Eleanor and Henry rang in the new year with a getaway vacation to warm Puerto Rico. Both kids were excellent travelers in both directions, kept entertained by a barrage of Doc McStuffins videos, iPad games and Dora videos. We had a great time visiting with Grandma and Grandpa, Great Grandma, and the many aunts, uncles and cousins with us. Both kids reported that swimming in the pool was their favorite part of the trip – and good thing because that is were we spend almost all of our time. Henry had an “ah ha” moment with his floaties on, discovering that he could swim all by himself all over the pool with them, and could even jump in from the side and stay floating. Last summer he was only medium on them, and mostly wanted to be held in the water, but now he wants them on the minute he gets into the water. We spent hours just jumping in from the wall and then getting back out again. Eleanor also started with floaties on, but by the end of the week was swimming by herself without them. She was determined to learn how to dive down and retrieve some diving rings, but didn’t quite get it mastered. She would get her head and upper body underwater, but couldn’t quite get her waist and legs under. It was great fun to watch both of them gain confidence in the pool. We also hit the beach, and they both liked standing at the edge and chasing the waves back and forth. Eleanor also made a point to search for a sea shell to bring back home for Lala :) Eleanor came up with a great new name for our customary “Happy Hour” before dinner each night – she heard us talking about heading there after showers if we had enough time, and when she was ready she collected all her toys into a bag and asked, “Can we go to Happy Time now?” I’m not sure how she felt when she found out it was just snacks and conversation ;)
New Years Eve brought a fun magic show by Grandpa, and both kids were super into it. Eleanor hopped up and gave the bunny a kiss the minute it “appeared” out of the hat, and Henry got a big kick out of the disappearing picture box.
We had a few days back home to relax before school starts up again for Eleanor and Henry. We even got a bit of snow on Sunday, and Eleanor in particular was excited to do some snow angles. She did about nine! Unfortunately, there wasn’t quite enough to do a snowman, which is what Henry really wanted to do.
