Vacation Fun

We had a great trip to Florida. The only thing missing was Daddy. But it was a good opportunity for Holden to spend some quality time with Grandma Rosanne and his oldest cousin Melina. It was also the first time some of my closest friends (who live in FL) were able to meet the little Monkey. So it was a great trip for a variety of reasons!

For the first couple of days, we stayed at the Nickelodeon Hotel (which is just outside the gates of Disney). They do a fabulous job making it all about the kids. The suites are very kid friendly and each one is decorated with a Nick character. We had SpongeBob. Thursday morning, we took Holden to a character breakfast where he was able to meet Dora the Explorer, Patrick, Blues Clues, Avatar and SpongeBob Square Pants. Every 30 minutes, the characters and crew would do a dance in the center of the restaurant. Holden was captivated and would clap his hands as he watched Dora do "air guitar" and dance around! At first, he was not sure what he thought of meeting them up close, but by the time Dora came by, he had warmed up to it. Then when SpongeBob came to visit, Holden was much braver and even reached out to touch him! I have to admit, I teared up watching the excitement in his face. I know I've said this before, but nothing beats experiencing the world through your child's eyes!!
And the pool at the Nick Hotel was awesome for kids of all ages. I wish I would have had my camera with me to catch some of Holden's adventure! We splashed around in the shallow end and watched the live Nick Show that they do pool side. At one point, Holden climbed out of the pool and began to crawl around (fortunately, they whole area around the pool is a soft rubber surface.) Holden was ready to explore, so we took him into the toddler area, where there are water features and kiddie slides. He was able to go down his first water slide (with Melina's help) and laughed as they splashed into the water! Priceless!!

On Friday, we met my longtime friends, Yvette, Jason, their 5 month-old son, Hudson, Trish and Ari for lunch at Wolfgang Puck in Downtown Disney. This was their first time meeting Holden and my first time meeting Hudson. And although Holden feel asleep for half the lunch, I was so happy we were all able to get together.
After lunch we took Holden to ride the Carousel and to see the life size Lego sculptures. Seeing his little head turn from side to side at all the sights made me think that he is really going to love Disney World when we go in September. And I suspect by then he'll be walking (as he as of yesterday is now pulling himself up on everything on his own and he'll take a couple steps with help).

In addition to being a proud Mom, I am also a proud Aunt. I can honestly say Melina has to be one of the most beautiful kids I know (on the inside and out). We invited her to come with us in a way to reward her for all her hard work in school. Not only has she always gotten good grades (straight As since 3rd grade) but she is just one of those kids who has such a big heart. At thirteen, I can't say I wanted to hang out with my family, especially my younger cousins. But she at an early age has learned to have great balance in her life. Not only does she excel with her academics, she is very active with sports, church, her family and she has a great group of friends. I offered to treat her to a spa service at the hotel, but Melina asked if instead she could get something that would always remind her of the trip. So we had a t-shirt made that said Melina & Holden's Roadtrip 2009! Too cute. My sister and her husband Steve should be very proud. They've raised an amazing young woman!!

On Saturday, we checked out of the Nick Hotel and headed east to the beach for Art and Sheila's 4th of July Party. Again, I wish I would have done better with the picture-taking, but we had a blast! Holden is with Aunt Trish in this picture. It was also the first time Holden was at the beach. He seemed frightened of the waves at first, but was okay as long as Mommy held him. It was funny to watch his reaction to the sand sticking to his hands. We are heading back to the beach in 2 weeks for a friends wedding, so hopefully he'll be more comfortable with it next time!

And kudos to the kiddo for being a good car traveller. He was awesome on the trip down (about 8 hours). The trip home was slightly more challenging - taking 12 hours. But all-in-all he did great!

We are planning a trip to see Granma Deda and her friends in Brevard, NC in early August and then heading back to Florida again in September for 5 days at Disney World. So Holden's Summer Adventures continue...