Life is pretty sweet here in Florida. Jeff has been taking some much-deserved time off for the last few weeks and we've been settling in to our new community. We live in a rented condo for the moment, while we wait for word on our new house. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that I don't think we'll be in our new home before the new baby arrives. Luckily, the interim place Jeff found is beautiful, fully-furnished, and only two blocks from the house so the transition shouldn't be too hard when it's time.
We live about two blocks from some of the prettiest water in Florida. We're on the bay side of the peninsula, so there are lots of breathtakingly beautiful birds. Matthew can already identify by name an ibis, a seagull, a pelican, and a duck. One of our favorite things to do is to walk over to the water and watch the pelicans dive-bombing for fish. It's really quite impressive and I would not want to be an unlucky fish.
Of course, the best thing about the water near our house is that there are manatees who regularly show up. When Matthew first saw these big, beautiful creatures, he was with his Nana, so now he calls them nanatees. I'm not sure how much he understands about their name, but he definitely knows that he likes them. We see these guys at least once a week on our walks along the water, and I hope I never get so used to seeing them that it doesn't fill me with gratitude for our new life.
When we get too hot, we usually head over to the children's museum around the corner. It's one of the best I've ever seen and I think Matthew's parents have as much fun as he does. It's run by Americorps volunteers and the people are so good with kids. Each day, they have a show-and-tell presentation where the kids can hold a spider or draw a picture of a fish. The even have parenting classes, which Jeff and I love because it's oh-so-challenging to have a toddler on your hands 24-7. 
But what a toddler! This little man is smart. Every day, he amazes us with his infinitely expanding vocabulary. To see and hear for yourself, check out the "Recent Videos" list.
2 comments:
Great pictures and videos! Having a toddler is challenging, but it is also rewarding. I got your message, but if you have been reading Caring Bridge, you know that that we have been insanely busy. I will call soon. I look forward to our chat!
Glad to hear you're settling in well and enjoying Florida. Matthew looks gorgeous and I can clearly see both you and Jeff in his face! And as for manatees, what a great prompt for gratitude.
Miss you lots.
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