Family Vacation 2018

Back before we we decided to move, we set our minds on taking a family vacation. Then our summer became super busy with buying and selling our home and moving. Thankfully, Joe's new boss was just fine with us taking our vacation as planned. We started small by heading to San Antonio for a week. We rented a house from AirBnB and were happy with it. We've had good luck doing that versus paying the same price for a small hotel room. We had four bedrooms to spread out in and plenty of space to run around and relax.

We decided rather than doing something different each day and driving a bunch around San Antonio, we'd stick to SeaWorld/Aquatica. This was also due to money. Ashton gets in free to SeaWorld as they have a Preschool card for all Texas children ages 3-5. Then, kids two and under are free. So that meant we just had to pay for Joseph and I. I found a great groupon for three day passes, which was perfect.

We drove over on a Monday afternoon and our treat for the kids was that they could pick out one treat and one drink at Bucee's (a famous gas station chain in Texas) on the way there. Tanner took this very seriously and spent a good ten minutes debating his options. He chose Cool Ranch Doritos, which shocked me. I thought he'd pick something sugary and messy. We beat San Antonio traffic that afternoon. After getting unpacked, we headed out to Chick Fil A for dinner and a quick stop at the grocery store for ice cream.

Playing in the big tub at the house.

Tuesday was our first day at SeaWorld. We spent the day watching the animal shows with the kids but they didn't really care for them too much. That surprised me. We quickly learned that our kids prefer the rides and seeing the animals in their exhibits. We visited the dolphins, saw the sharks and whales, and then spent the rest of the day riding rides. Tanner loved all the rides he could go on and showed no fear about them. Ashton was tall enough to ride some of the big rides with Joseph and loved them too. We anticipated Tanner napping at the park but that didn't happen at all. He was too happy and excited.

Killing time in the splash pad while Ashton and Joe ride the big kid rides.

She was so happy to ride the big rides.

Tanner found a squirrel who would eat from his hand. Tanner loves squirrels so this was perfect for him,

Another big kid ride.

I was definitely holding tighter to Tanner. He could care less.

They had some dancing show with Sesame St. characters. Tanner now asks to watch Elmo.

Watching the dolphins under water.

The penguin exhibit. Tanner cared more about riding the moving sidewalk than the penguins so we spent a lot of time here.

The bottom of the one of the rides Ashton rode.

Watching the otter show. We didn't spend much time here as they wanted to move on to more exciting things I guess. I was bummed as the shows are really cool. I guess they don't keep the attention span of a 2 year old, though.

I felt like such a silly mom for buying her a fan but Gemma sweats so much! Most everyone else had a stroller fan too so I guess it wasn't just me. She ended up sleeping in the ring sling most of the time but every now and then, she'd sleep in the stroller.

The ferris wheel. Tanner was a huge fan and keeps asking about going back to the Ferris wheel ride.

We spent the day at Aquatica on Wednesday. Aquatica is the waterpark inside SeaWorld. Once again, the kids had a blast. They really love water and I liked that I could let them play with little worry. There were tons of lifeguards and the kid pools weren't that deep. Ashton did lose her goggles and had a great natural consequence of what happens when you leave your things behind. Tanner surprised me by waiting in line for 45 minutes to ride this one specific ride that he was tall enough for. Ashton loved going down the water slides with us. We went "swimming" with sting rays that morning as our special treat for the trip. Tanner cared more about eating his snack than being in the water. The employee was really nice to Ashton and spent some time with her individually. It was cool.

She got more adventurous as the employee helped her.

The "boat ride" that Tanner could ride on. This line was super long and took about 45 minutes.

The water slide that Ashton could ride on. She didn't fit in the tube very well but she met the height requirement.

They had several slides for kids under 48 inches, which was nice as we could let the kids go freely. Tanner loves having no limitations so this was perfect for him.

What happens when you play too hard during the day. Nap at 6:30 and he refused to wake up. I finally offered ice cream and that did the trick.

On Thursday, we went back to the park and did the best parts of each park again. We spent the morning riding rides at SeaWorld and hanging out there. Then, after lunch, we wandered back to Aquatica. I was shocked that the kids made it from open to close each day. Gemma got a pretty bad sunburn so I spent more time with her in the nursing stations or under what little shade I could find. I was so worried about her sweating that I didn't want to overdress her but I think the sweat also washed the sunscreen off faster than I anticipated. She didn't seem to mind much.

Didn't take many pictures this day as we just repeated a bunch of stuff. But Ashton was excited to ride this ride again.

Her poor blister broke open on one cheek and took a little to heal but the other side healed up just fine.

On Friday, we packed up and headed out to Morgan's Wonderland. This park was built in 2010 and was made to accommodate people of all abilities. Everything is wheelchair accessible and they also ensure no bright lights, etc for those individuals who need calmer environments. What I like about this place is 1) My kids saw people of all abilities enjoying the park and 2) Since everything is built with disabilities in mind, my kids could also do everything at the park. There were no height restrictions for the rides. We spent most of the day there and left around 4 to head home.

