On the weekend (St. John's with our 2.5 year old)

We just spent two amazing nights in town (aka St. John's), and it was the best. We definitely need our little trips once in a while to get away, and traveling just keeps getting easier as the dude gets older. He gets better and better at eating at restaurants, driving a lot, sleeping in strange hotel rooms, and being patient when we are in line at a store. 

(breakfast at the Sheraton hotel. We eat there for the view of the ships) 

(my people) 

(checking out the Geo Centre) 

(a statue near Signal hill)

Some things we did in town that satisfied our 2.5 year old:

- We went straight to Avalon mall where they have this creepy Christmas tree that talks to the kids. He says the kid's name and everything. Dude liked it for half a second. Lots of other Christmas decorations and a santa sighting made him pretty happy. Free. 

- As usual, we spent a nice bit of time at the Chapters with the train set that the kids can all play with. And Starbucks for Jon and I. $10 for coffee and an embarrassing amount on books. J and I are bad for buying tons of books. 

- The YMCA pool is so good. The kiddy pool is pretty warm, and Cohen can walk around with his head above water. Also, there is a family change room, which is so great. And the pool has lots of toy boats and buckets and stuff. $15 well spent. 

- The Geo Centre!! I had the lowest expectations. I had no idea. We were there for 2.5 hours, and Cohen was so entertained the whole time. We definitely could have spent longer there. The exhibits are all touchable and interactive, even for a toddler. And they have a little play area for little kids that has lego and a slide and toys. And there is a 3-D theatre inside that is included in your admission. They were showing Despicable Me when we were there, but we didn't take advantage. Worth every penny of $24. In the future we would plan to spend the whole afternoon there, watch a movie, and bring our own snacks.

- We ate at Eastside Mario's, mostly due to proximity to our hotel, but I was so impressed with their gluten-free options. They are all over gluten-free in a way that NO restaurants are in our area. Dude was able to have a choice of a bunch of meals, which never ever happens. We usually have to order him multiple hamburger patties (it sounds sad, but he loves it) plus or minus fries (because they are sometimes coated in flour). But at Eastside's, he could have pizza, pasta, chicken, whatever. He even had dessert. 

- We also ate at Cora's, as usual, because they also have tons of options for Cohen since they have so much fruit on their menu. 

- We had breakfast at the Sheraton hotel even though we didn't stay there, because of the sweet views, and also because there is a little waterfall off the lobby and elevators. Cohen gets a big thrill from any body of water he can throw coins into, and elevators, of course. 

Hotel review: Bannerman Park Suites, St. John's, NL

We ended up spending a night in St. John's this past Easter weekend. We booked into Bannerman Park Suites at the last minute. This place most be pretty new. Everything looked fresh and clean. We liked it. 

(lovely tub with a little dude in it) 

(oddly comfy sofa) 

(comfy bed)

Price: $165 per night including tax and parking. Really good for the area.
Bathroom: So nice! There is a huge shower with awesome pressure and this nice big tub. Everything looked newly updated. The soaps and shampoos were sad, but other than that, the bathroom was sweet.
Breakfast: Nope. But there is a fridge and stove so you could make breakfast.
Wifi: I think? We never used it.
TV: Two huge televisions with lots of channels. We watched disney cartoons cuz we are parents.
Location: Ummm, not as awesome as so many other hotels. Not very walkable to downtown, except maybe in the summer (that is like 3 weeks long around here). I didn't love the location. Though just FYI, it is right directly beside the swanky Ryan Mansion hotel.
Parking: There were two free parking spaces, and we got one. I don't know what happens if they are taken.

Notes:
- so this place is technically an apart-hotel. Our suite had a separate bedroom and a kitchenette. We like that because we travel with a mini snack bar for the kid. The downsides to these kinds of places include no front desk, no restaurant on site, no room service. For us, a family with a toddler, these places are the best. But when we had a newborn who slept all the time, I was all about room service. So it's all what you prefer.
- We found Executive Suites Hotel to be very similar, only a bit nicer with a better location. And only a little more money. So while we would stay here again, I'll always try to book Executive Suites first.

Hotel Review: Executive Suites Hotel, St. John's, NL

We spend this past weekend at the Executive Suites in St. John's. I actually didn't even know we were staying in this apartment hotel. I had booked what looked like a regular downtown apartment on Airbnb, and when we arrived it was actually this place. Oh, it was nice!

