Training

Since the Olympics are coming up I thought it might be a good idea to begin training my future Olympian. Just Kidding!!! I have been trying to start working out a little (very little) bit at the house. Braeden thinks it is a lot of fun so the other day we decided to show Travis our exercise routine.
First we do a million and two sit-ups.

Next is balance training on the Bosu ball.

Then about a thousand push-ups on the Bosu for core strengthening.

When he finishes all of that then he can take a rest.

Zoo Days

Two weeks ago our little family took a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo. Can I just tell you that the zoo is probably my most favorite place to spend the day? I mean seriously it is AWESOME! Well the day we went it wasn't exactly awesome because it rained the entire time we were there. Travis had checked on the weather before we went and it was supposed to be cloudy in the morning and rain in the evening. Once again the weather man got it backwards because it rained until right before we left. We didn't bring any sort of rain gear with us and since we are totally anal about keeping the camera safe Travis decided to splurge and purchase this sweet umbrella. As you can see from the picture below, it was made to protect one small child from the elements. However, in our case it was to protect one man carrying a camera around his neck while his wonderful girlfriend walked in the rain.
I think that the polar bears are by far my most favorite animal to check out when we visit the zoo. They are sooo cute and seem to be one of the more entertaining animals. This time when we got over to check them out we were able to watch one of the bears diving to the bottom of the tank. Braeden thought it was one of the coolest things ever.

This summer the zoo also opened a new exhibit called Giraffe Ridge, which is where you can go to try and feed the 4 young giraffes. This is one of the coolest things they have going on at the zoo right now. Basically you just walk up and grab a stick with leaves on it, hold it over the edge and hope that the giraffe thinks your leaves are the best. We were pretty lucky with our stick picking because this little giraffe was all over it!

4th of July

Last Thursday the daycare had a festival for the kids to celebrate the 4th of July. I was luck enough to get to go out there and enjoy the festivities with Braeden and his friends. Lets just start with the fact that it has rained almost everyday last week and Thursday was no different. When I got to the daycare it was sprinkling so they had decided to do the picnic and all the activities inside. GREAT! Once all the classes had finished their lunch and the kids had some time to show their parents all the toys in their classrooms the flood gates opened. Basically what happened was that they opened all the classroom doors and the kids went running EVERYWHERE! Here are some of the pictures from our EXCITING day.

The Pre-K kids...Tristan, Braeden, Aiden, some girl and Dylon.

The first activity we hit was the ice cream room.

I wonder who thought little kids with big stick would be a good idea.

Braeden loved bobbing for apples.

Mrs. Shianna was the limbo master.

Time for face painting.

Braeden and his ant.

Here you can see all of the excitement of the duck pond.

Making a sun catcher was a lot of fun but not as fun as...

SAND ART!

It's a lion!

After all that excitement they had us go outside (in the rain) for a water balloon toss. What were they thinking?

Braeden and Aiden waiting to throw their balloons.

Look at how wet Braeden was at the end of it all and he didn't even get hit with a water balloon.

Braeden stayed at daycare for the rest of the day to play with his friends. I headed home for a nap with a splitting headache but all in all it was a good time.

Plastic Surgery

I think butt enhancement surgery is in my near future! I mean seriously how is this possible?

Chinasaurs!

A couple of weeks ago we decided that it would be fun to check out the new "Chinasaurs" exhibit at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. We were soooo right. After checking out all of the normal stuff we finally made it to.....The Hall of Dinosaurs. (I don't know if that was really the name I just thought it sounded cool.) In the exhibit they had a couple of robotic dinosaurs and about eight different dinosaur skeletons. Braeden's favorite part was the "dig site" where he was able to find his own dinosaur bones. He didn't want to leave but once we showed him the water table he forgot all about the sandbox.

Here we are checking out one of the robotic dinosaurs that freaked Braeden out.

Braeden the future paleontologist.



Travis and Braeden thought it would be fun to try and splash me at the water table.


No visit to the museum would be complete without climbing through the giant turtle shell.

Wednesdays

The only day of the week that Travis and I have off together are Wednesdays so we have made it a point to take Braeden out for a little family fun. Last week we went out to Cox Aboretum and Gardens. Here are a couple of pictures from that outing.

We were trying to get Braeden to stand next to this rock because it was almost as tall as he is. He decided it would be cute to squat next to the rock like me.


Braeden chillin' in the gazebo.


Look at these two handsome guys.

This week we took Braeden out to do a little bit of kite flying. I let Travis handle the kite duties since I don't really remember having much luck with kites when I was younger. The two seemed to have a lot of fun with it.

Travis teaching Braeden how to fly a kite. Maybe not so much teaching as reminding him not to let go of the handle.


While Travis was trying to get the kite in the air Braeden was busy inspecting the quality of the grass.


Travis managed to capture an AWESOME picture of Braeden flying the kite all by himself.

Now Wednesday isn't the only day that Braeden gets to go out and play, it's just the only day the three of us can go out together. Braeden and I spend a lot of Thursdays on hikes in Yellow Springs.Here are a couple of pictures from our most recent hike.


Braeden was super excited at the beginning of our hike to see the waterfalls.


The long awaited waterfall. It was really more of a trickle than a waterfall but Braeden loved it.


Where there is mud, there is a 2 year old with a stick having some fun.

Potty Party!

Finally we have done it! Braeden is "basically" potty trained, which means he only wears a pull up while sleeping. Most mornings he wakes up dry but I am not ready to starting changing sheets in the middle of the night just yet. I told Braeden that if he would go for an entire week without an accident we would have a Potty Party. He was so excited because he really wanted "Potty Pupcakes." (That's right I said pupcakes, which is exactly how Braeden says cupcakes.) We had such a good time that evening watching Braeden getting so excited because he is a big boy now.