Our family has returned from Avery's first vacation. Her first cruise couldn't have been on a better ship as we took Grandeur, a gal we love and have shared with so very many people that are important to me (her Dad of course, my Mom, my Aunt, my Sister, my Niece, Beff, Rex, Slips, Tonya, and this is where we met and resailed w/ the Chics too!)
We knew this would be a slower paced trip. For example, we didn't even try to hit the evening shows and didn't plan to leave the ship in Miami or Port Canaveral. I had looked forward to putting her toes in the sand and water in Cococay, but unfortunately that call was cancelled as it was unsafe tendering. Instead we had an extra day in Nassau, so we booked an excursion on the ferry to Blue Lagoon. The water was a bit chilly, so I am hoping that is why she was crying about the water, but I'm puzzle by her tears when the toes hit the sand (no, the sand was not hot - it was overcast and a bit rainy).
The drive was quite long - an extra hour to Baltimore from here than it was at my previous place. Avery handled it remarkably well, a bit fussy on the way home only for the last half an hour or so.
Regardless, it was a lovely time. Avery was adored by all onboard and was often greeted by name as the trip progressed. It blows my mind how many people tell me how beautiful and sweet she is. But she is very pleasant and has a smile for everyone - that surely helps. She was very well behaved the whole time and not unhappy other than when we screwed up her schedule, resulting in her being beyond over tired. The best part about the past week and a half was being with her constantly for 11 days. I am really not looking forward to returning her to daycare.
Many of the 9 month summer outfits we took along are very much so her current size. I weighed her today and she is at 19# 2oz by our scale. The 12 month clothes are slowly working their way into the drawers. How can they look so big but be where she's very nearly at?!