Find Your Beach

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Orlando Love

As we get ready to move to Maitland, I feel compelled to take a minute to show my appreciation for The City Beautiful. Recently, I picked Reid up from his school and walked with him to Lake Eola, where we enjoyed strolling around the lake and pointing out squirrels and birds. While there, I made a promise to myself that I will give Reid opportunities throughout his childhood to know and love Orlando - especially downtown Orlando and College Park and all of the other areas that Andy and I have grown to love over the past seven years as Orlando residents.

I have lived in Orlando since my return from law school in 2010. During my first year out of law school, I lived at Uptown Place off Orange Avenue. Next, Andy and I lived in 1 Eola South in Thornton Park for about 3 years. Now, and for a few weeks more, we live in College Park. Although our zip code slightly changed between moves, we have lived in or very near downtown Orlando for the majority of our dating/engaged/married lives. So it should come as no surprise that Orlando holds a very special place in my heart. Even when we move to Maitland, we will continue to work in downtown Orlando and Reid will continue to attend daycare in downtown Orlando. Still, we will no longer be Orlando residents - a truth that is very bittersweet for me. From crossing the threshold of our apartment near Lake Eola as a married couple to buying our first home together in College Park to bringing Finn home right before my 30th birthday party and then carefully introducing newborn Reid to Finn and his (forever) first home in October 2015 - Orlando will always have a piece of my heart. Because of the many memories we have created in Orlando, "The City Beautiful" will always be beautiful to us.

Monday, April 3, 2017

Reid Plays Hooky from School...

Recently, I stayed home from work to spend the day with Reid because he was sickly with a fever the day before. I thought I would spend the day lounging on the couch with a sick Reid, in between attempts to feed him and ensure that he drink his milk and water. However, as the day progressed, I realized that Reid may have faked me out ! Reid ate and drank to his heart's content as we took on a myriad of adventures on our day "off." I think quality mommy/son time was exactly what we both needed! Here is a glimpse of our day:

Peek-a-boo with Finn. And repeat.

Publix + balloon + toddler Reid = happiness

What is even better than a Publix balloon? Blueberries and yogurt, of course!

Someone learned how to stick his tongue out...

Although he looks a little unsure here, BBL had a great time with his older cousins at the park. He especially enjoyed observing a rogue squirrel.

Hanging out at the park with a firm grasp on his snack!

Rogue squirrel patrol on the job.

Baby model strikes again!

Who is a bad influence on who?

Reid lost his clothes while exploring how water works with the help of his water toy. In his defense, it was hot!

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Reid Updates, Part II!

In addition to clear expansion in his vocabulary and play-acting (i.e. he will bring us a cookie from his kitchen upon demand), Reid has been growing physically and is becoming more and more independent every day. The minute we pick him up from daycare, he motions for his lunchbox, which he proudly carries as he walks down the hallway. Some days, he will hold on to his lunchbox for the entire trip home and will carry it around the house until dinner time. He also continues to love balls (throwing, kicking, carrying around) and gets a lot of joy out of seeing Finn run after balls in the backyard or in the living room. However, if Finn doesn't relinquish the ball as fast as Reid likes, Reid will wag his finger at him and tell him "da," which mean "drop." Usually, Finn abides and prevents a nuclear meltdown like only a toddler can have. Reid loves giving directions to adults, too. He frequently tells Andy and I where to sit, what to retrieve for him (blueberries! strawberries!), what to pick up, etc. He also loves going to playgrounds and climbing on anything he can find. Recently, we took him to Azalea Lane playground and he was really excited to see trains pass by, although he did get frightened when one train (Amtrak) was a little too loud and a little too close. He has a similar love/hate relationship with his little toy Thomas the Train remote control train, and he will rush to protect his other toys from the path of the train whenever we are playing with it. Oh, and of course he continues to love giving kisses (even to himself) and bubbles and playing in the water. Never a dull moment in the Layden household!

Reid updates!

Reid has been so much fun lately, and we have loved watching him explore the world. He recently began really enjoying play-acting with his toys, and he loves finding cats and smelling flowers on our frequent blue car walks around the neighborhood. While he hasn't started speaking in full sentences just yet, he has a few words that he uses quite often, such as "mama, dada, mo(more), go ? (where did something go), moon, moo (cow sound), bye or ba (bye)." I have also heard him mimic me with "hoorah" and "yay" and "woo," which is adorable. Besides mimicking, he has also been enjoying hide-and-seek, and he will hide behind the plant in the corner of our living room with delight as Dada and I ask an empty room (or Finn), "Where did Reid go?", and he will then pop out from behind the plant with glee. We love our little toddlerman!