We were excited to hit up a few garage sales Saturday, but were surprised to find there was only one that sounded very promising. I always look at craiglist so that we only go to sales that will have what we need and don't waste our time looking at ones with egg cartons full of golf balls. :) This trip the mission was baby boy clothes - and we had great success! Had to include a pic. Amazingly they all look pretty much brand new, and some even still have the tags on them. We ended up with 10 sleepers, 3 pairs of pants, a shirt, pant oufit with two shirts with a puppy on it (from Lorelei...had been looking for one like this!), a light sweatshirt, 2 pairs of socks, and a hooded towel. All for only $9.50! (Thats 19 items folks!) We are definitely going to make garage saling a priority this summer because for those prices we can get out little guy a great wardrobe! :) Hopefully we will continue to have such good luck.
As always, Lorelei comes back with one toy from the sale...this time we ended up with a talking Elmo...he tells stories, jokes, dances...you name it. She really enjoys him, but Brad and I keep looking for a volume button...the mom at the sale warned, "you are going to want to turn that thing off!" :) Lorelei wouldn't cooperate with the video and just wanted to watch behind the camera to see what I was recording, so you only have an Elmo solo for now.
*Forgot to tell a cute story in relation to this post. As I was trying to get her to be in the video with Elmo, she was obviously not going for it, so I just dismissed it and said "okay, fine" when I quickly heard hear response back... "fine"...oh boy just the word I needed to add to her vocabulary!
We had a light rain this evening in between supper and bath, so when Lorelei was itching to go outside we decided she may as well get to play in the rain. She really enjoyed it. After going inside it started thundering and she was pretty scared about that though!
One evening was spent playing a round of mini golf at the oceanfront. Brad and I love doing this, and of course the kids were excited as well. We have not gone in forever because I was afraid of how Lorelei would do...but then we had a glimmer of hope when we noticed how much she enjoys playing it around the house...WELL its a good thing we had a chance to try it out with Grandma around to help! It is definitely safe to say we still do not want to try doing this as a family of three. :) It was still fun though, and we were thankful for extra hands to help keep her out of trouble and then Aunt Sarah to let her play in the pirate ship with her cousins so we could finish the last few holes. Oh I should point out she also had no trouble just picking up her golf ball and putting it in the hole. :)
The hotel pool is always a huge hit with Hannah and Karter and this trip was nothing different. They LOVE swimming. This time Lorelei was able to join them full force and loved it just as much. The big pool was a little too cold for her and would leave her teeth chattering, but thankfully the hot tub was also pretty cold, for a hot tub, so she was able to enjoy that with either Grandma, Aunt Sarah, or her Dad. I got to just take it easy and watch from the sidelines! In the far left picture you can see she is playing peek a boo with Sarah, who is in the big pool. Her other favorite things would be jumping off the ledge, and hanging on the pole. :) She also had to try out the kid's water guns and swim goggles.
Of course there is always the bit of random stuff that you can't really put with anything else! Here we have a hodgepodge of those sort of pictures, but still memories nonetheless. From top left, clockwise...Brad and Karter eating our home made smoothies Saturday morning. All of us eating at Rock Fish, determined to enjoy the ocean views from the patio but the only ones crazy enough to be out there because it was FREEZING! :) Jeanette enjoying her beverages... :) Grandma sneaking Lorelei some extra chocolate donut. Lorelei was fascinated with the hats while shopping... and finally, Hannah and Lorelei mixing up the blueberry muffin mix.
