Two Little N's and A Little A: Back from Vacation

We just got back from a week vacation in Florida with Nana and Papa. I already miss the warm Florida sun and breeze. Oh, it felt fabulous! There is not much for two little boys to do in a retirement community, but we found plenty! We swam in the pool every single day.

We had a "break-through" on some things with Nathan too. First, he finally wore sunglasses! In fact, he asked for them and I don't think he took them off except at night to go to bed. He looked so cool in them. Unfortunately, they broke on the way to the airport coming home, but I think he is officially a sunglass wearer ")

Second, he swam by himself in the pool! Nana got him something called a puddle jumper, which has arm bands and a waist band. It works great and gave him enough confidence to swim alone in the pool. He was swimming on his back and kicking and even jumped in a few times (except when a little girl that we met jumped on him a few times and scared the heck out of him...that's another story :) Now I can go to the pool with the boys by myself knowing that he can swim and I can hold onto Nicholas.

As for Nicholas, it was quite an adventure for him. He was not a fan of the airplane, and I was afraid the passengers were going to try to kick us off because he was having terrible tantrums. But, for the ride back, he had a little dramine and slept like a king. He enjoyed swimming and being free and running...yes, running and running. This trip was a bit of a reality check for me that Nicholas is a "runner". In a blink of an eye, he is off- - fearless, laughing, and not looking back. I need to figure out something to get him to stop and listen. I am not sure how much of it is his age (terrible two) and how much is a cognitive delay. I just know that I need to teach him some safety things, and fast. We made a new friend from Georgia (Ashlyn), who is five years old and also has down syndrome. She swam by herself, jumped in the pool (and on top of Nathan), and talked with us. She was adorable, energentic and to my delight was potty trained at 2!! So, yes, it can be done (another thing I need to start working on!!).