Bear Abroad

Greetings from Jamaica!  The Bear and I made our way down to the island this past Saturday morning.  Despite my worst fears, the flights were pretty good.  I packed light, stayed upbeat, and was really grateful that both flights were fairly short.  X did not cry once.  Also, my umbrella stroller is easily the best $12 I have ever spent.  Even if it crumbles to fragments the second we return to the U.S., it was well worth it!

Anyhow, we spent Saturday and Sunday at a family reunion on the (touristy) North Coast, where X got to experience his first tropical heat, Caribbean Sea swim, and (non-kiddie) pool swim.  He also met a LOT of people. 

We're now in Kingston, childhood home of Mid-Level Mama.  I haven't been here in four years, but things are remarkably the same.  Couple differences here and there.  Last night, we watched home videos that my mom has digitized for posterity.  I selected ones in which my littlest sisters were the same age that X is now.  I am beginning to think that X's rambunctious nature is not necessarily a boy versus girl thing.  Rather, I see its genetic roots.  In the videos, my 8-month-old twin sisters calmly and slowly crawled about and reached for things.  While a 7-year-old me frantically cartwheeled and darted about in the background.  Or foreground.  Looks like X is his mother's child.

As an aside, it's pretty weird to watch videos of oneself from 21 years ago.  There's so much in that insane, knock-kneed, owl-glasses'd, obnoxious kid that hasn't changed. 

Enough text, onto ze pictures!

Mama, are those the tropics?

Brings new meaning to a knuckle sandwich.

Mama, this is NOT my kiddie pool.

But I love it!  Ooh, a ball!

Grandpa, this is the largest pool ever.

A Caribbean amphibian