A few months ago, we decided to go on a cruise with our good friends Jen and James. They smartly decided to leave their three kiddos at home, but I didn't think I was ready to leave Peyton for 5 nights; so, we brought her with us. We did realize that we would need some help while on the cruise, especially if we were going to have any time to relax; so, we asked Nana and Grandaddy to join us. We were so lucky to have them there! I don't know what we would have done without them.
Okay, let's start at the beginning. The cruise left out of Galveston; so, we started our trip with a 3.5 hour car ride. Peyton used to love riding in the car, but those days are long over! Not only does she not like being in the car, but she almost hates it. I was dreading this part of our trip so much. We left a little before Peyton's first nap, hoping she would sleep for part of the way. Thankfully, she did! She slept for about an hour. Once she woke up, I jumped in the back seat to try and entertain her. That worked for a little while, but then she started to get really upset. We finally made it there with minimal fussing. Overall, the trip to Galveston wasn't that bad...it could have been much worse!
As soon as we boarded, we set up the pack 'n play and put Peyton down for her second nap; however, she decided she wasn't going to take a nap. This should have been our first clue that this "vacation" wasn't going to be much of a vacation!
Nana and Granddaddy were so good to us and kept Peyton every evening so that we could have a nice, relaxing dinner with Jen and James. Here we are, kid free for an evening...don't we look relaxed?
I don't really remember what we did that first night after dinner, but I do remember the next morning! Peyton woke up at 5:00 am and wouldn't go back to sleep. Peyton had never slept in the same room with us before, and I think once she woke up and realized we were in there, she wouldn't go back to sleep. We brought her into bed hoping that she would fall asleep with us....no such luck. After a few minutes of trying to get her to go to sleep, I got up and took Peyton out so that Matt could at least get some sleep. If you've ever wondered what a cruise ship looks like at 5:00 in the morning, this is it:
Little toot in her pjs. I was giving her whatever she she wanted to keep her happy. At that moment, it was my camera case.
We'll skip the rest of the mornings because they all pretty much went the same except Matt and I alternated who took Peyton out while the other slept. Thankfully, Peyton at least napped well during the day. Okay, we'll stop remembering the bad stuff and move on to the fun times we had!
We tried taking Peyton to dinner with us one night, formal night. Here she is getting ready with Nana.
What a pretty little girl!
We got ready way too early for dinner; so, Granddaddy walked Peyton around. She loved all the Christmas trees and ornaments on the trees.
Reading Daddy a book.
Once dinner finally started at 6:00, Peyton had some sweet potatoes and left to go to sleep. Since she hadn't been sleeping well, she didn't make it very long into dinner. At least she got to go to her first formal dinner!
Peyton got to have some other great cruise experiences...like towel animals!
Poor duck never had a chance.
Ooh, an elephant! Maybe he'll be able to resist the destruction of Peyton...
Nope! Poor guy got beheaded.
Peyton also got to lounge around on the deck and play in the water!
Her first introduction to a drink in a coconut!
What a life...being fed baby food while lounging on a chaise lounge on a cruise!
Hanging out with Nana!
Peyton got to spend some great quality time with Nana and Granddaddy!
Playing in Nana and Granddaddy's room.
We didn't get off the ship at the first port, Progreso, Mexico. Instead, we just lounged some more! Matt became engrossed in the Justin Bieber movie.
He did take stop to blow up and fill Peyton's pool so that she could go swimming. What a sweet Daddy!
Hey! That isn't so sweet! You put something on my head!
Oh look! It's a bucket! How fun!
Okay, enough with the pictures. It's time to play.
Jen, James and I went to a private beach in Cozumel. The water was so beautiful there, and it was so relaxing just laying there and reading!
We left the beach with time to walk around the pier and have some lunch at famous Panchos! James and I were quite excited....Jen not so much ;)
While we were doing that, Matt, Nana, Granddaddy and Peyton walked around the pier and also ate at Panchos! They were there much earlier than us; so, we didn't see them. They introduced Peyton to limes.
Apparently, she liked it!
Drinking her bottle on a beach, under a palm tree...she has no clue how good she has it!
Sweet, cuddly time with Nana!
Look at those adorable legs and feet!
Look at those adorable legs and feet!
Peyton had her first experience with sand (I'm sad I missed this). They say she didn't eat too much of it!
We didn't make it back to the ship until about 10 minutes before the final boarding time. I knew Matt was going to be worried, and boy was I right. Here he is watching for us with binoculars.
After 5 long (or should I say short) nights on the ship, I think all 3 of us were ready to go home! Even Peyton seemed to have cabin fever. We were supposed to disembark at 7:45 Thursday morning, but the weather had other plans. We ended up getting stuck 1 mile from the Port of Galveston due to fog! Who would've thought?!? We ended up being delayed 10 hours!!
As the fog was starting to lift, we began to see boats everywhere! Matt counted more than 40 at one time!
Boy, oh boy, were we ready to get off! The timing worked out well when we finally got off the ship to get Peyton in the car, feed her dinner and hope she fell asleep. After some crying, she finally did fall asleep and slept most of the way home. It took a couple of nights once we got home before she got back on her good sleep schedule. I think all of us were very thankful to be home and have our own rooms! Matt and I decided we probably won't be taking any more trips with Peyton in the near future! We also decided the two of us need a vacation from our vacation!
Here are some pictures from our trip to remember the good times!
Someone sure is resourceful!
Mmmm, spaghetti! Sorry to the laundry crew for staining the table cloth, but it was pretty much give Peyton whatever she wants to keep her happy this trip (we put an end to that type of behavior as soon as we got home). And smearing spaghetti all over the table and her face made her happy at that moment.
Peyton's thinking, ooh, maybe Jen will give me some of that pretty, pink drink.
Hmm, it doesn't look like there is any of that drink in here. I think it's just a cup.
Maybe I'll just make sure there isn't any of that pink stuff in here...
No pink drink, but who cares...I have a cup!!!!! (seriously, this girl LOVES cups!)
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