Bath Time

Aunt Terri sent this cute towel to Lauren- it is a piggie, and she loves it! Thanks Terri- you are always so thoughtful!!

Lauren pushing her baby stroller

I think the funniest part is her shadow- check out those "piggies".

The Children's Museum

Wednesday I took Lauren to The Children's Museum to see the new bubble exhibit that opened Saturday. We have a annual membership to the museum, it is the coolest place. There are so many things to do and she gets to watch and play with other kids too. She LOVED the bubble room, and we had to go back twice to play there (she got pretty messy...). I didn't get any pics in the bubble room, but here are a few shots of her playing.

Shopping at the grocery store

Playing Veterinarian

My Future Michaelangelo. It is nice to paint here and not have to clean up my own house. And they have the best smocks!

A Few minutes on the outdoor playground on our way home.

Kiddie Kandids is back!

I just got an email that Kiddie Kandids is re-opening. Yipee Skipee!! Our store will be opening in 2 weeks, I haven't had Lauren's pictures taken yet since they closed, because I wasn't sure where to go. Now they are opening just in time to get some 18 month shots of her- horay!

Travel to Mexico with food allergies

Thought I would post what I learned about traveling to Mexico with a milk and egg allergic toddler. It was easier than you would think, but here is what I have learned.
Prior to Leaving:

1.  I contacted the manufacturer of Silk to see where the distributed in Puerto Vallarta, and they never got back to me (boo hiss....)
2. We bought a bunch of the shelf-stable 8 oz cartons of Silk for the flights. Although they exceed the 3oz liquid we usually have no trouble with airport security treating them like formula when you explain that she cannot drink milk from the airport or the plane. (although you can always buy soy milk in the airport at coffee stands like Starbucks). I put 4 milks in her diaper bag to carry on (enough for the airport, flight, customs in Mexico, and until we are checked into the hotel. I put the remaining 6 milks in a heavy duty ziploc in my checked bag-  I'll use them for the trip home and for out-and-about in mexico.
3. I got some powder soy formula- yes she is 17 months and doesn't drink formula anymore, but in a pinch we can mix it up with water and it will provide her with good nutrition. I split this into 2 heavy duty zip-locs and put one with the scoop in her diaper bag and the remainder in her checked luggage.
4. I thought about buying some larger quarts of shelf-stable Silk to pack in my luggage, but I was worried about it leaking or adding too much weight to my bag.

Trip Day:

1. No problems with the trip, we packed lots of safe snacks for the flight and airports.
2. We settled in to the condo and decided to hit the store for some groceries (we have a kitchen). The little grocery store in town does not have any soy milk (leche de soya). I even ask the manager- they just have almond milk in the "import" section and it is over $5 per half-liter and Lauren wont drink almond milk. Reading the labels on margarine and things isn't too hard- we just look for "leche" for milk and "huevos" for eggs.  There are tons of fresh fruits and veggies, and cereal and crackers that we find for her.

3. That night at dinner we ask the waitor for tips on finding soy milk- the major brand is Ades and he suggests we take a taxi to the resort area (we are in the old town) and hit a big grocery store or the super wal-mart.
4. The next day we hop in a cab and ask where he thinks we can find Ades leche de soya- he also suggests wal-mart, I am a bit skeptical- really? It turns out the super wal-mart in PV is HUGE and has an enormous grocery section with tons of shelf-stable soy milk, mainly the brand Ades.  They did have Silk, but it was about 460 pesos per 0.5 liter and the Ades was 160 pesos per 0.5 liter and we bought 8 of them for the week, so we went with the Ades. Of note- they did not have any refrigerated soy milk, only in the shelf-stable section.
5. The Ades worked OK- it was really sweet and she isn't used to that- so the Silk might have been a better purchase, but we just made her 8 oz of formula each night and thought that made up for bad milk drinking during the day.
6. Eating out was a breeze- we ate lots of fresh seafood and fruits and veggies, and I just mentioned "no juevos, no queso" and we didn't have any trouble. The whole thing actually was pretty simple- the only change  I would make it to probably pack a larger amount of Silk in my checked bag next time.

PV Pics are in

OK- I posted multiple posts with pictures of our vacation. I of course posted them nicely in order- which means that you will be able to read them in the exact opposite order ( I of course didn't account for the fact that blogger puts the most recent on the top...). If you want to read them in the order things kind of happened- slide to the bottom and start with "We're back".  Enjoy, and please leave me comments!! It keeps me motivated to post more if I know someone actually cares to read it (thanks Laurie for all the great comments... you do help keep me going!!).

My Birthday

We had a great day on my birthday, including a boat trip to Los Arcos in the morning. Jeff went snorkeling- there are huge tropical fish everywhere. They freak me out a bit, so I stayed in the boat (he has a weird rash and dark red marks all over...). It was beautiful, and I love to be on a boat. The rest of the day was spent eating, drinking, shopping, and being merry. I bought myself some jewelry from the beach vendors, we made caiparinias and ordered room service and ate dinner on the deck and watched the sunset, I almost forgot how old  I am getting...

