Rain Rain Go Away!

We have really had some wet weather here lately and wanted to get out of the house and play...so we took advantage of a great indoor play center. We went with our neighbors and we all really enjoyed riding the "roller coaster", swings and going up and down the steps for the slides!

What a great time and day to enjoy playing inside.

Club House

We bought a new club house for Brayden to enjoy especially since the weather is so awesome right now. His favorite part is the doorbell which rings a lot of different tones. He tries to get us to come inside but it is really a tight squeeze. He really thinks it's funny when Brecken comes and visits and joins him inside the club house :)!

Cinco de Mayo

We enjoyed lunch today at a local Mexican Restaurant.

Brayden liked looking at all the paintings and decorations as well as some guacamole and salsa!

Ole!

Butterfly Show

What a great time! Brayden really enjoyed the 2010 Butterfly Show at the Krohn Conservatory the second we walked into the exhibit. Each person is given a silk flower to hold and catch the butterflies with because you cannot touch the butterflies directly. Brayden was so great about holding the flower and catching the butterflies. It was so easy too with about 200 butterflies fluttering about the room. Since then he always looks for butterflies.

Tree Frog

We took advantage of a rainy Friday and went to the Children's Museum. We all have a really good time each time we go and this time there was a special treat. Brayden is really beginning to recognize animals and the different sounds they make. He loves saying "ribbit" and today he got to pet a tree frog.

Here is Michael and Brayden checking out the Tree Frog:

Elmo Live-Elmo's Green Thumb

Brayden loves to watch "No-No" aka Elmo on Sesame Street. So we knew when our friends invited us to join them for the Elmo Live show at the Bank of Kentucky Center we knew Brayden would have a great time.

We really did enjoy the show and Brayden enjoyed telling us each character's name as they came on stage.

(Uf) Widerluege -- Good Bye

Last year we met a great Swiss/German Family and today we had to wish them well as they move from the USA to Switzerland.

We met up with a great group of friends to bid them farewell and to enjoy a wonderful breakfast at the National Exemplar.

We look forward to them visiting here in the next few years and also hope to visit them in their new home.

Play Ball!

Brayden L O V E S the song Take Me Out to the Ball Game... so this year my mom and I took him downtown to watch the Red's Opening Day Parade.

We saw tons of baseball players, floats and animals. He really enjoyed watching the bands and the dancers walk by. He waved and cheered the whole time.

The weather was great and really got us excited for a great baseball season!

Happy Easter

We celebrated Easter throughout the weekend.

We enjoyed coloring Easter Eggs on Friday:

We enjoyed Family over to celebrate with dinner on Saturday!

We then enjoyed Easter at Church on Sunday:

The Easter Bunny visited Brayden this year and brought him tons of stuff, his basket couldn't hold all of the goodies :) :

Big Boy Room!

We always knew that Brayden would outgrow his crib and transition from his nursery to a big boy room...and that day is finally here. We picked out the paint, furniture and bedding and his room is all set!

We decided to test out his new room but the test turned permanent because he really loves his new room. I think this is so exciting for him especially with a new baby coming in July.

Here are some pictures of Brayden showing you around his new room:

Zing, Zang, Zoom!

We had a blast at this year's Ringling Brother's & Barnum and Bailey Circus: Zing, Zang, Zoom!

We were so happy to join our friends at the Circus this year...this was the first time for many of our children to enjoy the excitment.

Brayden was so amazed from the moment we walked in and went to the early show on the floor to see some of the animals, acts and clowns up close before the show began. Once the show began he danced and clapped and pointed the whole show. During intermission we got him a light toy that he still enjoys playing with at home.

What a great show and an even more awesome experience!

Fun in Raleigh!

This year we were able to visit Brayden's Aunt Mo and Uncle Tom and his cousin's Katie ("Tay-tee") and Keegan ("Tee-gan) in Raleigh, NC.

We realized on the way to the airport that this was Brayden's 4th round trip flight in his short little life :). He is such a traveler!

We had a great time during our visit. We went to the children's museum called Marbles twice. We had beautiful weather so we were able to play out side a lot. We watched one of Keegan's basketball games and Aunt Mo took us to see some pretty neat fish at a local aquarium store. Most of all we really enjoyed playing and visiting with our family.

We can't wait to see them again soon.

Splish Splash

Last year it seemed as if Brayden really didn't get used to the water in our neighborhood pool. So this year we started with swim lessons and he is really coming around. I think the 92 degree water has some help with him enjoying splashing around and getting accustomed to the pool. We litterally jumped right in. Brayden is learning to kick and splash and jump in and go under while blowing bubbles. He is really enjoying himself. So far we have had a couple visitors watch us enjoy our new love of water. My mom came with us to our first lesson and Michael has been able to watch us too. We enjoy it so much we are signing up for the next session just in time for the pool to open in May...we can't wait for summer and we know it'll be here before we know it.

My Funny Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day to my family! Today we celebrated Valentine's day as a family. Just before Valentine's Day Brayden and I decorated some very cute valentine's day cards and mailed them to our family and friends.

Then on Valentine's Day evening Michael and I prepared a fun fondue dinner complete with chocolate covered strawberries. It was a lot of fun to set the table in the dinning room and enjoy making and dipping the yummy dinner. I couldn't have asked for two sweeter or funnier valentines.

Happy Half Birthday

Today we went to my mom's to help my uncle Phil (Brayden's Great Uncle-Godfather) celebrate his birthday as well as Brayden's half birthday!! I can't believe Brayden is already 1 1/2 years old. Time really does fly when you're having fun. Of course we celebrated with a 1/2 cake (it is a 1/2 birthday right?!). Above is Brayden taking a huge bite of his 1/2 rice krispy cake :)!

Move to the Music!!

One of our local libraries hosts a wonderful class for babies and toddlers called Miss Liz's Music and Movement. Brayden and I go once a week to check out the library and to sing and dance. Here is a picture of him enjoying the library computers before we go into class.

Here is a picture with him and Miss Liz. She taught us some pretty neat new songs that we really enjoy singing at home as well. One day daddy even had a break and was able to meet us at the library and join in our fun!

What a great weekend

Mommy and Daddy took me to Totter's Otterville to play. We enjoyed the water zone, puppets and the vet areas.

Then the next day we went to the Children's Museum with my friend Emilie and her mommy and daddy too. We had a wonderful time playing and listening to the Children's Band play the Marimbas!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Our 1st major snow fall and we were ready! We bundled up and headed out to play. Our drive way is perfect for sledding. Even Brecken got in on the action. I had so much fun especially since the sidewalks were not shoveled but the street was cleared so I got to walk in the street--which for some reason is so appealing to me.

Scuba Santa

We made it to the Aquarium just in time for Santa's last dive of the season. We even saw the penguins on parade. Their names are "Randy, Paula, and Simon". Brayden absolutely loved seeing all the turtles.