Gymkata!

A simple deterrent

On the way home from church today, we saw a police car zoom by with his lights and siren on. Zach said he must have been chasing a robber or going to help somebody. Then he was quiet for a few moments and said "I wouldn't want to be a robber because I like to snuggle with Mommy".

Sigh, does it get any sweeter? And don't you wish they would always stay that innocent? :)

Preschool Christmas Fun

Zach and Ava are part of a home preschool which consists of four other children from our church. We meet every Tuesday and usually our teaching theme is a different letter each week. Well, this week, we focused on learning about Christmas and doing all sorts of Christmas activities. The kids decorated Christmas cookies, made some Christmas stockings and listened to two different stories. The first was called "Mortimer's Christmas Manger" which was a precious story about a little mouse who stumbles upon a nativity set and the other story, of course, was the birth of Jesus. To make it more interactive and fun, April (William's mommy) brought props and costumes for the kids to dress up. The kids had a ball and all the mom's were taking pictures since the kids looked ADORABLE!! Here are a few pictures from our fun day!

The kids had fun with their stocking craft

It's hard to get five kids to look and smile all at once! :)

William, Carter, Zach and Ava listen intently to "Mortimer's Christmas Manger"

The cutest little Joseph and Mary

Carter the "Wise Man"', Zach as "Joseph", Ava as "Mary", Chloe the "Angel" and William the "Shepherd"...how cute is this picture??

Chloe, Carter and Zach love hearing about baby Jesus

(Leanne, we missed you and Sam today, it wasn't the same without you guys there!!)

A Whole New World!!

Is she sassy or what?

We picked up Ava's glasses today! Besides looking very cute, she can see so much better! When she first got them on and we left the store, she just stared at the ground as we walked, studying the carpet...I think she could see so much more detail! She was very excited (we'll see how long that lasts!) and seemed to be amazed that she could see and focus on things. We did get two pair, with scratch resistant and non-glare lenses, and it will be interesting (and frustrating) to see how long they last. I am liking the non-glare, as you can see from the pictures, there is no reflection from the flash! So far, she has kept the glasses on all day and not complained but I know it's not going to be that easy, we are talking about Ava here! :) But isn't she adorable?

1 year old!!!

Today is Renee's birthday! My how the past year has flown! I can't believe it's already Christmas time again when it seems like just yesterday I went into labor with her while standing in line for pictures with Santa!

Renee is such a blessing to our family, we love her so much and she brings tons of joy to our household! She is a feisty one, if she doesn't like something or wants her way, she will let you know! She finally said her first words, "uh oh" and "da da" (although it sounds more like "duh duh"!), she can pull up and cruise all over the place and climbs all over things...she is a daredevil! She can walk with her walker too...but I think it will be awhile before she takes some solo steps (my guess is 16 months, she will be walking).

12 months old!

She just today drank out of a sippy cup (more than one sip!) and downed about half of it...now if she would stop being lazy and do a better job at holding her bottles and cups! She loves to wave and tries to blow kisses but doesn't quite get the hand motion down. She can also point to Daddy and Mommy's noses when we ask her to. Peekaboo is a favorite game, she loves to cover her face up but Zach and Ava are still her favorite toys.

Jeff and I have definitely noticed that she is more cuddly these days, she will actually lay her head on our shoulder when she is tired and let us rock her. She still loves her dolly and will immediately put her left thumb in her mouth if you give her a blanket. It's very cute!

We had a split birthday party on Thanksgiving (one at my brother's house and one at Jeff's parents house) but she was not interested at all, thank you very much! She did not like that cake in front of her and was pretty vocal about it. Oh well, we tried!

Sister tried to give her a taste

I can't wait to see what the next year holds for our youngest child, I know there are so many milestones she will reach! I am excited to hear her start talking more, hear what her voice will sound like, seeing her walk and also seeing what she will look like with more hair (will it be straight like Zach's or curly like Ava's?).

Playing in the leaves at Kennesaw Mountain

Happy Birthday Renee, we love you so much!!!

