Disney Day 1 - Friday/Saturday

Our original plan for Disney was to drive the whole way on Saturaday, September 16. However with Irma coming through the week before our trip we were worried about traffic on 95 so we decided to go half way Friday night. I am SO glad we decided to do this! We had almost zero traffic either day and it was really nice to split the trip up. We left just before dinnertime on Friday and I fixed sandwiches for the car and we picked Paul up at his office on our way out of town.

Dinner in the car...ready to go!

We stayed in Kingsland, GA that night which is about at the Georgia-Florida line. We stayed at a Comfort Suites and our room was the perfect set up. We had 2 queen beds, a pull out sofa, and a slightly seperated area where JP's pack n play fit. They also had a continental breakfast in the morning which is always nice! Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast, and headed on to Disney!

We made it!

We arrived in Orlando around lunchtime and once we made it through Jacksonville without any traffic issues I went ahead and made a lunch reservation. We ate lunch at the Whispering Canyon Café at Disney's Ft. Wilderness Lodge. I had only heard about this restaurant right before our trip and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to eat there! There are lots of lists on the internet about things to ask your server and funny things they will do. For instance, if you ask for a straw they throw a handful of straws on your table. When you ask for ketchup they make you shout that you need ketchup and then you get all the ketchup in the restaurant brought to you by other patrons! When Emmie said she needed more water I told her to ask for a large glass of water. And they bring you a LARGE glass! In addition to the entertainment, the food was excellent!

We explored Ft. Wilderness Lodge before lunch.

Whispering Canyon Café had a great waiting area for the kids!

Emmie's large glass of water!

ALL the ketchup!

After we finished lunch we checked into our resort. We stayed at Caribbean Beach. (I'll have more details about the resort in another post.) The room set up was great as we had 2 queen beds, a pull out single bed and an excellent space in the bathroom for the pack in play (JP's "special room"!).


We got all settled in our resort and we had some extra time so I took the girls to the pool to play while JP and Paul took naps. We had fun exploring all the slides and other fun things the pool had to offer!




We came back to the room in time to shower and get ready to go have dinner at the Grand Floridian. We stopped and picked up our strollers at the check in area on our way out of the resort and then headed to Grand Floridian. We ate at 1900 Park Fare. They have a dinnertime character meal with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Stepsisters, and the Stepmother. The characters are all so wonderful and play their parts perfectly and we all really enjoyed it. JP got a little upset when taking a picture with one of the stepsisters and he ended up with a big kiss on his check...he wore that lipstick mark proudly all night!

Cinderella and Prince Charming dancing.

Cinderella's glass slipper

After we finished eating we headed out to the lawn of the Grand Floridian. Our plan was to sit and watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks. We were out there a bit early so we sat and watched the beginning of The Lion King which they were showing on the lawn.

Then the kids got a BIG surprise right before the fireworks started! We hadn't told them that Gran, Grandaddy, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Ruth were all coming to Disney with us so they snuck up behind them and surprised them. (It worked out really well because they were all staying at Grand Floridian) The kids were SO excited and Ellie put it perfectly when she said "dreams really do come true!"
(Sorry, the video is hard to see and hear because it's dark and there was a movie playing in the background.)


We all headed down to the ferry dock to watch the fireworks and the electric parade before heading back to our resort to rest up before our big first day at the parks!






The whole day was fun but all the kids agreed that the very best part was their surprise visitors!

Little Helper

This guy may have sisters that are willing to do EVERYTHING for him but he has still managed to pick up some useful skills. Tonight when I was fixing dinner he came into the kitchen and wanted to set the table for me. He LOVES doing this and his skills have definitely improved over time. A few days ago we all had crumpled up napkins! This little man is a pretty great guy to have around. :)






My favorite thing is how he says everyone's name when he puts their fork or napkin at their place. :)

Dear JP

Dear JP,

Sorry buddy, like every other blog post I've done for you this post is also...late. However, unlike all the other times, this time I have a really good excuse! This letter is late because we spent your second birthday at DISNEY WORLD! We had the best time making your birthday magical and your sisters made sure to tell everyone that it was your birthday and you were TWO. So, now that I've made my excuse for your late letter, on to the letter!

