Guacamole, sun, beach, and more guacamole.

(pictures to come)

Wanting to beat the crawling madness, avoid paying airfare for a two-year-old, and get a break from the endless winter this year we booked a trip with Brandon's parents down to Cancun, Mexico. Ah, paradise.

We had done a similar trip a couple years ago pre-baby, so this time we were a little nervous as to how our trip would be different. Which it was - but it was great!

We left the last week of February and came back the first week of March. At first we thought it would be the tail-end of winter and wouldn't really be a break. Little did we know that winter was going to creep into May this year. It was a tremendous break from the craziness of life.

We flew on a direct flight down and even though this was Xander's 7th flight of his life he was getting a little more antsy so we a little worried how he would handle. I'll be honest - it was a bit harder. He kind of hated being restrained the whole flight and wanted to sit by himself. I can definitely see the advantage of buying a seat for a baby - even if you don't have to.

When arriving in Mexico we made our first parenting decision - and we failed. The shuttle drivers were so kind and pulled us in front of like 15 people who were waiting there before we were and put us on a shuttle. We hauled our car seat all the way down there simply for this ride. We got in the shuttle - they threw our bags in the back and other people started packing in. While this was going on we began to crack out the car seat. The shuttle employee came back and told us in broken English that there was no room for Xander to have a seat and we'd have to carry him on his lap. Ugh. If we were stronger/more protective parents we probably would have protested and waited. We didn't. We held Xander on our laps and took the 45 minute drive to our hotel. Luckily there was no incident. Hey - we all survived childhoods without seatbelts/carseats etc... don't judge.

The hotel, the Playacar Palace, was tremendous. All you can eat/drink/do/relax. Perfect. Best part - my endless supply of chips and guacamole. Oh yes, I took advantage of that. Every day. Sometimes twice a day. The resort was beautiful - right on the beach and our room overlooked the pool, beach, and ocean. We did so many things through the week - but mostly spent a lot of time at those three places - the pool, beach, and ocean. I have to say it was so nice of Brandon's parents for not only paying for our stay but being there as baby sitters and company for us. What a treat! Thanks Nonnie and Poppie - you are the best!

One day for a small trip we took a shuttle over to Cozumel - an island just 30 mins off of the shore of Mexico. The resort chain we stayed at allowed us to go from resort to resort enjoying the different amenities. Brandon and his mom snorkeled. Russ and I relaxed. Baby, swam and slept. I ate chips and guacamole.

Back at our "home" resort we spent some time on the beach - giving Xander his first taste of the ocean (which he didn't like - too loud and scary) and his first taste of the beach...literally (actually, he was good not to eat it...I think). He loved the sand. We obsessively lathered him with sun block and covered him with a hat and sunglasses. If you see a picture in the sun without that stuff it was probably because we quickly removed it just for picture purposes.

We spent lots of time at the pool just hanging out. Good thing Xander couldn't crawl yet - although we knew he was getting very close and spent lots of time in the room practicing his crawling and spending time with family. We also spent a lot of time in our room while our baby guy napped - but that was also nice, taking our own naps, reading, and talking. His nap schedule, which really was just forming, stayed right on and regular. He was actually almost like clock-work, sleeping through the night, taking naps at the exact same time. It was really convenient. He was such a good trooper to let his dads get some r & r and enjoy their chips and guacamole.

One day we rented a car and went to Coba - one of the more recently uncovered Mayan ruins. It involved some mild hiking through the jungle to see a few ruins. Not as cool as Chitzen Itsa, which we visited last time, but still cool it its own right. We were able to climb the tall pyramid and see over the vast jungle of the Yucatan. Very cool. Xan had a good time and fell asleep. Standard fare for the little guy. We almost took him to the top, and probably could have, but were a little nervous since we had already been neglectful parents once on the trip. The worst part of the ruins is they didn't serve chips and guacamole.

We got the royal treatment back at the resort. Endless food, manicures, pedicures, massages. More chips and guacamole. Ahhhh....so wonderful. So relaxing. Brandon and I even had a romantic dinner on the beach.

The hardest times we had were eating. We wanted to enjoy the buffet but Xander generally wanted nothing to do with that. He didn't eat anything himself that didn't come in a bottle (see previous posts related to trouble eating solids). So we generally entertained him by giving him a butter knife or spoon (no, the knife was not sharp) that he liked to shove in his mouth to chew on. He was content for a short period while we ate fast or took turns.

On the last day Brandon's mom wanted to get some pictures done by the resort using some resort credit we had. So in Mark fashion we all were adorned with the same shirt and posed in various ways for the camera. They actually turned out quite well. Of course I got my first parental scolding from a stranger who thought our light toss of Xander into the air was abusive. Meh. Good thing she didn't find out how we got him to the resort! Actually it made me quote mad. Mind your own business, B#*@%. Yes, that is essentially what I said...actually it was, "Well thank you, I appreciate your nosiness." Luckily we were leaving the next day.

Then on our way home. We packed up our bags, held our baby on the shuttle :0(, and headed back to the airport. Good news is the plane was less full and we had a separate seat for the baby. He liked that much more. We arrived home just a couple days before we had to turn around and head to California to make our family official.

Thanks Russ and Donna for such a great memorable trip. We loved it!