April 6, 2003. Well, it's been a month since we left for Florida, and 3 weeks since we got back, so it's probably about time to get those pictures up, eh? All 152 of them, plus some from before and after the trip. We went to Florida to visit my grandmother (Nana) and see some of the sights.
We left New Hampshire on a lovely 30-degree day, wearing long sleeves, jackets, and long pants, and got into Florida on a hot and humid 85-degree day. I melted immediately. Thank goodness for air conditioning! Most of our adventures are detailed in the pictures, so I won't go into too much here. Stephen had a wonderful time, as he's a real experience junkie (if it's new and different, he loves it) and the heat didn't seem to bother him much. He especially enjoyed swimming in Nana's complex's pool, riding on trains, boats, and buses at the places we visited, and flying in the airplane -- that was just the best. We went to a nearby beach (65 degree water, practically bathwater!), the Tampa Zoo, Busch Gardens, Downtown Disney Marketplace (which was really cool, even if it was essentially a fancy outdoor mall), Disney's Magic Kingdom (where the highlights were meeting Buzz Lightyear in "person" and riding the Buzz Lightyear ride, plus the train and monorail), Sawgrass State Park (an oasis of nature in the middle of Pinellas), and then hung out for a couple of days to rest! I'm afraid I was not on my best behavior for Nana (for which I apologize!) because of the heat, not being able to sleep well, and being pregnant and therefore also unreasonably moody. But Stephen was excellent, very patient for the most part, and made a good impression on just about everyone who met him. We had a lot of fun, and it's great to be home!
Current favorites include: Aardman animation ("Wallace and Gromit," "Creature Comforts," and "Chicken Run"); drawing "pictures" with markers; playing with various trains (he knows Thomas train by name, even though he's never seen the show and has only one real Thomas set); going for walks (that, it seems, will never change!); visiting the library; reading books (especially Maisy -- he has a pretty good collection of the Maisy pop-ups); telling other kids what to do (as in, "No, not books! Play trains!" at the library); throwing things down the stairs to see how high they bounce (or something... who knows what's going through his head?); running and jumping; getting out all of his toys and not helping put them back; and generally increasing entropy in our house. Foods he likes include: oranges, apples, grapes, baby carrots, grape tomatoes, broccoli, celery, cucumber, corn (on the cob or frozen), peas, Goldfish, American cheese, string cheese, occasional chicken nuggets, very occasional fast-food burgers, fish sticks (the skinny kind), soy milk, rice, fries, and most of all, chocolate.
The worst things in the universe according to Stephen right now are: taking a vitamin at bedtime (in the morning is fine); brushing teeth at bedtime (also fine in the morning); being asked to sit at the table to eat (though it's fine if he does it voluntarily); having to leave the library, especially if it's because of his behaviour with other kids; wanting to go play at bedtime and instead being told to lie down and go to sleep already; and generally not being allowed to do things he wants to do but that are impractical, impossible, or unlawful.
He's now been completely weaned for a couple of months, which, though bittersweet, is kind of a relief for me. 2¾ years was great, but enough :) We're working on getting him into his own bed, with mixed success. If he's really tired, he'll fall asleep there almost right away, but if not, it can be a real struggle with full-on tantrums and screaming and everything. I'm told that if we stop now, though, it'll be all the more difficult later on, so we'll keep trying. His bed is currently just a toddler mattress on the floor of the big bedroom, so he's still within hugging distance, anyway.
I can't believe he's going to be three years old next month. Geez. Time really does fly.
Think that's about it for now. Hugs and kisses (yep, big, wet, Stephen kisses) to all, and enjoy the new pictures!
Previous Stephen updates: February 2003; November 2002, August 2002, May 2002; April 2002; March 2002; February 2002; November 2001.