Cancun Trip

(August 20-27, 2011)

As all trips start it requires lots and lots of packing. I spent the entire week before the trip planning and preparing things we need to take. Mostly because of Izzy. I would spend time organizing and packing and the moment I would turn around to grab something else and Izzy would have pulled the last few packed items out. It was a fun game that she created. At one moment I left the room to grab the next item to add to the bag and as I returned I found Izzy on top of the bag talking to herself in the mirror. Love her!

I have to admit that I had some anxiety about traveling with a very busy 10 month old on a plane to a foreign country. So as Saturday arrived I was grateful for the added family to help. I have flown with Izzy plenty of times before but there was so much more to think about on this trip. As we boarded the first flight and we took off my nerves started to settle because she was a little trooper. She settled down ate and fell asleep. Just as she finally settled in the Captain came across the speakers and woke her up. Nate and I consulted about what to do, and this is what we came up with.

Her she is as few took off.

After arriving in Mexico, getting through customs, buckling into our rental car we took off south towards Playa del Carmen to one of the yummiest taco shops Super Carna. My family found this little joint years ago and have to go back every time we are in the area. There has been the same worker there since the first time, and my dad had to snap a picture of us.

After finally arriving at our villa we finally got settled in and headed to bed. After a blissful night sleep we woke up to the most beautiful view... The relaxing can begin!

The next morning we all went for a bike ride into the town. There is a place in there to watch the dolphins, seals, and manatees play. It was so much fun. We strapped Izzy into the backpack, and Nate road with her on his chest. She loved it. She would put her feet onto his legs and would go up and down.

We spent the beginning of the week playing in the sand, and swimming in the pool. Izzy was in heaven. I would take her out to play in the sand rinse her down and let her swim in the pool. It was perfect. Uncle Jake buried Izzy in the sand one day. It was the funniest thing. At first she was not sure what to think but soon began to enjoy it. She also did not like her knees to touch the sand when she crawled around so she did this crab like crawl. It was the cutest thing.

While Izzy played in the pool she started to get really confident on standing on her own. She even took a few steps on her own!

We took her down to the ocean to see what she thought... And she was not the biggest fan of the the waves. I don't know why because she loves the bath and running water. But she liked the water as long as we were holding her. She didn't spend much time in the ocean.

A few evenings we played soccer on the beach with the locals. They were really good. I even got in on the game. I came out with a massive bruise on my calf but it was a lot of fun.

On Wednesday the Buckley group headed off to Explore leaving Izzy behind with Aunt Natalie. We spent the day enjoying the under ground caves, the zip lines, and the ATV's. It was so much fun. My mom was a little nervous at first about the zip lines especially after watching an adult man chicken out. After coaxing her into going down the fist zip line she completely let loose. She started to twist and hang upside down. We had a lot of fun.

The next day we woke up to a wonderful surprise. Out on the beach some time throughout the night baby sea turtles hatched! It was so amazing! Sadly we didn't actually get to see them hatch but we did get to see a few that were struggling to make it to the ocean. They did not survive. So for the rest of the week we did nightly sea turtle watches to see if there were other nests hatching. Every night before bed we would walk down the beach hoping to find some baby sea turtles making there way to the ocean, and in the middle of the night after feeding Izzy I would take a stroll to do another check for the turtles. After a few days of no success we struck gold. Nate came and woke me up to find a giant sea turtle right out on our beach digging a hole to lay her eggs!! She started down by the beach chairs digging then moved up next to the wall. We all sat out and watched her for two hours dig and lay and dig and cover. It was a once and a life time experience.

Here are the tracks leading down to the ocean.

Here is the mama on the way to the ocean, and here is the nest. It was a large hole. Also her tracks back to the ocean.

I love this picture

Here is a video of the mama sea turtle finally making her way back to the ocean. It was soo amazing!!

(she had to be so exhausted)

This trip was a fun and relaxing time with our family. It was so nice to spend time with everyone. Here are more pictures to enjoy.

I don't think it can get any better than this!!

Over 10 Months

Everyone tells you that time flies by when you have kids but no one can prepare you for the truth of that statement... My little baby is over 10 months old now! She is right around the corner of turning ONE. She has been amazing her daddy and I every day with all the new things that she can do. She is my little explorer/mischief maker/curious bug. I believe that all those descriptions go hand in hand. Since her 8 month mark she has master the art of crawling along with climbing into or on anything she can. She is on the verge of walking. Part of me is not prepared for her making this next step toward toddler stage. My baby is growing up too fast. Here are the other things that she has been up to as of late:

* Has become a real talker. She is getting close to saying and understanding the important words like "mama", "dada"

* Likes to clap her hands and say "Yeaaaaa" in a low raspy voice

* Absolutely loves the water! Baths, showers, swimming, Diesels water dish, anything that has to do with water.

