He Threw up Like the 4th of July

We really hit the friend jackpot when we met a cool couple with a baby boy almost exactly Forest’s age who also happen to have a family cabin up in Tahoe. We went up in the winter to enjoy some snow (ha!) and then again for the 4^th of July to enjoy some sun (ha!). 

The weather didn’t really cooperate with our plans either visit, but it was still a relaxing and beautiful getaway. Pinthip, Dave and their little fellow went up early in the week to enjoy some boating and just being on vacation. Jonathan had to work through Thursday morning so we just packed up and headed out after Forest’s Thursday morning swim class. 

We had heard nightmare stories about traffic getting to Tahoe for the 4^th of July weekend, and we certainly hit our fair share. What is normally a 2 hour and 45 min drive without stops took us 4.5 hours with 2 stops. We were prepared for it to take up to 6 hours though so it definitely could have been worse! 

We were all happy to finally be at the cabin and to let Forest play with his buddy. 

These two are simply the cutest! Forest asks for Bryce every single day so he was really excited to see him after a long car ride. (P.S. I know that I’m jixing it by writing this, but we are so impressed with how well Forest travels. He only took a short nap, but the rest of the time he read his books or played with his stuffed animals and never even fussed. We had multiple episodes of Sesame Street loaded and ready to go and we didn’t even need to pull them out at all. Woohoo!)

Ok, back to Tahoe- when we arrived we quickly headed over to Donner Lake where Dave’s parents have a condo and a place to dock their boat. I was super excited to see how Forest reacted to a boat ride, but was plagued with an irrational fear that he would jump out of the boat. Who am I kidding- that’s not an irrational fear at all given my kid’s complete lack of inhibitions.  We made sure his life-jacket was on tight before loading the boat. 

He was so excited and kept saying ‘boat!boat!’. Of course he absolutely loved it and smiled the entire time. 

He didn’t get thrown off by the bumps or wind in his face and instead squealed in delight anytime we went fast or hit choppy water. I think it’s safe to say that Forest will be a thrill seeker. We envision sky diving and squirrel suits in his future. Gulp. 

After a quick boat ride we headed to the cabin for a delicious Spaghetti Dinner courtesy of Pinthip. We just hung out at the cabin while the men made plans for early morning boating/wakeboarding. We went to bed fairly early because we just never know how Forest is gonna sleep that first night of vacation. Forest slept just fine but for some reason I just couldn’t nod off. I finally took a sleeping pill at 2 AM and F was up at 6:30, so I was quite sleepy/cranky that morning! 

The boys headed over to the lake while the girls (and babies) hung back and packed up lunch fixings before meeting them at Donner Lake mid-morning. It was time to take F for a swim! We anchored at a nice beach with 2 play structures and put our lunch on top of a kneeboard to swim over to the beach for a picnic. 

I was apprehensive because I’d heard the water was shockingly cold (but that I’d get used to it after 3 minutes or so (!!!!). This Louisiana girl is not a fan of cold water. But I was hungry and wanted my sandwich so I just verified there were no sharks or alligators (or snakes because it’s too stinking cold) in the lake before jumping in. It was definitely shocking but better than I was expecting! 

I was anxious to see how Forest responded to the water temperature. He was the only one of us who didn’t scream upon entering but instead laughed and squealed. 

He is so happy in the water and only wanted to play in the surf once we swam to the beach. I finally coaxed him to come grab some lunch before heading back for more swimming time. 

After a few minutes it was time to bring him home for nap time. Bryce is such a great baby and can nap anywhere! He fell asleep on the boat ride home and continued sleeping as he was passed from person to person and strapped into his car seat. 

Forest on the other hand is a very picky sleeper. No matter how tired he is, he won’t sleep anywhere but his crib or the car. We try to get him to his crib if possible because his car naps are never very long and will certainly end as soon as the car stops moving.  Luckily we got Forest home before he fell asleep in the car and he took a super long nap which allowed me to sleep for about 1.5 hours as well. I felt much better afterward! 

After naptime Pinthip and I took the boys exploring outside while our hubbys headed to the store in search of dinner. The babies had fun collecting pine cones and just running around together. 