We finally got to go strawberry picking! Wednesday brought us out to the strawberry patches...I can't even tell you which farm it was because the one we planned to use had their fields closed because they were picked clean! The next farm down the road still had some, but we definitely had to work for our treats. "Kinda like hunting for Easter eggs!" is I believe what Jeanette told Karter. :) That was so true. With all of us able to help we quickly filled two heaping baskets full of strawberries, despite the fact that Lorelei obviously ate way more than she picked. :) Then while Sarah and Jeanette tried out picking some fresh peas, Lorelei enjoyed some time with the farmer's dog who was amazingly tolerant of her and also loved the sandbox they had for her to play in. We finished that adventure with a trip to Red Robin for lunch and got to enjoy the outdoor patio. :)
Sunday we spent a wonderful morning and part of the afternoon at Norfolk Botanical Gardens. We all had fun riding the tram around to see the whole place, and then took a nice long hike through to be able to see everything. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and had planned to play in the water fountains, but then there were clouds looming overhead with rain ready to pour on us. We did manage to make it to the rose garden on the way out before the rain started. It was such a beautiful place to visit and I think all the kids enjoyed just being able to explore everything it has to offer. Of course the grown ups just enjoyed the beauty!
We enjoyed going to the beach EVERY DAY (well except the last day when they flew out, as Karter pointed out since we had been telling him "you will get to go EVERY DAY" because the beach was ALL he wanted to do :) ) while the Stahl family was here. Saturday we took them out to Sandbridge and even packed a picnic lunch and Brad grilled cheddar wurst and hot dogs for everyone. Then on Sunday afternoon they started their stay on the oceanfront so we were able to enjoy that beach very easily, right out the front door! Brad enjoyed having Karter around so that he could actually build a sandcastle, as his attempts with Lorelei just result in her knocking it down before he gets a chance to build anything. They also had fun trying out the boogie boards. :) By the last day they were ready to use our umbrella for shade and slathering on as much sunscreen as possible as we were all looking a bit tomato-ish, but it sure was a lot of fun!
Our next newest addition to our wonderful group of adorable kids! :) Leah Taylor Bonfiglio decided to bring in Mother's Day by giving Melissa the gift she was asking for...to have that baby! :) Chase and Kira are proud siblings and Lorelei loved seeing Leah for the first time yesterday at the park. When we told her Melissa was going to have the baby she said "GO!" and was ready to see the baby right then, so was very excited to see her friends again along with the beautiful new baby girl. :) We are so excited to meet you Leah!
Today's rainy day adventure: taking a walk through every puddle in our complex topped off by playing in the muddy dirt. When she was done playing in the dirt she looked at her filthy hands and said "pretty." :) What a girl!
Much to Brad's delight Lorelei started doing this all on her own yesterday evening. Although we just got the video of Brad helping her, she had been hitting it fairly well on her own before I started filming. Yes, she is using a vacuum extension...for some reason she loves that thing. We may have to break down and get her some little golf clubs here soon. :) She even tries to hit rocks with sticks when we go for walks outside...all with no coaching from us! As Brad put it "she has the passion." :) Guess we'll see how long the passion continues, but hopefully Brad will have a golf buddy!
We have had a rough week at our house! Wednesday afternoon Lorelei took a crazy long 4 hour nap. I was just thinking it was a God-thing since Brad was having to work late that night, and we had gone to the beach in the morning so maybe it finally wore her out (usually we are lucky to get a 2 hr nap and checking her breathing after 2 1/2 hrs. :) ) so thanks to my mom I finally realized I should check Lorelei's temp and sure enough, fever of about 102. Needless to say she and I vegged out the rest of the night before getting to sleep. The next day we made our trip to the pediatrician and they determined it was a virus so all we could do was give her meds to keep the fever down. The fever went up and down for about three days, which included a total lack of appetite most of the time and also tons of tv time...then making us the most miserable Saturday morning at 4 am when we ended up giving her a bath just to get the temp down and then the rest of the day was off with all of us feeling weird from our off sleep hours (oh dear it reminded me of the soon to come middle of the night feedings and not looking forward to that again!). Sunday afternoon she finally seemed to get back to herself so we should be good to go!
These pictures are from the pizza we had tonight, so you can tell Lorelei is definitely doing better. :) Brad thinks its amusing to use Lorelei to get his way so after he changed her he said "What do you want to tell Mommy?" and she proudly said "P!" I was shocked and of course sure that meant he wanted pizza. :) I gave in this time but next round I'll be strong. :)
A few stories I have been jotting down...
