Splash!

We all know Vanessa is fearless but today she took it to "Ultimate Jumping". We were docked in West Palm to docks that are stationary and don't float on the water. Since there's lots of tide, you need to leave some give in the docking lines. I was trying to bring in the boat to jump on with Vanessa. As I was pulling the lines in, she jumped off the dock down 6 feet into the water. I screamed, "Mommy!!!" who was thankfully below. She came running up and picked Vanessa up by the strap of her life jacket with the spinnaker poll. Good thing because I couldn't do anything for her. I wasn't strong enough to pick her up out of the water and climb the ladder.

Vanessa went below and was changed. I had to bribe her with a cookie to get her to change her mind but after that she settled down.

The next day I took this picture to remember where she took a dip. I guess she didn't want to go home without having swam in the ocean.

West Palm Beach at Anchore

We're in West Palm at anchore. Along with everyone else. This is a great place to waite for an opennig in the weather to cross to the Bahamas. Since it's been a while for nice weather, there's a traffic jam.

This is a sunrise. Since Vanessa slept in (regular home time 8:30) this morning, I went on deck for some peace and fresh air.

More water time

She's standing telling us a story just like her Grandpa would.

Look I can transfer water from one pot to another.

Vanessa did really really well on the boat except for one thing. She got heat rash on her poor bum. For the first time ever she asked to have her diaper changed. This is why we have lots of bath pics. She loved it.

The Atlantic ocean

We got to a protected area of the inter coastal and set anchor. Grandpa got out the dingy and the motor and we went to shore and crossed over to the ocean. As you can see from our dress it was cool outside but the water was warm so we played in the waves. Since Grandpa came along, he took some pictures of the wave jumping.

I sure missed the handle once we got on land.

We're off!

Today's a big day. My parents have started their trip to the Bahamas. We'll be with them for the leg to West Palm Beach. Believe it or not I was wishing I brought a wool hat. Vanessa was lucky enough to have hers and her matching sweater underneath her rain suit. Vanessa has been cutting her sleeping short on this trip by about 3 hours a day. Shorter nap and shorter nights. We motored to our first destination and we weren't sure how she was going to handle this. Well... we had to keep checking on her because today she tried to catch up on her sleep. She was out for 3 1/2 hours of bliss for her and me! Her little shoulder kept going up with each breath so we didn't poison her with carbon monoxide near the engine. Not even the boat crashing in the motor boats' wakes woke her up.

Vanessa and Pa
Vanessa reading her Sesame Street books which she adores. She can name off quite a few of them but Elmo and Cookie Monster are by far her faves.

Vanessa at the helm.

After these pictures, we tried to go through a shallow area of the canal and hit bottom. Vanessa and I got sent below for our own safety. We called CAA for boats and they told us what my father didn't want to hear. Try it again at high tide. We got off the bottom by the help of a generous motor boat and tucked into a bay for the night. It was suppose to be to shallow in the bay too but the bottom was soft so we dredged our way in.

The next day we got out just fine.

We took Vanessa to a Children's museum. It had a soft play area, a home building area but Vanessa's favorite was the grocery store. Lots of things to pick up and sort out. I wasn't fast enough with the video but Vanessa was handing baked goods to a little boy and he was putting them into the oven. She said Thanks for each item. It was priceless.

I'm having a little trouble getting Vanessa to drink enough liquid so today I bought her chocolate milk. At dinner we served it to her in a sippy cup. She drank it and looked at it strangely like something just wasn't right. She tried it again a few times through dinner and decided it wasn't for her. Has anyone heard of such a thing? A toddler that doesn't like chocolate milk. We'll try it again at breakfast.

Tomorrow's the big day! We leave Indiantown marina for good. Vanessa's had a great time here but we're up for some new scenery and some swimming. We'll be heading for Peck Lake in the morning. Good thing Vanessa gets us up bright and early.

We found a park

The other day we were heading into town for a JazzFest when we drove by a great park for Vanessa. It had lots of slides and fun tunnels all at her level. We decided that it was her turn to have some fun so we went to play.

Vanessa said Hi to everyone in the park. It was great to see others her age.

We'll be here for a while so tomorrow we're going to a Children's museum to hide from the thunder storms.

Bath Time

Lately it seems that Vanessa's fun is in the bath. We tried two different locations on the boat. The first was in a Rubbermaid. That was exciting. It gave her some water to play with and she had company. A turtle came up beside the boat to say hello. V thought that was great. She bathed out in the sun.

Today Grandma gave her a bath in the sink in the head. We don't have room for the Rubbermaid so we thought we'd try this out. V liked it. She's been getting pretty grimy around here with the dust, sand and sunscreen.

pictures

Check out Vanessa's snack trap. Always ready for some munchies and yet her hands are free to discover and climb.

She's hording all the water bottles. She can open the lids and pull the spouts for a drink. Much more fun that boring old sippy cups.

