New Braunfels Trip 2017

Our trip to New Braunfels this year was super special to me. It was Atlas and Ellis' first trip to New Braunfels and it was all the cousins first time to experience Schlitterbahn. Our trips to New Braunfels growing up were my favorite vacations! To this day it is still my favorite place to be other than home.

We're here!!

Jumping out the car cabin fever. ;)

When I was growing up we used to stay on the Comal river at the Schlitterbahn resort. Until one year, when I was around 11, we were a little late booking our room and Schlitterbahn was booked solid already. So we had to look around for another place to stay. That's when my mom found The Other Place. It's 2 minutes down the road from Schlitterbahn and it is located on a beautiful horseshoe of the Comal river. Once we stayed there we realized we liked it way more than staying at Schlitterbahn. Ever since then it's been our go to New Braunfels spot!

Look at those excited faces!!

Checking out the Comal River.

My kiddos love a good trip! Jane was super excited to go this year. I was able to show her some old pictures and videos she said "Can we go there please?!" I was pretty sure the whole trip would be a hit with Jane. Atlas is a little more of a wild card. He likes to go places, but he also doesn't like too much excitement and seems to be more of an observer. They both enjoyed jumping on the bed, running around on the porch, sitting on the chairs and looking at the river soon after arriving. We told Atlas the water down there was called a river, so from that point on every time he looked at it he would point at it and say "river!".

First tube ride for Atlas!

Atlas wasn't happy about his life jacket. I think if he didn't have to wear it he would have been happier, but there was no way I was letting him in that river without one. After a minute or two of me convincing Atlas that the river was fun and he could play with the water while he rode he started to enjoy it. Jane was absolutely in love with tubing the river. She liked it 2 years ago, but this time she didn't ever want to stop! A little over halfway through our 20 minute ride around the horseshoe Atlas started saying, "All done." He liked it in small portions. We got out of our tubes at a shallow spot to swim around a little. Soon Atlas was done being in the water all together. I think he didn't like being cold. So he and I went ahead and got out while Marmee and Jane swam the rest of the way to the normal exit. One of the things I love most about The Other Place is you can get out and walk across the parking lot and get back in the river again or walk right back to your room since it's on a perfect horseshoe.

Jane was a pro!

We got out and swam around at a shallow spot

Jane rode the river a couple more times with at least one adult each time that evening before we set off to find some dinner. We went to our favorite pizza place, Mod Pizza and stopped by HEB for weekend supplies where Scott and Pappaw took turns picking up a giant pumpkin. They even had a passerby take a video. :D Ellis and Atlas went to bed after we got back and I let Jane fell asleep on the couch. Once the kiddos were asleep we spent the night playing Texas Hold em. Just for fun, no real betting involved, but it can still get pretty competitive at times. ;)

We made it to Schlitterbahn!

Off to find some fun!

In the morning we headed out to Schlitterbahn! I was so excited for Jane to have her first Schlitterbahn day! She was pretty thrilled too. I have a multitude of amazing memories there. It's just the best water park ever! It's so huge and there's so much to do you have to get a game plan together. We always start at the new parks and once we've exhausted the rides there we head to the old parks and hang out there the rest of the day. To start out the day we lathered everyone up with sunscreen and headed over to the biggest and coolest kid play area, Hans Hideout. 

Waiting for Jane to slide down

They found water!

I think she liked it. ;)

Jane climbed up with Marmee to slide and I stayed at the bottom with Atlas to play in the puddles. It's pretty easy to tell how much she enjoyed it! This was her face every time she went down. :D She went down a bunch of times, half the time with Marmee and the other half with Aunt Anna. There was a light at the top that was red when you had to wait and green when you could slide down. Jane caught on quickly. Anna told me that one time the lifeguard told Jane she could go when the light was still red, but Jane wouldn't go because it was still red. She's a stickler for rules sometimes. ;)

Marmee is such a good sport

Beautiful family!

Atlas was a little too overwhelmed by it all.

