Max in Florida Part 3: Sea World

The best part about doing these long posts in chunks is that when stuff is forgotten, you can fill in the blanks later. I completely forgot to mention on the first post that the day before we left, as we were packing, Max came down with a 102 degree fever. Sweet. Regarding the fever, at least we knew how to handle it this time and we were pretty calm about it. Regarding the trip, I was a little nervous that he'd be a total crankfest on the plane. I think we managed to bat it down to about 99.5 before getting on the plane and he regulated his temperature by the time Day 2 got underway. Side note: this time, Holly opted to attack the fever with a popsicle. I was told to fetch one and grabbed the first thing I laid hands on in the freezer. It turned out to be blue and ended up making Max's tongue, gums, lips and general mouth area pretty blue. We'll stick to yellow or orange in the future.


In any case, day 4 was the one day we chose to take in some theme park action. We decided against the Disney stuff as neither of the babies would have any idea what was going on, but everyone likes animals in captivity (Max is pretty interested in animals too) so off we went to Sea World. It was a super hot day and a busy one too (apparently families go to the Disney Parks earlier in the week and hit Sea World on Thursdays...). We started with a show called "Believe" at Shamu Stadium (like Dolphin Stadium, but cooler for the ladies). A lot of the storyline behind the show was pretty cheesy for the adults, but the stunts were pretty cool. Max was at least looking in the right general direction to see stuff for about 20% of the show, but he didn't run up to me after the show begging to be a whale trainer so I know he didn't actually SEE it.

We split up to tackle the Arctic exhibit and the Kraken roller coaster in two crews. I monitored the pair of snoozing babies in their strollers until everyone caught up. Next was the highlight of the day for the adults: the Anheuser-Busch hospitality building. Given that they own Sea World, they have splattered their name all over video tributes to American Heroes (finding WMDs around the world for you!) and things like this hospitality building with free beer. About 20 international varieties to choose from and an endless supply of air-conditioning. Bring in a dolphin to feed and even the kids will love this building. Spirits replenished, we headed out to feed sharks, see the inside of a massive shark aquarium via a movator, see an otter/sea lion/walrus show, feed dolphins and pet stingrays. By the time we left, we had all eaten, petted, drunk, napped, walked or enjoyed ourselves as much as possible, which made for a good day.












We went back to the hotel to meet up with my fourth and final co-worker joining us (he and his wife and two daughters, one 2 years old and one three weeks younger than Max), who had driven down from Ottawa over the course of the previous week. Once all together, the 11 of us went out to Friendly's, a Perkins-like restaurant which emphasizes its ice cream offerings. After reasonably-sized $7 meals, we all pitched in to buy our friend G the Ultimate Crowd Pleaser for his birthday dessert - a 12-scoop sundae topped with about an inch of a mix of 7 different toppings, 6 Reese's cups and 12 maraschino cherries. Feast your eyes on this bad-boy. We're talking about the sundae.



***THIS JUST IN - Max has successfully climbed our staircase for the first time. On his first three attempts, he averaged 6 or 7 stairs. This time, with one hand wrapped around a big ball of tissue paper, he conquered all 16. Now back to your regularly scheduled program***

After regretting our newfound belly aches, we returned to the hotel for some casual Scrabble and hanging out with our new vacation mates. Perhaps it was the ice cream which knocked Holly and I out, but it was the first night Max chose to sleep through the night. This was convenient timing, given that the first few nights, Holly would retire to the empty room we had booked for those arriving on Thursday when she couldn't get a good enough sleep in our room. Here's one last picture:



P.S. From our west-facing hotel room window, we had a nightly view of the Universal Studios fireworks extravaganza. On my birthday, I pretended it was just for me :)

Happy Birthday, G-Don

I know this blog is about Max but I wanted to send a little birthday shout out to my Grampa Don (known to all as G-Don). G-Don is 85 years young today.