The Beach Mall

Anyone who has been to PV understands the beach mall. There are numerous vendors who walk around on the beach and try to sell you stuff... constantly. I of course love it- it is like HSN meets eBay. You are laying on the beach sipping a cocktail and people bring you stuff to buy, and you get to bargain and see how cheap you can get it. I get sucked in by seeing how cheap I can buy stuff- I call it the "thrill of the kill". For instance- I bought Lauren a ton of dresses and myself a ton of silver jewelry. I dont even wear jewelry really, but it was just exciting to get stuff so cheap. Hear is a taste of the pretty dresses I bought for Lauren- average price around $5 USD. I really didn't need to pack her clothes, basically. (oh, and the silver bracelet she is wearing in the last pic...)

More photos of PV

Getting Braver

Waves!

Sand Castles

Oh, those blue eyes.... and crazy hair!

A girl's gotta eat!

Gotta wear shades...A Mother's Day to remember... building sandcastles together. I borrowed a big shovel and dug a large moat that filled up with the waves. It was so much fun...

Beach, beach, beach!!

We had been teaching Lauren to say "beach, beach, beach" but there was no way to prepare her for what she was about to experience. She was in awe, and just couldn't believe it. Each time a wave came up and touched her feet she would stomp and kick and then chant "more, more..." until another one came. I have never loved the beach as much as I did that day, seeing it through her eyes.  It's making me tear up right now just to remember it...

Day 1 in PV- taking it all in

We arrived just after noon, and sat on the deck in taking in the sights- all in disbelief at how gorgeous this place was. If you look to the left of Lauren in the second picture, I think that is a dolphin jumping- we saw many of them.

Puerto Vallarta May 2010

So, we just got back last night from our Mexico vacation. We went to Puerto Vallarta for my (35th!!!) birthday and for Mother's day.  We have been looking forward to this trip for months, and it did not disappoint.  We usually stay at a hotel in the old, quaint part of town- south of the river. It is called Playa Los Arcos, and is really beautiful and we love the location. Unfortunately, they do not allow children to stay in the suites, so we went on VRBO and booked a condo about a block north of our usual place. This part of Puerto Vallarta is called viejo vallarta- or the old town, and the beach is called Los Muertos and is the prettiest beach, I think. The streets are cobblestone and is has a very authentic mexican feel. There are numerous great restaurants, clubs, and shops and there are no big american hotels here. 

So, the condo we stayed at was terrific- it was HUGE and right on a beautiful beach. The owner calls it Casa McMullen and I linked to her vrbo, although the pictures she has listed do not even come close to doing the place justice. It is literally gorgeous- the whole wall of the condo opens up onto an enormous deck, and you are practically hanging over the ocean- amazing! Lauren had her own room and bathroom (spoiled, right?).  Jeff has been talking about making this an annual trip and staying in the same place- I might agree. The restaurant that is on the first floor of the building also serves on the beach, and is called Epoca- it is fantastic and we ate there alot.

Jeff and Lauren in the "living room" ( I was trying to take a picture of them but she wouldn't hold still)

Me on the deck (cannot believe I am posting a bathing suit photo- but wth!)

We're back!

We made it back tonight just in time for the snow (seriously!).  We are tired and happy and have a ton of photos to share. I will try to post some tomorrow between loads of laundry.

Happy Mother's Day!

greetings from mexico we are having a blast. will post lots of pics when we get back

we are off!

we are on our way to the airport and we likely look like a fu
nny bunch. I got up at 4am, took a quick shower and threw on some comfy clothes - camoflage pants that can roll into capri pants. When Jeff gets up he throws on camo shorts. Do I change? Sadly, no. I just decide that Lauren needs to wear camo too. Yep, that is how we roll... a bunch of dorks dressed in camoflage heading to the beach, yipee!!!

:-)

New camera is on its way

I finally ditched the stupid Nikon, and I bought a Canon, just waiting for it to arrive. So, I wont have any new pics for a few days, but am crossing my fingers that it arrives before our trip!! The new Canon has a touch screen too, and hopefully will have better photo quality than the Nikon.  Stay tuned...
Things are busy around our house this weekend, we are shopping, cleaning and packing - just trying to get ready for the trip. Jeff had a hunting banquet last night and turns out Lauren was the big winner- he bid on and won a wagon and a bench for her in the auctions. He also came home with a gun case. Lauren and I had a true girl's night while he was at the banquet. We wore comfy clothes and slippers and munched on Oreos before dinner. Then, after dinner we snuggled up on the couch under a blanket and snacked on pita chips and hummus (our fav) while watching some TV. All very bad habits to teach her, I know- but it was our special treat girls night.