Only in Miami

*whew* Now that I've got all the dr's appts out of the way today, and Logan's taking a nap after his traumatic 4 month shots, I'll try to summarize the rest of our vacation this past weekend.

It goes without saying we had a blast! And, I enjoyed our time even more than I expected because Jon and I were on East Coast time, but little Logan appeared to stay on West Coast time. So, when he started drifting to sleep about 11:30pm or so, we were able to put him down, watch a little TV before going to bed ourselves, and then get a full night's rest since we basically slept the same 8-10 hrs he did. When we're at home, I really struggle to get to bed early, and still end up going to bed by 11-11:30pm. Because he's down by about 8:30pm, he wakes up around 6-7am (if not earlier) and it just kills me not to have my full 8 hrs of sleep! :) Anyway, it was really nice and I felt like I also got a lot more time to spend with my husband on the trip.

So, I'll pick up where I left off Saturday morning. Jon and Nathan still had some work to do Saturday afternoon - so Kim and I took the babies for another stroll around Miami Beach that afternoon. The weather was super hot and muggy, so Kim and Molly retired a bit early for the air conditioned hotel rooms. I decided to stick it out a bit longer and get some snapshots of the buildings and area around us. Logan drifted in and out of sleep for most of the walk but I finally woke him to give him some milk since I was concerned he'd get dehydrated from the heat (his cheeks were flushed pink even tho I had him covered in shade the entire time!).

When the boys got back, we went out to another nice dinner - this time Cuban! Yuuummmm. It's amazing how satisfying a simple dinner like black beans, rice and plantains will do it for ya! :) After dinner, we all strolled along Ocean Street, mostly people watching since that is *the* place to be seen. Toward the end of the night, we caught an unexpected display of fireworks over the beach which was neat. Logan had been a bit fussy and seemed to be a little interested in the bursts of color in the air, but not as crazy about them as his mom. ;-)

Sunday we all trekked to Jungle Island, to see some parrots and other tropical animals.... the birds were absolutely gorgeous and I think I got some pretty good pics from our trip to the park. Logan slept on Daddy the majority of the way, a little too young to appreciate the sights. It's definitely a place where a bit older kids (say 4-6 yrs old?) would love - so I'm taking note to visit again in the future.

Because it was super hot out and the park is all outdoors, we were all pretty spent when we got back to the hotel. So, back to the pool we went! :) Logan wasn't as agreeable this time around however, so while Daddy sipped his fruity drink and floated in the pool, Mommy sat with little Logan all bundled up in a towel. Molly, unfortunately, wasn't feeling well at all (turns out she caught a head cold), so the Hicksons decided to stay in Sunday night and eat dinner in their room. I wanted to go out one last time for our last night out and, because we had such a wonderful dinner the night before, I decided we should do Cuban again. After all, we can get great Chinese, Italian, Japanese, etc. in the bay area, but you're hard put to find a good Cuban joint.

So, we set out for Lincoln Mall Road one last time - to eat at the little Cuban restaurant we visited the last time we were in Miami - about a year ago when I was pregnant with little Logan! :) We had another delicious dinner before heading back home. On our way back to the hotel, we got caught in the rain - so the last 10 or so blocks we were pretty soaked! But, it was warm out so it didn't bother us too much. And, Loganito never knew the difference, his good ol' stroller protected him from the downpour quite well! :)

Reflecting over the last few days away, I'm really glad we made the trip. The 6 hr flight was a good test to see how well Logan would hold up on the plane in case we decide to do a longer/bigger trip later this year (that is the plan!). And, altho I think I did pretty well overall, I have a better sense of what to pack and not pack for the next time around (uhhh, skip the long sleeve nursing outfits in muggy 80 degree weather!). What's best of all, the trip was really invigorating and calmed all the minor jitters I had about traveling with a baby... and has got me really excited for our next big trip, hopefully sometime soon! :)

Click on any of the pics to see the rest of our vacation! That's right, a fabulous lime-green car baby. Only in Miami.... ;-)

Back in Cali

We just got home from our trip to Miami and I just got Logan down for bed a few minutes ago. I'll keep this update brief since we're beat.

We had an excellent trip - it was so nice to be on vacation with Jon, Logan and the Hicksons! Miami was really fun, the weather was super hot and muggy, but pleasant at night. We ate a lot of good food, did a TON of walking and did a lot of relaxing.

Our flight home today went ok - Logan did really well again, even despite a crappy flight. The plane's A/C wasn't functioning very well, so it was hotter than hell. The turbulence was some of the worst I've been thru in a long time - so everyone's nerves were a little on edge. And the flight was absolutely packed. But, we made it home! And, that's the important part. :)

Logan also had some trouble during the descent, we can only assume due to the pressure building up in his ears, and after everything I could think of, we finally got him to calm down by laying him stomach down on the boppy, like a flying squirrel, sucking on Jon's finger. Go figure!

