SeaWorld

Riding on the Elmo ride

Waiting for the Elmo show to start

Feeding the sea lions....Alayah was too scared to touch the fish, so I had to feed them

Alayah practicing her balance beam walking

So we made it to San Diego in the wee morning hours to our hotel which my friend got us rooms at for free with her reward points. This hotel is like a 400 dollar a night hotel so you'd think they'd have exceptional service....not lol Their machine to make the room keys was down so they had to escourt us everywhere as our room was on a secure floor, so you had to use your key to get the elevator to go to our floor. Plus they charged $20 bucks a day to park in the parking garage, so we had to park on the street....down a huge hill and around the corner. It sucked. It was after 4am when we got to sleep.
When we finally got around and ready it was lunch time so we stopped and ate before heading over to Sea World.


We had a lot of fun at SeaWorld and Alayah is always asking to see fish, so I knew she would love it.



We saw the Shamu show and I don't know if Alayah knew what to think about it...she just kind of sat there. She really enjoyed seeing all the fish and would yell out "fish momma fish."


We went to see this Elmo in 4D show and everytime there was water involved it would shoot out of the seat in front of you and it made Alayah cry everytime. She kept saying "I go home mom!" I felt bad for her, but it was really cool when they had all these bubbles shooting out of the ceiling.
We also were able to go to this area called Elmo's bay of play and we got to ride some elmo themed rides and we were even able to run into the Elmo characters and Alayah got to get her picture taken with him. She was so excited and that's all she talked about.

We ended the day up with the skytower that lets you get a good view of the surrounding area. It was dark when we went up so it was cool to see all the lights of the city. As we were headed back out to our car they had a fireworks show which seemed a great way to end the night. What a special experience :)


Alayah testing out a yummy popsicle

Perusing the strip

Alayah woke up about 3am this morning with a severe croup cough. She was several shades darker than normal and was really struggling to catch her breath. I started a hot shower and sat in the bathroom with her for about 45 minutes with hot steam. When we rolled out of bed in the morning she sounded a lot better, but she was crying that her ear hurt. We navigated the closest urgent care and headed over there. Turns out it was the exact same urgent care I took her to the last time we visited Las Vegas when she was 11 months old.

They still had all her paperwork on file, so we were able to get in rather quickly. He gave her something for her ears, but nothing for her croup since she sounded fine. After the doctors we left to take the girls to the Rainforest Cafe to eat because I thought Alayah would like it since she likes animals so much. We stopped by the tiger area first and let the girls see the tigers. They also had three new baby cubs that were soooo cute.

It might have been fine had I not tried to re-create a photo in front of this robotic elephant before we went to eat. It started moving right as we posed for this picture and freaked Alayah out. Of course they seated us right next to a heard of robotic elephants that would randomly move throughout our meal so Alayah ended up on my lap for most of our lunch.



After we ate lunch we headed down to the M&M factory.

That store is crazy...It was cramped and hard to manuver around with strollers. Alayah decided she new what she wanted and tried to do some shopping on her own. After the M&M factory we walked outside and Alayah was out.


I got her a new stroller before our trip and I love it. It is so roomy and easy to push. We walked around for awhile and looked in some of the casinos. I had to pose her stroller by things to get pictures since she wasn't awake to enjoy a lot of the sites.


By the time we made it back to MGM she was awake so we posed in front of the lion and I had her pose by a little mini palm tree.

We left the strip to head back to my parents to pack so we could head down to San Diego for the weekend, but once we were back in the car Alayah's croup cough came back, so we headed back to the doctors. He prescribed her a steroid and also gave her a prescription for singular. I don't know why, but every time we leave town she gets ear infections and croup. *sigh* I don't think it will ever end....:(
We finally got out of town at 9pm...way later than we had intended to. Let me just say...I absolutely hate driving I-15 at night on a friday. Everyone from Los Angeles is headed to Vegas for the weekend. Its like one giant light train as far as the eye can see the entire drive...it was crazy and my poor eyes couldn't handle it. I felt like I needed sunglasses the whole drive even though it was the middle of the night. We finally made it to the hotel at 3:30am to a host of issues that I will tell in tomorrows posting as this one has gotten way to long lol

Vegas here we come

happy to be out of the car


only in wyoming would you see saddles for seats at McDonalds



testing out her papa's guitar hero guitar


We left town at about 6am and made it to Vegas at about 6pm. Alayah did pretty well on the drive...she had her moments when she just didn't want to be in the car anymore, but we only had to stop 3 times the entire drive which was awesome. She didn't even have an accident! Once we got to Vegas we stopped at a Qdoba for some dinner and then headed to grandma's and papa's. She was so excited to see them and they were definitely smitten with her. Got to get to bed early because we have to get ready to drive to San Diego tomorrow...I'm sick of driving.

