Disney Cruisin': Day 4

First, let me make a small note about day 3 and dinner. I forgot to tell you about it. In my last post, I mentioned we watched Tangled after breakfast well, before dinner, we watched Gnomeo and Juliet. It was cute! And each movie was in 3D! It was very cool, but Jacob hated wearing the glasses. Dinner was at Animator's Palate and seriously one of the best dinners of the week. Also, the restaurant changes color. It starts off with everything in black and white and, slowly as dinner progresses, it changes color. Then at the end, Mickey comes in and the whole room is in color. Very cool and very neat!

Okay, let's move on. We finally made it to port on day 4. We made it to Puerto Vallarta. We had an excursion planned for the day. It was a dolphin and sea lion observer trip. My niece and a couple of other people in our group were going to swim with dolphins, and the rest of us were going to watch. So, after breakfast, we headed to our designated meeting area for our specific excursion. After all was said, done, and organized were headed off. The thing is, we had no idea what was going to happen. Were we taking a bus, a van, a boat to our location? Turns out we were taking a boat. The kids' first small boat ride.

It only took about 30 minutes to get to our destination, and it was a scenic ride. Speaking of scenery, the first thing that greeted us when we got off the ship was Wal-mart and Sam's Club! But I digress, we arrived at the dolphin place, and we immediately had a presentation on dolphins and other see creatures. We were then taken to observe a sea lion - aka get kissed by a sea lion and that was about all the sea lion observing. They then moved us to an observation area for the dolphin encounter. Way up high and as far back as possible. They had their own photographers which were a pretty penny. We were able to see my niece do her thing with the dolphins, but in the end it really was not worth the hassle of making the trip. It was absolutely hot and humid, and with two young kids, not the best idea for us. But some fun nonetheless. Oh, and they provided lunch. A small Mexican buffet.

The excursion only lasted from 11am to 4pm. We were back on the ship by 4pm, and I was glad. It gave us enough time to shower up, and rest a little. Our show for the night was Toy Story the Musical followed by dinner. Unfortunately, Jess and I did not get to watch the show because Bella had an accident. But I know Jacob loved it! And Bella got some entertainment from Chip who made a her laugh!

Day 3: Waiting for Gnomeo and Juliet to start...

Day 4: Waiting around for our excursion, and ready to go...

Jacob was crabby...

Bella was relaxed...she eventually fell asleep during the ride.

The sea lion we met and kissed.

Jacob getting kissed by the sea lion.

My niece swam w/ the dolphins.

Bella wasn't too happy with the wind.

Puerto Vallarta coast line.

Our ship docked in PV.

Disney Cruisin': Days 2 & 3

Our second and third days of our trip were spent getting to know the ship. Day two, Monday, we walked the ship, and just hung out the entire day. We had no plans except for the evening show and dinner. The show for the evening was The Golden Mickeys. The show was cute, but just before the show, they offered up a teaser with the comedy duo of Alfred & Seymour. These guys were funny, so we decided we would see them after dinner. Dinner by the way, was Animator's Palate. It was okay. But after dinner, we dropped the kids off with the babysitter (aka Jasmine/my niece) and we headed off to the show. Okay, so, like I said before, these guys were funny, but it was a different kind of funny. I'm used to the comedians they have in Vegas with raunchy dialogue and nasty jokes. These guys were totally Disney safe. No cussing, no raunch. But then again, the room was so packed they sent us to a neighboring bar where we viewed a live feed from a big screen. That kind of put a damper on the show. But we still had a good time.

The next day, day 3, we woke up bright and early. We had our assigned character breakfast, and let me tell you, the kids loved it! You could just see the excitement on all of their faces as each character traveled from table to table as they got closer to us. Every time a character came to our table Jacob would start babbling conversations with them! It was hilarious! I believe we met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Dale. It was so much fun. Definitely didn't get to enjoy breakfast, but it was so worth it!

And after breakfast we watched Tangled. Hello! One of the best things about Disney cruises...Disney movies! It was such a cute movie!

Days 4 & 5 coming soon!

Our servers made the kids hats out of napkins...Minnie's bow, Peter Pan's hat...

Goofy's hat for Jacob.

