Sea World

The week after Lily's birthday we went on our first family of 5 vacation to Sea World in San Antonio.  We went to Colorado last summer with my entire family but we have never gone anywhere with just the 5 of us.  I'm not sure who was more excited about this trip- me or the kids!

 

We left as soon as Parker got out of school on Thursday.  The kids have never been in the car for long periods of time so we were worried how they would do on the 5 hour drive, but they did great!  We stopped in North Austin for dinner so that broke up the trip a little for them.   

"Raise your hand if you want to go to Sea World!"

One of the things that they were all three very excited about was staying in a hotel for the first time.  We've always stayed in condos on vacation so they have never spent the night in a hotel.  The girls insisted on taking the suitcases inside for us- so sweet!  After exploring the room and saying "oooh" and "aaah" and "this is amazing" about 273 times, they all three crashed.  Bedtime was much easier than I had hoped on the first night. 

 

Unfortunately for me, I tweaked my back in the car trying to pick up a doll that Lily had dropped and was in so much pain that I could not sleep.  I think I only slept for about 2 hours that night because I could not find a comfortable sleeping position.  The pain was so bad that we considered getting up and going home the next morning.  Luckily, after icing my back and taking lots of Advil, I was able to get the pain under control enough to walk around Sea World for a few hours. 

 

The kids, on the other hand, slept great and were all up bright and early the next morning.  They were excited and couldn't wait to get to Sea World. 

We had about 45 minutes before the first show so we let the kids enjoy some rides in the Sesame Street area.  Parker and Eden loved the little roller coaster and Lily loved the merry go round.

After we got off the merry go round, we were able to get a few pictures with Zoe.  Lily wanted nothing to do with Zoe but would at least let me hold her for a family pic.

Our first show was the sea lion show.  Parker and Eden insisted on sitting in the splash zone with Cory while Lily and I hung out a few rows back. 

Lily was not sure what to think about the show.  She spent most of the show covering her ears.  She finally relaxed and started enjoying the show towards the very end.

The best part of the show was when they picked Parker out of the crowd to come up and pet the sea lion.  He did a great job and was so excited that they had chosen him!

Next, we headed over to the Shamu show.  It has been many, many years since I've been to Sea World, but the orcas were just as amazing as I had remembered.  And we even got to see the new baby orca perform with his mother. 

After the show, we got to visit with one of the trainers.

Feeding the ducks was next on the agenda.

Parker and Eden were so excited to stand at the bottom of the log ride.  Fortunately, they stayed pretty dry.

One splurge that we made was signing up for the dolphin touch.  It was fairly inexpensive and was something I've always wanted to do.  Our dolphin's name was Nachas and the kids got to pet her and feed her.  Petting and feeding an 800 pound dolphin is something you don't get to do every day and I hope it's something they will never forget!

Because we went to Sea World the week before Halloween, they were having some special activities for the kids.  Throughout the park, they were able to trick or treat with all kinds of sea creatures.  At each station, the kids were given a bag of candy, which they loved!

After the dolphin touch, Parker started complaining of an upset stomach.  I attributed it to being tired and let him ride in the stroller for a little while.  Unfortunately, it wasn't fatigue but a nasty stomach bug!  The vomiting started right before the next show and didn't end until after bedtime.  Needless to say, we left the park immediately and headed back to the hotel.  What should have taken 20 minutes took almost an hour and a half due to rush hour traffic.  Parker threw up 5 more times in the car and then several more times once we finally made it back to our hotel.  It was definitely not how I had envisioned our trip to Sea World.

Parker felt much better the next morning so we kept our original plans of stopping in Austin on the way home to visit Nabeel and his family.  As always, we enjoyed hanging out with Nabeel and Julianne and the kids had a great time playing with their kids.  We went with them to their neighborhood fall festival where Eden got her face painted for the first time in her life.  She has always been too scared to have it done so I was proud of her for finally overcoming her fears.

The drive home from Austin was just as eventful as the rest of our trip.  We got into not one, but two very bad rainstorms/hailstorms where we couldn't even see the car in front of us.  Luckily the kids slept through most of it and never knew just how scared Cory and I were.

I don't think I have ever been more glad to be home in my life.  Other than the first few hours at Sea World, this trip seemed to be one disaster after another.  Despite the craziness, I think we all had a good time spending the weekend together and we definitely made some fun memories.  It may be awhile before I'm ready to try another family trip but when we do, I hope it will be a little less eventful!   

