waterpark fun with a random, unplanned tangent about potty training

Have i mentioned how much I miss summer? Im a water park fanatic and could go there everyday if I could...actually I think we might of.  The kids love it there too...and each other...
i found these gems in the hopper and had to post them....Grady in his cloth swim diaper makes me giggle! (he was wearing bathing suit shorts minutes before this pic)

We've been working on potty training for weeks now and beginning to see the light.  No more diapers here, but those who claim to do it in 3 days are either crazy or extremely lucky.  I read every book, article, blog post titled "Potty Train in 3 Days" when I was 10 days in and laughed at what they said he should be doing as he had peepee dripping down his leg with pants on as I read aloud to myself.

I read  the book Oh Crap by Jamie Glowacki (and david read the chapters i told him to) by the recommendation of my friend Shelly who was my potty coach too and my pocketbook started getting excited about the idea of not buying anymore diapers.  Her book is VERY motivating and promises big things.  We did cloth diapers with lily, but because most were pink, we did some cloth but more disposable with Grady and the sticker shock almost killed me with all those diapers....and they say it takes 250 years to decompose just one diaper in a landfill.  say what??  So we did the potty boot camp with Grady and it went horribly wrong with almost little/ no progress after 3 days , but couldn't turn back at that point because there had been some progress.  But NOTHING like the book suggested. It was SO STRESSFULl!  I literally remember sitting in church praying for sick babies, world problems, friends going through heavy stuff, and for Grady to pee on potty at Sunday School.  lol
After 1-2 weeks I felt we were getting there and 3 weeks (not days) I finally felt like we had crossed over  and I could breathe again. (kinda) It was a brutal process, but glad now it's over. (kinda)  There's still accidents here and there, but he's pretty much got it. (have disclaimers all over to not ginx him)  We did a much more laid back potty training approach with Lils , but it took months with no stress so now I'm an (not so) expert in both approaches.  Lils was the low stress, but took longer approach.  Grady was the high stress, but was faster approach.  There's pros and cons to both, but it sure feels good to have 2 kids (almost) out of diapers and saving all that cashola.


More money in our pockets to go to the waterpark. (next summer sniff sniff)

Wrapping up vacation

Omgoodness, are we STILL on vacation!??  Holy moly!  We were only gone a week, but the pictures make us look like we were there a year!  It really was one of those trips that will go down in history as one of those overdrive memory making trips.  Grady was so happy to see this lego dog, he directly went up to it and gave it a kiss.
multiple times...

he is such a lover through and through...



and attracts other kids like a magnet. this little girl walked up to him, held his hand and hopped in the stroller with him for a stroll.


Oh how we loved Sea World!!



Lily still had her bippidiboppity hairstyle in the next day so we went with it and showed it off to Shamu.



they are obsessed with maps...

photo op...

lil is always finding places to pose and wants her pic taken numerous times...



we joined in the fun with some Shamu riding...



walking underwater was uber cool.



and petting the sting rays...



while Grady and elmo took a snooze.



then lily joined him...



it wasn't penguin weather that day, but our kids didnt mind...



I get super dizzy and nauseous on the dinkiest of rides lately, even merry go rounds so David was the default partner in crime for lily.

and Grady just watched from afar not reaching the height requirements just yet...

I didnt think these pictures would transfer the amazement of the show, but I think they come pretty close.


holy shamu!!


more rides...



the poser...

our tour guides.



no matter the degree of weather, lily INSISTS on wearing her cool socks and they've become a bit of  a staple of hers.

where should we go next?

Allison gave us these bowls for the kids and they turned into the greatest toy in the hotel.  lily would line them up and sort them and have imaginary picnics forever!


more pool time.

I love this suit of hers.

lunch by the pool.

this trip is all done.

and we're still dreaming about going back.


life is good.

I love summer.

Seriously...it looked like they woke up and planned these outfits....
taking in the breathtaking views...

Grady would plug his ears every time he  was near a waterfall he deemed was too loud.  or a honking horn. or a police siren. Have I mentioned how funny he is?



They must've jumped in and out of the water 345 times and Grady wanted to push to the front each and every time...he doesn't really understand the taking turns concept too much yet.

these 2 together make me laugh, smile, swoon and melt all in one breath...they say that opposites attract and I think that's why they get along so well (most of the time) because they are POLAR opposite and the best of each pole.

here's grady waiting for the princess in bippidiboppidy and I couldn't help but think of ET...
i miss disney so much and Lily mentions multiple times per week how much she can't wait until we go back. Me too Lillers!!!

Princess Pow-wow

All Lily could talk about was meeting Cinderella when we went to Disney...she wanted to hug and talk to her and see her castle.  Lily likes to repeat things when she wants something like 5x an hour so we were clear that this meeting had to happen and it was at the TOP of her bucket list.  The moment happened right before my eyes and it took my breath away and this is my favorite picture from the trip because I know how nervous, excited, fulfilled and happy she was in this moment.  She was awe struck and her heart was racing as she chewed her tongue and ate her finger waiting in line looking up at me with "omg, this is really happening mommy" and we snapped this picture...


and we took it a step further where she got to the Bippidi-boppity salon where they give you the ROYAL treatment and turn you into a princess.

start













They have it down to a science with all the bells and whistles and Lily was amazed by it all.  here's before and after with her favorite princess.





can u see the resemblance with katie 10 years ago?  omg... omg...omg...

wowsa







I



 was such a tomboy growing up that I didnt even know what a princess was nor did i have any interest in dressing up like one or meeting one, but im thinking i kinda missed out seeing how awesome it was for the lils...


notice the face jewels...like i said...they pulled out all the stops at the bippidi-boppidy salon!



by the time she met Rapunzel she was all in her glory playing the part...



seeing your kids dreams come to life is like finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and basking in the gold together...nothing better than seeing your kids so happy...absolutely nothing !!