The second of many to come...
Jadeyn is a very active little guy. He has been from even before he was born, so we know that bumps and bruises are going to start happening all the time. Well, he got his second cut already and is just preparing us for the future.

Saturday, he decided that he really wanted to help me vacuum the stairs and tried to squeeze between the wall and the vacuum to get up the stairs. I guess he squeezed his upper half through and pinwheeled and hit something. Nice 3/4 inch cut above his eye! Poor thing. Once I got the bleeding slowed down I really began to panic and wondered if I should just hop in the car to my boss's house and get him stitched up (there are benefits to working for a facial plastic surgeon!). I called Kev who calmed me down and told me to bring him in to see him. Dr. Daddy took a look, determined that it probably could be stitched up, but wouldn't be worth the risk. Three days later he is healing nicely!

We have some very tolerant cats!

Best Buds!

Jadeyn still loves his cats!! As he grows bigger and faster they have become even more tolerant with him than we would have expected. Its so fun to watch him interact with them and to watch them just take it. Newt is his romping buddy who loves to play with Jadeyn and a ball of yarn. Dozer is his pillow and punching bag! We love this video of Jadeyn climbing all over them and especially when Jadeyn does hi famous flipper. He sticks his little arm up in the air just like a dolphin stisking a flipper out of the water. Ta-daa!!

Florida National Parks Trip

Dry Tortugas National Park

Fort Jefferson, February 11, 2009

Our trip began in the “quaint” island of Key West with our first park being Dry Tortugas. The Dry Tortugas National Park is located way off the Key West Coast. Only accessible by boat, we boarded a Fast Cat, a huge catamaran for our 3.5 hour trip out to the park. It was an awesome boat ride our in pretty much the open ocean. Little Jadeyn was ecstatic, leaning way over the edge to feel the wind in his hair and the spray of the ocean on his face. We met a wonderful couple out on their 30^th wedding anniversary celebration and enjoyed talking with them the entire day and they loved entertaining our little guy.

The small portion of the park that is located above the surfaced of the water is a small cluster of island, the largest of which contains and old fort: Fort Jefferson.

The Spanish explorers named the islands because of the abundance of turtle meat, and dry came from the fact that there is no fresh water on the islands. We learned all about the history of this beautiful old fort and enjoyed touring through it, up to the lighthouse and walking around the moat.

Jadeyn’s favorite part of the day was trying to chase the seagulls and snipes. He turned on the turbos crawlers and almost caught a few. There is a moat the circles the entire fort which allows you to walk around the whole island and look straight down into the clear blue water to see the fish. Who needs to snorkel with a view like that!?

Key West, Florida

Key West, Florida

February 10 & 11, 2009

Key West was a really fun and unique place to see. Pelicans and stray cats everywhere searching for a spare scrap of fish, iguanas loose on the streets, street vendors and entertainers, beautiful sailboats at sunset, great night life, and delicious restaurants. We enjoyed walking and watching all the diverse kinds of people around us and Jadeyn was never short on entertainment.

Smather’s Beach was gorgeous. Just a few weeks away from the spring break crowds, we had a small portion of the beach to ourselves to play in the sand. Jadeyn loved the sand!! But babies and sand don’t mix very well when they decide to eat some seaweed (which he tried) or rub their eyes (which he did). He had a blast though before the sand incident though. The sand was fine and smooth and we dug down to the moist “good” stuff to play in.

Everglades Natl Park, Flamingo

The Everglades National Park

Mangrove Forest Pontoon Excursion Feb 12, 2009

One of the best memories of the trip was seeing our first crocodile in the wild. We had boarded a pontoon boat for an excursion through the mangrove forests and the guide pointed out a huge croc sunning himself on the banks! It was sweet. Little did we know that just on the walk from the visitor’s center to the marina we had past at least three other crocodiles that we hadn’t seen. The mangrove forests were beautiful and so alien compared to what we are used to in the west. Massive trees with their roots all exposed above the water line, and other roots that spike straight up from the water to allow the trees to breath. Bizarre.

We had no idea that seeing a manatee in the wild would be possible, but we saw a mother and her pup! Floating like giant white slugs just below the surface of the murky water. What a treat!

