It is almost the end of my 3-day work week, and I am so glad! I am exhausted from my 6-day vacation!
Last Wednesday, Brian, Lydia and I headed off to Austin right after I got off work. My parents had taken Lydia to Six Flags that day and even fed her dinner, so she was exhausted. She slept on the way up, played for about an hour or two, and then went back to sleep. We woke her up at 3:00 in the morning so we could head off to the airport by 3:30. Amazingly, she was in a great mood - a mood that lasted our entire vacation, to which I am very thankful and proud!
Lydia, dressed in her Wisconsin Badgers onesie, was ready to fly to Wisconsin, even though it was super early in the morning! She was ready to explore the airport and the plane. Brian's older sister, Tamara, is currently visiting from Ecuador, and loved helping us with Lydia on the plane. The last time Lydia flew was back in December, at 6 months old. She did great then, and was even better this time. After playing a bit, she fell asleep by laying down on my lap for our flight into Houston. She even slept on the next flight into Milwaukee. And, when she was awake, she was in a great mood; she was chatting and playing with us.
Once we landed in Milwaukee, we rented our two rental cars, and headed off to Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Lydia and I sat in the back with Brian and Tamara in the front (Al and Karla - Brian's parents - drove in the other car). Lydia fell right to sleep in the car for the first hour and a half, and then was in a great mood for the other hour and a half (lots of driving). We only had to make one pit stop! We arrived in Stevens Point around 4:30 and Grandma and Grandpa Pfeiffer were so excited to see us! Lydia is their first great-granddaughter!
Lydia was a bit hesitant around her Great-Grandparents at first. She loved exploring their apartment and everyone loved watching her (she loved being the center of attention). Despite waking up early and not having very comfortable naps, she was in a great mood and didn't go to bed until almost 9:30. We slept in the Pfeiffer's old house (where Al grew up - his parents are in a nursing home). Lydia had her own room, which always works so well, and she slept great. We were able to borrow a crib from on of Grandma Pfeiffer's friends (it was a very old crib that made me a bit nervous, but I was very thankful).
Lydia's favorite thing to do at the nursing home was to play outside in the fountain. The weather in Wisconsin was beautiful this time of year. It barely got above 80 degrees and was sunny, so it was perfect weather for playing outside! Lydia always gets so hot when we play outside at home, so she loved the cool weather! All she ever wanted to do was to go outside and play!
We spent two nights in Stevens Point and had a great visit with the Pfeiffer grandparents. Saturday afternoon we headed to Manitowoc - a 4 hour drive! Tamara sat in the back with Lydia and was really great at entertaining her; Lydia has definitely found a new friend! We made it to Manitowoc and the lake house we rented (couldn't see the lake from the house, but it was close by!) around 5:30. We stopped at the local huge grocery store, called Festival, to get dinner. The great thing about Festival is that it provided small carts for kids to push around - and boy did Lydia have a blast with those!
The house we rented was beautiful! It had 3 bedrooms and one bathroom, a huge kitchen, and an awesome backyard with a lanai, hot tub...and Lydia's favorite, a fountain! We borrowed a pack n' play and highchair from Brian's Uncle Gary, which was awesome. Our first night, Lydia slept in our room...and she was up by 4:30. The sun rises at 4:30 in Wisconsin, which woke her up, and then seeing us, she was ready to get up! We tried to put her back down for an hour, to no avail. Tamara and Karla later her took her (after we convinced her to nap for 1/2 an hour) so we could catch up on some sleep - they loved it! The next two nights, we slept on our mattress in the living room and Lydia had her own room. Worked much better - she wasn't up until 6:00 (her usual time).
We visited Grandma Schmidt on Sunday. Lydia was the center of attention while playing outside, since all the residents of the nursing home and their visitors were watching her play. Lydia got to meet her other Great-Grandma (who has 7 (or more..) other great grandchildren)! Lydia was a little more at ease with meeting Grandma Schmidt...she was getting used to meeting new people. Brian's Aunt Deanna and Uncle Mike and Cousin Maggie also arrived that day. Maggie is 10 and Lydia loved watching her....although Maggie wasn't too sure what to do with Lydia.
On Monday, Brian, Lydia and I went to the local zoo. It was a very tiny zoo with only a few exhibits, but it was free and beautifully maintained. Lydia loved watching the animals. She took a nap in her stroller while we sat in a gazebo and chatted. When she woke up, we went to McDonald's for lunch, and then for a walk along Lake Michigan. We had a wonderful visit with Brian's Grandma Schmidt and really enjoyed the lake house!
Tuesday morning, we were up by 4:30 and out the door by 5:30. Lydia was in a great mood the whole drive to Milwaukee (about 2 hours). We took awhile to get through security, because we forgot about all the apple juice boxes we packed for Lydia! We had a flight into Denver, and then a 3 hour layover that turned into a 4 hour layover because our plane was delayed. We took turns entertaining Lydia at the airport. She slept almost the whole way into Austin. We made it back to San Antonio by 9:30 that night! Wow...a 15 hour trip!
We had a blast in Wisconsin and loved seeing the family! We plan on visiting with Tamara throughout the summer.
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