Greetings from the Sunshine State!

The van family is in Florida! Paul did relatively well on the plane ride down - only a few moments of minor meltdown. We were hoping that he would sleep on the flight. HA! Of course he fell asleep as soon as we started driving to the hotel. At least he was able to sneak in a quick cat nap. He seemed excited and confused about the whole hotel experience. After dinner he said, "Papa's house" & we had to explain that we would be sleeping in a hotel for a few days. I think he is starting to get used to the idea here on day three.

Yesterday we headed out to Disney's Animal Kingdom and everyone had a fabulous time. We went on the safari ride and were able to see many of Paul's favorite animals. We had a very yummy lunch in "Asia" and were very happy that Paul fell asleep in his stroller in the late afternoon. Grandma & Papa sat with him in the shade while Mommy & Daddy hit the rides. I actually volunteered to ride a roller coaster! It was the new one called Everest & it really wasn't too bad. I did scream rather loudly though and was told that I was walking a bit funny after we disembarked. Paul woke up just in time for the big parade and was thrilled to see some of his favorite characters. After a little more playtime we headed over to the Lion King show. Also a big hit with the boy who was enthralled with the monkey gymnasts. All in all a great day!

Today we are taking it easy. We spent the morning by the pool where Paul enjoyed practicing his swimming skills. We are headed into Downtown Disney after nap. Tomorrow we plan to hit Magic Kingdom. Traveling with the grandparents is going very well. It is wonderful to have a second set of hands and eyes, expecially with a busy little toddler!

Buzz buzz

In preparation for our trip to Disney, I have given Paul a lovely buzz cut. It is not the best haircut that's for sure - but it should help to keep him cool. It was a little sad watching his soft silky hair pile up on the ground below (and a little frustrating trying to remove it from the chair with all of its static clingy power), but he seems happy with the result. And I can't stop rubbing my hand over his bristly head. Our Memorial Day weekend has been a mad dash to get the house ready for moving in post-Disney. CJ spent the majority of his waking hours installing our new entryway/kitchen floor. It looks really nice & I am very excited. Our pre-trip move in was thwarted by the fact that our master bedroom carpet had to be reordered (after they half ripped out the old one - oops!) which has been a pretty big disappointment. We concluded it would probably be best for Paul to transition after vacation anyway. He is excited about the "Brown. House." and cannot stop talking about going to Disney to see "Mi-mouse. Airplane. Sky." His language is evolving toward sentences although there is a gap in between each word and sometimes between multi-syllabic words. My favorite: "Bater (water). Melon." Oh & "Home. Depot. Car." (We spend a great deal of time there & he loves the car carts.) It is exciting to watch him soak everything in and repeat back his version.

grads and lilacs

Over the weekend we went to see my sister receive her Master's degree. She has been going to school while working full time and raising her (almost teenage) son. I am so proud of her! She graduated from my Alma mater, exactly ten years after I earned my undergrad degree. It was neat to see all of the changes that have happened in the last ten years. Here we are posing in front of the new academic building.





Afterward we went out to the Lilac Festival and enjoyed the aroma of flowers and fried dough. The weather was perfect and the lilacs happily in bloom.

Our home away from home

It may be a while before we can actually move into our new house. To begin with, there are several layers of filth to peel away and currently we do not have any hot water. Trying to clean with lukewarm water is only the part of the challenge, trying to clean while a mischievous toddler explores the new terrain is of course the rest. Yesterday (on Daddy's watch, not mine) he managed to pull down the curtain rod in the living room & tangle himself in the musty old drapes. Paul's version went something like this: "House. Daddy. Papa. Head." (hits himself in the head while making an appropriate head smashing sound.) With Paul, this could mean anything. I had to get the truth from Papa.

Needless to say we are making some progress in the right direction. All of the bedrooms are painted & we are waiting for the new rugs, which will hopefully be installed next Friday. Tonight we plan to stimulate the economy by purchasing all new appliances (YAY!) and (cross your fingers) a WATER HEATER. There have been hours of research and discussion regarding the water heater and whether or not it should be tankless. It seems that we do not live in a climate conducive to a tankless heater, and when CJ found out that the water can suddenly turn cold he gave it the big thumbs down. The man likes his hot showers. In an effort to reduce our "footprint", we plan to buy an efficient as possible tanked version & insulate it to death (well, not to death really, I mean we already have one dead heater on our hands!) Tomorrow CJ will be knocking down walls in the kitchen to make room for the new fridge. I plan to stay away and be nervous from a distance. It really is better that way.
Moving day has been pushed back at a minimum to next weekend while we wait for rugs and wall relocation. I'll keep everyone posted & will put some pictures up as soon as I remember to take a few.

A sigh of relief, and relief for labored breath

We have finally closed on the house. YAY! CJ has most of our stuff moved out of his parent's basement and into our new garage and has already painted three bedrooms (the man is on a mission!) We are still living at my folk's while the new place airs out, but hopefully we'll be in the house this weekend. Moving in requires some new floors in the bedrooms and several appliances. Right now we are without a refrigerator, dryer, functioning hot water tank & microwave. Luckily the government's "economic stimulus package" is just in time for appliance & flooring stores to heave some nice little deals our way.
Sadly, in the midst of our celebration of homeownership, our little one has gotten ill. He came down with a nasty cough over the weekend & we ended up in the ER last night because he could barely catch his breath. He's been diagnosed with croup & given steroids & a nebulizer. The boy is downright miserable, but with the medicine he's at least able to get some much needed sleep. Hopefully he will be on the mend soon!

2020 Olympics, here we come!

Paul has learned how to do a somersault. After several takes I managed to capture it on video.