Max, Grampa and I had a lovely meal this morning at our new family breakfast haunt, Kristy's, and then a nice drive around the city with Lawrence Welk playing on the CD player.

I feel incredibly lucky and blessed to have both of my grampas in my life. I know lots of people my age who don't have any grandparents left or who never had living grandparents. It is a real pleasure to see Max interacting with my grampas and seeing the delight that everyone takes in each other's company. Four generations of one family in the same city is definitely something to cherish.

Happy Birthday, Grampa. We love you, you ornery old coot.

Max in Florida Part 2: the beach

I neglected to mention in yesterday's post that in the Orlando airport, there is a Hyatt hotel. In the courtyard (in the airport) outside the hotel, there was a fountain that changed height and flow intensity over time...Max loved this fountain. I'd have taken a video, but it would have just been of Max staring for a long time. I think that, had he not been bounded by his stroller, he'd have crawled right into the fountain. Then, realizing that the fountain was made of cold water, he would have cried a lot. Probably best for everyone that he didn't hit the fountain.

So after everyone who was supposed to arrive on the Monday finally got into town on Tuesday afternoon, we went for a late lunch at a lovely little Thai restaurant in a strip mall near the airport. The place was quite plain from the outside and in a weird location but the food was wonderful (big thanks to Lucky D for treating us to lunch!). Then we hit one of Holly's favourite places from her trip to Boston last Easter, Coldstone Creamery, for some heavenly ice cream concoctions. Holly was in heaven with her cake batter ice cream. After our bellies were fuller than full, we hit the local chain superstore (the biggest of its kind any of us had ever seen with a full grocery store inside) to buy some cheap drinks and snacks for our rooms. The original plan was to do this in order to avoid eating at expensive Disneyfied restaurants. Little did we know that said Disneyfied chains were dirt cheap. Typically, a C/10 note (i.e. $10) covered a meal for one. Or at Ponderosa, a meal for a small famine-ravaged nation. In any case, we stocked up on snacks and foodstuffs and enjoyed a nice laid-back Tuesday at the hotel. (evidence of laid-backness below).




On Wednesday, we decided to take a road trip off to Cocoa Beach, on the Atlantic coast of Florida, just south of Cape Canaveral. The drive out was pretty low-key, aside from the Marco/Polo type calls/responses that came when the 528 turned into the A1A (Beachfront Avenue!!). We pulled off at the first pubic access point (Sheppard Park, I believe) and set up camp. We rented an umbrella and some chairs to get our comfort on and spread out four towels on the sand for the two babies, Max and Maddy. It was a gorgeous day, but the sand was nuclear-hot.

Eventually, the two dads took the two babies out to see the ocean up close. As soon as I put my foot in the water I thought, simultaneously, "Wow, this water feels nice and warm to me", and "Wow, this water is totally not warm enough for Max - expect tears". The sound of the surf weakened the knees of the babies and a little dip sent Max over the edge. The water was so nice (until the jellyfish washed in later in the day:) that I had to stay out there though - go ahead and cling, little boy, I ain't moving!




We spent most of the day out there, getting some sun, nibbling on snacks and feeding the babies - what a great way to spend my birthday! Somehow, both babies got tired at the same time and decided to take a cat nap on the beach. They were out for about an hour! I didn't think it would be possible for them to pass out in that kind of heat, but it was starting to take its toll on the parents too...

(Holly adds: I am hereby nominated for Bad Wife of the Year Award. You know how when you go on vacation, you sometimes lose track of the days and have no idea what actual day it is? Well, I completely forgot that it was a) Wednesday, b) July 23rd or c) my lovely husband's birthday, until someone said something about his birthday at 1:30 PM when we were sitting on the beach. Seriously. Not a word to him until this point. I groveled for the rest of the day and I think he may forgive me sometime this decade.)