Gerard Fall Festival

The night before Lily's birthday party we went to the fall festival at our school.  It's always very crowded and crazy, but the kids always have a good time.  Plus it's our school's biggest fundraiser of the year so we feel good that we can support our PTA by attending.  

 

Lily is in the process of giving up her daily nap and she usually gets pretty cranky during the late afternoon.  This day was no different.  She had been sent to her room to calm down from a tantrum and when I went to get her, this is what I found:

She was in a deep sleep under her chair.  You might think that she woke up from this little snooze completely refreshed and ready to go enjoy the festival, but you would be completely wrong!  She did not want to be woken up and was actually more cranky than she'd been before I sent her to her room.  As a result, she wanted nothing to do with most of the games that the other kids played at the festival.  I spent most of the festival holding her and trying to keep her happy.

Parker and Eden, on the other hand, had a blast!  They enjoyed the soda pop walk (that Parker won!), fingernail painting with Addison and Aubrey (we got separated from them soon after and didn't see them much after the nail painting), pumpkin grab (that messed up our freshly painted nails!), basketball throw, football toss, and duck pull.  The duck pull was the only thing I was able to get Lily to try the entire night. 

Despite Lily's crankiness, we still had a good time at the fall festival.  Hopefully next year, Lily will enjoy it a little more too!

Lily's Ladybug Birthday Party

I realize that it has been weeks since I have blogged.  This week is the first week in the past three weeks that we have not had something to do every single night.  And then our internet was down for 3 out of 4 days.  But I'm happy to report that I'm back and ready to get caught up with what we've been doing. 

 

October is a very busy month for us.  Between Lily's birthday, fall baseball, fall festivals, and trick or treating, there is very little down time.  The first few weeks of November seem to slow down before the craziness of the holidays start.  I've enjoyed being home this week with nothing to do and nowhere to go.  I'm hoping our internet is finally fixed so that I can get caught up on all of the posts that are floating around in my head.  My last post was Lily's birthday letter so I guess the best place to start my catching up should be about her birthday party.

 

We had a very small, family-only birthday party the weekend before Lily's birthday.  I wanted to make Lily feel special but also wanted to keep it small and simple.  I let Lily decide what kind of party she wanted this year since she tends to be quite opinionated on these things.  She went back and forth between puppies, butterflies, ladybugs, and Hello Kitty but finally decided on a ladybug party.  (I may or may not have strongly pushed her in that direction since I already had a ladybug cake pan!)  

We took as many family pictures as we could before the party.  I love the pic of all three kids.  It's proof that they really do love each other most of the time! 

Lily has had so much fun riding her cousin's bike this fall that we decided it was time for her to have her own bike.  We made her close her eyes while Cory wheeled it in.  She was so excited when she opened her eyes and saw her very own Minnie Mouse bike!

She must have been peeking in some of her other presents while we weren't looking because as we were taking the bike outside to let her ride on it, she ran over to one of the packages and said "Hold on.  I have to get my helmet!".  She reached into one of the bags and proudly pulled out a pink helmet!  She is such a funny girl!  You never know what she is going to say or do!

While Daddy went to pick up the pizzas for dinner, Lily tested out her new bike.  She does such a good job pedaling all on her own and rarely needs help anymore.  I think that's pretty good for a three year old.   

After dinner, we let Lily open the rest of her presents.  She was so excited about all of her bike accessories and her new baby doll. 

One of her favorite gifts was a puppy bed that came with 5 small stuffed puppies.  I got it at a garage sale a few months ago for $2.  It had never been opened and I knew that she would love it.  Lily has always loved puppies and is always asking me if I'm going to go with her to pick out a new puppy.  Since we have no plans to add a puppy to our family, I figured this was the next best thing. 

Just as I had thought, the puppies were the hit of the party and she has slept with them every night since her party.

After presents, we ended her party with the pink and green ladybug cake that I had made. 

She acted embarrassed while we were singing to her, but I'm pretty sure that she was loving every bit of the attention she was getting!

Lily's party was short and sweet but we had a fun time celebrating our precious girl!  I still can't believe my baby is three!  I hope this year has wonderful things in store for her!

Six and a Half

Parker,
Today you are half way to turning seven!  Time sure seems to be going faster the older you get but I am loving watching you turn into a great young man.  Here are some things I want to remember about you as you turn six and a half.

