Vacations galore

In the last two months we have done a lot of traveling. First we spent a week in October at Amelia Island, FL (about twenty minutes northeast of Jacksonville). We spent a week there in a condo which we won in an auction last year at the Schroeder's Benefit. It is a gorgeous place and we lucked out with wonderful weather. It was 80's and sunny the whole week, with the exception of a few hours of rain the first day. We just spent our time relaxing on the beach or walking around enjoying the island. It was Kylie's first encounter with sand and ocean and she LOVED it! We would have to drag her away at the end of everyday. She thought it was so funny to run up to the water and then run away as the waves came in. Mike loved swimming out and jumping into the waves. There were times when we couldn't see him come back up, only to find out that he drifted farther to one side or the other. I was content to sit back and relax in my chair or wade in the water with Kylie.

Then, the first week in November, we spent in the Southern Caribbean. We cruised to St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, and St. Kitts. We had originally booked the cruise for our anniversary week (February) but they have a rule that you cannot cruise past your 16th week of pregnancy...so we had to move it up. It was a blast though. I would definitely recommend a cruise that stops everyday if you have kids with you as there is not much for them to do on board, unless they are older. It worked well for us. We cruised overnight and in the morning we were in our next destination. We would get off the ship, go see the island, do an excursion, shop a little, then get back on board in time for dinner and set off for the next place. By day 6 of the cruise Kylie was asking to go home... I think it was a little too long for her. But she had a good time swimming and exploring each new place. To our surprise, she sat still long enough for a local lady to braid her hair (about 20 minutes)! She saw a little girl getting it done and said, "I want that!" So, we attempted it and were successful. She won't sit still for pigtails at home. But, she looked so cute in the braids. All the workers on the boat just adored Kylie. She really warmed up to our room stewards and the last night, her hardest on the ship because she was ready to go home, he knocked on the door and came in to make her a special towel animal. Kylie requested a monkey from him, so he made her one and hung it from the ceiling. It was so sweet of him! He said she reminded him of his three kids back home. They work for up to 8 months on the boat before they get to go home for a month or two. That has to be difficult! It was a wonderful week away and then we came home to 30 degrees and snow flurries.. Sweet home Chicago!