While Jane was absolutely in love with Schlitterbahn as soon as we arrived, Atlas was a different story. I think it was a combination the water being cold and his first slide being a little too much for him. He didn't want to be in the water or go on anything at first. He just wanted me to hold him. :( Ellis was also not thrilled about the water. I think it was too cold for her as well. At one point, with all kiddos accounted for by one adult, Scott and I snuck off to ride the Black Knight together. Just like old times!

Very special to be here with my kids!

Riding a whale is awesome!

I always have to get some dippin' dots when I'm at Schlitterbahn.

Jane and I took a few rides on the Torrent wave ride. Of course she loved it! She screamed with a smile on her face every time a wave came around. We headed back to the tables to regroup and see what we wanted to do next. Ellis was seeming a little too hot and since she doesn't seem to be a fan of Schlitterbahn yet, Scott and Anna thought it would be best to take her back to our room to cool down and wait until mid afternoon when Anna's sister would be available to babysit. We all decided it was a good time to head back to the room for lunch and so Atlas might catch a nap. Unfortunately Atlas only napped in the car for about 30 minutes while we went through the Chicken Express drive thru and I ate half my lunch in the car with him. Such is life on vacation!

Who knew Schlitterbahn hair was so gorgeous?

At least he was enjoying this park. ;)

She looks so grown up in this picture to me!

Jane and Atlas wanted to play at The Other Place park before we headed back to Schlitterbahn for round two. It was a good break from the water and full sun for the kiddos. On a side note, I wish I had Jane's hair... All I did was take it out of the ponytail it was in and it dried to look like that. So jealous. ;)

Atlas was starting to warm up

My monkey!

Finally something he liked!

We spent our whole morning trip to Schlitterbahn at Blastenhoff. So when we went back we started at Surfenburg. It has some of the most memorable kids play areas that still haven't changed since I was a kid. I remember playing on the pirate ship and submarine. It was pretty fun to watch Jane enjoy it just as much as I did. 

Wheeee

Incoming missile!

Who doesn't love to frolic through water?

The mushroom waterfalls are another personal favorite. :) The only thing Jane tried once and then decided she didn't want to do again were the octopus slides down the submarine. They actually might have been a little too fast for her liking at this point or maybe it was because there were a lot of bigger kids running around on that one. Everything else she wanted to do over and over again!

Cutest Schlitterbahners I know! ;)

We waited around the table while Scott, Anna, Marmee and Pappaw went to ride the newest ride, The Falls. We shared some ice cream treats as a distraction while we waited. I wanted to share a funnel cake with them, but the snack shack I went to was really far behind and they told me it would take 30 minutes to make. No way I was waiting around that long with two little kiddos. Ice cream did the trick though. Marmee and Pappaw returned pretty quickly after they realized how busy the ride was that day. They don't like crowds. Anna and Scott braved the busyness and enjoyed themselves.

This tube was worth the wait!

Since Marmee and Pappaw were back to watch Atlas, Jane and I rode the Krystal River around a few times. It took me a while to secure a tube with a bottom for Jane to ride in. It really was a busy day. The weather was perfect. Sometimes it's better if there is a chance of rain so it drives some of the crowd away. The best days are when there is a storm in the morning that moves off quickly. Then there are no lines!! Since it was great weather all day the crowd stayed all day too. We didn't let it bother us though! Jane liked riding in the tube for a while and then she wanted to get out and swim with me. She did awesome. Of course she kept her life jacket on the whole time.

Going through the car wash

Sillies!

Exploring

Their favorite spot

At last we had exhausted the new parks and it was time to ride the tram over to the old parks. Atlas and Jane really enjoyed the tram ride. Jane said she wanted to sit next to the window. Our first stop at the old parks was Schatze's Cental Park. It was known to me Hansel and Gretel's play area. They have changed all names of the candy houses from Fairy Tales to stuff called Schatze's Soda parlor or Candy shoppe. It's essentially all the same play structures from when I was Jane's age. My favorite little house in the area was the spot they both seemed to like the most too! When we first walked into the park the Schatze mascot was there to greet the kids. Jane was terrified! She kept looking behind her back to see if it was still around. Atlas on the other hand took no notice of the big dog like man and immediately started enjoying himself at the splash pad. He was finally happy!! Yay! We finally made a Schlitterbahn believer out of Atlas.

Having fun with Marmee!

