Florida - The Pool

So, the rest of the time in Clearwater was spent either at the pool, at the beach, or in our condo, doing gastro-related laundry. Today's photos? The pool...

  

  

  

Though most of these pics make it look like she was attached to Will, in reality, Lady did quite of bit of  exploring. She's a true water baby. Anytime she was out of the pool, we had to be watching, since she'd randomly toss herself off the edge, struggle to the surface, sputter and laugh when I scooped her out. Fruitcake.

Her other favorite activity? Sitting on the bottom of the pool, chillin. 

   

  

Again - fruitcake. 

When told we had to leave the pool,

she did this...

While we...

did this...

Oh my goodness...

Lady spends a lot of awake time just chillin...
She sings (current hot song = Happy Birthday), babbles and makes exclamations. Like this.

Florida - Day Two

Florida - Day Two... otherwise known as fever day. The plan? Decimate the Embassy Suites breakfast buffet, then take on Maizey's first amusement park. The reality? A table full of breakfast food and a toddler who only wanted mama's lap, followed by a somewhat teary trek through a zoo and roller-coaster-rama.

But, we made the best of it. I only got really stressed at the end of the day, when I realized it wasn't the sunscreen I'd inadvertently applied to her eyeball at 8 a.m., but a flu-like fever that was making her a clingy, whiny mess.

Anyhow, the good...

 Lion-watching.

 Very cool hippo habitat.

 Followed by a lot of hippo-sitting.

This was another important parental vacation lesson. Don't worry about pushing kids to "experience" things. They can do that when they're older. If they want to spend 30 minutes sitting on a concrete hippo, let them sit on the damn hippo. Everybody will be happier.

Maizey did enjoy her first carasoul ride, but did insist on a last-minute horse change, following in her mackrel Grandma's footsteps..

And then, for her, the highlight...

So, some explanations here... She's wearing a swimsuit because the Sesame Street portion of the park includes water features. We thought it might break her funk (this is prior to realizing she was sizzling). And no - I don't understand the Elmo fascination held by her and millions of other children. But, it exists and I've opted not squash her joy in a futile attempt to "protect" her from commercialism. We roll with it. (And another no - I have no idea why Elmo and Big Bird are wearing Egyptian collars.)

Shortly after the big furry guy meet and greet, we peaced out. A stop at Walgreens for Motrin and a thermometer, followed by an armpit temp read (102.7), helped explain Lady's 'tude. So, we zoom-zoomed off to our SandPearl beachfront condo, where we spent the rest of the vacay.

Pics to come.

P.S. We really liked Busch Gardens. We had great weather (cloudy with a breeze), it wasn't crowded, was clean and the staff was polite. The zoo aspect and safari train were fab attractions for a toddler, and she delighted in watching the "big kids" go on the roller coasters (finally I'll have someone to ride with...in a few years). Not to mention the Sesame Street piece...

Florida - Day One

To start...When booking our flight to Tampa, I was enthused about our 7 a.m. departure. It would mean a whole day ahead of us upon arrival! Yay! But, waking up a 22 month old at 4:30 a.m. earns no "yay!"s.

But, we made it to Flint with nary a tear, executed a near-seamless car seat extraction from Dad's jeep (note to self - Father's Day car detailing's a must), and shuttled over to the teeny, tiny, totally manageable terminal. Okay - so we did appear to be a family of 12 flying to Mumbai for three months, but - nobody could call me unprepared. Well, except for the Southwest employee who requested a copy of Maizey's birth certificate.

Now, I've flown with her twice before and never needed it (though had it). This time, I vaguely remembered reading that I needed it, but forgot it. Old Jacob was a dear and tried to pull some strings, but no dice. The options? Drive home and get it, which would mean missing our flight and possibly flying standby on the afternoon's over-booked flight, or hope that Childtime would open and fax Southwest Maizey's immunization record. We opted to try for both. I got back on the shuttle, tore outta long-term parking (after receiving an odd look from the attendant), and floored it south. Will began dialing day care. 

Hallelujah - when I was exiting the expressway (but still had 20 minutes till Milford) he got through. Savior Wendy faxed over the docs and BAM, I executed a Fast and Furious 6-style u-turn.

Synopsis:

We made the flight. I was ashamed but relieved.
Maizey was covered in chocolate milk.

She was a decent passenger and liked window-gazing.

We did fold and try to distract her with some Lady and the Tramp. It worked. For about 20 minutes. But, she looked adorable in her tiger headphones which made me more receptive to having her invade my lap and demand 18 readings of Froggy Gets Dressed, despite the empty (free) seat we snagged for her enjoyment. 

Car rental and personal car seat installation was a titch stressful.

(You know how you are always sure you can do it faster/better/more efficiently than the person actually performing the task? But they refuse to let you try? And then you argue about it? While sweating? And trying to keep a two-year-old from nose-diving out of a hatchback? Um, yeah.)

 Then it was off to the Florida Aquarium - an uncrowded, kid-friendly intro to aquatic life.

 Dinner?

Sting-ray tank touches... 

 (We ignored the two-finger rule.)

Cold water urchins. 

It was fun and Maizey-recommended.

We barely made it back to our Zoom Zoom before lady passed out. 

And started snotting.

She slumbered in the Embassy Suites parking lot while Dad got the porter's help to set up the pack and play.

But upon waking, did help haul her gear...

And then, we took on the parking lot pool. It was the beginning of a five day love affair with swimming.

After a bath, Maizey discovered what hotel living is really about.

And, reminded Will and I why hotel stays were so glorious as children... Cartoons watched from bed while eating snacks from paper cups. An important parental vacation take-away.

Up next? Busch Gardens with a fever-baby.

Memorializing...

Sadly, after a weekend of spectacular weather, Memorial Day turned out to be cool and cloudy. Better parade-watching conditions than last year, but a titch disappointing, especially considering Will's 5:30 a.m. shaded-seat-spot-save. After pre-parade festivities (Bloodies and Brews) at the Machnak residence, we headed downtown.

Oh, the anticipation...

Unfortunately, I neglected to realize this was a Memorial (read - not celebratory) parade. 

 Maizey and Jack reacted poorly to the Grand Marshall's announcement that
"No candy will be thrown..."

Total disappointment.

 Which led to Jack engaging in a lie-down protest.

Luckily, there was this girl...

 who talked Maizey down from the ledge.

And a very kind veteran,

who gifted her with her own flag.

Thank you to those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.
(And note to self? Next year, we'll bring our own candy.)