To continue our vacation story... The first part of the week we played tourist. The second part of the week we got to visit with family.
Wednesday, August 19... Family Visit and the Astros Game
We headed up to Deer Park (where I grew up) on Wednesday morning to see my Grandmother Buchanan. When we got to her house, we discovered that she had been cooking - a lot - there was honestly enough food to feed about half the town. All of that food was to feed us, my Aunt Denise, my cousin Brooke, and her husband Jeremy. It was good to see everybody and get to meet Brooke and Jeremy's new little girl. It took Emma a few minutes to warm up, but once she did she was moving non stop! We were curious about how she'd do with baby Makenna, but she did great. Emma was very gentle with her and other than getting confused about who's binky was who's, the girls did really well together. All of the excitement had Emma calling a time out a little after 1 in the afternoon. She started telling everyone "bye bye" and she did something for the first time. As she reached for me, she actually said "Mommy." I was so excited!!!!
We headed back to Mom and Dad's and later in the afternoon, Dave and I headed back out for a "date." We went to the Houston Astros game at Minute Maid Park to watch them play the Marlins. Our seats were out in right field, but were pretty close to the field. The pitching wasn't terrific, so it meant that we actually got to see a lot of action in the outfield.
Emma really enjoyed herself too. She stayed with Mom and Dad, played well, and did great at bed time. It was the first time someone other than Dave or myself had put her to bed, so we were a little worried, but there was no reason too.
Thursday... Visit with Dave's family
We took it easy in the morning and headed up to Cypress to visit with Dave's family in the afternoon. Emma had gotten to meet Pete and Judi earlier in the summer, but it was the first time she had gotten to meet everyone else. We had a great visit and a great dinner!
Friday... Cousin Day
Rhonda had to work on Friday, so Mom went and picked up Hannah and Drew and brought them back to her house. The kids had a lot of fun playing together and watching movies. Hannah and Drew were really great with Emma! I was impressed with how gentle Drew was with her... especially since he is only three. After a fun day of playing, we headed into Friendswood and met Rhonda and Chris for dinner at Luna's. Emma was the entertainment at dinner... she had her own little plate for chips and queso and kept trying to lick the cheese off of her plate like a dog. The topper was when she put the plate on her head like a hat!
Saturday... Coming home
The morning was tough. Emma seemed to know something was going on and she got VERY unhappy when she saw us packing away her toys. There were lots of tears and I really don't think she wanted to leave Gigi and Poppy's house. We got the car returned, luggage checked, and through security at the airport without any issues only to find a BIG problem when we got to our gate. Our flight was delayed nearly 2 hours because of FAA random inspections. We got ourselves some lunch and managed to keep Emma entertained, but just barely. We finally got on the plane, got settled, and were on our way. Shortly after take off, Emma fell asleep. Her little head was just bobbing away and she looked so uncomfortable in her little harness. We got her unbuckled and laid her head on her stuffed animal and her feet in Dave's lap. Poor little girl was so tired that she slept for about an hour. After the delay at the airport, Dave and I needed the mental break, so the nap was a good thing for all of us!
We made it back to our house and have been working on getting back into the swing of things.
Random Emma notes...
I've noticed with Emma that her vocabulary seems to grow very quickly when we are around other people for a few days and the same proved true with this trip. She added at least three new words and learned a new song... not the words of course, but she gets excited when you start to sing "If you're happy..."
We also saw Emma's imagination blossom on this trip. Because Hannah is 9, Drew is 3, and Emma is 1, Mom has a wide range of kids toys and they are all mixed together. One evening Emma had a mid size box and decide to use it as a table to have a "tea party" It was really cool to watch! She knew exactly what to do with the little bowls and utensils and kept herself occupied for a long time. It makes me a little sad because all we have here are "baby toys" and I wonder if they are challenging enough for her.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Vacation Update
We had a great trip to Houston! We got to see and visit with family and play tourist, here are a few highlights....
Saturday, August 15...
