It’s better to have a hen tomorrow than an egg today…. 

This fortune came with my dinner tonight, and boy did I need the reminder.  We’re on vacation this week, in Williamsburg, VA; and it’s been a bit of a roller coaster.  Granted, traveling with a 7-month-old baby is probably never an easy task -- but add on my constant worry about what Ainsley is doing (and even more about what she’s not), and I’ve been a bit emotional.

Ainsley’s chosen this week to become extremely vocal when she’s hungry.  The problem is that she shows no signs of being hungry before the screams start.  And at times it seems that she’s spitting out more food than she’s swallowing.  As far as baby food goes, about the only thing she’ll consistently eat is corn casserole.  But when we give her a bottle without any additional food, she downs 8oz and is still screaming for more.  And then there’s the reflux…  Luckily we’re in a great condo that has a washer/dryer.  So far Ainsley’s gone through about 4 bibs and 2-3 outfits every day.  The poor girl just keeps spitting up.  No wonder she’s hungry all the time…  Looks like we’ll be going back to the doctor next week.

So on to the vacation roller coaster…

Monday: We’d decided to start the week at Colonial Williamsburg.  Well, we woke up and it was pouring.  An hour later, still pouring.  Well the news said there was only a 30% chance of rain, so in our ultimate wisdom (ok mine) we decided that surely it wouldn’t keep raining, and decided to go ahead.  Two very wet hours later we were hungry and crabby and found the first place we could to eat.  As we stood in line, we realized that they don’t take credit cards in Colonial Virginia, and we forgot our cash.  We rifled through all our bags to come up with about $15.  Apparently, however, inflation has hit the colonies, even if modern payment methods have not, and we had just enough for 2 sandwiches – no drinks.  Not a good day, but at this point we just had to laugh….

Tuesday: A great day at Busch Gardens.  We went in the morning intending to just see how Ainsley did, and she did amazing.  She seemed to really like riding in the stroller or in the carrier, and taking in all the activity.  She took a ride on the carousel, and Eric and I even got brave enough after lunch to take turns riding a couple of roller coasters.  At this point in the week I decided that this vacation couldn’t have been a better idea and there was no place I’d rather be…

Wednesday: Took a drive down to Virginia Beach to have a picnic on the beach and to see the Nascar IMAX movie showing there.  Eric had been so excited to see this movie since he found out it was playing there, and I couldn’t wait to get pictures of Ainsley at the beach.  Well, once again nature was not our friend, when we got to the beach it was windy and cool and of course Ainsley went from 0 to starving the moment we arrived.  As soon as she ate, she fell fast asleep and wouldn’t you know it the wind stopped and it warmed up, but Ainsley continued to sleep.  No cute pictures of Ainsley in the ocean…  So we then headed to see the IMAX movie.  Strike two, IMAX broken, no estimated time of repair.  Ainsley woke up just in time for the hour car ride back to Williamsburg, but woke up with more severe spit up issues than usual.  So every few minutes up came more sweet potatoes, but she seemed playful and happy otherwise.  So, even though her shirt and an entire beach towel are now permanently orange, I took that hour playing with her as my happy time for the day.

Thursday: Ainsely did so well at Busch Gardens on Tues, that we decided to push our luck and see how she did in the kids play area at Water Country.  I get free tickets through work, so we figured what the heck.  We were there no more than an hour and a half.  After 2 tries, we determined that Ainsley has no interest in water – being in it, having it splashed near her – none of it.  So, we fed her (again as much on the bib as went in her mouth) and got the heck out of there.  The afternoon we stopped by the outlet mall, and after another painful feeding experience, we’d just about had it.  But then as I’m walking around on a last ditch effort to find some clothes for work before we pack it in and head back to the condo, she starts laughing and laughing….  And in the next store does it again.  And again….  At this point both Eric and I are crying and hugging her.  I even managed to take a couple of pictures of her smiling.  I only wish I had the video camera with me!  That’s a sound I could listen to over and over again.

So here we are on Thursday night, we’re still undecided if we’re leaving to come home on Friday evening to drive through the night, or if we’ll leave on Saturday morning.  It's definitely easier traveling while Ainsley is asleep!  I’ll post pictures when we get back.  Have a great 4^th of July.  We’ll either be on the road, or recuperating from this week!