a family trip to Florida!

We spent last week in sunny Orlando with Deric's parents and his brother's family and took the kids to Disney World for the first time. It was actually my first time going to Disney as well! There are a few too many photos from vacation to share in one post, so I'll get to the Disney photos soon and share pictures from the rest of vacation first.

We spent two days at the parks and the remainder of the week swimming and swimming and swimming some more. It was fantastic! Even after spending all day at the parks, Jake begged to go swimming when we got back to the hotel. (We did indulge him one night even though it was bedtime--because after sweating all day long how can you say no?!)

Jake lived it up and probably jumped into the pool about 500 times over the course of those four days. He was just nonstop (as I imagine most kids are who don't have daily access to the water)!

We brought a beach ball and his water gun and he'd go back and forth between throwing the ball to his dad or grandpa, or shooting everyone in the family with the water gun (with permission first, we don't want him to be that kid!). I've got a short video of Jake standing on the edge of the pool and throwing the ball to his grandpa, then shooting him with the water gun as he jumps in. Quite the combination!

Thankfully the pool water was warm enough that Reid got to swim too! There is nothing cuter than a baby all ready to swim. Between Deric, the grandparents and myself, we rotated through nap duty in the hotel room, naps poolside and swimming with Jake so we were all able to enjoy swimming and napping. Deric was usually more than happy to head up to the hotel room to "supervise" Jake's nap, AKA take a nap himself. And I was perfectly content to read a book by the pool during that time, so we were all happy.

Deric was ready to buy this stroller that we rented for the week. It was perfect for naps both poolside and in the parks, comfortable for both boys and small enough to fit through doorways. Reid loved it too. ;)

Ready to swim!

Taking a break from all that jumping to give Reid a kiss!

I've watched this video repeatedly because I love that gummy, wide-open smile!

Swimming with Reid from Ashley Skinner on Vimeo.

One of my favorite memories of this trip will be Jake's "cannonballs". I tried to show him how to do a cannonball in the pool one afternoon but didn't actually jump in because the pool was only four feet deep. So I explained it and lifted up one knee to show him. For the rest of the trip, his cannonballs were basically a regular jump into the pool but with his hand on his knee. Or on both knees for a double cannonball. ;)

On Friday afternoon the hotel had some poolside entertainment and they started a cannonball competition. And wouldn't you know it, Jake was the first one to do it! I was so proud of him and could just die over his little attempt. He even told the MC his name and where he was from (although you can't hear him in the video)!

Cannonball competition from Ashley Skinner on Vimeo.

It hit me a few days into vacation how perfectly timed this trip was for us. With Reid joining the family and all of the usual things that have to get done, I feel like Jake's been on the back burner a little. So to spend afternoons at the pool with nothing else to distract me from playing with him was so good for both of us. I would catch him jump after jump, watch everything that warranted a "Mom, watch this!" and play goofy games without chores, dinner, and whatever else looming in the background. Deric and I took turns playing in the water with Jake and holding a sleeping baby while catching up on books.  It was truly a vacation!

I absolutely love this photo. This kid is growing up so fast, but he's still so little too! I'm so glad we took this week to relax, have fun and slow time down for just a second.