Hola Amigo!

The seafood restaurant was our favourite one. The food was delicous and the service was wonderful. It was a beautiful evening on the patio.

View of our resort from the Xcaret Park tower. This park is the biggest tourist attraction in Mexico. It is full of natural and cultural heritage. We spent a full day there and still didn't see the whole park. It was a lot of walking, so we rented a double jogging stroller.

Ed took Anthony swimming in the underground caves. He loved it! Ed bought the 8x10 picture they took.

Iguana "mini-dragon". We saw lots of them.

At the Kids Club. The pool was 1.5 feet deep. Perfect for us and lots of toys to play with.

Each evening the Mayan people came through the hotel lobby and did a ritual. The culture and music was very interesting to learn about.

Anthony with his new hat (and chick hicks). The only way he would let me take a picture of him.

Getting ready to go out for dinner one our last evening. We headed to the Mexican restaurant.

View of the beach from the beach club patio. The water was so clear. Next time I'd bring flippers and some snorkling gear to see the fish and seashells.

James (groom), Ed, Anthony and Julien goofing around.

The beach was great for the younger ones. It was a man-made cove, because that area in the Mayan Riviera is quite rocky and the water in rough. Anthony loved playing frisbee with his dad. Others commented that he was great for only being 3 years old. He also liked licking the salt water off his skin.

Ed's good childhood friend James finally got married to Stephanie. They had been to this resort before and wanted to have their wedding there. We were lucky enough to all be able to make the trip. There was close to 70 family and friends at the wedding (including 10 children). Anthony enjoyed hitting the pinata.

Bath time for Ava. The room only had a large shower. Anthony didn't like it very much.

The beautiful bride and her father. Unfortunately we took a few more pictures from the wedding, but lost them after we dropped the camera. :(

Heading to the beach after breakfast.

We travelled to the Mayan Riviera for a week of fun and sun on January 14th, 2011. It was my first time to Mexico and to an all-inclusive resort. It was a great experience. The food was very good. There was lots of variety and the buffet was replenished often. Anthony didn't like the milk there (it is cow's milk- but they don't refridgerate it right away and it seemed sweeter).

The people were so attentive and helpful. We made sure to tip often. Anthony was warming up to them and would say "Gracias Amigo" and "Hola" a lot. They loved that! Ed had been to Mexico a long time ago and still knew a good amount of spanish. So much, that a few servers asked if he spoke espanol.

I have a new found respect for the Mexican people. I know the country has a lot of crime and the policing is corrupt. The people we spoke to were friendly, hardworking people. That area of Mexico is the safest to live according to the locals we spoke to. Even though a lot of them would love to live in a country like Canada. The wages they earn are so low compared to ours. The one man told us he gets paid pesos equal to $5 us a day. Some people don't tip often, so he is lucky to leave with $20-30 after a days work.

It was so nice to leave Canada for a whole week of cold weather. I kept thinking I'll come back and it'll be July. No, burrr...it was -10 and still January. We all had a great time and I hope in a few years, when the kids are older we can go back down south sans children. This time they were too young to leave at home. I told Ed, that either we all go, or we all stay home. I knew I'd be a wreak without them (plus who would nurse Ava and take both of them for a week)? Anthony is 3.5, more independant now, so a good age to go. Ava is 9 months, so too young to get into anything yet. She tried to eat the sand though.

I was nervous taking my insulin pump and supplies through security at the airport for the first time. I had my travel letter from my doctor and airport pump info from medtronic. I didn't have a problem with any of that. They didn't even ask to see my letters. On our return flight, the Mexican security took my hand sanitizer. No biggie. I guess the bottle was bigger than 4 ozs.


Buenas Noches!

Bedtime friends

Anthony's "Smedley" the elephant and Ava's "Ellie". Can you tell which is 3 years older?

I think every child should have a comfort object for sleeping. Ed bought Anthony his the day he was born and he still just adores him. He usually only has him for bedtime (and when he used to nap). The nights we decide to laundry him, we tell him that Smedley needs a bath and you can cuddle with another sleeping friend. Normally he choses Louie the lobster.

At bedtime, after I tuck him in and give him a kiss and hug, he sometimes wants me to give Smedley a kiss and he'll put his trunk in my face. Once Ava was born Aunt Cynthia gave her one with pink feet.


There's something so sweet about watching a baby sleep. I think it's so cute how Ava sleeps on her side. She has since around 4 months old. Her's little Ava cuddling with her Ellie.

Happy 2nd Birthday Emma!

My niece Emma turned two years old. I really enjoyed that age with Anthony. It is such a sweet age and I enjoy seeing them start to get their words out.

My sister, her husband and my mom drove down for the day to take her to Adventures on Wonderland. We had pizza for lunch then played for a couple hours. Emma seemed to enjoy herself, playing at the indoor playground and running around. Anthony liked playing on the slide and submarine the most. This was the first time I saw him sit still while there. He sat at the table with the building blocks. Then he wanted me to read him a book (which I gladly did- and another child that we didn't know even asked me to read her a book.) Anthony was asking other boys around his age if they wanted to play "chase". He had fun chasing after them. I'm glad to see him interacting with others and playing nicely.

Emma loves to smother Ava with kisses. Ava doesn't seem to mind.
She is a mini-mommy in training. She loves her dolls.

Corey and Emma on Emma's first Christmas. December 2009 at 11.5 months. She is holding up her finger like she knows she is about to turn one year old!

The Past 9 Months

December

November

October

September

August

July

June

May

April 8th







I was 37 weeks here....didn't know at the time but I would be holding my baby 3 days from then. Looking back at this picture, I am still shocked at how HUGE I got. I was pretty uncomfortable and my feet were swelling up a lot. I put them up and the swelling would go down, then they'd swell right back up as soon as I got up.