The Byrd Family

Sunday, July 18, 2010

A Relaxing Week

We have had a very relaxing week at home. I know that sounds funny since we are on summer vacation, but some weeks really are more relaxing than others. Ben went to Aunt Joycie's house every morning from 8:30 to noon this week. He loves playing with the other kids. They had a picnic at the lake this week. Ben told us he "ate sandwiches." I just love hearing him talk. It's so cool to hear what's on his mind.

Ben discovered a new talent this week. He can cross his index and middle fingers on his left hand. Jeremy said he had the cutest look of "awe" on his face when he discovered this new talent. He is developing a stronger independent streak with each passing week. Some of his new phrases are, "Ben do it" and "blah blah blah now." We're trying to get him to say please instead of now at the end of his requests....it's a work in progress :) He is doing very well with thank you's and you're welcome's.

We have exactly 4 weeks left of summer vacation. I am not ready to start thinking about a new school year, haha! Maybe I'll be motivated when August rolls around. Here are the latest pictures of Benny Bear.

practicing his new skill....crossing his left index and middle finger :)

Grandpa keeping Ben entertained @ Red Lobster

goofing off in the parking lot

mowing the yard

pointing at one of the trees and telling me how daddy "cut it with chainsaw" :)

riding in the radio flyer :)

not sure what he was doing here, but he has a big smile on his face :)

play room pictures

Sunday, July 11, 2010

The Palms Baby!

I am typing this blog around midnight, so I apologize in advance for any misspellings or grammatical errors, haha! We got in around 8:30 from our fabulous mini vacation at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando. We get an awesome discounted rate of $99 per night since we are teachers! Woo hoo! Sometimes it comes in handy to be a teacher :)
I wanted to write this blog now, while the vacation memories are fresh in my mind. This was our first real family vacation since Ben has been born. Jeremy and I were really nervous about Ben being away from his usual environment. Well, it turns out we didn't need to be so worried because he did great! The first night, I let Ben sleep in the bed with me (we had two queen beds). Ben slept great, but not me! I felt like I had a newborn again...waking at every little peep or movement. The next night, we took the hotel up on their offer of providing a crib for him. We ALL slept great that night! Ben really, really, really enjoyed the pool. The pool has this huge, octopus-shaped slide for the kiddos. Jeremy and Ben went down it about a million times. I have a picture of it posted below. We were also able to take Ben to Downtown Disney where we ate at the Rainforest Cafe, shopped, and rode the carousel & "choo-choo" train. The hotel is pretty amazing. There is an Everglades section with tons of fish, turtles, and gators! There is also a Key West section with a huge sailboat and more fish. The restaurants at the hotel are very pricey, so we ventured out for most meals.
It's hard to explain the vastness of this hotel. Check it out on the web if you're not familiar with it. It's also the hotel that hosts the ICE display during the Christmas holiday season (http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-palms/best-of-florida-christmas/index.html?source=http://www.gaylordpalms.com/ice). My first trip to the Palms was for the ICE event. Jeremy and I stayed one night and went to the ICE display to celebrate an anniversary.
We had so much fun and will definitely make this an annual summer trip! Enjoy the pictures...I've posted a million!