Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Las Vegas Baby!

We spent a fabulous week in Las Vegas (courtesy of a very generous friend who let us use her condo). We stayed at the Wyndham Grand Desert Resort about a mile off of the strip in a three bedroom presidential suite. My brother Kyle and his fiance Aimee joined us for days 1-3; friends Brandon and Laurie Harbin and their 1 year old son Brenden joined us for days 2-4, and Matt's parents joined us for days 4-7! What a revolving door! It was so much fun and Lorelei did SO well with everything. Our flight to Vegas was her third flight (she flew at 9 weeks and 6 months) but the first time that she ever really was aware of what was happening around her. We were seated right next to the engines and they scared her a bit. She covered her ears during take off and landing and cuddled into us. We also hit a bunch of turbulence on the way there and to make it "fun", Daddy chanted "bouncy, bouncy" to which Lorelei replied "NO bouncy, bouncy!" Although she was a bit freaked out there weren't any tears and she didn't freak out on the way home since they sat us near the front of the plane where it was quiet.

Lola LOVED our condo and all of the new spaces to explore. She slept great (no matter what room she was stuck in). She actually slept in our huge bathroom for two nights because it was quiet, dark and didn't entail her taking up an entire bedroom that guests could be using. She did really well in the stroller, in the taxis and on the shuttles/monorails. Everything was greeted with a "WOW" and the bright lights of the city entertained her endlessly. She loved the Shark Experience at Mandalay Bay and enjoyed chasing the small sharks from one end of the tank to the other yelling "come here...hold you?". The other highlight of her trip was FAO Schwartz where she hugged every stuffed animal on the first floor and totally dug the giant piano (from BIG) on the third floor although she was hardly heavy enough to register any sound from the keys!

I did really well with all of the walking and my feet didn't really swell much at all! I hit the "30 week mark" while there and found myself taking time to really enjoy my pregnancy since the worries of everyday life were left behind.

Lola was in 7th heaven with all of her favorite people around. She was Papa Baker's buddy the whole time and did not allow him a second alone! Grandma Baker was a huge help and was constant entertainment for Lola. She has a blast with her Auntie and Uncle who won her stuffed animals at Circus Circus and she also enjoyed having Brenden for a playmate while he was there (and she especially loved the new toys he brought along). It was a wonderful and relaxing trip...different from any vacation we had ever had to Vegas. Maybe having Lola along made us take a breath and pause a second...to really experience what time away from reality should truly be.

Photos from our trip:

Las Vegas 3-31-08 to 4-5-08