Swimming Lessons

The three boys started swim lessons this June. Benji was 2 1/2, Gabriel was almost 1 1/2, and Matty was 8 months. Benji did not like laying on his back, he was not a fan of his ears going under. By the end of the lessons, he was swimming around with his "noodle", opening his eyes under water, letting go of the edge and kicking back up to it, swimming between me and Edmund. And then afterwards we would go into the locker room Benji would sing really loud in the shower :-) Gabriel was not happy at first, but is now a little fish. Matty learned how to kick, he didn't like being taken away from me, but the last day he had a life jacket and floated on his back the whole time, almost falling asleep.

I love this face "don't make me do it mommy!"

My First Train Ride

Benjamin Loves Trains. Edmund and I always have to take detours when we are driving because we have to "catch" the train. Edmund and Benjamin even parked and sat by the railroad tracks for over a night waiting for a train to pass by. 

His favorite thing about the train is the loud train whistle and the "things that go down."  He also is pretty sure that he will be a con"ductor" when he grows up.
So we took the amtrak to Tampa (a first for all of us) Benjamin was so excited at the train station, and when the train arrived he got a little upset thinking that it was going to drive right past us. He held his hand out and yelled "Stop, Train, Please Stop!" He enjoyed the entire three hour ride, it was fun to run along the aisles, look out the window, wave at cars, eat in the snack car, and hear the train wistle. Benji kept saying 'I hear another train" and Edmund would say "No, Buddy, that's our train." There was a black joystick on each chair that reclined the seat, but Benjamin was convinced that he could drive the train with it.
We also got to spend the day at the Tampa Aquarium which was pretty cool. It was a mile walk from the station, and even in the middle of January, pretty hot.
And of course, Benji got to talk to the conductor, which made his day.

A Blast!!

We went to the Port Orange Family Days over the weekend. Benjamin had a "perma-grin" on his face the entire time. Grandpa J, aka "PaPa", bought an armband to go on all of the rides- Edmund was going to get one, but no need for everyone to get one.... so..... PaPa had to go on all of the rides (like it or not) with Benjamin. Although, this year Benjamin was tall enough to go on a few rides by himself!! What a big boy! The first one PaPa tried to get on with him and the ride operator said PaPa was too big- Benji had to go by himself.  When PaPa walked away Benji looked pretty worried and said "PaPa, sit here!" We told him he had to go by himself and as soon as the ride started--- he started to smile, and he had a blast from there on! Their personal favorite was the Spinning Dragons- both Grandpa J and Benjamin loved it and they went on it several times. All I wanted was a funnel cake (which I have been trying to get my hands on for seriously over a year, something always happens!?!) I don't think it would have been very good for my blood sugar levels anyway! 

 Cruising in the Wiggle Worm- this one went on forever and made PaPa Dizzy!

 First Ride by Himself- looking a "little worried"

 Weeee!

 Driving with a little girl- they talked the whole time :-)

Dirty

Last Day of our first camping trip as a family of Three. Edmund and I use to go camping almost every weekend. And we haven't gone in a year and a half, not just because you can't spray a newborn with bug spray and sunscreen,but also because it is not the kind of activity that works well with my job. Having no access to phone or computers does not really work, even for a day or two.  So, this trip was actually our third attempt to go, but it was worth it. Benjamin absolutely loved the entire concept of camping. When we were setting up we told him that he would be going "night" in the tent. For the first time ever, Benji was asking every 10 minutes to go "nite" and did it the entire next day too (and he slept like a log) He also loved cooking on a stick, playing in the dirt (see pictures) and playing with his stick in the dirt. This last day we spent the morning at the beach and then headed over to the lighthouse. We bought tickets to climb to the top and then found out you have to be 44 inches tall to climb. You should have seen the little guys face (both of them actually), when we turned around to leave, Edmund and Benji were so excited to climb to the top... Benji cried. Then we went downtown, where we thought a train ride would cheer Benjamin up (trains are his new thing) Every time a train rounded the corner, his face lit up "train, train" then we found out it was $20 a person to ride. We decided to go for it and it was worth it, we got a really nice scenic tour of St Augustine, Benji got his train ride. As we rounded Magnolia street (named one of the top 10 most beautiful streets in America) something rammed Edmund's shoulder, when he looked down he saw one sound asleep (sitting up) little boy.