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Well, for the most part at least.  Tara, Jacob, my mom and I all survived a cruise from Boston to Bermuda and back, and we’re all still talking to each other.  We had a lot of fun, got in some relaxing, reading, sightseeing and took a few trips to the beach.  Also, I ate several thousand pounds of very good food.

This was our first “real” vacation with the boy, which to me means we left the state in a vehicle other than a car, and didn’t cook or clean anything while gone.  Jacob really enjoyed it, and seems to have retained some memories of the trip. The things he most enjoyed on the boat itself were looking out our window at the dock workers and their forklifts, running around on deck when we were there to corral him, the pool, and soup - the kid loves soup.  Ashore, he liked digging sand on the beach and had a good time at the aquarium.

The downside of this trip was that he was constantly someplace new (and not child-proof), so he always wanted to be sprinting off, and we were usually not able to let him.  This led to trips back to the room, which was fine at first but just started wearing thin the last day at sea before coming home.  Meals were also a challenge - cruises are geared for two-hour long meals.  Great when you’re savoring the food with other adults, but that’s a pretty long time to expect a 20-month old to sit still.  Jacob did really well, and we learned to bring some small toys to help him, but after 60-70 minutes he would be done.  We spoke to the hostesses and servers, and that helped shorten the meal length, but not always by enough.

Still, he did really well overall, and we should be all set to visit more restaurants with him at home after a week straight of eating out.  Having my mom along helped immensely, we couldn’t have done it without her. I think we’d consider it again, especially since that cruise is moving to a much larger and nicer boat next year, but not til our youngest is about a year older than Jacob is now.  Check out a few pictures if you like, and enjoy this movie of Jacob dumping sand on his foot, then trying to get his foot to a pail. Sorry about the quality - point & shoot camera in a waterproof case!

In non-vacation news, baby #2 appears to be gestating nicely, and Tara is feeling good.  Jacob’s vocabulary continues to explode, he’s starting to use 5+ word phrases, and picks up new words pretty easily.  He’s still cutting a few teeth, and the terrible twos are starting to show themselves, but he’s still a happy kid more often than not.  Lots to be happy about!

I know, two posts in a week, a record for sure. We had our ultrasound today, after braving crazy rain and traffic (why is our ultrasound place in Boston when our OB and Hospital are in Newton?) All seems well, and we appear to have a little girl in there! Guess we have to buy new clothes now…

Yup, almost 2 months between posts, we’re lazy. Lots going on, tons of words and general cuteness. Tara is already starting to get tired of being pregnant and being a mother at the same time, which bodes well for the rest of the summer. We took a trip up to Maine with our friends Becky, Marcus and Christopher a few weekends ago, and Jacob did really well. Very encouraging as we get ready for our cruise to Bermuda this summer - first week-long family vacation!

No new pictures this post, we’ve been taking plenty but haven’t been posting them. We’ll post again soon, promise. ‘Til then, enjoy a short video with some reading, and Jacob’s take on his first ice cream cone.