Cuba - Christmas 2009

Julia was a veteran traveler on the flight to Cuba. It seemed that she either smiled or slept. A stranger came up to us as we exited the plane and told us that Julia was the best baby he had ever flown with. Awww...
Julia was happy to be somewhere new to explore:
Meghan joined us from Victoria in the wee hours of the night. Her flight was postponed and it seemed like FOREVER until her sunny face lit up the hotel. But sure enough, she arrived in the wee hours of the night full of funny stories about her journey. The best Christmas gift ever: to be together with family.
We won the weather lottery and wasted no time taking advantage of the climate. Cuba in the winter is downright awesome! Nothing too extreme, just good ol' sunshine and warmth.
Julia loved the beach and being outside all the time. I thought we'd have a harder time trying to get her to not eat the sand, but it wasn't an issue at all. The trickiest thing was keeping her in the shade. Our little vampire baby! Neither Mark nor I came home with much of a tan as a result.
Grandma Margaret and Meghan at the beach. We'd take turns bring down icy orange drinks. They were awesome thirst quenchers. Julia had just recently figured out how to suck from a straw so several drinks became Julia-fied: sticky fingers and spilled all over.

Julia LOVED the Christmas tree in the lobby of the resort. She was always happy to brought over to it.

Christmas morning started off great for Julia - her first candy cane. Oh no wait, it was her second. Grandpa Dennis activated her sweet tooth with a trinity of candy cane, freezy pop and Dr. Pepper. When Julia figures out that her grandparents will indulge her sugar cravings, she's going to take full advantage of them. We spent Christmas day snorkeling at a coral reef and swimming in caves. It was incredible!
Here we are arriving for a Christmas evening present-opening bonanza: Opening presents:

More beach fun with Meghan:
Exploring the city with Daddy:

Cubans LOVE CHERISH and ADORE babies. We had read that Cuba is a very child-friendly country, but we were not prepared for the baby-worship that ensued. We were constantly approached by people who wanted to meet Julia. Men, women, young, old - everyone, it seemed, was interested in her. The most bizarre encounter was a stranger who took out his cell phone and started scrolling through pictures; which isn't all that rare as Cubans are often proud to show off pictures of their kids. However, this guy showed us a picture of JULIA taken several days earlier and we didn't even know it. He was so excited to show us our daughter. Her blue eyes were particularly popular. We made many friends thanks to Julia, who loved the Cuban people as much as they did her. She never cried when they held her!
The next photo shows Julia with a new friend at a market.
Julia and Nanu at the Hotel Barlovento:

Julia and I enjoying a meal together:

More beach time.
All tuckered out...
Julia posing in a hanging chair:
Boxing day was also Grandma Margaret's birthday. We celebrated by going to Havana!
Julia waking up to the hustle and bustle of the city:
The restaurant where we ate lunch and were entertained by a Cuban band that played "Smoke on the Water" Cuban-styles. We thought of our friend Arden who loves the song.
Julia at the rum museum. No taste tests for her!

The sun is setting after a long day:

Meghan being kind to one of the street doggies. She bent down to pet every single dog she met.

We couldn't leave Cuba without a ride in a coco taxi.
Here we have Julia exploring some new tastes. She tried lots of new food in Cuba.Julia left her mark on the mirror in our room. She loves to be held by her dad and look in the mirror and make silly faces and sounds. I took this picture on our last day and you can see her finger marks and even a full footprint.
All dressed and ready to head back to the great white north, here is a final picture of the gang before heading to the airport:
Farewell Cuba! We're looking forward to coming back!