Cohen ended up coming down with a really bad cold the day we got there, so we ended up watching a lot of tv and not getting much sleep. I was feeling really thankful to have a big tub that we could put Cohen in since the warm bath seemed to help with his congestion. 

 (living room with big tv and fireplace)

(nice modern kitchen with dishwasher, etc) 

(big comfy bed + big tv = good sunday morning) 

(the bathroom had a tv and a big shower) 

(and a huge tub that Cohen "swam" in three times) 

Price: Around $185 per night. Really average for downtown St. John's
Bathroom: So nice. Huge tub, sweet shower, tv. We ended up hanging out in the bathroom a lot while Cohen swam around in the tub.
Breakfast: No, but full stocked kitchen to make your own
Wifi: Yes, really good
TV: The best. There were three televisions, and they were easy to use and in good locations (important to me!)
Pool: No.
Location: Sooo great. We walked to supper downtown, and it took maybe 5 minutes. Really close to the Sheraton hotel and right beside Hometel.
Parking: Free and really convenient.

Notes:

The biggest negative about this place is the lack of a restaurant on site, and a pool. Similar to the Murray Premises hotel a few blocks away. But. In the little welcome package, they include the number for a little deli/grocery around the corner that will deliver groceries or prepared food for $4. Pretty convenient. I would have taken advantage, but instead Jon walked over and picked us up some necessities. And there are a lot of coffee shops and restaurants nearby, so I don't think it's a deal-breaker. And as for pools, we are finding that the public pools in St. John's (here and here and here) are just so great for little kids that we can't even be bothered with a hotel pool.

So far, this hotel wins for our little family. We will definitely be staying here again and again. We loved that there is a separate bedroom so you can close the door when the little guy goes to sleep, and we loved the huge bathtub. The location is also amazing.

Thanksgiving weekend in St. John's

This is my family's second Thanksgiving in Newfoundland. Last year, we had a three month old, so everyone came to us, which was so great. But we wanted to try something different this year, so we rented a house and a car in St. John's. When my sister arrived at the airport, she called me, and was like, ok, they have a Focus for us. I was like, no, bigger. So she said, ok, an Impala. I was like, bigger. We are a huge family. She was like, ok, an Escape. Bigger. So we settled on a Flex, which was the right size with seven adults, two babies, and a ton of gear. We also had our vehicle, but still, we were crowded. We had such a great weekend, and I think it's nice to stay in a rental home because then no one person/couple feels like they have to be the host. We all took turns doing meals and dishes, and I loved that. 

(The dude took a few baths in that sink.  I want that sink)

(when he is naked, he runs) 

(Cohen did not love me cuddling Graycie)

 (walking around downtown)

(my sibs and the harbor) 

(dude) 

 (sweet)

(uncle duties) 

(lots of walking*)

(getting ready to go) 

(Cohen in heaven with his new toy box and his grandparents)

(baby on a sheepskin)

*When we were getting ready to leave for a walk downtown, Kryssy and I were deciding who would get the Ergo, and who would get the stroller since we only had one of each between us. My brother was like, well, Cohen has legs that he can walk on. So shouldn't he walk? I was like, ok, point taken. So Cohen spent a lot of time walking between Jon and Spencer and loving it. 

Hotel review: Luxury Vacation Rental, Colonial Street, St. John's, NL

We stayed in a huge vacation rental in St. John's for three nights over the thanksgiving weekend. We used Airbnb to book it. We were looking for something with four full bedrooms with double beds and more than two bathrooms. We also wanted to be right downtown. This place was it. 

(this was the third-largest bedroom) 

 (The master bedroom)

(a view of the living room on the main floor)

Price: $350 plus tax per night. This was the off-season rate.

Bathroom: Three full bathrooms and one half bath off the kitchen. All good. 

Pool: No, but the master bathroom did have a huge whirlpool we didn't use. 

Breakfast: No, but there is a huge kitchen. 

Wifi: Apparently there is wifi, but it was so spotty, and you pretty much had to be sitting on top of the modem to use it. Not cool. 

TV: The host claimed they had cable, but we couldn't get it to work. We called a few times to try to get them to fix it, but they said they couldn't help. 

Location: So great. It was a two minute walk to all the cute shops and coffee shops downtown. The location was the best part of the whole thing. 

