Heavenly Vacation

11 months ago, my parents asked if Finn and I wanted to join them for a week's vacation in St Kitt's (if you're counting, that was right after he was born, when April 2012 seemed like an eternity away).  I checked out the cost of flights (free, thanks to my frequent flier miles) and said yes. After months and months and months of anticipation, I can't believe that this vacation is now officially over.

It's so much fun watching Finn's personality emerge - in some ways he's a lot like me.  He sits back and gets a feel for a new environment before he starts to really interact, but once he's comfortable, there's no stopping him.  The first day in the pool he was nervous and clung to me.  Within a few days he was splashing around and playing in the fountains with glee.  Everyone at the resort we stayed at went out of their ways to talk to him, and at first he was very shy, but by the end of the trip he was waving to everyone, whether they were looking at him or not.  He tried lots of new foods, including fried plantains (which he didn't like) and jerk chicken (which he loved), decided he couldn't get enough watermelon, got sand everywhere, learned the sign for bird (though when makes the sign, it's hard to distinguish from his signs for milk and diaper), took his first train ride and got his first stamp (of many, I hope) in his passport.

Finn and PopPop

Sandy Boy

He is such an easy baby!  I remember those first three months where I didn't even want to leave the house with him because he was sure to have a meltdown.  There were countless nights where he cried for hours before sleeping and he ate every two hours without fail.  Now he gets a little grumpy when he's been up too long, and he definitely has a fiery little temper, but most of the time he just rolls with the punches.  Mom forgets to offer him water?  No problem, he'll drink plenty whenever she finally remembers that he might be thirsty.  Nothing but watermelon for breakfast?  Fine with him, he'll just eat more at lunch.  Mommy wants him to keep his hat on?  Ok, he won't like it, but he'll do it as long as the sun is shining in his eyes. It's time for sunscreen or a diaper change?  Well, for those, there's bound to be some screaming.  Even Finn has his limits.

At the top of Brimstone Hill Fortress (visited while Finn slept with Grandma in the car)

St Kitt's Sunset

Vacation with a baby is different.  There was no sleeping late.  There was a cool hike I wanted to do, but didn't seriously consider it, since I didn't want to do it with Finn strapped to my back.  I had no time at the beach or pool by myself, but I did get a couple of hours most days to be lazy while he took a nap. I did get a little reading done.  And most importantly, I didn't worry about Wednesday's MRI.  Not much, anyway.