Jamaica 2013

Bobby and I took a kids-free vacation for an early 5th year anniversary trip. TONS of thank you's to my parents for watching the girls the whole time we were gone, Amanda for watching them and transporting them back to Indy, Bobby's parent's for watching them one day, and Matt for being our personal taxi service to and from the airport. We had an amazing time and couldn't have done so if it wasn't for great family! I know the girls had a blast, hopefully everyone wasn't too exhausted after the week was over.

I know the girls were exhausted (as were we) since Friday, no one in my house got up before 1p...yes 1 o'clock in the afternoon...except me who was up at 10 after Aubrey kept me up until 2:15am!  We were very excited to get back to see the girls and even though it was late, were glad they were still up so we could see them and they could see us! However, it was nice to getaway and focus on just us without the daily activities involving work, the girls, and keeping up with the house.  I never really mind the traveling day to get to our destination even if it is long, but the return home traveling is always the worst because you just want it to be over so you can get home!

On our honeymoon, we had always talked about how it would be fun to bring friends along on our trip. Luckily, our friends, Matt and Alison were willing to take the trip with us since they are at the pre-kids stage, so this was kind of their last hooray before possibly starting a family. Unfortunately, Matt's asthma/allergies/etc got the best of him, so he didn't have the best of time, but the rest of us had lots of fun doing all kinds of things...I'm sure I'll leave some out but here are the highlights (I'm sure I'll leave out a few):

Piano bar with Tino (or Tito?!) and Ultimate Chocolate...Bobby and I did this 3 times, while Matt and Alison went back for 1 more trip on the last night...it was a blast!

Our favorite bartender...Adrian 

Alison and I's deadly combination...Bob Marley shot and white wine

 

Nightclub...I loved dancing, Bobby liked taking pictures of me...lucky for me it was too dark in there for any of them to really turn out :)

Yummy restaurants...of course on Lobster night Bobby had 4 lobster tails :)  He also tried Lionfish which was actually really good

 

 

 

Scuba diving...Bobby got his PADI certification so he can go anytime for a lifetime, I went for the one dive that's included without the cert and Alison passed the class, but couldn't get her ears to equalize. Matt had to sit out this one because of his asthma

Snorkeling...1st trip was SCARY! We went while it was raining (no big deal), but then a storm hit and the waves were crazy, plus the watersports guys were kind of panicky too, which I feel made everyone else trying to get back on the boat panicky too!  Bobby says he was fine and was the ONLY one on the boat that wanted to go back out after the storm settled...we didn't go back out that trip. We signed up to go another afternoon, but it stormed again so we didn't go. However, we were able to sign up one morning and got a good trip in and saw so many fish...it was awesome!

Catamaran cruise...at sunset...so much fun! Swam into the caves, went down the slide into the ocean, watched the sunset.

 

 

Bobby's favorite seat on the boat...

 

 

 

He made sure to even keep his drink...haha!

Famous Rick's Cafe 

Walking trail/racquetball/tennis/ping pong/spinning

 

 

Couples massage class...a massage therapist taught a class of about 8 couples how to give a massage, so we had to massage each other for 25 minutes, which seemed like forever, but was worth it!

Nightly entertainment and bonfire...Jamaicans play the drums awesome, whether they are regular, with your hands, or steel drums. They are also crazy dancers...I couldn't even imagine dancing as fast as they do! The bonfire on the beach was nice and relaxing on our last night while on the beach listening to the waves, watching the fire, and listening to someone sing and play guitar.

 

Swimming/floating/soaking up the sun...can't beat floating in the ocean or having a bar within a few feet at all times

Waterskiing/jet skiing...Bobby was determined to get up this time while water skiing and he did...a few times. I was able to capture him skiing on our last day before we left in the morning since the photographers through the resort wanted $15 for 1 image...CRAZY!  Maybe I should move to Jamaica and do photography?! It's a thought :)

Bracelet making...made each of the girls a bracelet with beads.

Peddlers along the beach...compared to our 1st trip to Couples Swept Away, we definitely notices WAY MORE peddlers on the beach selling something. I could describe them all, but it wouldn't make sense to anyone else, so I'll refrain :)

Repeaters dinner for all those that have been to Couples more than once...we got to sit with the COO who was nice and very informative.

