Sunday, August 19, 2012

Aaah, Summertime

We all know this summer has been miserably hot, definitely too hot for an infant to be out enjoying. Our time outside hasn't been near as much as we had hoped, but being such a fair skinned family, we really try and stay out of the sun too much . . .without out SPF 50+ anyway.We have manage a few trips to the area pools, lots of evenings in our backyard pool and a few walks to the park. The long days and cheery sun have been so nice . . .but the Prieb family is ready for fall!

 Reaching for the water that's squirting out.

Getting a little more brave and closer to the water.

Dad cranking the hose up a bit and making the water really come out! Her face looks like she hated it, but she really loved it.

Ready for more splashes!

 A trip to a nearby park. Talking with da da.

Silly face for the camera.

 Salina's waterpark -- they have a really nice area for little kids with lots for them to do. She's trying to grab water again.

 The girl and her da da.

 Onrey little face -- loving her splash time.

The girl and her me meh.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

The Great Wolf Lodge!

A few weeks ago we took our first family mini-vacation to The Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. We'll start out by saying WOW -- it's pretty awesome and all about the kids at the lodge! Although the lodge is geared more toward older kids, we still had a great time and Gwen had a ball! We've never seen so much laughing and so many smiles.

She was so excited to travel and stay in the hotel -- just like her mom!

Our room -- please excuse the toys, we quickly made ourselves at home.


The room sleeps 4 and had this pull out couch - there was also plenty of room for Gwen's Pack-n-Play. She played so hard she crashed each night without putting up much of a fight.

Gwen LOVES going out to eat -- especially if the restaurant is full of people and playing music. She likes to dance and scream . . . then, if someone happens to come by and tell her she's cute she gets even more wound up. We had so much fun, we were definitely "those" parents with the camera out going crazy over their kid.

 A quick smile with "Me Meh" as Gwen says it.

 Trip Milestone: Little Miss mastered drinking out of a straw -- she even managed to get a chocolate shake out at one point on the trip!

 Gwen was either going crazy, laughing and smiling . . . or sleeping.

 First time at McDonalds!

 She could barely make it to 8 pm  . . . which is when the lodge had story time for the kids.

 Taking a break from shopping and sharing da da's shake.

 We're definitely calling our first weekend getaway a success! We went swimming three times while we were there -- the lazy river and playing with a ball in the outside pool were the highlights for Gwen. There's so much activity and so many things to do at the lodge and in The Legends area, we'll be going back at some point. We're thinking when Gwen's 7 or 8 she'll get to fully enjoy what all it has to offer. But for this year, we couldn't beat an indoor water park and life size animals walking around. :-)

She also became a crawler while we were gone -- a bit awkward and her own "method", but she gets places . . . QUICKLY! We're in trouble.

We got back from our trip on Saturday and Gwen started a new daycare the following Monday. It's been a good change for all of us and after a few quick days, Gwen has adjusted well and likes playing with her new friends. She's going to a daycare center now, so she's in a room with only kids her age -- there are three of them right now, a 10-month-old boy (who's walking!) and a 10-week-old boy. We (or maybe just I was) were so worked up about the change and how if might affect her, but she did great and we couldn't be happier with our decision. Gwen really likes it when she gets to visit the other rooms or go out to the main activity area where all the excitement is going on -- she's quite the social butterfly.

Getting ready to go to her new daycare.
That's all for now - we have lots of pictures of other things Gwen's been up to this summer, we'll have a separate post for them shortly.