Disney Magic, Day 6: March 14, 2013

Our last day at sea before arriving in Galveston.

Ella, hanging out in the window

The two girls and their twin "Marie" kittens.

The Taco (derived from his nickname "Yacko") relaxing with a train. :)

Brooke and Mickey at the Family Dance Party

(Brooke is the perfect person to take on a cruise ship. This girl will do anything and is not embarrassed at all. LOVE her personality and spunk!)

Lainey was on top of Uncle Greg's shoulders because she was terrified of the crazy looking Goofy dancing near us (not the real Goofy...more like his wild cousin). 

Lunch on the deck. It was about this time that Walker started adamantly telling his uncle Greg "No! We no go to show. We going home! Big boat is taking us home! So I can play my choo-choos!" (Uncle Greg was just trying to tell us that they were going to go to the 2:00 Broadway-style show, and as soon as he started talking, Walker held out his hand as if to stop him from talking and just started arguing with him. By about Day 3, Walker was ready to go home and play with his choo-choo trains and his tracks. He didn't hesitate to tell us that, either!

"It's a Small World After All." :) 

One of the interesting things about the cruise was the many nationalities that were represented by the staff that worked on the ship. Our particular waiters were from St. Lucia and Croatia. :)

This is our assistant waiter, Avril, hugging on the kids. She and the other waiter, Bojan, were so good to us. Every night, before we even sat down for dinner, the kids had their favorite drinks waiting for them, complete with their names written on the lids. It was always Sprite for Lainey, and lemonade for Walker. And the waitstaff was speedy in getting the kids' meals and desserts on the table. Thankfully!

Lainey chased Collin around at dinner...she finally "got" him and kissed him on the cheek. Hilarious! 

And that's all! :) The next day just had us getting up too early, getting off the ship and back onto dry land, and back into our cars for a road trip back to Plano. :) What a fabulous vacation. We'd do it again in a heartbeat. It was a fantastic trip, complete with anything and everything anyone could want. Nobody does it better than Disney! :)

Randomness...

All of my posts these days are random! During this busy season of our lives, my camera is not with me as much as it should be. :)

Thank you, Michelle, for capturing this picture of Lainey at Ella and Wells' first birthday party. :) I appreciate it! 

AND, I've been working with Walker on drawing faces. He's good at drawing the head, the eyes, and the mouth - it's either a straight line, a big open circle (because he's screaming...and Walker will even imitate the sound), or a smiley face. We're working on drawing a body, arms, and legs...right now those arms and legs come out of the head. ;) Yesterday, while we were at dance, he drew this picture and said, "Look! A balega (banana) face!" So this is a picture of a banana with a face. :) Cute! 

A Few iPhone Pictures

The kids played with Pickles, one of the classroom pets at their preschool, while I did some fundraiser work in the office. The kids gave Pickles (who is a hamster) a piece of chocolate. When I finally discovered what they were up to, I took the piece of chocolate out of the cage and let them give him some pretzels instead. I hope he's alive on Monday... :-/ The good news is that he didn't eat much...just a little bit. The kids did succeed in getting Pickles to come out of his tunnel, however. That was their goal, I think. Yummy chocolate!

Somebody still hates his soccer shirt. HATES his soccer shirt. And that's not too strong of a word to describe his feelings about it.

And...some of my favorite people. Sixteen years of friendship, and still going strong. Love you girls. :)

Ben's Race for Re-election

It's that time again...campaign season. Today, at 5:00 p.m., we received some incredible news. Ben does NOT have an opponent this time around! We are thrilled and grateful...and wow. What a relief it is. :) Anyway, last night we had Ben's kickoff party and it was a great success. There was a huge turnout and we couldn't have been more humbled by our friends' and family members' contributions, support, and commitment. We are thankful for each of you! 

Walker kept referring to the party as "Daddy's buhp-day pahty" (Daddy's birthday party)...and Lainey was convinced that grown-up parties are not nearly as fun as kid parties. But I think she had a blast, as did all the other kids. :)

A lot of little friends were there this time around. It was really fun, but really wild. I probably should have looked harder for a sitter to help us with the evening. :-/

The kids were in awe of Ben at the podium. Gage, Lainey, and Ainsley hung out around the podium for much of the speech. 

Mary with Baby Finlay. 3 months old. Tiniest thing EVER. She is a true doll baby!

Marshall Jackson. Ben's sign guy and good friend.

Lainey was eager to get on stage and show her support for her dad.