One of the last slides of the day

So good to see a happy face from Atlas!

We moved over to the other kid parks in the old area. Everything is the same from when I was a kid. Atlas continued to enjoy himself. He got so comfortable he kept trying to walk into water that was too deep for him. He was having a blast! Jane was too, but that was all day long! (except for when the dog mascot was around) Scott and Anna spent some time riding some rides together. When they returned Anna suggested that she would stay and play with Atlas and the old Daugherty crew could take Jane on her first tube ride. Atlas was doing well enough I that I felt comfortable about it. We only had about an hour until closing so we grabbed some tubes and headed over to Raging River. It was my favorite tube ride as a little kid. There are a few fast moments, but nothing too scary and the lifeguards don't make you let go of your kids tube at any point of that ride. She did amazing. I mean she's a tube chute natural! She didn't get scared once. She was absolutely in love. It's the longest tube ride of the park so by the time we were done and walked back to Atlas and Anna it was almost time for the park to close. Anna said that Atlas was happy the whole time we were gone. Both kiddos were pretty sad we had to leave. Every time Jane sees a picture of Schlitterbahn she says, "PLEASE can we go there?? Please, please please!!". I keep telling her it's closed because it's too cold, but it's never a good enough reason for her. Maybe we can make the shorter trek to Galveston and check out the Schlitterbahn there. They have an indoor watermark that opens in the spring. I know it's not New Braunfels, but it's something!

One last river ride

Jane wanted to swim!

The most gorgeous river I've ever seen.

Everyone was pretty exhausted from a busy day at Schlitterbahn. so we ordered Olive Garden take out and watched the Longhorn game. Which actually ended up being a pretty stressful game to watch, Longhorns lost in OT. We tried to relax by playing a fun game of Say Anything before heading to bed. Through the weekend I felt better than I had my whole pregnancy! I guess I was so distracted by all of the activity that it made me forget about morning sickness. It was a nice break from feeling nauseous for a little while. Actually the last 3 times we vacationed in New Braunfels I've been pregnant. :D (I guess we've been going every 2 years lately) When I was pregnant with Jane I didn't even know I was pregnant yet, with Atlas I remember feeling him kick Jane while we tubed down the river together and this time I felt my very first baby flutters sitting in The Other Place room. So far each of the Daniels babies first vacation in and out of the womb has been to New Braunfels. :) 

Pappaw and Ellis

The closest Atlas has been to a duck!

We all got up a little slow the next morning, but we still had enough time for one more river ride before we checked out and headed to Gruene. Tubing the Comal with Jane through the weekend was so much fun. She loved being in her own tube, sharing a tube with me and swimming without a tube and just her life jacket. She's a river lover already. Atlas is going to take a little more convincing. ;) But he did enjoy walking next to the river and watching the ducks with Marmee and Pappaw.

Waiting for our table at the Gristmill

Clapping to the live music

Atlas in his Gruene Hall shirt in front of Gruene Hall. (you can tell how tired they were by then!)

We dried off, packed up and said goodbye to The Other Place for this year's visit. Our first stop in Gruene was the Gristmill. We've been having lunch there to finish off our trip for years now! We had to wait a little while for a table, but Jane and Atlas liked the live music. Once we were seated we quickly realized that, unfortunately, we had a terrible server. It took FOREVER to get through lunch. With three kiddos three and under in attendance it was no easy task to keep them all content during that time. It was such a bad experience that we might have to take a few years off from the Gristmill to get the bad taste out of our mouths. Once lunch was finally over we stopped at a couple of our favorite stores, Cotton Eyed Joes and Gruene General Store. Marmee got a souvenir for each of the kiddos and I found my first item bought specifically for Alexandria.

The kids were getting tired and cranky and honestly, so was I. It was time to hit the road. We grabbed a quick family photo before heading out. Anna's sister Leslie was sweet to take it for us. Even with the unfortunate lunch experience, 2017 was definitely one of my favorite New Braunfels trips of all time. I have no idea if we'll be able to go back next year or not, but I'm excited to go back whenever that may be. :) Thanks for another generation of memories New Braunfels. We love ya.