For lunch (which ended up counting, calorie-wise, for our next three meals), we went to Sonny's Real-Pit BBQ for a cookout like no other. Ribs. Pulled pork. Mac 'n cheez (told you it was a staple). Green beans with ham (really). Last, but certainly not least, the to-go-cup. Restaurants around there seemed to all offer the to-go cup: a 1L (or more?) carry-away cup of whatever pop or drink you were having with your meal. For free. All of us were hobbling out of the restaurant and so didn't get one...except Holly. Way to go, Mom! That 1.5L of Hi-C pink lemonade likely kept you going on empty calories until the 27th. It should also be mentioned that the staff sang to me over the PA system and gave me a fruit cobbler on the house. I could have died after a spoonful.





(Holly adds: In my defense, I had absolutely NO IDEA how big the free to-go cup was going to be and I thought it might be nice to have some cold lemonade for the ride home. I didn't finish my to-go cup until 10:00 PM that night. Yikes. I can also report that the birthday boy finished two massive cups of Pibb Extra {some sort of Dr. Pepper-like stuff with extra caffeine} before we left the restaurant.)

On the way home from the beach, one of the daily monsoons hit and piles of cars (no, not pile-ups) were pulled over on the shoulder. Eventually, with the wipers on full and everyone driving with their hazards on, we lost all visibility and Holly was forced to pull over too. It took about 20 minutes or so for the rain to pass and then everyone just got back on the road to get to wherever they were going. Thanks to Mother Nature for the white-knuckle driving!!

(Holly adds: It is entirely possible that the stress of the monsoon drive took at least one year off of my life. Seriously. It was a tad bit stressful to be driving in those conditions with a van full of friends and two babies. But we survived.)

Our day ended with more BBQ digestion and a little bit of play time at the hotel. While we were super excited that the hotel was essentially baby-proofed and we could let Max roam to his heart's content, now that we're home, we're realizing what kind of trouble he can get into with all of the slobby mess here at home. Today, we're totally getting on the babyproofing before he destroys another pile of paper... Here's Max getting me cornered between the wall and the bed:



Next up: Sea World.

Max in Florida Part 1: the arrival

We're probably going to have to break this up so that a) this post isn't four pages long, b) we don't forsake raising our child for hours on end just to post something and c) you don't fall asleep reading it.

This past week and a half, the three of us have been in Orlando, FL for a wonderful vacation. Ostensibly, the trip was to get me and some friends down to Florida for the 2008 National Scrabble Championships (more on that later), but we were also looking to see some sights and expose Max to new things. We got to be tourists and have little road trips, and learned all about trying to plan days around kids of all sorts of ages who all fell asleep at different times of the day. It was a whole new experience for all of us, and it was awesome!

Let's start at the start. We were the first family to arrive in Orlando on Monday the 21st. We left home at 5 in the morning and Max's Auntie L was kind enough to drive us to the airport at that ungodly hour. The flights went smoothly and we overheard the U.S. customs agent in Toronto telling all of his coworkers about the Scrabble player who just went through security. Cool. We landed in Orlando around noon and were met with a blast of heat and humidity after getting off the plane that reminded us of our trip to Philadelphia last summer, but worse. Which for me meant better because I love the heat :) We lounged in the airport for three hours or so (wonderful airport - lots of lovely shops, restaurants and Disney character photo ops), waiting for the T-Ps (party #2) to show up. Their daughter, little Madeleine, has almost been married off to Max by now, but this was their first official trip together.

We all piled into a minivan (Holly was enough of a trooper to accept the responsibility of being the sole driver for the duration of the trip!) and zoomed off to our hotel. We were all excited/nervous to see the hotel that we had scooped on Hotwire for a measly $40 per night. It was the Hyatt Place Orlando/Universal and wow, did we ever have a great stay! Even at full price, this would have been a good place to book. The rooms were actually massive (more like suites than rooms) with a lovely kitchenette, full desk and seating area separate from the bedroom area. The seating areas were so big that we frequently had all of the adults on the trip (8 of us) hanging out in the same space. The staff was possibly the friendliest of any hotel we've ever booked (they kept giving Max cookies and waffles - with full knowledge of course that his parents would be enjoying the treats!!), the complimentary breakfasts were healthy and delish, and they were great about offering recommendations and giving directions. The only downside of the whole place was the water (both tap and pool), which tasted pretty awful. Yuck. I actually had Max in the pool once before the tournament started so I got to witness that he is, in fact, fine with being underwater as long as he's relatively warm. It was kind of neat to share water time with Max without bringing about a meltdown.

