Tate on Two Feet!

We have an official walker!!  Tate has been taking a few steps here and there between people and furniture for awhile, but he has really resisted us trying to make him walk.  He's the only one of my four that never liked the push-learn-to-walk-toy.  He would sit and wiggle it so it would make music, but was well aware that we wanted him to stand and push it, and he emphatically refused.  He also would never walk holding anyone's hands... except for Carigan.  For the past month or so, when he's tired and punchy, he'll hold on to Carigan and walk as she walks backwards and giggle the whole time.  But he wouldn't do it with anyone else.  I think the constant audience made him overly-cautious.  He could never get a clear lane ahead with all the hovering siblings ready to pounce!  Last Wednesday night (May 21) was the first time he truly took off and walked across the floor.  He was having surgery to get tubes in his ears the next morning, so the big kids all went home with Mimi and Grandpa after church.  I was chit-chatting in the hallway and Tate wiggled to get down.  He took a few steps and then he giggled and took a few more and then he decided it was fun to try to walk.  I called Michael over and luckily my friend Amanda was there to record a video with her phone.  Ever since then he's been walking a little bit, but every since Grandma and Granddaddy got here, he's REALLY been walking!  I've been wanting to take pictures but never had a camera handy.  We've taken lots of videos with our phones!  Last night Michael had just changed Tate's diaper and he promptly stood up and started walking.  I grabbed my camera and finally got some good shots. 

We moved our walking operation to the foyer.  Earlier this afternoon Mom and I sat in the foyer with the girls and made a circle and Tate walked between us for a long time, giggling the whole time.  Michael had my camera with him at Hollywood Studios though, so I didn't get pictures until they got home a few hours later.  Tate knew the drill by then... back and forth, back and forth!

The key is to have him stand up by himself... if he takes off straight from your arms, he lurches ahead before finding his balance.  We've learned to make him sit so he has to balance himself to stand up first.  

Official Walker!!!  Again and again... never gets old.  

Okay, so maybe it gets a little old.  

He seems to prefer hard surfaces because it's easier to keep his balance. But it's a good idea for one of us to stay within arm's length in case he takes a spill!  At least we can cheer now!!  For the past couple of months, anytime he would take a step or begin to walk, we would all cheer and he'd stop in his tracks, his face would scrunch up, he'd crumble to the floor and begin to bawl.  It was so bizarre!!  The kid hated being cheered!  I don't know if the clapping scared him or if he just didn't appreciate the added pressure!  But he seems over it now, as we all feel free to cheer heartily for him now.  So proud of my baby boy!!!  My last "First Steps" post.  :o(  It's always a little harder to celebrate these milestones when it's my last, but I can't help but celebrate with him because he's clearly so stinkin' proud of himself!  Attaboy, Tate!!!

Wesley Rushes through Star Wars Weekend

We had planned on hitting Hollywood Studios for Star Wars weekends next Friday, but a friend gave me a  heads-up that the date coincides with a particular event that most families want to avoid... and that's all I have to say about that.  So suddenly our last opportunity to hit HS during Star Wars Weekends was today, but Wes already had plans to attend his best friend's birthday sleepover.  When I broke the news he would have to choose, he actually chose the birthday.  Truth be told, Mommy wanted to go to the park, so I compromised with him and told him we'd go for just a few hours and then we would deliver him to the birthday party.  But then both of the girls backed out, afraid to encounter scary characters.  So I ended up having to stay home anyway, but Michael still took Wesley.  They arrived and rode Star Tours and Toy Story Mania and saw a few characters, but pop-up rain showers kept driving the painted characters inside.  Workers kept having to pull them.  Michael said a sudden downpour turned poor Chewbacca into a wet mop as he went running for shelter!  Anyway, within the first hour, Wesley was asking to leave.  He just wanted to go to Hyatt's birthday party!  So I guess we shouldn't have pushed it, but I have such good memories of walking around the park encountering Star Wars characters last time, I really wanted Wesley to get to do it again.  At least he got to see a few... it was enough for him. They left after school and were home by 7:15, but he got to his party and was a happy boy.

Riding on out of Kindergaten...

After four consecutive years as a mom of Kindergartener, the time has finally come for us ride on out of Kindergarten... for a year at least.  I'll be back with Carigan in 2015!  Even though I practically know the end-of-the-year  Kindergarten program by heart now, it's sort of like Les Miserables... you can never see it performed live too many times and it gets you every time!  Anna Kate stood smack in the middle this year... she's directly under the space between LCS and Ranch:

Her solo line this year was, "By day one I guess you could say we were God's special creations, heading for a great school year!"  She had everyone else's lines memorized too... and I mean everyone's.  For weeks she'd say, "Wanna know what Lily's part is?  Wanna know what Marin's part is?  Wanna know what Case's part is..." 

Selah and her little sister Olivia came to watch their cousin Jacob, and Carigan immediately asked to go sit with them.  Michael had a hard time getting a good picture of Anna Kate from our seats (everyone was holding iPhones and iPads in the air recording and taking pictures), so he ended up standing along the wall and had a good view of the girls playing on the floor.  So stinkin' cute. 

