Kaylee's Gatlinburg Birthday/ Mini Vacation

On Wednesday afternoon, August 11th, Daniel, Kaylee and I drove up to Gatlinburg to meet Kaylee's Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle, Great Grandma & Great Uncle (all of my family). We didn't get there until almost 7:30 pm so we unpacked everything and let Kaylee play with everyone for a little while. Since we finally had babysitters, Daniel and I walked next door to Calhoun's Steakhouse to have a nice quiet dinner... finally!

After we went out to eat we went to a local grocery store to pick up some milk and juice for Kaylee before heading back to the condo. It was weird going somewhere just the two of us and being able to actually talk!

The morning of Kaylee's birthday my mom fixed everyone breakfast at the condo and then we all took turns getting ready and playing with Kaylee. Before going to the aquarium we went to eat at No Way Jose's for all the August birthdays (Kaylee-12th, Mom-17th, Daniel & I-26th). We told our server that it was Kaylee's birthday so he brought out the sombrero for her to wear but didn't sing because we didn't want Kaylee to freak out!


After we finished eating I remembered I had forgot Kaylee's sippy cup and milk at the condo so Daniel and I went to get it while everyone else pushed Kaylee in her stroller up to the aquarium. While they were waiting on us, Kaylee managed to convince my Mom to take her to the gift shop and buy her a stuffed animal (when we walked into the gift shop I pointed at a turtle and told Daniel that Kaylee would love it... that turtle was actually what my Mom had already picked out).

As soon as we escaped the gift shop we took her out of her stroller to see if she would walk...

This didn't last long so we started taking turns carrying her. This is the first family picture we have taken since Christmas... I didn't realize it until looking back through older pictures. It's something we definitely need to do more often!

There were some exhibits where I don't think Kaylee could see the fish too well, but in the picture below, there was a room with a glass wall and the tank was well lit so you could see all of the fish. Kaylee loved pointing at all of the fish!

Baby & Daddy!

About half way through, Kaylee started getting sleepy but still stayed in a good mood!

I love this picture... it's just so sweet!

I'm not sure why, but Kaylee kept trying to lean around and look at Daniel's face... she just kept laughing!

When she did get fussy, we just tried to feed her to the sharks... poor kid, she has no idea what's behind her!

She paid more attention to the rock than the fish behind her!

I love her smile in this picture... and you can see that mean old tooth(molar) that had been bugging her so much!

She loved the jellyfish!

One of Kaylee's favorite parts of the aquarium was this tunnel that only had a few black lights in it so that the paintings on the walls would glow. We set her down and were deciding who was going to go in with her and the next thing we know, she is crawling in by herself! She even found her way out on the other side. We let her keep going through the tunnel and Daniel went in and go this picture of her (since I couldn't see what she was doing). She would crawl until she got to the point where it was almost too dark to see us, turn around and smile and then keep crawling!

I think this is the best candid picture I have of Kaylee and Daniel. I just love how it looks like she is trying to explain something to him!

Grandma & Kaylee checking out the fish

One of her other favorite parts of the aquarium was the penguin exhibit. They had a tunnel that went through the water and then at the center of the tunnel you could stand up in the middle of where all the penguins were! These pictures remind me of how much she is growing up...

Looking back at her Grandma... I think she thought it was funny that she went in there by herself!

My baby girl... playing with the big kids!

After we finished up at the aquarium we went back to the condo to let Kaylee take a nap while I setup her birthday party. Unfortunately Daniel had to leave late that night so that he could take care of some things back home in NC on Friday.

Friday morning we had breakfast and just spent time hanging out at the condo. It was so hot and humid outside that we didn't want Kaylee to be out in the heat too much. We went out to eat for lunch and the walked a little ways down the main road in Gatlinburg but decided to turn around and head back to the condo so that Kaylee could cool down. Later that afternoon Kaylee's Grandma & Great Uncle Bubba decided to take her swimming. Kaylee loves the pool and was splashing and kicking, but she always tries to put her face under the water. I really need to find someone to give her swimming lessons. I know most of the time for the younger ages it's usually the mother who goes to the swimming lessons with the baby but I don't know that I can handle it. Every time she is in the pool I almost have a heart attack because I'm so afraid she is going to get choked when she goes under!

View from our balcony

After swimming Kaylee took a nap and my Mom, my Uncle and I went to a camping store while my Grandma stayed at the condo with Kaylee. Then after supper we all went walking down the road to look at all of the stores. We found a place to stop and rest where a group had setup to play music. It was finally starting to cool off and was nice to be able to just relax and listen to the music. We headed back to the condo because Kaylee was starting to get tired. I decided to drive back to NC that night because it's much easier when Kaylee just sleeps the whole way and I don't have to stop. These last few pictures are from earlier in the day. I was the first time Kaylee wore that dress and it just looked too cute on her!

Kisses for Grandma

Mommy's big girl!

My sweet baby

We had a great time while we were in Gatlinburg. I'm looking forward to taking her to the beach next spring or summer(hopefully) for the first time and hopefully our vacation can last a little longer!