Let's rewind this a bit, though. As we were pulling up to the hotel, we got BLASTED with what turned out to be an almost daily deluge of rain, wind and (occasionally) hail. I've never seen storms like this. Conveniently, they tended to schedule themselves for the late afternoon, from 3-6, give or take. So all of our outings had to be scheduled with the storms in mind.

We wrapped up our first day in town by taking in a truly American tradition: eating like pigs at an all-you-can-eat trough. They used to have Ponderosas in Canada, but it's been a while. So we wheeled up to one on International Drive (known more by it's nickname I-Drive) and pigged out. Meat. Make-your-own tacos. The staple for our trip: mac 'n cheez. A rainbow of Jello. 750 ml small soft drinks. Ugh.

Next up: a day trip to Cocoa beach and birthday celebrations.

But first, some visual evidence of fun times in the Orlando airport:

1) Max's introduction to crayons...no, none of those visible squiggles are his.
2) Max and Daddy
3) Max and Mummy on the movator.

So much to say

Well, it's been a while since my last post and A LOT has happened in the meantime. Let me start by talking a bit about me - Max gets plenty of ink, as they say (and as they say in the Coffee Crisp commercials, "who are THEY?"). Yesterday, I wrapped up what should be my last day of work in a really long time. I'm cleared for five months of leave from work to assist in the rearing of my child. This time is partly going to be for me to find a good daycare provider for Max, but also to bond with my little monkey and have the sort of adventures Holly and Max have been enjoying for almost a year. Ideally, the daycare will only kick in after a while so that I can at least get a taste of taking him to some classes and get a bit of routine going. There are still some logistics I haven't sorted out (let's just say I don't come with the same sleep-inducing tools Holly does), but I'm still really looking forward to the quality time together.

So back to the star of this blog. The past three weeks have been nuts. Max had his little junket out to Halifax, we had a cottage weekend up past St. Pierre-de-Wakefield (I'm saving that one for a future blog entry), and there have been a lot of little milestones for Max. While it has been wonderful watching these milestones go by, I think his little brain is on fire these days, because he sure isn't abiding by his old bedtime. Over the last week, in particular, Max hasn't been able to tucker himself out until 9:45 most nights and this past Thursday, he even made it to 10:45. I carried him upstairs about 20 minutes later (hey, our TV show wasn't over yet) and by then he was so unconscious that I managed to put him down on the floor, change his diaper, remove his clothes and pop him into bed without waking him. Up until then, I was starting to think that "sleeping like a baby" meant "not sleeping at all", but that night, he slept through one of the loudest thunderstorms I have ever witnessed. Max never ceases to amaze.

So what has Max been up to? Well, let's start with his mobility. A couple of weeks ago, Max was getting around on his tummy via army crawl. He'd use his right leg to push himself forward and his left would be up in the air like a periscope. One day, he figured out (after months of the one-legged army drag) that he could use his other leg to help out. Then, finally, he put it all together and this past Sunday started to crawl on his hands and knees. Wow. It got that I thought he'd just skip right by this step, but in the end, it was like he flicked a switch on and just decided to do it. Nuts. He's pretty solid at it to - living room to kitchen in 10 seconds. The funny thing is that before he got to the point of crawling, he was already pretty good at cruising around sofas and tables, etc. He can even make his way across a wall and keep himself standing upright (with something to lean on) for quite some time. You could have probably guessed that he was a talented stander from the pictures in Holly's Nova Scotia post. I guess in my mind, I had assumed that those two things would have come in the opposite order, but as our favourite resource book says "don't worry about when the milestones come, or in what order, just make sure they come". So there you have it - Max can crawl and cruise pretty well.

