Did Somebody Say Vacation???

A few months ago Ryan and I realized we had some serious PTO to use by the end of the year and nothing to do.  We had a Southwest credit and decided a trip somewhere is what was in store.  I had a few child friendly rules – under 3 hour plane ride and a direct flight.  So finding routes that Southwest flew direct and within our budget landed us in Puerto Rico.  So we booked flights, and sat back and relaxed.  What we didn’t know was Puerto Rico is a VERY popular December destination.  So by the time we started booking hotels they were mostly all booked.  Have no fear – we did find spots, but now we know (and so do you).

This trip was a wonderful time to really see Ronan in action.  For us we drop him off at school 5 days a week . We see the skills they teach him and reinforce at home, but never really get 100% of him.  This was truly 24/7 for the 6 day vacation.  It was wonderfully exhausting.  By this I mean a 16 month old toddler NEVER STOPS MOVING.  And he is now climbing and more adventurous than ever before.  This means a lot of Ryan and me taking turns to chase him.  Pretty much by 10pm every night the entire Kalb family was passed out.

He is learning so much every day.  He high fives, does fist bumps and cheers and drinks after (milk of course).  He signs milk, cracker, please, thank you and more.  He can say over 100 words I’m sure and mimics everything.  He has even starting to put together 2 word phrases.

He is a ham.  He walked around the hotels saying him to everyone.  Yelling hi sometimes to get their attention.  He blows total strangers kisses and gives them huge smiles.  He totally melted the hearts of several strangers during this trip.

Fun Stories:

1.       Ronan would NOT touch the sand at all.  We had to hold him anytime we were at the beach

2.       Ronan got his poopy diaper changed in the Playero Surf shop parking lot (Playero was the original Rincon surf shop and means Beach Bum in Spanish).  Seems fitting.  While Ryan was changing him an older Puerto Rican man approached and congratulated him and showed off his own granddaughter.

3.       Ronan loves rice & beans & plantains.

4.       We forgot his car seat in our car in Orlando.  The original one Hertz tried to rent us expired in February 2011.  YIKES!

5.       We visited a cave, fort and rain forest during this trip.

6.       We visited 6 surf breaks during this trip.

7.       Ronan sat in a cab without a car seat, in a seat belt twice.  I was terrified.

Some pics of our adventures:

Big boy Ronan in the cab, no car seat.

El Morro Fort

 

El Yunque Rain Forest

- this one is us getting soaked on an adventurous 40 minute hike.  We had to turn around. 

 

 

- This one is A 20 minute hike to this beautiful waterfall

 

 

Morning surf lesson

 
Breakfast on the beach.  The two towels we are sitting on are his sand barrier.

 

Happy Man after a morning surf session

 

 

All in all it was a wonderful trip and time well spent together.  It is challenging traveling with a 16 month old, but worth every second to have him to ourselves for a week.

 

We love to travel and explore and this was an easy trip for Florida families.  We will definitely go back when Ronan is a bit older and do the Bio bay and more hiking. 

 

Time is moving so fast.  I’m glad we captured a little piece of it with memories that will last a lifetime. 

 

My advice to you;  if you are thinking about traveling just do it.  Prepare and plan for a kid friendly adventure, but it will be worth every second (and $$).