Memorial Day 2011

The weather man said we'd have "all day storms" today so this morning Braxton and I drove  to McDonald's playland.  Brax climbed through the tubes for over an hour.  On the drive home it stopped raining so we went to Kelly Park which has a playground and splash pad (water sprinklers & sprayers to play in). We played there for over an hour until Braxton was soaking wet (which is why he is "shirtless" in one photo). As we drove home he said, "Go to one more park?  Three parks please?"

 

 

 

I took this video of Brax at 7am this morning out on the deck before the rain started. I've never heard Braxton boss Grover around like this before.  Yikes!

A Picnic with Roxie

Our friend Roxie invited a bunch of people for a picnic at French Regional Park in Plymouth yesterday & we had a great time!  Braxton loved the big playground area with many nets to climb and he made close friends with Faith (in the red sweatshirt) who have him piggyback rides and sat with him on the tram ride (a.k.a choo choo train ride).

 

The Happy Song

This week Brock and I were driving and we heard Braxton singing in the backseat...and singing...and singing.  I held the camera next to my headrest and was able to take the video below.  He's singing the song "Happy".  Part of the lyrics are: 

"Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy,

Happy are the people who's God is the Lord" 

*disclaimer: We have had several conversations about the words in this song (being full of joy vs. being happy) and good theological discussion...but whether the words are exactly true or not it makes me smile to hear my 2 year old sing about God from the backseat of the car.

Saturday Adventures

Yesterday Brax and I had a fun brunch with Grandma in Forest Lake. 
Later in the day when Brock got home from work we drove to a park we hadn't been to before.  Fun times! 

 

 

And...I'll leave you with a short video clip of Brax singing the end of "you are my sunshine"

Product Testing

Last week at the grocery store a lady gave us a flyer about a new kind of Yoplait yogurt snack.  When we got to the yogurt isle I looked at the box for this new yogurt snack, put it back on the shelf, and walked away.  I was then stopped by a lady to see if I would answer a few questions.  In the end we became official product testers receiving $125 in reimbursement! The product is yogurt but it comes cut in little squares and tastes just like jello.   

  

Edinbourough Park

Yesterday Braxton and I met Avery, Isla, Lauren & Travis at Edinborough Playpark in Edina.  None of us had been there before and it was intense (it was a rainy Saturday and tons of kids were there!)  It has a huge climbing area, toddler play area, two bounce houses, and a big gym. It was $6 per kid but adults and babies are free - so it was only $12 for 6 of us to go.

Single photos of the the kids just after jumping out of the bounce house.

 

Adorable Isla.  She loved watching the kids run around and play!

 

The gym had a ton of mini-bikes, chairs on wheels, basketball hoops and balls. 

Just before leaving we found a quiet lobby area with a fish pond.  The kids LOVED seeing the fish up close.

Avery loves Braxton so much.  At the end of this video you can hear her say, "no, no" to Braxton and then she looks at me and says, "I think he's getting too far in the water."  So protective and cute!

Talking dinosaurs

This week Braxton said his longest sentance yet.  He had just woken up from a nap and walked out to the kitchen where Brock was.  Braxton looked at Brock and said, "Wait a minute be right back put Grover away" and he ran into his bedroom to put Grover into the crib!   

...and yesterday Braxton was talking about dinosaurs so took out his Halloween costume from last year and let him wear it around the house.  He had so much fun - and looked adorable.

 

 

 

Mother's Day Fun

We celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday this year.  Braxton and I started the weekend playing...playing with Mr. Potato Head, playing "cars", and playing outside in the backyard since the weather was beautiful! 



Brax brought home a special flower from daycare - which inspired me to plant hot pink petunias in our flower boxes and 2 tomato plants on the deck.   The perfect touch of springtime! 

When Brock got home from work he grilled dinner for us (side note: my mom bought us a non-stick grill tray to grill vegetables.  Have you seen these?  We grilled a bunch of veggies and the tray works awesome!)  After dinner the three of us went for a bike ride to a "new" park. 

 

We came home and introduced Braxton to the new basketball hoop grandma bought him.  He was very excited to play basketball!

Brock and Brax laughed tons at bedtime and I had to catch the moment on camera (Brax was laughing so hard that he drooled all over Brock's shirt!).

Once Braxton was in bed, Brock and I sat on the deck and lit the tiki torches.  It was such a fun day! Oh...and here is a video of Brax playing basketball.

Fun with Grandma

Grandma came to visit us this weekend.  We had fun hanging out (drinking morning coffee in our pajamas), playing puzzles, going shopping at HomeGoods, and having a special mother's day lunch at Applebees.  After she left, Braxton walked all around the house saying, "Grandma, where are you?"  Here are a few fun photos of our weekend:

...and Grandma gave Braxton a new set of golf clubs.  Here it is in action:

A few notes...

Here are few notes about what Braxton has been up to recently... It is still cold in Minnesota (light snow this morning...on May 1).  A photo with the tree this morning and a mid-air photo of a jump off the "big rock". 

Braxton had his first homework assignment this week.  Daycare sent home a 2 foot tall white paper shield with his last name on it and the instructions "decorate this at home and bring it back next week".  So Braxton and I got out the fingerpaints yesterday and he went to town.  I think this screams A+

Yesterday we bought new deck furniture and we actually have a spot for guests to sit now!  While we were assembling it Braxton was playing nearby.  He started singing "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet" and then Braxton said, "Daddy sing it" and in a very low voice he pretended to sing low like daddy.  It was cute!

Braxton's favorite new treat is....ABC Crackers!  They are actually Scrabble Cheez-It crackers and they are cool.  Brax loves yelling out the letter before he eats it.  I think older kids would love them too.  Fun!

...and one last story.  This week Braxton started saying the phrase "Basketball, I love basketball" several times while we drive.  Brock and I then realized that he says it every time he sees a house with a basketball hoop in the driveway!