My First Vacation

My first vacation ever was definitely a winner :) Daddy took mommy and I to the Westin Diplomat hotel in Hollywood where we got an ocean front room on the 15th floor for the WHOLE weekend! I wasn't so happy about being away from my comfort zone at first, but after a nice long nap I reconsidered my complaints and enjoyed my new surroundings. Mommy and daddy took me down to the pools and ocean once it cooled down a little bit and I got my first taste of the beach.

LET ME TELL YOU.... who ever said hot salty air and the cold ocean water was FUN is crazy!!!! Are people serious?? They pay MONEY to do this?? C R A Z Y! First of all, my eyes are very sensitive after months and months of being inside, so even with my hat on, things were so bright I could barely open my eyes. Secondly, the humidity and heat along with the warm sun on my skin... things I'm not sure how I feel about just yet. Thirdly, the ocean.... and the pool.... are COLD. Have I mentioned how much I don't like anything cold. In my mouth or on my skin, doesn't matter, I'm not a fan! However, I digress....

Mommy and daddy ordered room service that night and we all hung out on the balcony of our room for the whole night, it was soooooo nice and relaxing! The next morning we ate a nice breakfast downstairs and tackled the ocean amenities... I took another relaxing nap while finishing my own breakfast while mommy and daddy tested out the pools. When I woke up, mommy and daddy got this crazy idea to take me WITH them into the pool, why would they think I'd enjoy that?? First mommy lathered me up with sunscreen, another unwelcome experience, then we went for the kiddie pool. I didn't scream when my feet hit the water, per say, however I made it very clear in as loud a voice as I could find that I was NOT happy with the experience of cold water. Mommy and daddy weren't deterred, however, and eased me in all the way up to my tummy (okay it wasn't that bad once I warmed up to the water). Swimming wore me out pretty quickly so I took a nice naked nap on mommy to dry off and rest up before we tackled the ocean. Again I wasn't sure about the cold water, but the ocean was a little warmer than the pool and I ended up getting all the way in with mommy and daddy and actually enjoying myself if you can believe it!

Mommy and I took a warm bubble bath in our room after that to wash off all that salty ocean water and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around and enjoying our balcony! We took one more stroll on the ocean this morning before we left.... my eyes are getting better adjusted to being outside, although when mommy tried my feet in the cold ocean again I let her have it! It's gonna be a while before I warm up to that feeling :)

All in all I'd say our vacation was a SUCCESS! I was such a good boy for the whole weekend and tried lots of new things. We all got the break away from home that we needed along with some much needed rest! I have a big week ahead of me, wish me luck!!!!! Here are some pictures from our weekend....

Playing with my toys

Like my hat?

So bright out here

My first taste of the ocean

Nap time by the pool

Napping with mommy after a dip in the pool

Swimming is exhausting

Enjoying my king sized bed

more nap time

Snuggling on my bed

a king on my throne

Enjoying the view with mommy

Beautiful view

Enjoying my bed a little more

Even giving smiles

And enjoying my hands

Hanging out with daddy

View from our room

Daddy with a pina colada on the beach

The ocean wore me out

Evening on the balcony

Whoa daddy that flash is bright

Pretty water

Our awesome hotel

Full moon

Our walk on the last day

I can open my eyes a little wider today

Proof I put my feet in the water

I guess its not SO bad afterall

Practicing my Routine

Mommy and I spent the past few days getting my two new nurses oriented to my house and my schedule. They're both pretty good and hopefully things will go super smoothly when they start with me full time next week. I'm sure going to miss mommy, but hopefully all that time in the NICU with new nurses taking care of me every day and every night helped me prepare for my soon to be new life at home. We showed them the ropes... how to change my diaper, work my swing, practice OT and PT and Speech therapy with me, where to walk me in my stroller through the neighborhood, how to deal with my jealous puppy dog, how to feed me with my fancy pump, what I like to do when I'm grumpy, where ALL my books are for story time, and lots of other stuff. Mommy and I are both sad for Monday to come, but we have to get into our new schedule at some point so Monday is as good as any day! The other sad thing about Monday is that daddy has to fly Ohio for most of the week for work :( Talk about a rough week ahead!! I'm sure we'll survive though....

The more exciting news is that mommy and daddy and I are going on a semi weekend vacation! Mommy is turning 30 on Sunday and daddy decided we all need to celebrate the big day! We are spending the weekend at a nice hotel (where mommy and daddy got engaged) on the beach with an ocean front room and a big balcony. We are going to hang out at the pools and I'm going to stick my feet in the sand and ocean for the first time!! Mommy already packed my bag and I'm READY :) We are going to have so much fun, and we can all use a relaxing break away together!!! Will post pictures soon...

