Taking a Break

I've said it before, we never take advantage of everything that Florida has to offer.  I'm trying to be better about it.  When Marlon's cousin told us she would be at Clearwater Beach for a conference, we found it the perfect time for a quick getaway to the other side of the Bay.  After all the stress of therapies and Early Intervention this week, this mama was ready for a break!  (I'm saving that drama for another post.)  And anyway, we all know what a beach baby Kennedy is, and even though it was a bit too cool for swimming, she had a blast!  It was just what we needed.  A day to forget about Down syndrome.  I've spent my week obsessing, crying, and stressing over therapies and how much I'm doing or not doing for Kennedy.  It was so great to take a day and not worry about any of that!  It will all be there Monday.

Mom, sand is really fun.  But it tastes funny.

I can't believe there are swings at the beach!! Life doesn't get better than this!

View from our room.

I really love hotels mom.  Can I please have one for my birthday?

Catching Up!

This is always a busy time of year, but I promise, I will get back to blogging regularly soon.  I'm exhausted after a busy weekend, and have an even busier week ahead, so I don't have much to say.  However, I do have TONS of photos to share.  We went over to Orlando this weekend to "do Disney" but after considering how crowded the park would be, we opted to do it in another month or two, when the park is less crowded and we're more likely to enjoy it.  So we stayed at one of our favorite hotels, and then visited all the other (much more expensive hotels - like the Grand Floridian) and saw their decorations and went to Downtown Disney.  We all had a wonderful time, and wrapped up the weekend with a stop at the beach.  We really don't take advantage of all that Florida has to offer, so we're determined to start doing that more.

I also have our Christmas photos to share, but they deserve a post of their own, so look for those later in the week (or maybe even as early as tomorrow.)

(Oh, and by the way.  Kennedy crawled completely across the room today....backwards.)

You're giving me WHAT for lunch?

Ravioli and meatballs are a lot better than I expected.

I give this meal a thumbs up!

Can I have this more often?  It's also fun to play with.

What's in these noodles?

Look blog people, I'm a big girl now. I can take a bath with out my tub in a tub.

 Do you people know how much I love vacation?  And this is a super big hotel.

Chicken tenders? More new food.  I like this.  Sorry I bit your finger mom.

I'm gonna help daddy with this project.  As soon as he's done working we get to go have fun.

Our hotel has SAND!

Mommy says this is one of her favorite hotels.  Now I know why.

 Mommy and daddy said maybe next year they'll take me to the real Key West.

Daddy, don't let the gators get me!  And why are there gators in the hotel anyway?

Can we have a Christmas tree like this at home?

I'm snug as a bug on mommy.  I've seen enough decorations for tonight.

I slept through all of Downtown Disney, now I want to party and enjoy this hotel.  Until 4:30am.

Oh, I'm tired.  Do we have to go to breakfast now?  I guess I should have listened to you mom.

Can we have a fishy tank like this at home?  Maybe in my room?

Look at that one dad. 

You don't mind if I play with this place mat do you? 

Who needs a high chair when you can sit on the table?

 This is the life.   Mommy says this is why we live in Florida.

It's fun to play in the sand.  And kick my feet in it.  And eat it.  See my castle? I did it with my feet.

 This feels funny on my feetsies.

Mommy it feels weird!

MOMMY!  The water got me!  And it's cold!

Help me! I'm sinking mom!

Mommy and daddy even took me back to the hotel they got married at.  They said it was also my first vacation, but I don't really remember it.  I think it was before Dr. Q gave me all my extra energy.

 

Kennedy's Vacation!

Marlon and I had a lot of vacations planned for this summer.  Unfortunately, with Kennedy's upcoming heart surgery, they were all put on hold.  We REALLY wanted a weekend getaway, to spend time as a family with out the distractions of every day life.  We decided on a quick trip to Clearwater Beach.  How lucky are we that we can just toss our stuff in the car and hit the beach for a weekend?