We had a good flight from Chicago to Houston.... Emma had her own seat and was buckled up using the CARES system. She didn't really like it, but it was a safer for her to be buckled during take off and landing because she is a wiggle worm! Our friends at Southwest out did themselves and we arrived 30 minutes early! Hannah and Drew were at Mom and Dad's when we got there and Emma had fun playing with her big cousins. Rhonda, Chris, Uncle Bill, and Aunt Kim all came over too and we had a yummy dinner and great visit.
Sunday.... The Zoo and Herman Park
Mom, Dad, and we all went to the Houston Zoo and had a lot of fun. The primate exhibit has been redone since I was there last and it was really nice! The new exhibit is all outside, but there are tons of shady trees so that you aren't being cooked by the sun all day. Even though the primates are still in cages, you can get pretty close to them. Emma seemed to enjoy the exhibit, she was waving and saying "hi" and "bye bye" to all the animals as we walked through. We stopped for lunch by the duck pond. Mom remembered being able to feed the ducks on previous visits, so she got a bag of popcorn, and off we went to feed to ducks. After a few minutes and the ducks not seeming interested, we looked around and noticed that no one else was feeding the ducks and that's when we saw the sign about not feeding the animals. OOPS! Emma had gotten to try popcorn for the first time by the pond and she knew that Dad had the bag, so as we continued to walk around the zoo, she would look for Dad and go "Pop, Pop." I'm not sure if she was trying to say "Poppy" or "Popcorn," but her message was pretty clear... She wanted more popcorn!
After leaving the zoo, we headed over to Herman park for a train ride. We knew that Emma was starting to like trains, but this was her first time to ride one. During the ride itself, we weren't sure what she thought, but poor Emma cried when we had to get off the train.
Monday.... Palm Beach at Moody Gardens
Rhonda, Chris, Hannah, and Drew met us (and Mom) at Moody Gardens and we all went to Palm Beach area. It's $11 to get in, but it's worth every penny. The kids had fun running around the splash pad in the toddler area. Emma wasn't sure what to do at first, but once she saw Hannah and Drew running around she got it figured out. She was fascinated by the difference between the wet concrete and the sunny/dry concrete. It was really cute watching her trying to figure out what was going on. We also went over to one of the "big" pools. Emma didn't like having to wear her life vest, but had fun once she was in the water. It was fun for us too, the way the pool is designed, we were able to just hang out in the cool water. This is the way to go to the beach!
Tuesday... The Downtown Aquarium
The Aquarium wasn't exactly what I expected from looking at the website, but it was still fun. Mom had found BOGO coupons in the paper, so Mom, Dave, Emma, and I met Rhonda, Hannah and Drew out there. By having the coupons, we were able to get the whole "experience." We had fun walking through the aquarium exhibit and Emma even got to touch a small shark and a sting ray. She thought that was really cool and giggled when she touched them. We also took the Shark experience train ride and that was awesome! We took advantage of our experience passes and rode the Ferris wheel (Mom and Emma sat that one out) and Mom took Hannah and Drew on the carousel. I thought about taking Emma, but she hated the idea at the zoo earlier this summer, so we didn't try. After lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, we piled everyone but Rhonda into Mom's Highlander (3 adults and 3 kids including a car seat and booster seat were a tight fit) and headed back to Mom's while Rhonda went to the doctor.
The vet had to come check on some of the Alpacas, so Dad got home just after we did. The part of town Mom and Dad live in has needed rain all summer and they got a lot during the vet visit!! This resulted in the vet's truck getting stuck by the barn and Dad had to tow it out with the tractor, but the battery in the tractor had to get a jump from the lawn mower first... What a day for it to rain!!!
I need to get moving and get a few things done around the house. I will post an update on the rest of our trip soon.
Saturday, August 15...
