Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was spent at church and with the Johnson family for a wonderful dinner. Isaac loved the attention and we had another small egg hunt for him and Papa.




Here's Isaac experiencing a major sugar dose! If you can't tell, that's a Peep in his mouth, but instead he looks like a boy with serious hypoxia with Angelina Jolie lips! Incidentally he didn't like it after the first bite .... YES!




Kyle Johnson introduced Isaac to the concept of a garden hose. The boy was most intrigued!

Other Plans that You Don't Plan!

Holidays take on a whole new meaning with a little one. For whatever reason, they become more special, a time to create memories. That's what we set out to do this Easter season but as often happens things don't go as planned.



Issac had been having a slight fever for a few days, but his appetite and levels of activity were totally normal - meaning Mama was run into the ground before every nap time! We had a special Family Home Evening lesson about the Savior and what the Easter season was about. A few days later we began introducing the concept of eggs and candy.

Since we've been home, we've been toilet training Isaac and using jelly beans as rewards. Needless to say, he was rather excited about the idea of candy. As a side note, toilet training is going well, better than I thought. When he's given the choice, he wants to try wearing his underwear and practicing his potty. When we're both tired and frustrated, we take a break for the day and go back to diapers. This way I'm not trapped at home and he's not so upset that he wants to give up. I know it'll be a long process, but I'm willing to take it, he seems to be happy in his growing independence.

Anyhow,a few girls from the playgroup put together an Easter egg hunt for the little ones. The grass was dotted with colorful eggs and the youngest had a chance to head out first. I tried to prep Isaac by telling him to go and get eggs quickly and not to open them and eat them until he'd gotten as many as he could.




Once the older kids were let out, he learned quickly to not debate whether he wanted that egg or not. I'm not sure if 'Survival of the Fittest' is what I had in mind for a lesson, but caught on quickly!





Enjoying his treasures!




Playing afterwards. It was a beautiful day. Kent had it off, so he was able to take pictures of us.

He was a little fussy that day, but we figured it might be the sugar. Later that evening Isaac's fever peaked to 103. He'd done this the day before, but after some medication, he went back down to 99, so we didn't think to much of it. We gave him Tylenol and sent him to bed. He woke up 4 hours later, back up to 103. Thankfully we found a Pediatric Urgent Care open just 2 miles from us. We took him in and by the time they saw us he was 104.

I swear the Lord preps us for the littlest of things. Earlier that day Kent and i had crashed for a nap that ended up taking 2 hours. We don't typically do that, but nothing could have woken us if we wanted. That extra sleep got us through the evening, until we got home from Urgent Care at 1:30 am. They ran blood tests, took a good look at him, swabbed for Strep, etc and got nothing ... nothing except a good throwing up on when they accidentally gagged him. ;0) Poor kid was such a trooper, even when the evening was topped by having to take a bitter antibiotic he willingly took it. That's my angel.

In all this, he clung to my neck with both arms saying,"Stay, no go, stay, please." when I tried to put him to bed. I didn't have the heart to leave him so I laid down next to him until he drifted off. It was in this time I took to look at him with the wonder of the pass years of growth and appreciate his just 'being him'. He's my little man and I felt an immense sense of gratitude to my Savior that families do go on to the eternities because of his sacrifice for us.

We missed out on the Saturday Easter activities, Mama and Papa were hardly coherent, while Isaac was totally back to normal, in EVERY way! Figures! But we managed to decorate our own eggs at home. I thought he'd enjoy putting stickers on them, after all, he does it to himself and his coloring book, but he was having more fun eating them.




He kept complaining about the sun, so we bought him shades to see if it helped. He doesn't know what sun is until this summer hits him!

A Few Random Thoughts

Aside from my ranting and raving about how terrible Planet Hollywood was (see Disney World Day 4) it was a really good trip, refreshing for one and all. But when I reflect back on it, the trip was mostly for Kent and I. We enjoyed getting away, seeing green again and experiencing different cultures and shows. Isaac on the other hand, could have been just as happy at home.

