Playdates :)

This week the mommy's decided to try the Splash Park! We even had some new mommy's join in our fun! You would think with a heat index of 104 that this would be a PERFECT place to meet up. However, our children showed us that the grass was a lot more interesting! But we still had a blast chit chatting and watching out little ones get muddy. Take notice...Brayden was NOT one of the children playing in the mud. My little man was kicked back in his chair the WHOLE time!!!!!!!! Is he just like daddy or what!?!

So excited!

Brayden is so excited about his first beach weekend....he could hardly wait to help mommy pack!

Not exactly what we had in mind

Brayden has been showing every sign of wanting to feed himself. Being the clean freak that I am, I had to find the easiest way to let him. So...we bought a plastic picnic table that can easily be hosed down. Since the weather is so nice, we've been eating out on the back porch. We put it together, and Brayden showed us he had other ideas for using this picnic table!

Summer in SC

This is what people in South Carolina do when the temperature gets to 100 degrees!

To do...or not to do!

I've been fighting the turn around battle for weeks now! Poor little (26lb) Brayden has had his feet all scrunched up in the car for quite some time. So this week, after consluting the feedback of some other mommy's, I made the decision to turn him around! Safety is always a first for me, but he's such a big boy, he just couldn't handle being backwards anymore. And he seems to be a lot happier facing front!

Taking off

Brayden has been a very adventurous walker...in our house. But when we try to get him walking other places he seems to get very nervous. So this week we tried getting him to walk in the yard. This is BIG people! This little boy HATES the grass on his feet. But...since I bought him his first pair of crocks (which I'm super excited about!) this week, we thought we would give it a try. We thought these shoes would keep him from having the grass on his feet like he hates. And he did pretty good! Some unlevel parts of the yard left him reaching for daddy to help him get up, but he would quickly get up and try again! He will be walking everywhere before I know it!

Evolution

This past 2 months I feel like I have watched Brayden really evolve. Not only is he becoming a more accomplished walker, he is really getting control over his body. For example...this chair! When we got it, he didn't like it because he would fall out of it, or was too scared to move around in it. Now I find myself running over to it because he wants to JUMP out of it and onto the floor.
But now...he is laying across the arms and grabbing things off the floor, standing up in it, and able to gently get out of it with ease. It's just been the most fun transformation to watch. My sweet little boy is growing up too fast!

Zoo Day!

Brayden and I were so excited to meet our friends at the zoo today! A train gave us all a long dramatic begin to the day...but we all finally ended up at the zoo together!
We all sat and talked while waiting for the tram to pick us up. Beau, Luke, and Brayden hung out in the shade.

And the girls played by the fountain!

Once the tram FINALLY got to us, we met Banks and Will at the monkey's.

Our favorite place to play was the aquarium! Brayden has never been around stairs before, so I was quite shocked when he started climbing them like a pro.

Will and Brayden stopped long enough for mommy to take a picture!

And it was quite entertaining trying to get them all to stop for a picture...but we ended up with some cute photos.

When we got to the penguins, Brayden wanted to try out his walking skills. He was done with the stroller.

I'm so blessed to have such amazing mommy's to get together with! And their children are equally as great!

When I got married I went through a huge transition with friends. And again...another transition when I had Brayden. I remember mom telling me: "When you have children, you will meet women in the same place you are...it's then you will meet the women you will be friends with forever." I can see how true that is now. It was so nice to have a day to talk about Brayden and my fears/concerns with him. They helped me realize I AM doing things that are best for my baby boy, and I'm so thankful I have them to talk to. It's also nice to just get together with other people who are in the same place as I am. I am looking forward to MANY more play dates with these amazing mommy's!