I absolutely can not believe that you are TWO! It feels like you were just born. These two years have gone by so fast and it's so bittersweet for me that my last baby is already two and becoming less of a baby and more of a big kid.
You have changed and grown so much this year. Every day we see more of your personality and discover more of your likes and dislikes.
You like anything that goes...buses, trains, trucks, heavy machinery. You love it all. You love animals, especially Clifford the Big Red Dog. You love your sisters, especially now that you can tell them when you need some space! You love being outside. You love climbing on things. Your most recent accomplishment is being able to climb the rock wall on the swing set....that one only gave me a small heart attack! You love hanging out with men...granddads, uncles, daddy, etc. You just want to be one of the guys! You love sports and your current favorite is football. You like to be independent and are very verbal when you want to do something yourself. You still love your pacifier, which you are allowed to have at night and in the carseat. You like to read books about animals and trucks and I love reading to you because its one of the few times you'll sit and snuggle with me.
You don't like vegetables, your sisters kissing on you, loud noises (except the ones you make yourself!). You don't like having to sit in the dance studio and wait for your sisters. You don't like being stuck inside the house.
Around 22 months you finally started talking a fair amount. You are now talking in two word sentences and can communicate most of what you want to. This has made life so much easier for and for you! One of your favorite words is "mess" often used in the form of "me mess!!". Usually you are a mess.
You have a very funny personality and you know it! When you don't get what you want you drop your head and shoulders and give me a sad face. It makes me chuckle every single time! You think it's really funny to walk backwards. When you're up to no good I can always tell because you have a little gleam in your eye. You love to do silly things like put your pacifier on your head in the car.
You also have a sweet side. Sometimes you'll get a baby doll and give it a kiss and put it in the bed. Sometimes you'll put it in a highchair and set the table and fix it a meal. You don't play with dolls very often but I love to watch your sweet side come out when you do.
And just so nobody thinks otherwise 30 years from now, you can also throw a royal temper tantrum. If  you don't get what you want or can't communicate what you want you are more than willing to throw yourself on the ground and scream. You particularly like to get mad when crossing parking lots or streets and just stop and sit yourself down. So then I have to pick you up which makes you scream harder. But honestly, these screaming fits are becoming less frequent and most of them have to do with some communication issue.
I love to watch you with your sisters. They spoil you rotten and think you're absolutely wonderful. They will do anything for you. All you have to do is say the word and they all jump to get you what you want. You're pretty sweet to them too. My favorite thing is when one of them cries (which happens a lot with 3 sisters) and you always come get me and want me to check on them and hug and kiss them. You were frightened of them for a long time but more and more you want to tag along with them and be involved with what they're doing. When we drop them off at school you always want to know when we're going to pick them back up. You have especially missed Ruthie the days that she's been in school. She is your buddy who is always around and it has been hard for you having her gone.
When I found out I was pregnant with you I was in shock to put it mildly. I was not mentally prepared to have another baby and it was hard to adjust to the idea that we were having another baby.  Now, 2 years later, I look at the life we have and I can't imagine my life without you. I look at your sisters and feel like because you are a part of our family there is a completeness. I love that you and Ruthie are such good buddies. I love that you have each other when the older girls are in school. You definitely complete our family!
One day I'll go in your room to kiss you goodnight and it will strike me that you're no longer a little boy. One day you won't want to hold my hand when you walk beside me. One day I'll turn around and you'll be headed to college. One day some woman will pass inspection by your sisters (and I'm pretty sure they will have very high standards!) and love you despite the fact that you still expect someone to wipe your nose for you (because your sisters do it for you). One day you'll have a family of your own. I pray that these days don't come too fast. I want to hold on to the last of your baby days just a little big longer. I want to hold your little hand for just a little big longer and smell your sweet baby smell.  I tell you a lot that you're my little buddy and I hope you remember that no matter how grown up you get you'll always be my baby and my little buddy!

I love you JP and I can't wait to see what fun adventures we have together this year!

Love,
Mommy

2015

2016

A weekend away

At the end of July, Paul had a conference in Myrtle Beach so my parents came to keep the kids and we had a rare weekend away! It was so much fun and we enjoyed our time together!

We left Thursday and came back on Sunday and had a lovely time full of good food and good friends!

They had a paint class for spouses.

Getting ready to go out to dinner Friday night! (By the way, Thursday night we went to Ruth's Chris...SO good and we went with fabulous friends!)

Awards Dinner night. one of Paul's coworkers who is a wonderful family friend was inducted into the Hall of Fame and we were so happy to be there to see him receive the award!