Blowout for the Books

Just had to share my funny story of the day.... Mommy and I came home from my therapies and some shopping and I had a dirty diaper. Mommy knew it from the car because I stunk up the place (so she says) and went immediately about changing me. As soon as she pulled me from my car seat, however, she realized this was not a dirty diaper in the normal sense.... please see below:

Normally I wouldn't do something so dirty to mommy, but she left me in that darn car seat (she knows how I feel about that thing) a little too long and I had to show her what I thought about that! I also felt that a nice warm bath would make up for the sweat she let me accumulate while IN the car seat and knew a dirtier than usual diaper was the perfect guarantee for such a treat!!

In the end I think mommy learned her lesson... luckily she doesn't hold a grudge and I laid on the charm after my bath.... 

I soon grew tired....

And settled in for the first of many naps....

We did squeeze in a walk with the puppy before daddy got home... 

What a Day

I slept in this morning in preparation for my long day at the doctor's for my EEG....

I finally got myself up around 9am (that's sleeping straight through the night) and had some breakfast and mommy/daddy time before we headed out. I fell back asleep on the way there and was napping when the technician started in on me.... he had to connect all the electrodes to my head so they could monitor my brain activity throughout the day. I was a GOOD boy to start the process... giving mommy googly eyes, chatting her up, and even enjoying the semi-head massage he was giving me as he glued (that's right, glued) the electrodes to my head.  However, about halfway through I realized how limited I was suddenly was with my head movement and started getting cold with the blow dryer thingy he was using to dry the glue on my head, so I decided to make his life difficult as he applied the last few wires and whined as LOUD as possible to show my discomfort.

Once he finally got the wires connected, he wrapped my head with this funny cloth and told mommy we could move around and snuggle wherever we wanted.

It wasn't THAT bad after all, the wires were light and stuck on good so we could play and cuddle and nap just fine... the room, though, was a tiny little room and we were STUCK there for hours and hours and hours. Luckily we did have a TV and rocker and even internet for mommy, so we found ways to pass the time. I started with a nap! Mommy read me some books she brought and we watched Disney Junior and rocked as I fell asleep for my first nap of the day. I woke up a little while later for a diaper change... then went back to sleep... then woke up a little while later for a diaper change.... then went back to sleep. This pattern continued for most of the day. I figured if we were stuck in that room (and mommy had turned off the lights and put on some music for me so it was nice and cozy) for the whole day I might as well make the best of it and get in some ZZZZZssss :)

I did eventually wake up in the late afternoon and play with mommy for a little while before the guy FINALLY came back to release me from my bonds. He put this funny oil all over my head and starting pulling the electrodes off one by one. Most of them slipped right off, but some DIDN'T, so when he pulled they HURT! Mommy was trying really hard not to kill the guy before he got the electrodes off but he wasn't the most gentle and I wasn't the most happy baby and things could have ended very badly, but she kept her cool until my head was free and snuggled and rubbed my head til I felt better! When we finally got home I got the NICEST warm bath ever and mommy shampooed my head for a long time... unfortunately that glue would NOT come off... we had to douse my head in baby oil and brush and brush and brush and finally got most of it, although mommy keeps finding leftover pieces every time she rubs my head. Oh well.... it's hard being a baby sometimes!!!

So end my EEG adventures... daddy came home with lots of hugs for me and made mommy a SUPER nice dinner, then we took my puppy for a long walk since he was home alone most of the day! I myself am pretty exhausted and settled in early for the night! We won't know the results of the EEG til late in the week at the earliest... will keep everyone posted! :)

Busy Baby

Well I've managed to stay a busy baby these past few days. Yesterday daddy and I went to work together in Doral for a little while and I was a very good boy. I met lots of super nice people with daddy and got a tour of the Blue Monster golf course. Daddy tells me I'm going to be his little golfer someday so I had to check out where I'll be learning to play the sport! After daddy and I got home, mommy called to tell us that her car wouldn't start and we needed to come and pick her up. We couldn't leave mommy stranded at school so daddy and I trudged back to the car and went to get her. I have to be honest though, I really don't like the car... my car seat to be specific. It makes me hot and locks me down and I don't like either thing.... good thing I love mommy so much that I suffered it to go pick her up! Thankfully the rest of the night was peaceful and mommy and daddy and I just hung out and relaxed through a rainstorm!

Today we made a visit to our church to visit our priest Father Ed and pick up some of my baptism paperwork. I'm going to be baptized in North Carolina over Thanksgiving, but I had to get a certificate and some books to read before that can happen. After church we headed to go get the car mommy left at school last night.... again I tolerated the car rides around town for mommy and daddy's sake and luckily they were able to get the car started and to the car shop before too long. Other than that I did a lot of talking and reading and playing with my family today.... mommy got me a couple new board books about trains so we read those and a few other books and then I had some belly and toy time! I took a nice long nap in my favorite place, the swing, but am currently walking daddy around the house with wide eyes... I don't plan to quiet down for bed time for at least another hour hehe :) BTW I weighed in a 11 lbs tonight... WHOA!

Here are some pictures and a video daddy took of me earlier tonight!!

Love my swing

Going for a car ride

Sitting up for daddy

Belly time