Anniversary #3: Las Vegas

The only real vacations my husband and I go on are our weekend getaways for our anniversary. When we heard that my in-laws would be in Vegas the week of our anniversary, we immediately made plans to go so we could see them and get some free babysitting. We stayed at the Luxor, and we got a great deal on a one-bedroom suite. My in-laws were next door at Mandalay Bay attending a conference.

We did the "Buffet of Buffets." It was $100, but we ate there lunch, dinner, breakfast, and then skipped lunch because we were still full. It was worth it :) Plus, J was free. 

 

Yes, that is a mountain of crab legs.

It pained me to shell out $60 to see the "Titanic" and "Bodies" exhibits, but they were amazing and worth the money. The Titanic exhibit had anything you could think of that would be on the ship- china, jewelry, shoes, postcards, clothes, bottles of spirits, razors, suitcases. They had an "iceberg" you could touch to get a feel for how cold it was that night. They also built a replica of the grand staircase and the third and first-class suites. The Bodies exhibit had preserved organs and whole bodies that they showcased in separate rooms for each organ system. I had my reservations, but it was very tastefully done, and of course, very educational.

We went to the Hoover Dam with the in-laws. J was very exhausting because all he wanted to do was run up and down stairs. It was 109 degrees.

My husband and I got to go on a date. We went to dinner and then to see Holly Madison in "Peepshow." My MIL was amazed that we would forego all the classy entertainment available to see a trashy show, but...I'm a huge Girls Next Door/Kendra/Holly's World fan, so I've been dying to see this show. We walked through the Aria and ate at China Poblano.

because one level of Louis Vuitton isn't enough

Our dinner included eating gold. You know, just a normal dinner in the Burke household ;)

PEEPSHOW!!!! It was really good. I couldn't believe I was seeing Holly Madison in the flesh.

We checked a lot of things off our list the last day. We started with lunch with my in-laws. Then we did the "Pawn Stars" pawn shop. Then we did the conservatory and fountain show at the Bellagio. We wrapped up with the Las Vegas sign and dinner at Lotus of Siam, which won a James Beard award.

The only family picture we got was in front of an Irish pub. Go figure. But it's ok because we're Burkes and everyone (except me) is Irish.

J's New Car Seat

Our baby grew up *sniffle* and it was time to get him a "big boy" seat. We kind of procrastinated researching seats because...that's what we do best. Plus our kid is a little scrawny, so he fit in his infant seat longer than other kids his age. When I started researching, I was a little overwhelmed with the options. I wanted to find the safest car seat, but it's hard impossible to do this in the US. Car seat crash test results are not published in the US. The manufacturers are not required to share them, only to pass the compliance testing and let you know that they "meet or exceed safety standards." And to put the cherry on top, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesn't think it's necessary to give parents access to results, either. So what is a parent to do?

Buy a European product, that's what. We went off a friend's recommendation and looked into Recaro car seats. Recaro is a German company that is known for making seats for sports and luxury cars. They have very high safety standards-the car seat we bought exceeds EU safety standards (which are stricter than US standards). We bought the Recaro ProRide convertible car seat.

J enjoys his new seat, even if he looks angry the whole time :)

And as you can see, we decided to face him forward, despite new recommendations about keeping children rear-facing until age three. I saw this article on Facebook about car safety for children that had some comments about parents like me being ignorant and dumb for not following the new guidelines. However, I think the people who made these recommendations are only looking at how a child's body reacts in a crash and leaves other important elements out of the equation. Here are our reasons why we are not following the new recommendations:

1. Many kids cry and fuss when they are rear-facing and it is a huge distraction to the driver. Two of the biggest reasons people get into wrecks is technology and passenger distraction. But when you face kids forward, they don't fuss because they can see Mommy and Daddy. Hmmm. Maybe facing rear is the reason WHY some accidents happen in the first place.

