Hilton Head Vacation

Bryan, Anna, and I enjoyed a trip to Hilton Head, SC with my mom, her bf (Andy) and his kids and grandkids. We stayed in a house on Sea Pines not too far from the beach. We had a great time swimming in the ocean and in the pool at the house. We also enjoyed bike rides and evening walks. Beach vacations are really nice for us because we can keep Anna on schedule (12:00ish for a nap and 7:30ish for bed). Vacations with lots of activities can be somewhat challenging since Anna NEEDS a nap everyday; we don't like to mess with her schedule because her behavior starts to be completely out of control and irrational.

My mom rode with us and took turns driving which made the car ride down and back much easier for Anna. She doesn't like to watch movies (even if they are right in front of her face), but she does like to be entertained, so having one of us in the back with her helped the drive go smoothly.

We would love to go back to Hilton Head in the near future. It was a great family vacation spot.

Bryan and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary while we were in Hilton Head. We enjoyed dinner at a seafood restaurant on the intercoastal waterway. It was delicious, and it was so nice to enjoy an evening out by ourselves.

Family Picture!

Anna LOVED the ocean. She liked riding the waves and being crashed by the waves. She has no fear, and would have been happy to wander into the water without her Puddle Jumper (best invention ever) or a grown up. We had several discussions on how children can drown in the ocean or pool.

My Little Swimmer Girl. She loves to jump in the water and swim. She's been taking swim lessons at the pool this summer, and everyday her swimming improves. I was slightly neurotic at the beginning of the summer with the chances and risks she takes in the pool, but we've gotten to the point where I know she can stay under and swim for a few feet. Don't worry - I stay with her at all times in the pool as she jumps in and swims back to the wall, or she wears her Puddle Jumper when she's in the big pool because she can't stand with her head above the water. Her risk taking is very hard for me because I don't think she understands safety limits, but we are always talking about her choices and how to be safe. I think we will try to continue with swimming in the winter at the YMCA since she enjoys it so much and seems to excel at it.

We loved our trip to the ocean!

Today I am thankful for:

1. 
   
   a safe trip to and from vacation - we were less than 10 cars away from a bad wreck, but were able to avoid being hit. It was really scary; I was so mad at the college boys that were driving too fast and too close and caused the accident. I believe everyone was OK, but they definitely learned their lesson the hard way.


2. 
   
   my mom - she's very generous and loves us


3. 
   
   Anna and Bryan - I just love them so much
   

NOT Up For Adventure

I AM COMPLETELY ANNOYED WITH BLOGGER RIGHT NOW. IT WILL NOT KEEP THE SPACES I WANT BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS. I WILL CLUE YOU IN TO WHERE I WANT THE SPACES :) I know my limits. I respect my limits. I sometimes challenge those limits, but in little ways - like a new exercise video. There's a reason, well several reasons why Bryan and I have waited to have another baby. One of those reasons is that I'm respecting my limits. I do not like to overwhelm myself. I like to be healthy and productive with a smile on my face rather than drowning in stress and freaking out. !!SPACE!! I recently had the chance to push my limits beyond their breaking point. I was so tempted; it sounded so fun - on the surface. But when I looked deeper, and really thought about life, I knew I wasn't up for the adventure of Disney World. Or to put it another way, I wasn't up for the adventure of Disney World with my baby. Bryan's sister has 3 kids under the age of 4, and she is brave enough to take on Disney World. I (with 1 kid) am not brave enough for Disney. !!SPACE!! It was a really hard decision. I want to provide Anna with fun activities and experiences in life. She loves spending time with her cousins and Mimi and Papa (who are also going). But...in the end it comes down to the fact that she can't handle over-stimulation multiple days in a row especially if sleep and routine are thrown off. I can't think of a worse place to try to keep stimulation down and sleep on schedule. This is what happens when Anna has too much stimulation, is out of routine, and doesn't get enough sleep.

• Day 1: good, great even.


• Day 2: listening is at a 2 or 3 (out of 10), tantrums begin, meltdowns over EVERYTHING, aggressive behavior (usually hitting).


• Day 3: listening is at a 0, it is a full on cry fest, aggressive behavior (hitting and kicking), with super tantrums (those are the ones where she's so out of control the only thing that helps is playing in water or soapy bubbles). We've only ventured here a few times (thankfully): Kings Island and this past Christmas.

During all that time Bryan and I are trying to keep it together, help her every way we know how, and usually failing miserably. So, you see why when I REALLY thought about it, it wasn't such a hard decision. Flying down on Wednesday, going to the Magic Kingdom on Thursday, Animal Kingdom on Friday, MGM on Saturday, and plane ride on Sunday would lead to the complete emotional breakdown of my entire family all at the astronomical cost of $3000-$4000 (which is completely insane, I may add).

