Great Wolf Lodge

We recently took a quick trip to the Great Wolf Lodge, we weren't even there for 48 hours, but we had a great time! We needed some family time away, and wanted to have one last trip as a family of 4. I don't have any pictures of them in the waterpark because I only took my P&S and was there for fun. Plus my camera always fogs up in there, so it's kind of pointless. Camden surprised us with his no fear attitude in the water because we expected him to be a little afraid since he hasn't been swimming since last September, and they bathe in very little water. He just walked in the wave pool though, and kept walking until it was 2 feet deep. Then he instinctively kicked his feet while Jonmark held his hands, and he even floated around while Jonmark assisted him. I couldn't get Mykenzi to do any of that, in fact, she still swims with a swim tube/suit thing (they don't allow that there though, so she went without anything and Camden wore one of their vests), and she doesn't appear to be in any hurry to learn to swim without it. She enjoyed playing in the water with Camden, going down slides with her daddy, and just being at the Great Wolf Lodge (she's loves it there, says she wants to stay for 20 days).

Getting ready to go to the waterpark for the first time on our trip.

I don't know where he got this face from or why he makes it everytime he sees a camera.

Playing in the water while we get ready for breakfast.

Off with their wands to play MagiQuest, which was actually off at that time of the morning and I forgot. This was Camden's first trip with a wand since he was too young to participate before, and he figured out how to make things go off very quickly. He loved it!

Trying unsuccessfully to turn on the crystal, not realizing the game hasn't been turned on for the day yet.

Last morning there, outside loading up the car. Before I packed I checked the weather for Williamsburg and it looked like nothing but rain, then the forecast changed and it was sunny and hot as can be that day when all I had for them to wear were warm clothes.

Hiding in the shade because it was already getting so hot early that morning. It was nothing like the 90 degree weather we've had the last several days, but it was still too warm for the way they were dressed.

In the lobby.

Watching the bucket dump water in the waterpark. Everytime we went to get on the elevator this is what Camden would do. He could stand there all day.

In the arcade, another of our favorite things to do at the GWL. Mykenzi has always loved it in there, and now Camden is old enough to enjoy the rides and games. He particularly liked riding these things.

Mykenzi still likes riding them too.

No pictures!

He seriously wanted me to put my camera away.

Yelling at Daddy for tokens to start the ride.

Playing Deal or No Deal, her favorite game there.

Camden was getting tired by this point. Ready to hit the road and take a nap. He fell asleep practically as he hit the car seat.

Just a few pictures before leaving. They ended up with enough tickets at the arcade to get a pink princess basketball and a Redskin football. A little side story: A few times we've been shopping in Target we've gone past the footballs, and Camden will whine and whine until you let him hold one. We just let him hold it until we get to checkout and then put it on the belt last, telling the clerk we don't want it, and he seems to forget about it after he puts it on there. So we knew he'd love his new football!

***

I can't believe the next time we take a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge, or any where, that we'll be a family of 5. I packed very lightly for this trip, which Jonmark says is unusual. He loaded the car with all the bags I packed, came inside, and asked me where the rest of it was. He just knew I forgot something because even when we go away for 2 nights like that, he still can't see out the window. In fact, when we took our week long road trip down to Mississippi last summer he thought it was funny that the car was just as packed for that trip as it was for trips that were only for 2 nights. I think this time I packed lighter because 1) we didn't take the pack-n-play for Camden which does take up some room, 2) I didn't pack enough clothes, should have packed some short sleeve shirts for the spring weather knowing the forecast changes quickly, and 3) I'm too pregnant to do much, so I kept it simple. Now the next time we travel, packing for 3 kids, one of them being a baby, Jonmark says we'll need a car top carrier!

28 Weeks

Can I possibly get any bigger than this? I think I have a long 12 weeks ahead of me, but it's definitely worth it! Mykenzi first felt the baby kick a few weeks ago, which was really exciting! She's so excited about her new baby brother. If you ask Camden what's in my belly, he'll say baby in his cutest voice with the cutest little face, but I'm worried about how he's going to react to this new little guy when he comes home from the hospital. He loves babies any other time, but who knows what he'll think about one coming to live here. We still need to finish the room, and maybe that will help him understand a little better, but he's only 23 months so I doubt anything will except when the baby comes and doesn't leave!

Choo Choo

Camden has started a new thing recently where he lays on the floor pulling his trains, cars, and trucks around, and I was finally able to get a picture of him doing it on Friday when he wasn't feeling well, still wearing his pj's so he'd be comfortable.

You can also see a bandaid on his right hand, which is another new phase he's going through. He loves the show "My Friends Tigger and Pooh" so when I got Mykenzi a new box of Dora bandaids one day, I saw the Tigger and Pooh bandaids and had to get them for him. He now insists on wearing them on the top of his hands even when he doesn't have a boo boo at all. We may have indulged him a bit in this because when Mykenzi was this age, and until not too long ago, she hated bandaids. Even if she needed one, if you mentioned the word bandaid, she flipped out. Camden on the other hand thinks they're stickers.

