Talking to the iguanas

Hi Iguana! from Jacque Armentrout on Vimeo.

Cancun

When Dave had a week off in between two jobs back in mid January, we decided it would be the perfect time for us to go on vacation. We managed to find a really awesome last minute deal for the Club Med in Cancun.

We chose the Club Med not only because it was all inclusive, but also extremely kid friendly. Although Ellie was too young for their kids club, they provided a stroller, high chairs in the restaurants, kid friendly food (including baby food) and even a bottle warmer in our room. They had a play ground and several baby pools.

This was Ellie's first time at the beach. She was initially scared of the sand, but quickly came to love it - to the point where she would cry when it was time to leave.

Waiting for waves

Lots of beach toys

Talking to the iguanas

We spent all but one day entirely at the resort. We managed to rent a car and drive out to see the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. We took a toll road out to the ruins and the drive took less than 2 hours. We decided to take the free road back, which ended up being a slow but facinating 5 hour drive through tiny rural Mexican villages.

The resort offered a large variety of activities including water skiing, snorkeling, but the most exciting was a trapeze. By the end of the 5 days, Dave was able to do a full trick which included a back flip ending.

New Fav

Why did we spend all the money on her fancy Christmas gifts when this $35 sweeper from Walmart is all she wants to play with?

Vacuum from Jacque Armentrout on Vimeo.

Photos from the Fall

I've been very lazy about blogging lately. Unfortunately, I don't even have a good excuse. Ellie's now almost 15 months and babbles non-stop. She calls me "MA MA?" almost like it's a question and calls Dave "DA" (with her hand above her head - the sign for dad). Super friendly, she's always saying "hi there", signs sorry whenever anyone is hurt and says "ta-ku" whenever she does anything nice to someone else. Her current favorite toy is her stuffed dog which she enjoys animating. She loves eating roast chicken and constantly notices babies and airplanes. It never ceases to amaze me what a big girl my little baby has become.

Here are some photos from this fall.

Hanging out in Annapolis with the cousins

Halloween Tiger

Birthday lunch at the Gaylord National

Thanksgiving with the Troches and the Wus

Christmas is coming soon?

New York - Friday

Ellie and I were fending for ourselves on Friday. I was pretty nervous about lugging a baby around in Manhattan. I knew there must be hundreds of thousands of babies living in the city, but things were a little more difficult than in the suburbs. It seemed difficult to find restaurants that provide high chairs, or diaper changing tables. Stores weren't stroller accessible. The subway passages were narrow and some didn't have elevators - which required me carrying both Ellie, our bags and the stroller up stairs. But, we survived!

After dropping Dave off at work, we shared what was probably the best bagel I've ever eaten for breakfast, then went back to the hotel for her morning nap. We then took a frightening cab ride all the way up town to the Upper West side and had lunch at central park.

After lunch and a little photo session, we walked to the Children's Museum of Manhattan. Ellie had a real blast playing in the museum. The displays were interactive and educational. Ellie loved following the other kids around.

That even, we walked several short blocks up to our college friends Aimee and Chris' home. They have a sweet 22 month old son Avery, who Ellie immediately adored. It was so fun to be in a welcoming home with a new buddy for Ellie to play with.