Orlando Vacation

We all went to Orlando, Florida for a family vacation this month. We stayed from February 14th until February 18th. The weather there was in the 70s every day, and we enjoyed it by going to the beach, swimming, and simply walking around without the jackets, mittens, and hats that are still necessary in Minnesota right now! Fayed did really well on the plane ride - he fell asleep before we even took off and woke up just after landing for the most part. I think he knew it was a vacation, because he wanted to stay up until 11 PM or so every night! He was a little hesitant about the swimming pool at first, but he warmed up right away and loved splashing and trying to walk around on his own. We went to Cocoa Beach, a 45 minute drive from Orlando, on the Atlantic Ocean, but there were cold wind gusts; so although it was breathtakingly beautiful, it was just too cold to really stay there very long and enjoy it more. We also went to Disney and Fayed had a great time there too. I really hated to come back to Minnesota, where the temperatures are still under 20 degrees and there is still snow on the ground, but at least I know what nice weather summer will bring and the fact that it is only a few months away now is very consoling. This year Fayed is old enough to really know what is going on and I think he will have so much fun at parks, zoos, and wherever else we take him in the summer!

Fayed at 14 Months

Fayed is toward the end of his 14th month now, and he's learning, developing, and changing all the time. He is trying to talk, in his own way. I tell him to say "box" and he says "bah!" I tell him to say "duck" and he says "duh!" Sock is "gock" and the list goes on. He has also become a really good helper. He likes to have little tasks and he remembers where things go. He helps me unload the dishwasher, throws things in the trash, and tosses clothes to be washed down the stairs. He also helps me find things that are lost (and most of the time, he is the one who "lost" it), like the remote, my cell phone, or his other sock or shoe. He's just started "coloring" - he really loves it, but we have to be careful to keep him from eating the crayons! He's becoming a lot better in the car as well, I can even sit in the front seat most of the time now! Unfortunately Fayed has been sick quite a few times this winter; he's met lots of new babies and it seems that every time he meets one, he picks up their cold. He's become a lot more social and plays with his little friends quite well now. It's getting a lot easier to take him out - he loves running around the mall, riding on toddler rides, and we even took him with us when we went to see a movie earlier this month. He has become a little more of a picky eater, and usually he won't have more than a few bites during a meal - sometimes he refuses to eat altogether. He does like a variety of food though, and he has no problem even eating spicy food. He'd just rather be running around playing, and he's grown into a tall thin little boy because of this.