Florida Vacation 2013, Loves Lights, Found His Winkie, Antbiotic Bowel Trouble & Wes Wants Food

Wes:  21 Weeks Old

Ty:  2 Years & 6 Months Old

I’m going to do the best I can at a concise report of our vacation, but as you all know...I am a bit long-winded.  So we’ll see. 

On Friday April 12 we headed on our big adventure to Florida!  All day long, I would keep telling Ty that we were getting ready to go to Florida and his response was always the same.  “Yea!!!  Mickey!!!”  I didn’t teach him that – I think Grammy did!  But it was so cute!  We left our house at around 5:15 PM and met up with Keith & Sonia in Mass on the turnpike.  Joel & Adam were going to be leaving at around midnight and driving straight through.  We had planned it out and had tried to do some weird times for driving to try to have the kids sleep the most, but not drive straight through which Heath & my in-laws didn’t want to do.  Unfortunately, our initial plans didn’t work out well.  I figured that the kids would fall asleep at their normal bedtime of 8:30 – 9 PM and sleep until we stopped at 2ish AM.  That was a joke.  For some reason, both kids were wired and didn’t sleep at all until we stopped in Delaware, right outside the Maryland border at about 2:30 AM.  Tyson was unbelievable through New York City and Newark.  He would look to his left and scream, “lights....lights...lights!”  And then he would look to his right and see more lights!  He just went crazy for the lights.  I guess that’s what happens when you take a country kid to the city! (=  I tried to get a “video” of this because it was so cute.  It’s not actually a video as much as an audio recording.  We stayed at an Econo Lodge and Heath & I divided and conquered.  We had two double beds, so Heath slept with Ty and I slept with Wes. 

Tyson loving the lights

On Sabbath, we woke up and headed out at a leisurely time of 10 AM.  We wanted the boys to have time to sleep in and again, figured (wrongly) that they would fall asleep at their bedtime and sleep until we got there at about 2 AM.  With our stops, it turned into getting there at about 3:30 AM, but the boys did terrible on this leg.  I’m sure they just DONE, but again...they were both wide awake the entire night portion and losing their cool.  Tyson just couldn’t get comfortable in his car seat and kept crying,“Tired....sleep...lay....down!”  He wanted so badly to lay down and he couldn’t.  It was so sad.  We had tried to keep them entertained with movies on our tablets, but even that only holds them so long.  Ty ended up vomiting 4 times and I couldn’t figure out why.  Was he car sick?  Was he so upset about being in the car that he got himself too worked up?  Not sure.  I had finally started driving (Heath likes to drive most of the time) and that lasted only about an hour & a half because I had to go in the backseat with the boys because they were hysterical.  Adam & Joel got to the house we were renting at about midnight and Adam got us good.  Heath & I had just been talking saying, “I hope the place is nice.  What if it is terrible?”  So Adam called us and said, “The place is a dump.  It is so run-down.  We got taken.”  Then he said, “Just kidding, it’s awesome!”  What a stinker!  He knew exactly how to get a rise out of us!  We finally got there and despite the boys wanting to sleep so bad...they were too excited to fall asleep until after 5 AM!  We were too tired to set up their pack ‘n’ plays and just had all 4 of us sleeping in a king-sized bed together!  It was quite roomy!

Relaxing during one of our stops on the way down

Our bedroom

Our master suite

Family room

On Sunday the boys slept in until after 9 AM (not long enough) and I am so lucky to have the husband that I do!  He can’t sleep in, so he got up with the boys and let me sleep in!  Heath & Ty went right in the pool and Wes spent time with who else...Grampy!  I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it on this blog before, but Wes & Grampy are firmly attached at the hip.  It is very cute.  After eating at IHOP, we went to get some groceries and supplies at Walmart and then went to a place to get discounted park tickets.  We tried a Cici’s Pizza for supper, which was either $6.95 or $7.95 for all-you-can-eat pizza, salad, and dessert.  It was pretty good but we didn’t get back until almost 10 PM.  With my OCD, I was so hoping to unpack everything nicely and set everything up...but I was too tired that night and that really was my only night to do it.  I resigned myself to live in “filth” for the rest of the week. 

Ty at IHOP was still tired out after the drive

On Monday we went to Sea World.  We convinced Keith to get a wheelchair.  He has had this terrible left leg pain and can barely walk.  He has had an MRI but still waiting for the results.  There was no way that he would be able to walk through these theme parks and, you know, he has to be hurting if he agreed to it.  We had a great time at Sea World, but it was a stifling 90 degrees and we were so hot.  We brought our double stroller and we would have been lost without it, but poor Westin just baked.  He was in his car seat carrier and then strapped into the stroller.  The poor boy has never felt heat like that before and I don’t think he was ready for it.  Tyson was very cute during the whale/dolphin shows.  Heath & I kept watching him during the shows to see a reaction out of him.  I think it was too much for him right when it was happening!  Because he would be completely stone-faced and just took it all in.  But after the show was over, then he would become animated and say, “Whale...jump....splash...water!”  We brought Ty over to the kiddie area and had him run around in the water area (where they have all the fountains that spray water etc..).  I wasn’t sure if he would be OK with it but as soon as he got over the initial shock of getting soaked, he ran around that place like a crazy kid!  The only time he would stop running was if the water got him in his eyes...then he would stop dead in his tracks and rub his eyes...crying for Heath.  As soon as Heath would wipe his eyes, he would be off running again! It was so cute!  Sonia & Keith were sweet to watch the boys so Heath, Joel & I could ride a couple roller coasters.  Adam would have, but he was feeling the effects of the heat and felt horrible.  After a good 8 hours, we were done.  It was a great day, except for the news of the Boston Marathon bombings.  Very surreal.  I still can’t believe what happened.