They had little jeeps that you could "drive" on a track for the families. The kids loved driving the car around.

Riding the bigger Ferris Wheel.

This was, by far, the most relaxing vacation we've taken with kids. I think it worked out well to have the same "base camp" every day and we weren't driving around a bunch in the city. By being able to go to SeaWorld three days in a row, we didn't feel rushed or anything. And the kids slept well. Typically, some kid decides to wake up all night long on a vacation but this time, they all did great. Tanner even slept on an air mattress instead of a crib and didn't come out at night. I also focused a lot on how I could make the little things exciting. I brought a book for me to read. We had a treat every night after dinner. I brought super easy meals for dinner and breakfast. We brought paper plates and stuff so I didn't have to do a ton of dishes. The kids watched a movie each night. We did little things to make the vacation fun as well. Now on to planning next year's trip to Gatlinburg.

Gemma at 5 Months Old

Weight: 17 lbs
 
Height: 26-27 inches
 
Clothing Size: 6-9 month clothes for the most part. If she's in disposables diapers, she can still fit 6 month onesies but cloth really adds extra bulk.

Daily Schedule: Gemma wakes up anytime between 7 and 8:30 in the morning. Then takes 3 naps each day. Her naps are finally condensing. She takes a morning, afternoon and mid-evening nap. Her first two naps are 1.5 or more hours and then a short cat nap in the evening. She is still an easy, on-the-go baby. Doesn't take long to fall asleep wherever we are (van, in my arms, carseat, crib, etc). She definitely doesn't fight sleep very often, which is a blessing. She goes to bed between 8 and 9 at night and wakes up once around 5 to eat quickly.

Gemma continues to be a very happy baby. She is constantly looking for someone to smile at and enjoys being around people.

Special Outings: Went to San Antonio for vacation. That was a lot of special outings for her.

Firsts: Rolls over both ways and is pretty close to sitting up independently. She also figured out how to drink out of a straw cup so that's exciting. No foods yet but next month, we'll start. She also has been wonderful at going to the child care at the YMCA in town. As long as I don't work out longer than 45 minutes, she's a happy girl.

Eating: Back into eating normally from last month. She does great at eating and is close to getting 4 teeth (two bottom and two top side teeth).

Heart Update: Her initial appointment wasn't scheduled until next month but I got worried about taking her on vacation with how much she was sweating. Gemma sweats like crazy when she sleeps and eats. Like dripping sweat and she sleeps in just a diaper. I changed her sheets/blanket almost every day because it smells a lot. It's gotten progressively worse over the past two months and the pediatrician said this could be a sign that her heart condition is worsening. So to be safe, I had her checked out before we spent a week in sunshine. The check went well but Gemma's valve has worsened.

The valve stenosis is measured on a scale of 0 to 100 or so. Less than 30 means a mild defect. 30-50 is moderate and above 50 is severe. Her initial appointment back in April, Gemma's defect measured in the low 30s. Then in June, she was in the low 40s. This appointment in August, her defect measured in upper 40s/low 50s. The recommendation is that if she reaches 60, we will do the surgery. However, the best results for surgery is after Gemma turns one. So we have 7 months to go but the doctor is telling us to prepare for the surgery in case we had to save money or anything.

Monthly Pictures:

Her reaction for every time the kids want to take a picture with her.

Her first Gund bear from my sister.

Gemma definitely prefers my ring sling over my lillebaby carrier. She took most of her naps in this during our vacation.

She enjoys swinging with the big kids.

July Shenanigans

 Between the 4th of July and moving, July was also filled with lots of fun activities.

Our old house sold! We got a great offer towards the end of the month and closed with the relocation company already. The best part is we don't have to pay a double mortgage!

Our last picture at the house before we moved out.

Our dear neighbor, Miss Renee. The kids love her and we are so sad to not live next door anymore.

We explored the new area and found this cool rocket park. I took the kids back there a few days later and Tanner kept running towards the road so we'll take a break from this park for a while.

 Tanner had his second (and hopefully last) surgery. Joseph took him to the hospital because they wouldn't allow me to take Gemma back into pre- and post-op areas. He did pretty well considering his surgery wasn't until 11:30 and he couldn't eat from midnight. Joe kept him pretty busy.

The anesthesia was heavier this time as it took a long time for him to wake up. He refused to drink anything so the nurse finally offered a popsicle and that did the trick.

He took much longer to recover from this surgery compared to the last one. Last time, he came home and could walk by that night. This time, he couldn't walk at all and then was in a ton more pain. He got unlimited snacks, drinks, and TV for a few days until he was back to normal.

For Pioneer Day, we made my Great-Grandma Banning's roll recipe. The kids loved helping and we also sang the song, "Pioneer Children Sang As They Walked."