John 7:37-38

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

1 Peter 1:8-9

whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

Alexandria: Weeks 15-25

It's a girl!! My intuition was right! I'm so excited to have a little baby girl around again. I get to reuse all of Jane's super cute girl clothes. :) I'm also excited to get to see the sister dynamic develop. I've never gotten to see a sister-sister relationship up close before. Jane is sooooo excited that it's a girl. She said she wanted a sister from the very beginning. She hugs and pats my belly now and says "Hi baby sister!" Sam gets to have his Alexandria! This is the first baby we'll have that will have a bunch of nickname possibilities. We will call her "Xan" for short, but when she's old enough she can choose any nickname she wants. :) I find myself calling her the full Alexandria a lot, so it will be a mix of both for me for sure.

The ultrasound tech said she could teach a class from this one!

We still haven't settled on a middle name. We are completely open to suggestions, but don't be offended if we shut down all options you present. We are not in the "We like too many names to choose!" boat. We're in the "We can't find just one name that we both like as a middle name!" boat. We both dislike a lot of girl names so that adds to the difficulty. Here are some of our guidelines if you'd like to make a suggestion, No month names, (May, June) no verb names, (Dash, Whisper) no noun names (Faith, Joy, Ruby) that includes no flower names (Rose, Daisy). I kind of like the idea of a Biblical name, but I feel like I've already been through all the female Bible names and came up with nothing. The final decision is Sam's though. He gets priority since I got to name Jane Elizabeth. :) But of course as always, we both have to like it. I also would like it pretty short since she has a long first name, but it's not super important. My favorites are Rei, Ruth and Jael. Sam isn't sold on any of those yet. So we'll see! I'm excited to nail down Xan's middle name whenever we do, but to be honest it might not be until she's born! ;)

Best profile ultrasound pic I've gotten through all 3 babies!

We went to the same ultrasound place that I went to with Atlas. Inside Story is the best! They are reasonably priced and everything is very nice! The tech makes you feel at ease and she is so informative. I love the nice bed for me and couches for family. They have toys for the older siblings and big screen TVs for easy viewing. I love the sneak peek they give you to see your baby in 4D. They even give you a DVD of the whole visit! I would recommend them to anyone!

4D! Touching her nose with her toes!

Sweet baby girl!

My mom, my dad, my grandparents and of course Atlas and Jane came with me to the appointment. Sam is trying to save all his time off for when Alexandria is born so he stayed at work for this ultrasound. It was super special to have my grandparents there! It was the first time they got to come to a great grandchild's ultrasound. Technology has advanced a lot since the last time they attended an ultrasound. My grandma really enjoyed it! I loved having them there.

She gave us a smile! <3

The tech got the measurements she needed and then started looking for the gender. She was in a little bit of a hard position to tell right at first. The tech encouraged her to move a little so she could see. By this point I feel like I know what to look for and I was pretty sure I could tell it was a girl. The ultrasound tech said "It's confirmed. We have a little girl!" It felt so good to know for sure! We told Jane it was a sister! She smiled and covered her face a little. I think she got a little shy with everyone looking at her for a reaction. She was excited! The tech checked her cord and her heart and her brain to make sure everything looked right. Then we got to hear her heartbeat! I always love that! My grandma bought Jane a big sister bracelet. We went to Whataburger afterwards for a milkshake to celebrate! It was a great day.

Atlas was too busy for a picture

Jane got on the bed next to me for most of the appointment

I finally started feeling better around 15 1/2 weeks. It is always such a relief to be over morning sickness. I was still feeling it every so often at that point but it was no longer a daily occurrence. I finally got my house mostly clean again and the dishes don't make me gag anymore. Woohoo! Unfortunately almost as soon as I wasn't feeling morning sickness anymore I caught a stomach bug. YUCK! I hate them so much. I seem to catch one at least once a pregnancy. It was the worst stomach illness we've had since there were kids involved. While I was feeling bad my parents were able to help out with the kids. So grateful to have them close and available! As soon as I was feeling better the kids started throwing up and a few hours after that Sam was down for the count. At least I was better enough to take care of everyone. I'm seeming to get sick about once a month again. :( Thankfully it's normally just pesky colds. Each time I've been pregnant this happens to me. My immune system is severely compromised and then as soon as I have the baby I go back to only getting a couple sicknesses a year! Hopefully I can go a couple months without a sickness soon!

