Florida

May was fun! We decided to have a 5 de mayo par-tay with the Saavedras. Since Brian's bday was a couple days before we made it into a bday party. Charles bought him a Hello Kitty pinata.

On Tues. May 7th we headed down to Orlando for Charles' annual Infectious Disease Pharmacy Conference. Last yr Charles' parents came down with us and we went to Disney World. This year we decided to go to the Nickelodeon Water Park Resort. It was a lot of fun. We didn't tell the kids we were going so they were very surprised and excited about it.

We stopped in St. Augustine for a night and looked around Flagler College. So gorgeous.

And, of course, we stopped for my favorite dish that I've been thinking about for the past 3 yrs. Yum!

Florida beaches are so superior to GA beaches!

And, then we arrived...

 I LOVE babies! I really do. I used to not. But, the more babies I have, the more I just love them. Toddlers not so much, but, babies yes :)

He is so adorable! I can hardly stand it!

 Meeting the TMNT has started a new obsession for Azure and Vince. We watched some old clips together on youtube, but they are a bit too violent for my liking. However, we all sing the theme together at least a few times a week.

 Here's Vince singing some of it: (Loooook! The first video I'm posting in like 3 yrs!!! This is huge!)

We got to squeeze in a trip to the Orlando temple while we were there, switching off like usual. So beautiful. The Columbia, SC temple is one of the smaller ones, so it's always nice to go in a big one and really feel the grandeur of God. This one has a stained glass of the Sacred Grove in their chapel that I just love.

And, we also stopped at our favorite Cuban restaurant in Orlando. Always nice to go to bigger cities and eat food we don't get much of in Savannah. Mexican! Cuban! I made it a point to eat every 2-3 hrs on this vacation and felt so much better doing so. We also were very conscious of the protein/carb balance of the meals we ate and we felt a lot more patient with the kids b/c we were eating food that didn't make us feel like crap. It also helped that we prayed specifically over and over again to be patient with them. It was one of our best trips! We only had 1 incident which for us is very good.

We certainly couldn't pass up IKEA! Charles miraculously fit 2 HUGE boxes in our car- this bunk bed and a dresser for Azure. They've been sharing a room since Good Friday. That was when we decided to put Zeke in the crib in his own room. Vince was just sleeping on the floor on a sleeping bag for awhile. Then, we got a mattress for him but, he'd end up on the floor anyways.

At the Nick Hotel, Vince slept in a bed for the first time (it was a bunk bed). I can't believe he had still been sleeping in a crib almost 2 months past his 3rd birthday, esp since Azure stopped about 2 months after turning 2! I think he fell off it the first 2 nights. We would find him on the floor in the morning or under the bed.

It has been really tender hearing them giggling and playing together now that they have this bed. It is forging memories for them that I hope they will always remember. I love it! A couple weeks ago I sang the "Hello Pillow" song to Vince but, realized he didn't have a pillow. I changed that right away! I first made this song up for Azure I think around March 2011. It is sung to the tune of "Hello, Hello" from the Children's songbook.

Hello, Pillow. Hello, Pillow.

It’s time to go to sleep (goodnight)

Hello, Pillow. Hello, Pillow.

It’s time to close your eyes.

And climb inside your warm, snuggly bed and put your pillow underneath your head.

Hello, Pillow. Hello, Pillow.

It’s time to go to sleep. Goodnight!

Charles is planning on running his 2nd marathon in Nov so, Azure has gone with him a few times on his runs. He drops her off after a couple laps around the block and then keeps on going.