Vacation Recap

Although our vacation ended two days early, I'd like to state it was a success.  It was a success because we took our toddler on vacation with us via an airplane, which he totally rocked, by the way, where he proceeded to play in the sunshine and water and 80-degree temperatures with his daddy for four straight days.  He played with me too, but it was some serious quality time for Roger and Ari.  That boy loves his dad.  And for good reason.  Roger is so much fun for me to hang out with, you can only imagine how fun he is when you put him in toddler perspective.  We did have some sleeping issues, mostly due to me waking with every single cough or movement Ari made.  We are not a co-sleeping family.  How in the world do people do that??!!??  More power to them!  I find it nearly impossible.  So after five nights with an averge of four hours' rest each night, I made an executive decision and decided we should come home early on Thursday.  It worked out great and was the best of both worlds.  Roger and I had date night Friday night in Springfield, hung out with good friends Saturday night, and in between caught up on laundry, mail, housework, and shopping.  So, like I said, some adjustments were made, but overall a huge success.  Now the topic of conversation is "Will Ari travel to Ethiopia with us?"  The answer?  To be determined.  Yes, we are brave.  Or maybe stupid?  I prefer brave and adventurous (and maybe a little determined).  Speaking of Ethiopia, things are moving right along with our second adoption.  We are currently around #30 on our agency's wait list.  We went on the list Oct. 20th at #36.  Definitely progress.  Little Girl has a room mostly ready -- just needing some finishing touches -- and a closet full of super-cute stuff.  Not nearly as much as Ari had because, after all, I just don't have the time to shop like I did last time.  I think that's probably a good thing.  We are getting into the Christmas spirit around here and are really looking forward to our first Christmas with our little man!

Below are some vacation pics.  Enjoy!

Pool time with Dad

An opportunity for Roger and I to enjoy a margarita....at last

Love the sand....not quite sure about the big waves

A successful date night w/ a sleeping baby in tow

Breakfast with a view

An early morning stroll on the beach

Our attempt at a family picture for the Christmas card.  No-go.

Checking out the presents at the resort lobby

Cabo with a twist...

And the twist is Ari!!  Shocking, I know.  We are on our first family vacation as a family of three.  Since coming home in January, Ari has gone on one other trip with us, and that was to NYC in August to see friends.  So here we are in beautiful Cabo once again, this time with a toddler!!  Just a little bit different, I suppose.  Like going to bed at 7:45 p.m. and waking up at 3:45 a.m. with a short cat nap from 5:15 to 6:30.  Ah, the life of a parent.  Ari is loving the pool and sunshine so far.  This kid loves nothing better than to be outside.  I think he might know how to swim by the time we come home.  And I'm somewhat surprised to see that Mexican people touch Ari's hair even more than white people.  I guess some things never change.  So far I think about half of the resort staff know his name now and greet him each time they see him.

Ari is such a super trooper traveler.  We only had one rough point during yesterday's flights, and that was because he got so darn tired on the flight from Dallas to Cabo and just couldn't get comfortable on the airplane.  Thankfully there were open seats in the back, so after my song and dance routine in the aisle with him, I was able to lay him down flat for a while so he could get some shut-eye.  While he slept Roger and I were more than content to just people watch.  There were two couples sitting directly in front of us who were very lovey-dovey and obviously anxious to get their vacation started, if you know what I mean.  At one point Roger made the comment, "I don't think they're married."  To which I replied, "Oh, no, of course not.  They act like they love each other."  Roger thought that was pretty hilarious.  I thought it was kind of sad, but then I realized if I didn't have a toddler that was my first priority, I would still be kissing and loving on Roger in public too.  And to prove just how awesome of a dad Roger is, the funniest moment of the entire day yesterday is credited to him when he ate a rotten, smooshed banana from the bottom of our carry-on because, well, at that moment there was nothing else to do with it.  Did I mention Roger hates bananas?  I laughed so hard I cried as I watched him eat that delicious banana.  He rocks.

Currently I am working on "living in the moment."  Vacation always brings this issue of mine to the forefront and it becomes more apparent.  I realize I have difficulty sitting back and enjoying the now.  My mind always wants to race to next week, next month, next year.   I keep thinking about working and Christmas and our dogs and Ari's eat/sleep schedule I try to keep him on (hahahaha this week!).  There are currently two adoptive friends of mine in Ethiopia for extended stays, and I am constantly thinking of them and Ethiopia and our future little girl and when we get to travel again and how excited I am to go back!  But today is a beautiful day and we are so blessed to be enjoying this time together.  The past two times I've been in Cabo and I would always think, "I can't wait to come here with our kids."  Well, here we are!!!

On our way to Dallas

Roger's sentiments on flying with a toddler

That's me in the back putting an overly tired baby to sleep

Ahhhhhhh.....

Still sleepy

Sesame Street Live (a month ago)

So this is three weeks later....but here are some pictures from Sesame Street Live.  We weren't sure how well Ari would do.  See below for the final answer.

Checking himself out in the self-protrait

This is what he did when BIG BIRD first appeared.  And he kept this pose for the next 15 minutes.

Mesmerized.

The crew like Ari loved.  

(Notice "Little Bear" isn't on stage.  That was the only freak-out of the evening.  Lasted 45 seconds.)