Hello hello hello! So I'm glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter and I have to ask you to bear with me through this one haha. I've never been to Paris so consequently I've never been to Disneyland Paris. Thus, I'm relying on the internet for all my info. Also I only took one year of French in high school (I was a Spanish girl, myself) so if my French sucks, don't shoot me. Okay, we got that out of the way? Fabulous. On with the show!

The lyrics today come from the "Wishes Soundtrack" from Disney World. "Wishes" is the nightly fireworks spectacular at the Magic Kingdom and although it's not specific to Disneyland Paris, I still felt it was necessary. Plus it sets the mood nicely, I think. Enjoy!

so make a wish and do as dreamers do

On the morning of her fifth birthday, Grace awakens at four-thirty. She makes her bed as she was taught, pulls on her sparkling gold Belle dress and yanks a brush through her multitude of curls. A birthday crown sits upon her dresser and she doesn't hesitate to scoop her hair into a half-ponytail and place the tiara upon her head. Plastic heels make the outfit, she decides, and when she's satisfied with her appearance, she tears open her bedroom door and scurries down the hall to her parents' bedroom. They're still fast asleep and Grace frowns when she realizes their excitement doesn't match her own. She approaches the bed and hops on top, shaking them both awake and shouting, "Mommy! Daddy! Come on! It's time to go to Belle's castle!"

Toby and Spencer had promised to take Grace to Disneyland Paris to celebrate her birthday and she was so excited she could barely contain herself. However, since the park didn't open for another three and a half hours, she would have to learn self-control. Toby yawns and says, "Gracie, we've still got a few hours before we can go see Belle."

"Yeah, she's probably still fast asleep," Spencer tells her and then smirks at the sight of her daughter's haphazardly arranged hairstyle. "You did your own hair, huh?"

"Just like Belle's," Grace announces. "Don't touch it!"

"I wouldn't want to mess it up," Spencer replies. "But your hair's all tangled at the bottom. You look more like Rapunzel than Belle today."

Grace's eyes widen. "Do you think Rapunzel will be there too?"

"I bet all of your princesses will be there," Toby tells her and guides her towards the bed so she's lying between them. "But we've got a few hours, so you might as well get all rested before you can meet them."

Grace rubs her eyes. "But I'm not tired anymore. I'm too excited to sleep!"

"I know you are," Her father nods. "But even princesses need their beauty sleep."

She obliges begrudgingly and actually does manage to sleep for another hour or two before she's up for good. It's January so of course it's absolutely freezing outside, but Grace still insists upon dressing like Belle ever since her parents had made the mistake of telling her Belle's castle lies at the heart of Disneyland Paris. Spencer gives her an option, then- long-sleeves beneath the dress or a jacket on top, because though the sun is shining and it appears to be pleasant outside, it's still winter and there's still a thin layer of snow and ice upon the ground. She chooses the jacket, reluctantly allows Spencer to detangle her hair, and then they're on their way to Disneyland Paris for all her birthday activities.

Grace is giddy from the moment they leave the apartment to the moment they're through the gates. But when she sees Belle's castle at the end of Main Street U.S.A., her giddiness fades into pure awe and her parents wouldn't trade the look on her face for anything in the world. They take a handful of pictures outside the castle before acquiring a park map and attempting to get their bearings. Disneyland Paris is much smaller than the Magic Kingdom in Orlando and it's smaller than Disneyland in Anaheim as well, so it shouldn't take them too long to conquer everything Grace desires. She hops impatiently a bit and asks,

"What are we going to do?"

"We can do whatever you want," Toby tells her. "Look at the map and tell me what you want to do."

She considers it for a moment before pointing and saying, "Buzz Lightyear! We have to go ride Buzz Lightyear!"

And so they do. Discoveryland has a selection of rides she's too short for, but Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast is right up her alley. They board their space ship and shoot all the robots and aliens with their lasers to defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg. It's actually pretty enjoyable, so when they're through, they decide to ride it again. Paris in January is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, but it's also very cold, so Disneyland Paris is fairly empty and the lines are pretty short; wait times never rise over twenty minutes the entire time they're there. It's off to Frontierland when they're through and, if possible, Grace's excitement increases ten-fold when she sees a russet brown coaster speeding through a goldmine.

"What's that?" She asks in awe and Spencer laughs a bit.

"That is Big Thunder Mountain," She informs her. "And it is super fun."

"Is it scary?" Grace wonders. "It looks really fast!"

"It's not scary," Spencer promises her. "It is kind of fast but it's pretty fun, if you want to do it."

She nods so fast her crown bounces a bit on her head. "I want to do it!"

She takes off towards the line without a second glance and Toby laughs as the two follow her. "She's far too much."

"How many parenting points do you think we're getting for this?" Spencer implores teasingly. "I mean, best birthday ever, right? What do we win?"

"Everything's always about winning with you," He teases right back. "We win a happy little five-year-old, that's what."

And happy she is. When the "wildest ride in the wilderness" takes off, she's gripping the lap bar a bit nervously. But once they begin ascending, dropping, and tearing around turns, laughter peals from her lips and she throws her hands excitedly in the air. She's absolutely enjoying herself and she loves the ride so much that when they get off, she asks to ride again. They ride it twice more. Her parents are both sure that there would have been a fourth time had she not gotten preoccupied by the gloomy looking house a few hundred feet away. She's drawn to it and when they get in line and hear the ominous music, she once again asks,

"Is it scary?"

