Disney

Disney World was great! We did realize that July was not the time to go...95 degrees with 45% humidity. The kids were great about it though. Their sweaty little bodies enjoyed every ride they went on and every show they saw.

The first day we went to Magic Kingdom (MK) and headed straight to Tomorrowland. The friends that we went with convinced all the big kids to go on the Astro Orbiter. I had a feeling Tatum and Keaton wouldn't like it, but they begged to go so we let them. Jarrek and I don't do spinning things so they went with our friends. Jarrek and I waited with the little ones. When they got off the ride, Kara was carrying Tatum who was hysterical and Keaton wasn't much better. Tatum swore she was about to die on the ride and Keaton was upset cause Tatum was upset. He also thought he was going to fly off the ride. Lesson learned: Hartsell children do NOT like spinning rides. It was the first day so we went all out and stayed for the parade, fireworks and the extended hours. We didnt get back to the hotel until 1:00 am. 2nd lesson learned: kids are cranky at 1:00 in the morning.

The next day we had our first character meal...Breakfast with Mickey. The kids loved seeing the characters and getting their autographs. It was a pretty hectic meal, but in the end it was worth it. After breakfast it was off to Epcot. It was HOT again and everyone (adults included) was tired and a bit fussy. We rode some rides, saw some shows and headed back to the hotel early for some much needed rest. After nap we headed to the Pirate Pool. 3rd lesson learned: nobody is pleasant after only 6 hours of sleep and alot of walking.

Animal Kingdom was our third park to visit. We started the day off with another character breakfast...Donald's Safari Breakfast. It was a little better, mostly because we had sleep. AK was awesome. The kids loved the Safari ride and even Weston liked looking at the animals. There was a parade that went through the middle of the park. It was so cool! 4th lesson learned: Hartsell children are fascinated with animals. They LOVED AK.

We headed back to MK to catch all the stuff we missed the first day and to have another character meal...Character Dinner @ Crystal Palace. We saw the Winne the Pooh characters. The kids went back and rode some the their favorite rides...Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear. The kids also rode the Haunted Mansion ride, which turned out to be kinda fun. Before we rode it they were worried it would be scary, but when it was over they thought it was kinda funny.

Next it was Epcot again. Too much to see in just one day. My favorite ride there was Soarin'. Keaton and Tatum liked the flight simulator ride. Tatum and Kayla also got to get their hair done at the Bippity Boppity Boutique for their Princess Dinner that night. While the girls went to the boutique (which was in Downtown Disney) the guys hung out at Epcot and did some male bonding. We stayed for the light show which was awesome. 5th lesson learned: Take it easy.

Our last park was Hollywood Studios. There weren't many rides, but we saw several shows which were great and inside ;-). Keaton had been talking about the Stunt show since he saw the promotional DVD Disney sent us months ago. So, of course we had to go see it and it was worth it. Tatum wanted to see the American Idol Experience. We headed back to the hotel early, had a little dinner and went swimming. It was a nice little family time.

On our last day in Disney we went to Downtown Disney to do a little shopping. It was nice to just relax a little. Keaton made a Star Wars light saber, Tatum helped me fill a giant Mr. Potato Head with Disney characters and Weston grabbed everything he could.

All in all it was a great trip! We are actually planning on going back...in about 4 years! Weston will be 5 and can really enjoy it and Tatum and Keaton will be old enough that they can go on rides by themselves.



Pictures coming!

Crazy

The past week has been crazy and it looks like it will only get worse for awhile.
First, Jarrek and Keaton headed to Louisiana to help Uncle Ted and Aunt Neha load up some of their stuff to bring to Texas. Teddy and Neha will be moving here at the end of July. Jarrek and Keaton left on Wednesday and came back on Friday. Tatum, Weston and I had a great time hanging out together. On Friday, Tatum, Weston and I headed to Brenham and Jarrek and Keaton meet us there that evening. We all hung out with Ma and Pa and Richard and Carol. We then got up on Saturday to enjoy the Chappell Hill 4th of July parade which has become our little family tradition. We have not missed a parade in 6 years! After the parade we headed back to Ma and Pa's for some hotdogs (another tradition yet to be broken) and then we loaded up and came back to CS. Everyone took a little rest and then it was off to our next function, a 4th party with some friends. This afternoon Jarrek and the big kids, along with Uncle Ted hit the road to go visit family in Kingsland. They will return on Tuesday and then we are off to Disney on Saturday. Are you tired yet? I am, but we are all having a great time.

Tonight I was folding clothes and Weston was 'helping'. He found a pair of Tatum's silky PJ pants and carried them around for the rest of the night. He would hold them up to his check, hang them around his neck, put them on his head or just drag them around. I don't know if he liked them because they were soft and cool or if they belonged to his Big Sissy that he was missing. Either way it was too cute.

What are you gonna do?

I took the boys to get their check-ups today...1 yr and 5 yr. I know, a little late. Anyway, when Keaton found out he was going to the doctor all he wanted to know was if he was going to have to get shots. Weston had no idea what was going on until the nurse tried to take his temperature. I guess all the memories came flooding back and he did NOT want to be there. Weston is in the 70% for height and 10% for weight...long and very lean. Doctor said he is good. While Weston was getting his shots, Tatum and Keaton sat with their eyes closed and their fingers in their ears. They wanted to leave the room cause, "We just cant stand to hear him cry like that".

