Yelapa: Our Mexican Vacation, Part I

As Tyler mentioned in a previous entry, Stella is a great traveller. In less than three years, she's probably been on more plane rides than I had been through graduate school. She does well in transit, she loves hotel rooms and adventures and changes of scenery. But most of our travel the last two and a half years has been to visit family. My parents are in Texas, our siblings are in California, and my mom's family is in Illinois, so seeing any of them mostly means hopping on a plane.

Our last real vacation was almost two years ago when we went to Hawaii. We'd been talking about another real vacation in various locations (Iceland, Buenos Aires, Mexico, Portugal, Hawaii's Big island) at various timepoints (fall for South America, winter for Mexico or Hawaii), but there were many practical reasons to keep putting things off: I was busy with work, we'd be on maternity leave this summer (which isn't a vacation, but did have work implications), and we could use all the money we could get to keep our basement remodel moving along. But one day it seriously struck us that travel was only going to get harder for awhile after baby number 2's arrival, and we got serious about planning. We saw some sales for Mexico, Seattle had experienced an unusually cold and rainy spring (after an unusually cold and rainy summer last year), and we just decided we had to make it happen.

So Mexico it was. We'd had a couple friends go to Yelapa, a small Pueblo only accessible by water taxi about 40 minutes south of Puerto Vallarta) and others who raved about Sayulita (sleepy fishing/surfing town about 40 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta), so we decided to get the best of both worlds and spend four nights at each location.

So early Monday morning (4AM early), we headed to Seatac. We had a brief stop in San Francisco and then continued on to Puerto Vallarta (PV). The only possible flaw in our plan was that the time between when our plane arrived in PV and when the last water taxi left for Yelapa headed out was do-able but tight. To help decrease the likelihood of missing the boat, we had asked our hotel to arrange a car to take us to the water taxi pier, thinking that one less thing to deal with after a long day of travel would be good. But, lo and behold, when we got to the exit, there wasn't anyone holding a sign with our names. So much for that plan. After hmming and hawing a bit and trying to call the hotel, we decided to just take our chances with one of the drivers trying to pick up riders. One bumpy ride through PV later, and we found that the last water taxi had already departed from there and we'd need to go to another town about 20 minutes away to catch the very last option for the day. We'd kind of known that was a possibility, and we had about 30 minutes, so not all hope was lost, but we were not excited about the possibility of having to make last minute arrangements for an alternate plan. Fortunately, our driver was very nice and helpful and we did, in fact, make the other ferry after a slightly tense drive on a speed-bump-filled road. Our aggravation with the hotel and our fatigue quickly gave way to relief and a starting sense of relaxation as we then bounced across the waves to get to Yelapa.


The water taxi to Yelapa

Stella seemed to do pretty well, hanging out in my arms with her life jacket on (which we brought), though she did look a bit green at one point. Soon enough it was time to disembark, which meant pulling the boat nearly to shore then jumping out into the water. We hopped off (some of us more gracefully than others) and started trudging down the beach with all our bags to get to the hotel.

This was another less than promising bit of the arrival--the beach is beautiful, but the sand is really gravell-y and it was hot, so it was not so comfortable to walk on. And, being 7+ months pregnant, I couldn't carry much. And Stella thinks waves are "too loud" and wouldn't walk, so Tyler ended up being quite the beast of burden. But we arrived to a very welcoming staff and knew soon enough we'd really get to unwind.


One of our first pictures--I wanted to post this on facebook with the caption "this does not suck"

Hotel Lagunita was delightful. We were in a thatched roof "casita", with big windows that opened up to a view of the saltwater swimming pool and bay.


Hotel lagunitas from the restaurant--not a bad home for a few days.


From our balcony, our daily view of the saltwater pool and the bay. Stella doesn't like waves, but she does like water. It did take us a few dips to learn where all the rocks were (so we could avoid kicking them) and the shallow spots were (where we could hold Stella or have her stand).


Our casita's balcony as seen from the pool


Pretty quickly, our days took on a routine: Tyler and Stella would wake up first, walk to the restaurant to get a pot of coffee which we'd then enjoy on the balcony, then breakfast on the beach. We'd watch pelicans dive for food and watch fishermen arriving back with their fishing boats then take their kayaks back to shore. Terrible start to the day, no?


