Hola!

Ah, Mexico. Land of slushy drinks, palm trees, ocean water, and SUNSHINE. Seth and I were determined to take a trip together this year. Originally, we'd planned to go with a group of friends, but slowly, life began to interfere and they dropped out one by one. Seth and I decided we needed to go anyway. We chose an all-inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta, booked our flights, set up "babysitters", and waited eagerly for the big day. As the big day approached, I began to get very sad about leaving my boy. Everyone assured me that he would be fine, that I would be fine, that the world would keep spinning, but I began to doubt them. Surely my heart would burst. Surely he would forget us and cling to my parents when we returned. Surely he would wake up at night wailing "Ma! Ada!", inconsolable. Surely.

 So the big day came and we put him to bed at Steve and Debby's with no problems. I actually felt pretty good about it at the time, seeing him have so much fun with his grandparents, I knew he'd have a blast and be treated like a king. But as morning dawned and that plane began to zoom down the runway.... oh man.... that was not easy. I will admit that I cried until we were up in the air. I just couldn't believe I wouldn't be a phone call away!

 But look. Just look! As soon as we got there, I felt strangely content. Peaceful. Rested. And a little buzzed since we were greeted at the hotel with a slushy beverage of some kind and our room wasn't ready yet so we waited at the bar. The weather was amazing, and all we did was swim in the ocean, swim in the pool, sit on the beach, or sit on the pool deck. We ate like champs, cooled ourselves with frosty beverages, slept ALL NIGHT EVERY NIGHT, and just enjoyed eachother's company. It was a wonderful vacation.

We came back to a very happy baby who had a blast with both sets of grandparents. From their reports, he was an angel (ahem... really?), and they adored spending time with him. Upon his return home, he managed to bite everyone at daycare, pull hair, and climb on the table repeatedly. But, um... we missed him?

Seriously though, Hambone is testing his independence these days, and Seth and I are working hard at being consistent. It's exhausting, but once we spend an entire day or so of saying no to a certain action (moving all the kitchen chairs across the room, climbing on the table, etc.), he gives up, we shout "We Won!" once he goes to bed, and then we cry a little. I know he's just gaining his independence, and I know it only gets harder from here, so we're taking things one little battle at a time.

All that aside, the child is a hoot. His eyebrows are so expressive, and his "language" is cracking us up. He has a lot of words, but many of them sound alike, so we only know what he's saying in context. He's started to mimic when we say "Love you!" by squeaking "Uuuuoooo" in a high pitched squeal. Melt my heart. He still loves his trucks very much, as well as all trucks on commercials or the street. He can say some animal sounds now, and can fart on command (true story - It's one of the videos below!). He's starting puzzles and loves his books. I love him so much my heart could break just talking about it, and I'm eagerly anticipating summer where we will have all day together. This snow storm has been hard for a boy who needs to run off so much energy. I look forward to the pool, the park, story hour, and long walks with my boy!