Vacation

We are back from our wonderful, whirlwind vacation. It was so much fun, definitely the sun filled break that we all needed but came to an end way too soon. We were even talking about moving to Florida - shame it's non recognition state. 

Of course we couldn't leave for vacation without a little drama.... After complaining his belly hurt for a couple of days N came down with a stomach bug the day before we left! He seemed better the day we were due to travel so we headed off to the airport in the early afternoon for our evening flight. As we were hanging out waiting for the plane to board he announces that he needs to go. J takes him to the bathroom and nothing happens, then just as they start boarding the flight he again says he needs to go. I picked him up and started to head to the bathroom and then remembered that I'd put a diaper in my carry on, so doubled back to get it before we made it to the bathroom in time for a massive blow out. After a little convincing I managed to get him to put the diaper on and we headed back to J just as we were being called to board. 

As we got on the plane with all our gear (bags and the car seat) N was looking through the window into the cockpit when the pilot waved him inside. The lucky guy got to check everything out - they even let him press buttons and light everything up as well as push up the throttle. He was so chatty and told them that it was his first time on a plane, all while J and I carried on to our seats and got organized. He was then brought to us as I tried to figure out installing the car seat, which is harder on a plane because of where the buckle is positioned. We all got settled and soon took off just a little later than scheduled. 

We hadn't been in the air all that long when N said he needed to use the bathroom again. Luckily the seat belt sign had just gone off and I lost the rock, paper scissors game and took him to the bathroom. I'm not a fan of flying and always avoid the bathrooms - my worse nightmare is the plane going down while I'm stuck in there. But I sucked it up and manoeuvred us both into the tiny bathroom. Again it was another blow out and just as I got his diaper and clothes back on he had to go again. Poor guy was not feeling great at all. Once he was done and back in his seat he settled down to play with his Peter Pan figures and was happy for the rest of the flight.

We landed at 10.30 and by the time we got off the plane, got our luggage and sorted out our hire car it was midnight before we got on the road. N fell asleep soon after we left the airport (he had napped earlier) and we made the nearly 2 hour drive to J's parents place. We hadn't taken into account that it was daylight savings so we arrived at 2am, which was really 3am! I transferred N straight into bed, we said hello, got what we needed from our bags and crawled into bed with N. 

Luckily for us N slept until 9 the next morning so we managed to get some sleep before we really started our vacation. We spent the first day around the house, taking rides in Gram and Pop's golf cart, made a quick trip up to the pool and popped to the store to get a probiotic for N's poor tummy. 

On Monday we went to Seaworld where N got his first taste at dealing with crowds and waiting in line to do the things he wanted. He liked seeing the animals, especially the penguins but probably liked the rides more. He rode a kiddie roller coaster with J a bunch of times (I don't do roller coaster) as well as all the other rides they had. He even played in the arcade and won a couple of stuffed Orcas that he was really happy with. The penguin ride and exhibit had the longest line and I ended up being really happy that I'd thrown the Ergo in the case at the last minute. It was so helpful for keeping him contained and happy while we stood in line when we weren't allowed the stroller. He even took a nap in it as we stood in line at Disney. 

We had planned to visit the magic kingdom on Wednesday, but when the weather forecast started showing rain and thunder storms we switched it up and went on Tues instead. After much debate about how long we were going to be at the park we got our act together and got there at 11.  I have to give the folks at Disney credit, they are great at dealing with the crowd and coming up with plan B when they need to. The monorail wasn't working and before we knew it there were a bunch of buses that arrived to take us from the parking lot to the park entrance.

There was a performance in front of the castle when we got there and N was mesmerized. He loved seeing his favorite characters and insisted that we watch the whole thing. Despite our attempts to move him along so we could start getting in line for the rides. He dealt so well with all the lines which saw us waiting 30-40 minutes. We had stuffed a backpack with toys, snacks and water so that helped with. His favorite ride was Peter Pan, which had one of the longest waits so we only rode it once. 

By around 5 J's parents were done and I was telling J that I didn't need to come back again any time soon. I really wanted to stay for the parade so J took her parents home while N and I hung out, rode some more rides, ate ice cream for dinner and waited for her to come back. We missed the parade at 9 but did get to watch the fireworks - N and J from the speedway! J has to cutest video of him trying to see the fireworks while he was supposed to be driving. By 10 we were staking out our spot for the 11pm parade (thanks Amanda).  Watching N's reaction to the parade was the highlight of the whole day for me. He loved it. He waved and called hi to all the characters and smiled the biggest smile ever when Cinderella blew him a kiss. 

Wednesday saw us hanging out at Gram and Pop's house for most of the day. It did rain, but not as much as we thought it would. The great thing about Florida is that even when it does rain it doesn't last long. The warmer temperatures and light rain meant that we could still play outside. N sang and danced around in the rain and said that he wished it could be summer all day long :-) 

The three of us went back to Disney for dinner on Wednesday night. We had booked a table at Chef Mickey's thinking that we would end our day there after the park, but we were so glad that it worked out the way that it did. We got the full day in the park the day before and were well rested for dinner and to meet the characters. N started out a little shy, but in no time at all he warmed up and was happy to meet all the characters, especially his favorite Donald Duck. 

Thursday was our last full day and we decided to visit Legoland, which is only 15 mins from J's parents. After experiencing the efficiency of things at Disney we found the park very slow. It wasn't crowded but they could barely handle the visitors that they did have. Lines moved really slowly and we only managed a fraction of the things we thought we would. N still had fun and at the end of the day that is what it's all about!

We flew home very early on Friday morning and were greeted by the freezing cold. The whole plane was groaning when the pilot announced the temps when we landed! I was hoping we could bring back some of the sun and warm temps with us but we couldn't squeeze it into our cases ;-)