Camden says...

"no pictures." I kept asking him to look at me while playing with the toys from his Easter basket, and he crossed his arms and told me, with a mean face, "no pictures." We couldn't believe it! However, I can't blame him, I'm always in their face with the camera, if it's not to document something they're doing then it's to test my studio light setup or testing the lighting outside. They are sick of the camera.

Happy Easter!

Dyeing Easter eggs the day before Easter.

"See?"

Mykenzi was upset because her egg wasn't getting darker.



Lots of eggs going at one time.

I love this! Camden kept resting his chin on the table to watch the eggs.

I guess he was thirsty. (It's just water.)

Whoa!

Camden really enjoyed dyeing the eggs, and I think

he was celebrating as Daddy was dyeing an egg.

Lots of little helpers!

Easter morning - the remnants of the snack Mykenzi left for the Easter Bunny of carrots, bunny cookies, and a cup of water.

The only Easter basket Mykenzi could find. The Easter Bunny always leaves a "family" basket of candy on the table. Growing up the EB always hid our baskets at my house (not Jonmark's), so this year we decided to do the same, but it wasn't until Easter morning that I worried about Mykenzi's reaction after the huge build up of the EB coming and then waking up to find there wasn't a basket left for her. I was busy getting the breakfast dish ready so we just let it go for a little while, in the meantime she discovered all of her plastic eggs were missing from the basket they were in the night before, so she started looking for eggs, but only found 9 eggs in the house. When she couldn't find any more eggs, we told her he must have hidden the other 20 eggs she had outside. Then a few minutes later she started talking about her basket, as I was finishing up the breakfast dish. She started saying she guessed that the EB saw that she had so many toys and decided not to leave her a basket (I had told her she had to clean up or the EB would think she didn't take care of her toys and wouldn't leave her a basket). She wasn't getting upset, but she was just going over the reasons why she didn't get a basket, so I told her that sometimes he hides baskets just like he hides eggs. Then she started looking every where for the baskets, and finally found them in the foyer on the table.

You might not be able to tell here, but Camden has chocolate around his mouth. It's one of only 2 days in the year where a little chocolate for breakfast is allowed (Easter and Christmas), and he got into the family basket first thing.

Baskets in the foyer.

Camden checking out Mykenzi's goodies.

Now checking out his own goodies.

Only thing missing in the basket at this point was his Tigger and Pooh paint with water book and the Kasey Kahne truck and trailer with race car, which he loves! He also got bubbles (which appears to be missing also), the bumble bee bubble blower, a new toothbrush, a sketch pad, new crayons, a hand rake and shovel (or is that called a trowel), a new Thomas Friends choo choo, a chocolate bunny, and sunglasses.

Mykenzi got a Handy Manny paint with water book (EB couldn't find a Dora one), 2 Leap Frog educational videos (Words and Math), a chocolate bunny, a new spin toothbrush, trowel and rake, bubbles, a pink bumble bee bubble blower, sunglasses, scrunchies (she recently discovered these and loves them much more than the rubber bands that pull her hair and hurt her head), new pencils, a new Kindergarten workbook (she can't get enough of these), and new crayons.

Camden sporting his new shades!

Then we headed outside to find the other 20 eggs. Yes, in our pj's.

Mykenzi finding an egg in the bushes.

The egg hunt led us around back so we were going on the back deck to go inside through the back door when we discovered the EB had left one big surprise on the deck. We were planning to get this as a combined birthday gift for Mykenzi and Camden, but couldn't decide on whose birthday to give it, so the EB decided to give it himself. Jonmark told them the EB was confused because he asked for a new F-150, and instead this is what we got! This is the best Power Wheels we've ever seen, it goes on grass and asphalt perfectly, and from grass to asphalt or vice versa without a problem. It also has a real working radio, so they were cruising around the yard, front and back, listening the radio and bouncing around. Unfortunately Camden is still a little short to drive it, so he'll just be a passenger for a while, which he seems okay with as long it's rolling.

*****

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter too!

Camden punishes Chloe...

Camden has seen us yell at the dog too much for having accidents in the house (which she rarely does anymore, she's house training well). Earlier today he kept going up to her, pushing her head down to the floor, and saying "you see that, no no no no no!" I feel bad for Chloe because she's not even doing anything wrong, but he thinks it's fun to reprimand her and it's cute and funny.

Whoa, look at that hair!

Camden woke up one morning with his hair like this. It must have been one rough night! (The mean look is because I insisted he look at me while his morning shows were on.)

20 Weeks

Here's a 20 week picture from last week. I also had my ultrasound that day, but I haven't scanned in the images yet. As far as we know, the ultrasound went well, and we have another healthy baby boy on the way! I know I look huge already, but trust me, I get much bigger than this!