Grampy bought Ty a towel to dry off with 

Tuesday was supposed to be a different day than what it turned out to be.  The (big) boys went deep-sea fishing and the (little) boys & I were going to go visit Corey & the kids.  Unfortunately, everything changed because Tyson got pretty sick.  He had been sick with a cold for almost a month, but before we had left, it was almost completely gone.  Since the vomiting episodes in the car, his cough had become horrible and he had been wheezing.  Since he has had pneumonia twice before, I knew I had to take him to a clinic.  When we woke up, this is how our conversation went.

Me:  “Ty, do you think we should take you to the doctor’s?” 

Ty:  “Yes.”

Me:  “Why?”

Ty:  “Ty sick.” 

I thought that was the cutest thing!  Then he continued the cuteness when he said:

Ty:  “Where’s Daddy?” 

Me:  “Daddy, Grampy, Uncle Adam, and Joel went fishing.”

Ty:  “Ty fishing too.”

Poor guy was left out!  So I found out that there was a clinic by Florida Hospital just a few miles down the road and you could make appointments!  I made an appointment for noon and we got there on time.  Sonia was sweet enough to come with me!  But then we proceeded to sit there until 2:30 PM! I finally went up and asked them what was going on when the waiting room had cleared out and everyone that had come after us had already went in.  They said, “He needs to see the doctor. They are not seeing the doctor.”  After 3+ hours, it was finally over.  The verdict was in - he had Bronchitis and a left ear infection.  Funny enough, Wes also got his first cold – probably from the change in climate, but it was very mild, so I didn’t feel like he needed to be checked.  We got Ty’s antibiotic filled and he was exhausted.  He needed a nap in the worst way, he was a hurting unit.  I didn’t know what to do because that day was the only day we could see Corey & she had an appointment that evening.  Sonia offered to stay and nap Ty at home and Wes & I would go see Corey.  So that is what we did.  I should have called Corey to warn her,  because the poor Grodack kids came flying over to the car saying, “Tyson, Tyson, Tyson” when I got there!  They took it in stride that it was just Westin and they were oohing and aahing over Wes in no time!  Their house is even more beautiful and impressive than the pictures.  So we had just enough time to take the tour and sit and chat for about 30 minutes or so.  Talk about a short visit!  But it was good to see them, even for a short time.  When Wes & I made it back home, Joel really wanted to cook at the house – so we made it an evening in and went swimming instead.  Westin had a big milestone...he found his winkie!  And it has not been just a one-time thing either!!!!  On the Tyson front, something not as exciting happened to Ty that night.  After 1 dose of the antibiotic...Tyson developed liquid diarrhea.  He had diarrhea when he was on this antibiotic before, but because he is so limited of what he can take because of allergies...we have to just deal with it.

Ty missed you guys too!

He really was not himself

On Wednesday, the crew (minus Keith & Adam) trucked it to Busch Gardens.  We had a great time but it was 90+ and we were so hot again.  Ty had a blast in this kiddie area with all these great rides that he could go on.  Heath & I took turns taking him on the rides and it was such a blast to watch him have so much fun.  The fun quickly turned to a disaster when we hit their kiddie-water-splash area.  Heath & Sonia were with Ty, while I sat with Westy in the shade.  Poor Ty had a potty-attack while he was in the water area, and he had diarrhea pouring down his leg and down Heath’s arms.  They shut down that place like Fort Knox, kicked all the kids out, and had to decontaminate it!  It was at least shut down for a couple of hours – I still don’t know if it ever reopened that day!!!  Poor little kids, all in their bathing suits, were going over to the area...and they had these gates blocking all the entrances with workers standing guard to turn people away!!!!  Poor Ty – since he’s potty-trained, he was really mortified.  He kept saying, “Ohh...no...poop.. leg.  Poop Daddy’s arm.”  That one episode was NOT the end either.  The problem is that it was so hot, so you wanted to keep him hydrated...but as soon as he ate or drank anything...he would have to go.  We stopped to eat for lunch and I am not exaggerating when in a 30 minute span, he had to run to the bathroom 4 times and most of the time, he couldn’t hold it.  I brought pull-ups just in case (since he had the episode the night before), but I was in no way prepared for this onslaught.  We completely ran out of the pull-ups and ended up in Westin’s diapers.  Ty thought that was pretty funny.  The poor guy.  He still had fun but after 7 hot hours...him and Westy were both done.  We went right out and got Children’s Imodium, after I had researched and found out the dosage for a 2 year old online on a medical site.  We were desperate. 