Disney Day 7- Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney

Since Gaga and Papaw had spent the day before with our family, they were going to spend the day at Sea World with Kara's family. So, we were on our own and honestly, the day started out rainy so we thought it was going to be spent at the house. We went ahead and laid Renee down for a morning nap and watched the weather to figure out how we would spend our last day.

Thankfully, the rain slacked off to a light drizzle so we decided to go back to the Magic Kingdom one more time. We packed our hats, rain coats, a few diapers and snacks and once the baby woke up, we all hopped in the van and headed out. Once we parked, however, we discovered we had forgotten the stroller for Zach and Ava!!! Jeff would carry Renee in the Bjorn but we knew the kids would not be able to traverse the park on foot for very long so we decided we would just rent a double stroller inside the park.

At the entrance to the Magic Kingdom

Once in the park, we got a stroller ($31 for one day rental!!!!!!!) and headed straight to Tomorrowland. We had not spent much time in this section of the park so we found a great spot to park the stroller where it was covered in case it started raining (which it did on and off) and immediately got in line for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. The kids loved this one because it felt like we were inside our own video game! We had to shoot aliens and our car kept score of how many we hit! It was alot of fun!

After that, it started raining a little harder so we hopped on the Tomorroland Transit Authority which takes you on a leisurely ride all around Tomorrowland and even through Space Mountain. It was nice to sit for awhile and see all the sights and also be protected from the rain (its covered the whole time).

Once that was over, we collected our stroller and headed over to Mickey's Toontown Fair. The kids had fun playing at a playground over there, it was good for them to get some energy out while I fed the baby and Daddy went looking for some food for us to eat. For lunch, we enjoyed hot dogs and french fries and then headed to The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm for the kids first ride on a roller coaster! Ava and I went first while Daddy, Zach and Renee waited at the exit for us (obviously, Renee couldn't ride so we got a swap pass that let Jeff and Zach get on once we got off). We were excited to get the front seats of the ride (the cars were little airplanes) and I was surprised at how fast the ride was but Ava loved it! Jeff and Zach rode it next and he was also a big fan! We were glad because we really want our kids to like coasters like we do...this one was a great introduction for them.

Next, it was time for a rest again (and the rain was starting up) so we jumped on the Walt Disney World Railroad which took us all around the park. The kids enjoyed seeing all the sights although the train whistle was a little loud for them. It was, surprisingly, a quick trip around the entire park and we were once again at Mickey's Toontown Fair.

Eating our lunch at the playground

After Ava's first rollercoaster ride, all smiles!

They didn't like that train whistle!

Once we hopped off, we collected our stroller and decided to let the kids pick what rides they wanted to do once more. So, we were off to Fantasyland for Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella's Carousel (Renee's first carousel ride-she loved it!), Dumbo and It's a Small World. This was absolutely the best day for crowds and lines, I think the rain kept people away because we walked right on every one of the rides in Fantasyland!

Winnie the Pooh (I forgot to get rid of the red eyes!)

Don't let his expression fool you, Zach did like the Pooh ride, just not the dream sequence part!

Renee loved her first carousel ride! What a big girl!

Dumbo again!

And of course, It's a Small World for Ava one last time!

Once we had done all that, the kids were starting to get tired so we made our way to Adventureland so Zach could ride Pirates of the Caribbean once more. We planned to leave after that but we saw that there was no line for The Magic Carpets of Aladdin so Zach, Ava and I hopped on while Daddy waited with Renee (she was getting a little fussy). We enjoyed our last ride at the Magic Kingdom and then we called it a day.

Our other princess in training! :)

That night, Papaw stayed at home with Renee while the rest of us headed out to Downtown Disney. We ate a fantastic dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Express (the Chicken Tortilla was unbelieveable!!) then headed to the stores to let the kids pick out some souvenirs. We went to the World of Disney (you could spend hours in there and also possibly get lost)where Zach chose a pirate sword, hook, and telescope (of course, he was in pirate mode all week) and he chose a little stuffed Tigger he called Tiggy. :) Ava chose a Jasmine necklace and a make-your-own princess wand. Ava loves Snow White so she made her wand with a Snow White theme. We walked around a bit more after that and then decided it was time to call it a night. Ava even fell asleep on the way home, she was exhausted!

