First Family Cruise Part 2

Day 2 of our cruise was our first full day at sea.  We started off with a 7:45 a.m. Dreamworks breakfast reservation.  RCCL has a partnership with Dreamworks, so the characters are involved in the cruise experience with character breakfasts, parades, and picture opportunities.  The only thing we purposefully included in our vacation plan was the breakfast.  Eliza had never seen Shrek, Princess Fiona, or the other characters before--and she was not too sure when she "met" them!

Yummy chocolate croissant!

and you are???

Why is this cat so big?

We spent the rest of the day having fun on board exploring!

Future LPGA member?

Daddy went ziplining!

Hi!

<3

Watching the surfers

That night was also the first formal night.  Gary and I chose this night to celebrate his birthday (which was the next day, actually) with our own dinner and date night.  Granna and Grandpa took Eliza to dinner in the main dining room and for a fun night!  We stayed out much too late, and I ended up at the black jack table (?!), but we had a wonderful time together.

Visiting Eliza at dinner before taking off by ourselves.
Pretty in Purple!

Dinner at 150 Central Park; a 6 course tasting menu with wine pairing

In the Rising Tide Bar, which is a bar that travels up and down between 3 decks like an elevator.

The next day was supposed to be an amazing beach day at Labadee, Haiti, a private beach owned by Royal Caribbean.  We rented an over-the-water-cabana, which consisted of a structure with lounge couches, a ceiling fan, lounge chairs, and direct access to the ocean.  Unfortunately, 50mph winds and rain caused the port-of-call to be cancelled.  :(   But, Mommy & Daddy needed the cancelled day to lay in bed all day (wonder why?!).

Day 3 was Gary's birthday, though!  Happy 29th birthday, Gary!  We celebrated at dinner.

Our wonderful hostess bringing Gary a cake!

Happy Birthday to You!

Overlooking the Promenade area.
We color coordinated each night!

That wraps it up for Days 2 and 3 of our cruise!  More fun to come!

Toddler Tuesday: Sensory Fun

Now that Eliza is a full-on toddler (though we're still in a little bit of denial*), we've realized we need more fun and development-minded activities for weekends.  Especially for ones where it's nasty outside!  While the video I'm sharing today doesn't include a great idea for sensory play time, it got the job done in a pinch.  Eliza had a great time on Sunday playing at first with millet and then dried lentils.  A little too much fun!

* Even though Eliza is nearly 22 months old, she is of course, still our "baby."  Lately she has started referring to herself in the third person as "baby."  For example, at daycare last week while we were visiting, Eliza was waiting in line to wash her hands.  She was getting impatient and started saying "Baby's turn, baby's turn!!"  :)

First Family Cruise part 1

Back in February, we embarked on our first cruise as a family of three, along with my (Abby's) parents.  We went on the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas for a 7-night cruise visiting Labadee (in Haiti; private resort/beach area owned by Royal Caribbean or RCCL), Jamaica, and Cozumel.  We left from Fort Lauderdale.

We booked this cruise back in June 2012, so it was a long time coming!  My parents had booked it even earlier than that and snagged a great balcony cabin.  We chose to stick with a large interior cabin with a king-size bed and small sofa.  RCCL provides pack-n-play cribs.  The Oasis of the Seas is one of two of RCCL's largest and innovated ships.  Our cabin was on the 8th deck, which also had the Central Park area. This was an amazing area--although you couldn't see the ocean it was like a massive garden with boutiques,  restaurants, and cafes.  Eliza loved this area, and we did, too!  We were very happy with this location.

Gary has already shared pictures of Eliza's most favorite location--the Carousel!  This was in the Boardwalk area at the back of one deck.  In addition to the Boardwalk, there was an indoor Promenade that also had multiple shops, restaurants, bars, the casino, and the Cupcake Cupboard, which gave decorating lessons.  There were also multiple pools including a baby splash area, and a dedicated adults-only Solarium with a healthy dining restaurant that we frequented.

The ship also had an ice-skating rink, two Flow-Rider surfing simulators, a miniature golf course, a basketball court, a sports pool, zip-lining, and two rock climbing walls.  Additionally, there were amazing children's/youth/teen centers.  Gary and I joked that we wished we had access to the teen club!

As you can probably tell, there was so.much. on this cruise that we could do.  We didn't get to do everything we had planned, but still felt like we did a full vacation's worth!

On to the specifics and some pictures!

We left on Friday morning to fly into Fort Lauderdale, where we were picked up by my parents and met at the hotel by my two sisters.

Sleepy girl!  We lucked out and got an extra seat.

Aunt April keeping Eliza entertained at the hotel.

We had an amazing pizza dinner at Anthony's in FL, and then boarded the cruise the next day, on Saturday.  After first checking out RCCL iPhones--they rent them for the week and you can call ship phone numbers and other phones, so we got two--we headed for lunch at the health-oriented Solarium Buffet.  It was great!

First lunch on board at the Solarium

The guys

The grown-up gals

Then we explored the ship some, including our room.

In our sailor-gear

Entering our room for the first time!

Family photo

Checking out the toddler play area.  This was FUN!

