Merry Christmas from the Islands

I am just now getting around to adding text to this post. Over Christmas, we took some vacation and went on a cruise with Matt's family to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  The vacation was long over-due and the cruise part worked out pretty good with the little one (we could go out and spend time with family and then go back to the room to let David nap). It didn't really feel much like Christmas hanging out in a swim suit on a beach, but it was a great time and we really enjoyed the family time. David really got to know Papa  Bruce, Granny D and Uncle Jake and has added Bruce to his growing vocabulary. It was also especially fun to see Granny D enjoy her cruise experience...she was the first in every conga line and at the front of every dance lesson. She even won Bingo one night. Not only do we expect her to be booking future cruises, I think she is in the running to appear on the next Carnival commercial. We love you Granny D!!

These are pictures taken by the cruise ship (they are big on taking pictures to sell to you and clearly, I was a sucker for buying them...)

This was David at the airport waiting to fly to Houston to get on the cruise ship. Because David is still not a fan of the car (i.e. he screams the entire time he is in the car seat), we flew down and took a cab to the Galveston Pier.

On our balcony getting ready to head out from Galveston.

David's first time on the beach. He was really scared of the sand when we first got there, but soon was having a grand time. He dug in it, ran in it and even tried to eat it.

Jamaica's version of Santa:

David's first time having french fries...he was a big fan:

Visiting the turtle conservatory in Grand Cayman:

We took a small boat out to a sandbar and went swimming with stingrays. I didn't get good pictures, but David got in with Matt and touched and played with the stingrays. He was having a good time until one raised out of the water to "kiss" Papa Bruce. The locals entice them with squid and so they raise up and rub their top edge on your face in order to get the squid. I think he thought it was attacking his grandfather and he completely freaked. He got in again after that (he is not scared of much), but was skeptical of the stingrays getting near him. I have to admit that I was completely skeptical of the stingrays the whole time...

David in Mexico:

Cab ride back to the house. David was pooped....