Birthday in Animal Kingdom, and Wild Ones!

Well.
Disney has seen US! Today was my sweet baby girl's birthday, and we had fun! She got to choose ALL day...We went to WM early this morning so she could pick a cake, and she chose cupcakes with buttercream frosting and butterfly rings on top! Woohoo! more groceries, then home to pick up Ches and Clay..
Then to Animal Kingdom, have Rainforest hold the cupcakes, get signed in for her *birthday*! (If you've registered in advance for your birthday, you can choose free one day pass, Fastpass all day-my choice!, or a $63 Disney gift card for the shops) and she chose the gift card so she could buy a Cinderella's Castle! So, we went into Dinoland, USA, played in the Boneyard play area, then rode the Triceratops Spin (or Twirl? it goes around..), then headed toward the Rainforest Cafe for our noon reservation. They got to watch the fish, we got a booth (for Ethan to get exercise, apparently!), and ordered. They came and sang Happy Birthday to Mary Claire, and brought her an ice cream sundae with a candle-which really made her smile! Then we requested the cupcakes we'd brought in, so the waitress dressed them up on a plate! : ) Another big smile! She was on cloud nine!
We separated and Ches took Ethan to the safari and the train, and we went to get Fastpasses at Expedition Everest, only to discover it (fastpass) was closed. Mary Claire really wanted to ride (to redeem herself after last year's crying, maybe?), so we WaiTeD! for 65 minutes. It wasn't so bad, but I was really wishing for those fastpasses! We'd gotten fastpasses (no line needed, BTW) to Dinosaur the ride, but they were for 11:55-12:55, the entire time we were in the restaurant!! So, no Dinosaur this time.
Then we walked, had drinks, left, came back to the hotel for naps. When we were all rested, we swam, got dressed, and headed to Magic Kingdom for the Wishes fireworks! It was great again this year. The newest? Heart-shaped red designs (shapes?) in the fireworks! So cute. There was a fairy godmother shape with wings that Clay really liked too.
We stopped in the Emporium and got a few little things/gifts. The kids had such trouble deciding, and then Mary Claire decided to get the little red Minnie heart-shaped suitcase with stamps, paper, etc. inside. She decided against the castle. ? We were trying to talk her into letting us ship the castle home so we didn't have to take it on the plane, and she knew she couldn't play with it till we got back, so maybe that was it? I just agreed, and she was happy. She can be very easy to get along with when she wants!
Clay, on the other hand, has been very difficult. He's obnoxiously loud, he totally splashed Mary Claire in the face-about 12 times in a row (so she couldn't catch her breath), then yesterday, reached over and squeezed Ethan's hand, and popped his knuckles (and made him cry), and did the same thing to Sissy today. ugh. Why can't he be nice? He is having trouble controlling himself. He's been ultra loud, and he revs up the other kids. There's not a lot to take away (punish him with) when you are in DiSNeY! So, it's been hard. He just doesn't seem to care. Ethan has been very good, doesn't complain, sits in his stroller, and generally seems to be happy to be along for the ride. I really thought he'd stress me out, and complain about being hot, but not once. He gets a little restless before he needs to nap, but is otherwise fine. I know it's a phase, and we are on vacation-it'll be okay when we're back at home, and everything's back in our control.
Speaking of, last night was so nice-it rained for a while, and we came to the room, ordered pizza and got to spend time together since there were no toys (grown up or kids' toys) to distract us. It was just nice. Makes you wonder how it'd be to have not "stuff" in their rooms or even ours. And Mary Claire and Ethan are sharing a room, and doing fine. They went to sleep immediately tonight!
Alrighty, more photos will be below, and we have more fun to come! : )

ps-don't you think that the bath/body bar of soap in a hotel is exactly the same as the facial bar, just a different size?

pps-My new favorite Bath & Body scent is White Citrus! It's awesome, clean, fresh, and aahhh amazing. : ) Does it help that the sales lady massaged the sample into my hands? I just washed my feet, and they feel so refreshed! So that's why Jesus did it! : ) What an amazing feeling.