Our first hike of the year was at Maple Keys Sugar Bush. It was a bright and beautiful day.

Swimming lessons started again – this time at the Wingham recreation centre. We went to public swimming in advance so Connor would be familiar with the pool and the facility. Only one bump in the road – when we were getting dressed after swimming, we discovered that someone had mistakenly taken one of Connor’s socks. Thankfully it didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for swimming lessons.

Connor fit right in with all the other skinny little boys!

He did a fantastic job of listening and trying everything the instructors asked him to do.

I was very impressed with the way they did the lesson. Lots of instructors for a small group of children.

I think Connor loved moving around in the water without a life jacket. When the time came to put one on he was still a happy camper.

Connor and I have enjoyed our first outdoor meal of the season at the table on the deck. Grandma and Grandpa chickened out and ate inside. Obviously we don’t enforce the ‘no helmet at the table’ rule!

We’re looking forward to more outdoor meals and some warmer weather for more spring adventures.

I hadn’t considered that he’d be breaking trails on the tops of snowbanks. Oh well, live and learn!

After doing major research for inexpensive airfare, I booked our flight out of Buffalo. It would mean a 3-hour drive to Buffalo, and we’d have to change planes part way, but the price just couldn’t be beat. Although our flight wasn’t until the afternoon of the 19th, we left for Buffalo on Monday the 18th. Because we’d have to leave the car parked somewhere for a week, I decided to make reservations through Park, Sleep’nFly. For about $20 more than regular Park’n Fly rates we could spend one night in a hotel and leave the car at the hotel for the week we’d be away. With the iffy winter weather I thought that was the best route. I didn’t want to take a chance on being late for our flight by driving straight to the airport. The weather co-operated for a change and driving was good. Good thing too, as it stormed at home that Monday night. Our timing worked perfectly. We arrived at our hotel with enough time to have a swim and supper before retiring to our room for a play and bed. The weather in Buffalo was fine until Tuesday afternoon. By the time our flight took off at 4:25 pm we couldn’t see the runway. It was windy and snowy. Changing planes in Atlanta proved to be a little hairy, but eventually we figured it out and were once again on our way. Connor was wearing zip-off pants and took great pleasure in removing the legs of his pants while we were still on the first plane.

Grandma and Grandpa met us at the airport in Tampa. I think they were a little anxious because they went very early and spent a few hours hanging out at the airport waiting for us. Connor was a little shy at first, but warmed up quickly.

It was a late night for Connor, so Grandma and Grandpa had to wait until the next morning to shower the little boy with all the new guys stuff they’d picked up since leaving Canada. Good thing we got there when we did or they would have run out of places to stash things in that 5th wheel trailer. Connor was thrilled to receive multiple new Cars, a Mack car carrier and Grandpa’s favorite, a Cars race track.

In an earlier post I said that one of our first adventures would be to go shopping for a bigger bike for Connor. We found ‘the one’ at Toys’R Us. Connor pedaled quite a few different bikes around the store, but he and Grandpa kept going back to the bright yellow Hummer. We purchased it unassembled and as soon as we were back at the trailer the building began.

Connor helped wherever he could.

There are a few more minor adjustments Grandpa has to make. Frequently, while out for our many bike rides, Connor would hit a spot where the training wheels were lower than his back tire. He would pedal like mad and not get anywhere. The back tire would just spin. Every time it happened Connor would tell us he was out of gas. Grandpa set out the hose for the power washer to work as the gas pump at the trailer. If he ran out of gas down by the pool or office, he’d pretend that the newspaper dispensers were the gas pumps.

With any luck he won’t grow quite as fast this summer and we’ll be able to get more than one year out of his new bike. It’s a bit big for him, however he handles it like a pro. Grandma and I had a hard time keeping up with him.

As an extra treat (like he needed anything else) I picked him up a bike light. Grandpa put it on for him one afternoon. The happy dance he did upon looking outside that evening and realizing it was dark was absolutely hilarious. Night time meant he could ride his bike and try out the new light too!

We had wonderful weather and were able to go swimming almost every day. Connor loved using Grandma’s pool noodle. Sometimes it was a horse, sometimes a motorcycle and other times it was a snowmobile.

He decided that he could do back floats all by himself. I was really impressed. Looks like he might be ready for the next level of swimming lessons after all.

Grandma, Connor and I took a drive in to Sun City Center to pick up a few groceries one day and decided to stop at a park for a play on the way home. The sand surrounding the playground equipment was beautiful. Naturally he had to have his socks and shoes off.

The park was right next to the water and we could see kites being flown down by the water’s edge. When we walked down, the people flying the kites were kind enough to let Connor have a try. By the time we walked back up to the playground there were more kids there. Connor had fun playing in the sand with them. (I didn’t realize at the time of taking these pictures that my camera was in black and white mode, but I like how they turned out.)

Like every good holiday it came to an end too soon. We had such a great time. The weather was awesome – only one day of real rain and one day of light sprinkling that didn’t last for long. Our flight out of Tampa was at 7:00 am. That was an early morning. We packed everything into the truck and waited to wake Connor until the last possible minute. He wore his PJ’s to the airport and had his breakfast there before we boarded the plane.

Two plane rides later and we were back in Buffalo. It was a pretty turbulent trip. Poor Connor was airsick on both planes. He got it all in the little bags though! Despite being sick, he was an excellent little traveler. Before he was ill he was a happy camper and chitter-chattering away. After getting sick he’d curl up on my lap or snuggle in close beside me and not make a peep.

The car was in the same location and condition as it was when we left it. Whew! After a quick stop at McDonald’s to put something in Connor’s tummy, we started for home. It was a very quiet ride – my best boy slept from just after Niagara Falls all the way home.

We were counting down the days on a calendar and marking them off with stickers before going to Florida. Now that our trip is over and we’re home, we’re doing a countdown of the days until Grandma and Grandpa come home. Talking on the phone is okay, but it’s not the same as seeing them in person.

A week after our special night out I received a call from the girl who runs the daycare. She wanted to know if I’d seen the paper. Mine hadn’t arrived yet, so she informed me that Connor was front page news! When my paper came I was surprised to see that his picture took up almost half of the front page.

Yup, that’s Connor in all his glory. Yes, he did put that big bite into his mouth and he did eat all those pancakes – the sausages were a different story. According to Connor you must have puddles of ketchup and mustard in order to dip and eat sausages or hotdogs. Of course I had to buy extra copies of that issue to have enough to share with the rest of the family.