Florida Keys: Day 2

Yesterday was our first full day in Duck Key and we had an awesome time. Andi had a few conference calls in the morning, so Tory and I snuggled in our villa. She was up a few times the night before so mama and baby were pretty tired. We're back to getting up several times a night again. Please tell me it's because of our jet-setting travel ways as of late and not some three-month-old phase we're venturing into. Anyway, between Andi's calls, the three of us walked to the nearby marina to look at the sailboats and check out the shops nearby. People knock the Baby Bjorn but for one reason or another, Tory really likes it and it makes toting her around places so much easier. This girl is killing my wrists lately (I think I must have weak wrists anyway because yoga always hurts them too). So, call it baby torture via the Bjorn, but it's one expensive baby contraption she actually tolerates, and we roll with it.

After lunch, we headed to the resort pool to relax and enjoy the warm weather. Being the sucker first-time parents we are, Andi and I bought a $16 reusable baby swim diaper the other day at Babies On Grand so we suited Tory up and headed into the water. She loved it! Splashing her legs and making cooing sounds. It was bath-water warm and she was having a ball. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging under a shady umbrella, taking naps and people watching. Either the economy has hit Florida tourism big-time, or we're in the tail-end of off season because there are hardly any guests at this resort. This translates to awesome customer service by the staff at Hawks Cay and peacefulness wherever we go here. It's a nice treat!

Taking poolside naps

Swimming with Daddy

Lounging with Mommy

At sunset, we walked along the water and shared ice cream from Emack and Bolio's. This has been the perfect little getaway for our first family vacation.

Florida Keys: Day 1

We're in Florida!!!

We hopped on a plane yesterday morning and a few hours later landed in Miami. Oh holy day, it is WARM here and so SUNNY. How I miss this weather in Minnesota already.

Andi and I wanted to take a quick trip before I return to work in a few weeks. Primarily because I won't have any vacation left (since I used it all during my maternity leave) and because it happens to be a "slow" time for Andi at work (aka: sandwiched between two major events he's producing) (husband: if you're reading this, I know there is never a "slow time" for you at work) so we set our sites on the Florida Keys. This is our first real vacation with Tory and we tossed around the idea of going to Mexico or somewhere more exotic like Nicaragua, but ultimately decided to play it safe and stay stateside. We've been to Florida a hundred times, but never to the Keys so that's where we settled on.

Tory did an awesome job on the 3 1/2 hour plane ride, sleeping almost the entire flight and never making a peep. As we got off the plane, all the passengers around us commented how good she was. A few people said they didn't even know she was there! I realize traveling with her won't always be so easy, so I'm thankful for every trip that goes as smoothly as this one. Everyone who knows my husband will be shocked to hear we actually checked bags this trip (I KNOW!) so I was able to bring things like real hairspray and plenty of clothing options. Traveling with a baby isn't hard, it's just different and sometimes doing things like checking bags makes for a smoother process. One other thing we learned on the journey: there's a "family" line at the airport which basically equals VIP. We skipped past 100 people in the Minneapolis airport security and breezed right to the beginning of the line. IT WAS AWESOME.

Tory, our perfect little travel buddy, turned into a travel tornado once we loaded into our rented Chrystler Town and Country mini van (definitely not the convertible we're used to renting on vacations ... although I have to admit, it's quite functional). From her car seat, Tory screamed bloody murder during our entire drive from Miami to Duck Key. We stopped about 30 minutes in and I fed her, changed her and soothed her and she still cried the rest of the way. Poor baby just HATES her car seat and there's nothing we can do to help it.

We're staying in Duck Key which is near Marathon, FL and about 60 miles north of Key West. Andi rented a villa for the week on the Hawks Cay resort property and it's got all the luxuries of a kitchen, living room, bedrooms, grill and patio with a pool, bar and marina nearby. Last night we went to the store and loaded up on groceries for the week so we're all set to relax and enjoy a few days in the sun with our little family of three.

Off to spend some time at the pool (under a shady umbrella for Tory, of course) and maybe do a little exploring, too.

Tory - 11 Weeks Old

Tory - 11 Weeks Old

Squeaky Clean

Squeaky clean, through Jesus Christ. My sins are washed away.

Thanks Brookie for teaching us Squeaky Clean in honor of Tory's baptism this weekend. (And thanks for getting that song stuck in my head since Saturday. Darn catchy bible tune)!

