Tid Bits

I can't believe how much more Brayden is talking it just amazes me everyday. We all get home in the evenings after work and he always has something new to say! Plus, I can't get over how smart he is! My mom told him that a door was locked the other day and he told her "keys" ...how the heck did he know that?!?
We recently went to a birthday party at this cool little water park, but it was only of sprinklers and things like that. So, he was all changed and ready to go and he just kept clinging to me, I was sitting on the wall beside the sprinklers and daddy just happened to be sitting on the wall across from me. (a good distance away) well Brayden started to get a bit brave and would run back and fourth between the 2 of us. Only thing, he wasn't getting wet at all, he was avoiding all the water! He was having fun though!! lol. Well the more he ran the braver he got and eventually he ended up in the water and he loved it!!
We also got him a water table last weekend and that has been a huge hit with him too! We were outside Sunday morning at 9am playing with his new table. We let daddy sleep in for Father's Day and so we played. It was hot enough at 9am so I didn't mind playing in water either!

This weekend Rick is in a Hockey Tournament in Charlotte and so Saturday we will be spending it with my parents. I am going to work on some party planning for Brayden's birthday and then I was thinking of going to Lazy 5 Ranch with my parents and Brayden since daddy wont be home. Then Sunday I get to go to Charlotte with Rick and after his hockey game it's Kenny Chesney time!!! Yay!!! I am super excited!

Have a great weekend all!!!

Andretti & Father's Day

On Saturday June 2nd Rick had scheduled (Finally) his Andretti Racing Experience I got for him Christmas of 2010. I was obviously going and I wanted to take Brayden so he could watch daddy too. So we invited the rents along so they could get out, see the sights (Charlotte Motor Speedway) and they could also be helpful with Brayden. I figured between the 3 of us while daddy sat in his hour class and then raced we could all manage little man. We watched all the Nascar people take their rides around the track and then we also seen they were doing ride alongs with an experienced driver. It was only $100 bucks to do that and I tried to get my dad to take a ride but he wouldn't. That would have been the real experience because you topped out at 185 mph. I didn't buy Rick the Nascar one because it didn't seem all that exciting to me. Besides the fact that I managed to get the Mario Andretti Racing Experience from Groupon which saved me lots of $$! (I LOVE GROUPON) Anyways, Rick was in the 1st bunch to drive so that was even better for us because this ended up being an all day event. We left the house at 1pm and didn't get home until just before 8pm. Granted we stopped for dinner at Quaker Steak & Lube which I haven't had in years due to their not being one close enough to HP.

On to it, daddy got all buckled up in the car and off he went. He had 8 minutes on the track. Boy how fast that really goes. He was done in no time. He has a spotter in the stands, so when he starts out he's not really going too fast but as the spotter watches you he progresses your speed. I'm glad they keep you under control. I wasn't sure how all this would work so I was afraid of him going too fast and wrecking! It's a VERY controlled process. They keep track of your speed per lap and at the end of your time you come off the track and check out. Return your suit they give you to wear and your helmet. Upon check-out you get a certificate stating you completed your class and laps and it lists your fastest time. Rick's fastest time was 150.24!! He looked SO happy when he was done. I'm glad I got to make him smile and he enjoyed every minute of his racing experience!!

Oh, I forgot to mention, other than Rick the rest of us had a great time too!! It was a beautiful day, kinda hot though. Brayden kept saying "Daddy go fast". He thought it was awesome. As we all know he has a love for trucks and he's now starting to say other means of transportation like bus, car, bike and etc.

We were watching our recorded episode last night of Tosh.0 and the 1st bit was of a semi getting towed, but they were positioned on a cliff and as the tow driver was in his truck doing something the semi slowly rolled off the cliff taking the tow truck as well (the driver escaped safely) Brayden kept saying uh oh truck. Then he would ask daddy peeze to rewind it and see it again. Don't worry all, he went to bed right after that, we don't let him watch our adult shows. When he does watch tv he gets the sprout channel :-)

This weekend we will be not only celebrating Father's Day but Saturday the 16th is also my birthday. My husband and my dad get to share the weekend with me!! Haha!! Imagine when my birthday actually falls on Father's Day ;-) So, I believe we are going to the Olive Garden for dinner to make it all one celebration. The only thing I am hoping for out of the entire weekend is to sit and scrapbook for a while.

