Swimming at the YMCA kid pool (with her noodle)

Vegas Baby!

U. and his apt pupil (Astrid) have been saying "Vegas Baby!" for a couple days now.

U. is attending a conference here in Las Vegas, while Astrid and I will spend as much time as possible at the pool. Astrid is "pool crazy" as we haven't been able to go to the pool the Y or to the beach in sometime. So since last night when we told her we would be going to a place with a pool, she's been saying "Swimming pool! Swimming! Swimsuit! Swim diaper!" over and over again. First thing this morning she even asked me to put a swim diaper on her. Talk about excited to go swimming!
We drove the 4 hours to Las Vegas rather than flying this time. It's such a hassle now with flying that it was faster and more convenient to drive.

We stopped in Baker (a podunk truck stop town with the world's largest thermometer - no joke!) as is our ritual when driving to Vegas, to stretch our legs and grab a bite to eat at Denny's. (It's the only restaurant around with the exception of some truly scary diners.)
Astrid with her "rocket" child's cup. She's old enough now to sit with us in the booth with or without a booster seat.

Astrid watching Sesame Street on the iPod (or as Astrid calls it, "Ses Sweet"). Prior to today the only things she would view on the iPod were photos, and a video of her and mommy (me).

Normally in the car Astrid reads, colors, and draws to keep herself entertained, but for this long road trip (four hours) U. downloaded some Sesame Street episodes for her to watch. We also have a flat screen and DVD player in our car (with cordless headphones), but we don't use it. U. let Astrid watch it a few times and it turned into a nightmare. I'd be driving on the freeway and Astrid would start crying for TV, and there was no way I was putting it on for such a short drive. I'd rather her read her books, look outside, and listen to music. So we decided not to use it (unless we absolutely need to).

Sad that you have to get your kid addicted to TV just so you can have some peace and quiet. It is the great pacifier. Up until age 2 we didn't allow Astrid to watch any TV, but now that she's a bit older we've become more lenient with letting her watch PBS in the morning. We still try to limit the amount of TV she watches but have to admit that once you open that gate, it's hard to close it. Last time we were in Las Vegas with Astrid (when we stayed that The Wynn Hotel) she was in a stroller, but now a year later she's pushing a stroller of her own.
Astrid brought her favorite doll and two toy bottles with milk and juice.
We're staying at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay and this time we got a corner suite which is a bit larger. Our hotel shares its pool area with Mandalay Bay including a number of heated pools, a lazy river, and even a wave pool with a man-made beach. So that's where we headed as soon as we got here.

Last time we stayed at this hotel was 3.5 years ago and I don't remember the trek to the pool/beach to be that far. But with a 2 year old toddler in tow, holding her hand, a diaper bag, and inner tube, while walking through a casino, the trek seemed more like an odyssey.

We spent a long time in the lazy river with Astrid in her inner tube/baby boat that we brought with us. We weren't able to go into the wave pool because of the height requirement (48 inches). So we went into the pool instead.

At first she didn't want to swim at all. She had a hissy fit every time I tried to get her out of her inner tube. But after a bit of coaxing she understood that her inner tube wasn't going anywhere and we could always come back to it, and started swimming with me (i.e., kicking her legs and letting me hold her in the water horizontally.)

After getting a bite to eat, we headed back to our room for a nice evening bath. Astrid looks so small in the huge tub.She loves the cascading water.Playing with the bath products.Washing her hands (and mommy's legs). The bathtub is so big and deep, that it's more like a swimming pool for Astrid.Vegas Baby!I was so relaxed....

Until I noticed a piece of poop in the tub. It was like an episode of Jaws - panic - evacuation - man overboard.

I made sure Astrid was clean and then I used the Lysol I brought with me to disinfect and scrub the tub (twice).

Just another day in the life of a mom.

Celebrating Godmother Jill's 40th Birthday

A happy happy birthday to Jill (Astrid's Godmother), who celebrated her 40th birthday today with friends and family, and a good ole summer bbq. A milestone birthday for a girl who's still young at heart.

Astrid was so looking forward to going over to "Jill's House" as she calls it (sorry Bill), and was like a little puppy dog following Jill around.

It was sweet to hear Astrid tell Jill, "Happy Birthday Jill" and to see Jill introduce Astrid to everyone, "This is my Goddaughter."