The birds were spectacular! Snowy Egrets, White Ibis, Tri-Colored Egret, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbills, Blue Heron, Anhinga, Peregrine Falcons, Whooping Crane, the endangered Wood Stork, tons of Black Vulture and Frigates, and my favorite the Black-Crown Night Heron.

The plant life was so diverse. Red, Black & White Mangrove trees, Jamaica Dogwood, Pond Apple, and then one rare tree that the fruit is extremely poisonous.

We enjoyed the tour immensely, just to be able to be in such an amazing place and learn so much. Jadeyn loved the boat ride and entertained his fellow passengers!

Biscayne National Park

Biscayne National Park

Feb 13, 2009

Biscayne National Park was beautiful as well. 95% of the park is underwater so therefore, we were able to enjoy another boat ride!! As we crossed the bay, the depth of the water was never more than 9 feet! We were able to peer over the side of the boat and watch the coral reefs and brightly colored fish go by. We learned the history of the sea sponges we were seeing. The history of the people on the islands and the pineapple farms that were destroyed simply because a big storm dumped seawater on the crops. It made the land unfarmable for a time.

The color of the water is indescribable. I can’t believe that water can really be that beautiful; every time I see it, it blows me away!

As we reached the island with its picturesque white lighthouse, the terns took off covering the sky and the air with their cries. We walked the island and of course got to dip our feel in the sand and water!

Everglades Natl Park, Everglade City

Everglades National Park

Everglade City, Feb 14, 2009

We saw our first Alligators!!! Along “Alligator Alley” (Hwy 41) we got to see hundreds of them up close and personal. We thought we would see a few, but had no idea that there would be that many all sunning along the grasslands on the side of the road. Even though they were so still and quiet, Jadeyn could still pick them our and got excited with each one! The birds again were something awesome. Seeing the white ibis standing out so drastically against the green surroundings was amazing.

We took another boat ride out through the Thousand Islands part of the park. Wow! As we meandered through the islands we caught a glimpse of two more manatee! And we were joined by a school of dolphins!!! The played in the wake of our boat and showed off jumping out of the water. I loved Kevin’s comment: they really are as smooth and shiny and fake looking as we see on movies. It really was special to be joined by such a beautiful creature.

After the boat trip we kept to our tradition of taking any possible dirt road we can find in a national park. So farm we have never been disappointed by venturing off the beaten path. We saw swamplands that were so picturesque, dotted by pure white birds and ominous looking gators. It didn’t seem real. The chorus of chirps, squawks and growls that we heard was amazing. We sat and observed a black vulture devouring a dead gator and unfortunately had to endure the stench of it as well. We discovered a black cottonmouth coiled up with its jaws poised open, ready to spring on anything near it!

Everglade Natl Park Shark Valley

Everglade National Park

Shark Valley February 15, 2009

Shark Valley was the perfect, all-encompassing finale to our trip. We wend on a tram tour through the grasslands and saw a great review of all the animals and plant life that we had seen throughout the trip, plus a few new ones. Roseate Spoonbills are pretty rare and as we could tell by the excitement in our guide, they don’t even see them that often on the tour. It was pretty special. We came across a nest of baby alligators and eve got to hear them bark/chirp! Our guide was fantastic. She informed us of the whole history of the park, its current status with water conditions and all the controversies surrounding its preservation. It really does seem like a special gift that we have been given to cherish. There was a quote that we read that really summed it up: The Everglades have been given to us as a test. If it survives, maybe we can keep the earth.

Jadeyn’s favorite part was still the birds. He was such an angel on the whole trip and flirted with everyone who would look at him!

What a fantastic trip!

South Beach Miami

South Beach Miami
February 15, 2009

We had a few extra hours to kill before our plane home so we decided to check our South Beach. With all the people on the beach already, it was hard to imagine it with thousands more during Spring Break. The day had clouded over so we didn’t get in the water very much, but it was still beautiful. Fun to people watch and search for seashells! Jadeyn did great in the water and sand again, until, yup, he rubbed his eyes! Poor kid! We brushed him all off and he was happy again. Then off to the plane. He was a great traveler! We will definitely hit these national parks again!