Still in the realm of mobility, Max has learned to back himself off of high things. I'm not talking about rappelling from the kitchen counter, the top of the fridge or the garage roof. I mean from our bed. He'll get to the edge, have a look, realize he wants down and then he'll throw it in reverse, pull a U-turn and go off the edge of the bed feet first so that he'll slide off into a standing position. This one blows me away because neither of us ever actually showed him how to do this. He just figured it out. So I suppose this means that multiplication table are right around the corner. In more stationary news, Max has also started to play in a kind of squatting/kneeling position where his shins and bum are all on the ground. I feel like my Baba would tell me that this is not a good position for the development of his legs...

What else...well, Max is not too far away from uttering his first word. It's not mama or dada. In fact, he hasn't said anything close to either of these for a while. But when Holly came back from Halifax and walked in the door, Lily meowed and came roaring down the stairs. Max said "AT!" loud and clear and has been repeating it ever since. This is definitely the first time that he has associated a sound we make with an object or action and then attempted to repeat that sound to us. We keep saying CAT to him, and sometimes I swear he says "ACK!" instead (like he knows how to make a hard C, just not where to put it), though most of the time, it's just "AT!". I've tried to take advantage of this and work on HAT, MAT and SAMIZDAT, but it looks like we're stuck with AT for now. Here's a video:



In the past couple of weeks, Max (and Holly, I suppose) has learned how to nap during the day in his crib. Holly is finally able (when plans don't have the two of them whipping around town) to typically get Max down for a couple of 60+ minute naps each day. It's a bit funny that this happens just as the cavalry arrives (OK, fine, so I'm more like a squire, at best), but at least it has started to happen. It made for a couple periods of relaxation last weekend!

Finally, Max is starting to understand that there is sometimes something to be gained by giving things to Holly and I. This is a very recent development. Prior to a few days ago, if we wanted something in his hand, we'd have to take it. Now, very rarely, Max will sometimes give us whatever he's got, either to have us do something with it, or just to "give" something. Here's a video of the most egregious example we've had so far:



So there you have it. Max is coming along quite well. We'll get back to blogging in a week and a half or so with all sorts of new pictures. Here are some recent ones to tide you over.

Atlantic Adventures

Max and I have been back from our East Coast adventure for a week already so I thought I should take a bit of time to write a post. We hosted playgroup at our place today so Max is down for a much-needed nap after so much sensory overload.

Our reason for visiting Halifax was to spend time with our friend Jen, her husband James and their five-month old twins, Rose and Lillian, before they all moved back to Laos. Jen was one of my roommates at Trent and is a dear, dear friend. We also had the great pleasure of hosting Jen in this house while she finished up grad school a few years ago. Jen and James hosted us when we visited Laos. I had been thinking about finding a way to get to Halifax for a few months now so when Jen called to say that they were leaving July 12th to go home, I realized that it was now or never. We got really lucky and managed to book a direct flight on points.

We arrived on Sunday, July 6th, and were greeted at the airport by Jen and her awesome dad, Hugh. After some great visiting time at the apartment in Dartmouth, we headed out for a barbeque at J and A's place in Halifax (family friends). The beer can chicken and homemade strawberry pie were divine. The ride home to Dartmouth with three screaming babies (everyone was a little overtired) was a bit rough but we all survived.

On Monday morning, Jen, Max and I headed out to get some errands done for their move while James and Grandma Kelly tended to the babies. On Monday afternoon, I decided to take all of the babies out for a walk so Jen and James could get a bit of baby-free time. I wore Max in a front carrier and had the babies in a double stroller. It was quite the sight! I wish I had thought to get a picture taken. That evening, Hugh and Kelly took us out for dinner at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron (North America's oldest yacht club) where Hugh is a member. We sat outside and had a lovely meal by the water.