Beautiful grounds/flowers/views

 

 

Seagrapes

 

We LOVE Jamaica...Couples Swept Away and would definitely return again and recommend!  After being to a couple Mexican resorts and then Jamaican twice, the best way I can describe the difference between the 2 places is Mexico has the luxurious feel with few activities included and Couples has the true Caribbean feel with lots of activities included.

Glad we had a 2+ hour layover in between our flights from Jamaica to Orlando and Orlando to Indy because we had NO time after the security/customs. Customs was easy to get through but Orlando has to be one of the most disorganized airports other than Denver when it comes to security.  Also, we used the same travel agent from our honeymoon and for some unknown reason we weren't on the same return flight as Matt and Alison...who does that?!  So, regardless of how many times she apologizes, we will probably not use her again or recommend her. Luckily we all made it safely home!

Thanks Matt and Alison for hanging out with us "old" folks!  We had a great time and miss seeing you both every day!  I especially had fun hanging out and talking with Alison!

How do we look 5 years later?!

A MILLION thanks to my parents for keeping the girls all that time!  They had so much fun swimming, going to Candyland, etc!  Hope you aren't too worn out after that weeklong stay!  We noticed that Natalie now says 'Sure,' 'Natalie, happy!' and she is using sentences a lot more. Aubrey now babbles a TON more and only wants to walk ALL the time...however, she can't walk by herself, so that means we have to walk with her everywhere, not with just one hand but both! One step closer to having a walker...ahhh!!!

Happy 4th of July!

...a little late!

We have had a whirlwind week!  We headed up to South Bend the night before the 4th, spent the morning with Bobby's parents, then the afternoon with mine. After getting the girls all settled in at my parent's house after the parade, Bobby and I headed down to Indy to stay at Matt and Amanda's, as well as meet up with Matt and Alison to fly out the next morning for Jamaica!  Jamaica post will come next.

On the 4th, we had planned to go to the zoo with Bobby's parents but as soon as we pulled up, Natalie saw the huge playground with a slide and that's all she wanted to do. We asked her several times if she wanted to go to the zoo and she said 'no,' but always said 'yes' when asked if she wanted to go on the slide!  She saved us some money since we didn't have to pay admission to the zoo. Plus, she had a blast. They also recently opened a small splash pad at the park, so she had fun in that as well. Surprisingly, at the splash pad, she only really played in the puddles. It was a really nice day...not too hot, but sunny and warm.

 

 

 

 

 

After some fun at the park, we headed to North Liberty to meet up with my family to watch the parade. It's a rinky dink parade, but it's tradition. This year instead of just candy being thrown for the kids, we also saw bottles of water, hot dogs wrapped in foil, and popsicles being thrown. Natalie didn't care for it too much because of the loud noises from the firetrucks, etc. However, Aubrey got upset when there was no action in front of her.  After the parade, we headed back to my parents and the girls swam some before Bobby and I left to head back to Indy. I was sad to leave them, but knew they would have fun on their 'vacation' too!  My parents took them to the fireworks later that night and took earplugs which helped. From what they said, Aubrey loved them and Natalie watched them, but would cover her face sometimes too, just like last year. I had also bought some light up balloons I had seen, which I guess were a big hit.

I don't think I will plan to leave on a vacation the day after a holiday again because I like to enjoy all parts of the day, probably because I love tradition when it comes to holidays!  However, everyone seemed to have a good time!  Happy late 4th of July everyone!

Just in case of a Zombie Apocalypse, this is the truck/group for you...lol!

Tooth #4 and #5

Aubrey had a very bad day at daycare today...cried all day and only took a 15 minute nap. She was fine all day yesterday, this morning, and when we got home. She wasn't running a fever, but I did discover she has 2 teeth poking through her gums so MAYBE that's why she was having such a rough day?!  Yay for 2 more teeth and finally a top tooth!!!  She's getting her 4th tooth on the bottom and the 5th is on the top right!

Natalie has been saying some funny stuff lately, like calling everything that is hers "Nat's"...Nat's toys, Nat's room, Nat's everything!  When we were trying to come up with a name for her before she was born and Natalie was a strong contender, that was the ONE and ONLY nickname I did not want her to have!!!!  According to one of the girls at daycare, no one calls her that, which means Natalie nicknamed herself 'Nat' all by herself...haha!