Packing packing

Alayah has a new love....Honeycombs


chillin' with nana on the couch watchin' "princess"
Alayah hung out with my grandma tonight while I tried to get packed for our week long vacation. I don't know why I always wait until the very last minute to pack...but it never fails. At least I got it done fairly early in the evening so I am going to hit the sack as we have to get up at 5am...ughh. Have I mentioned its a 12 hour drive to Las Vegas....totally not looking forward to that part at all

Procrastinator

Alayah changing her babies diaper

I am a major procrastinator! Aghh...I need to be packed by tomorrow night for a week long vacation and I haven't even started yet...I don't know why I do this to myself every single time I try to go out of town, but I do. Easter weekend I forgot Alayah's Easter basket when I went to Denver and I am bound to forget something important for this trip too.



My friend and I went to get a mani pedi today and I had to bring Alayah with me. She sat on my lap during the entire pedicure and on my lap for part of the manicure, which is more than I expected. She got a little restless towards the end, but she did so much better than I imagined. I am enjoying the little bit of maturity she is gaining with these toddler years lol.



We didn't get home until after 8pm which is my main reason for not feeling like packing. I have no choice but to get it done tomorrow night...lol...

Moment in time Monday

i so want her eyelashes




I got these knee high socks at Target and I love them
Nothing exciting today...work as usual...daycare as usual...just sharing a moment captured in time :) because I have nothing exciting to write

Sunday Afternoon

seriously this girl has me laughing all the time


watch out the Alayah monster will get you ( note jammie change due to her sitting in an ant hill)



the unintentional face....i'm saving this one

Alayah and I spent a nice leisurely day together. We layed in bed and watched tv for a little bit, had breakfast together, and then went to the mall. I picked her up some coloring books for our trip this week...which I still haven't started packing for lol. Then we went to see "How to train your Dragon." She really liked it and kept calling the dragons "bites." She took a good nap while I trimmed trees in the backyard. All in all a good day :)

Saturday

We went to Olive Garden for lunch today. Alayah came home and took a nap and I raked up all the twigs that fell of the trees in the backyard from all the strong winds we've had lately while she slept. I would like to know why during the week I can't get Alayah up at 7am for anytheing, but on the weekend she wakes up at 7am on the dot. *sigh* I guess sleeping in is not in my near future lol. I went through all of Alayah's hair bands today and it made me really sad. I don't want to give them away, but she doesn't wear them. I hope to someday be blessed with another little girl, but I am sure by then I will want new headbands and there isn't really a point to holding on to these for wishful thinking. I don't know why I have such a hard timing parting with her baby things.

Funny sayings

she was upset that she had an accident

I think Alayah has watched "the princess and the frog" twenty times this week. It ends up on all night long. She loves that movie. I wanted to take note of some cute things she says lately.



"fweetie"- sweetie

"ahna"- over

"sihral" - cereal ( she can say this correctly now, but I wanted to note it for memories sake)

"I kno kno air it is"- I don't know where it is

"quirrel"-squirrel

"sebra"- zebra

"melmo"- Elmo

"tumbly"-tumbling

"come ere"- come here

"bruhdder"- brother

I know there are others, but I can't think of them right now. I'm so sleepy :)

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for my little artist

Tumbling Week 13

not sure why this is sideways

Tumbling went pretty good today. Her dad didn't show up so I was a little worried she might cry the whole time. She has pretty much mastered the skills they have taught so far...I hope they start teaching something new soon. She can almost get into a headstand against the wall all by herself. Once she is up she can hold it there for a few seconds by herself too. I need to get a picture of her doing it. One week from tomorrow we will be on our way to Las Vegas to visit my parents. I think Alayah will really enjoy seeing them too as she hasn't seen them since January.

