Mexico 2016

I’ll be totally honest:  I have not had the best experiences in Mexico.  When Zach and I talked about going somewhere for my birthday this year, my only request was to go somewhere warm.  Since my birthday is at the beginning of Feb, we decided to forgo getting each other Valentine’s gifts and just take a family trip.  When Zach suggested Mexico I was skeptical [Don’t all my stories start out with me being skeptical?  Geez, I am a total jerk.] but I’ve always trusted Zach.  And how could I dislike Mexico so much when my husband thinks it is one of the greatest locations on the planet?  So he found a resort, that was kid friendly, and as soon as I saw the photos of the joint, he had won me over.  We were going to Mexico, all three of us.

Zach planned the flights perfectly so that Sloan would take a nap on the way there AND back.  She slept for a portion of the flight and we were both relieved.  4+ hours on a flight with a newly walking baby is not for the faint of heart.
Sloan and I on Plane

sloan asleep

We arrived late afternoon.  Zach had arranged a car service to pick the three of us up from the airport [and they even brought a brand new car seat] and I couldn’t have been more grateful.  Our driver picked us up in a brand new blacked out SUV.  From the second we arrived in Mexico this resort had won me over.  It was a 30 minute drive to the resort from the airport and Sloan couldn’t hang.  She fell asleep within the first couple of minutes of the drive.

When we arrived at the resort I about died.  Not only was it beautiful, but the service from the moment we arrived was incredible.  While I checked us in, Zach and Sloan roamed the lobby.  FullSizeRender

The first views of our room were pretty jaw dropping.  Zach got us a swim-up junior suite so we had access to a pool and our very own hammock 24/7.Screen Shot 2016-02-15 at 5.06.01 PMWe changed our clothes and made our way down to dinner.  It didn’t take me long to realize my beef with Mexico.  It was the dining experiences I had had in the past.  I have stayed at all inclusive resorts before…and frankly the food was less than average.  Eating at a buffet three meals a day can be wearing on a person.  But Zach convinced me that this place was far different.  Not only did it have a 24 hour Marketplace Restaurant, but it had 6 different restaurants [and room service included] to chose from.  We ate at the Mexican place the first night and it did not disappoint.  Sloan could have eaten her own shrimp taco and quesadilla by herself.  IMG_2041

At night our room looked even more dreamy.  The shared lap pool lit up with colored lights – we couldn’t wait to test out the waters in the morning.  Screen Shot 2016-02-15 at 5.05.03 PM

The first night [and every night, really] Sloan slept like a champ.  I scooped her out of her crib and took her out on our deck in my robe.
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Just me, my babe, and a Coca Light to start out the day.  Screen Shot 2016-02-15 at 4.22.41 PM

We had breakfast, I hit up the gorgeous hotel gym, and then we geared up for the pool.  Sloan enjoyed relaxing in the hammock for a lot longer than I guessed she would. hammock

both in hammock

We splashed and played all morning – until it was time for her to go down for a nap.
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The best thing we packed was Sloan’s baby monitor.  We put her down for a nap, closed our sliding glass door and blackout shades, and relaxed on our little patio while she napped.  I laid in the hammock with bottle of Coca Light until she awoke.  It was the most relaxed I have felt in months.  FullSizeRender-2

We had lunch at the Marketplace – which exceeded my expectations.  I had fresh grilled salmon and grouper every. single. day.  After we our food had settled we put Sloan in her rash guard for the beach.  This was Sloan’s second time at the beach, but she acted like it rocked her world.  Maybe walking on her own with her toes in the sand sent her over the edge – because she refused to leave when it was time for dinner.
Screen Shot 2016-02-15 at 4.23.34 PM Screen Shot 2016-02-15 at 4.23.43 PM We spent our evenings watching the sun go down from our little shady spot on our patio.  Screen Shot 2016-02-15 at 4.24.05 PM

Zach hit up the Sweet Corner [unlimited ice cream and baked goods] every afternoon…mostly for strawberry ice cream.
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The second night we ate at the Lobster restaurant.  The meal was out of this world – and Sloan ate more than Zach and I combined.  I don’t know if it was the ambiance or what…but our girl played hard and fueled hard. us at dinner