Good morning! Stella thought it was pretty fun to have the windows wide open.


After a cold summer, winter and spring, it was nice to let Stella wear a dress and sandals, without having to complement it with pants and a sweater. She seemed to agree she looked pretty cute!


Stella primarily lived on pancakes for breakfast and quesadillas the rest of the time. Not ideal, but we figured it wouldn't make her sick, and she probably couldn't get scurvy in 9 days....

After that, we'd either hang out on the beach or take a swim in the pool (the beach in Yelapa isn't a great swimming beach). The hotel had thatched areas with lounge chairs and hammocks where they'd also provide food and drink service.


R&R on the beach under a palapa--my belly apparently makes a pretty good pillow!


Who can complain when they're in a hammock on a quiet beach?!

After a day or two of this, Tyler started getting a little antsy to do more exploring. So one day we hiked along the stretch of beach from our hotel's side to the pueblo's ("city") side. One of the reasons we'd been interested in Yelapa is that it's very quiet--as I mentioned, you can only get in and out by boat, so there are not cars. Mostly people use horses or donkeys, though we saw a few ATVs.


The beach and hotel from the other side of the bay

The first day, we walked through the more main part of the little town to see a nearby waterfall. It's dry season now, so there was only a small trickle. And the other challenge of the hike is that Tyler has to carry Stella a lot. In the heat and on the sand. And she complained the entire time that it's "too loud." We didn't get tons of pictures of the town because on the third day of our trip, our camera just completely died, so the rest of the trip was captured on Tyler's phone's camera.


This is how Stella spent most her "walks" on the beach, on Tyler's shoulders with her ears covered, saying "too loud!"

We did decide to take a second trek over and walk the other way along the river where most of the residents live and which eventually leads to another waterfall, though we knew we wouldn't get that far.


"Hiking" along the river on the pueblo side--lots of lizards, horses, donkeys, beautiful flowers, chickens and roosters


Probably Stella's favorite time in Yelapa--looking at tadpoles and throwing things into the river

On our way back from that walk, we ran into a man from Montreal who was living in a small house in Yelapa with his wife and two kids. We found out they had started off on a two-month trip but had decided to extend it indefinitely, selling most of their belongings remotely and documenting the process of living abroad in this manner with kids through a blog. They were very nice and fun to talk to--we wished we had met them earlier so we could have talked with them more. But, interestingly to me, I didn't find myself envious of them. I think what they're doing is admirable and interesting and, in some ways, enviable, but I was somewhat happy to realize that I really am happy to be in a more settled place in my life for now. I like our house and my work life and our friends and our stability. Sure, I'd like more travel and adventure on a more regular basis, but I didn't find myself wishing we were still on the road being intrepid travellers again.

Given Stella's displeasure at making the trek to the town, we spent all our evenings at the hotel, which had its plusses and minuses--the food was fine if it got a little predictable after a couple days, but the view was gorgeous and it was great to have a built in playground of sand so we could linger over drinks and our meals.


We got tired of the selection, but the location of the hotel restaurant really never disappointed.


One of our daily habits--sharing a limonada on the beach


Not a terrible way to spend our evenings, watching the sunset with a lemonade (for me and Stella) and a Pacifico (for Tyler) on the beach.

Of course, I realize as I write all this, two weeks have already softened some of the rougher edges of travelling. I won't lie--there were moments when it did not feel like a vacation to be with Stella. She decided for almost the entire time we were in Yelapa that she was no longer using the potty, a contingency we hadn't planned for. And her dislike of being close to the waves limited what we could do and meant not taking some cool possible day trips that we might have taken otherwise. But I left really charmed by Yelapa. The people we met there were all very nice, and the slow pace was a great way to start our vacation.

Week 34 and a Change of Plans

I might have mentioned this before, but one thing that's been interesting about this pregnancy is that I've been much less focused on being pregnant and much more aware of the fact that there's a new little person developing inside me that we haven't met yet. At least, that was the case until last week.