2. The number of kids dying from being forgotten in cars has spiked in recent years. In fact, this didn't start happening until recommendations about kids being rear-facing came out in the 1990s. When a child is forward facing, you can see them every time you look in the rearview mirror. When a child is rear-facing, the driver cannot see them unless they get out of the car and stand behind it. Unfortunately, many parents forget that they have a child in the car and leave them in there to dehydrate, develop heat stroke, and die if the parent does not realize their error in time. But you say you would NEVER forget your child? That's what those parents thought too.

3. Older babies and toddlers learn how to unbuckle themselves. You can't see this if the child is rear-facing. Now please, explain to me how rear-facing is safer if my child is unbuckled and I don't know it. If your child is forward-facing, you can see the buckles in the rear-view mirror or check at red lights. I'm sorry, but I'd rather have my child face forward and be buckled in than rear-facing and possibly unbuckled.

I'm not trying to say that I think you're wrong or stupid if you go with the new recommendations. I think whatever you think is best for your family is best for your family. All I'm saying is that maybe parents like me have our reasons for going against the recommendations and we'd appreciate it if we weren't the subject of "mommy bashing." I also wanted to put this point of view out there for people on the fence about which way to face their child's car seat.

J at 15 Months

Weight: 21 lbs

Height: 29.5"

Teeth: 7

Words: "Eh!" means "here," "give it to me," "hi," "yes," "no," "water," and "put the baseball cap on!" 

Favorite game: tag

Favorite book: Happy Birthday To You! by Dr. Seuss

Favorite toy: his Melissa and Doug puzzles and his Fisher Price "Learn & Move Music Station"

Favorite TV show: anything on Baby TV

Favorite activities: playing in sprinklers, going to the park

Favorite food: the fruit/vegetable pouches with the short straws

Favorite thing ever: baseball caps, opening and closing doors, going up and down steps, typing on the keyboard

J had a check-up. He is finally on the charts! His height and weight are in the tenth percentile! I guess soaking his food in olive oil and making him chug Pediasure are really working.

Pretty much what J does all day- run around with food in his mouth.

Here are little tidbits about J:

• He is still nursing!

• He can feed himself with a fork.

• He is still sleeping in our room. We moved him out of the bed and onto his crib mattress on the floor next to us. My husband wants him out of our room by his second birthday.

• He is getting more observant about my routines. When I put my purse and his diaper bag by the door, he knows it's time to pick up his shoes and sit with me so I can put them on his feet. Then he knows to stand by the door while I put my shoes on. I unlock the door and crack it open, and then he opens it all the way and walks down the hall while I lock the door.

• I was so hopeful that J would have dropped his morning nap by now, but alas, he is still taking two naps a day. He sleeps from about 9pm-7am. We wake up, eat breakfast, and play a little bit until he's ready for his first nap at 9. He wakes up at about 11, we eat lunch and play until about 1 or 2, and then he goes down for his second nap. He usually wakes up around 3 or 4, and then it's dinner and park time.

• J loves going to the park. I think that's his favorite time of day, apart from seeing Daddy come home. J gets to sit in the jogging stroller, nosh on Cheerios, and look at the cars drive by. I stop by every sprinkler on the way to the park and let him splash around in them. Now that he's a good walker, he can really have fun at the park. He loves to swing, to walk around the playground, to play with the other little kids, and to go up and down the steps in the play area.

Alabama Fun

Ok. Here's the deal. I'm trying to get ready for my wedding anniversary trip to Vegas. So I'm taking the easy way out on this blog post. Here are some pictures :)

J likes to help Grandma sort her magazines.

I was holding the cupcake and letting him nibble. He took my hand and mashed the whole thing in his mouth.

Bringing out his Asian side with a little piece of sushi.

4th of July

Playing in the fountains at Bridgestreet

Here is J playing with his best friend. We went down to Tallahassee one weekend to hang out.

My new nephew! He is the cutest little monkey.

I promise I won't take a month to put up my post about Vegas! We are there Saturday afternoon through Monday night. I'll let you guys know how the Burkes do Vegas lol (definitely no gambling, we're too cheap for that). See you later!