My parents managed to survive the wild children and I think they had a lot of fun. Although Emmie kept asking my mom when she was going to take them somewhere! I think Emmie was itching to get out of the house...my mom was not as eager to go anywhere with four kids in tow!

My mom gave JP a much needed haircut before I left. I wasn't at the house when she started and Emmie gave her the third degree about whether she was really allowed to cut his hair! 

JP loves having a man around...he had a great time with Boo!

Saturday my dad took Ellie to golf, which I think they both really enjoyed.

Saturday afternoon my parents took pity on the stir crazy kids and they went to Chick-fil-a for lunch.

Ruthie's First Day of Preschool!

Ruthie has been ready to go to preschool since her first trip at about 2 weeks old. Her whole life all she has wanted is to be one of the big kids.  Thursday, after waiting 3 1/2years, it was FINALLY her turn to go to school! She has been so excited. GiGi and PaPa gave her a backpack and Gran and Grandaddy gave her a lunchbox so she is READY!

This year she will go twice a week from 9-12. Since Thursday was the first day they split the kids into 2 groups so she went from 1030-1145.

Wednesday was Meet the Teacher. She was a little nervous but once she got there and checked out the room she jumped right into playing...and so did JP.

At Meet the Teacher she colored some pictures to put on the wall.

JP enjoyed the kitchen. He set the table and then sat down and said his prayer.

She has Mrs. Lisa and Mrs. Terri. Mrs. Lisa is new this year (she taught at the preschool years ago and this is her first year back) and all the girls have had Mrs. Terri (and she's little Emerson's great aunt) so Ruthie already knew her really well and was so excited to be in her class!

Mrs. Lisa

Mrs. Terri

Thursday she definitely wasn't very nervous. She did get quiet when we got to school and asked me "do my teachers know I have a peanut allergy?" I reassured her and she asked me one more time before we got out of the car. It broke my heart a little that she was so concerned but I am also so hopeful that next year when she starts preschool she will have graduated from OIT and we won't have to worry about her allergy! Also, I'm really glad we're doing this when she's so young before she has too much anxiety about peanuts.

After we cleared up the snack issue she RAN into the school, marched herself down the hall, and went and gave her teachers big hugs.

Headed to class!

She started learning the morning procedures of hanging up your backpack, putting the owl with your name on it on the tree (she's an outstanding owl this year), and washing your hands. She then went and started to play.


I said "bye Ruthie" and she just lifted up her hand and gave me a backwards wave...she didn't even turn around to say bye! When I picked her up she was soooo happy and before she left she had to give her teachers some more hugs.

I love our preschool and I just know Ruthie is going to have a FABULOUS year!

PS. JP was not so happy about his best buddy leaving him. He asked about her over and over.

23 months

I am 23 months old!

• I wear 24mo or 2t shirts (and some 18mo but my tummy usually hangs out a bit in those!) and 12-18mo shorts. I wear a size 7 shoe and a size 5 diaper.
• I sleep from 7:30pm-7:30 or 8 in the morning. Except for school mornings when I have to get up at 7.
• I am talking more and more...yay! I am also starting to say some 2 word sentences (which is a 2yr old milestone...Mommy was pretty sure I wouldn't hit this milestone on time) such as "Gran's car", "dog kiss", "hi (insert family member name) ", and "no (insert name)". It's still hard for people that aren't around me a lot to understand me but Mommy is just so glad that I can finally communicate my needs and wants!
• I love to be silly and make everyone laugh.
• I finally seem to enjoy hanging out with ALL my sisters at the same time. It only took almost 2 years and I finally adjusted to them en masse just in time for them to go to school.
• I have discovered trains this month. I love them!

• I can and will climb on anything. My new favorite trick is to climb up into Emmie's bunk bed (the top bunk) when nobody's looking.
• I love to yell at the top of my lungs.
• This month I went to a Fireflies game. I had a great time!

• This month I went to Greenville to visit Gran and Grandaddy.

• This month I went to a new class at church. Mommy (and Mrs. Beth) were a bit worried that I would start the crying again but I did great! I am always excited to see my friend Ruth in my class...she's my buddy!
• I Love to play outside. My favorite is to ride the "bus". It's sooo fun and I want to ride it every time I walk by.

• We had a solar eclipse on the day I turned 23months. I slept through the whole thing :)