At my 21 week ultrasound, the ultrasound tech and midwives told me that I had marginal previa--a fancy name for the placenta being too near the cervix. I didn't have full previa, where the placenta is covering the cervix, and in most cases, the placenta will move away as the uterus grows with the baby. But, because they'd found that, it was important to call if I ever had any bleeding and to be sure to let the person on call know that this had been found earlier. So I've been going along my merry way, optimistic that this would resolve. I probably worried more at the beginning, but then I met three or four people who had had a similar finding early on but in all cases the placenta moved far enough away for it to not be an issue.

And I hadn't had any bleeding. Until last week. Wednesday I was planning to drop Stella off at home then run out to an evening work event but I wanted to run to the bathroom first before diving back into traffic. And I saw a tiny bit of spotting. I thought, well, I better call, but I'm sure they'll tell me that it's not an issue unless there's more. A conversation later, and Tyler, Stella and I were all loaded up in the car to head to the childbirth center to check things out.

We arrived, got put into the exact room that Stella had been born in (which was kind of cool), and then waited for the on-call ultrasound technician to show up. The nurse on duty even seemed very blase--I had the distinct impression she thought the midwife was being overly concerned--and they monitored the baby for awhile. (Now we had medical proof that "little kicker" is an apt nickname--baby was moving and grooving almost the entire time.)

Finally the tech arrived and she did an ultrasound. I'd been a little excited to have another ultrasound, thinking that compared to the early one, we'd really be able to see more. In fact, we could see less distict body parts, and it didn't seem like the kind of situation to ask for more baby peeks. As soon as she saw the placenta, she said it looked close. Too close. And the midwife later confirmed that it needed to be a minimum of 2 centimeters away, and it was only .77. If it had only moved that much in 11 weeks, it was unlikely to move significantly further. Which means a scheduled c-section.

I know I'm lucky to be in a position where this is known and can be addressed. In other parts of the world and in older times, this kind of thing is serious enough that it can mean death for mother and/or baby because of heavy bleeding. I'm adjusting to the idea, but I'm still bummed. It's the polar opposite of what I would have hoped my birth plan would be (like with Stella, med-free vaginal birth), and I'm not looking forward to more time in the hospital and longer recovery when I'll already have a toddler at home. For some, this would be a welcome option. For me, not so much. I have to change providers, probably have an earlier birth, and anticipate surgery instead of labor.

So now I'm spending *lots* more time thinking about the birth than I probably would have otherwise. And, to be frank, in a way that has more dread than I would have otherwise. Which makes me really sad. Fortunately, I have friends who've been in similar situations who can provide advice and support, and I can have one of the midwives assist with the c-section even though I need to move to having an OB as my provider. I know that I can still make this the best birth possible and that having a healthy baby at the end will make it all worth it. But I'm still adjusting. It's really a fallacy to think I could plan any of this anyway--I guess I'm just getting an early reminder that a new baby is going to require many adjustments.

So, stay tuned. I'll probably even know next week when the birthday will be, which seems odd but should also appeal to the planner in me. Until then, I'll just spend a little bit more time mourning and adjusting. Soon enough I'm sure I'll be able to focus on all the positives, which will still include meeting this new little person and watching Stella transition into being a big sister.

Arboretum Waterfront Hike

While I'm excited to have baby number 2 in the summer, it does likely mean a decrease in our usual hiking and camping activities. So when we had what's been a rare sunny day in Seattle a few weekends ago, Tyler and I decided to take advantage of the weather and go for a little urban hike. So we loaded up, stopped by Ezell's for picnic fixin's and headed to the Arboretum's waterfront hike.


The hike starts near Lake Washington and takes you, via boardwalks, across two islands.

We spent much of our time slogging through puddles, but it was still worth it for great views, fresh air, lots of boats and a little wildlife.


It clearly hasn't been our imagination that it's been a soggy spring!



In addition to our little duck friends in the previous picture, we also saw this lovely heron and evidence of beavers.


This little viewpoint raised us up for a view of all the people on the water and the lowering of the University bridge.


Post-picnic!

The only downside was that Stella apparently associates "park" with "playground" and was not very impressed that there wasn't one to be found on our outing!

Great Little Traveler

You know who's a great little traveler? Stella.

Knock on wood.