- Lorelei now lets us know when something is for her, or if we need to include her...for example Brad was walking to do something somewhere else in the house and she followed him out of the room saying "Meee! Meee!" as in "Me too!" or "Don't forget me!"
- The other day I had put the large yogurt in the trash and as usual the trash was pretty full so to make you feel better, there was no other trash mixed in or that it had touched...a bit later I caught Lorelei with container in hand, licking some of the yogurt out of the container that had been in the trash! It was pretty funny but I did remind her we do not take food out of the trash and eat it. :)
Low/Story: I was trying to clean up Lorelei's tray and put things back in the frig and Lorelei was impatiently waiting while throwing things from the frig onto the floor. I asked her to pick up one of the items and, not thinking she would do it immediately after I asked her, then started to open the frig JUST as she bent down to pick up the item as asked and sure enough BAM smacked her right in the head with the frig door. I felt so horrible! She did cry a bit but no red marks or trips to the ER thankfully.
High/Story: Lorelei has had her own tradition for quite some time now...Brad always strips her down to get ready for bath and she loves to just come running out here to me proud as can be in her birthday suit. There is just something kids love about that isn't there? Well, of course I always react accordingly and then she gives me a kiss before happily sprinting back to the bathroom for bath. A little while back she did this usual tradition, running out gleefully to me before her bath, then gave me the usual kiss, then wanted a butterfly kiss (had been showing her them again that day) so she held her cheek out, then I gave her one, immediately followed by "more." :) So after two butterfly kisses she scampered away squealing. Its so hard to describe but I almost teared up right then for such a sweet loving moment from her. Just trying so hard to cherish this age. We love that little girl!
This week we ended up moving Lorelei's car seat to forward facing position. We kept her rear-facing longer than necessary because it is so much safer that way. I had planned to keep her turned until she was two, but Wednesday we discovered our portable DVD player seemed to be broken. Now we all know how much Lorelei has hated the car since she was born, so the DVD player was a HUGE lifesaver. I knew I could not keep my sanity with no DVD to entertain her unless we turned her around, SO around she went. She does much better in the car now, and its fun to be able to point out things outside that she can actually see. The good news is, Brad discovered that the DVD player DOES work but she was already turned and there was no going back. Now we have it put away for long trips only. :)
We did a very quick garage sale run Saturday morning as well. We were in search of DVDs to entertain Lorelei, thinking of the possibility of a three day drive if we end up moving. We did luck out and found two dvds, but also ended up with some antique raccoon pull toy from the 70s. :) This was Lorelei's big find at the sale and we decided to splurge on the 50 cent purchase. She calls him "pup" because she apparently thinks he is a puppy. :)
Play kitchen for my birthday? Nah, I'll take my own steel drum. :) May starts many of the free entertainment on the oceanfront, including the Caribbean music festival! Brad and I love the steel drums so enjoyed going to this last year. At that point Lorelei was still crawling, so it was a bit easier. :) This year she enjoyed it for about 30 minutes (which included her running up by the stage several times) and then was antsy to go. We headed to the beach to enjoy the water for another 30 minutes (and could still hear the music, yay) and then headed home. All FREE! We even landed a free parking spot (impossible really) because they were doing construction on the sidewalk so the coin machine was gone! :) It was nice to add a fun event to our day.