Trip down to the boat

We're still haveing a good time. Thursday night though... Vanessa must have thought something was up because she wouldn't go to sleep. I think she finally went to sleep at 12:30. She did however "sleep in" until 7am. I had packed up our stuff for the boat and gathered all the little bits and peices and made sure that Vanessa had enough food for the trip down to Indiantown. This little town is where my parent's boat Voila! is. It's a 3 hour drive. We had food, Vanessa was strapped in and was all ready to go then I checked to make sure I had my iPod. Vanessa doesn't travel well without her music. So I looked. I ripped apart all of our packed bags for 20 minutes to find out I had put it in a really safe place. It was up front with me in the all important snack bag. Vanessa must have known what I was doing was important because she sat patiently.
The trip went smoothly. 3 hours and no stops or screeming. She even went for 45minutes without music. Just the sound of her own voice.
We meet my parents on the boat. They were happy to see us. They had been working hard to tidy the boat and give us a birth. They have a nice set up with the car parked right beside the boat. Awesome when you're working and provisionning the boat.
Vanessa did lots of exploring. She walked me around and around the deck. She looks like a real adventurer. She has a great hat with a wide brim and a tie under her chin. She wears her lifejacket like it was nothing. I brought a caribeener and clipped her snack trap to it. It gives her free hands. She doesn't even hold it to get a snack. She just puts her hand in.
We've been meeting new people. There are a lot of grandparents who are thrilled at the site of a toddler. The average age at the marina is 55 or so.
Vanessa was getting a little cranky and with all the goings on I didn't think a nap was going to work so we head into town for a few things. In town means a 20 minute drive. So she had time to relax a little. We went to Wallmart and Vanessa got another Christmas present. Grandma and I adopted a new girl named Patricia. She was born in a cabbage patch. Vanessa got her out in the car and ripped off her clothing. Grandpa has named her Patricia the stripper.
At the marina, we participated in a pot-luck. Everybody except us brought nice home cooked food. We brought a apple-cheese store bought platter. It was lots of fun but really busy. There was no place to sit so we brought the food back to the boat. At this point our little trouper was fading fast. She was spacing out. I'd never seen that before. She mostly did it when Grandpa was holding her. She was sitting beside Grandma and Great-Grandpa told her not to do something and her bottem lip started going. That was my cue to put her too bed. I got her ready, openned the tent and she climbed right in at 7:10 and slepted until 7 this morning. It was heaven for everyone.
pictures to follow when I figure out how

I love Tilley

On Sunday before we left, Eric got my Tilley out from the shed where I had forgotten it to find that it was full of mildew. I didn't deal with it on Sunday. Silly me. On Monday, I went on the Tilley site to see how to wash it. I checked out the warranty and saw that they covered mildew Return the hat by mail for a new one. No questions asked. Yippy!! I called the local store to see if they would do the exchange since I would get it on time for my trip and not pay postage. They said no problem. Very exciting. So I checked out many possibilities on how to get to the Dix30 on a day when Eric took the car to work and they closed at 6pm. Finally, I decided to bicycle with V in tow. December 1st and I'm ridding my bike. I hadn't ridden in a while so I felt it. It was 5C and grey. I dressed up and actually overheated. V didn't even need mitts. When I got there I asked if I could exchange it and they asked what was all over the hat. Mildew of course. They took it in and I picked out a new hat since they don't have that exact model. I'm even happier with this new!
I'm sure you'll be seeing pictures later with me sporting my new lid.

Swimming

We're having great fun. We've settled into a schedule just in time to leave for the boat and start all over. Sure makes things interesting. We've been getting up at 6:30! Super early for Vanessa. She's been going, going, going, until a nap after lunch. We play, shop, we eat, and we nap. The afternoon is the warmest and that's when we go swimming. The water's heated but the air is still 23C. That's great for playing and walking.
We've been eating really well until we decided to go out for dinner. It was horrible. I had the best meal because I ordered a salad. Vanessa loved her quesadilla but I wasn't impressed with it. My grandfather returned his prime rib. They had no idea how to serve that. I did love the unsweetened iced tea.

Here are some pictures that my grandfather took. Vanessa especially loved playin in the stairs. No shortage of people to entertain either.
Check me out in my bathing suit. I'm on diet break but 40 lbs off 40 to go. (ideally)

We Arrived!

We, Vanessa and I, left home at 6am yesterday morning and got on a plane for Orlando. Things went rather smoothly. I fed Vanessa the whole ride. It kept her happy and slightly distracted. Much happier than the airsick child in front in first class.

My grandfather picked us up at the airport and we came here for a nice lunch. I figured that after all that time Vanessa was ready for a nap. She said, "No Way" I let her out after 1 hour of winning and crying.

We had a great BBQ dinner and hung out and Vanessa had a fun bath and went to bed. She was a sleep in 2 minutes. Yippy! I was in bed shortly after. 8:45. It was a good day but very very long.

Today was fun. We all went shopping, came home for lunch and Vanessa had a long nap which we both appreciated. Vanessa got her own tricycle. She thought it was pretty great. I do to. It was fun in the quiet streets of this gated community.

The handle in the back is for steering on the busy streets. She's about 1/2 inch too short to peddle. By the time spring comes, she'll be perfect to ride to the park.