2 Milestones: 10 Year Old Boys and a New Walker

We've had an eventful month. After an amazing vacation, we returned home to settle in for the summer. Ryan and Luke turned 10 years old and Leah finally started walking a few days after that. We've all been chasing after her ever since. 

The 4 of us have spent a lot of time at the pool in the last few weeks. Ryan and Luke have swim practice 5 days a week at 7:30. They ride their bikes to practice and Leah and I soon follow and she has breakfast by the pool while we watch. She seems to enjoy the routine. Many afternoons we return to the pool to hang out and play for a couple of hours. The boys were 4 before we forced them to put their heads under water (clearly, they are now traumatized for life) - Leah is already a pro. She doesn't willingly plunge head first into the pool, but she doesn't mind being submerged if she jumps into my arms or happens to fall under while walking. She hates floating on her back, but she is pretty good at floating on her stomach (while I hold her up) and she even practices kicking. As she has gained confidence and mobility, she has walked further into the pool until she is right at the water level being at her bottom lip. Gone are the days where I can sit on the side of the pool or in a chair reading - she keeps me busy chasing after her. 

When we finished the basement a few years ago, we had talked about the boys moving downstairs to their own rooms when they turned 10. As we approached that point, it became pretty clear that they weren't ready to be separated. Luke has sleep anxiety issues (resulting in insomnia many nights), and he panicked at the idea of being alone in his own room. He also didn't like the idea of being 2 floors below us. I offered the option of bunking their beds for a year or two and they loved the idea. Fortunately, Luke wanted the bottom bunk and Ryan wanted the top. Ryan said it was like having another birthday present - he loves having his own space on the top. Luke has liked his little cave, and has been sleeping better for the most part. 

The other big event this month is that Leah finally got the courage to walk. She has been walking along the furniture or holding someone's hand for months - but like Ryan, she is not a risk taker and wasn't going to start walking until she was comfortable with it. The week after we got home, she stood up from her little rocking chair and walked across the room. No one was really looking at her or encouraging her to do it, she just decided that she was ready. 

No pictures or video of her first walk since no one was paying attention - but this video was her 2nd attempt at walking.

By the end of the week she was in constant motion.

Leah continues to be a joyful and silly girl. She cracks us all up many times a day. One of her favorite words is "no" and we cannot get her to say "yes." Last night, we tried to get her to not say no when I asked her if she wanted a cookie ("Leah do you want a cookie?" "No" - but then points and groans for it). I offered a cookie to Greg, Ryan, and Luke - they all said yes. Leah continued to say no. She can say "more please" - which is very polite, but not sure why she can't/won't say yes. Leah can also say "thank you" at the appropriate time. She even said "thank you doctor" when she got her ears rechecked at the doctor's office this week. She knows and says more words than I can keep up with. Everything seems pretty easy for her, except for "yes."

She is a girl of a million faces - she is very expressive, whether she's happy, sad, frustrated, or confused. 

Some how 10 years have gone by since Ryan and Luke came into our lives. They have always been 2 crazy boys - the best of friends and worst of enemies all at the same time.

Here's a link to last year's post with pictures of them from day 1.

Ryan is a very reflective person. He thinks and feels deeply - sometimes resulting in him becoming easily frustrated, but he can also love and empathize more than most adults. Ryan's personality has been able to really blossom with the addition of Leah. He adores her and devotes so much of himself to her needs and happiness. Ryan is already very concerned about becoming an adult, a husband, and a dad. He wants to be an inventor (of solar cars) and start his own company, but he doesn't want to miss time with his children. He asked me the other day if it was possible to do both. He also saw a commercial today for engagement rings and became concerned that he would never have enough money to purchase one for his future wife. Somehow the conversation of the tradition of rehearsal dinners came up one evening - Ryan stated he will do whatever his wife wants to do. I told him he was already way ahead of most men. I think he may struggle some in middle and high school due to his emotional intelligence, but I have no doubt that he will be an awesome adult.

Luke has always been his own person. He has to be reminded at times that there is a world going on around him. He loves to read, create, and leave of trail of destruction wherever he goes (sort of kidding on the last one). I think Luke's mind must go 100 mph at all times - which is why he has a hard time slowing down at night and falling asleep. Luke can get along with just about anyone but loves to find 1 or 2 friends  who can think like him. He will be in the same class as his best friend for the 4th year in a row. His teachers have recognized that the 2 of them work great with each other and don't become distractions. I have no idea what Luke will become one day - he likes the idea of becoming a scientist or engineer, but he is really talented in reading and creative writing. I'm sure he'll find a way to merge it all together.

