Fiddle Dee Dee: Well, Some People Use Their Imagination

We had our very first family vacation as a family of three...with just the three of us. Our "vacations" since we've been married:

Fredericksburg, TX: We went here for our Honeymoon.
Twinsburg, OH: August 2008, I went with my twin sister and mom for the Twins Festival
Wisconsin: August 2008, we went with Brian's parents and two sisters to visit his grandparents.
Orlando, FL: July 2009, we went with my parents and whole family to Disney World.
Marble Falls, TX: February 2010, we went on our Babymoon.
Dallas, GA: December 2010, Lydia, my mom and sister and I went to a friend's wedding.
Port Aransas, TX: May 2011, Memorial Day/Start of Summer vacation.

It was awesome to be able to go to the beach and stay at a hotel with just the three of us. It took a lot of packing and planning on my part to figure out what Lydia needed, as well as what we needed. I knew Lydia's schedule would be interrupted, and I had to plan around that. I definitely over-packed on Lydia's clothes, but didn't pack enough diapers (I didn't realize how many more diaper changes there would be; getting in and out of the pool/beach). We should have packed frozen dinners, instead of going out to eat, since it was a 30 minute drive to the nearest place to eat from the hotel, so we had to go to HEB on the second day to stock up. We didn't need the beach chairs, since Lydia didn't want to stay very long down on the beach. Thankfully we remembered to pack Lydia's Wiggles DVD, but we should have also packed a CD of all their songs to listen to in the car.

What I hadn't planned for was how difficult it would be to get Lydia to sleep in the hotel-provided pack n' play....in the same room as us. She does not sleep well when she knows we're near by - she wants to play with us or have me hold her. Saturday night was the worse night. She went to sleep at 7:00, woke up at 8:00, then 9:00, then 1:00, then 2:00, then 4:00...oh it was horrible! Plus, she was in a bad mood Sunday morning because she hadn't gotten much sleep...and we were frustrated because we hadn't gotten much sleep, either! The other nights were better, although she always woke up between 4:30 and 5:30, ready to start her day. Tuesday night, our first night back home, she slept straight from 6:45pm to 6:30am; that's how exhausted she was!

We left at 1:00 on Saturday. I had spent the morning packing for the beach, and Brian had a meeting in New Braunfels. We were able to leave shortly after he came home and we had lunch. Lydia fell asleep after about 30 minutes in the car and slept for an hour. We listened to Harry Potter Book 7 on tape while she slept. She woke up and we stopped for gas. She was pretty cranky after sitting for so long. She ate a snack, and then fussed the rest of the way to Port A. The only thing that calmed her down was Brian and me singing Wiggles songs - which is why I wished we had brought a Wiggles CD!

After checking into the hotel, we changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the pool. Lydia loves swimming in the pool! She had a blast! She loves to watch people and try to get them to smile and talk to her; she knows she's a cutie! We had Subway for dinner, put Lydia to sleep at 7:00, and Brian and I sat out on the porch to chat and hang out until we were tired. Like I said, that night was rough.

Sunday morning we were up and eating breakfast by 7:00. We watched The Wiggles while getting everything ready for our first trip down to the beach. We lasted less than 10 minutes on the beach because Lydia was being fussy. We went back up to the room, changed and tried to put Lydia down for a nap, but that didn't work, so we went to the pool instead. After the pool, a nap, and lunch, we headed back to the beach and Lydia enjoyed herself this time. We went on a super long walk after dinner. Lydia rode in her backpack and enjoyed watching the birds, dogs, and people. I loved walking alongside Brian and just chatting and enjoying the view. Sunday night, we let Lydia fall asleep on our bed when she started getting fussy (she likes to play on our bed). She slept with us until we were ready to go to sleep, and was put in her pack n' play. She had a much better night, only waking once or twice, and was up in the morning by 5:30.

Monday morning we went on another beach walk (a shorter one) after breakfast. We snacked, napped, and then went to look at the tourist shops. Then we went to the pool and the beach again, and then another walk that evening. Tuesday we were up by 6:00, packed up everything, and were in the car heading home by 8:30.

Overall, it was a great experience for us. We learned what not to do, what to pack, and how to deal with a cranky baby. We also enjoyed watching Lydia explore her new environment (she loved playing out on the porch), and had fun playing with her at the pool and on the beach. Although it may not have been a very relaxing vacation (since we got very little sleep), it sure was fun and I would totally do it again! Watching Lydia and Brian spend time together is tear-jerking and I love it!