The next morning was slow and relaxing.  I went to the gym while Zach and Sloan ordered room service.  By the time I got back and showered – we were all ready to hit the pool for our second round.  IMG_2099

Sloan discovered she liked floating atop a mat rather than actually being in the water.  Apparently the view was better. Screen Shot 2016-02-15 at 4.31.29 PM

During Sloan’s nap – well, every nap she took – Zach would swim over to the swim-up bar and get himself not one, but TWO tropical drinks.  He goes hard while on vacation.
Zach and his drinks

I enjoyed the endless amounts of tropical fruit goodies the resort had to offer. FullSizeRender-3

When Sloan woke up we made our way over to Sombrero Land.  I have no clue if that’s what it is actually called…but I deemed it so.  Screen Shot 2016-02-15 at 4.32.00 PMSloan had such a great time, she probably swallowed more water in that span of time than the entire trip.  Her wide smile was so big she nearly drained the pool.
Screen Shot 2016-02-15 at 4.32.17 PM The slides and activities were a little more intense than I imagined, but Sloan couldn’t get enough.  She’s fearless.Screen Shot 2016-02-15 at 4.33.12 PM

Sombrero Land wore her right out.  She went down for her afternoon nap and slept deep into the evening.  Zach and I enjoyed our patio.  My main form of entertainment was watching Zach vs. the hammock.  The hammock won 4 times in a row…

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Saturday morning I hit the gym for the last time and Zach took Sloan to breakfast at the Marketplace.  Afterwards Sloan met a new friend, who was a huge hit!  (That poor human was probably roasting in that getup.)
IMG_2137 IMG_2133Afterwards we hit up the pool for our last full day.  We were going out with a splash.
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Sloan took another extra long nap – and I even took a nap myself in the hammock.  I didn’t move a muscle for over 1.5 hours…well, except to turn over. IMG_2115

Then we went for round two at the beach.  Sloan was all smiles and tried to dive head first into the water repeatedly.

Sloan Beach Sloan beach 2

 

As I was taking photos of Zach and Sloan walking along the beach I snapped this photo of Sloan’s baby footprints in the sand.  It made me extremely grateful to have been blessed with the family that I have. IMG_2116

After we managed to remove all the sand from all of our crevices, we made our way over to dinner at Brass, the resort’s steakhouse.  brass It was one of my favorite meals of the trip.  Surprise, surprise.  Grilled fish.

meal

Sloan ate like a Queen the entire vacation, it’s probably another reason she slept so well.  sloan eating

brass 2

On the weekend nights of our trip they had a new theme each night.  The first night was the “White Party”, “Casino Night”, and Saturday night was “Cantina Night”.  There was live music, hoards of food, and activities for all ages.  cantina night

The next morning we woke up and had our last meal at the resort.  I already miss the unlimited fresh juice bar.

juice bar

We made our way to the airport, had dinner once we made our way through security, and boarded our flight.

Sloan slept for the first THREE HOURS of the flight home.  I kept pinching myself.  As if she couldn’t have been any better, she decided to one-up herself.  She was only awake for the last hour and 45 minutes of the flight home.  Just when I thought I couldn’t love and appreciate her more…IMG_0672

A lot of people gave us flack about taking Sloan to Mexico.  Fact:  taking a baby on a vacation is double the work.  Fact #2:  going on a family vacation is money well spent.  It’s different, traveling with someone who still craps their pants and eats freeze-dried yogurt melts.  But this is one of the best trips we’ve been on together to date, and I wouldn’t have changed one thing.  Even though we were traveling on actual Valentine’s Day, I think I’ve convinced to make this our new family tradition.  I can’t think of a better Valentine’s present to each other.  Besides, I feel like we made money on this trip if you count all the Coca Lights and tropical drinks we consumed.  We hit the beverage lottery.  And also…the baby lottery.  Because no other baby would sleep and eat BETTER on vacation than she would at home.

 

 

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