They are both the 2 best big brothers a girl could ever have. I am so grateful for their age difference. I had hoped for another baby for years and had gotten to the point that I was maybe ok with it not happening - and then Leah came along. I love that there is almost a 9 year difference. It has allowed me to treasure the time with Leah more (knowing now how fast it can go) and it has given us 2 exceptional helpers. She has been such a joy to the both of them.

For Mother's Day I gave myself a picture session with my family. The top picture and the 2 below are from that session in early May.

Sweet handsome boys.

Happy little girl. She is such a character.

Best Family Vacation Ever!

We survived a crazy jam-packed schedule of events on our vacation to Florida and had the absolute best time in the process. Ryan, Luke, and Leah were great and all 3 had a blast. I know the boys will never forget the trip and they have continued to thank us countless times for taking them. Although Leah won't remember, we will all remember the joy she was to have with us. She had the best time of all of us and seemed to genuinely enjoy every aspect of the vacation. We learned that she loves shows, rides with music, amusement park food, bus rides, hotel rooms, and hanging out with her family 24/7. She was champ until the last day when she came down with a cold and later an ear infection. But even when she doesn't feel good, she still tries to be happy and wants everyone to notice her.

I think Disney World was great and well worth the trip by itself. But I'm also so glad we were able to go to Universal for the Harry Potter stuff - that was pretty amazing.

We spent 5 days at Disney World and stayed at a resort on the property. We feel like we were on a bus or waiting for a bus a good bit of time, but it was probably so much easier to get around with that system rather than parking. The resort was a lot of fun and the boys loved it.

Our first day was at Hollywood Studios. I don't think we were conditioned for the humidity yet, so we were pretty wiped out that day. Greg and the boys rode a pretty intense roller coaster together and I rode on the Tower of Terror with them afterwards. Ryan gets really nervous waiting in line for roller coasters - but I'm proud of him for sticking with it. He was pretty confident by the end of the trip of what he was comfortable trying and what he wanted to skip.

Leah's first ride was the Great Movie Ride - not the best, but she loved it. She dances, points, laughs, and gives says lots of "ooh" and "Wow!" when she gets excited. I think there were many people who got as big of a kick watching her as they did out of the ride.

The only thing Leah did not like was the big characters. She loves Mickey and likes to point out his picture whenever she sees it. But she does not like the real thing. The characters scared the crud out of her. She tried to be brave and wave at them through her tears of terror, but she was glad when they were gone.

I don't think any permanent damage was done - she was happy most of the time.

That evening we ate dinner at the 50s Prime Time Cafe. I remember eating there with my family when I was in middle school. Ryan loved it - he said it was better than Casa Bonita, which is pretty high praise from him. 

Day 2 was the Animal Kingdom. 

The safari ride was pretty cool and Leah really liked all of the animals, especially the giraffe that was hanging out on the side of the road. Leah's favorite thing of the whole vacation was the Lion King Show at Animal Kingdom. She was so excited to see the giant animatronic Simba. She waved and yelled "Roar" during the whole show. Overall, we didn't spend a ton of time at Animal Kingdom. We were still adjusting to the heat, humidity, and the time change - so we called it a day and took a nap before our dinner reservation later that night.

Boat ride to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner.

Day 3 was Magic Kingdom. We had a full day and went non stop from 8 that morning to 9 that night. Leah took a nap in her stroller and we took lots of breaks along the way. The above picture is my action shot of the boys on Thunder Mountain. Ryan yelled at me that I was going to lose my phone. We wore matching shirts - much to Greg's displeasure. I would say we were in the minority for not having matching family shirts every day. Magic Kingdom was a lot of fun, but also very crowded. I had reserved our Fast Passes 2 months prior and used the Touring Plan to help us map out our route. Greg commented that if you just show up to Disney World with no plan, you probably spend most of your day waiting in line or figuring out what to do. The key is to plan - we never stood in line longer than 30 minutes and were able to hit everything we wanted to see. 

Leah was able to do a lot of rides/events at all of the Disney parks. She really is at a great age to enjoy Disney World. Greg and I noticed many older children having massive meltdowns, but she was content to hang out in stroller and enjoy what she could do - that might be different a year from now. 