Time to crash now, but more to follow with picture updates and detailed stories of our trip later this week.... It's good to be home! :)

Lookout Michael Phelps

We had a nice and relaxing day in South Beach yesterday. While the boys went to the data center to get some work done, Kim and I and the kiddos took off for a leisurely stroll around our hotel's neighborhood. I needed to get something cooler to wear like tank tops (silly me - I only really brought my nursing tops which are not only double layered but long sleeve and simply won't work in this muggy weather!!), so we went shopping at The Gap and a few other stores. It was pretty hot out but the kiddos did ok. Here's Logan all ready to go with his cool sun hat! :)

After a few hours, we came back to the hotel to relax and let the babies nap. Once our hubbys got home, we decided to take a dip in the pool - another "first" for Logan! :) I can't say he really *enjoyed* it - he only giggled a couple of times. Mostly, he was very tentative and not sure what to make of this humongous bath tub! :) I don't give him a lot of baths because of his eczema, so I think part of it is he's just not really used to being in the water that much. But, we're going to try again today so we'll see! I still have time to make him into an Olympic swimmer yet ;-)

We had another nice evening strolling Lincoln Mall. We ate an awesome meal at Sushi Samba (a hip and happening sushi spot) and had gelato again for dessert. Logan did great - he slept about 3 hours - the entire time out (which was nice for me since I got to enjoy dinner with everyone for once!) - woke up once we got back to the hotel which was fine since we needed to change and feed him again before putting him down anyway, and then he slept another 8 hrs before waking this morning. Yay!

Hello Miami!

Logan and I took on a big trip yesterday with Kim and Molly, her 5 1/2 mth old. Both of our husbands have been in Miami these last few days for work and we decided to join them for the weekend.... here is a little recount of the last 24 or so hours.....

Wednesday night, after my friend Jenn picked up the dogs, I loaded up the car and took off with Logan to Kim's house. Since our car was going to pick us up at 4:30am Thurs morning, we decided it'd be best if we spent the night at Kim's house. I didn't get much sleep though - I think I was nervous about the trip, and Logan was too fidgety sleeping next to me on the futon. I finally wrapped him up and put him in Molly's crib (she was sleeping in Kim's room) around 1am so that I could get a couple hours of sleep. We woke about 3:30am to get the kiddos ready and load up the towne car (we just BARELY fit all of our stuff and I was a bit cramped in the backseat with two babies/carseats and a stroller!) and took off for SFO about 4:30am. Our flight didn't leave until 7am but we wanted some extra time for the security checks since we had the babies with us.

Our check in and security checks were a breeze. The line to check in was pretty long but we got thru just fine (as it happened, our flight was delayed anyway) and once the security gal saw us both with a shit ton of stuff and babies, she let us pass the enormous security line to get up to the front. Score 1 for traveling with babies! ;-)

Molly now fits in a convertible car seat so Kim got some wheels to snap on the seat and she checked everything else. Logan still rides in his infant car seat so we had a bit more crap to carry (his car seat, the base for the car, the stroller, bags for the stroller and car seat so they wouldn't get ruined in gate check, and other randoms like a diaper bag and boppy.) Let's just say I felt like I was a traveling Sherpa about to embark on a huge expedition!

Here's a pic I took with my iPhone while waiting to check in: Logan's stroller loaded up with all our stuff. Yes, Logan is asleep in there somewhere!! ;-) (I'll post all the pics from our trip in a few days when we are back home)

Our flight was uneventful - which was great! We were able to get seats in the same row so we were near each other. Kim had two seats, one for her and one for Molly/her car seat which was handy. Logan got stuck with me on my lap the entire time. :) Both babies did wonderfully without a peep throughout the entire flight! Molly slept for about the first half of the flight while Logan slept for the last half, but otherwise kept themselves fairly entertained. Kim and I were very proud mamas afterwards.... A pic of Logan sleeping on my lap:

Jon's only been away from us for a few days but he immediately noticed a difference in Logan - much more aware and mostly a lot more skilled at his hand-eye coordination, since he now regularly grabs for and plays with his little car seat toy. I see him every day and sort of forget about these small developments from time to time but I guess he IS changing pretty rapidly even day to day! :)

We were pretty exhausted when we landed, but it was Nathan's birthday yesterday (the big 3-0! Happy Birthday N!), so we all went to our rooms, showered and fed the kiddos and relaxed a bit, before walking down to Lincoln Mall for a yummy dinner and delicious gelato. I ALMOST felt like I was back in Italy, strolling the kids with all of the other night owls in South Beach. :)

Logan had a rough time sleeping last night but is now finally falling back to sleep as I end this post. Which is my cue to join him and catch a few more zzz's myself before we start the day.

Ciao!

Daddy Go Bye-Bye

Early this morning Jon left for Miami on a business trip. Logan and I are going to join him on Thursday, but until then, we are on our own! The day, so far, has gone by pretty well. We slept in, took a walk in the morning and ran errands and played on the activity mat this afternoon.

The real test, however, will be how we fare on our own tonight - when I normally have Jon around the house to lend a hand. Even though I'm used to Jon being away during the day for work, it still feels different today. I guess because I know he's clear across the country! :( I definitely miss him already - and am a little nervous about how these next few days will go by..... but I'll do my best.

Wish me luck!