Follow Our Adventures

Follow Our Adventures

Sunday, December 21, 2014

National Harbor Trip

The Stefany family took a little before-Christmas trip to National Harbor this weekend.  Going away the weekend before Christmas seemed a bit ridiculous to me as the weekend approached; the last weekend to shop, wrap, do local Christmast things, etc, etc was now being taken away.  Actually, now that it is over, it was pretty great to go away.  Whatever was accomplished at that point, was all that was going to be done.  It was refreshing to escape all that crazy last minute stuff and just enjoy time with my family during this festive time of year.  After all, quality time with loved ones is way more important than buying and receiving material gifts.



National Harbor is a town created out of nothing southeast of DC.  There is just enough there to entertain all ages for the weekend: playground, lots of restaurants, carousel, Ferris wheel, and shops.  I loved parking our car and being able to walk to everything.  We were not close enough to DC to do any of that stuff, but I was ok avoiding those crowds.

I'd say the Capital Wheel and the Gaylord Convention Center are the big attractions.

Bundled up and ready to explore!



Our little toddler might have said "big wheel" a million times

Standing in line for our ride

Bray goes with G, Auntie L, and Cole

Ev got her two favorite guys

Photo courtesy of Cole.
Does a good job capturing our view

We braved the cold to play at the playground and ride the carousel



Look who else was riding!?

Brrr!  We needed to warm up

hot chocolate at a "warming station"

A fire pit to warm our hands, noses, and spirits
(Hannah had dramatic fall at the playground)

We hopped hotels over to Gaylord to check out all the glitz over there.

Beautifully lit trees!

Pictures coming soon of us in things other than coats and hats

The evening light show

In addition to the lights, we also rode the glass elevators up to the 18th floor and back down, rode the "peeps train", and were mesmerized by the fountain.



They spotted Santa on the balcony!

Cutest siblings out there



Our hotel was not as fancy as Gaylord, but it had an indoor pool and that made it a-okay with us!

I can't tell if she is so happy she can't stop smiling or
she is freezing.  Probably both

"Puddle jumpers" are amazing!  The kids loved swimming on their own

And of course Daddio is the fun parent

It was a little chilly coming out of the pool, so we quickly put all the kids in the jacuzzi tub to warm up


Bray's placement of the balls cracked us up

Mohawks!

Our hotel had a kids room where we colored, an arcade where they won all kinds of balls, and luggage charts for rides down the hallway :)



And if all else failed, there were always planes landing at Reagan National and lights




Jason and I even managed a date night.  The kids were happy to have popcorn and watch a movie with G and Poppop

Popcorn easily wins them over


The cold air, twinkling lights, huge Christmas tree, families walking around in Santa hats, Santa himself, Christmas displays in shop windows, and overall holiday feeling turned me from feeling overwhelmed about the holiday to charged up for the big day.  I am ready for Christmas!

Friday, December 19, 2014

Santa, Fish, and Friends

Santa's name comes up in our house.  We don't push it.  We just think it makes this time of year more magical to our little ones.  Sitting on Santa's lap is not even on my radar.  I know my kids won't go near him let alone sit on his lap, plus there is no way they will talk to him.  My kids are not asking for any kinds of gifts yet and we will ride that train as long as we can :)

However, when Liz asks me to hang out, I say yes 99% of the time.  So if Liz is taking her kids to sit on Santa's lap and asks us to tag along, I jump.  (Off the cliff too...)

Santa made a stop at Bass Pro Shop.  It was a great place to see him- no lines, free picture, and other activities nearby for the kids to enjoy.  My kids were as expected: shy, scared, curious, and clinging to Liz.

Scratch the picture of my kids both crying reaching for me...
Let's get one with my normal morning hang out crew!

After we made a slight scene around Santa, we played.




And checked out the really big fish!


What?!  The kids are all standing without clinging to us,
crying, screaming, pushing, pulling hair... it's a Christmas miracle!

No play date is complete without snacks

Sharing.  Be still my heart.

In case you haven't noticed, the girls are dressed the same

Their hair!  So beautiful!

Evie approves of Bray's girlfriend

We made our first trip to see Santa.  Check.

Monday, December 15, 2014

A Sad and Exhausting Transition

When I left for the DR, I was hopeful the grandparents would break some of my bad habits with getting Evie to fall sleep.  I tend to lay in bed with her untill she falls asleep, especially at nap time.  (I usually grab a 20 minute power nap in her bed).  But I was willing to do it to guarantee at least an hour every day with two sleeping children, i.e. break time for Mommy!  Evie was starting to fight napping on the days she had school, which seemed a bit odd to me.  I would think she would be more tired those days.  However, I was thrilled she was still napping at least 5 days a week.

Well, unfortunately Evie has gone from napping almost every day to 1-2 days a week.  She decided to nap zero times when we were away.  Not the habit I wanted to break!

I know I shouldn't complain because I was getting my 3.5 year old to nap most days, but I am going to complain.  The attitudes in this house are wretched right now.  I am annoyed because I am losing my down time each day, Evie is a feisty all afternoon, Braylen is crying because Evie is unkind to him, and Jason is just thrilled to come home to a hot mess after work.  We are pretty miserable to be around.  I am disappointed we are all going down because of Evie's lack of nap.  

On the bright side, bedtime is easier.  Well, getting her to fall sleep is faster, the behavior before bed is less than pleasant.  

The days she naps, she is up until 9:30... Parents of preschoolers, I see you nodding!  Evil cycle.

So we'll rely on our dear friend, the Tot Clock, to keep Evie in "room time" to give me some time alone.  We all need some time alone by 1 o'clock!  

Please say a prayer for our cranky family during this time that is suppose to be cheerful and full of joy.  And for this mama to have the energy to come up with a game plan of how to handle this transition.  Afternoon school is sounding amazing right now :)


Saturday, December 13, 2014

Braylen the Builder

Braylen is turning two tomorrow!  It's time to celebrate!  Since Braylen requests "Bob Builder" often, I made the theme of Braylen's 2nd birthday party construction.  I asked guests to dress as construction workers; the grandparents went all out!



Daddio constructed a cake for the occasion



Braylen's two cousins and two friends demolished the "construction site".



Braylen was enthusiastic about all his gifts; he was eager to open them and tell us what he got.  I loved watching his eyes light up with each gift.  He was excited by all of them except clothes.

A big fire truck that makes sounds 

A tool bench 

"Good night, good night Construction Site"

"Bob Builder!!"

He was thrilled with all the new books he received
(Mommy is doing a great job emphasizing books over stuffed animals)

While the site coordinators and workers were building the tool bench...

Good thing Daddio had a hard hat for that operation

Don't mess with the big sis

Getting to work

... Ms. Liz read the little ones some of Bray's new books

Bray would take Ms. Liz snuggles all day long

After some building with Bray's new Duplo Legos and balloon battles...


Best $1.99 spent

... it was time for cake!

Braylen smiles through "Happy Birthday"

Caught his droll just in time

"Who wants ice cream?!"

Parties at my house are always a blur to me.  I am pretty sure the kids had fun and got along.  Most of the brunch food was consumed.  All good signs of a successful party.  I am so thankful for the loving family and friends Braylen has.  He's one lucky (almost) two year old!

I love my boys

Too cute for words

Bray's girl friend 

The obligatory family birthday shot.  



Now that the party is over, it's time to decorate for Christmas!