-I don't know how much you weigh or how tall you are right now, but I do know that you are one of the tallest kids in your class and you seem to be getting bigger daily.  You wear size 7 clothes and size 2 1/2 shoes.  You are going to be taller than me before I know it!

-You are a pretty good eater and are getting better at trying new things.  You usually ask for seconds or thirds when I fix a meal you like!  Your favorites are still spaghetti and tacos.  You also love chicken nuggets, taco salad, roast, turkey and cheese sandwiches, all kinds of fruit, and chips and queso. 

- You love school and are a great student!  I am so thankful that learning comes easy to you.  You love your teacher, Mrs. Brightwell, and are learning so much in first grade.  You are currently reading on a level 27 and your favorite books are the Magic Tree House chapter books. 

-You still love to play video games on the computer, Playstation and iPad.  You get to play for about 30 minutes every day after you finish you homework but you could easily play for hours at a time if we would let you.

-You have reached one of the two goals you set for this year- you learned to ride you bike.  You love riding and ask me to come outside with you every day so that you can ride.  Now we just need to teach you how to tie your shoes, which was your second goal!

-You are so active and love to move.  You recently joined the Mighty Milers running club at school.  The first day you ran 3 miles in an hour and were so proud of yourself.

-Your favorite sport is still baseball.  You were sad when fall ball ended because it means you have to wait 4 more months before you get to play again. 

-You are such a good helper around the house and often help without complaining.  It's nice to be able to have a little help with some of the chores.

I never thought you and I would survive your toddler years but I am so glad we did!  You are such a fun kid and I find myself missing you during the day and always look forward to picking you up from school.  You are still strong willed and stubborn but you are learning how to keep it under control so that it doesn't get you in trouble!  I love you so much and am so proud to call you my son!  I can't wait to see what the second half of your sixth year brings!

I love you to the moon and back, Mommy 

Three Years Old

Lily Claire,
Today you turn three years old!  What a fast three years it has been!  It seems like just yesterday that you made your quick arrival into this world.  You are so passionate about life and bring a smile to my face every day!  Here are a few of the things I want to remember about you as you turn three:

-You weigh 38 pounds (95th percentile) and are 40 inches tall (97th percentile).  You wear size 5T clothes.  You are the tallest one in your preschool class. 

-You are very independent and like to do everything by yourself.  We often disagree on what you can and can not do without help and you often prove me wrong when I think you need help accomplishing something. 

-You are no longer taking naps.  You still need one some days, but if I let you take one, you won't go to sleep at night.  You are still not easy to put to bed at night, but you are usually so tired that you don't put up much of a fight.

-You love to sing!  You can often be found singing while you play or while we are in the car.  You also like to sing at preschool.

-Your facial expressions make me smile every day!  You often get so excited about whatever you are talking about and your face becomes so animated. 

-You love to play outside and color.  You can almost always be found swinging, riding your bike, coloring in your coloring books, or drawing your own pictures. 

-It is rare that you can be found watching TV.  You usually lose interest after about 10 minutes.  Your favorite shows right now are Team Umizoomi and Little Bear.

-You LOVE baby dolls. You can often be found with at least one baby doll in your arms and you always sleep with at least two or three (or ten!) of them. 

-You are a GREAT eater!  You will usually try new things that are offered.  You love fruits and most vegetables.  Some of your favorites are apples, broccoli, strawberries, and oranges.  You also like salad, pancakes, tacos, and chicken nuggets.  Your favorite snacks right now are fruit snacks and goldfish.

-You are strong willed and know what you want and when you want it, which is usually right now!  You do not like when you don't get your way and have been known to throw quite a tantrum.  We are working on being patient and not getting upset when things don't happen immediately.

-You have been diaper free (day and night) for several months.  For the first few months, you got up at least (sometimes twice) a night to go to the bathroom, but now you can usually make it all night long without waking up.

-You are definitely a mommy's girl!  You cry if I ever leave the house without you and will always choose mommy over daddy if given the choice. 

-You give the best kisses and hugs when I leave for work in the morning and at night when I put you to bed.  I look forward to them every day!

You are such a beautiful little girl on the inside and out!  I feel so blessed that God chose me to be your mommy and I pray that you will always know how much I love you!  I can't wait to watch you grow and change over the next year.  Happy Birthday, my sweet girl! 

I love you to the moon and back, Mommy