Anyway, we chose to come back to Colorado Springs. We had brought Evan here last year, but we only stayed one night and just had time to do the Pikes Peak drive (which was amazing though!). There are plenty of things to see and do here and it's not too long of a drive from home (unless you hit rush hour traffic...ugh). We booked ourselves a 1-bedroom king suite at the Homewood Suites by the airport. It had an indoor pool and was close to a few sights that we thought we'd check out. Plus, this hotel provided free hot breakfast and dinner, free parking and free wi-fi. For our temporary home away from home, we figured this would do great especially because we knew we'd spend quite a bit of time there (between nap time and early bedtime, etc). We figured the 1-bedroom suite, having two separate rooms, would allow us to have Evan's pack n play crib in the living room, and then Emma's bassinet in the bedroom with us, hoping that when Emma wakes in the middle of the night it wouldn't wake Evan and leaving a big king-sized bed for John and I to stretch out in. Moreover, if Evan was too scared to sleep in a strange place by himself, there would at least be room in the bed for him to sleep in between us too.
Our drive here wasn't too bad, though we did hit some traffic and so it took us a bit longer than I had hoped. Still, we got checked into the hotel just before 6pm, in time to catch the hot dinner the hotel provides (that runs until 7pm). When I got into our room to first check it out I was a little upset because I noticed the bedroom had two double beds instead of a king bed. Just as I walked back out into the living room wondering if I should call and complain to get the king bedroom or not, I noticed a dark room off on the other side of the living room. I think I audibly exclaimed, "what is this? whoa...really?" as I walked into the second bedroom of our suite. And this second bedroom not only contained a king-sized bed, but also another en-suite bathroom too! This was perfect! Now Evan had his own bedroom, and we still had a place to hang out and watch TV after the kids had gone to bed (if we wanted to). Normally when we stay in hotel rooms, lights out for the kids means lights out for us too (to not disturb them and help let them fall asleep). Granted, we are usually tired enough that we go to sleep early too, but this set up gave us the option to stay up a bit later if we wanted to. :)
When Evan got into the room I told him right away that he had his own bedroom. He seemed pretty excited about that, as well as about the hotel suite as a whole. I mean, we were finally here on vacation after what seemed to be a gruelingly long drive in his mind (he screamed off and on during the drive "I want out!"...I wonder how he'll handle the even longer plane ride now...eeks!). So he was pretty excited to finally be "at vacation", as he put it. However, as the night grew later (and darker and quieter) he started to become more scared of his new digs. Every little noise startled him and he wasn't too excited about sleeping in the room by himself. Nevertheless, we convinced him to be brave and started his bedtime routine with him. By the time we put him in the pack n play we told him it was his "vacation bed" and asked him if he liked it. He said he did. He certainly loves vacation (add that word to anything and he gets excited!). So somehow he got himself to sleep. However, he woke up about 3 times throughout the night screaming and crying and requiring us to go comfort him. Yet he went back to sleep in his "vacation bed" each and every time. I was very proud of him for that, and thankful we didn't have to share our bed with him (he rolls and kicks around too much! haha). Today for his nap he also slept well and went down without a fuss. So perhaps he is already getting used to his new sleeping quarters. Either way, I think it's good practice for when we go to Australia and he has a new room to sleep in there.
This has been a big trip for Emma too, since this is her first time sleeping anywhere but our home (aside from those first few nights in the hospital). She did great so far, although she woke up a bit earlier than normal during one of Evan's middle of the night screaming fits, so she ended up having two night wake ups rather than just one like she's done for us lately. She also slept like a champ on the whole drive here, right through each of Evan's shrieking complaints about being stuck in his car seat.
Emma hanging out in our room. You can see the entrance to our king bedroom in the background, our kitchen and dinette is to the left, our living room to the right, and Evan's bedroom is behind me.
In the morning, both kids were up by 8am and so we quickly headed down to catch breakfast before it ended. They have a waffle maker...our favorite breakfast treat when staying at hotels! Evan decided he didn't want to get dressed before breakfast and that he'd rather eat his breakfast in his pajamas, so we let it slide. After all, that's how he eats breakfast at home (why let him have a chance at dirtying his clothes for the day!?), so I guess maybe that's just a sign that Evan is already starting to feel more at home here? :)
Evan on the elevator going to breakfast in his pajamas. He *loves* elevators and has been so excited anytime we have to use it. He's pretty good about pushing the button we need, and only the one button we need, as well.
More on the sights we saw to come soon...
No comments:
Post a Comment