Aiyer, Family of Four, vacation Part Two: Sintra, Portugal

After 5 nights at the lovely Martinhal resort in Sagres, we flew out to Lisbon and then drove 30 minutes to a town called Sintra. It was only a 45 minute flight but we got delayed and were stuck on the plane for an extra 45 minutes which would have been a nightmare but my kids were behaving perfectly fine:) Riya was plowing through her gallon sized snack bag and contentedly staying seated while playing with her sticker books and stamps. I'm so happy we bought her this harness that attached to her seat belt, I think its the reason she stayed in her seat for all 3 flights. Obrigado Laine for the recommendation!!!

Another side note, we survived the long car rides and all 3 flights with zero screen time for Riya. As a parent, this made me really happy, but it also meant we had to do the bulk of entertaining, which was tiring. 

Okay, back to the trip. 

We arrived at the beautiful Penha Longa Resort around 2pm. Unfortunately our room wasn't ready yet and though both kids desperately needed a nap, it wasn't happening. We fed them both and enjoyed a drink while we waited for our room. Riya was happily running around the property proving that she was "not tired." Sintra wasn't as windy as Sagres was, so we felt the heat more. Thoughtfully, our hotel had an indoor play area that had everything a 2.5 year old could want- a home corner outfitted with a kitchen and plastic foods, drawing station, dolls, several different types of slides, a ball pit, and more. 

The next morning, we had plans to drive to the zoo in Lisbon, which is reputed to have one of the best zoological collections in the world. Unfortunately, Riya woke up with tummy trouble and we decided it wasn't a good idea to do the 30 minute drive and be out in the sun all morning. Once again the play areas at the hotel came in hand and despite feeling crummy at times, Riya was entertained. She even jumped on a trampoline for the first time!

The next day we set out to the Aquarium, another must see in Lisbon. Riya was not interested in seeing fish of any kind. Sigh. So we zipped through that place in record time. We did get to see Penguins (my fav!), Dragon Sea Horses, Frogs and other colorful reptiles.

Puffins! 

Sintra is a beautiful town that hosts several castles. For all my Bachelorette fans, you may recall the castle in Portugal in Season 6 with Ali. One of the episodes aired at Pena Palace, which is in Sintra! Pena Palace rests on a hilltop. I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice, but it looked so beautiful. I really wanted to check it out but it was a hike to get up there and it was impossible with kids in tow:/ Ah well, next time. 

Pena Palace

Because of Riya's tummy trouble, we also had to steer clear of the pool on this part of the trip. What a shame though because the pool was gorgeous with the mountains and golf course as a back drop. Ram and I did manage to take turns checking out the restaurants at the hotel at night. The food was excellent as were the mojitos:) I wish we had one more day in Sintra. These two places are definitely at the top of our list for future family vacations!

Aiyer, Family of Four, First vacation

We did it! We managed to trek a toddler and baby over to Portugal for our first family vacation of the year. The sheer amount of stuff we needed to make this vacation happen was insane, I wish I took a picture. But this is what it felt like-

To be fair, our vacation was for 9 days (5 in Sagres), so we did need plenty of clothing options plus beach and swim gear. Despite a 5:30am wake up, both kids did great. Rayan was a pro on his first flight, just like his big sister:) We flew into Faro and drove another 1.5 hours to a town called Sagres and stayed at the Martinhal resort.

Ram did a lot of research and found this highly rated resort that catered to families with little ones.  This place had EVERYTHING. We were so pleased, as was Riya, with all the amenities available. Our 2 story home was equipped with a lovely outdoor space, washer, full kitchen, baby bath tub, potty insert, stair gates, and two cribs. There was a grocery store on site, toddler splash pools, a bounce house, and several play areas throughout the property, 2 of which were next to the pools which came in handy! The added bonus was every restaurant had a play area with staff on hand to watch your child play as you eat AND every bathroom on the property had separate toilets for little ones.  They also had kid and baby club drop offs where they are entertained for several hours a day if you want some kid-free time. (We opted not to do that on this trip). This place really thought of everything and the attention to detail was impressive.

The weather was a mix of warm and cool. The city is right off the path of the Sahara Dessert, so strong winds were constant but with the sun shining through, it wasn't too bad. I was so excited to bring Riya back to the beach. We had been playing with sand for weeks and talking about building sand castles but once we got to the beach, she was not interested. She took one look at the sand and said "it's dirty!" and that was that:/ I don't know where this diva-ness came from. I was so disappointed. But she was happy for Mommy and Daddy to get their feet dirty so she could "stand" in the ocean!

Rayan had a lot of firsts on this trip: first passport stamp, first flight, first time at the beach, and first swim. He loved his first dip in the pool despite Riya stealing his floatie, lol. I was so impressed with how he traveled. Poor guy was teething badly those first few days and would boycott a nap or two but was otherwise his happy smiley self. I was worried that his 3 nap a day requirement would hold us back, but luckily his midday nap coincided with Riya's and then he got to do one nap in the room and one on the go. Worked out perfectly:)

Here's a slideshow of the first part of our trip:

Sagres was the perfect place to kick off our vacation. Next up, Sintra!

