My Two Front Teeth!

While on vacation we noticed that Brayden had two little surprises in store...his two (bottom) front teeth! Over the course of the week and the following week they definitly came through. We think it is so adorable when he shows us that toothy little grin. Here is a little peek...especially since he is so wiggly!

Irish eyes are smiling

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Brayden put on his green and really enjoyed the beautiful spring day on St. Patrick's Day. He played all day and we took a walk in the evening. Then we met friends for dinner to celebrate his Irish heritage. Here are some pictures from our day...

Fun in the sun

In between ball games and the zoo we took some time to enjoy the weather. The apartment we rented had a few lakes. Each morning we would start the day with a walk along one of the lakes. We even saw the local alligator basking in the sun...yikes! We would walk to my Grandma's and enjoy the weather from her patio. She had bought a special toy for Brayden that allowed him freedom to roam around...he had a blast.

Some of our afternoons were also spent at the pool. We borrowed a special float with a sun-visor from our friends. Brayden was able to splash in the pool and play with his new pool toys too. We also took another trip to the beach. This time we went to Sunset Park in Tarpon Springs. This beach was much calmer and Brayden sat and enjoyed the sun and water. We all kicked back and took in the summer air. Just as we were packing up to leave we also spotted a dolphin playing in the water...if you look close you can see the fin...Later in the week we all went to dinner at an awesome restaurant in Tarpon Springs...Tarpon Turtle. This restaurant had a couple of piers in the back with baby alligators too. We really had a great time!

Lions, Tigers, Bears...and Camels OH MY!

Wednesday we all went to the Tampa Zoo. The weather was great and we went early enough to visit the animals while they were active and enjoying breakfast. This zoo had so much to see and do. There were exhibits to feed and interact with the animals. We had fun pointing out all of the animals to Brayden and showing him all the baby and mommy and daddy animals too. Brayden and I also decided it would be fun to take a ride on a camel. I'm not quite sure what he thought but he smiled for the camera. After lunch we looked around some more and Grandma took Brayden to the gift shop. He helped her pick out a monkey. We had a ton of fun and Brayden took a huge nap before we even got home.

Take me out to the ball game...

Back in January we looked into ordering Baseball Spring Training Tickets...we decided on Reds at Phillie's in Clearwater Beach and Reds at Yankee's in Tampa.

Monday's game was in Clearwater so we decided to pack up early and head the the Beach first. It was really nice to have the sand in our toes and the breeze of the beach wind in the air. We played around at the Beach in the morning. Brayden didn't know what to make of the ocean waves since they were a little loud for him...he liked to enjoy the view from a far. So Mike brought a little bit of the ocean up to Brayden...he found some oysters. Then we walked around a little admiring the warm air and decided to have lunch at a nice seafood cafe. Then off to the Reds at Phillie's game. What a nice ballpark. We had great seats and a couple of guys next to us even caught a fly ball. Since it was pretty warm out and the sun was directly over our seats Mike decided to enjoy some ballpark cuisine in the shade while Brayden took a little nap.

Tuesday evening Mike and I decided to go to a game in Tampa. We went to an evening Reds at Yankee's game while Grandma and Brayden spent some quality time together. I'm not sure who had more fun...but she did teach him how to blow bubbles with his mouth...he just cracks us up! We had a great date night in Florida.

A little taste of summer...

We went on our first official family vacation. We took a plane ride to see Brayden's G.G in Tampa, FL! Brayden did so well on the plane and received his memento wings and first flight certificate. Since we sat in the first seat on the plane Brayden entertained the flight attendants and they just ate him up...and honestly we really don't blame them, he has become quite the ham. He waved (which has really become one of his favorite things to do) at the other passengers and only slept for a little over a half hour. We really think the warm air is what Brayden needed (and honestly what we needed as well) because as soon as we landed and got settled in the car with our baggage he really came alive. We went straight to the apartment we rented and changed into shorts and T-shirts. While eating dinner we saw the news and the weather couldn't have been more perfect for the whole week...highs in the low 80's and lows in the 60's in the evenings...we knew it would be a great week!