After hearing the weather forecast that it would be in the low 90s on Thursday I decided it was time for a kiddie pool. :) This meant starting our morning with a trip to Walmart to get one. :) Each time I told Lorelei what we were going shopping for, she said "meow." :) Yeah, try explaining that one to a toddler. :) She was very excited for her pool and as soon as we got it all filled up she was ready to get in, clothes and all. I have now learned to get her in her suit BEFORE putting the water in because I then got to endure a 15 minute fit while attempting to get her changed. She had a fun time playing for a bit by herself, and then friends Chase and Kira came to play. That was when I could finally convince her to leave her slide in the pool. Chase LOVED that idea so then she went along with it. When I tried it before they got there she just said "no" like it did not belong in her pool. :) She had fun with her friends in the morning, and then after nap she even went back in. We even topped it off with her first Popsicle. :)
Got some great ultrasound pictures. :) This guy was not too cooperative today because he was determined to keep his arm right in front of the area they were trying to look at most! Everything looks good, but they are pretty sure it is a cleft lip AND palate, which means multiple surgeries. We are anxious to talk to the pediatric doctors next and find out many answers to our questions still unresolved. :) We are just relieved that everything else appears to be fine. That means its only "a bump in the road" and he should have a great life ahead of him. :)
We are going to have an echo-cardiogram June 4th just to check the heart more in depth. This is routine for this situation and they do not suspect anything is wrong. This will give them another chance to get a better face shot if he decides to cooperate. They did show us some of the ultrasound in 3D so that was pretty neat. The ultrasound tech from our hospital even called me this afternoon to see how the appt went and said they may do another ultrasound later as well.
We can't thank Sara and her mom enough for watching our girl today. :) Lorelei got to play at Lily's house all morning and part of the afternoon! The office was running very behind schedule and I just kept thinking "I'm so glad I'm not having to try and entertain Lorelei in this waiting room!" Not to mention the lengthy ultrasound with the tech trying to get this little guy to move his arm! :) Lorelei had a great time at her friends house and hopefully we can repay the favor soon!
It was finally time for the long anticipated visit to Sesame Place! The weather was wonderful. Saturday was a high of 90 and Sunday was supposed to get to 92. The weatherman said that the last time it was that warm this time of year was sometime in the 1940s! :) Guess we picked the right weekend to go!
Lorelei was excited of course, but didn't really realize what we were doing. Apparently so excited she couldn't go back to sleep when waking us up at 5am (my second day in a row) so we had plenty of time to get ready and have breakfast. She had a wonderful time. Our game plan was to do the dry rides in the morning and then hit the water rides after lunch...of course this seemed to be everyone else's plan as well, so we had a few long lines to deal with (try explaining that to a toddler, but she definitely was not alone) but she enjoyed the rides we went on, especially the teacups and carousel. :) We also went to three shows and the parade over both days. We actually ended up doing all but one show on Saturday. She loved the shows. That would probably have to be my favorite part of the park as well.
Okay well I will try and walk you through our weekend with the various pictures. :)
Our first stop when getting to the park was to visit the small recreation of the actual "street". Just a few cute pics from there, plus one of her trying to get Oscar to come out of his can. She was not too happy the lid wouldn't open. :)
She had a great time on all the rides as well. We did the teacups and carousel both days and thankfully didn't have any long lines the second day. The one of Brad pushing her is a little "train" in the Twiddle Bugs area...the kids are supposed to move the handle to make their own car go, but obviously she couldn't really do that. Brad ended up pushing about 5 kids around by the time he got around the track. :) Guess he got a good work out!
The water was WONDERFUL to cool off on the warm days we had. Lorelei wanted nothing to do with all of the water getting in her face though. Even on the lazy river Brad had to steer us away from any water that would get on our face, as Lorelei was clinging on for dear life. She much preferred the little wave pools where she could just splash around. Sunday we decided to try Count's Splash Castle first so it would be less crowded. We did take her up the stairs but it was basically a huge shower of water on her so she was very unhappy. Brad enjoyed going down the huge water-slides a few times while Lorelei and I watched from the sidelines. :) His face was hilarious each time he got to the bottom so I tried to catch a picture of it. :)
We enjoyed the parade on Saturday afternoon. As you can see we are almost sitting in front of Hooper's Store. :) It was a lot of fun to watch and Lorelei's first chance at seeing the characters up close.