Sure, with the exception of Hawaii two Summers ago, Sarah, Stella and I haven't done any major traveling or vacationing outside of Washington. But, with Sarah's parents in Texas, some extended family in Illinois, and our respective siblings in California, Stella's already been on a plane more times in her first two and a half years than I had by the time I graduated from College. And, with the exception of some squirming and fussing and some trouble with sleeping in strange beds, she's been a complete breeze to travel with.

Again, knock on wood.

Two weekends ago, we had the opportunity to travel to Illinois again. Sarah had to travel to there for work, and so we decided to take advantage of her free flights and downtown hotel room, and make a little mini vacation out of it. It had been the better part of a year since our last visit to the area, and it was a good opportunity to visit with Sarah's family there; and for Stella to see her Nana, Grandpapa, Grandma Geri and, of course, Mia. Stella doesn't have any cousin's yet, and is still an only child (for a couple more months), so its good for her to get a chance to visit with Sarah's large extended family in Illinois and jump into the swirling mob of second cousins that live there.

But, in addition, it proved a fun chance for Stella and I to do something that we hadn't before: Explore a (relatively) new city together. Without Sarah to help us both along.

Stella checks out the bed at our hotel, during out night in downtown Chicago.

After getting in late on Thursday night (and after having to deal with a cab driver "forgetting" to return Sarah's credit card), Sarah had to wake up early the next morning to head to her day-long meeting. After sleeping in a little more, Stella and I got up and got ready for our day together in Chicago. First up: Breakfast!

Dig in! Stella focuses on the yogurt parfait, while I have a selection of eggs, bacon and potatoes. Plus, coffee!

After a tasty, if too expensive, meal at the hotel restaurant; we went back to our room, grabbed our stuff, and made the couple block trek to catch a bus to the Shedd Aquarium. Though the swooping pigeons at the bus stop were a bit daunting to Stella, she seemed to roll with the punches as we boarded the standing-room-only bus. Being a cute 2-year-old though, it wasn't long before she scored a seat, and soon even looked like she would have nodded off, if not the "bumpy road!"

Arriving at the Shedd Aquarium, we discovered that it was Spring Break for the Chicago area public schools, and that a line literally extended around the block to get in. An aquarium employee explained that the wait was an hour and a half long just to get in. Stella, initially seemed undaunted, insisting that she would wait in line to see the fish... but 5 minutes later grew bored of the line and wandered off to look at the giant stone head statue nearby.

Next to the Shedd Aquarium is the Field Museum. I'd already been there with Sarah on our last trip to Chicago, but I knew it was big enough that there would still be new stuff to see, and that it would have enough variety to hold Stella's attention. And, while the Shedd featured mutant-long lines, we were able to walk right in to the Field Museum.

The Museum did end up being a hit! Most of the exhibits seemed interesting to Stella, with only one or two causing her eyes to start to glaze over. And, only one -featuring giant animatronic insets- scaring her. In addition, there was a great toddler area, featuring a family restroom with a child-sized toilet... always a great find with a recently potty-trained toddler.

Anyhow, pictures!

Trying our the saddle at the Horse exhibit.

Playing some music in the children's exploratory area. Notice she took her jacket off, but insisted on keeping the hat on.

Probably Stella's favorite exhibit, a scooter with a ghetto blaster strapped to the back. Pressing one of three buttons would play part of a song. Stella enjoyed dancing to the music for a good 10 minutes or so. I took video, but Blogger is being disagreeable.

Giant robot bug = scary. T-Rex = not so much.

Leaving the Field Museum. Little girl, big steps!

As Stella began to grow more and more tired looking, I realized it was time to head back to the hotel to meet up with Sarah. Unfortunately, while the bus to the aquarium and museum had come nearly right away, the bus back took about 20 minutes to arrive, and Stella and I found ourselves packed into a crowded covered area, waiting for it to arrive (we'd brought the Seattle rain with us). One of the nice things about traveling with a little kid is that people who would usually be inclined to ignore a bearded 35-year-old suddenly become your best friends; and I soon found myself chatting with other tourists, as middle-aged women snapped Stella's picture like she was one of the museum exhibits.

Then again, who wouldn't want a picture of this?

Back on the equally crowded bus, Stella stood, wedged against my legs, gripping the pole and looking like she'd rode the bus a million times before. It was only after we were reunited with Sarah, and she was safely and snugly situated in her stroller that she finally dozed off. Which was probably the best, since Sarah and I spent the better part of the next hour pushing her around downtown, lost while trying to find the car rental place.

