Feliz Navidad!

We made the wise decision of spending Christmas in Mexico, rather than having to explain - repeatedly - to Hannah that we don't celebrate Christmas because we're Jewish.  Actually, she understands it pretty well, but she still wants Santa Claus to come!  (One night on this trip, I heard Hannah say "bye bye, Santa" in her sleep.  Poor kid.)  We convinced Ellie Mae and Poppy that it was time for a beach vacation, and Aunt Sammy, Uncle Jonny and Netta joined in the fun.  Not everything went as planned, starting with a three-hour delay at Denver International Airport, a lost cell phone, and a pitch-black ride along a very bumpy dirt road to the house.  Here's the crew in the minivan.  Looks like fun, right?

We eventually got to the house and got settled in for an exhausting but fun week.  The girls took a few days to get comfortable at the house, although Hannah was immediately comfortable with the setting - as soon as she saw the small table and chairs by the pool our first morning (bright and early, I might add), she exclaimed, "This is where we eat breakfast."  And it was.  Every morning, unless we wanted to deal with a three-year old tantrum.  Emma wanted to be carried around for the first several days, constantly reaching up toward any willing adult saying, "Me-me!"  By the end of the week, the ladies who worked at the house were carrying her around and playing with Hannah, laughing at her constant "me-me" cries.  (Oddly, her blankie has acquired the name Me.)

The setting of the house was beautiful.  The sun rose over the beach (which, unfortunately, we saw every day, thanks to Hannah's early rising) and the moonlight was so bright because there were so few lights in the area.

We made several trips to a few different beaches, one of which was on Isla Mujeres a short ferry ride away. Aunt Sammy came with us and had prepared Hannah with her first boat trip by singing, "I'm on a boat, yo!" from a Saturday Night Live skit.  Here's Hannah on the boat, after she had mastered the song (and continued to sing it for days whenever we passed a boat).

"I'm on a boat, yo."

The beach was calm and beautiful, and the girls loved it.

While the beach was great, waiting for the ferry on the way back was not such a hit.  We got there just as one had left, so we had about 30 minutes to spare.  Have no fear, Daddy brings ice cream!  Ice cream = joy.

One of the most fun parts of the house we stayed in was the enormous jetted tub in Ellie Mae and Poppy's room.  The girls loved bathing together in it.

On the flight home, I kept Hannah busy with Mary Poppins and fake tattoos.  She insisted that she cover her arms in tattoos.

All in all, it was a great trip.  Hannah keeps asking to go back.  Sorry, sweetie, the next trip to Mexico is for just Mommy and Daddy!