We are home!

We are back from our first family trip. Our Sunday afternoon flight was cancelled because Baltimore got almost 30 inches of snow. We came home Tuesday afternoon. We were on the last flight to Hartford. The flight after ours was cancelled because of yet another snow storm.

I am happy to say that our trip went well and was a lot of fun; it was not the disaster I was afraid it might be! Yes, I tend to worry too much, I know! When Amor Chiquito was younger, doing anything that was outside of her routine was tough on her, and, therefore, tough on us. As she gets older, she is doing better and better when it comes to doing different, new things.

Here are the highlights of our trip.

The good:

Ari was on an airplane for the first time and she loved it. When the plane was taking off, she looked a bit intimidated. I reminded her that it was fun and that helped, worked like a charm, actually. Her ears did not bother her. One more plus for breastfeeding!

Ari was on a boat for the first time. She did not get seasick once; instead, she walked around quite well, even when there was bad weather and the boat was rocking a fair bit. I almost fell once or twice, but not her!

Ari had a blast looking out the windows at the ocean.

All of us had a great deal of fun at the pool and the world pool. Eventually, we came up with a pool game that involved the three of us and much fun was had by all! Mommy held Ari and went after Daddy. Daddy walks much faster in the water than Mommy, isn’t holding a baby, and has much better eyes. So it took a while for Mommy and Ari to get Daddy! It was nighttime when we played, so Ari pointed at Daddy and said “alli, alli (Spanish for there).” After a while, we switched. Daddy and Ari got Mommy much quicker than Mommy got Daddy. Daddy had way too much fun kicking mommy’s butt and rubbing it in!

We found the baby pool! It is about six inches deep. Ari went in it the day the ship stopped at Nassau, Bahamas. Most people got off the ship, so she had the pool all to herself for about an hour.

We were checking out the ship and were not planning on going in the pool, so we were not dressed appropriately. Daddy went to the cabin for Ari’s sunsuit and Mommy stayed at the pool area with Ari. Ari was putting her feet in the water. Next thing I know, Ari has taken her clothes off, is throwing them on the ground, and is going in the pool completely naked! I simply could not stop laughing! She knew it would be good to take her clothes off so they would not get wet. So, nekid baby it is, problem solved!

Daddy and Mommy had the two-story twisting slide to ourselves too. We had so much fun!

Daddy and Ari enjoyed a fair bit of ice-cream. There are ice-cream stations throughout the boat. As for me, I am all about desert, preferably anything chocolate!

Healthy, crunchy me was not as crunchy as usual. I figured if Ari eats a good meal, she can have a bit of ice-cream. Live a little! And, as for me, I am sure I gained some of the weight I had lost. The elliptical is waiting for me!

Crunchy me did strike a few times. I did not say this, but I had vegetarian meals a few times! Yaminette, you did not just read that! They were delicious, so long as there was cheese involved, of course!

Excellent customer service. For example, we assigned sitting at dinnertime. Starting the second night, Ari's booster seat was at our table and there was a bowl of strawberries waiting for her.

Towel animals. Every night, there was an animal made out of towels in our room. Ari looked forward to it every night. There was a monkey hanging off of the ceiling one night!

The bad: the weather. It was cold the first three days, so cold we did not get to enjoy our balcony until Wednesday afternoon. We were unable to dock at Freeport, Bahamas because of the wind. As I said above, we did not fly home on Sunday. But the weather did not keep us from having a good time!

The ugly: Ari’s sleep schedule, what else? She did well in that we would get a five-hour chunk. The issue was when she fell asleep. Every night, she was up until at least 11pm. Twice, she was up until 1am. This, of course, means that she sleeps in, naps late, goes to bed late… It is a cycle… When we got on the boat, we could not get into our cabin until 2:30pm. Once there, Ari was having fun checking out the new place. So, on day one, her nap schedule was off. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Just an inconvenience.

Ari’s current favorite words and phrases:
Ehpane (airplane)
Up in ty (up in the sky)
Fy (fly)
Boat
Agua (water)

I got Ari an inflatable boat at the shop on the boat. She loves it. I hope that that boat will help keep the wonderful memories we made for a while. I know we don’t tend to remember things that happened at age two, but, at this point in her life, long-term memory is starting to develop. She is still talking about the helium balloon that flew away about a month ago!

I will be making a collage of photos of our trip. It will be up on our living room. I am excited about that little project!

I feel very grateful and very happy that we got to go on this trip. There were several times when I was frustrated due to sleep deprivation. But, for the most part, it was awesome. I can’t wait for the next one! We have pictures and a journal, so we will for ever remember our first family trip!