosted a small pumpkin patch and the Tiny Dancer got to choose and decorate her own pumpkin with her classmates.  She loved it!

On Halloween, the Tiny Dancer’s school had a Halloween parade and she cried the whole time

Luckily, by the time she got home and it was time to go trick or treating she was in better spirits.  It was her first time trick or treating and we went to the local mall because there was a chance of rain. Many of the stores at the mall had treats for the kids and the mall hosted a party complete with a band which the Tiny Dancer loved.  All in all it was a great Halloween and I can’t wait to see what she’ll want to dress up as next year.  Maybe we’ll do a whole family costume.

Oh, and before I leave you here are the details of the Tiny Dancer’s costume:

Ears: Minnie Ears and Bow headband by Disney
Dress: My Nonna hand-made the dress (Thank you Nonna!)
Tights: Circo
Shoes: Circo

My grandmother made the Minnie Mouse dress this summer as a dress-up play dress but I thought it was too nice for play and figured since the Tiny Dancer loves Minnie she could use it for Halloween. I’ve saved everything my Nonna has made for me and I’m so happy that the Tiny Dancer has something made by Nonna with love.

Everything is cuter when it’s mini – including fashion industry icons. To celebrate the relaunch of their website, Coveteur released this promo video featuring the “Mini Coveteurs”. Happy Friday and enjoy!

For the Tiny Dancer’s birthday my good friend gave the Tiny Dancer a vintage Minnie Mouse sweatshirt with a cut neck and sleeves.  The sweatshirt was a little big and fits like a tunic so I paired it with leggings and sneakers.  The Tiny Dancer’s hair unintentionally came out like she lived in the 80s – side ponytails? Like, totally!  Here’s a breakdown of what she wore…

Top: Vintage Minnie Mouse sweat top
Bottom: First Impressions black leggings
Shoes: Nike Cortez

Last week we had the opportunity to take the Tiny Dancer to see Disney on Ice for the first time. We had seen the commercials on TV and every time the Tiny Dancer saw the commercial she’d get so excited. I didn’t want to splurge on tickets because I just bought tickets to Yo Gabba Gabba! in November but luckily a family friend was able to score tickets through work.

The night of the show I didn’t tell the Tiny Dancer where we were going – I just told her it was a surprise. She knew it was something Disney related as soon as we pulled up to the theater because of the signage and all the kids in costume. We arrived early and the whole time we were there she was screaming for Mickey.

Once the show started the Tiny Dancer was singing and clapping along and was so happy to see her favorite characters. Everyone from Chip n’ Dale, the It’s a Small World dolls and all the Disney Princesses made cameos. The Tiny Dancer loved the show and she’s still mentioning it a week later. I love seeing her happy and I’m so glad we took her to the show. If Disney on Ice is visiting a city near you I definitely recommend it – the kids will love it and it’s the perfect thing to kick start the holiday cheer.

I came across this Nike ad for another post I was doing on MISS, and it brought back vague memories of seeing this back in 1995. The message is so powerful and just as relevant today as it was seventeen years ago. Encourage the little ladies in your life to play, be strong and do what they love.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock lately you’ve probably been hearing a lot about the upcoming presidential election. Mitt Romney has come under fire because he has explicitly stated “I’m sorry, Jim, I’m going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I like PBS. I love Big Bird.” Well if you love Big Bird so much why will you be effectively canceling his show??

If you are among the many Big Bird and PBS supporters you can have your voice heard (1) by not voting for Romney and (2) by walking the Million Puppet March on Saturday, November 3, 2012.  For more information check out the Million Puppet March Facebook page and MillionPuppetMarch.com.