Great Wolf Lodge

At the end of August, we spent a night at Great Wolf Lodge for a mini-vacation.  We don't really travel much with the kids because our experiences thus far have been less than enjoyable- there's so much to haul around, schedules get off and kids (and parents) get grumpy, no one gets any sleep at night- but, we feel like the kids are getting to ages where we can do more, and actually have a good time away from home.  So, we ventured 45 minutes away for 24 hours of fun!

Great Wolf Lodge is a huge resort with an indoor water park and arcade (those are the main attractions).  We didn't take pictures in the water park because we didn't want to risk ruining the camera, but I guarantee, it was a blast!  There were several areas that were perfect for toddlers, and really, the only thing our kids didn't do were the big slides that they were too short for.  There was a wave pool (that James loved, and Audrey was not a fan of), there was a couple pretty tall twisty slides (James also loved these, and Audrey hated them), there was a lazy river, and all sorts of splash pad type of play areas (and, if you're wondering if Audrey actually liked anything in the water park, she loved these areas).

You get a view of the water park from the lobby.  The kids got really excited when they saw this.

 

 Getting messy with a chocolate cupcake.

 

 We spent a lot of time in the arcade.  Audrey liked to pretend to play the driving game.  I tried to sit with her and actually race, but she wasn't interested.  Every time we walked near these racing games, Audrey would climb right in the seat.

 

 James didn't want to take a picture, so the first picture is him retaliating by making a sad face.  The second picture is James being overly excited because I probably told him we couldn't do something if he didn't smile.

James was so excited about winning "money" (tickets) in the arcade.  His favorite game was Deal or No Deal.  He loved to slam down on the Deal or No Deal button and watch all the tickets come out.

 

 At 8 o'clock every night, guests can go down to the lobby for story time.  The kids enjoyed it even if it was an hour past when Audrey usually goes to bed.  She was so tired.

 

 

Breakfast in bed.







 

The kids, especially Audrey, were fascinated by the fish tanks at the Rainforest Cafe (which is not actually at Great Wolf Lodge- it's about 5 minutes away, and turned out to be a great outing for lunch)

 

 

We're walking back to our room after lunch.  We had a really fun time, and one night was plenty for our kids.  There was just enough to do to keep them interested and wear them out!

Audrey is 17 months going on 3 years

This post is mostly for me so I remember how old Audrey was when she started POTTY TRAINING HERSELF.  Our sweet girl wants to be big like her big brother so bad.  Every time James goes to the potty, Audrey is trailing behind him trying to get her clothes off saying "pee, pee" or "poo, poo".  And, 90% of the time, she goes.  I bought her Pull-Ups yesterday because I'm tired of fastening and refastening her diaper all day long.

And since I'm blogging about potty training, James is potty trained!  He showed very little interest in using the potty in the months leading up to his 3rd birthday, but we told him 3 year olds don't wear diapers, and since his birthday, he hasn't worn a diaper (except for Pull-Ups or "night underwear" at night which are dry most mornings).  He is so proud to be such a big boy.  A common conversation in our house these days goes like this:
James (running out of the bathroom): "Dada, I went pee pee (or poo poo) in the potty!"
Dada: "Way to go James!"
James: "Dada, are you so proud of me?"
Dada: "Yes James, I'm so proud of you."

Our babies are growing up!

2012 London Olympics

Dave has been looking forward to the Olympics all summer, so to kick off the intense sports watching that will be happening over the next 2 weeks, the kids and I decorated the living room (as a surprise for Dave) to get us in the spirit of the Games...

Projects

I have not forgotten about the blog... I just have a new hobby that is taking up my free time.  I've started sewing!  I've made Audrey 3 dresses now (2 are pictured below), and 2 other little dresses that I'll be giving to friends who are about to have baby girls.  In addition to sewing, I spent a good week painting a beautiful desk (also pictured below) that my dad built for me so that I can have a space all my own for sewing.

James' 3rd birthday

James is VERY excited about dinosaurs these days, so we had a dinosaur themed party. We invited all James' friends to a really neat park in a nearby neighborhood, and everyone seemed to have a blast, especially James! I made James a red stegosaurus cake and the kids' goodie bags were full of dinosaur fun (tattoos, stickers, masks, coloring books, dinosaur figures).

We cannot believe how fast James is growing up! He is so loving, especially to Audrey, and he is so funny. We are impressed by his silliness or kindness or intelligence or creativity countless times each day. He is such a blessing to us, and we are so lucky to be his parents. Happy 3rd birthday, James! We love you!

Opening presents from mama and dada first thing in the morning...

It's Woody!



And dinosaurs!



James is not excited AT ALL!



Brother and sister cruising together. I wonder if James will be as excited to drive Audrey around when he's 16?



Party action shots...






James' red stegosaurus cake... he initially wanted a T Rex, but I convinced him he wanted a stegosaurus because I knew I could make it. The color red was always a given.



Dinosaur masks! Roooooar!



Family photo.



What in the world was so exciting?



Roooooaaar! Rooooaar!



Cute girl!



Birthday boy!

Ranger's game

Last weekend we went to our first Ranger's game of the season. James told me he wanted to take Dada to a baseball game when I asked him what he wanted to get him for Father's Day. I told him that we should leave Audrey at home with a babysitter, but James insisted she go to the game too. So, we went to a game, about a month early because if we waited until Father's Day it would be really hot. The game was a lot of fun, but of course with two toddlers, it was difficult to focus on the actual game, which the Ranger's lost. But it was all about the experience of being there, right? I will add in the Ranger's defense that they are currently ranked #1 in their division. They were just having a bad day, or maybe we are bad luck. Anyways, here are our pictures from the game:

We're on our way to the game!  James has refused to wear any sort of hat his entire life, but on this particular day, he wanted to put on Dada's hat, and he wore it from the time we left the house until we got home after the game. 

Audrey could not get enough cotton candy.  James was not as excited about it.

James looks so big in these picture.

James was very excited about his strawberry icee. He almost ate the entire thing!

He was kind enough to share with Audrey.

Family picture.

James and Nolan.

The Fresh Beat Band in concert

James has been a huge fan of The Fresh Beat Band (a fun little show on NickJr.) since he was first able to watch TV.  Before he could talk, he asked to watch the show by wiggling his little hips and pointing at the TV.  Once his speech started to develop, he asked for the show by requesting "the dance show".  And, of course now he knows the actually name of the show as well as the names of the 4 main characters.  He has also assigned each of our family members to a character.

When we saw that FBB was going on tour, and would be in DFW, we knew we had to get James tickets.  So, we did.  They were an early birthday present for our growing too fast little boy.

The night before the show, Dave and I stayed up late making t-shirts for each of us.  We based the t-shirt design on James' assignment of characters.  James' shirt had a picture of Twist on the front, and his catch phrase. "Sweet!" on the back.  Audrey had Kiki and "Kickin'!", I had Marina and "Hip hop and pop!", and Dave had Shout and "Cool Beans!".

We didn't tell James anything about going to the concert until the day of. He was excited, but I don't think he fully understood what we were doing until we got to the Verizon Theater in Grand Prairie.

When the show started, James cheered and cheered.  It was so sweet seeing him so excited!  Audrey was terrified by all the noise and hid behind me in my seat.  She was quickly intrigued, and slowly started peering out from behind me.  Eventually, she was clapping and dancing.  James sat on the edge of his seat,and mostly just stared and smiled.  He danced every once in a while, but his joy seemed to paralyze him into a trance for the most part.

It truly was a great day!