Florida, Baby!

We're home from our first family vacation with the little one! We spent last week with some of Sean's family and my brother at a resort in Orlando, Florida, relaxing and visiting. We had so much fun and got to spend time with family that we don't see very often. Hadley had a ball playing with her little cousins and had some fun first experiences, too:

She managed to survive her first real road trip. The trip was 14 hours each way exclusive of stops for meals and breaks. All total, we were in the car from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on the way there (we lost an hour due to the time change, though). I am absolutely amazed at how well Hadley did on the trip. She could have been mad at the world for detaining her in a carseat for that long, but she wasn't. We made sure to stop and let her get out of the car for short spells. I think this really helped. She played, napped, and sang the time away and was happy except for a few times when it hit her that she was STILL in the freaking car.

Someone thinks she is old enough to drive

At one point during our drive, Hadley created a game in which I would hand her a toy, and she would toss it back at me. Or to the back of the car, or to the front of the car, or at the window beside her. I'm still finding toys in the car. How can you be mad at this, though?

Hadley also went swimming for the first time at the resort's pools.

With Aunt Jenny just before going swimming for the first time

This was Hadley's first experience with swimming and she was so not sure of the whole "giant tub" thing at first. She clung to us for dear life the first two times we tried swimming. Then, she warmed up to the idea and soon LOVED it. She splashed, squealed, and kicked her little legs in the water.

As much as she loved swimming in the pool, she hated the beach and ocean. We took a day trip to a nearby beach, ate on the pier, and played in the sand and surf for a little while. We thought Hadley might like playing with her toys in the sand, but she decidedly did not. I think she was just hot and uncomfortable. We tried to let her dip her toes in the waves, too. She screamed as loud as she could when she saw the wave coming to her. Oh well, maybe next time.

With Daddy on the pier

We realized about halfway through our trip that Hadley was getting a second tooth. She seemed to be a little more cranky than usual but I attributed that to the long car ride, lack of sleep, and new surroundings. Silly me. I hate that she was in pain, but the tooth is in now, and she looks so cute with two little bottom teeth.

The only real downside to traveling with a little one was that it completely threw her schedule and sleep training out the window. Since returning home, we are having to re-sleep train Hadley and she is so fighting it. Ugh. Last night was not pretty. Hadley wore herself out and fell asleep sitting straight up in her crib. It was so sad and so sweet that I almost picked her up to cuddle her. I managed to resist her cuteness, though.

I'll post my Do's and Don'ts for traveling with a little one tomorrow. We're heading off to our first Little Gym class now.