One of my main concerns was what Lorelei would do nap-wise during this crazy weekend. It took quite a while and two towels covering while pushing to get her to sleep, but she finally took about a 45 minute nap in the stroller. We pushed her out of the park (you can come and go needed) so that there wouldn't be so many noises and distractions, so that seemed to finally do the trick.
The Shows! The three shows they have are Elmo's World Live, Abby Cadabby's Treasure Hunt and Elmo Rocks...all of them were a huge hit! Brad and I most enjoyed Elmo Rocks because they sang a lot of fun songs that grown ups would know, plus Lorelei could go up front. So much fun!
Heading into the park the second day...they had the hand prints on the way in so I guess she needed to look Hollywood. :) After Brad showed her to put her hands in the first one, she then ran up to each one to try them all out.
One of Lorelei's most favorite things to do by far...see her friends! Somehow we totally missed seeing them all on Saturday. Most of them are on the street during the main part of the day, but since we did the street first thing, we apparently didn't make our way back there when they were around. Realizing this when we were ready to leave, our main goal Sunday was to make sure she saw each character. :) She had no hesitation going up and giving them all hugs and kisses. Some of you may notice we do not have an Abby picture. :( Long story short we waited an extra 45 minutes when told she would be appearing for pictures and when we got there, she had apparently been there a while already and was about to take a break so we did not get to take a picture with her. Needless to say this made an already very tired toddler pretty upset, but worse things could happen right? :) Hopefully we can meet Abby another day. :) The characters were so great and Lorelei loved it!
Big thanks to Sara and Mike for their tips for the park!
We are so blessed that we were able to take this trip for our girl. :)
Lorelei was excited when we went to get her up to head out on our trip in the morning. :)
After a long drive we finally made it to The Crayola Factory!!! (Eh hem, running an hour late for various reasons...but we made it.) We were only able to be there for an hour, but Lorelei really enjoyed all of the activities she could try out. We felt bad having to rush her along, but they were definitely ready to kick everyone out at 3 pm. They even gave us those 15 and 10 minute announcements. :) There were so many different places to explore she probably could have easily stayed for three hours. We enjoyed what we could though! Her favorite would definitely have to be the "After Dark" section where she could write on a board with a special light pen. We were a little disappointed with the actual "Crayola making" section, but we did catch a few minutes of it where we heard he makes about 1,250 crayons at a time. We all enjoyed the time as much as we could while we were there. :)
Then the store stays open an hour later so we got to see The Worlds Largest Crayon.
Then we headed off to our hotel to rest for the night before the really big adventure coming up. Lorelei's favorite part of the hotel room was the phone. :)
Apparently we were a little slap happy on the drive up so I wrote down a couple of memorable moments. :) How thankful I am to have a wonderful husband to laugh with on these drives.
Brad, as we are driving into the sun: "At least we wont have to drive into the sun very much." GPS Lady: "Continue 93 miles." :)
Eliz: "Maybe these school buses are going on a field trip." Very grumpy by now because we were running late and made a wrong turn sarcastic Brad: "Yeah. To the Crayola Factory that closes at three."
Probably not as funny when you can't hear them, but we had fun anyway! Working on all the ways to organize the pics for Sesame Place. Plan to get the blog done during nap tomorrow!
We were excited to hit up a few garage sales Saturday, but were surprised to find there was only one that sounded very promising. I always look at craiglist so that we only go to sales that will have what we need and don't waste our time looking at ones with egg cartons full of golf balls. :) This trip the mission was baby boy clothes - and we had great success! Had to include a pic. Amazingly they all look pretty much brand new, and some even still have the tags on them. We ended up with 10 sleepers, 3 pairs of pants, a shirt, pant oufit with two shirts with a puppy on it (from Lorelei...had been looking for one like this!), a light sweatshirt, 2 pairs of socks, and a hooded towel. All for only $9.50! (Thats 19 items folks!) We are definitely going to make garage saling a priority this summer because for those prices we can get out little guy a great wardrobe! :) Hopefully we will continue to have such good luck.