Parking: There was a permit for one vehicle to park on the street. We never had a problem finding parking. We had a second vehicle that Jon had to park a few blocks away, which was no big deal for us. 

Notes: I'll start with the negatives: The host doesn't live in the province, so there is no one to welcome you or to come help you get the tv to work. In all my communication with him (all over email), I found him pretty...rude. There were a million rules. The weirdest one is you have to strip the beds and do all the laundry before you leave. For real, I have never, ever heard of doing that. We spent the whole morning before we left cleaning, which was a bummer. Also, there were mice. It's a really old house, so maybe mice are inevitable. I didn't bother me as much as maybe it should have. Also, the furniture. There is no place really to hang out and lounge. There are a couple old loveseats in the hallway between the kitchen and the living room that a few of us could sit on (behind Jon in the picture above), but there was nowhere we could all sit together really. Also, the gas stove. Maybe some people love them, but I found that thing unwieldy. I would try to turn it on a bit, and I would get a huge flame a foot high. OK, the positives: The shower in the master bedroom is amazing. It sprays steam, so you can hardly see in front of you. Amazing. Also, the place was huge. We all felt like we had plenty of room, and no one ever felt crowded. Also, they have a ton of puzzles and board games, which we liked. 

Bottom line: For the price, I found it decent. Way better than booking four hotel rooms. I probably would never stay there again, but only because I found the host not fun to deal with. But if you are four couples with or without kids, this place is awesome. 

Hotel review: Quality Hotel Harbourview

On the weekend we stayed at the Quality Hotel in St. John's while we were in town for J's triathlon. We took Cohen to the Aquarena, which is this aquatic centre that has a huge kiddy pool with warm water. Cohen completely loved it. We have started sitting him on the side of the pool and letting him fall in so his head it completely underwater. I was scared at first, but he loves it. His face is submersed for maybe 2 seconds, and when he comes up, he has such a big smile on his face. So cute. Anyway, this hotel:

Price: For our smallish room, it came to around $260 including tax for the night. Average for downtown St. John's.
Bathroom: Old. The tub was really scratched up and beige, and everything just seemed a little dirty.
Pool: Nope.
Breakfast: Nope. Apparently there is a buffet breakfast in the restaurant attached to the hotel, but we didn't check it out, and it wasn't included.
Wifi: So good. We even watched some Netflix with no problem.
TV: Good. I ended up watching this Suze Orman show about finances. I dunno.
Location: Awesome. Right downtown. We love being able to put Cohen in the stroller in the room, and just walk right out to downtown for a coffee and shopping.
Parking: They have a parking garage, and it is included with your room. Not bad.

Notes: So as soon as we got there, I walked in to the bathroom, and got a tiny piece of glass stuck in my foot. We thought it was weird, but whatever. Then it happened to Jon. So I looked, and the bathroom had a ton of tiny shards of glass everywhere. I talked to the front desk and requested a new room, mostly because Cohen is a crawler. There were no other rooms, so they instead went in with a vacuum and gave us the room for free. I still had to get down on my hands and knees and pick up tiny bits of glass later, but I thought they dealt with the problem pretty well. It turned out that the last guest had dropped a glass on the ceramic tile. We would definitely stay at this hotel again, because we were so happy with the quick and apologetic way they dealt with our issue.

some recent pics

(selfies with our happy little dude) 

(always helps me make the bed) 

(he is obsessed with coffee cups) 

(ready for a swim in the hotel) 

(having a drink in the backseat)

Notes: Like I mentioned before, we have been on the go a little more than usual the past few weeks. That meant a few extra nights in hotels, and lots more time in the car. Road trips with an 8 month old are way, way more challenging than when Cohen was only a few months old. Now, he gets annoyed if he has to be in his carseat longer than an hour. And he is getting so big, it is harder to nurse in the backseat of our car :) Also, I am experimenting with a wash tape headboard. I kinda like it, though our stores only had one single color choice (lime green). Also, I have been getting Jon to chop the ends of my hair every few months, but I think it's finally time for a real haircut. 

Hotel review: Capital Hotel, St. John's, NL

We ended up staying at the Capital Hotel in St. John's on our way back from my sister's baby shower because of bad weather. 

