We ended up having a great vacation in New Smyrna. It was the perfect mix of relaxation and fun. We swam a couple of times each day. Mostly at the pool, which Will preferred. Midweek we got him a small inner tube which he could hang on to himself and kick around the pool. He loved it, and we loved it too as that meant we could all have a little more independence. He loved jumping off the edge of the pool and tolerated a brief dunk but preferred it when we kept his head completely above water. He wasn't sure what to think of the ocean. The waves would knock him over at waist level, so I guess his hesitations were justified. He had fun being carried out into the ocean though. Luke, and my mom and I discovered just how fun Boogie Boards are two days before we left. We wish we would have started playing on them from the beginning.
We saw lots of dolphins and at one point when we were swimming there were about 5 of them not more than 25 or so yards from us. Luke and I also saw a stingray jump up out of the water pretty close to us. But it was closer to a few unsuspecting people floating on rafts....
My mom was kind enough to give Luke and I some much needed and much appreciated time for just the two of us. We went to the race on the 4th and then also had another date night. We went to Daytona Beach, were I had vacationed as a child. We were so sad to see that it seems like that area has gone completely downhill. It seemed very run-down and kind of trashed. We drove along the strip and couldn't even find a restaurant that overlooked the ocean that looked decent. Fortunately we went over to the Intercoastal Waterway and found a great seafood restaurant
Our Deck Down Under. We sat outside on the water and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, good food (very reasonably priced) and a beautiful sunset. Then we went to a bar in New Smyrna and had a great time watching the locals, listening to live music and playing pool.
Will LOVED having two new caregivers besides the usual Mama. Whenever I started to do something for him ("come on, Will, let's go change your diaper") the response was always the same: "NO!! Nana do it!" or "NO!! Daddy do it." Initially I was miffed by this unusual behavior but I quickly realized this was my best chance for a true vacation with a 2 year old. So I sat back and read my book or watched the ocean from our balcony and honored his wishes. :)
Everything was going great, until Wednesday. Luke and my mom had gone to the store and I took Will down to the pool. We were having a great time... until he got out for a drink, took my beach towel off the chair, stepped on it and tripped and fell. Immediately he had a mouth full of blood. I wiped it away, another mouth full. I could see his teeth were all fine, and then I got a glimpse of his tongue. It was a nasty, terrible, HUGE gash. I ran him up to the condo and sat on the floor with him, trying to calm him down to figure out what to do. Then my mom and Luke walked in. I called his pediatrician who said it would probably heal ok. He calmed down and we even took him back down to the pool. A little while later when he tried to drink or eat anything he was clearly in a lot of pain. Also, Luke and I both got a good look at it and it was
awful. We quickly decided to take him to the ER... where we sat and waited. We met this woman who called her son's pediatrician and they said they would see us right away. We got right in and LOVED Dr. Corithers. The bite was about 3 teeth wide, and 3/4 of the way through his tongue! He called it "wicked" and gave Will an antibiotic and a painkiller. He said it's difficult to stitch up the tongue and especially a 2-year old's tongue. With the amount of blood flow in the tongue, he told us it should heal quickly, which it has. He was pretty upset that day, but the next day the painkiller was working and he was able to eat. It has healed well and now there is just a line across his tongue - I'm not sure if that will be a scar or if that will heal too. We were all glad it wasn't any worse.
Overall, wonderful trip. We were really glad to have my mom with us and Will loved his "roommate".
And now, back to the real world...
This is my cat Kramer. He is the most wonderful cat ever. He is so easygoing. He is more like a dog than a cat, in that he likes to be in on the action. If a visitor stops by, Kramer is out to greet our guest. He is really friendly with everyone, even other cats. I've never once seen him get aggressive, ever. I got him from a shelter in 2001 and he has always liked to ride around on my shoulder. When he was a kitten he would perch himself on my shoulder and just sit there like a parrot. To this day, he will walk up to me and literally raise up on his hind legs and reach up to me (or jump up) for me to pick him up and carry him around. He curls up with me every night and is so affectionate. He's awesome. I took this picture the other day of him just chilling out and thought I would post it.
I had to post this picture because it is too cute. This is Will and his beloved Pa-Paw (Luke's dad) on the lawn mower at our house. Sonny lives about a mile down the road from us and Will LOVES to spend time with Pa-Paw, take tractor rides with him, talk about him, the list goes on and on. Whenever Will pretend talks on the phone, I will ask him who he is talking to and it's always Pa-Paw. Will is so fortunate to have such a wonderful and loving Pa-Paw.
We ended up having a great vacation in New Smyrna. It was the perfect mix of relaxation and fun. We swam a couple of times each day. Mostly at the pool, which Will preferred. Midweek we got him a small inner tube which he could hang on to himself and kick around the pool. He loved it, and we loved it too as that meant we could all have a little more independence. He loved jumping off the edge of the pool and tolerated a brief dunk but preferred it when we kept his head completely above water. He wasn't sure what to think of the ocean. The waves would knock him over at waist level, so I guess his hesitations were justified. He had fun being carried out into the ocean though. Luke, and my mom and I discovered just how fun Boogie Boards are two days before we left. We wish we would have started playing on them from the beginning.
Kayaking with Nana...
Pulling in the Kayak... 