* Has become a better eater over the past few months. She still is not a fan of baby food, but she will eat almost anything off of Nate's and my plate.

* Understands when she is doing something that she is not supposed to, but she will give you that big blue eyed look saying "what I'm not doing anything"

* Loves to do Patty Cake

* Discovered Diesels food and water dish. She has not tried to eat his food yet but she loves to splash in his water.

* Started to mimic people with sounds or clicking their tongue.

* Enjoys opening any drawers and cupboards that she can and empty the contents out.

* Loves jewelry. I don't wear much out of fear that she will tear it out while I am not watching. She has fast hands.

* Enjoys watching other kids.

* Loves to wrestle, be tossed, and tickled by daddy.

* Get so excited when Nate comes home from work and get upset if he doesn't acknowledge her before anyone else.

* Is an escape artists. If she is not buckled in she can get out. No more bumbo for her...

* Loves wheels. She figured out that she can roll things with wheels around.

* Still has no teeth, and we constantly wonder when they are going to make their arrival. (Not a big deal but just a note to remember)

* Loves animals. Will chase Diesel around the house wanting his attention. The only time he will give it to her is when she has food.

* Like to feed Diesel from her high chair. If he doesn't take it all the way from her she will eat it her self.

* LOVES blueberries.

* Is drawn to electronics phones, computers, anything expensive that she should not have.

* Is curious about outlets. Drives me crazy. I have all ours covered but when we visit other I constantly have to be on the watch.

Izabella still has the sweetest personality. She is not much of a crier. She really only cries when she hurts herself. She mostly alerts us by grunting. She is such a happy baby. Nate and I are so lucky to have her as a part of our family. We are truly blessed. I still can't believe how fast time has gone. We love you so much Izzy!

Happy Dreams

Today as I was rocking Izzy to sleep for her afternoon nap she drifted off to sleep. I continued to rock her and closed my eyes for a minute. As I relaxed and enjoyed the moment I heard her giggle. Thinking that she was laughing at me because she woke up (she does this to me when she falls asleep then wakes up a few minutes later suddenly feeling energized). I slowly opened my eyes to peak at her only to find that she was still sleeping soundly. As I continued to rock her she again started to giggle over and over again. I can only imagine what she was dreaming about. I wish that I could get a glimpse into her little mind to see what she was dreaming about.

I love you to pieces Izzy! You make mommy very happy.

Chocolate

The other day I caught Izzy red handed eating something she was not supposed to have....

Yep chocolate! She was so proud of herself. I was concerned on where she had gotten it. I figured that Nate was sneaking her food behind my back. After confronting Nate with Izzy's dirty face and fingers, and watching him laugh and pose the same question on where did she get it we started to brain storm. Nate quickly remember that he had snuck Diesel a yummy chocolate covered pretzel. Diesel has a habit of taking a treat then dropping it on the carpet. Well this time there was a little munchkin there to pick it up and eat it. Well needless to say we now know that we have to make sure Diesel eats his treats before Izzy gets them.

Splash Pad Fun

Saturday we went down to our friends Dax and Marina's house to have a play date. There is a splash pad a few blocks down from their house in their neighborhood that we wanted to try out. I was not sure how Izzy was going to do since she can't walk but our little fish LOVED it. It took her a few minutes to get used to the water splashing her in the face, but once she was used to it she was off. It was so cute she was crawling on her tip toes to try and keep her knees off of the pavement (she does this at home on our tile). I had to keep chasing her around and bring her back. I was so worried about her knees getting scraped. She has a little road rash but it is mostly on her toes. It was so worth it to see how excited she was. Every time I would pick her up she would squirm until I would put her back down. It was a lot of fun.

Hudson, Mo, and Izzy

Look at the excitement in her face! I love it!

Hmm.... What do you think happens next?

SPLASH!

and the after shock.

Our little crawler. Never stays still.

But so Happy!!

A very tired girl after all of the fun. (Notice daddy wearing her hat : )

And So It Begins...

She's off. Well in her own way. After two weeks of constant watching and wondering when the rocking back and forth on her knees was going to turn into crawling. It finally happened. She gets up and falls forward onto her belly, then gets up and does it again slowly making her way to the destination she desires. I know now that it won't be long before she figures those arms out and then I will be in big trouble. Here is a little video of her starter crawl.

P.S. I have so much to catch you all up on. Hopefully I can get it up soon.