Running away

Jonathan and I are running away for the weekend. Ok, really we are just getting away for the weekend, but it feels so weird to be doing something so normal that it seems more like running away.

We are headed to Schlitterbahn tomorrow morning for a good chunk of the day. I think that is actually where we met for the first time when I was 13 and he was 16. We went with a group of his cousins and that was the last time either of us was there. Sadly, only about 1/3 of the park is open because school is back in. We really wanted to go after school was back in to avoid the crowds, we just didn't realize that they wouldn't keep the whole park open when it is still 107 outside. Sorry people, this is NOT fall.

Anyways, after playing at the park we are headed to Fredricksburg where we will be staying for two whole nights! I'm not even sure that I know what to do with myself. Holy crap, I might go nuts.

It is supposed to be extremely hot, so I don't know how much walking around we will do, but our bed and breakfast is just blocks from the main street and I'm sure we will find a vineyard or five to visit. I've never been to one, and I hear they have tastings.

We will head back on Sunday sometime after lunch. Or as long as I can take being away from this little dude.


In the mean time, Jack will be staying with my friend Rita for Friday and Saturday and then my mom is taking over Saturday evening and staying with him until we get back on Sunday. I'm not sure who I should worry more about, Jack, or the people taking care of him. I know that they are both perfectly capable and that Jack will have a blast with them. They know how to handle the diet and his meds, which is no small feat. But Jack has been getting up between 5 and 5:30 for the last 2 months now. He has one more week left of the med, and I hear it takes about 2 weeks after for them to fully adjust, but I don't think he is going to. He is just so used to getting up at that time and I don't see it changing ANYTIME soon. So yeah, Rita and Gigi are in for some early mornings... AND WE GET TO SLEEP IN!!!!!

We went down to Port A for the holiday weekend to start a new family tradition. We were there with my dad and his girlfriend Mary, my brother, sister-in-law, and toddler Grace. It was a good time, but the mosquitoes were hell. I tried to take Jack on a morning walk and got 63 bites. I'm still itching like crazy. Jack had a good time at the beach. But on the second day a guy pulled 3 sharks out of the water right where we were swimming. They were small and they generally stay away from people, but there were a ton of people there and yet he pulled 3 out on one morning.

That look on my face is, don't get that thing any closer to my child. And Jack is just ready for a nap.


Jack wasn't a huge fan of the sand, but he loved swimming in the ocean or maybe I should say the shark infested waters. But he had a blast. He was not a fan of the sand though. He kept wanting to chew on all the sand toys but didn't like the sand in his mouth. And he would rub his eyes and get sand in them, it was all a big mess.



These 2 had a good time hanging out together.


And Jack LOVES his cousin Grace. She was upset and he was trying to comfort her. He would try and make her laugh, he would look at her face and try to help her, and he would hug her. It was adorable.


And then he tackled her. He is a boy after all.


We came home a day early because he wasn't sleeping well and was having a ton of seizures. I don't think Jonathan and I could have taken another night like that. He did great in the car on the way home though, which was awesome.

And speaking of seizures, we have a surgical consult tomorrow. Because the meds aren't working they are talking about cutting out the parts of Jack's brain that are causing the seizures. How the hell they are going to do that without putting me under too is another question.

The long awaited vacation post

Overall the vacation to Corpus Christi was great. My biggest concern was the car ride. We got him a new car seat so he could sit a bit more upright. We also put a fan back there, a few toys, and I rode in the back. It was a pain, but it worked. Jack had this look on his face most of the time.

The hotel was wonderful (Thanks Dad!) and I loved the light in the room so I took a ton of pictures.


We didn't do a ton because we didn't want overwhelm Jack. We did make a trip to the aquarium! We saw the bird show...

And the dolphin show

And looked at all the fish.

Jack really liked looking at the tanks. He slept through everything else.

We told him this was a real turtle, but you can tell by the look on his face that he didn't buy it.

We of course couldn't take a trip to Corpus Christi without going to the beach.

We didn't stay for long because it was very hot and we didn't want him out in the sun too much. But we did get a video of his first dip in the ocean.



Later that day we went for a dip in the pool at the hotel. It was a small inside pool and was just right. Jack loves swimming.




We also at a ton of sea food and did a lot of walking around town. Jack slept really great the whole time and did really well overall. I think he likes vacation.


The car ride home didn't go quite as well. He did okay but we stopped in San Antonio for a while and it ended up taking us 8 hours to get home so there was a lot more crying.

Vacation summary by Jack

(Originally posted June 20th, 2009)

Here are Jack's thoughts on the vacation. (Video shot on location)




Stay tuned for more...

The trip down

(Originally posted June 18th, 2009)

Well, it went much better than expected. Jack slept most of the way and only fussed a little. There was no freaking out, so that's good. I think a lot of it is the new car seat. He can sit much more up right and see more. It's also much easier to get him in and out of so there is less time to fuss about being buckled.

Today we went to the aquarium, this afternoon we're headed to the inside pool here at the hotel, and then we're going to try and go out for dinner.

Tomorrow it's over to Padre Island for some beach time and then to the Big Fisherman for lunch.

That's all we really have planned. I'll do a big vacation post when we get back but for now, I'm going to enjoy the vacation!