I just posted the pics that Jill sent me of the weekend she watched Astrid (when U and I were in Santa Barbara) here and here.There were 2 kiddie pools to keep the kids entertained. The 2 kids pictured here warned us not to swim in the other pool because Jill's 2 dogs where in there earlier. So they used it later in a game of tossing lemons.U. and I watched as these 2 kids tossed an orange/lemon back and forth and taunted Astrid who wanted to hold it. I waited to see if they would share, and when they didn't, I had enough and picked an orange/lemon off the tree just for Astrid. A new hairstyle with 3 rubber bands.Astrid playing and oblivious to the the 2 kids fighting over their toy.She loves the water and always wants to go swimming."Swimming Jill's house" Astrid says.The look on Astrid's face says it all. "I want to play with you, but I don't quite trust you.

It's interesting to see the interaction between older kids and Astrid. Some older kids have been very sweet to her, acting like a big sister/brother, and others like these two didn't want to have anything to do with her. And Astrid picks up on things so quickly, and tries to copy the older kids. Makes you realize that you really have to stay close by and watch her when she's around other kids (especially older kids) to make sure they're treating her nicely and that she's not copying bad behavior as well.Astrid swimming as the older kids frolic and let the water out of the pool.This pool has a built in seat ledge and Astrid loved to jump off it, copying the older girl.Astrid sitting on mommy's lap (my lap), next to Papa, eating.Astrid loved standing here and watching the baby being fed. The baby in turn didn't fuss because he liked watching Astrid. Kids.

The baby's dad told us that when a kid is 2 & 1/2 years old, they're half the height they will grow up to be and that his dad measured him at 2.5 years and proved that it was true. We measured Astrid with a tape measuring, and if it is accurate, Astrid will be approx. 5'11" and she's still got 2 more months to go before she's 2.5 years old.

Baby's Dad: "She'll be the perfect model height then."

U.: "I don't want her to be a model. Okay maybe the first Nobel Prize/model."

U. bought her this adorable purple dress (with a monkey on it) at the Silverlake farmer's market.Our little fish having a blast in the pool. She cried when we left and didn't want to leave Jill's house, but when we got home she was beat and fell asleep shortly afterwards.

Pics of Astrid at her Godmother's house

Photos taken the weekend U. and I were in Santa Barbara and Jill was taking care of Astrid.

Peekaboo Playland Toddler Waterpark

On Fridays, Peekaboo Playland has an outdoor toddler waterpark; $10 for adults (kids are free). Astrid had so much fun and it was a great way to spend a hot summer day.Astrid exclaimed, "Cold water!"

When we got there in the morning the water was cold, but it got warmer as the day got hotter.

I like that there are canopies for some shade.She loved going down the slide into the pool.Fun!She had to have all the little floaties. The pool is deep enough for swimming, but still toddler size so that Astrid could get in and out on her own.She loves this Little Tykes playhouse with its play kitchen sink.The other little girl is the owner's daughter. Astrid tried to get a conversation started with her by saying, "Washing dishes." Alluding to the fact that it's what you do at the kitchen sink.Showing Mommy the shark.

There's also a yellow submarine toy in there that we have at home as a bath toy. Astrid was holding and tapping it on top of the water in the bathtub one day repeating over and over again, "smarine". It took me awhile but I realized she was referring to the "Yellow Submarine" and she wanted me to sing her the Beatles song that her Papa always sings to her in the bath. So that was my cue, "We all live in a yellow submarine...a yellow submarine...a yellow submarine."Playing here while she waits for her turn on the swing.Astrid was the only kid wearing a bathing suit. All the other kids just had their swim diapers on. One dad commented that Astrid had a wet suit on. Not quite - no latex - but it does have built in SPF protection. I'd much rather be on the safe side and cover her up, then let her be exposed to the sun's harmful rays.

Astrid tried speaking to a couple of the kids. Unfortunately the kids she tried speaking to didn't have the same language skills to reciprocate. There was a little boy sitting on the slide who Astrid was trying to strike up a conversation with. First she commented on the water, "Water cold?" She wasn't discouraged when she didn't get any response, but just kept trying. When she saw that he wasn't going down the slide she asked, "Help? Hand? Hand?" to see if he needed assistance and offered to hold his hand if he needed it. She also introduced herself, "Astrid" she said a few times, as she pointed to herself. Then she continued to tell him, "Grapes. Mouth." as she opened her mouth and pointed inside it to illustrate what she was eating. It was really great to see her trying to communicate with other kids and not being shy about it.We got there in the morning when there was a lot of shade, but by the time afternoon rolled around, it was time to put on a hat.Checking out the chairs on top of the water spray mat.These Friday outdoor water events are a treat! It's definitely worth the $10.