The Royal Ascot

Horseracing is a big part of the British sporting culture. There are 32 races a year, 9 of which take place in Ascot, a town about one hour away from London. The Royal Ascot horserace is globally known and combine both high fashion and sport.  The Queen is a racehorse owner herself and attends the 5 day long event every year. The Royal procession marks the start of the race on each of these 5 days. Once again, I was in the presence of her majesty, the Queen.

I was so happy that I was able to attend this year. On the fourth day of race week, they have a Ladies Day. When I said the Brits love to combine fashion and sport (think Kentucky Derby), it wasn't a joke. There is a dress code. A hat is required and must be a certain length and width. Dresses must be knee length and cannot have straps. The rest is fun and games!

We took the train into Ascot and when we arrived we were surrounded by beautiful people all decked out on a gorgeous day. It was the perfect place to people watch. I did not come across any hat that was the same. Each of them were unique and beautiful.

Once we had our bubbly in hand, we set out to place some bets. After about 10 minutes of trying to figure out the "proper" way to bet, we gave up and did the simplest form of betting. For each race we picked 2 horses and bet "each way" and put whatever amount we wanted down. It wasn't the highest return, but one of my horses finished last and I won 10 GBP! My friend Sejal's horse won first and she won even more. It was loads of fun:)

The name of a highway in Dubai! 

This chart made my head hurt

Silver Line baby! 

At the race there are 3 enclosures and we had tickets to the Queen Anne Enclosure which is right next to the Royal Enclosure. The Royal Enclosure is super expensive because as you can guess, it hosts the Royal Family members and high society. Although it was highly guarded, a few of us got lucky and snuck in:) We didn't see anyone though but it was such a nice view of the racecourse. All in all it was a spectacular day and I'm so glad I can cross this off my list!

Happy Half-Birthday Baby Boy!

So I meant to send this on Friday, the 17th, but I was hung over worn out from the Ascot Race the day before. More on that later...

How is my baby boy already 6 months old?! Time is flying and I'm savoring every moment. Even though his sleeping is still a work in progress (back up to 10 hours now), nothing gets this baby down. When I go to him at 5:30am and bring him into our room so he doesn't wake up Riya, he giggles and reaches out and cups my cheek with his little hands. It makes me melt. He already knows how to get himself out of trouble. What a charmer...watch out ladies!

He is still so chill and laid back, its awesome. He is still willing to nap on the go, which I love. He started solid foods this month and his favorite combination is green beans and pears, just like his big sister:) He has also developed an explosive new skill set, which makes sense as to why he can't be bothered to sleep! He loves blowing raspberries, jumping in his jumper, and sitting upright. He also enjoys reading books, especially when Riya reads to him. He has grown to 27.5" and weighs 17lbs.

I know I'm biased, but damn this is one good looking kid-

All in a Days Work

Recently I was left alone with both kids for 9 days. This is the longest I've been solo, and with a toddler and a baby, oy ve! But we survived. The kids did great, it was just me being on double duty that was exhausting. During this time I also (very stupidly I might add) decided to potty train Riya. This meant I had to keep her home from school for 3 days plus the weekend.

A few months back when Ram told me the dates for his second annual work trip to Cali and asked if he could extend it to the weekend to go to Vegas and catch up with a very dear friend that he hasn't seen in 5 years, I said yes without hesitation. However, at that time, I had no intention of potty training Riya. We received word in April that she would be moving up to the 3 year old class in May, so I wanted to wait until she adjusted.

But as the weeks and days passed, Riya's desire to be diaper free kept growing and I couldn't ignore it any longer.  So as Ram's trip drew near, my anxiety reached a whole new level of WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?! Being solo with both kids is hard though I was beginning to feel more confident about doing both of their bedtimes by myself. We had a routine down and Riya has become quite the little helper. But add potty training to the mix and whatever false sense of security I felt as Ram walked out that door last Sunday morning, left with him. Just the thought of potty training exhausted me. All the books out there said, block out a whole 4-5 days and focus solely on your child. You will not do laundry. You will not clean. You will not look at your phone. You will do nothing but watch your child. These authors either have only 1 child or a plethora of help. I don't fall into either category.

Thus began the daunting experience of potty training. Riya started out very strong and we had no accidents on day 1. Day 2 the resistance began (expected) and it was clear that she knew exactly when she had to pee and poo but pooping while seated was our sole issue. This is a common road block in potty training, so I was very proud that she at least was making the connection and getting to the bathroom on time. The sitting while pooping thing would come, it just takes time. After 5 very long days with both kids, I sent Riya to school and was so happy to hear that she did great. No accidents! And it stayed that way for the rest of the week.

I am beyond proud of my little girl, who is acting all grown up. Although this solo venture was tiring for me, the kids had so much fun bonding with each other. I cannot help but beam with pride when I look at these two:

Copying Rayan. LOL

Riya can never have enough cuddles with Rayan <3

Daddy's home!!!