The morning drive with a 4yr old

As I was taking the kids to school this morning, traffic was terrible because it was raining and the CD/DVD player decided it didn't want to work, so we had lots of time to discuss our dreams from last night, what they were going to do at school today, when Nana and Papaw were coming... We passed by a big apartment complex and
Tate says: "That is a really big house"
Mom --" That is an apartment complex where there are lots of small homes all in one building"
Tate -- " I want to live in a compartment"
Mom -- "I bet you don't because usually they are much smaller than our house. Daddy and I lived in an apartment before you were born"
Tate--"Well, then, where did you put all the toys?"
Mom--Haha--"We didn't have toys then"
Tate-- no response--I don't think he could quite believe there was ever a house that wasn't filled with toys:)

Our little conversations, like this, always puts a smile on my face:)

Monday was a Funday!

* Tate watched the Daytona 500 yesterday and is totally obsessed with NASCAR again. When asked if he was a fan, he replied "No, I'm going to be a driver." I've been finding sets of cars "racing" all over the house.

* Maren is so ready to be potty trained. I had to make a Target run yesterday to get her some "big girl" underpants because she ran around the house naked almost all weekend. She is doing good for, all of a sudden, wanting to go potty in the potty. I'm sure it has nothing to do with then M&M treats she gets if she goes:) She loves her princess undies and keeps wanting to change them to wear a new princess. Whatever works!

* Tate and I had a discussion about President's Day. We had to clarify that he wasn't getting presents...he thought I said Present's Day. He knows that Barack Obama is the president, thinks he lives in a lighthouse and flys on US Airways. So we have a few facts mixed up...at least we got the president right!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a love-ly Valentine's Day filled with baking cookies, school parties, heart shaped waffles and pizzas, date nights, presents and lots and lots of candy! It's always fun to celebrate the day and enjoy each other!

The Wildcats

We had Tate's last basketball game. He enjoyed playing and is looking forward to t-ball:)

They picked up a new player in the 2nd half--Maren thought she was part of the team and wasn't too happy when she found out she wasn't

Our Disney Cruise

I'm so behind on posting these but I have finally unpacked and organized pictures which made posting these alot easier:)
We spent 7 fabulous days on the Disney Magic boat and had a wonderful time! Trip #2 is already being talked about (in 3 yrs). We went with my parents and sister and brother-in-law and we couldn't have enjoyed it anymore. If you ask Tate what his favorite thing about the cruise was, he will tell you "everything."

Some of the highlights were:
*playing bingo
*taking the kids to their activities--Tate went to the Oceaneer's Club and Maren went to the nursery for a few hours a day
*enjoying dinner at the adult-only restaurant, Palo
*relaxing on the balcony watching the ocean
*getting the drink-of-the-day
*seeing all the Disney character's around the boat
*shopping at the shops
*seeing the shows (although we only saw 2 due to complete exhaustion by the end of the day)
*exploring the ship
*no access to our iphones!!
*being able to sit and read a book
*ordering room service whenever we wanted
*exploring the port of calls--Our favorite was Castaway Cay
*getting a new animal via towel oragami in our rooms each night along with our Personal Navigator telling us what was going on the next day
*listening to the kids giggle about their bunk beds
*spending time with eachother

Getting ready to board the ship. Maren got a ride from Papaw

Setting sail and meeting Captain Mickey

Relaxing in the port hole

Formal night

Pool day--Maren loved the baby pool and Tate couldn't get enough of the slide

Maren loved meeting the princesses

St. Maaren's Orient Beach

Pirate Night--Tate fell asleep before dinner even came:(

Snorking in St. Thomas complete with pirate tattoos

Disney's island Castaway Cay

See you later, Mickey and Minnie!

Like Father, Like Son

Jason bought a Walgreens semi-truck to keep for himself but once Tate saw it the battle was on. Tate was not going to give in once Jason told him it wasn't for him. We went from laughing because he thought it was a joke to huge tears because he realized Jason wasn't kidding. Finally, Jason gave in. I mean really, hasn't everyone wanted a Walgreens truck at some point?? It kept Tate amused for hours so, I guess it was worth it:)

Poor little guy, we have been battling with his teeth all week. On Tuesday, we went to the dentist to get a crown put on one of his molars. They had found some cavities and one of his molars had chipped exposing one of them so he hasn't been a happy camper. They put the crown on with no problem. He ended up going to school right after it so he did great. The next day, his cheek looked really swollen and he was obviously in pain when I picked him up from school so I called the dentist who said to start some anbiotics and come to office first thing the next morning. She felt sure it wasn't anything but sent us to an oral surgeon to double check. He wasn't so sure...great. He thought that there was some infection somewhere and the tooth would probably have to come out. To me that sounds like a big deal but he said with baby teeth, he would never know it was gone. He said to wait until Monday and come back to see how it did over the weekend. Ever since then, the swelling has gone down and he hasn't complained of any pain what so ever. So, cross your fingers, that tomorrow when we go in, he will get a clean bill of health!

2008: A Year in Review