She'll be ready one day - probably when she's 8 or older. And that's ok because she most likely wouldn't remember a trip as a 3 year old, and I would only remember it as the trip from hell. She will have to get to the stage when she can verbalize her feelings and needs (such as: it is too crowded, and I'm tired. I need to go back to the hotel and swim for a while.) One of the books I'm reading is helping me help her work towards this skill (identifying what's wrong, and how to fix it rather than being irrational, aggressive, and out-of-control). Although the behavior of my spirited baby has improved greatly as she's gotten older and as Bryan and I have found ways to help her succeed, she still has limits, and as her mother I have to respect those limits until she can do that for herself.

We'll do something else fun those few days of Fall Break. Keenland will be open, and what's more fun than teaching your kid the value of money at the race track?

Today I'm thankful for:

• Anna - spirited and all


• a long talk with my mom


• a sound mind


• checking off things on my to-do list


• Bryan helped with the Junk Depot!!!

A few more tidbits...

Some other vacation memories:

• Anna liked the boat, but only if it was moving - fast


• Anna, Bryan, and I were the first ones up everyday. It doesn't SEEM that long ago when I was the last one up everyday. Oh, how life changes.


• Bryan, Scott, Dad, and Rob (friend) went to the casino and all won a lot of money playing craps.


• Bryan and I made tacos and these chicken enchiladas - they were mighty tasty.


• We didn't make it to the Sleeping Bear Dunes because of the rain, but we did eat ice cream at the Pine Cone in Glen Arbor.


• We got souvenirs in Fish Town, aka: PePe Town


• I thought my step mom wouldn't like one of the boy's names I like (no, I'm not pregnant - I just like to pick out names) because of a negative association, but she does like it! So, Blake is back on the top of the list - with Carter a close second.

Leland, MI - 2010

I've been on hiatus this past week, and for a great reason - V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N! My step mom's family has a house on Lake Leelanau in Michigan. It's a really nice lake, big and relatively empty. They (my step family) have a pontoon boat, a speed boat, a jet ski, and a great yard . We were able to go this year along with my dad, step mom, brother, his friend, little sister, and her friend. We had great weather until Thursday, but that's the way it goes sometimes. We were nervous about the ride up with Anna, but she did really well. We got a DVD player for the car, and she actually enjoyed some of the shows: The Wiggles and Baby Einstein videos. We tried other shows, but she wasn't interested.

Anna had so much fun. I think it might be a tough week back - no perfect temps, no big kids to play with, no water to swim in, no jet ski to ride. She loved waking up every morning to run around the yard and explore. Even more fun was after her nap when she could get her suit on and go for a swim or a jet ski ride (very slow, very close to the house). She bonded with my little sister, Sydney, and her friend, Erin. She called them, "my girls." She got a chance to get to know my dad, step mom and brother better too - so thankful for that family time. She was so tired she slept most of the ride back today, so did I.

Today I'm thankful for:

a fun family vacation

a safe trip home

Anna did great in the car

we met with Bryan's family for lunch on the way home

I got all the vacation stuff put away and the laundry started

I'll have fun with friends, but I'm going to miss my baby

Bryan and I are going to the Bahamas on Thursday. Notice that I didn't say Anna is going too? Bryan's best friend, Luke, is getting married to his long time girl friend, Nickie, at the Sandals Royal Bahamian. Sandals = no kids.
I'm excited for a bunch of reasons:

• B and I will have a romantic weekend together - our first since before Anna (really before pregnancy)
• We get to see our friends that we rarely ever get to see. After college, we moved all over the country. Weddings are about the only time we see our high school and college friends.
• We get to have a few days in the warmth and sun. Yes, away from this horrendous cold and snow.
• We are going someplace new - I've never been to the Bahamas.
• A little break from work and life.

I'm sad, nervous, and anxious for a bunch of reasons:

• We've never left Anna overnight, much less 3 nights. She'll be with my mom, so I know she'll be taken care of, but I've never been away from her for that long.
• I will miss my baby. She makes me so happy. I'll miss her pretty smiling face and silly things she does.
• Anna's been having a lot of sleep issues lately. Her doctor said it was normal, but it's hard to know what to do. She wakes up every couple of nights screaming. Sometimes if we let her go, she will fall asleep on her own. There are other times, the only way to get her to sleep is by bringing her in our bed; she falls asleep instantly when she comes in our bed so that makes me wonder if she just needs to be comforted. The past few nights she will not fall asleep unless she's being held. If we leave her in her bed to cry it out, she tries climbing out of her crib but stops while straddling the top bar - I guess she doesn't want to hurt herself by dropping down. It's a hard choice - cry and maybe hurt herself or fall asleep with us and start bad habits. We've been leaning towards stay safe which leads to starting bad habits. She's at least sleeping in her crib every night for at least some or all night. My mom won't want her in any pain or sadness, so I'm sure she'll be in her bed every night.