It was during Daddy's inspiring speech that Walker decided to completely, fully, totally, Titanic-ally wet his pants. He was delivered to me as a screaming, howling, crying mess with very wet pants. He doesn't like having wet pants. Or socks. Or shoes. As a side note... I am surprised at how much urine a boy can hold (and then release). And the whole "in the shoes" thing is new to me...I don't think girls have that problem. Anyway, I didn't get a chance to hear much of Ben's speech because I was trying to put a lid on the drama. We (Kelley and I) changed him right then and there...right by the chicken wings and fruit plate, in front of everyone. A dry diaper (because we didn't have undies) and he was good to go. He ran around without pants, socks, or shoes for quite awhile until another good friend (Jessica) brought him some dry pants. :) Anyway, it's a good story to remember and to tell him when he's a bit older. 

We love this picture. Lainey is in awe of her dad. :)

And, since the color in the picture is so crummy, here it is in black and white.

Walker refused to wear "Daddy's shirt" to the party. He insisted on a "different shirt" because he "no like Daddy's shirt." We thought that since he loved Daddy's signs so much (both kids are really good at spotting them around town) he would like wearing a shirt to match. Not the case. :) As always, the boy is unpredictable!

Lovely poses, don't you think?

Quote of the Day

"I'm not tired, I just can't keep my eyes open."

-Lainey, on the way to gymnastics

*****

As a little side note, I went to see the doctor today and I took the kids with me. We went to the ENT doctor's office, a place with which they are very familiar. He offered to hold my hand as we walked into the office and he kept telling me "no cryin'." He was also convinced that I needed to see the doctor "ke-cause (because) Mommy bumped her ear on the floor." :) He was quite the little motivator and was fascinated with the fact that I needed a "checkup." I love his sweet little self. Especially when he held my hand when I was getting my blood pressure taken. :)

Our Library Friend

 My kids love this statue in our library of a boy reading a book. Walker used to get all confused by it, but now he just thinks it's funny. Today, for some reason, the kids named him "Harper." Okay...

 They love him. :) 

These two confiscated my phone and took some pictures of themselves. I can't help but laugh a little bit. :)

Orange Smiles

Remember doing this? :)

Usually, one day a week, we eat at the gym after my morning workout. Gotta love that cafe attached to the gym... 

I love how Atina, Lainey's friend from the gym, is in the background doing the same thing. :)

Walker is THREE!

Happy Birthday, Buddy! This was a train-heavy birthday. This boy is SET for a while. :) 

Sister was super helpful.

SO excited to receive yet another addition to his train track collection.

  

A little cousin love at Walker's family party this afternoon. We missed you, little Tom (and Anne and Brian)!

Height: 37 inches (50th percentile)

Weight: 31.8 pounds (50th percentile)

He was super excited to have his "buhp-day pahty" (birthday party).

Seriously. SO sweet. It was a crummy picture, but I love it so. He's hugging his three biggest girl cousins...Kate, Brooke, and Cally. :)

Just including this one because of her face. Funny!!

A few notable facts about our sweet boy:

• He's literal. When Ben asks him if he wants to “run around with Daddy” Walker literally thinks they’re gonna run around, not run errands. :) And, if Ben says, “Daddy has a bug [to get something/do something/etc]” – Walker responds with “on your car?” like “Is there a bug on your car?”
• He's a very sensitive little guy...emotional, sensitive, kind, sweet, and caring. Except when he's mad then he's a bit dramatic. He'll still cry and throw himself onto the ground and sometimes he'll yell back at me. For example, when he once got mad at the breakfast that I had made him, he said, "I no like this plate! I no like this food. Dis hot. I want somepin' else."
• His naughty trains are the “cubblesome cucks” (troublesome trucks) and he’s afraid that the “cubblesome cucks” will wake him up at night (because they are naughty and one of them “giggles”and makes noise). He will not sleep with them and tells me, “I no sleep with them ke-cause the cubblesome cucks go wake me up.”
• I love it when he says "dere" instead of "there."
• He will often sing a song (or hum the tune to a song) when he's playing independently. I like to think that songs get stuck in his head. The ones I hear most frequently are "Wheels on the Bus" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and the Thomas the Train theme song. :)
• When he needs me, he calls me in a very high-pitched voice. "Mah-mmmyy!" 
• LOVES peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
• He's a modest one. He often says, “I look so handsome.”
• He will frequently answer questions we ask him with "maybe yes" and "maybe no" and "maybe...(whatever the answer is)" and "I don't know." :) Makes me laugh.
• Likes his toy cars and trains to have faces. Like Thomas and the other trains, and the cars from the movie Cars.
• Often, he gives the answer "nobody" when I think he really means "nothing." Example: I'll say, "Walker, what's your sister doing?" He'll answer, "Nobody." :)
• Vampires (yes, like you see at Halloween, but Walker still talks about the one in his aunt Tisha and uncle Greg's yard) are called “bam-fiuhs.” Took me forever to catch onto that one.
• Likes to wiggle his toes when he gets out of his socks. Does it every time. :)
• “Ooh, Mommy. It’s a boo-tiful (beautiful) day.” He actually uses the words “beautiful” and “pretty” and I think that’s sweet. Probably because he’s around his sister a lot. 
• Has gotten to where he asks for “Daddy” or “Da Da” when I’m making him do something that he doesn’t want to do. Like put on his clothes. 
• For some reason, he likes to flush the toilet with his foot. He hikes that leg up there and flushes the potty. He must have seen someone do that...somewhere...? :)
• He gets excited when his little tiny poops make a "snowman" in the potty.
• If something hurts, or if something looks like it might hurt, he calls it an "ouchie."
• Every single day he requests a "different shirt" because he never likes the one I've picked out for him. Every. Single. Day. No matter the shirt. One of my least favorite things is trying to get him dressed! :)
• Whenever Lainey doesn’t cry when I brush her hair – which is rarely – Walker will say, “Her not cryin’!” He acts surprised that she’s not crying! 
• He likes to pick out a single word in a song and say, “Freak!? That’s silly.” Then he laughs. No matter what the word is and if it’s actually silly or not. Even if the word is "hat." :)
• The word "bridge" is "bidge" and the word "sand" is "sam."
• Most babies are referred to as "her" and he always will say "her" instead of "she." For example, "Her said yes!" or "Her said no." :)
• He's notorious for picking out a piece of candy, tasting it, declaring that he doesn't like that piece of candy, and then asking for another one. He might "eat" three pieces of candy, but only a little bit of each one. He has a good strategy for eating dessert and he has great willpower. :) Unlike his mama! I would happily eat the three pieces of candy in their entirety. :)
• Most of the time, his trains get referred to as "choo-choo cains."
• Gets mad at Thomas (the train) for being naughty (like hiding or finding his way into a random box of toys). Thankfully, Thomas always says, “I’m sorry, Walker.” (Walker tells me this.)
• We saw a cute little lab puppy and Walker got down on the floor and asked the puppy, “You like to play choo-choo trains?” I'm telling you. If that puppy had said yes, I would have taken it home.
• Can finally pedal! (3yrs)
• Reagan is much nicer to Walker than she is to Lainey. I think Reagan can sense the difference in their personalities.
• He does NOT like the sun in his eyes. He flips out. :) He'll scream, "Toooo bight (bright)!" And then he just cries until I can wrangle out a pair of sunglasses to hand to him which he eventually gets frustrated with because they don't fit on his face just right. Sigh...
• Has learned how easy it is to go “wee-wee” outside. 
• Doesn’t say his “r’s” – “Ben Hawwis.” (He loves pointing out Daddy’s campaign signs.)
• Raises both arms in the air – fists closed – when he’s excited about something. Like playing choo choo trains.
• He always wants a full cup of milk. If I give him his sippy cup half full, he calls me out on it and requests some “milk on top.” (As in, fill it all the way to the top, Mom!)
• Doesn’t like having sticky/messy hands. I usually have to wipe them more than once.
• Calls people “Little Buddy.” (Like the character Wubbzy, in his favorite TV show Wow Wow Wubbzy.)
• He would love it if I would play choo-choo trains with him all day long. I mean it. All. Day. Long. If I tell him that I'm busy cleaning (or whatever) he'll respond with, "After you're done? Then you play choo-choo cains with me?" and he gets SO excited even if I only say "maybe." :) He loves playing choo-choo trains with his mommy. And boy, does it get exhausting. But I know that someday I'll look back on these times and laugh and be glad that we played choo-choo trains so often together. :) We even take them to all of Lainey's activities...dance on Tuesdays, then gymnastics on Wednesdays, and then dance again on Thursdays...his trains are a hit everywhere he goes. Thankfully he's gotten good at sharing with other kids and he loves the one-on-one time that he and I always get to play with those trains.
• For some reason, he likes being barefoot at the playground. Even on the wood chips! Ouch. For such a sensitive guy, those wood chips don't seem to bother him at all...
• Loves/hates ghosts. He wants to play "ghosts" but then gets overwhelmed and scared. He will go from giggling/laughing/cracking up to hysterically crying. Even when he knows that we are the ghosts (like Lainey with her blanket on her head or Ben with a blanket on his head).
• I would much rather take him into a breakable, fragile store than I would Lainey. He's a much better listener and not nearly as clumsy as his big sister. ;) 
• His preferred seating for watching TV is on top of the coffee table. Not his chair, not the couch, not the floor. He likes sitting on top of the coffee table (it's soft and squishy...we call it a coffee table but it's really a coffee table ottoman).
• Mannequins are “ghosts” if they’re white. He gets awfully confused about why they don’t have feet or faces (some of them). He actually prefers all things to have faces.

Happy Birthday to our sweet, train-loving, car-racing, precious boy. We LOVE you, Walker.