Easter Card from Papa and Grandma

Alayah's grandparents sent her and Easter card in the mail. It plays music and she loves it. She found some stickers and decided to decorate the card and her bed rail.
She is in love with stickers lately. I found some really cute princess ones at Target in the dollar bins...I love em. :)

Monday Monday

This girl just makes me laugh....don't mind her room...it was a diaster zone


She fell into this box it was pretty funny.
It's Monday....and I have absolutely nothing to talk about....except for the fact that I hat Monday's... good thing its over :)

Easter Sunday

Alayah's replacement easter basket since I left hers back in Casper...I can't believe I forgot it


momma and her girl



Alayah was pretty serious about her egg hunting.

she carried these orange slices around all day...silly girl

headed to the aquarium to see the fish

We woke up Easter moring and had the girls assess their goodies then headed outside to do a quick egg hunt in the hotel parking lot before heading to church. Alayah's friend kept putting all her eggs in Alayah's basket instead of her own lol. So sillyl. After church we ate some food and then said goodbye to our online buddies. The moment we reached Denver Alayah asked to see the fish. I don't know how she knew where we were or even remembered the aquarium, but she did so I figured I would take her to have some me and her time. She loved it. She led the way and went at her own pace. She carried her baby with her and even showed her the fishies. We had a great day and it was a great way to finish off the weekend. Today is the day that "HE got up" and I am so grateful that he did. Such a precious gift He gave.

Shopping and the Denver Zoo

We started the day with a little shopping and then we took the girls to the zoo. Alayah was asleep for a little while when we got there, but I ended up waking her up so she wouldn't miss everything. The girls had fun runing around and seeing all the animals.

I got a picture of Alayah next to the polar bear monument that I always take her picture next too...it helps me see how big she has gotten.

This is a picture of the girls looking at the polar bears...I got a lot of pictures of the back of their heads lol

This pictures makes me laugh. I love how they are doing the exact opposite with their legs and hands...it's crazy

We let the girls ride the carousel and Alayah picked out a zebra to ride on. She thought it was the greatest thing ever. Since this riding event she has been able to say zebra and point them out in pictures.

We did a little more shopping after the zoo and came back to the hotel and crashed. We were all so exhausted. The girls had so much fun playing together and it was so nice to get to spend the day with someone I've known for so long but never had the chance to meet.

Going to Denver

Alayah and I headed to Denver for the weekend to meet up with some online friends that I have had since I was pregnant with her. I met the mom on a website for expectant moms having babies in January. Our girls are 23 days apart.

Alayah fell asleep like this on the way down there.

We met up with our friends at the hotel and the girls became instant buddies. They immediately went into the bedroom and started jumping on the bed together. We headed to a local restaurant and the girls ate and entertained those around us. (or annoyed them lol)

We came back to the hotel and gave them a bath and got them dressed in their matching pajamas they got for Christmas. They thought it was fun to climb in and out of the pack in play over and over and over. It was great finally getting to meet them :)

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for Alayah's unique sense of style

Tumbling Week 12

A girl her Nana and Cheetos...good way to end a long day

Alayah did well today at tumbling. There were some new kids, so the structure wasn't all there from the teachers. They got down the rope swing and Alayah swung on it the first time all by herself...she thought it was pretty fun. She also is so close to doing several things all by herself. I'm excited to see how far she has come after only 12 classes.

Grumpy Tuesday

Alayah was in such a bad mood when I picked her up today. Oh my gosh...she screamed and cried about everything all night. Nothing was right in her world and any little thing I did just seem to set her off more. Luckily, she went to bed early and fell asleep in her own bed.

Easter Bunny

I took Alayah to get her picture taken with the Easter Bunny today. She went right to him and at on his lap. Then she got all shy and did this weird thing she does with her mouth when she is trying hard not to smile. I thought her hair looked really cute in the ringlets, but they are hard to get out as her curls are so tight.

Nana also let her ride every single ride at the mall....She thought she was pretty special getting to do that.

New writing desk

I ordered Alayah a writing/art desk thanks to Mari's mommy. Alayah was so excited when we pulled up to the house and she saw it sitting on the porch. She was impatient though when it came to waiting on me to put it together. She was so happy to be able to sit down and color at it. Color is her favorite thing to do lately.

3/27/10

Today was cleaning day. Great fun let me tell you. Alayah spent the day running around acting crazy. Nothing exciting to report.

Daddy day

I let Alayah spend some time with her dad today while I went to dinner with a friend. His apartment is a little rough inside, but the postive is he at least has his own aparment instead of mooching off girls. She seemed to have a good time so that is what counts.

Thankful Thursday

I am Thankful for Alayah's fun personality