Uncle Don and Kathleen
We didn't bring a pack and play because they were going to provide one on the cruise, so for the first time ever, Caleb slept all night in the bed with us in the hotel. We had a king-sized bed, so it wasn't bad. He slept pretty good, considering. After he got up, we went down and had breakfast and then Steve was going to take Caleb swimming since Caleb loves the water so much. Well, the pool was freezing and the Jacuzzi wasn't much warmer, so they went in the Jacuzzi but it was very short-lived because of the temperature. 
After that, Caleb needed a nap, which I knew would be a challenge in the not so dark hotel room and with no pack and play. I laid on the bed with him and he actually fell asleep relatively easily, but then woke himself up coughing after 15 minutes and that was it! So frustrating! Especially since I knew it would be quite awhile until he could nap again. Oh well.
We were taking a shuttle from the hotel to the cruise terminal, so we did that around 11:30 and got to the terminal around 12:00. We were able to get in line quickly, but we soon found out that the previous cruise passengers hadn't even gotten off yet because heavy fog had delayed the arrival of the ship and they were several hours late, so that meant we would have to wait a long time to board the ship. That wouldn't have been so bad except that Caleb needed a nap and he refuses to fall asleep in the stroller or when there is a lot going on. After awhile I tried to nurse him to see if he would go to sleep, but no such luck. We finally got on board around 3:30 and my first order of business was to give Caleb a nap, but I literally laid him on the bed and they announced the mandatory lifeboat drill. I was not impressed, but we went anyway and then he finally got his nap when we got back, so I was happy. We got an inside cabin for this cruise, mostly because we knew it would be pitch dark in there for Caleb. That ended up working out well, but they are such small cabins and Caleb's pack and play was right next to our bed (touching it, in fact), so we were pretty jammed in there. I consider Caleb to be a relatively light sleeper, so that was a challenge, because we had to be pretty quiet while he was napping or sleeping at night.
His legs look skinny in this picture, but they are so chunky!
We went to the main dining room for dinner the first night and it was very nice. Caleb was a little whinier than normal because of his long day, but we had a nice time.
Earlier at the hotel
Getting on the ship with Grampy
The dining room was at the back of the ship, so you could look out the window
After dinner, we went to the opening show and then went to put Caleb to bed. We went to the early show almost every night on the cruise and were able to sit in the balcony every time in one of the boxes so Caleb was able to crawl around and stand up. If we had to sit in the regular seats, he would have been way too antsy and it wouldn't have worked out.
Monday we were at sea all day, so we had a pretty relaxing day. We went to the buffet for all three meals, actually. We usually went for breakfast and lunch, but Caleb refused to take an afternoon nap on Monday, so we ended up going to the buffet again because I didn't want him to be whiny in the dining room (and the menu didn't look that great anyway). Luckily, that was the only real problem we had with Caleb napping. Also on Monday we spent some time in the playroom they have for kids under 3 (unsupervised) and my dad and Steve played shuffleboard in the afternoon while we watched and we also went for a walk around the ship.
We got a new camera and I am pretty happy with the close-up pictures
Grammy was obsessed with getting Caleb to practice walking
Monday night we had a time change where the clocks went back, so that meant Caleb was up at 5:00 the next morning instead of 6:00, so we went to breakfast early and without my parents. We ate outside because it wasn't too hot yet, and it was very pleasant.
We were docked in Roatan, which is an island off of Honduras, so after Caleb's nap, we met up with my parents and got off the ship for the day. We found a van with a driver and a tour guide who would stay with us for the day. We pretty much just wanted to go to a beach, but they gave us a little tour of the island as well. We went to a beautiful beach that we had to pay $10 to get into, but at least it gave us use of the umbrellas and beach chairs and it wasn't super crowded, so that was nice. People kept coming by trying to get us to buy things, which of course we didn't. The strangest thing is everyone wanted to give you massages, but it's not like they were certified or anything.
I love how my mother looks like a shark creeping up on us or something
Making a beeline back to the water
Caleb loves the water, so he had an absolute ball in the water and playing in the sand. I know we are going to have a lot of fun this summer at the beach now that he is old enough to actually enjoy it! We drove back to the ship in the van and I could see Caleb's eyes getting super heavy and sure enough, he fell asleep about 5 minutes before we got back to the ship. I didn't think that would go well. In fact, I thought he would wake up just taking him out of the van, but luckily he stayed asleep and we ended up just sitting on the sidewalk for 40 minutes until he woke up, because I knew there was no way he would stay asleep if we tried to carry him back onto the ship.
Our driver and tour guide
Sleeping on the sidewalk
Then we got back on the ship and took showers and got ready for dinner. I think Tuesday night we skipped the show but we went to the game show Deal Or No Deal and that was fun.