On Tuesday, we headed out on a mini-road trip to Lawrencetown, about forty minutes from Dartmouth. There is a beautiful beach there and an amazing teahouse. The teahouse served both biscuits AND scones so I was in heaven (I am sure that some blog readers remember my voracious appetite for anything biscuit- or scone-like when I was about five months pregnant). We strolled the boardwalk and even got some time to stick our feet in the water while the babies snoozed in their strollers. It was unseasonably hot in Halifax (35 degrees plus) so it was wonderful to be out in the ocean air. On Tuesday evening, Hugh and Kelly hosted us for a barbeque at their place.

On Wednesday morning, we bid everyone adieu and headed home. I can definitely say that it was the right decision to go. It was amazing to see this new family in action and to introduce Max to another dear friend. Max and I had a really wonderful time. We were so blessed to have such a lovely visit. Here are some photos of our adventures.

All three babies looking at once - yay me!:



Max and Lily enjoying the Exersaucer:


Jen, Max and Lily having some fun, with Rosie asleep in the background:


James and Max deep in conversation at the teahouse:


Hot mommas at the beach:


Max taking care to review the safety card located in the seat pocket in front of him before take-off on the flight home:


Random notes:

- I am completely in awe of parents of multiples. I really couldn't believe how much more work it is with two babies. Jen and James and their support network are so incredible with Rose and Lillian. Those little babies are surrounded by so much love.

- I think Max is a born traveler - he handled everything with a smile on his face. Both flights were great.

- Happy belated birthday, Auntie Krysta!

A week of firsts

Max had quite a few super cool firsts this week - first Canada Day, first haircut and first outdoor pool - so I thought I better write a quick post. It will have to be quick though because Max and I are off to Halifax first thing tomorrow morning and there is still some packing to be done.

Max and John ventured downtown to take in some of Ottawa's world famous Canada Day festivities. I'll let John fill you in on the details but here is an awesome video of Max putting his first free maple leaf swag to good use on Canada Day night:



Yesterday, I took Max to get his first haircut. It was starting to get quite long in the front and over his ears so we decided that it was time. On the recommendation of an awesome mum in one of my classes, I took him to Francecso's Barbershop at our local mall. It was fabulous! They sat Max on a padded board over the arms of the barber chair and put a cape on him. He looked SO cute with his little head poking out of the giant cape in the big barber chair. Max was an absolute all-star and the barber was able to complete the entire haircut without a peep from Max. The barber said he was one of the best babies he had ever seen in the shop! I think Max was too interested in all of the other boys and men in the shop and all of the mirrors, electric razors and blow dryers to care about what was going on with his own hair. When I told the barber that Max liked the blow dryer, he proceeded to blow Max's hair into a side part. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos taken at the barbershop as I was holding Max steady on the board. I did take some photos in one of the little rides at the mall.

Max doing his best "Blue Steel" impression:





I'm happy to report that he also had a blast on this ride when I stuck a loonie in it. On a completely unrelated note, what can you get for a quarter these days now that these rides are a loonie and a local call is $0.50? I digress. He was grabbing the steering wheel and loving the sounds and lights going off. It breaks my heart to see him looking like such a little boy these days. It just reminds me that our days home together are numbered and to cherish every moment.

Today was a spectacular summer day (finally!) so Max and I were delighted to get an invitation to a little pool party with my sister and a few friends. I am extremely pleased to report that Max spent almost an hour in the pool and had an absolute blast. I don't know if it was the outdoor pool or the fact that it was a saltwater pool or his snazzy outdoor swim gear but he really had a good time. It took us a little bit of time to get used to the water but once we got in, it was great. He was kicking and splashing with his hands and floating with his hands on a pool noodle. He even voluntarily stuck his face in the water off the raft at one point. I don't know if today means that he is turning the corner on swimming but I was doing a little internal dance for joy the whole time he was enjoying himself in the pool. Yahoo!!!



Yikes. It's late. I better get my butt in gear. Halifax travelogue to follow!