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to you fathers out there!!!

Choo Choo

This past weekend my husband and I took Brayden to Tweetsie Railroad in Boone, NC. It was awesome!! We have been to Boone/Blowing Rock and let me say it is just beautiful there. The mountains and all the other sights to see, it's just a very lovely place. This is our 1st trip to Tweetsie and we enjoyed it so much. There is lots in the park to see and do, I don't think we managed so see everything. When we first arrived Brayden noticed the choo choo right away and he was all about it. He couldn't wait to be up there in person and see it!! He was yelling for it he wanted to go so bad.
  So we get into the park and we are now up close and personal with Thomas and the choo choo's and it became a whole different story. Tweetsie Railroad operates and runs a real steam train. So it is very loud and it is very smokey/stinky. The train runs every 30 minutes. Our ride wasn't until 11:30 and so we had about an hour to pass before we needed to line up. After our discovery of Brayden NOT liking the train up close our day became visiting shops or trying to find a place to go to dodge Thomas when he would come back. Once he took off again we were fine to move about the park until we would hear that he was coming back again. I do believe overall Brayden really enjoyed himself other than that one small issue :-).
  It was now time for us to line up for our ride and daddy walked Brayden around while I stayed in line so we had a good spot. We lined up for the very last car that way we were no where near the loudness of the steam engine and we figured it wouldn't be as full back there. Brayden had a fit the whole time we waited on the train for everyone to board. I kept telling myself once we get moving he will be okay, he's just upset right now because he's unsure. I was right, once we got moving he was fine. They even stopped the train about half way and did a skit with Indians and Cowboys, he was into that! So his ride ended up going very smooth.
  After our train ride we had a really cool lunch and with Braydens he got a Tweetsie lunch box and cup. We then went to see Sir Topham Hatt and Brayden didn't like him either. From a far he was waving and seemed all interested but then once it was our turn for pictures he started crying. After that we decided we'd stop in the Thomas gift shop and we ended up getting him a blanket instead of a t-shirt. he blankets we less expensive, plus I figured he'd grow out of a shirt in no time and this way he could use his blankie for a very long time. His blankie says he spent the day out with Thomas!! It's cute!
  We decided that we probably won't take him back there until he is about 4 maybe. He might be okay to take next year but we will have to see about that. I know even though we had to dodge the train I had a great time and personally can't wait to take him back when he's a bit older.

I forgot to mention back home in High Point it was 76 degrees and there at Tweetsie is was only 55 degrees. Good thing I checked the mountain weather before we left so we could all dress accordingly!!

Lastly, I am trying to plan a 1 night stay for the beach. I am going with a Saturday night and looking to take my mom and dad with us. My mom has NEVER been to the ocean. I was thinking Wilmington Beach maybe, it's only about 3.5 hours away. If anyone knows of a decently priced place to stay please let me know! I am going to start some research on that soon.

Firsts

I have so much to blog about!! Instead of trying to put it all in one I'll break things out over the next few days.

On Saturday May 26th my husband and I took Brayden and Grammy to see Sesame Street Live at the Coliseum. Overall it went very well. Brayden had a few moments where he was fussy. Pretty much that was before the show started and his attention span was very short. Once the show started he didn't do too bad. Plus I ended up paying $3.00 for a small bag of M&M's to keep him a little occupied. He would clap after one bit and before the next one. He loved the singing and dancing too. They also did a bit were the audience had to clap your hands and stomp your feet. Brayden did that all on his own when they said it, I had no clue he knew how to do that like that!!! Especially the stomping of the feet. He's a regular hand clapper anyways!! Here are some photos from there.

I also did make Brayden his homemade play-doh. I made several colors and I actually have a few more colors to go. He LOVES it though!! It was super easy and lasts a really long time too!!

Brayden got to try corn on the cob and cotton candy for the 1st time. He's a very picky little boy (not sure where he got that from) :-) but once we were able to get the cotton candy in his mouth he begged for more! He kept saying peeze, peeze. Too cute!

I love all the new experiences with my little family every single day. It's amazing to watch my little man grow, learn and explore!!