This is how we had to do his "bath"
I love this T-shirt
Wednesday we were in Belize. Steve and my dad went cave tubing, so my mom and Caleb and I were on our own. We had $100 shipboard credit, which is why Steve splurged for the cave tubing (otherwise he wouldn't have done it). We had to tender in Belize (take a small boat in to shore), so we went off late morning on the tender and just spent a little time shopping and then came back on the tender. It was very hot, so after we had lunch, I took Caleb in the kids' pool, even though he technically wasn't supposed to be in there. I had read online before I went that babies in swim diapers aren't allowed, but if I hadn't read it online, it would have been hard to figure that out, because it was just printed small on the rules and who reads the rules anyway? Also, there were hardly any other kids on the ship, so I knew we would be pretty safe and the kids pool was at the very back of the ship out of the way. AND...most importantly, I made sure he had just pooped before I took him in the pool, since I know that is the real reason they don't want swim diapers in the pool. Anyway, he loved the pool (it was super warm), so I was glad we broke the rules and brought him in. 
Steve and my dad got back late afternoon and they had a good time, but were slightly disappointed. They particularly didn't like the 50 mile bus ride to get to the caves. Overall, it was a good time, though, just not worth the money. Anyway, we were happy to have them back and we enjoyed a nice evening.
Towel turtle left by our room steward
On Thursday we were in Costa Maya, Mexico. We had heard that there wasn't much to do locally unless you took a tour somewhere, so we got off the ship anticipating just doing some shopping. There was a lot of shipping, but we were also pleasantly surprised to find a huge public pool that we could go in for free. My parents didn't go in, but we all did, and we had a great time. Caleb loved it, of course! 
Wearing flip flops for the first time!
Christopher, our room steward
We got back on the ship and had a late lunch at the buffet and then Caleb took his nap. Steve was very good to me on this trip and handled the majority of Caleb's naps so I could go out and get some sun and do some reading. It was very nice for me to have a break and get some relaxation in! Since we had a late lunch, we ate supper later as well and skipped the show but went back to Deal Or No Deal. This time, my mom bought cards to play, but didn't win anything.
On Friday we were in Cozumel for our last stop. We split up from my parents because they had signed up to do clear kayaking and we just wanted to go to a beach. We got off the ship and weren't sure where to go, but we ended up splitting a taxi with another couple and we went to a beach called Paradise Beach. We thought it was going to cost $12 to get in and use the umbrellas/chairs, etc. However, we were pleasantly surprised when we got there and they said it cost $3 to get in but that each adult should also spend $10 in food and drink. That was certainly better than just spending it all just to get in. Anyway, it was a nice beach, but the bottom of the ocean was full of coral so it was not as nice to swim there. The beach also had a large pool which was very nice and very warm. We spent the first part of our time in the ocean and playing in the sand while Steve snorkeled and then we went to the pool and got some food. We got some french fries, chips and salsa, and a virgin pina colada that was really good. It was another beautiful day and we just enjoyed being in the sun and the water.
We left the beach mid-afternoon and went back to the shopping area right off the ship and got a couple of souvenirs and then went back to give Caleb a nap. It was pretty late in the afternoon and I wanted to make sure it didn't take Caleb awhile to fall asleep, so I nursed him instead and luckily it worked and he slept about 40 minutes. Then we got ready for dinner. Norwegian doesn't do a formal night, but we had brought nice clothes, so we decided to get dressed up for dinner on Friday night so we could get pictures taken by the professional photographer. My mom bought Caleb a suit for Christmas and we wanted to have him wear it. Anyway, before dinner we took our own pictures because the photographer wasn't there yet and then we got the real pictures after dinner.
Love this!
These next few are pictures I took on my phone of the professional pictures so they don't look as good as they really are.
After that, I got Caleb to bed and then I met my parents upstairs for the chocolate buffet. It wasn't that great, but it was still worth at least checking out.
My parents wanted to sleep in on Sabbath morning and since we don't have that luxury, we went to breakfast in the dining room without them. The dining room has a nicer atmosphere and we wanted to have that on Sabbath. The food is also better too because the buffet had the same exact items every morning for breakfast without any variation.
Our waiter made a "mouse" out of his napkin
After breakfast, Caleb had his nap and then we took him back to the kids' playroom for awhile because we hadn't been back there since the first day at sea. He enjoyed himself and then we met my parents in the dining room for lunch.
After lunch Steve took Caleb back into the kids pool. Since we were getting closer to being back in Florida, it was starting to get slightly cooler, so it was nice that the pool was very warm. Caleb had a great time as always. He is definitely a water baby!
