Our Myrtle Beach Trip

We left last Thursday for Myrtle Beach and returned Monday evening. Our hope was for Addy to sleep until we had to leave at 3:30 am, however she was wide awake and ready to go on vacation at 1am! We were worried how she would do on the plane rides but the first one out of KC she fell asleep, we had a short layover in Atlanta and our plane was delayed out but we made it to Myrtle Beach and Addy stayed awake for the second flight and was very good.

After we got our rental car and realized we couldn't do a compact car due to the stroller, carseat, all our bags,  my mom and us 3, we settled in our Dodge Avenger and set out to find our condo and some food. We couldn't check in until 4 so we headed to the beach and Addy did NOT like the sand, not one bit! She wouldn't put her feet down in it and just cried. The water was very cold but there were some crazies out there playing and surfing. We went to the Myrtle Beach Harley Davidson to get my brother a souvenir  and then got checked into our condo and grabbed dinner to go from our hotel restaurant and then visited the indoor waterpark. Addy loved the water, which we figured she would! She was kicking her feet, splashing, putting her face in the water, riding on the dolphin foam car, and even went down the water slides with us. (Pics of the waterpark are on my mom's camera so I will post them on FB soon)

Friday we went to the Ripley's Aquarium where we saw lots of fish, sharks, eels, seahorses, an octopus, stingrays, and Addy got to touch a horseshoe crab and shark. There was a diver feeding the fish and we missed that part but Addy got to put her hands outside the glass over the diver's hands and she thought that was fun. We then we shopping at a nice outdoor area around a pond and enjoyed lunch at Senor Frogs before resting at our hotel and then having dinner at the Giant Crab, a nice seafood buffet.

Saturday we did some more shopping and went to the Alligator Adventure. One of my favorite memories is from when I went to Gatorland Zoo in Florida when I was about 5 years old and I have also been on airboat rides in Florida and Louisiana. I have always been fascinated by alligators. We saw all sizes of them and some other animals as well at Alligator Adventure. They have the largest crocodile in captivity in the US and he was over 20 feet long!! We were at an animal talk and got to touch a two-headed turtle, a snake, and an alligator. Addy was so cute and just wanted to hold the alligators paw. We saw them feed the big gators chicken, just a few were hungry enough to jump for food, it was still pretty chilly for them to be very lively. We spent more time at the waterpark after an afternoon nap.

 

 

 

 

Sunday we finished up with a trip to the Pier, I wanted to do the SkyWheel but it was so windy and chilly out so we walked to the end of the Pier and back and then finished up our day with more shopping, dinner at the condo, and more waterpark fun before packing stuff up and walking out to the beach once more.

Monday we headed home, the airports/plane rides went just as well as Thursday and we got a couple compliments on how well she behaved. Overall, she did an awesome job traveling and we are so blessed to have her and get to travel with her and have my mom go with us as well.

Proud parent moments and other news...

Well, a moment I have been anticipating: potty training has started! Tuesday night Addyson went poop on the potty, which was followed by peeing twice yesterday, 4 times today and another poop! She now asks for m & m's after she goes and signs more after the alotted 2, but doesn't get anymore until next time. It is so fun to watch her run up the stairs when I say do you need to go potty? I just hope it continues to go well from here!

Today we had another first which was also a New Year's resolution for me and that was to take Addy to playgroup. I must say I was a little nervous as we hadn't been before and didn't know anyone or what to expect, but we both enjoyed it a lot! There were about 8 other kids under 3 there, and 2 of which were boys. They had a bunch of different toys to play with and Addy spent the first little bit watching everyone and then quickly found things she enjoyed. Some of the things she liked doing were playing with the big drum, coloring, playing with pretend food, vacuuming, and sitting in the Elmo chair after making sure it was okay and not scary. My plan is to make it at least once a week if not both times it is offered. We also had our Parents As Teachers visit for January a couple weeks ago and enjoyed that. I was asked how many words Addy says on a regular basis and I had thought about 20, well the next day I wrote them all down and came up with 30+! I was very surprised. She is putting more 2 word phrases together like "get dressed", "belly button", "tickle tickle belly", and "what's that". She is also following directions more and is an all around good kiddo! We feel so blessed and lucky to be her parents. This age is so fun because they are like a sponge soaking everything up!

Another big event coming up is that Jared is getting his left ear cochlear implant in 3 weeks!! We are both excited and nervous. It has been a long few months to us, but relatively short in the scheme of things. Jared just wishes the dr could predict the outcome, but no individual has the same exact outcome as another so we will have to wait and see! I often find myself thinking how it will be when they first turn the device on after 3 weeks from the date of surgery and can't wait to see his reaction and how things change for him and our family. It takes up to a year for the person to get used to it and he will have many trips to the audiologist to help with the programming. We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers and ask for them to keep on coming!

Here are a couple pictures, I am still having problems with the uploading or else I would do more.

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Update

Hard to believe 3 months have passed since I last posted here. Life seems to get a bit busy now and then, but I wouldn't change it. In December we had our first visit from a teacher with Parents as Teachers group, and were proud to hear that Addy is above her age level, she did some of her animal sounds, sorted shapes into the right place, and enjoyed playing with a magna-doodle while I was able to talk about our day-to-day routine and get some new ideas and information. One of our neighbors told us about this service the school district offers and I wanted it for more things to work on with Addy and helpful ideas. One of my resolutions is to start taking Addy to a play group at least once a week so she has more interaction with children her age.
We had a very nice holiday season and can't believe it has come and gone already. I worked Thanksgiving and the day after but was off for Christmas and New Years for the first time in several years. We had our "normal" 6 Christmas celebrations with family and it was so fun seeing Addyson's eyes light up and she quickly got the hang of tearing paper, pulling out tissue paper, and dancing around amongst her toys and clothes. We need to add on space just for her stuff! We are beyond blessed with great family and friends as I have said numerous times, but I realize not everyone has that and I am very grateful for them.
I was able to have time off of work and the day I was suppose to go back, I felt sick with the stomach flu, only come to find out I had appendicitis and ended up with a laproscopic appendectomy this weekend. I have been home resting and recuperating and since I'm not able to lift Addy for a couple weeks, we are very fortunate to have great help from our family and my brother staying with us until he goes back to college from winter break. Thank you guys so much!
Today Addyson is 18 months old and she is such a little fire-ball! It is so hard to believe how quickly time seems to pass and it is so much fun to see her mind and body in motion. It is amazing how fast toddlers learn and how quickly they pick up on things. Being a mom is no doubt the best job in the whole wide world I would say, even through those moments when they don't listen and you want to pull your hair out, it is all short-lived. We love our sweet girl so much and I am so lucky to be able to spend most of my time with her. She has her check-up next week but is around 23 pounds and about 30 inches tall. If you tell her to do something she will try her hardest to do it and waits for the clapping or a high five so she knows she did the right thing and if she doesn't quite know what you mean, she will hold her hands and wait for more instructions or help. She knows most of the family and will point to them when you ask "where is so and so", she continues to love bath time and baby dolls. I have been trying to get this to post a couple pictures and for some reason it is givng me problems so I will try again soon and hopefully I can blog a little more this year too!