The Zook’s neighbors in Truckee have two elementary aged boys and also have a cool play structure and trampoline in their yard. They were gracious enough to invite us to play which helped the boys to burn some more energy. Forest surprised me by walking right up to the rock climbing wall and climbing it like it was nothing. 

I’m telling you- squirrel suits. I’ll put money on it right now. 

photo source

Jonathan was home from the store in time for Forest’s foray in the trampoline. Of course, anything that makes mommy nervous is sure to bring pure joy to my child. He laughed with glee as Jonathan bounced him higher and higher. 

Oy vey! Each day brings new grey hairs! 

After the trampoline it was time for dinner prep. Jonathan has a secret talent for grilling and treated us to a Surf&Turf meal complete with grilled veggies that was crazy delicious. I provided the macaroni and cheese so I definitely pulled my weight. Ha! 

We tucked our tyke in bed early and opened a nice bottle of wine. I excused myself for an early bedtime and got a head start on a good solid 8 hours of sleep while everyone else stayed up watching a movie on the outdoor TV. 

The 4^th of July was going to be really busy on the lake so once again the boys got up early to go wakeboarding before the water got too rough. By the time we got over there mid-morning, the sky was really overcast and the water was too choppy for a boat ride. We took Forest for a little swim at the condo’s beach but it was just too cold without the sunshine so we didn’t let him swim too long. 

After lunch Jon and I headed to the condo for F’s nap while Pinthip, Dave and Bryce stayed back at the lake for 4^th of July fun. Our hope was that F would take another 2.5/3 hour nap and therefore have a fighting chance at staying up for the fireworks that night. 

On the drive home for his nap it started pouring rain and Forest was inconsolably fussy. I tried reading him books and singing him songs but he just kept crying. And then he started spewing everywhere, poltergeist style! It was so gross and was all over the car and all over him. When we got to the cabin I tried to get him cleaned up but the power was off from the storm. 

He was really tired and upset so I just stripped him down and put him down for a nap. His nap lasted 45 minutes and he woke up completely inconsolable. It was one of the only times I’ve ever seen him where he wouldn’t go to his daddy but only wanted me. I held him and rocked him while he cried for 45 minutes post nap. We were really frazzled by his puking and his general misery and were worried he had caught a stomach bug. 

Either way, there was no way that he was going to make it til fireworks at 8:30 and we were worried about him being around everyone else if he was sick. Jon made the call that we should just go ahead and drive home that evening rather than waiting til the next morning. It made sense, since with a sick baby it was unlikely we would be enjoying any of the remaining 4^th festivities. As soon as I asked Forest if he wanted to go home, he said ‘Go home. Home.’ , and finally stopped crying for the first time in an hour. I get it, man. As someone who has been sick numerous times on vacation, it’s the worst! All you want is your own bed and your momma. 

I was not looking forward to a 3 hour car ride with a vomiting baby though! We ran by the condo to say goodbye to everyone. Bryce was taking a long nap in the middle of the condo with 7-8 people chatting around him. This kid is amazing! Forest wakes up if a dog barks 3 streets over. Not exaggerating. Bryce remained sleeping during our entire goodbye visit so sadly F didn’t get to give him one last fist bump. 

By this time Forest was starting to be in a better mood, so the drive ahead didn’t seem as scary. One thing we were looking forward to about driving home on the 4^th versus the next morning was that we didn’t have a stitch of traffic. We stopped for In N Out on the way back home and still made it to our house in under 3 hours. 

That's a pretty American 4th of July!

Forest didn’t make a peep the whole way home. He never fell asleep but zoned out with his paci and snuggy. We were very relieved to get home without another throw-up incident. When we got to our house, he probably said the word ‘home!’ fifty times. We thought he was feeling better since he ate a decent dinner and hadn’t thrown up since about noon, but then he spewed everywhere in his crib that night and was acting quite miserable and clingy the following morning. 

I was happy that we made the decision to come on home since the poor bubs was obviously under the weather. He continued to be a little out of sorts all day on Sunday, but by Monday morning he seemed as good as new. 

I’m not sure if he perhaps ate or drank something bad (totally possible he slurped up some lake water) or if he had a little 24 hour bug or if he got extremely carsick. Either way, it was not how we envisioned our 4^th of July weekend and we are glad that he is healthy again. I hope however you spent it, your 4^th was a lot less dramatic and involved substantially less throw up!