Price: $99 plus tax. This was a special they were having. The cheapest hotel rate I have ever heard of in St. John's
Bathroom: Old and plain. The bathtub and toilet are separate from the sink. This is really common with the older hotels around here, I find
Pool: Nope
Breakfast: Nope. There is a restaurant downstairs that serves breakfast, but not included. We opted for Cora's instead
TV: Good. We watched House Hunters International. Addictive
Wifi: Yes, though the password they give out is wrong, so you have to call the front desk for the actual password.
Location: Really good if you plan to shop a lot. Really close to the Avalon mall, and lots of other shops.
Parking: Free

Notes:

- We ordered supper to our room from the restaurant downstairs. The food was decent, and the beer came with saran wrap on it (I guess they have to do this?). Nothing special at all.

- Their crib was the normal travel crib, which was perfect.

- The price is hard to beat. We might stay here again if we are trying to save a few bucks, and we want to be close to the mall. The bed was comfortable, with a new duvet, which was nice.

Hotel review: Holiday Inn, St. John's, NL

We stayed at the Holiday Inn in St. John's on our way back from Moncton last weekend. We booked here mostly because I have a goal to stay at all the hotels in the area. I have weird goals. 

Price: We ended up in one of their large suites, which was around $210 per night, but you can get a normal room with a king for maybe $175. Steep, but really pretty average for St. John's
Bathroom: Old and plain. The type where the bathtub and toilet are in a separate tiny room from the sink.
Pool: None. And this is the type of hotel that really should have a pool
Breakfast: None! Also, This really felt like the type of hotel that should have some sort of continental breakfast
TV: Our room had two huge flat screens. It was the type of system that is really hard to navigate and super slow. Not ideal
Location: Maybe 5 minutes from the airport. Pretty convenient
Parking: Good, free
Wifi: Free

Notes:

- Their crib was super old looking, but Cohen slept great in it.

- The hotel is attached to an Eastside Mario's. We ordered supper from them, and they charged us 5 bucks to walk it up to our room! You don't even have to go outside! Jon could have walked down in about 30 seconds for free. Also, our meals were pretty mediocre. Hard bread, pasta on a small cafeteria plate.

- The best thing about this hotel room was the bed. Very comfy.

- We would probably not stay here again. For the price, I would always choose Sheraton or even Hampton Inn over this hotel.

our first overnight trip with baby Cohen

(taking a diaper and nursing break in downtown st john's)

we had to make a trip into st john's last weekend to pick up some things you can't buy in our little town. st john's is about two hours away from the town we live in, clarenville. we were planning to just drive up for the day, but when we got there, the forecast was calling for heavy rain, so we opted to spend the night. i was nervous about staying in a hotel, since sometimes 3 week old baby cohen is really fussy through the night, and i didn't want anyone to complain about a screaming baby at 4 am.

we booked into our usual hotel, the sheraton. we decided to have him sleep with us, since we hadn't brought our travel crib. jon got us a room with a king bed, and we slept with him between us. and it was absolutely fine. i probably slept lighter than usual, and i jumped to change and feed him every time he made the sounds he makes when he is about to flip out. i can really see how  some people love cosleeping with their baby. in the night if cohen made a little noise, jon or i could talk to him and pat him on the back to see if he would fall back to sleep. still, at home we will be keeping cohen in his crib.

the best thing about staying at the hotel was that there is the restaurant and bar downstairs. we were able to meet a friend there, and i could just run up to the room with cohen if he needed to eat or be changed. although i am getting more comfortable with breast-feeding in public, it really is easier to do it in private.

our first little road trip as a family of three was a success, and i am now basically a pro at changing diapers on my lap. so there you go.

on the weekend (in st john's)

(at the memorial university campus to watch the country's largest road hockey tournament)

(our new living room is currently j's guitar room) 

(really beautiful flowers welcoming us to our new job) 

 (baby's room thus far)

(coffee at signal hill sunday morning) 

(wearing my husband's clothes and loving it) 

(signal hill)

notes:

- living 1.5 hours away from your husband for 1 month is not fun. i really feel for all those long distance couples out there. we only have 2 weeks left, and i can't wait. 

- we got the coolest glider for baby feeding times. i am so excited to sit in it with our little bubba

- we had brunch at hungry heart in st john's. so good. 

- back pain. wow. i have never experienced any back pain ever, so when it hit me on the weekend, i was surprised. i think many pregnant women experience it. it will definitely force me to slow way down for this last 5 or 6 weeks.