Niagara Family Getaway {June 2014}

Its been well over a month since we went on a little family vacay to Niagara Falls.  We wanted to just get away for some family down time before the hubby moved to a new job site that I knew would eventually be taking a lot of his time, plus we are saving the bulk of his time off for when the other little mister makes his debut in September.  We have actually never gone away with Lucas before, due to time and financial reasons and we weren't really sure how he would handle a new environment for naps and bedtime since he is a pretty routine kid.  We learned a few things on this trip but I must say that overall he was amazing.

 

The trips is a mere hour and half for us, and we decided to time our departure during Lucas' naptime to avoid any shenanigans and upsets from the little guy who for now still hates extended periods of time in the car.  We arrived in the city literally just as he was waking up from him nap, so I'm calling that one success so far.  We checked in, got settled in our room, and let Lucas explore the new surroundings.  We had no plans for that evening, since the real purpose of the trip was our plans for the water park the next day.  We headed to an arcade style area across the street where thankfully Lucas was happy just walking around and exploring the different "rides" without insisting on wanting to partake in any of them, score for mommy and daddy since those things are pricey! 

 

We headed to the Rainforest Café for dinner.  Lucas was in love with the scenery since he loves animals and being in "nature".  The waitress had advised us that there would be periodical "thunder storms" and we thought Lucas would get a kick out it, yup not so much.  The first time it happened he looked all around in such concern that you thought he was sure that some apocalyptic downpour was going to ensue.  Thankfully he got used to them eventually even if he was never a fan.  We never really have too many problems dining out with Lucas, he's pretty happy walking around for a little bit, or stays entertained with a video on our phones until his dinner arrives.  Then he will sit through his whole meal no problem.  Kid was hungry that night!  We finished our meals well before Lucas did, and while we usually take leftovers of his meal home, he cleaned his plate of pasta clean!

 

Before heading back to the hotel for bedtime Gianni took Lucas to the glow in the dark mini put.  While Lucas has no concept of the game, he loved running around the ball, and since the hubby has not enjoyed his usual golf game since Lucas was born, I'm pretty sure he was enjoying himself as well.

 

We pushed bedtime an hour later to avoid any antics, and Lucas went down no problem.  He did wake up in the middle of the night and transferred to our bed with us, but I'm blaming myself entirely for this problem.  First I didn't bring a night light, so even though the bathroom light remained open with the door slightly ajar, it was definitely darker than what he is used to.  Also I should have brought his aquarium with us, for some sort of comfort.  Finally our child is so tall, that the crib provided by the hotel, while appreciated was so small for him; and I really should have just asked for a small fold out bed and I'm sure he would have been much more comfortable. 

 

 



The next morning after breakfast we headed to the Fallsview Water Park that was connected to our hotel through a large skyline bridge.  There are really no words how much fun we all had at the park.. Lucas has always loved water and the pool since we introduced him to it at six months.  I have always believed that paying for tot lessons at such a young age is kind of a waste of money but I am a firm believer in making sure that he would not be afraid of the water, so I put the onus on the hubby and I to take him to the pool regularly, and it has certainly paid off.  He was not allowed down any of the big slides, but our little fearless one would have gladly gone down them had he met the height requirement.  We had brought lunch fixings with us so that we could have a quick lunch in our room, and then head back to the park, and let Lucas skip his nap for some more quality enjoyment in the water; but he wasn't having it.  After lunch he snuggled against me in the large king and just fell asleep for almost two hours.  Hey who was I to complain and deny the kid a family nap time!

We enjoyed a great dinner that evening, where Lucas walked the whole half an hour to the restaurant, and then again all the way to the falls!  He's so independent, and while by the end he was asking to be put in the stroller for a break, I sometimes find it lucky that he likes to walk on his own, always requesting that we hold hands. 

The last time the hubby and I were at the Falls was for our first dating anniversary and we have an identical picture to this one.  I actually recently found an old journal entry of mine from that trip, and wrote about how I knew that it was only a matter of time before him and I started planning a future together, getting married and having children, so its kind of nostalgic and beautiful to come back indeed together still and with our son.

We ended up leaving early the next morning, since there was little else we wanted to do in the area with a little one in tow.  For our first time away with a little one, I think we all did ok, and I am already planning, and looking forward to a big week long family trip next April with both my little boys! 

Five on Friday

It's been a pretty busy week around here. We have been taking advantage of the nice weather and spending lots of time outside, and running errands. Lucas and I have slowly moved into our warmer weather routine that always includes daily walks and at least three visits to the park a week, sometimes more when we make it out in the evening with Daddy. Here are some highlights of my week!

ONE

Lucas spent a few weeks in April waking up super cranky from his naps, it was instant crying and fussing and wouldn't stop until either Daddy got home or well until dinner time. Not even a snack would make him happy and those weeks were plagued with some awful weather so we couldn't even go outside to ride out the bad mood. I'm happy to say that we are over that little road bump. Kid has been super jovial and playful the moment I grab him from his crib. We have been enjoying some time in his room reading some stories or just being silly and it makes for a more relaxed progression into our family time evenings.   I mean this face says it all, someone woke up on the right side of the crib!!

TWO

Growing up summer always meant lots of time outside, playing with water, and summer treats!! My all time favourite guilty pleasure was orange creamsicles. This week while at the store I spied a box and my big pregnant self could not resist and they made their way home with me. Just as I was about to indulge in some after dinner sweetness I decided to offer some to Lucas to see if he would like it  (kid is not the hugest sweet lover so I wasn't sure how he would react). Well he took one lick and the rest is history, and gone was my sweet.  I have to say though its amazing how much a pleasure it was to watch him enjoy something that is such a staple of my own childhood, and rather than grab another one for myself I just sat there and watched him devour it!

THREE

Sometimes Lucas is just so easy to please!  We headed to the mall this week to grab some water essentials for a mini family getaway and they have those contraptions that all parents dread and which brings instant glee to all kids.  The small mall rides that usually entices tantrums galore when the word no passes any parents mouth.  Usually Lucas doesn't show much interest but this week he was so keen when he say a car one, but I sadly did not have any change, or bills to even make change (it was seriously not a ploy, I would have actually gladly let him ride on until his heart burst with glee), I calmly told him I didn't have change but let him sit on the ride anyway since there were no other waiting children.  Well to my own happiness he was happy just pretending to drive the car for a good ten minutes.  Mom win!!

FOUR

Speaking of family getaway, we really have no means for an extravagant family vacation this year, with the new babe on the way, the hubby having a hard time getting time off since he's being transferred as foreman to a new job site next month (and needing all his precious time off for the new arrival anyway), added to all that we try to live on a very strict budget as a single income family so that we can always try to put as much in savings as we can.  So we decided that we will be spending the summer taking Lucas on several day trips to local attractions, with the exception of the beginning of June  We are off to Niagara Falls for three days where we are staying right on the falls and visiting the FallsView Water Park.  I cannot wait to see Lucas' face when we go to the water park, he's literally a bubble guppie during the summer, and visiting the splash pads are usually enough to bring him immense joy, this is going to totally blow his mind.

FIVE

I have been suffering from some bad back muscle aches, and to add to that I pulled a muscle in my left arm getting Lucas into a shopping cart yesterday.  So to say that I am looking forward to an hour long prenatal massage my husband is sending me off to tomorrow is really putting it lightly.  I mean I seriously cannot contain my glee!

I hope everyone has a great weekend, I will spending it with the handsome boys in my life, and speaking of handsome I leave you with this pic of the little guy.