18 weeks and enjoying the fall weather!

I had the wonderful treat of getting to see my friend Esther on Thanksgiving!! She had come down from Ohio to spend the holiday with her family. She was in Houston for Thanksgiving at her Aunt's house. I was overjoyed that she was able to make a quick stop by my parents house on her way back to her home town. We got to chat about life and pregnancy for a little while and then we grabbed a bump picture together and she had to get on the road.

21 1/2 and 20 weeks!

It's so wonderful to share this time together! I miss her dearly. But I am so glad we are able to keep in touch over the phone and I get to catch her when she's in Texas to see her family. After our babies are born I hope to make the trip to Ohio to visit her one day! Jane and Atlas would be over the moon to get to fly in an airplane! They both love them. So we definitely need to take a trip in an airplane one day soon.

Perfect cup holder!

It's so much fun when my bump gets big enough to keep things steady. I'm drinking my yummy protein smoothie for breakfast here. My midwife Sallie recommended drinking protein smoothies for breakfast when I was pregnant with Atlas, especially since a lot of breakfast options are not very healthy. The kids like it too! I try to make one for breakfast about twice a week. My other healthy breakfast options are scrambled eggs with whole wheat toast and Oatmeal with strawberries and/or blueberries. Of course sometimes Jane asks for pancakes and I can't say no. I also can't resist having a couple when they are right in front of me. But I try to make the majority of my breakfasts healthy choices!

22 weeks

Let me take a moment to talk about my midwife a little more. This is my second pregnancy with her. She is amazing. I love her. It's great to be able to call her my friend and my midwife! It's so wonderful to have a midwife that is a Christian. She can tell me specific prayers to pray over Alexandria and I know she's praying for me and Xan too! I know a lot of midwives recommend becoming one with the earth and channeling your primate ancestors during labor. I'm glad I don't have to listen to that! She is informative and has so much wisdom as a midwife and a person. She gives me advice, but never makes me feel bad about my decisions. She respects me as an adult. If anyone is ever looking for a midwife in the Houston area look up Sallie Witte. She's the best.

All the babies at 22 weeks!

So you can probably tell by now that I love a good bump picture! Well, I also love comparing my bumps to previous pregnancies! The picture above is me at 22 weeks in the same top and pants. From left to right the babies are Jane, Atlas, Alexandria. Yeah I had fun putting this together. ;) I have another outfit that I can recreate at 38 weeks that I did with both of the previous babies too. That one I've done while standing in the pool. I'll have to make sure I get in the same spot for that one! Hopefully it won't be super cold that day. ;)

Feeling festive at 24 weeks! Just two weeks until Christmas!

I love Christmas!! Now Christmas is just 10 days away! So the other day I decided to get all dressed up in my Christmas gear. I've got on my cozy red maternity sweater, my LuLaRoe Christmas ornament leggings and my Christmas light Toms. It all makes me so happy and comfy! When you're pregnant comfort matters! It's hard to believe I'm nearing the end of the second trimester. The only complaints I have so far is a little heartburn and the same back pain I had around this time when I was pregnant with Atlas. I'm feeling like it could be cleared up by a chiropractic visit. I'll have to look into it. Xan is getting stronger everyday. I can feel all her kicks now. I haven't felt hiccups yet but I can feel just about everything else. I feel her most when Atlas is asleep. Probably because I'm actually still for once and not as distracted. Jane was the first one to see and feel her kick other than me. That happened just the other day. So special! The only thing is I still can't seem to wrap my head around the idea of three kids. I don't know what it is. I mean I know she's there and if everything continues to go well I'll get to meet her in 3 1/2 months. But I guess it's because I came from a two kid brother/sister family that a third baby seems so foreign to me. It also has to do with having two busy toddlers that keep my busy all day long. I'm trying to slow down and take moments just to watch her kick and bond with her so I can finally get it through my head that she'll be here soon!

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go,

And when he is old he will not depart from it.

3 John 1:2-4

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.