Then Caleb had his afternoon nap and this time I stayed in the room with him and Steve went out on the deck to read. Then we met my parents for dinner in the dining room for our last dinner and then we went to the final show.
Sunday morning Caleb actually woke up around 7:00, which was the latest he slept the whole time. My dad got off the ship early to go to the airport and rent a car and then come back to pick the rest of us up. We weren't going to get off the ship until about 9:30, so we met my mom in the dining room for our last meal of the cruise and we had a nice breakfast. We then got off the ship and although our embarkation process was not a good one, our disembarkation was so easy and smooth, which was nice.
Getting off the ship
My dad was waiting when we got off and we headed to the Tampa Zoo for the day because our flight wasn't until 5:45 on Sunday evening. I wasn't sure what we were going to do to get Caleb to take a nap. He is not really a kid that will just pass out in the stroller. He is so interested in everything that's going on (I call it nosy, but that sounds bad) that he won't just shut his eyes. So, I was hoping that if we kept him awake long enough, maybe he actually would fall asleep in the stroller, but no such luck. We spent a few hours in the zoo and saw lots of animals, and just had a good time.
First carousel ride!
So, Caleb had been awake since 7:00 and we didn't leave the zoo until after 2:00. The amazing thing was that Caleb didn't get cranky at all, however, he literally was asleep 1 minute after we got him in the car. I actually felt bad because he was clearly soooo tired and it was like he finally realized that he had permission to go to sleep since we were in the car. We stopped at a Sweet Tomatoes restaurant again to eat before going to the airport and my parents went in and we stayed in the car while Caleb finished his nap and then we joined them. Then we headed to the airport for our flight home, which was uneventful. Caleb slept a little bit on the plane, but it was more like a nap than going to bed for the night. He did sleep in the car, however, and then had no trouble going to sleep right away at home.
Looking out the window while we landed in Providence
Although it was a rude awakening to come home to snow falling and lots of snow in our yard and driveway, it is always good to be home. One thing I didn't really mention about the cruise is how Caleb was always waving at everybody. He would wave at everybody who walked by him and he got a lot of people to wave back. We met more people on this cruise than we ever have before because everyone wanted to come over and meet Caleb and find out how old he was, what his name was, etc. There weren't too many other kids on the cruise, so I really feel like Caleb was the star of the show. Another thing that I didn't mention is that although Caleb didn't necessarily sleep the greatest on the cruise, he was getting 2 teeth in at that time, so I think he did pretty good considering. He is now getting a third tooth as well, so I am sure that was affecting him on the cruise as well.
Anyway, Steve went to work on Monday, but I just had to work from home. I did all the laundry from the trip, and that was a good feeling to get that done. I tried to go out to the grocery store, but I got the van stuck in the snow/ice in our driveway and I couldn't go forward or back, so I had to abandon that plan and just stay home.
Tuesday we were finally able to get out of the house. We went grocery shopping and then to our play group. We had missed being at play group last week, so it was nice to see everyone again.
Steve wasn't feeling well on Tuesday, so he stayed home from work, however, he was in bed almost the whole day, so we didn't even notice he was home for the most part. We did all venture out for a walk with the dogs Tuesday evening.
Yesterday was my first day back to work and Caleb went to Grammy's. The napping went better for her than it has lately. At least in the morning. He slept about an hour in the morning and then it didn't go too great in the afternoon. He slept about 20 minutes and then woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep. That's not great, but considering the last couple of times he wouldn't even take an afternoon nap at her house, I will take it! The big thing that happened yesterday is that Caleb got his second haircut. His hair was wild and out of control on the cruise, so we decided he had to get another haircut. My dad's paralegal, Wendy, cuts my dad's hair, so my mom asked her if she would cut Caleb's hair, so she did! She did a really nice job and he looks really cute and like such a little boy!
Thanks Wendy!
Today was raining pretty hard (I was just happy it wasn't snow), so the only thing we did was go to Caleb's follow-up doctor's appointment to make sure his ear infection was all gone. Earlier this week, we thought Caleb was pulling on his ear again, so we were concerned maybe it wasn't completely gone, but the NP told us his ears were perfect, so that was good news. They also weighed him and he was 24 pounds, 5 ounces. I also did my taxes today, so it is good to have that behind me.
Tonight we had Rad and Jen over for supper because we hadn't seen them in awhile and also to say thanks because they took care of the dogs while we were gone. It was nice to see them and we missed them while we were gone and wished they could have come with us.
Well, that's it! All caught up - finally!
Loved all the pictures - especially Caleb all dressed up formal! Love it! Just makes me want to cruise again! (=
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