So, yeah, mine and Stella's little half day adventure wasn't anything spectacular, but it was just another reminder of what a great little traveler she is. (Knock on wood.) ...Which is a good thing, because in a little over a month, Sarah, Stella and I are going to go on Stella's first international adventure: A week long trip to Mexico!

I have to admit that I'm personally, really, really excited to be making the trip. And, I know that after all her hard work both professionally and as a mother, Sarah deserves this vacation. But, even Stella seems to be looking forward to it, stating daily that she "wants to go to the beach!" And, picking up our guidebook, and announcing "Want to go to Mexico!" So, we're all looking forward to this last big adventure before the arrival of our latest edition to the family!

Speaking of which, here's Sarah at 26 weeks!



Also, between now and our departure in mid-May, we'll be making another quick trip to the Bay Area. Again, Sarah has to go down there for work, but we are going to parlay that into a quick visit with her brother and sister-in-law. The big adventure for me on that trip is that Stella and I will be flying down in a separate flight than Sarah.

Wish me luck.

Wo Go?

My mom likes to talk about how, when I was little, I would walk up to complete strangers and ask them: "What doing?" My brother, meanwhile, was always pointing to things and asking: "This? This?" My mom and dad were never quite sure if he was just stockpiling as many words as possible, or if he was testing them.

Stella's question is "Where go?" Or, as she pronounces it "Wo Go?"

(Obligatory Stella photo.)

Sometimes, its particular: "Wo soothie go?" Sometimes, its joking. "Wo go?" ...as she tosses the item in question over her shoulder. Sometimes, its enigmatic, leaving us to guess what she's even asking about. Other times, it almost seems rhetorical, as she asks about something sitting directly in front of her. Regardless, I've never encountered someone so obsessed with the situational geographic locations of various trivial objects.

It probably doesn't help that, often, if you ask her a question in return, she will greet it with a "huh?" as though she didn't hear you. A sample conversation:

"Wo go?"
"Where did what go?"
"Huh?"
"What are you looking for?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Soothie."
"It's in your hand."
"Two soothie. Wo go?"
"The other soothie?"
"Huh?"
"Where did your other soothie go?"
"Wo go?"
"I don't know."

...You get the picture.

Actually, it's generally pretty cute.

Another favorite activity of Stella's, when not reading or wondering where things are, is putting her various stuffed animals and dolls to sleep. She'll spend hours dutifully and diligently spreading her blankets and towels out gently over them. Leading Sarah and I to observe that they must have all been bitten by tsetse flies, because they are the sleepiest batch of play things we've ever encountered.

Some examples...

My old Snoopy stuffed animal asleep on a bin full of his clothes.

The baby in her doll house, asleep under a giant hand towel.

Her bath penguin, asleep on the coffee table. Note: That these are all just pictures I took this morning.

At least she now lets their heads stick out from under their blankets. Originally, she'd cover them from head to two... which sort of made our house look like one giant homicide crime scene.

Transitions

It's a busy time in the Hill-Stach home--baby number two's arrival keeps inching ever closer, and Stella's making strides of her own every day....


I don't know why, but Stella looks like such a big girl in this photo to me--she's growing up!

One thing I didn't know before having a baby was how much life would revolve around going to the bathroom. When you have an infant, checking for wet diapers is one of the few communication channels you have for knowing if the baby is eating enough. You know you're really in love with your little one, because you think even their poop (at least until they start eating food) is cute. And then there's potty training.

Somehow, like a number of things, Tyler and I just fell into potty training. We had gotten some training pants at some point--her child care teacher must have mentioned at some point she thought Stella was getting interested in undies that older kids were wearing. One Saturday she wanted to wear them, so we put them on and tried to keep her off the carpet. She wore them most the day that day and most the day Sunday except when we went out to run errands and stuck a diaper back on. (In some cases, over the undies, which she didn't want to take off.)

On Monday, we brought undies and diapers to school and told the teacher Stella had started wearing them. She asked if it was OK if they just stopped using diapers at school, and--poof--there you had it--we were out of diapers just like that!


Potty time! Also involves lots of book time.

