Las Vegas Here We Come!

For weeks, I've been busy planning and trying not to worry about our trip to Las Vegas. I mean WHO takes their toddler to sin city? I guess we do when most of the trip is free!!! Anyway - I was particularly worried about being able to wrangle in an active 15 month old AND all of our luggage - by myself. E had a conference to attend and left a few days before Ryan and I so all I could do is hope and pray that everything would go smoothly.

Up until we left, I had my lists...lists of things to pack, lists of food to bring, lists of toys that I'd be willing to lug along, lists of errands that needed to be run, and lots of great advice from the moms in my online mom's group. Most of the stuff had to be done before E left so that I could jam stuff into his suitcase in case it didn't fit in ours (e.g. diapers, wipes, sheets, blankets, etc). About the only thing I didn't get done before he left was get my pedicure - and we know how important THOSE are! So thanks to our great neighbors (Jenny and Mike), I was able to sneak out for about an hour on the night before we left. Which meant that when I got back I couldn't risk messing up my pretty toes, so Ryan got a bath in the kitchen sink! We hadn't done that since he was about 3 months old!

Havin' fun - hillbilly style!

So armed with new luggage, some new toys, plenty of snacks, a lovey, a sippy cup, our clothes, and a bottle, we were off. Somehow I managed to get everything I needed into the suitcase and I even had some room left over! Of course I was so nervous the night before, I was up before the alarm and made it the airport in plenty of time. Once there, I was able to put Ryan in his stroller, put my purse and carrier in his basket, loop my carry-on over the stroller handle, and pull the big suitcase behind us. I can't say enough about my Graco Stroller. It really is a great stroller...not too expensive, a big basket underneath, and very easy to drive/steer with one hand (which was something I would never have thought to think about when picking it out)!

Everyone that we ran into was really helpful - I had help getting all the luggage onto the shuttle, help from the security people, and help from the airline. So far - so good. I "wore" Ryan in my carrier which made it much easier to get through security. Once we were at the gate, I talked to the attendant who tagged my stroller for gate checking. I did my best to wear Ryan out so that hopefully he'd sleep on the flight. I got nervous as we started to pre-board...I had trouble collapsing the stroller with Ryan strapped to the front of me - but I was finally able to get it done. That was really the only time I could have used some help but everyone kept passing right by me. Oh well...I'm sure they were thinking that they just wanted a "good" seat - one faaaaarrrr away from a baby! ;-)

Here we are waiting to board and looking at the airplanes

And finally on the plane

And just after take off - here's how we spent the next hour. :-) YAY me! I was really so relieved that he zonked out! :)

Once we got to Vegas, we had to get on the shuttle and go get the rental car. Wouldn't you know there was a huge line? After waiting in line for 45 minutes, we finally got to go get our car...we ended up with a PT Cruiser! It was brand new. It's not something that I'd ever rent intentionally but it was a cute car. The car seat that we rented from the rental company was nothing to write home about and in fact made me a little nervous. But it was MUCH better than bringing ours with us!

Daddy was in the room when we finally got to the Venetian. We were so happy to see him. I was more than a little irritated at having had to wait so long at the rental place with a hungry baby...and a hungry mommy! It was already 1:45 and I hadn't eaten yet. E was definitely a sight for sore eyes! I was so glad that we actually MADE it - without any major meltdowns! YAY!
The room was AWESOME! Oh my - it was great! Two rooms - pretty good view - and tons of things for Ryan to get into! HA! Our first order of business? Eat lunch and check out the strip. :-) Here are a couple of pics.

Exploring the dresser - did you know you can open and close the same cupboard 100 times and it does the same thing every time??? ;-p

On our way to the elevators, Ryan had to check out the circular couch. He got up there and danced. It was really cute. He was so excited about all the new things to see and do.

Ryan ready to go - and lookin' pretty stylin' in those shades!

And finally out for his "real" nap!

After Ryan's nap (which was uneventful), E came home from the conference and we hunted down some dinner. The food court in the hotel had several choices that I could choose from for Ryan, so we were able to get a grilled chicken breast, some cut fruit, and some whole milk.

Sleeping was one of the things that I was concerned about...if you've ever slept in the same room as a toddler, you know what I'm going to say. They thrash about a lot...I mean a lot. And getting a toddler back to sleep when there isn't any milk handy and they're in a strange place was not something I wanted to deal with. Luckily - Ryan crashed pretty easily...and slept all night without a peep.

Our adventures continue - but you'll have to wait until I have more time to update! ;-)