Well - first of all.  There is no such thing as a quick trip to the beach when you have a baby.  I didn't have a clue just how much stuff we actually had to bring.  Once I started thinking about it, I almost thought about staying home!  As we were packing things up, I kept thinking how much we need a bigger truck.  Like maybe an 18 wheeler?  I left the house Friday thinking we needed a bigger SUV.  I came home thinking we need a minivan. 

We had a great time, and even got to meet one of my "online friends" that I feel like I've known forever.  Kennedy loved the beach and the pool.  She spent some time napping under an umbrella and was the hit around the hotel.  She did fabulous at dinner Friday night when we took to the steakhouse.  I made 8pm reservations thinking she would be asleep or close to it.  She was wide awake - but a happy baby and a hit!

Most importantly here are some pictures from the weekend!

Kennedy knows the right way to hang out poolside!!

She loved playing with her friends on the bed while we got ready!

Sleeping BEFORE dinner.

Wide awake DURING dinner

Dancing with Daddy

Sound asleep AFTER dinner

Daddy Snuggles

Ready to go to the pool.  Apparently her bathing suit tasted rather yummy! 

"C'mon Mom, let's go swimming already!"

As always - she loved the pool!

Mommy and Daddy didn't really think through bath time.  So Miss Kennedy ended up getting her baths on the bathroom counter...on top of a pile of towels.  I feel bad for the cleaning staff that was responsible for our nightly cleanup and turn down service.  Towels and water everywhere!  But Kennedy loved it!

Wide awake - hanging with mommy and daddy at the hotel bar!

Milk on the beach - this is the life!

 

Our Family!

Kennedy absolutely loves this elephant still. Note to self, take it with us to the hospital.

I'm pretty sure Kennedy was eying my cheeseburger!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I wanted one thing today - to spend the day with the people most special to me.  And that's exactly what I got and so much more.  I am so grateful for my amazing daughter and wonderful husband.  Kennedy has been sending daddy on all kinds of secret missions this week. 

He started out the day by putting her in an I love mom onesie.  It was so cute, and since daddy isn't used to dressing Kennedy, it took him awhile to put it on her.

Then Kennedy sent Daddy to Dunkin' Donuts.  He came back with my favorite donuts!  As well as coffee, a Mother's Day cupcake, and chocolate covered strawberries and flowers!  (I also got a special necklace from my mom!)

We went and picked up my mom and Marlon's mom, and headed down to the beach for brunch.  After brunch we headed to the beach.  Kennedy poked her toes in the water  and sand at Clearwater Beach.  It was a short visit, but we had fun!  We're so excited to take her back to the beach in a few weeks.

I feel like the luckiest mom ever to have such an amazing and wonderful baby.  I'm also the luckiest wife in the world, to have such an amazing husband.  I also have a really amazing mom who has taught me so much.  I'm so glad that we have the relationship that we do, and that she gets to be such a big part of Kennedy's life.  I hope that Kennedy and I always have the same kind of relationship that my mom and I do.  This was a perfect day, and I'm going to bed feeling truly blessed.

Now - on a side note.  I absolutely cannot go with out mentioning the craziness that took place at brunch.  Maybe I'm the crazy one, but I could never think of acting like this.  There was a gentleman and his wife (?) sitting at the table across from us.  She was eying Kennedy from the get go.  Apparently when I went up the buffet she told Marlon she was tempted to kick the chair that Kennedy's seat was on - so she would wake up!!!  Long story short - Kennedy woke up and the lady said, "let me see that baby."  So I held Kennedy up and turned her around so the woman could see her face.  She held out her arms, like I was actually going to hand over my baby!   Was she CRAZY?  I'll admit - I've had my days of stalking cute babies and oogling over them.  Marlon used to tell me someone was going to have me arrested for staring at cute babies.  But this lady wanted to hold mine!  When I refused, she got offended.  She was shocked that I wasn't going to let her hold my baby.  Finally, I told her that Kennedy had a heart condition, and we had to be extremely careful.  In a way, I'm mad at myself for telling her.  What business of hers is it anyway?  I shouldn't have to defend why I'm not letting a COMPLETE STRANGER hold my baby.  What is this world coming to?