Our first dinner was at the specialty Italian restaurant Giovanni's, which serves food family style.  It was really yummy and a great start to our cruise.

Walking to dinner with Grandpa

Concentrating on my coloring!

Heading back to bed after a fun-filled yummy dinner!

 After dinner we called it an early night (well, not too early, really, and Eliza had been up nearly all day!).

Us in our room after a long first day!

 We'll be sharing more days on the cruise in the future posts!

Toddler Tuesday

I'm very biased, but I think Eliza stays remarkably in tune for an almost-two-year-old!  So happy to have a little singer.  :) 

Please pardon our living room that has a toddler-tornado problem.  ;)

The Ride: A Picture Diary

Eliza's favorite activity on the cruise was the carousel on the ship's Boardwalk.  All in all, she rode it around 25 times, with probably three-quarters of her rides on the bunny.  We think her affinity for this bunny originated from one of her books that has real pictures of rabbits.  Her desire to ride the carousel is the only reason she woke up in the morning.  It got so bad that we had to avoid walking near the Boardwalk, otherwise she would start pointing in the direction of the carousel and repeat over and over "ride, ride, ride." And when it became apparent that no ride was in her future, it became "RIDE!, RIDE!, RIDE!"  More often than not, we acquiesced and we have the pictures to prove it.  Below is a picture diary from Eliza's perspective.

I'm gonna ride that one, the one with the big, white ears.

This isn't half bad.

Let's do it again before someone takes my bunny.

Now, Pa-pa, this is how you do it.  Hold me tight.

Ahhhhh, bunny.

I want the bunny.

Seriously, not kidding, want the bunny over there.

When I find out the cabin number of that kid on my bunny...

Zebra is pretty fun though.

But not as fun as my bunny!

Daddy's turn!

This one isn't too bad either.

Let's get this thing moving!

Victory!

It feels so good!

Mommy's turn.  YAY!

Hey, you, in the crowd, I see you eyeing my bunny.  Not a chance.

Back on the, zebra, but that's OK.  Before, this photo I only had about 10 undocumented  rides on the bunny.

Hi, Mommy!

I rode so much, I even got to ring the bell!

I had a great time!!!!

Toddler Tuesday!

This video was taken from the front seat to the backseat of our car, while moving.  It makes me wonder if we tell Eliza "no" too much!  Fair warning, it's a shaky video! 

21 Months Old!

Eliza was 21 months old this past week.  Unfortunately, she also was sick, too.  About 9 months after having tubes put in, Eliza got her first ear infection.  We're glad we took her to the doctor and got her on antibiotics.    She's feeling better now, thank goodness!

For this month's update, I'm going to include pictures from throughout the month, as we didn't get a chance to do a photoshoot.

Fun with bubbles!

Basics:

• Approximately 23 pounds.  Wearing 18m shirts & pants, but 12m onesies.  Starting to grow out of her size 4 shoes.  She is still such a string bean--she has got a tiny behind!
• Such a great sleeper for us, still.  We've cut out her pre-bed cup of milk and have instituted a "1-2-3-4" routine consisting of: 1) sitting on the potty (her froggy potty), 2) diaper and PJs, 3) brush teeth (her favorite part), and 4) books.  All we have to say is, "Eliza, are you ready for 1-2-3-4?"  And she'll say, "froggy potty?" and go to the stairs!  :)  
• Her eating habits are so varied.  She eats great at daycare, but is hit or miss at home.  But, she's getting plenty to eat so we aren't concerned.  
• Eliza is getting braver and more coordinated.  She regularly climbs onto the couches, on her little slide (pictured below), and has more than mastered the stairs (going up, at least).  She can kick balls, and tries really hard to jump!

Visit from the tickle monster!

Speech:

• It is so amazing to experience Eliza learning to talk!  This month Eliza has begun to use simple phrases:  Help Daddy, get down, brush teeth, Daddy's/Mommy's turn, watch Chica/Elmo, Minnie Mouse, among others.
• She's adding new words, too.  Some we've noticed are:  wipe, lion, butterfly, french fry, boat, bath, broccoli, blankie, and pretty.
• Eliza is singing so much!  She loves to do "Happy and You Know It," "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes," "Row Row Your Boat," "Twinkle Little Star," and little ditties that we can't figure out.

Milestones:

• First cruise.
• First Valentines from friends (also first time giving out Valentines).

Her Likes:

• French fries of any kind.  Broccoli.  Sausage.
• The basement.
• The cruise ship's carousel.
• Running.

Our Likes:

• Singing with her.
• Figuring out what words/phrases she's saying.
• Getting a full 10 days with her on vacation.
• Rocking her to sleep when she still lets us.  

Down she goes!

Her Dislikes:

• Leaving daycare b/c she wants to keep playing.
• Being held in stores.
• Still, getting in the carseat.
• Being sick.
• Getting dressed early in the morning.

Our Dislikes:

• When she's sick.
• Being the bad guys!

We only have 3 months until Eliza turns two!  Craziness.  I am already thinking about that 2nd birthday party, haha!  Also in the plans are working on potty-training.  Eliza has a good awareness of the potty and likes to sit on her mini potty.  We had a great cruise (posts coming soon!) this month, and are really anxious for nice weather!