Florida - February 2014

FLORIDA 2014

Bryson and I were blessed with the opportunity to head south for the winter... well, at least for a week! We were happy to get out of the snow and enjoy TONS of sunshine and family time! My mom and grandma were going down as well to see my mom's brother and his wife (Uncle Gary & Aunt Laura). They were fabulous hosts and we're grateful they put up with a 15 month old clamoring around their beautiful glass house for a week!!

Here are a bunch of pics from the week in Sarasota:

Bryson on the first plane ride (Eri to Cle). He did great! He was on a plane when he was 2 months old, but this is the first time since he's been old enough to have an opinion about it!

Always a character, doing something to show off!

 First time putting our feet in the pool! We ended up changing right into our bathing suits because this kid didn't want to wait any longer to jump on in! He wasn't scared at all! Even when his face got wet. Loved it!   

I was trying to take a quick pic of my growing belly bump (22 weeks here), and Bryson kept walking back and forth through my legs! Lol He’s so funny! 

He LOVED to play outside (which he’s never done before – last summer he was too young) and would cry when I made him come in!
Up and down the driveway out front! He was a great listener and did not step off the end of the driveway! So proud of his obedience in this [could be scary] situation! 

  

Playing on the lanai

I can't count how many times Bryson sent balls flying down this "ramp"! He'd chase them down and do it again!

Bryson LOVES to read! Here he asked Great Grandma to read “Buster bunny loves to read”. He brings his book(s) to whomever he wants to read to him and signs, “Please!”.   

We got to visit with some friends (the "kid" (1 of 4)  I used to babysit for and her mom) that we haven't seen in a year, because they now live in Florida! It was a great lunch, but over too quickly! Grateful for the time we had to chat and play with MY kid!  

Sweet boy playing with blocks out on the lanai. 

First time at the beach (that he can remember). At first he sat on the blanket, a little leery of the shifting sand under his feet, but soon he was off and running! He was making friends with EVERYONE around us! He was not happy when we had to go home for nap!  

Exhibit A. He made friends and walked RIGHT THROUGH their half circle of people, getting fist bumps all the way!

Doing headstands in the sand! lol

"HIKE!"  Ground was too shifty and the ball too big - FACE PLANT! Didn't phase him... 

The sandy face "after" photo from the face plant

B was learning to drink from a bottle, and man did he make Uncle Gary work for him! lol

On the way home from the beach, we talked to Daddy... Heaven

We went shopping at St. Armande’s Circle. Bryson got to try some Gelato and loved it (he doesn’t usually get sweets)! So did Mommy... I wanted more, but refrained!

Hot wheels club :)

HAD to buy him a Hawaiian shirt for vacation!

Attacking Grammy with love!  

I happened to catch him scooping and bringing a bite of food to his mouth on his fork!! It usually falls off, but he did it! Proud moment!! 

Our daily pre-dinner walk around the neighborhood (with Grammy and Aunt Laura).

At a Mexican restaurant, Bryson got his first kid's cup!! It was a hit! He learned to drink through a straw and now will drink any amount of water you ask, if you'll just let him use a fun straw cup!

After dinner smooches from Grammy!

Playing with the leaves in the driveway one more time before we packed him in the car to go back to the cold!  

Tampa airport has a play place!! Bryson discovered he LOVES slides! YAY! Going to be a fun summer! 

This hand out is “Where’s Dada??” He said “Dada?” out loud as well, but I didn't catch it. He went around asking everyone he came in contact with, "Dada?"... made for some awkward moments because it sounded as if he was asking them if they WERE his daddy. AH! :) But he followed it up with a fist pound, which everyone thought was hilarious and cute! Lol He’s such a charmer!  

Traveling home was an exhausting day – 9 hours with a 15 month old and being 5 months pregnant, but we made it! The stinker didn't sleep a wink from 2-10:30pm. Too much to see! I read the same books over and over, tried to keep him interested in the same small toys for hours (no small task), and fed him tons of animal crackers, but we made it through in one piece, just short of me standing on my head for his entertainment! :)

So many more pictures I could share... but these sum it all up pretty well.

I do have to share a video or two:

Aunt Laura graciously allowed Bryson to put her nice squishy pillows on the floor and crawl all over them! He LOVES soft things, so he was in heaven! Here's Grammy tickling a sweet laugh out of him!

Every time Bryson saw my phone, he'd pick it up and starting talking to Daddy. Here's an example of his "chatting" first thing in the morning (note this is actually an ipod and daddy is not talking through it):

Overall, the trip was great! We missed daddy, but had fun in the sun!!!! Bryson is going to be sad when he realizes he’s stuck inside all day – he never knew the difference before!