Virgina Beach (17 months and 32 weeks)

The last week in June, Brian, Austin and I went to Virginia Beach.  We wanted one last family vacation together before Sydney arrives.  We left Saturday after swim class.  Austin has been going to swim class on Saturday mornings for several months.  He loves it so we've enrolled him in 3 back to back to back class sessions this year.  Once we got home from swim class, we packed up the car and off we went.  It worked out because this is Austin's nap time so he got a nap and we got some driving in.  We decided to drive around Washington DC so there were some minor highways we had to take.  When we were ready to stop, we lost cell phone coverage and we were in the middle of nowhere.  Finally there were a few nice hotels with food options so we stayed there for the night.

The next morning we got up and drove the rest of the way into Virginia Beach.  Virginia Beach is our favorite vacation spot in the United States.  We love it because we can park the car and walk everywhere for the entire week.  There are restaurants and activities to do within walking distance.  At night they have beach street where the city pays for street performers and we have free entertainment.  The bad part is it did not start until 7:30pm but for those few days we just kept Austin up.  Austin really liked it.

Once we checked into the hotel we went down to the beach.  Brian and Austin went into the water and Austin did not like it.  He really did not like the sand.  He did not like the feel of the sand on his feet.  So we only stayed a few minutes and went to our hotel pool.  The hotel pool was indoor but the water was cold. Plus it did not have a shallow enough end so Austin could stand and play in the water.  The shallow end was 3 feet deep so we had to always hold him.  He likes to walk and splash in the water.  It was an important lesson for me to learn about for future hotel bookings.  The pool is very important.

We went to dinner and then watched some entertainment on beach street.  After an hour long show that Austin really liked we went for ice cream.  We even let Austin have his own ice cream cone (although I asked for a baby cone and we ended up with a regular small size cone so he got to enjoy a lot of ice cream).  It was a fun night.

We were in Virginia Beach Sunday though Thursday.  Austin and Brian enjoyed the airplanes from the navy base of Norfolk.  The planes were so loud.  Austin would look in the sky for them and point them out.  It was really neat to watch.  We also would go for walks in the mornings.  Austin loves trash cans.  One morning he got to see a garbage truck go down the street emptying all the trash cans.  We were just walking along side of it for a while and he kept pointing and pointing.  Austin also learned about buses on this trip.  Beach street has its own bus lane so he got to see many of them.  We considered this his transportation learning trip.  He saw a lot of planes, helicopters, boats, buses, and trash trucks.  He really liked it.

We took Austin to the beach two days.  We got a shade tent before we left home which worked out well.  Brian set it up.  Then we all went inside and played in the sand.  The first day Austin was on our laps for about an hour before he finally let us set him down in the sand to play.  He didn't like how it felt on his feet and that the sand got him dirty.  We had a whole set of sand toys for him. Brian would get a bucket and fill it with water and Austin would play in it.  Then next day at the beach he only had to be on our laps for about 15 minutes then he would play sitting in the sand.  Brian and I really don't like the sun much so our shade tent really allowed us to enjoy the beach for a long time (a couple hours). Prior to this, we've never spent time on the beach.  We would go in the ocean, but then leave.  We've never seen the point in just sitting on the beach.

On this trip we made sure Austin had his nap in the afternoons in his crib.  It worked out because he would sleep from 2-4 or 5pm.  Then we would go to dinner and then go to beach street for a few hours.  We got back to our hotel around 9-9:30pm every night. We really had a great time together.  Our vacations allow us to spend great quality time together.  Brian made a highlight video of our trip.  Here is the link:




Video Highlights of Our Trip

We drove home all day Thursday.  We left at 6am and we were home by 4pm.  With Austin and being pregnant we had to stop to eat and potty breaks.  Austin also developed this bad rash while we were gone.  It started before we left on the trip but on Wednesday and Thursday it was really bad.  It was red and had spread from his arms and legs to his face.  It also itched.  I called the doctor while we were there and was told to give him some Benadryl which we did.  Then we went to the doctors on Friday once we got home.


By the time we got to the doctors on Friday, the rash was completely gone.  Brian was annoyed that we were there but it was too late.  The doctor examined Austin and found out he had a bilateral ear infection again.  We also had a nice conversation with him about ear tubes.  After the appointment, Brian and I realized that we had to get tubes for Austin.  It was something we were trying to hold off on hoping he would outgrow it.  Since he had yet another one (#7), especially in the summer, it confirmed we needed to do this for him.  We are still working on finding a doctor and setting up the appointment for surgery but hopefully it will be done before Sydney is born.  

Austin seems to have enjoyed his vacation.  He's already exploring options for his next trip.  Little does he know that the new baby will keep us home bound for the next few months.  A baby can dream though, right?

Sydney continues to be active mostly a night.  I have been really lucky this pregnancy because the only real issue I've had is a rash for about 2 weeks (which turned out to be an allergic reaction to our sunscreen).  I am so glad that is better however I refuse to wear sunscreen or put anything other than basic lotion on my skin.  I really think it was a allergic reaction to sunscreen but I am not about to go through that again right now to find out for sure.  I have gained about 22 pounds right now.  I have been lucky with that as well since it's mostly in my belly.  I have gotten a little wider but nothing too bad.  I feel well.  Of course I am tired but for being pregnant, working, and taking care of Austin I don't think that is too unreasonable.  I am getting excited for her arrival.