Disney Cruisin': Day 1

On Sunday, April 10th our adventure began! A cruise to the Mexican Riviera more specifically Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. We scheduled our arrival for around noon, and we arrived just in time. We went directly to new cruiser check-in where we received our Key to the World card (aka key to my credit card for anything we needed). We received our boarding number (#19) and after only waiting maybe 5 minutes, it was called. We were on our way to the ship, but before that we had to get a group shot. We were traveling in a group of 14! Heck yes, it was a lot of people. I believe one of the biggest groups on the ship. So, with our matching shirts, we took our first picture on the cruise.

Next up, the buffet. As soon as you get in, they announce your family name and guide you to two designated eating areas. We headed to Beach Blanket Buffet. Our first of many many many meals. The food was eh, but there were better meals to come.

After our late lunch we headed to our rooms to check out our accommodations. I thought the rooms were a decent size for a ship. I loved that there were two separate areas of the bathroom, one for showering and one for the toilet. I also liked the large porthole window. We were able to fit a playpen in quite nicely, while Jacob slept on the convertible sofa bed with the requested bed rail. Worked out perfectly.

Next on the agenda was the safety drill. All we had to do was just follow the path posted behind our door, and meet at the designated area. They called our room number and we're done. And then it was time for the Adventures Away party on the pool deck. We were handed gold and red streamers, and with loud music blaring, we danced our booties off.

After the party we got ready for the first show of the week, All Aboard: Let the Magic Begin. Honestly, I don't remember the show at all. But dinner was next and it was at Tritons. Our dinner rotation was TAAPTAP which stands for T=Tritons, A=Animator's Palate, and P=Parrot Cay. My first dinner was not so great. I ordered a lobster/pasta dish and it was not good. I was trying to be different, and it just didn't work, but I made up for it the rest of the cruise. LOL! Oh, and we had second seating dinner which I liked. I thought it was going to be late but it was just right. The kids adjusted, and well, heck, they were already all off schedule.

So, off to bed we went since we had no naps all day.  Days 2-3 coming soon.

Our humble abode for the next 7 days.

Isabella & Jacob's sleeping arrangements.

Bella checking out the daily navigator.

Checking out the room.

At the Adventures Away party.

Isabella's 9 months!

...And I'm a day late. But we had Isabella's doctor's appointment this afternoon. And despite being sick, she is still growing along healthily. She now weighs 23 pounds (90%) and is 29 inches tall (90%). She's wearing size 18 month clothing, comfortably, and growing out of size 12 months.

Bella recently learned to clap. Totally out of the blue this past week. She loves the sound it makes, and it gets everyone around to clap too. She says "mama" and she waves HI and BYE. Oh, she shakes her head NO. I swear she knows what it means. For example, if I go to comb her hair she will shake her head NO. She does not like people touching her hair. Bella has also just begun to pull up. And we just broke out her walker. She got the hang of it quite quickly. She is loving this new freedom.

So, 3 months from now, we'll be celebrating Isabella's 1st birthday :0( and you can bet that I started planning that thing 3 months ago. LOL! No joke. I've chosen the theme, and I've started buying up stuff already. But, with planning so early, I've contemplated changing the theme...a few times. But now that we're back from our vacation, I'm going to delve into party planning head first! Yay! I can't wait.

Disney Cruisin': We're Back!!!!

We finally went on our Disney cruise! It was 7 days of fun on the high seas. And the kids came back with a lovely souvenir...a really nasty cough and cold. But, at least, it was at the end of the trip. They both did remarkably well, and now, I need a vacation! Recap coming soon!





Our ship in Puerto Vallarta...


The view from the front...


One of 2 smokestacks...

Disney Cruisin': Matchy Matchy

I've mentioned before, we're going on a Disney Cruise! Well, we had to represent our first family vacation, and what a cheesy way better way, than matching shirts! Honestly, I loved them. I bought the iron-on transfers from Etsy and I provided the shirts. Jesse and I had matching ones that read Mama and Dada. I think they came out quite cute!

Mama's Little Helper

On a couple of rare occasions, Jacob has asked to feed Isabella. He'll get her bottle and say, "I feed the baby." And he'll shake the bottle, sit in our feeding spot, and wait for her. It's adorable. Well, at least I think so but, then again, I am their mother. Anyway, the last time Jacob fed her, I video taped it, and since this taping, he has asked to feed her again, but due to time constraints we didn't let him. If only he could change her diaper, but he does get credit for helping put the diaper in the trash can :0P

Wordless Wednesday: Mini Photoshoot