Puerto Rican Vacation 2013

I have to admit I was skeptical.  A beach vacation including a four hour plane ride with two babies...it did not sound fun.  But we had learned some lessons from our previous attempt at a beach vacation when Sawyer was six months old and Jonathan was adamant...so we decided to be brave and give it a try.  And I'm so glad we did.  We all had a really, really wonderful time.  I can't say it was restful.  I think I'll just have to accept the fact that until my children are grown up I will ALWAYS be exhausted, but it was a lot of fun.  And we had uninterrupted family time for five straight days (we didn't even bring computers with us).  Best of all, we have recent memories of our backs being warmed by the sun, our toes digging into wet sand, and our ears being filled with the happy sounds of the ocean and our children's laughter to keep us going through the rest of the NY winter.

Highlights of the trip were:

• Jonathan and I did not have a single disagreement, argument, irritation, frustration or any negative interaction at all for the entire trip.  Life is a little stressful right now between Jon's crazy work schedule and my lack of sleep while dealing with a constant barrage of demands from kids, so we've definitely been neglecting our relationship a lot lately.  I'm snippy. He's irritable. This trip really helped us to get back on track.
• Sawyer has finally shown some self-awareness around water!  In the past, Sawyer would just thrown himself into waves or jump head first into pools. This time around, he was actually a little timid.  Hooray!  But it was also a little sad to see that our crazy little boy is growing up.
• Lyla is a little sun baby!  She was perfectly content hanging out in the shade, looking up into trees while the rest of us played around close by.  
• We saw lots of lizards!
• Lyla actually slept for 8 hours straight one night.  We were so proud of her! Too bad I still woke up every 2 hours out of habit.
• We had 5 straight days of perfect weather.  And I mean, PERFECT weather.
• We got to visit my PR cousins!

I also wanted to share some tips that we learned to make our lives easier when traveling with small kids!

• If you are traveling with two lap children, get aisle seats across from each other. This arrangement really helped us manage our children effectively and made switching children and laps easier. Plus there's just a lot more room.
• Maintain your home timezone schedule.
• Make the investment in some kind of tablet.  We have an iPad.  Seriously, between games, shows, and movies you can keep your kids entertained, which means they are quiet...hopefully.
• Bring bribes that can be doled out one at a time, like gummy bears.  This way kids won't get overloaded on sugar, but they still feel like they are getting a special treat.
• Instead of getting a hotel, try a vacation rental.  You are likely to get something bigger and nicer for about the same price as a hotel room.  Try homeaway.com or vrbo.com.  We got a three bedroom two bathroom condo in a resort with eight pools and a private beach for the same as a hotel we were looking at.  So yea, it's not the same rate as a Super8, but we got to cook our own food (which saves money) and our kids could maintain their sleep schedule, which meant that Jonathan and I could have fun in the evenings, instead of tip-toeing around sleeping children in a little hotel room.  It was money well spent for us. 
• Finally, have your heard of the Apple TV? We don't have cable.  For us it's both a money and time suck.  But, come on, we love to watch screens. With our Apple TV we can rent or buy movies, shows, etc.  We can also access our Netflix, hulu, and Youtube accounts.  The other amazing thing about about the Apple TV is that we can screenshare with our computers and phones...meaning that I can put my phone and computer screens on my TV.  Why mention this here?  Well, it's also extremely portable and super simple to set up--just plug it in and go.  So, because we brought the Apple TV with us, we didn't have to worry about searching cable channels or going out to find a movie rental establishment...it was all right there.  And Sawyer had his favorite, parent-approved shows at his beck and call which meant more Curious George, Pocoyo, and Cat in the Hat and no stupid Nickelodeon shows like SpongeBob, etc.  Best of all the Apple TV is actually affordable!