Vacation to Paradise Island, Bahamas

We just got back from a family vacation to Paradise Island, Bahamas. It is an island just North of Nassau. We had a wonderful time together and both boys really enjoyed themselves. We were not ready to come last night! I think we could have stayed for a very long time! It was just what we needed after the last few months that we have had. We left last Sunday very early in the morning. We woke up at 2:45am in order to leave the house a little after 4. Payton woke up when we did and never went back to sleep, so he had a tough time later that day because he was so exhausted. That night after we got settled in the hotel we walked around a bit and went to a little store to buy some water to make Eastons bottles with. We also went to dinner and then we went swimming. The next day we explored the entire area of the Atlantis. It is so amazing. The attention to detail is just astonishing. There are a ton of marine habitats everywhere. We also explored the area called The Dig, which is a huge aquarium type thing made to resemble the lost city of Atlantis. I can not even come close to describing it, so you will just have to look at the pictures. There is also an area called Marina Village that we spent a lot of evenings at. It is surrounded by multi-million dollar yachts! We heard that celebrities are there all of the time and we think one must have been on one of the boats we saw, because people were taking pictures of one of them a lot. The next day we spent the entire day at the Aquadventure water park area. Payton was in heaven and Easton really enjoyed splashing the water. We all rode the lazy river and Payton and I went on an very active river rapids ride called the Current! Wednesday we did something really special. We decided that while we were here, why not do something that we wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to do. We took a ferry ride to another island called Blue Lagoon. This was an amazing area. There were hammocks in the trees, and chairs and umbrellas on the beach. So we spent a few hours there and then did a dolphin encounter! We got to get in the water and hug and touch a dolphin. We even got to get a kiss from him. It was a really neat experience. The last full day there we spent it at the Atlantis beach and just tried to soak up every last bit of sunshine before having to head back to the rainy Midwest. Both boys had a blast playing in the sand and water. I am still finding sand everywhere!! Then the last day we took an eventful bus ride back to the airport and had to head home. I was a little worried as to having to wait in line with all of our stuff and the boys for all of the customs and immigration stuff, but they both did great. Easton was much easier to travel with then I could have ever expected. He slept and napped good in the hotel and the flights. The trip was great and we are trying to figure out when to go back. I know a lot of people probably thought we were crazy taking the kids on a trip like this, but we couldn’t imagine not taking them. We really like to experience things together as a family and think that vacations together are really important.

The entire area was wonderful and beautiful and everyone was so nice. Although, it is VERY expensive on Paradise Island. We stopped counting how much we were spending after the first day. When we went to the little grocery store, we saw a normal size bag of oreo cookies for $9.95! One meal we got two slices of pizza, a bowl of fruit, and three drinks and it was $50.00.

On Monday we head back to our hustle and bustle of school and work, etc. We are NOT looking forward to it, except Payton is missing his friends and teachers. Justin and I know that we are both heading back to lots of stress at work, but oh well, life must go on……

More missing teeth and cruising around!

Since I last updated, Payton has lost another tooth! That makes two gone for him, and two total for Easton! Eastons teeth just seem to be on their own time schedule. It doesn’t stop him from eating just about anything though.

The boys have both done great since their surgeries. After the first few really rough days with Payton he did great. I am amazed as to how much better he sleeps now. I used to be able to tell if he was sleeping from the hallway just by the way he was breathing. Now I can’t tell and actually have to go and check on him to make sure he is okay. I also don’t hear him up and stirring all the time throughout the night.

We also just found out that Payton made the cut for full day kindergarten. We are so glad. He will do so great in a full day setting. I guess not everyone made it in because there were just not enough spots. Easton has learned to pull himself up and is now cruising along furniture. So, pretty much he gets into everything now! He loves to pull the toilet paper off and put it in the toilet! So basically I need to clean a little more often! (In my free time, HA!) He also loves to pull up to the window and bang on it! The neighbors probably think we never let the poor guy outside! Easton is getting the funniest personality. He likes to play little games and is just becoming quite humorous. He really enjoys going for walks and just being out and about in his stroller. He is also getting very talkative. He mostly says mama and baba. He says mama when we wants me or when he is crying or wakes up and he says baba when he wants to eat. He is starting to get stranger anxiety. He is okay as long as we are holding him and he is interacting with others, but if the other person wants to hold him he is not so sure. If he knows someone though, he get so excited to see them and starts kicking his legs and starts laughing.