 

Such a sweet program.  It made me cry... again.  -BELOW- Anna Kate receiving her diploma from Mrs. Henry.  She's so proud of the fact that (as Mrs. Henry has told them) she gets to be a Little Bear for life.

Anna Kate, Lily S., Henry, Lily W., Ava and a boy from Mrs. Latimer's class.  Mrs. Henry has been such a blessing!  We are so grateful for all the wonderful teachers at LCS!

The Three Amigas... Marin, Anna Kate and Lily Strike.  Anna Kate wanted "Elsa braids" again.  I'm starting to perfect my fishtail braid; Maybe by the time my girls are too old for me to fix their hair I'll finally learn how to french braid.  

The first time that any of our kids has had all FOUR grandparents watch them perform!  -BELOW- Selah, Carigan and Olivia.  It will be Selah & Carigan's graduation we'll be celebrating a mere two years from now!

Case & Anna Kate  ♥♥♥

And that's a roundup, folks!  Afterward Anna Kate whined profusely to go to CiCi's, which is quite possibly my least favorite place to eat.  I managed to talk her (reluctantly) into Crisper's instead, but by the time we drove to the one downtown, they were getting ready to close.  AK was going to remember the injustice for life if she didn't get to choose the restaurant, and CiCi's was firmly her choice.  Ugh... the things we do for our kids!  ;o) 

Memorial Day with The Mouse

We spent Memorial Day basking in our hard-fought freedom at the Happiest Place on Earth!

Lightening in the area kept most all of the rides shut down for about an hour.  We ate lunch and then hovered near Splash Mountain waiting for it to open... that's how we discovered a little playground hidden back behind the entrance.  And I thought I knew every square inch of Disney!  Tate had a big time... until I had to remove him for being a bully.  He wanted to climb UP the slide and would push and hit at any kid attempting to arrive at the top of the stairs to go down.  Guess we're not going to have to worry about our small fry being capable of holding his own!

When all the attractions resumed, we decided to hop on the railroad train that was boarding near the playground.  It's one of the only attractions we had yet to do on these passes... we took it in a circle all around the park.  Tate did not like the rule that you had to remain seated.  He kept struggling to get down and wanted to toddle about.  I had to hand him off to Daddy who intermittently held him in a full-body lock and tickled him for giggles.  Splash Mountain has been closed down for several months... we got to ride it once when we first started our passes last fall, but they've had it closed for refurbishment ever since.  Riding it was high on Anna Kate's list today, but Wesley could not be persuaded to go... even though I brought is bathing suit.  So it was just AK and me: 

We had fast passes to meet Ariel... Anna Kate's face lit up when we entered the grotto and saw that it was Ariel with her fin!  We've met Ariel before on Disney Cruises and character dining, but always with her feet!  AK was enchanted.  Carigan put a death grip on my legs and wouldn't even look at her.  That didn't stop her from being uber-proud of the fact she scored Ariel's autograph.  Carigan kept communicating through grunts & nudges in the grotto that she wanted to make sure Anna Kate got an autograph for her too, and as soon as we exited, she asked me to take her picture with it:

Cooling down!  The girls having a stand-off with the randomly-squirting elephant:

Mr. Non-Participatory... at least when it comes to getting wet. 

Monday, May 26, 3014.  -BELOW- Carigan was on a horse in front of Anna Kate... Wes prefers the royal chariot:

Waiting for Daddy to fetch the other royal chariots... which the Disney workers move willy-nilly from one stroller parking area to another, so finding them can prove quite the challenge!  We also had fast passes for Enchanted Story Time with Belle.  I thought she was just going to read us a story... I was totally impressed by the magical morphing workshop and the talking wardrobe and Lumiere.  Anna Kate won the part of Mrs. Potts by being the best hopper (below).  Carigan, of course, would have nothing to do with any of it. 

My thrill drivers!  Our biggest thrill of the day was we scored a fast pass to ride the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train three days before it even opened!!  We had already planned a return trip to Magic Kingdom the next week because we knew the Mine Train didn't open until the 28th, but when we arrived we noticed people on the ride.  I kept telling the kids those riders must be special somehow... like maybe won a contest.  Later in the day we rounded the corner and walked by the entrance to the Mine Train and noticed a long line of people and a sign that said 75 minute wait!  I stopped and chatted with the lady and she ended up giving me a rider swap pass to come back and use later!  The kids were SO excited.  It was one hot ticket!! 

Finally our time to return for a pre-opening preview ride! 

Front Car!!!! Carigan was too scared to ride, but I'm going to get her on next time because it was very, VERY mild.  I think it's even smoother than the Barnstormer, which is her very favorite ride.  It definitely wouldn't be worth a 75 minute wait, but it was a super fun memory to get to ride it before it even opened!

When we emerged, Carigan was waiting patiently to ride the Barnstormer.  Michael had gone ahead to get a rider swap pass, but they were practically running the coaster empty, so they weren't giving any out.  We rode again and again and again... until Carigan was satisfied and wanted to go sleep in her stroller.  Then Daddy sat with the sleepers in the strollers while I hopped on Space Mountain one last time with Wesley and Anna Kate.  Perfect way to end the day!  :o)