Lately (for months), Natalie has had pretty strong separation anxiety when being dropped off at daycare. We have to use a lot of distraction or ask her to help with something and then she is usually fine and I sneak away. However, today, she really surprised me. She walked in the door like usual, sat down and took off her shoes, but then she immediately starting playing/talking with her friend Elizabeth. Then, she came running back over (I was thinking "oh, boy! Here we go again!") but instead she gave me a hug and told Carrie (the owner), "Mommy, coming right back." Then, off she was to play again. My mom asked if I was sad when she did that because it was meaning she was getting older and more independent/grown up...however, I have to say I wasn't sad, I was actually relieved!  It made me feel better about dropping her off today.

I took some pictures today while the girls were playing outside before bathtime...finally stopped raining long enough to get some fresh air. The temperature for July is really odd, but I'll take the 60's and 70's any day!

This one is actually from the park the other day.

Her favorite toys: play food/plates and balls

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving...

...on a jet plane...in a few days...without the girls!

Although I am really excited about going on vacation to the all-inclusive we went to for our honeymoon, Couples Swept Away in Negril, Jamaica, I'm also a little sad because we will be leaving the girls for a week. I have never been away from them this long, maybe a long weekend, but never for a week. We are going with another couple, Matt and Alison. I know we'll have fun, I'll just miss the girls terribly!

I sent my mom a list of "tips/tricks" regarding the girls while we're gone and thought it would be something interesting to post on here for the girls to be able to look back and read when they are older:

Natalie:

~ You will know when she gets tired!  She'll want her milk and her blanket. You don't have to heat up her milk, she takes it straight out of the container.

~ Naptime is typically after lunch, but a lot of times at home, she doesn't truly fall asleep until somewhere around 2 or 3.

~ Timeouts seem to work the best for discipline with her, but lately she hasn't been a great listener or nice sister.

~ Foods to avoid in large quantities because they seem to give her diaper rash: mandarin oranges, citrusy stuff, even sometimes animal crackers I've noticed

~ Foods she loves: apples (without the peel), grapes, eggs, sausage, mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, melon of any kind, cucumbers, veggies, cheese

~ I packed some fruit packets for both girls because they both love them and it's an easy snack

~ Large amounts of desitin seem to do the trick for her diaper rash

~ Her morning wake-up time varies quite a bit, nothing too consistent

~ Lately she likes to put her own pants on, but may need some assistance; same with shoes

~ She's afraid of loud noises, especially thunder!

Aubrey:

~You will know when she gets tired! She sometimes will take milk (heated up in microwave for 20-30 seconds), and other times she'll push the milk away and just want to suck on her blankie.

~Don't be afraid to lay her down while she's crying, sometimes that's the only thing that works. Plus, lately, she's not a huge rocking fan...sad, I know!

~ Naptime: if she gets up around 7:30 (her norm) or earlier, she'll usually still take a morning nap around 9/9:30 and then again after lunch time

~ Her afternoon naps are usually the longest of the 2.

~ She doesn't tend to have any food allergies that give her diaper rash, but if she does get it, any cream usually works for her.

~ Foods she loves: anything...haven't found a whole lot she won't eat :)

~ She can drink milk (whole), water, or apple juice with water mixed.

~ She doesn't consistently go to sleep at night with milk like Natalie still does.

~ She has been waking up again at least once a night and either wants milk or to be rocked a bit. She typically will lay back down after a little bit even if she's still awake.

~ Warning about meal time: Aubrey has started the initial phase of taking a drink and spitting it out, as well as putting food on the floor...oh joy!

Medicines:

If the girls get fevers, give them acetaminophen (red) first (Aubrey 2.5mL and Natalie 5mL). After an hour if they still have a fever, give ipubrofen (2 separate ones): Natalie's is purple (give as directed) and Aubrey's is orange bottle, milky white substance 1.875mL.

The acetaminophen can be given every 4 hours and the ibuprofen every 6 hours for each of them.

I will have both of their insurance cards in the outside pocket of the large gray bag that has their clothes...hopefully you won't have to use those!

So far, I have the girls' bags packed, now just onto ours, but I told Bobby he had to pack for himself!