Miami (sans) Beach

We just got back from our first family vacation. We went to Miami Beach for my friend Cheryl's wedding. We flew out on Thursday. Paul had arranged for a cab company that said they had a car seat to come pick us up to go to the airport. Despite him checking with them 3 times about the car seat, they showed up without it. Argh. So we ended up holding Scarlett on my lap without a car seat. Lucky we flew out of National so it was only a few miles but very scary. Scarlett did a good job on the plane -- she really only fussed for a few minutes right before she went down for a nap (30 minutes). The rest of the time she just played and tried to get the people around us to pay attention to her. She loved her first hotel room. We stayed at the Gansevoort where the wedding was being held (http://www.gansevoortmiamibeach.com/?gclid=CKmduby1vKMCFRE95Qod-WXscQ) and the room was huge. She loved the carpet because she is used to hitting her head on hardwood. There she could sprint around without hurting herself as much. She also loved playing on the king size bed. Paul and Scarlett stayed in on Thursday while I went to the bachlorette party. Scarlett had only slept the 30 minutes all day -- she was way too excited to sleep and had only been down for about 20 minutes when I got back to the hotel a little before 2 AM... Paul and Scarlett hung out again on Friday while I went to a spa day with the bride. We got together for a few minutes with my cousin Michelle who happens to work right by the hotel. It was really nice to see her again and catch up! That night we went to a party at the Mediterranean Mansion (http://www.villasouthbeach.com/), which Cheryl had rented for a few days for the pre-wedding stuff. The architecture was beautiful and we were able to take Scarlett with us and just set her crib up in one of the rooms and carry the video monitor around. She loved seeing all of the people. Saturday we met up with my Aunt Lee, which was also a lot of fun and then we headed to Lincoln Road for me to find shoes and for us to grab lunch. My cousin Michelle watched Scarlett for us (bless her) while we went to the wedding and reception. The wedding was at the pool with the ocean in the background. It was a very short, casual ceremony but beautiful. The reception was at STK (http://www.onelittlewest12.com/stkmiami/) -- they had the whole top floor of the restaurant and the food was amazing. Scarlett didn't make it easy for Michelle. We got back at 12:30 AM and she was still up after only napping for an hour the whole time. She must have had fun too because she was very wound up and refused to go to bed until after 2 AM. She didn't want to get up this morning and was exhausted by the time we boarded the plane at 11 AM. It worked well though because she fell asleep during take off and slept until we were landing. It was perfect! Her teeth are bothering her a lot again but otherwise she seems happy to be home and all tuckered out. All-in-all, we had a great trip and Scarlett did really well with all of it. Her big thing now is that she tries really hard to get attention from anyone around. She is such a ham. It sort of helps though because on the plane and at restaurants as long as she could get someone's attention, she was a happy camper.

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Speaking of being a happy camper, we are discovering more and more activities that grab and keep her attention. Thats a good thing, because she is also much more clingy has more separation anxiety attacks, especially when tired or teething. Its also good to know when spending roughly 24 straight hours in a hotel room with her... :) Believe it or not, I have to say that her new favorite activity is taking a shower. I know it sounds odd, but when I carry her into the bathroom an turn on the shower, the only thing that keeps her from taking a swan dive onto the shower floor is my grip. I'm pretty sure that would hurt so I hold on and gently place her in the shower. She will immediately head for the drain to check out the texture for a good 5 minutes as water comes down on her head. If I add a plastic shampoo bottle to the mix, she can turn that into 30 minutes of solid entertainment.

So about the title of the blog. We were in Miami for the better part of Thursday, all day Friday and Saturday, and not one foot was placed on the sand. We got a good look at it from the 3rd floor pool, but that's as close as we would get. Fascinating. I lived for the beach and went at least once a year every year of my life through the late 90's, and not once did I fail to walk the beach. Not even in the winter. Ok, so there were a few factors working against me, but come on now! Scarlett + bright sun + oppressive heat + pale skin were the major factors. I will say that for all of those complaining about 90-100 degree heat in DC this summer, its nothing like Miami. I thought heat/humidity were somewhat close, but uhhhhh no they're not. Example- a 95 degree humid day in DC may have a heat index of 100. At 11am Friday in Miami, it was 89 degrees with a heat index of ONE HUNDRED TWO! And of course the temp rose from there.

Concerning the pictures posted on this blog, yes that is Scarlett Johanson, which was one of the magazines waiting for us in our beautiful room (our Scarlett found the magazine -- imagine our surprise when we see her holding something with her name on it). Scarlett is excited to be on a plane and loves to look out the window. Scarlett does love king size pillow top beds (as do mommy and daddy). And Scarlett loves strolling around and seeing sights and people. Not pictured- sweat dripping down Scarlett's back and head as we strolled a measly 5 blocks, 40% of the time in the shade.

All in all we had a successful first family trip. Great room, easy flights, and Scarlett knows how to work a crowd. She travels well! Next up: 5+ hr flight to Seattle in 3 days...