Next was Keaton's turn. The whole time the doctor is asking me questions about Keaton, Weston was banging on the metal cart that holds the baby scale. It seemed with every question, his banging got louder. I would pick him up and then he would scream to get down. I could tell the doctor was trying not to laugh. Good thing we have been going to this same doctor since Tatum was little.
Keaton was grateful he didn't have to have shots, but he did have to get some blood work done (no problem, just typical 5yr check up stuff). We went downstairs to the lab and the whole time he just keep saying "what are they gonna do? What are they gonna do?" I didn't want to tell him so I just kinda ignored him. We got there, signed in and waited. They called us in and all 4 of us squeezed into this tiny little area. Tatum figured out real quick what was coming up and kinda panicked which lead to Keaton's panic attack. Tatum was asked to wait in the waiting room (by me and the nurse) and the hold down began. I had to hold Weston and practically sit on Keaton at the same time. It was cute though, Weston started screaming when Keaton did and he kept trying to push the nurses hands away from Keaton.

Doctor's visits are never dull in the Hartsell family.

Cold Turkey

Jarrek and I decided that Weston should go 'cold turkey' with his bottles. He has only really gotten 2-3 bottles a day for about a month now. Some days he would only have 1, so we thought "this will be easy". WRONG. He must have know the day was coming when I threw the formula can away and didn't bring out a new one. This morning he woke up crying for his 'nigh-nigh' or bottle in Weston-talk. He pulled me until I followed him to the kitchen and he pointed to the drawer that contains his bottles and when I said "no nigh-nigh", he pulled me to his diaper bag. I finally got him calmed down and he drank his milk and ate breakfast. We then went to Target to get a few things. I went down the sippy cup aisle to get him some new cups and on the end were some cans of formula. He knew exactly what those were and tried to put them in the basket saying 'nigh-nigh' the whole time. Weston is now in his crib for his morning nap and crying for his 'nigh-nigh'. It breaks my heart, but I know it must be done.
For clarification...We never gave him milk in his bottles only formula so there are many things that make him think of his beloved 'nigh-nigh'...nipples, bottles, liners, formula cans, the little travel formula sectioned thingy, his diaper bag. When he sees them he calls out to his 'nigh-nigh' waiting for it to come to him.
I just went to calm him down in his crib. When I walked in his little hands reached out for his bottle and when I didn't hand one to him, he just broke down. He looked so disappointed, but finally fell asleep.
Cold Turkey SUCKS!

Sleepover

Tatum had her first sleepover last night. She had so much fun and we didn't have to go get her in the middle of the night! She did have a little breakdown right before they went to bed...she started crying because her ear hurt and her ant bites started itching. The little girls mom took care of her and everything was good. Tatum cant wait to have her friend over here.
Keaton and I decided we were going to go swimming last night. When we were ready to go outside, Keaton looked kinda sad. He said he missed his sister...it was so cute.

Splashpad party!

This past weekend we celebrated our nephew Brody's 2nd Birthday! It was at a Splashpad in Houston and everyone had a great time. Tatum and Keaton loved showing off their swimming skills in the little pool and Weston had a great time running through the spraying water. After the party we spent the whole day in Houston with Jarrek's sister and her husband and family. We also got to meet Jarrek's biological dad for the first time. It was a nice meeting and a great day. By the time we left to go home we were ALL exhausted.

Weston enjoying the sprinklers. As you can tell he LOVES the water!

Keaton ready to swim in the Olympics. He insists on wearing his goggles whenever he is in the water.

Tatum going down the slide. I never thought she would do it, but she loved it.

Keaton is still going to his Kinder prep class and is so excited to show off his Kindergarten knowledge! He is starting to love writing and playing word games. When anyone says a word, he always tells you what letters are in that word! This is a wonderful thing to hear since only a few weeks ago he didn't recognize all the letters in the alphabet.

Our countdown to Disney world has begun! Only 16 more days until we leave. We are all looking forward to it. Mommy (and maybe Daddy) is a little nervous about the plane ride with Weston, but hopefully all will go well.

Hello Summer

So, there were no real camping crazies. Tatum was sick the whole time with a strange virus. It was so sad to see her just sitting there and not really getting to enjoy the camping. We were suppose to have a fish fry with fish the guys caught...they ended up catching most of their fish at Brookshire Brothers. The kids had a great time just hanging out and playing.

We have started our summer off with a bang! The first two weeks the kids had swim lessons here at the house. They did great. Tatum can now do the freestyle, breast stroke, back stroke and side stroke. She can also tread water for 1 1/2 minutes and float on her back for god knows how long. She is unstoppable in the pool! Keaton also did really well. He can do the freestyle, breast stroke and back stroke. He can also tread water for 1 minute and float on his back until you make him laugh. It was kinda sad to look out and see my little babies swimming like pros.
Weston also LOVES the water. Every time we go swimming he just wants to put his head in and go. He will soon be a little fish like is big sis and big bro.

Keaton started a Kinder Prep program with CSISD on June 1. He loves going to his 'Summer Kindergarten'. It helps that Tatum's Kinder teacher and one other teacher from Tatum's school are teaching the class. Keaton adores Tatum's Kinder teacher. He seems to be really learning alot and hopefully he will be ready for Kindergarten in August. I cant believe that I will have 2 kids in school. Man, time sure does fly.

Weston had is first birthday on May 30 and since then has been getting into everything! He started walking a few weeks ago and now I can hardly keep up with him. He loves to follow his sis and bro everywhere they go and try to do everything they do. Here are a few things I have learned since he started walking:
* Markers taste good
* Crayons taste good
* Paper tastes good
* It's fun to climb up on things and even more fun when you don't know how to get down
* Everyone else food/drink is better than your own
* Cat food tastes good