Nolan and I had always wanted to do a larger getaway trip for our 10th anniversary... TEN YEARS!!! that's definitely a milestone to celebrate!
I wasn't sure if it would be possible having just had a baby four months earlier, but shortly after her birth, we were already discussing the possibilities. Finally we proclaimed, "Why not just wing it!" and booked tickets for the entire family!
I questioned my sanity many times as the date approached, however two of our nieces were delighted when we had invited them to come along, as part time baby sitters. They got to enjoy it all and yet were there to stay back with the children for some nap times and evenings so Nolan and I could still get out by ourselves. (there's just nothing like alone time to rekindle that spark, you know?!)
Why not leave the children behind, you might ask? Oh trust me, I used to proclaim it from the house tops that it was key that a husband and wife would have vacations at least once a year all to themselves! Because husband and wife relationships are key to happy children, yes?!
WelI... I'm currently eating my emphatic words and they do taste rather unpleasant.
You see, we tried this twice before. When Xander was 1.5 years old, we left him behind for the first time ever; a grand total of 10 days as we danced of to Paris. He took it rather hard, but we figured he would be fine. After we returned, we noticed he was extra clingy any time we went close to my brother's home. (by the way, it has nothing to do with them... they are one of the nicest families on the planet... Xander was just always rather clingy and hated change). Still it wasn't too bad, so when he was older, almost three, we left him again as we went to Turks & Caicos.
After that, he would legit almost get anxiety attacks, and was so fearful we would leave him and he would cling to me and shake with sobs any time we tried to have him stay somewhere for a few hours... and so after seeing him struggling with such fear and anxiety, it broke our hearts. We decided we won't be doing that again until he's old enough to be ok with it... so as much as we would love to get away just ourselves, our children are our first responsibility... and we have to care for their needs as well.
So... time to get creative! Thus, my neices! (:
This week's video is the first of... (well I'm not sure how many, I just edit as I go and see what all I can squeeze into one video). But let's just say, this was one of our absolute favorite trips, despite the rain that threatened to ruin our days!
I hope you enjoy coming along to one of the most beautiful countries in the World!