Num Num

Florida--Part II

Gramma is staying in Englewood,Florida. It is small town about an hour south of Sarasota. There are a lot of little bays and inlets that surround the city. A lot of great places to watch sunsets and boats going in and out of the bay to the gulf.

Our first day there, we went to a little Nature Reserve and learned about the local animals that inhabit the area and waters. After the lecture, we all walked about a half mile to one of the bays. We received a bucket and a net, got in the water (water temp 60/air temp 55 or so) and caught some of the animals we were just talking about a few minutes earlier. Nothing too big, mostly hermit crabs and different types of sponge like animals (Sponge Bob and Patrick must have been hiding that day). One of the more unique things we did see was a Seahorse. The water was really cold, so Thomas was only in there for a few minutes. Daddy had to pick up the slack. After 5 minutes, my feet were numb, so I didn't mind too much. Thomas liked seeing the hermit crabs I had in my bucket chase each other around and around. Apparently one of the crabs wanted the other crab's shell. He just kept chasing him around the bucket.

Another cool thing we saw while walking out to the bay was a few bald eagles circling above. We walked right under their nest and on the way back to the car, actually saw the baby eagles popping their heads up and down.

Here is a video capturing some of that day in the park. This song will get stuck in your head.

Florida - Part 1

Last week, our little family packed up the bags, jumped on a plane, and headed to visit Gramma Moore in Florida. She was smart and got out of Cincinnati on Christmas and is not coming back up until March. We all went down on the 9th, I came back on Valentine's Day (just in time for 9 inches of snow!). Emily and the kids are coming back on the 26th. I'm guessing the kids are going to enjoy the warm weather, but Emily is really going to need some convincing to come back North.

Here is the first video (not sure how many I'll post, but "more than one" is guaranteed) from our trip. Basically it is us getting on the plane in Cincy. The kids did well on the flight, although we sat on the tarmac for 2 hours before we took off. Thomas liked getting his snack and his Thomas the Train sticker book. Sarah slept and cried a little bit, but otherwise seemed unimpressed with air travel.

Sarah Jane at 6 Months

Sarah turned 6 months old on February 1st. She is all girl too. Here are some of the things she has accomplished up to this point:

• She rolls from back to front and front to back now all the time.


• She is eating "solids" 3 times a day. Her favorite is Squash, least favorite any fruit.


• She is a very easy going baby. Smiles a lot, goes down easy, very patient with mom and dad.


• Almost sleeps thru the night now. Normally there is one overnight wake up that we have to either feed her or rock her.
  
• She loves her big brother Thomas (see post below). If he is in the room, everything else takes a back seat.


• She has to have some really strong abs, because she is always in the crunch position when we lay her down for a minute.


• She has a wide array of sounds now including da-da's, ba-ba's, loud squeals and laughing.

Big Boy Bed - Update

So we have gone about two weeks now with Thomas in a "Big Boy Bed". Here is what we have learned/encountered:

• Tom knows that this is his bed and that is where he sleeps.
• He gets into the bed willingly and has us convinced that he understands that he has to stay in the bed.
• Once we leave the room, he almost always gets right out of the bed.
• He has gotten used to the bed very quickly. In fact the few times we have had to use a crib (sleeping at the grandparents' house) he essentially refuses to do it. He spent a large part of one night sleeping in my parents' bed in between GG and Hi-Pop.
• Nap time is the worst. It is light out so Thomas does not want to sleep. Now that he can just get out of the bed, he spends the time either playing or yelling. Sometimes he takes all his clothes off so that we have to come in and re-dress him. Emily is having a BLAST!
• Overnight has really been the easiest for us. We have not had any 3 am wake-ups with Thomas in the hallway or in our room.
• Here is the night time routine: 2 stories, prayer, 1 more story, lights out, in bed, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Daddy only!!!!!!!) sung 3 times, daddy leaves, Tom screams for 10 minutes, bangs the door, begs for Twinkle Twinkle, mommy goes in, sings Twinkle Twinkle, Tom goes to sleep. Sounds easy, right?

As you can see, it has been hit or miss. I'm glad we made the switch. Hopefully the naps pick back up and the screaming and crying start to subside a little bit. He really is a good boy and I know this little phase will pass. And just to show you how funny Thomas is, check out this video of him making Sarah really laugh and smile. Sarah is in love with her big brother and thinks he is the greatest thing in the world.