the paudie need sleep

We had a blast in Orlando. Paudie was on top of the world - it was as if each day was better than the past. He was going full-tilt. By the time we got back, he was crashing big time. On the flight down, he was hella wriggly and antsy. Luckily there were lots of kids on board and a super sweet flight attendant who was more than happy to help entertain him and walk him around. On the flight back, he was asleep by take off. He of course had pooped about one minute before he fell asleep and I didn't have the heart to wake him, mostly cos I knew he would be verrry unhappy and I figured it better to smell poop in peace and quiet than to smell nothing in the midst of tears and shrieking. John was disgusted by the time we landed. In retrospect, it was rather foul - but hey, no diaper rash so no harm done.

But back to the trip. We did make it to Epcot one day - I thought it might be a little over his head, but he was quite good on the rides - most are slow moving, bright colors etc. He enjoyed a mickey ice cream bar and fish and chips over in fake Britain. He also got to run around a fair amount. The house we stayed at had a pool so he got to go for a few dips. Dip 1 he was really unsure of the whole thing but by Dip 2, he was delighted. We also spent some time at a nearby playground - he was up and down the slides many times. We were taken aback by his skills on the slide - much more advanced than what we saw in October, last time we saw him in playground action. Paudie also had loads of fun playing with his cousins, specifically, torturing his 2 year old cousin Shane. He was playing the annoying little brother role quite nicely. Everything Shane had, Paudie needed and was not shy about taking it off of him. They mostly played really well together and it was super cute to see their rapport.

We have lots of great photos - I will post some. Hopefully relatively soon.

The highlight of the trip, for me, was Paudie's enthusiasm. It was the first time I 'got it.' This is what it feels like to see your child be uber-happy. To see your child be uber-unhappy, that we knew pretty well. But to see a perma-grin for 4 days straight was something I did not expect and that made it even sweeter. I am so glad we went - not to mention the weather was perfect. I liken the whole experience, for Paudie, to the type of trip you take with friends when you are single - after like 6 nights of drinking and clubbing, you know you cant' take anymore and just need to go home. That was Paudie on the toddler level.

So he is getting back into his routine... I feel like his vocabulary is really progressing as the result of spending time with his cousins. While he speaks his own language, I assume it will be translated into words we understand at some point soon. It's so fun to listen to though. Clearly he thinks we know what he is saying - brilliant!