You can see the sickness in his eyes!

Thursday was the day Tyson & I had been waiting for!!!!  Every day Ty would say, “Mickey!  Mickey!” And every day we would have to dash his dreams – but no more!  This was finally the day!  We had such a great day there and the whole group went this time!  We stayed there for 12 hours and everyone did so much better because there is so much AC at Disney, in comparison to Sea World and Busch Gardens.  You could at least get a break from the heat!  We took a long lunch and Wes took a couple of naps.  Ty didn’t nap at all, but he was feeling much better, thanks to the Imodium.  He still had diarrhea, but at least the Imodium kept it to about 3-4 times a day instead of the 12+ that he had had the day before.  The other awesome thing about Disney is that Ty & Wes can go on everything there (except Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad & Splash Mountain)!  At Busch Gardens & Sea World, they have a kiddie area but there are just a few rides and then the rest of the rides in the park Ty can’t go on them.  At least here, we could do everything as a family!  It was great.  One thing that I thought was really cute was when we went to ride on the cars at Tomorrowland Speedway.  First of all, we got right on because of Keith’s wheelchair and then Heath asked Ty who he wanted to ride the cars with...and he said, “Grampy!”  And so they did!  I couldn’t believe that he didn’t say “Daddy!”  Despite Spring Break, the longest line we ever had to wait in was for about 20 minutes (and that was for It’s a Small World)  - we worked the FastPass system really well.  With even that, the longest line that we ever saw was for 50 minutes.  I couldn’t believe it.  Ty seemed to really enjoy himself and would point to everything.  I thought that he would be afraid of the characters but he wasn’t!  At least from a distance!  We stayed for the Electrical Parade at night and he went crazy for it.  He waved and waved non-stop at all the characters.  It was so cute.  I was so proud of my boys for their behavior there.  You kept passing kids having melt-down after melt-down, but they were perfect.  Seriously.  I’m sure it helped that we had bought a mister-fan at Walmart and could keep them cool.  Wes fell asleep in the stroller at his normal bedtime at 8:30 for the rest of the night and Ty stayed awake until the bitter 11 PM end! (=  Then he passed out immediately as soon as we reached the car!      

Pointing at everything at It's a Small World

Loving spraying Mama

Friday was our only chill day.  Papa & Nanny came for a visit in the morning and it was great to see them!  They were able to watch Ty swim and Papa held Westy while he slept!  I wish we got to see them more!  The rest of the day we just hung out in the pool and then the 4 of us and Adam went to a Mongolian BBQ for lunch.  There it became obvious that Westin really wants to eat real food!  We did a test.  We gave Westy a french fry and he immediately put it up to his mouth and was going to eat it!  Right after that, we gave him a green silverware wrapper and he didn’t put that in his mouth!  He knew the difference!  The rest of the evening, we went swimming again, had a last meal at the house, and packed up.  Talk about a short, wicked busy week.

Wes smiles with his eyes so much!

Heath trying to ride Ty's Shamu

And that is how that ended!!!! (=

He wants to eat so badly - he'll settle for lemons

Lemonade is better though!

On Sabbath, we started the trek back.  I had been dreading it so badly.  But this time, we developed a different strategy.  We would do two 12 hour days.  We left at 5 AM and the boys did stay asleep in their car seats until 9 AM and that alone was better than the way down.  It became even better when they both took afternoon naps too!   Not bad at all.  They were SO much better behaved!  We stopped at around 6 PM in Fredericksburg, VA and stayed at another Econo Lodge.

Loving the tunnels

Sunday AM, we left at 5 AM again and the boys stayed asleep until sometime in New Jersey.  They had another afternoon nap again, but both boys were much testier on this day.   I spent most of the day in the backseat with them.  Heath drove the entire trip back, despite me asking him if he wanted a break almost hourly.  One thing was cute with Tyson.  He was watching a few movies on the iPad.  He could never get all the way through any of them, but I noticed a pattern.  Every time he would ask for a different movie...there was something slightly scary on the movie at that moment.  Like a scary bug in A Bug’s Life or the shark in Finding Nemo!  I just found that endearing!  And I thought I had picked out the least scary movies in the Disney collections!  We went to the Cheesecake Factory in Burlington for supper and then parted ways with everyone.  We were there for 2+ hours, which was a bit rough on the last leg of our trip...but we made it home at 8:30 PM!  Would I drive again?  Yes, but I can tell you I would do EVERYTHING in my power to fly next time! (= 

Ty would love to repeat everything Heath would say to the voice-activated calling person

Very busy but very fun vacation!  I’m sure we will be back on a cruise next year, but I do want to keep doing Disney & the parks with the boys.  It was a blast!  Dilemmas, dilemmas.  I am grateful that that is a dilemma to have.  Have a good one!