Day 4 was Epcot - which may have been our favorite day. Epcot isn't as crowded and after a day of Magic Kingdom, it was nice to enjoy a low key day. 

We took a mid-day break and enjoyed the pool.

Later that night we ate dinner in the Italy section and then watched the fireworks. We had intentions of watching a few of the firework shows, but were always too tired by the end of the day. All 3 kids really enjoyed the Epcot show and they had a great view of the lake.

Our last day at Disney was back to Magic Kingdom. We were able to re-ride our favorite rides and check out a few new ones.

Leah's first Flying Dumbo ride.

Mickey Mouse ice cream bar. Ryan wasn't being too cooperative at this point, so I covered up his face with my ice cream.

Ryan, Leah, and Greg on the Little Mermaid ride - they were spared from riding with me-I sang the whole time.

After 5 days of Disney, we needed a break  and headed to Coco Beach.

Ryan and Luke were excited to see the Atlantic Ocean. They loved how warm the water was compared to the Pacific when we were in San Diego. Leah had a great time exploring the sand.

We got the boys body boards and they had the best time tying to catch a wave to bring them to the shore.

Belly girl - she helped Luke dig a little hole and then enjoyed splashing in the water and scooping up wet sand.

The waves, sand, and heat wore her out.

We had dinner at a local restaurant near the beach that night. Luke found this mural nearby.

Day 2 of our break was at the Kennedy Space Center. I thought it would only be a couple of hours - had I known that it was going to be a whole day thing, I would've insisted on stopping at Starbucks beforehand and would've been in a better frame of mind. As a result, I wasn't impressed and was anxious to leave after the 1st hour.

Greg and the boys loved it.

Leah and I kept trying to find a way out.

After a couple of days of rest, we returned to Orlando and went to Universal.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was so cool. Even Greg, who isn't interested in Harry Potter, was impressed with the details. I've read the books at least 7 times, Luke finished the series a few years ago, and Ryan is currently working his way through Book 3 - so the 3 of us loved it.

See the Knight Bus in the background?

Hogsmeade Village

The Hogwarts Express from King's Cross Station.

Part of the appeal of the Harry Potter section is going to Ollivander's and getting a wand. There is a "wand demonstration' that they offer where 1 child is selected to find the right wand - because the wand chooses the wizard. Much to Luke's excitement, he was chosen to get a wand. 

Once both boys got their wands, they had a great time walking around Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade Village casting their spells at designated areas. There are dozens of bronze plaques on the ground around the 2 areas that show a kid how to wave their wand to cast the right spell - then something clever happens - like the water fountain turns on, or a book opens, etc.

We had lunch at The Leaky Cauldron and dinner at The Three Broomsticks. I read that J.K. Rowling maintained a ton of control over the creation of the Harry Potter section of the park. She insisted on the details and even determined what kind of food and drinks were served. You can't get soda or anything that doesn't have natural sugar to drink, for example - the boys enjoyed Pumpkin Juice for lunch.

And later had a Butter Beer.

Leah continued to be a champ, but she was starting to wear down by the end. We let her have her paci way more than she normally does - pacis stay in her bed and are for nap time and bedtime only - but it was a stressful trip, despite the fun, and her paci made her feel a bit better. She began to get a nasty cough the day before we left and was not quite herself. The weather was hot, but stayed pretty dry until the last day - I'm glad we got the rain cover for the stroller and ponchos for us.

Leah is waving hi to Hello Kitty.

Greg loved the Simpson's area of Universal. He insisted on eating at Krusty Burger and having a Duff Beer.

A few random pics of the trip:

The Disney resort we stayed at had a section for Finding Nemo, the Lion King, and Cars - the boys and I visited Lightening McQueen - their very first favorite Disney character - they used to call him "GoGo Queen."

We also found Blue Bell Ice Cream. Blue Bell hasn't returned to Colorado yet, so we were so excited to find Cookies and Cream. We didn't share with Greg or Leah.

Leah's first plane trip - she did great, especially for a 4 hour flight. She slept part of the time and enjoyed a couple of episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. 

Video of some more pics from the trip

Dancing Leah

Video of pics from the beach

Video at the beach

I am so thankful that we went on this vacation. Ryan and Luke are at a great age to enjoy it all and Leah was happy to be along for the ride. Despite all of the fun, we're glad to be home and have settled into a relaxing summer.