"Well it's not called Phantom Manor for nothing," Toby jokes but upon seeing her uneasiness, he assures her, "I'm sure it's a fun kind of scary. But if you don't want to ride it, we don't have to."

"No, I do want to ride it," She insists, but grips Spencer's hand a little tighter as they edge closer to the boarding platform. "I just don't want to be scared."

"Well you're the bravest little princess I know," Spencer tells her. "I bet nothing will be able to scare you."

Grace nods but says, "Hold my hand just in case."

"I won't let go," Her mother promises.

As it turns out, her parents had been right. Grace went from apprehensive to amused in the shortest time span. The grinning ghosts and goblins had only entertained her; when they depart she says, "That wasn't even scary!"

"I told you that you'd be fine!"

"What do you want to do next?"

"Um," She giggles. "Big Thunder Mountain!"

So they ride it twice more and bring her count up to five and that's how the rest of their day goes. They stop for lunch in Adventureland and when they're finished, they conquer Captain Barbossa and find Jack Sparrow on Pirates of the Caribbean. They watch the parade sing and dance its way down Main Street U.S.A. and Mickey Mouse blows Grace a kiss, which absolutely makes her day. All around, cast members note the pin attached to her dress and wish her a joyeux anniversaire and she responds with a docile merci. They spend their afternoon in Fantasyland, riding Dumbo, the teacups, Peter Pan's Flight, Alice's Curious Labyrinth and, of course, the ever-nauseatingly saccharine It's A Small World. Grace loves that one most and unfortunately for her parents, begs to ride it twice. As the birthday princess, they grant her that wish and try hard to ignore the song that will be stuck in their heads for days afterwards.

They have a good half hour until their dinner reservation, so of course Grace suggests they pass the time with Big Thunder just one more time. By the time they've finished, they're starving and more than ready for their dinner with Disney royalty at the Auberge de Cendrillon. They're seated right in the middle of the royal banquet hall and it isn't long before the princesses make their presence known all around them. Grace eats two, maybe three bites of her macaroni and cheese; she's far too busy meeting and interacting with Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Jasmine to worry about her dinner.

She's just finished her meet and greet with Ariel when she says, "I wish Belle was here too."

Toby smirks and nods behind her. "Don't freak out, Gracie, but she's right behind you."

Grace nearly falls out of her chair with excitement. Belle notes the button on her dress and says, "Happy birthday, Princess Grace! You look so pretty dressed just like me! Where are you from?"

Grace is still in awe, so Spencer answers, "We're from the United States. Pennsylvania, actually."

"Oh, Pennsylvania, that sounds magnificent," Belle comments. "So that's where you learned to speak English so well?"

"Je parle français aussi," Grace tells her quietly. "Un peu."

"C'est bien! C'est bien!" Belle says jovially. "Maybe you can come stay in the castle with me. Would you like that?"

Grace nods fiercely. Belle grins, "Oh, I'm sure the Beast wouldn't mind. We love to have visitors!"

She gives Grace a huge hug and poses for a picture before saying, "Joyeux anniversaire princesse Grâce. Je vous verrai bientôt!"

"How was that?" Spencer asks and Grace's face says it all.

"She's the best," She grins. "I love Belle."

It's dark when they leave the royal hall and Grace is beginning to show signs of exhaustion. She insists she's awake, however, and pleads to ride Big Thunder Mountain just once more before they depart. There's no line, though, so they ride it twice and bring their count up to the magic number eight. As they're strolling by the castle, the lights all but go out and magnificent fireworks start to burst through the sky. It's the perfect way to put an end cap on the night and Grace's tired eyes are saucers as they watch colors explode right before her eyes. She talks of nothing else but her magical day at Disneyland Paris as they exit the gates and falls asleep in Toby's arms minutes after they've boarded the metro towards home.

Spencer pushes the hair out of her daughter's eyes and chuckles. "She's drooling so hard on your shoulder right now."

"Trust me, I feel it," He grins. "She had a long day. A pretty successful one, too. I don't think any birthday will be able to top that."

"No, you can't get much better than Disneyland," Spencer comments and then sighs. "Can you believe she's five already?"

"Don't even go there," Toby shakes his head. "I don't know when she grew up, but I missed it."

"You blinked," Spencer tells him. "Didn't I warn you never to blink? Everything always goes by faster than you want it to."

"Isn't that the truth?" He states. "You think we should have another one?"

"I'm not opposed to it," She tells him. "We've never really talked about it before."

"Well think about it," He says. "She's starting kindergarten in the fall. Like it or not, our baby's gone."

"She'll always be our baby," Spencer disagrees. "But I see what you're saying. I miss when she was tiny and had that little squeaky voice, you know?"

"I miss going to get her out of the crib in the morning and finding her standing there waiting impatiently," Toby chuckles at the memory. "But every time you greeted her, she always got so excited and bounced up and down."

"I miss her little baby laugh," Spencer frowns. "It would be nice to have a little baby again."

"Grace is such a teenager already I think she'd be a good big sister."

"She is a great helper…"

Their eyes come to rest on their little girl before Spencer shakes her head, her senses coming back to her. "We are not making this important life decision on the metro."

"No, that would be ridiculous," He agrees. "But it's something to think about."

Let them be little, that old Billie Dean song preaches. 'Cause they're only that way for a while. Somehow, their squealing little infant had turned five years old today. Toby and Spencer had never really thought about it before, but perhaps Billie Dean was on to something.