Isaac's List of Favorites:
- sliding down the banister at the Mayan temple
- sliding down a steep playground slide
- watching ducks and birds
- chasing a hula hoop
- running and jumping through water
- playing with Lego
- picking up rocks and sticks
- playing with a golf ball
- playing chase

Mama and Papa's Favorites:
- trying all sorts of food in great variety
- snacking on bakery goods all day
- enjoying shows and music from other cultures
- spending time together
- watching Isaac laugh and play

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the greatest joys are often found in the simplest things. We were there in the moment, and the moment simply happened on its own without any prompting from us. Now if we can learn not to let the tasks of the present take too much of our attention away, we can hopefully capture it again and again everyday.

Disney World Day 6

On our final full day in Florida we made it to the Magic Kingdom. I know that it's the 'symbol' of Disney with it's castle and all, but to be frank, it was our least favorite park. We went early on a Thursday and the place was packed! Lines were heinous and the rides were not up to what Kent and I would enjoy and Isaac himself was not all that thrilled. Despite this, there were a few highlights.



Mama caught the line up for Pluto early and Isaac was bouncing with joy at the prospects of hugging 'Poo-to'.

The next three pictures took place in the only uncrowded area of the park, the Winne the Pooh playground. Isaac really enjoyed wandering Pooh Bear's house, ringing his bell and going down the slides.





Of course the classic picture to prove we were there. We were pretty pooped out by this point and left. Later that evening we headed back to Downtown Disney and had an Irish dinner with classic fish and chips. Talk about yummy grease!



Isaac is a cautious child and never really lets go when he slide, but he accidentally did this time and he couldn't get enough. Even the Lego play area was no match and I sat and watched him do it over and over for a half hour.

When we got back to the hotel Isaac played with giant blocks of Lego and Kent discovered another fun game. By spinning the hula hoops out, Isaac went crazy trying to catch them. The kid was screaming with absolute delight. Kent and I laughed so hard at his response.



The following morning we had planned to be packed early and head out to the Animal Kingdom again, but it was pouring rain. We opted to wait play at our hotel. Mama curled up with a book and Papa played some arcades with Isaac.

Disney World Day 5

Kent and I really enjoyed EPCOT and all it's variety and shows, so we headed back for one last day there. Incidentally, the giant Siemens ball that seems to represent EPCOT is known as the 'Meatball'. He was rather emphatic on that point no matter what we said.



I had to stop by the Canadian pavillion. Talk about a 'Small World', the fellow working there is from Calgary like me. Not only that, we discovered he lives behind the grade school I went to, 2 mins drive from my parents home! The second picture was their tribute to the beautiful gardens of Victoria B.C. - where I served my mission.




After our meal at the French Resturant we had to stop by their bakery. Europe is absoultely amazing when it comes to pasteries.



At the Japan pavillion there was this amazing artist who worked with candy. Within 5 minutes she'd shaped and painted a beautiful hummingbird. It drys and hardens into hard candy. Her slender fingers were amazing to watch as they flitted, tugged, smoothed and painted at an indistinquishable blue lump.



I finally convinced Kent to buy a small started kit for bonsai. He's loved looking at those things for years. On the left is a Bougenvilla - the only beautiful one Kent has ever seen. He hates those plants! On the right is my favorite, it's over 80 years old.



Isaac loves Stitch!



In the Imagination pavillion they had an area where the children could run around and stand on various instrument pads. The music above would change to whatever they chose. Isaac loved it!



Each of the Kingdoms has a playground area where little one can run off some energy. Kent loves this picture and wishes I could photoshop the black net out, then it would look like Isaac is jumping through hoops.




My two little Vikings! After our dinner and dessert we had to stop by the Norweigan bakery for their school bread, a bun filled with a delicate custard. Are any of you adding up the pounds on us yet?! My excuse is I'm preganant! ;0)



That evening we went for a German buffet. Isaac inhaled Macaroni and Cheese and chocolate milk - things he never really gets at home. We did the polka to a life German band.