We had a good flight from Chicago to Houston.... Emma had her own seat and was buckled up using the CARES system. She didn't really like it, but it was a safer for her to be buckled during take off and landing because she is a wiggle worm! Our friends at Southwest out did themselves and we arrived 30 minutes early! Hannah and Drew were at Mom and Dad's when we got there and Emma had fun playing with her big cousins. Rhonda, Chris, Uncle Bill, and Aunt Kim all came over too and we had a yummy dinner and great visit.
Sunday.... The Zoo and Herman Park
Mom, Dad, and we all went to the Houston Zoo and had a lot of fun. The primate exhibit has been redone since I was there last and it was really nice! The new exhibit is all outside, but there are tons of shady trees so that you aren't being cooked by the sun all day. Even though the primates are still in cages, you can get pretty close to them. Emma seemed to enjoy the exhibit, she was waving and saying "hi" and "bye bye" to all the animals as we walked through. We stopped for lunch by the duck pond. Mom remembered being able to feed the ducks on previous visits, so she got a bag of popcorn, and off we went to feed to ducks. After a few minutes and the ducks not seeming interested, we looked around and noticed that no one else was feeding the ducks and that's when we saw the sign about not feeding the animals. OOPS! Emma had gotten to try popcorn for the first time by the pond and she knew that Dad had the bag, so as we continued to walk around the zoo, she would look for Dad and go "Pop, Pop." I'm not sure if she was trying to say "Poppy" or "Popcorn," but her message was pretty clear... She wanted more popcorn!
After leaving the zoo, we headed over to Herman park for a train ride. We knew that Emma was starting to like trains, but this was her first time to ride one. During the ride itself, we weren't sure what she thought, but poor Emma cried when we had to get off the train.
Monday.... Palm Beach at Moody Gardens
Rhonda, Chris, Hannah, and Drew met us (and Mom) at Moody Gardens and we all went to Palm Beach area. It's $11 to get in, but it's worth every penny. The kids had fun running around the splash pad in the toddler area. Emma wasn't sure what to do at first, but once she saw Hannah and Drew running around she got it figured out. She was fascinated by the difference between the wet concrete and the sunny/dry concrete. It was really cute watching her trying to figure out what was going on. We also went over to one of the "big" pools. Emma didn't like having to wear her life vest, but had fun once she was in the water. It was fun for us too, the way the pool is designed, we were able to just hang out in the cool water. This is the way to go to the beach!
Tuesday... The Downtown Aquarium
The Aquarium wasn't exactly what I expected from looking at the website, but it was still fun. Mom had found BOGO coupons in the paper, so Mom, Dave, Emma, and I met Rhonda, Hannah and Drew out there. By having the coupons, we were able to get the whole "experience." We had fun walking through the aquarium exhibit and Emma even got to touch a small shark and a sting ray. She thought that was really cool and giggled when she touched them. We also took the Shark experience train ride and that was awesome! We took advantage of our experience passes and rode the Ferris wheel (Mom and Emma sat that one out) and Mom took Hannah and Drew on the carousel. I thought about taking Emma, but she hated the idea at the zoo earlier this summer, so we didn't try. After lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, we piled everyone but Rhonda into Mom's Highlander (3 adults and 3 kids including a car seat and booster seat were a tight fit) and headed back to Mom's while Rhonda went to the doctor.
The vet had to come check on some of the Alpacas, so Dad got home just after we did. The part of town Mom and Dad live in has needed rain all summer and they got a lot during the vet visit!! This resulted in the vet's truck getting stuck by the barn and Dad had to tow it out with the tractor, but the battery in the tractor had to get a jump from the lawn mower first... What a day for it to rain!!!
I need to get moving and get a few things done around the house. I will post an update on the rest of our trip soon.
Monday, August 10, 2009
All quiet on the home front
Things around the Breese household have been pretty quiet lately. The biggest piece of news is that Dave is nearly done with building his work bench in the garage. This week will be a preparation week, Saturday we will be on a flight headed for Houston and a week of vacation. It will be a nice trip. We are going to visit with family, take in an Astros game, and visit other tourist venues.
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