Surprisingly, it doesn't even feel so much like "training." I was sure there would be something else involved--sticker charts or M&Ms, a weekend of "boot camp" with Stella running around make a mess of things. Rather it's been a few weeks of reminding Stella to use the potty, getting very excited when things happen in the potty, and getting less and less excited about the occasional accident. I wouldn't call it a done deal, but she almost always makes it through the night, she's not yet had an accident in the car or in public, and the biggest challenge to overcome is having BMs in the potty, but she's made great strides on that front in the last few days. So yay for no more diapers, at least for a little while!

Stella made another big transition right around the same time--moving from the crib to a big girl bed! Funnily enough, the night before we got the bed, I was assuring a friend we were in no hurry to move her out and didn't expect her to go into a bed until after the baby came. But a friend made a comment about being careful about it seeming like the baby was kicking Stella out of something that was hers, a great bunk bed was on sale, and--ta-da!--big girl bed it is. That transition has been shockingly easy. Stella took right to it. She hasn't been getting up earlier, more often, or coming out of her room in the middle of the night. On the first day she was home for a nap, she did discover she could climb out if she wanted to (and, cutely, was laughing loudly, clearly wanting us to know she had discovered this as well!).


The first test run. She had to tuck in her doll, Claudette, next to her, along with a blanket and stuffed animal. She also picked out the bedding--loves the animals!

On other fronts, she is mostly totally awesome and fun (except when she's not). She's suddenly gotten less picky about food (yay!) and is getting more and more talkative. She's talking more about being a "big sister" so that seems like a good sign. Here are a few of Stella's current favorite things:


Riding her tricycle--she's getting better at peddling and steering! And she's learned about helmets at school. Since we are (apparently) negligent parents, she decided to make her own with this toy box.


Picking out her own clothes. On this particular day, she needed to wear her frog hat, her flower jacket, her dog purse, and her owl socks on her hands as mittens. Whatever works.


Taking photos--I think the self-portraits are accidental, but cute.


Helping cook!

I'm really enjoying this stage, where Stella's still really affectionate and fun to play with, but also independent in many ways too. I have to admit that as the weeks go by, I'm really trying to appreciate the things that have gotten easy with one child who's older. We're about to enter a whole new ball game...

If we get around to it this weekend, I'll add a photo of me at 24 weeks!

Introducing Baby #2

This morning Sarah, Stella and I hopped in the car and drove to Swedish Ballard for Sarah's ultra-sound appointment. I could make small talk, but instead, let's jump straight to the images, since I know that's what the Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles are all eager to see....


Boo! OK, so this image is a little skeletal, and that blur above the baby's head makes it look like it has my haircut, but look at all the amazing detail, you can see babies head, and left forearm and hand really clearly (and the their respective bones). Baby is giving us a little wave!


Here you can see the baby's lower right(?) leg and its foot while it pushes off of the inside of Sarah. While we were watching, at one point, it gave a little kick that Sarah could feel. She said it was pretty cool actually seeing the little movements she's been feeling increasingly. Recently, holding my hand to her belly, I've even felt a little kick or two.


I love this little detail. The perfect little hand. While not one of those fancy 3D ultrasounds you see ads for, its still amazing the level of detail that will flicker into view. Like this...


Here you can see its head, with its right arm sort of reaching toward us, and its left arm folded up around its head. While most of the head images looked like little skulls, this one you actually get a sense of the heads shape more (though the lower lip and jaw appear to be hidden by "darkness." Still its interesting to see how this baby definitely looks different than the ultrasounds of Stella. As Sarah observed, "its already its own little person."

And, just to compare, here's a little profile that matches up pretty closely with Stella's from her ultrasound (though flipped):



As for Stella, she was pretty non-plus about the whole thing. I'm pretty sure the images were too abstract, and she's still trying to get her head around the idea that there is a "baby in mommy's belly." Its funny because sometimes she doesn't seem interested, other times she seems excited by the idea and occasionally you can tell she feels a little threatened by the whole thing. For example, during the ultrasound she suddenly exclaimed "don't want baby!" ...Much the same way she would declare her dislike for a dinner she didn't want.

And, just so that this isn't all just pictures of the inside of Sarah's belly, here's the outside!


Sarah at 21 Weeks!