Andi, Tory and I flew to Nebraska this weekend for Tory's baptism. We decided to baptize Tory at my parent's church in Nebraska since we haven't joined one near our new house yet. We flew out Friday night, opting for a more expensive one-hour flight versus a seven hour car ride because Tory's still hatin' on her car seat. The idea of riding in a car with a screaming baby for 7+ hours was not a challenge Andi and I felt like tackling. So! A quick flight to Nebraska it was. This was Tory's second plane ride (we went to San Diego when she was four weeks old) and it went so smoothly. This time we decided to nix the baby stuff altogether (we left our car seat and stroller) and carried two backpacks with Tory in the Baby Bjorn. (Did you know you can wear your baby through the security screening? This made for a super quick check-in process). I brought my breast pump bag and used it as my diaper bag, and voila! easy-peasy airport traveling. My sister was sweet enough to dig all of Brookie's baby stuff out of storage and let us use her car seat, boppy pillow, playpen and bouncy seat during our stay in Nebraska.

As we walked off the plane, we were greeted by my sister Ashley and her boyfriend Jason waiting with a handmade cardboard "Tory's Baptism" sign. There's no one in this world quite like my sister; only she would think of something like that! Then we walked out of the small airport to my sister's SUV parked right out front in the loading zone. Gotta love small airports; general rules just don't apply. After a 40 minute drive to my parent's house, we finally got settled in around 1:00am. Tory was such a trooper and slept most of the trip (never cried once at the airport or on the airplane!) but her sleep schedule was disrupted enough by our late night travels and she woke up several times throughout the night. Needless to say, neither of us got much sleep. Mama was a little tired this weekend!

Tory's baptism went great on Sunday. She fussed during most of the ceremony (and screamed when Pastor splashed water on her head!) but slept through the rest of the service. This was the first time most of my family met Tory. She was such a good little girl at the reception my parents hosted after the service and never fussed as everyone passed her around all afternoon.

A big thank you to my parents who hosted the baptism reception for Tory. What a great weekend!

Mikey's Story

The other night I saw a news story on Fox 9 about a 10 year old boy, Mikey, living with disabilities derived from being shaken by his in-home nanny at six months of age. Of course I can't find the story online to link to, but basically it showed Mikey (now in 5th grade) receiving special education in gym class and help with school work as he struggles to do things other 5th graders take for granted. I found myself sobbing while watching the story and I've had a pit in my stomach for days as the story keeps popping back into my brain.

The next night I told Andi about Mikey's story. "Obviously I'll have to talk to our new nanny about this," I said. "I'll tell her to call me anytime she feels frustrated with Tory. Don't shake her! Put her in her crib and walk away if you have to," I'll say. Andi half rolled his eyes at me and said something about it being the character, and common sense, that stops someone from hurting a child by shaking them. "I don't think Allie would do something like that," he said. But I bet Mikey's parents didn't think their nanny was capable of shaking him either. Why would they have trusted their baby in his/her care otherwise?

This story and all the press coverage about the Penn State tragedy make me wonder, how do you protect your kids from bad stuff happening to them? Now that I'm a parent, I have a heavy heart listening to stories of helpless kids being violated. Not that I didn't before I had my own child, but the feeling is now magnified by a million. How do I make sure nothing like this ever happens to Tory? My gut reaction is to put up a force field around her. I'll put her in a protective bubble where she'll never feel hurt or pain. But I can't. I don't want to rob her from life experiences and making friends and being a kid.

This is the hardest part of being a parent. Enjoying the journey as your baby girl experiences life, while shielding her from the world's scariest monsters. I think we all do the best we can, and couple our decisions with prayer we'll be lucky enough to avoid the worst.

Life As Three

Several months ago, Justin (a work friend of Andi's) gave us one of the best baby presents by volunteering to take photos of our baby girl Tory once she was born. Justin and his wife Jessica own Bees-Knees Photography. Unfortunately, we weren't able to schedule a shoot with Bees-Knees until Tory was four weeks old (since Andi was traveling for work the first few weeks of her life). We missed the chance to get those itsy bitsy baby photos (you know, the ones where their tiny hands are folded underneath their adorable pudgy chins?) but we did get some great "capture the moment" shots of us at home with our new baby girl.

Take a look, I think they turned out fabulous! (these are just a few of my fav's) ...

Christmas Wish List

Thirty is the year I've officially become OLD.

I've been racking my brain trying to decide what I want for Christmas this year. I've become boring or responsible (or both) and find myself saying things like "let's focus on the kids this year" and "I don't really need anything." Gone are the days I generated a mile-long list including Victoria's Secret gift cards and trashy gossip magazines. These days, I've swapped lacey undergarments for nursing bras and can't find the time to read the stack of magazines accumulating from my past Christmas present subscriptions.

Cooking and home goods seem to be my theme this year ...

Crock Pot Collections book

Cooking For Baby book

Large Tupperware

Pampered Chef Paring Knife

Pampered Chef Apple Wedger

Pampered Chef Simple Additions Soup Bowls

Pampered Chef Baker's Roller

Pampered Chef Mix N' Chop

White Down Comforter

Queen-size Blanket

Gravy Boat

Butter Dish

Roasting Pan

I told you, I'm thrilling huh?