Playing with Potato Heads

Stuffing a box full of My Little Pony princess clothes!

Ava and Sleeping Beauty aka Aurora aka Briar Rose

Ava's twin

Hangin with Daddy in Downtown Disney

Pirate in training...arrr!

Natalie, Zach, Kate and Ava with their animals. They had a blast playing together for a whole week!

We had a magical time at Disney World, it was such a wonderful vacation and our kids did great (considering their ages!) and we loved spending a week with Jeff's family. The kids are already asking when we can go back. Thanks for the trip Gaga and Papaw!!!

Disney Day 6- Back to the Magic Kingdom

On Thursday, Kara's family decided to do Downtown Disney rather than a theme park so Gaga and Papaw joined us for another day at Magic Kingdom. Now that we had been there twice, we had our game plan of what we wanted to do. There were several things the kids wanted to ride again so we immediately headed to Fantasyland and walked right on the Winnie the Pooh ride. The kids loved riding in the honeypots and (with the exception of the weird dream sequence at the end which really didn't seem to fit with the ride), they really enjoyed this one. Plus, as we got off the ride, we were handed FREE Mickey Ears hats! Can't beat free at Disney!

Here are Daddy and Renee modeling their new Ears!

Then we decided to head over to the Haunted Mansion before the line got long. We walked right in there too (Thursday was a good day for crowds). Ava, Papaw and I rode in the same car together and I could sense her tension immediately, I knew she wasn't going to be a big fan. It is really dark with some startling noises and images (amazing what you don't remember from childhood) so Papaw and I tried to make it silly for her but she wasn't buying it! She kept saying "when are we gonna be back outside?" and "I don't think I like this ride". Thankfully, she got through it ok (no crying) but we could tell she needed something to take her mind off of it...so of course it was back to "It's A Small World" ride! Just like our second day at Magic Kingdom when she did not like Mickey's PhilharMagic, the Small World ride was the perfect cure! She was definitely in good spirits after a ride through the tunnel of singing dolls!

After that, we rode Peter Pan and Dumbo (both short lines) and then Ava and Zach wanted to ride Cinderella's Carousel. This was probably the fastest line in Disney that day! We walked right on and immediately rode it again! They LOVED it!

Zach and Papaw on Dumbo

Ava and Gaga on Dumbo

Posing together on the Dumbo right outside the ride

Mommy and Ava on Cinderella's Carousel

Daddy having fun on the Carousel

Zach loved it!

Next, it was time to hunt down some lunch so we headed over to Frontierland to look for some grub. Renee was getting very fussy at this point and actually had a full-fledged meltdown in the Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe so we took turns with her outside. We figured she was tired so we tried to lay her down in the stroller which had worked the whole week but not this day...if we had only looked in her diaper sooner!!! Doh! Once she had on a clean diaper, she was fine!! Have I mentioned what a good baby she was on this trip??

We took this exact picture 10 years before on our honeymoon...I will have to scan it in and compare the two sometime

Our family after 10 years of marriage!

After lunch, it was time to head to Adventureland. We went straight to the Jungle Cruise and enjoyed a leisurely boat ride and some laughs with our funny boat pilot. We all had fun and it was nice to sit for a bit.

Next, it was Pirates of the Caribbean again (who do you think chose this one???) and then Jeff and I headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad while the kids stayed with Gaga and Papaw.

On the way to the Pirate ride, who should we run into again but Captain Hook!

On Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with major hat hair!

We met back up just in time to head over to Main St to see the "Dreams Come True" Parade which the kids loved of course...Renee went a little nuts kicking her legs and waving her arms...she is clearly a parade aficianado!! After that, it was time to call it a day! We had to rest up for our final day at Disney World!!

A family pic in front of the castle...although Ava wasn't in the mood

Mickey in the "Dreams Come True" parade

Ava's parade wave again

The best seats in the house for little ones

Superdad again!