Great Wolf

We spent the weekend in Great Wolf, a hotel/water park in Williamsburg, VA.  CJ's best friend (and his family, of course) invited us to join them to celebrate Beckett's birthday.  We had never heard of Great Wolf but are we glad we went!

We left work early on Friday afternoon.    It was probably a mistake going in to work on Friday morning but I had so much to do.  Oh well.  I always manage to get a ton done right before a trip, which makes me think I need to get away more often, but boy is it stressful!

We were on the road a little after 3pm, not bad considering that Maki and I worked a little more than a half day and we had to finish packing.  We would have been fine with traffic if we had used the HOV lanes, but we took 2 cars so Maki could come back early to attend his Mount Vernon radio club meeting on Sunday.  So we got stuck, stuck, stuck on 95 going down to Richmond.  Good thing CJ is a good traveler. He likes listening to his music and he's now a great conversationalist.

We stopped at McDonald's for dinner, then got to Great Wolf around 7pm.  We met our friends at the water park immediately after checking in.  Wow, what an intense place.  The water park is indoors, of course, which I guess is why Great Wolf is such a great winter destination.

There are lots of things to do at Great Wolf (kids club, magic quest, story time, etc.) but the big attraction is the water park.  It's a giant room with all kinds of water activities, including:

• a wading pool with small slides
• a wave pool that makes waves every 20 minutes or so; it's fun to sit on a floatie and get carried back to shore
• a twisty maze that takes you to the top of several water slides
• 4 giant slides where you slide down on single-person and two-person floaties
• a balance pool where you hold on to a net above while stepping on moving logs
• geysers everywhere that spray water
• contraptions that spray, splash and dump water
• an artificial surf maker that CJ and Maki went down; they did a great job!

In other words, there is water everywhere.  Surprisingly, the water park seemed very clean, not moldy at all, yet not too antiseptic as well.  I got out of my comfort zone and went down the blue and yellow giant slides on a double floatie with CJ 10 times.  After the first couple of times, CJ and I were asking the lifeguard to give us a push down the slide, then we would scream all the way down!  CJ event went up one of the giant slides (without floaties) with his friend Beckett leading; they even had to climb a net to get to the top!

Food options were slim.   There is a restaurant that has a breakfast buffet and a decent lunch, a Pizza Hut, a snack bar in the water park, an ice cream shop, and a coffee shop.  We did the breakfast buffet once and had lunch at the restaurant the day we left.  Otherwise, we left the property for lunch and dinner.  CJ enjoyed making his own kid pizza at Pizzeria Uno.  And the mini-dessert of a brownie with ice cream was big enough for an adult!

CJ wants to go back and since he's such a fan of water, I suspect we will return.  My suggestions for our next visit and for those who want to go:

• Leave the house early and get there by 12 or 1pm so you have the rest of the day to enjoy the water park.
• Get to the water park early to reserve a table and grab a floatie.  There are lots of floaties and they're reasonably easy to come by, but you know how impatient kids get.
• Bring your beach shoes.  We brought CJ's Crocs and they were perfect.
• The water park is least crowded after dinner.
• The rooms have coffee makers, small refrigerators and microwaves, so next time, I'll bring cereal, milk, fruit, bowls spoons for breakfast.  The breakfast buffet gets crowded and I'd rather spend the money on lunch or dinner.
• Don't bother bringing beach towels. The water park has plenty of towels and they're often just out of the dryer so they're nice and warm.
• So as not to go too crazy in the water park, I'll schedule time at the kids club or story time for CJ.

Mom, I'm Suffering

CJ's language skills continue to grow and he continues to build is vocabulary. Here are some of the latest things he's said.

Last Saturday, CJ and I went to lunch with sister and niece. He complained of a stomachache so we left early. In the car, I heard, "Mom, I'm suffering." I knew he was feeling bad, but I couldn't help chuckling.

On seeing a lot of pillows on my bed: "Mom, there's a preponderance of pillows on your bed." I taught him that once and he still remembers. Hilarious when he uses preponderance.

On he and Maki creating a complex set of train tracks in our living room: Dada, we're a teamwork.
Dada: Do you mean we're a team?
CJ: Oh yeah, we're a team, dada!

On stubbing his toe: "Mama, my foot is hurtish."

A Sweet Valentine's Day Party for the Pre-K Crowd

Last Friday, CJ's pre-school class had its Valentine's Day party. I didn't think I was going to make it but my morning meeting ended right on time and I was able to rush to the school. CJ was thrilled that I made it. There were a bunch of moms there and the kids whose moms attended were definitely proud to have their moms be in the classroom. But you know, some days, I just can't make it and I can't be guilty about it.

I can't believe how grown up the kids are getting. They sang their prayer song, ate their cupcakes and candy independently and without too much mess, then exchanged their Valentines. CJ gave his classmates handmade valentines that we made together, as well as special Valentine play doh. It seems every manufacturer has to have a seasonal offering. Play Doh had a package of 20 small play doh cans in sweet colors - lavender, pink, purple, white, orange. One of moms made super yummy chocolate cupcakes. Homemade cupcakes are definitely the best!

BTW, it's hilarious how many tweets I saw on Thursday night about making Valentines with their kids. We all know the Valentine party is coming, but we still procrastinated on making the valentines. Thank goodness CJ only has 8 classmates because it took hours to make the cards! But it was definitely fun.

Check out CJ's happy face. This kid just loves chocolate, can't get enough of it. I remember that we used M&Ms and trains as bribes during potty training - worked very well.

On the actual Valentine's Day, we went to dinner at a neighbor's house. The grown-ups enjoyed a little peace and quiet while the kids played with the trains. Nice evening and I'm not sure I would have swapped it for dinner a fancy restaurant.

He separated from his mother without incident

Yesterday morning, I dropped off CJ at one of the schools we are considering for kindergarten. This school organizes shadow days for potential students; it's a chance for the school to make sure he's socialized and ready for kindergarten, I guess. But it's also a chance for the students to check out the classrooms and kids.

We got to the school, CJ met the Admissions Director, then she asked him whether he wanted his mom to take him downstairs or give mom a huge and a kiss good-bye. CJ said, "I want to give you a hug and a kiss mom. Good-bye." At that, he gave me a big hug and headed downstairs with no fuss.

Oh my god, is this really my child, all grown up, charging into a new school without any fuss? I still remember his first day of preschool nearly 18 months ago. He was 3, we got to the school, I hung out in the classroom for a few minutes, then I headed for the hallway. CJ was distracted by the toys and one his friends from the neighborhood, so I headed for the stairwell. I was in the stairwell when I heard a loud wail, "where's my mom?" and a huge bout of crying. Oh god, my heart broke but I knew I had to just keep going. It took a few months, but soon he was getting dropped off without incident, cheerfully.

When he had his WPPSI (some test the private schools around here require), the report said, "He separated from his mother without incident." Again, this statement made my heart skipped. CJ really great during the testing. I told him that he was doing a playdate and that I would be downstairs and he simply said okay.

And yesterday, he said good-bye without any fuss and headed to the classroom. A friend who has kids in college says kindergarten is a big, heart-wrenching milestone for the parents. He says other milestones include: when they drive the car for the first time without you, when they go away to college, when they get married. I have a lifetime of smiles and tears ahead of me and I'm ready.