  It will be tough to be away from Anna, but all in all, I'm looking forward to a fun weekend.

  Love you Anna. Love you so much.

It's our anniversary

B and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary yesterday. We had a beautiful outdoor wedding at the Manor House in Cincinnati - it was perfect. I had the best time at our wedding. The food was good, drinks were flowing, and the music was very danceable (I don't think that's a word, but you know what I mean). It was so fun - we danced, hung out with friends and family, and celebrated.

We are on vacation in Isle of Palms right now, so we drove into Charleston last night, where we had dinner at a restaurant called Fleet Landing. It was really good - I had crab cakes and the best grits I have ever tasted, mmmmm, and B had Mahi Mahi, also good. Then we walked to the Haunted Jail Tour, ooooo, spooky. It was an interesting tour - the jail has been there since 1802! We didn't see any ghosts, but we did get some orbs in a few pictures.

Bryan is great husband and father. We definitely have different personalities, but on things that matter the most, we stick together. We love our families, we work hard, we support each other, we communicate, we cuddle, we take care of each other, we both take care of Anna. Sure we argue and have disagreements, but we always work them out, compromise or move on, whatever it takes.

I love him.

Anna hearts the beach

We arrived at Isle of Palms today around 4:30 and by 5:30 we were checking out the beach. Anna LOVED it - she had the best time. We were only there for a half hour or so, but she had a great time. She enjoyed the water and the sand. She even tried a little sand and thought it was ok. I think it made up for the long drive that she was nice and crabby for :) Have I mentioned that she's dramatic? But I love her anyway.

A big week - part 2

We drove back to Lexington from Cincinnati on Sunday morning, actually, I drove back since B was a little hungover. This is a BIG DEAL; I kind of quit driving on the highway when my Menier's (vertigo spells) started happening a lot. They have been greatly reduced since I watch my salt intake and quit eating chocolate, so all was good.

Anyway...we finished packing and hit the road to Gatlinburg once B's family arrived (from northwest Ohio). We went with B's parents, Mimi and PawPaw, his sister, Jami, her husband, Marc, and their kids, Lilly and Zach. B drove to Gatlinburg after he rested in the morning. We had a great time. Gatlinburg had plenty to do to keep us all busy.

We went to the Ripley's Aquarium on Monday. It was soooo crowded and Anna screamed almost the entire time. The picture to the left is one of her few happy moments of the day. She loved watching the schooling fish swim by the window. I think it went downhill from there. She wasn't trying to be a royal pain; she was tired and missed her afternoon nap. Once we got outside she calmed down. I was nervous about the rest of the week.

We hung out at the pool on Tuesday. Anna LOVED the pool! This is a picture of her enjoying the waterfall with B. She was tired again so we stretched it as long as we could, but once the screaming and fighting started, we left. I was nervous about Dollywood the next day. I wasn't going to be able to just leave Dollywood and put her down for a nap.

Dollywood day....like I said, I was nervous, what were we going to do if she was screaming and hollering when she got tired? See, she gets so worked up she doesn't know how to calm herself down. Then people stare like, "what are you doing to your baby, lady." I want to say, "clearly, she has a temper, she's tired, her teeth hurt, and she's fine, I didn't pinch her or hit her, I promise :)"

Well, I got the bright idea to give her food after we would buckle her into her stroller - which is when the tantrums usually started. I am so smart! 1 piece of graham cracker, and life was good :) I'm not one to console with food, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. She even fell asleep in her stroller for about an hour. We had so much fun. Dollywood is really nice and clean. Anna got to ride the Merry-go-Round, the Dumbo ride, and cars on a track. She had a great time on the rides! I love that cute little baby, even if she is stubborn and dramatic.

Well, the graham cracker each time she was put in her stroller worked for the rest of the week. I might have created a bad habit, but what are you gonna do? We enjoyed time at the outlet mall, downtown Gatlinburg, and Ober Gatlinburg during the rest of the week. Overall, the vacation was a success and a super time. B's parents said they want to do a family vacation every other year. I don't know where we will go next, but I'm up for it.