Never a Dull Moment

We were doing a little shopping at Wal-Mart and we happen to pass by the fish aisle.  Brayden has been obsessed with watching Finding Nemo and has started to recognize most of the characters.  So as we passed the extra large goldfish...he kept saying hi Nemo.  How cute...I couldn't resist, so we picked up a couple and brought them home.  Brayden is taking good care of Nemo 1 and Nemo 2, with mom's help of course.  Brayden loves feeding them and watching them eat.  It's been an exciting thing for him to do when he comes home in the evening.  Hopefully we can keep them alive for a long time!

So Brayden has finally started to recognize that Ryan is a Firefighter and works at a fire station. The only problem with that is EVERY time we see a fire truck Brayden he assumes that Ryan is in it and he wants me to follow it. Brayden loves to go up and see his dad at his station, but we I can only take him on the weekends when Ryan is on duty because it is so far away!

So if you know me at all you know that I am always changing my hair. When Ryan and I first met I was a blonde with cute short hair. Then I let it grow out. Since then I've been brunette, brunette with hightlights, brunette with red highlights (not one of the better ones). So about every 2-3 years I decided to go from one end of the color spectrum to the other. I've also been trying to grow out my hair, but one thing i don't like about long hair is that it never seems to look "done" so a couple weekends ago, I went and had it cut and colored to start off the new year with a new look. What do you think?

I know I just put up Christmas Decorations but I realized that I never posted Halloween pictures. This year was fun again. We went door to door with our Neighbors Brittany and Jared and their kids Brooke and Caleb. This year Brayden was a little reluctant to put his costume on, but he finally did it after I bribed him with a few suckers and he saw all the other kids outside with their costumes on. He was a little scared of the masks this year, at one point he bolted around a house to escape a Spiderman! Once his bucket was full and our feet were tired we headed back to the house to pass out the rest of our candy. One great thing about Halloween in Florida, you actually get to see all the kids in their cute costumes because no one wears a coat!!! I remember my days of trick or treating and we always had to wear coats, mittens and boots over our costumes!

Some of you might know that I have two tattoos.  I've been thinking for a while that I wanted to get another one, but I wanted it to be something that represented Brayden.  I've been thinking I would  pick out some picture that reminded me of him, but I hadn't been able to find anything.  Finally this morning I figured out what it would be - the chinese symbols for his name.  Some of you might know that I already have my name in chinese on my back.  So I think his name in chinese will be the perfect thing.  I'm still trying to think about where I will get it.  My other two aren't really visable to the general public, so I think I would like to do the same with this one.  I was thinking of maybe putting it on the inside of my ankle.    

Until we got our new macbook. Our other laptop was pretty much becoming extinct. I swear the Internet was slower than dial-up, I guess that would be ok, except we have high speed DSL and we pay to get the faster service. So we decided to go to the apple store and check out their selection. Now I have always thought that macs were just overpriced. Boy was I wrong. This computer is totally sophisticated. It's seems so sophisticated that I can't seem to do anything on it ! It is totally different than our other PC. I am so used to windows and Microsoft that I have totally alienated myself from our new computer. So I feel like I'm starting over with learning how to use a computer. If anyone has any hints and tips....let me know.

Since it’s been raining for what seems like FOREVER…we haven’t been out to the beach since January (we had a warm winter) and Ryan’s had school every weekend Jan. - June. So last weekend we were finally able to get out and enjoy the beach. It was a perfect day…no rain, no clouds, no wind. Although the weather report was 89° with 78% humidity making it feel like 99.2°! With all that being perfect, something was bound to happen. First Ryan, Brayden and I arrived at the beach about 11:30, no problems there. We got the jetski unloaded, again no problems – except I still can’t back the trailer in. I need to practice it one day.

We had a few friends meeting us out there. The first to arrive was one of the guys from the Ryan’s firestation. I don’t know if Ryan is bad at giving directions or what but 2 of the 3 people who came out ended up on the beach north of us (which is about 3-40 minutes drive). Ryan went to meet is friend at the boat ramp to help in unload his jetski, although the whole trip took about an hour everything else seems to go ok. While that was going on, Brayden patiently waited on our jetski. Can you imagine sitting in one spot for an hour. By the time Ryan got back my toes were like little prunes from standing out in the water next to the jetski since Brayden insisted on patiently waiting on the jetski for his dad. Everything was going good. Our next the next person arrived, a girl from the firestation and her two boys. After watching her chase around a 3 and 4 year old, I’m getting a little scared to consider having another kid. But it was fun watching Brayden play with the older boys. So, things are going good and then it happens…the other guy’s jetski sucked up his rope, anchor AND buoy! The beach was so packed that it was hard to maneuver in and out around all the people. So as he tried to maneuver around everyone….all off a sudden it stopped working, everything had gotten sucked in. (Note to self: when the beach is packed have someone push you out so you don’t run over your rope.) Because they were about to take Brayden out for a ride, I had to take Ryan’s place so Ryan could help his friend figure out what to do about the “little problem”. I don’t really like being out in the “big ocean” all that much, I’m more of a land-lover. Brayden on the other hand is a little fish. Brayden seemed a little irritated that I would only go 20-25 mph. He and his dad are little speed demons and they love going fast. Brayden has been out on the jetski since he was about 16 months old, so I guess he’s an old pro. Everyone is always so amazed about how serious he is on the jetski – you would think that he would be laughing and screaming, but I personally think he puts his “game-face” on when he gets out there! After propping the jetski up on it’s side, our group along with some friendly citizens helped cut the rope out of the propeller and I was able to come back and have Ryan take Brayden out. It took them about an hour to get it all out of the propeller. After a little flushing, the jetski started to run good again. Hopefully no internal damage was done. And then the diaper! I decided to take Brayden out of his regular diaper and put him into a swimmer diaper. I was hesitant at first, because if a kid has to go #2 in one of those things, it is really hard to get it all cleaned up and changed. But I figured we would be ok. HAH! Was I wrong, not more than 20 minutes after changing him it happened. Let’s just say, I should be relieved of diaper duty for a month! Let’s just leave it at that! I’ll save you and not go into the details.

The last of our friends arrived around 4:00 after getting lost on the northern beach again….Next time I’ll be the one to give directions. The guys jetskiied for about another 2 hours, until we finally left the beach around 7:00pm. Although we are all pretty sore the next day, the best part of it, NO SUNBURNS! After being out there for 8 hours, I was sure one of us would be a lobster. But after multiple coating of sunscreen we all have a nice tan going! I hope it nice again soon so we can go out again.

By the way since the sand gets on EVERYTHING…I only took the camera out once and got these pictures. Next time I’ll try to get some video of my little jetskier!

It’s been awhile since we took a weekend trip, so we headed over to Orlando a couple weekends ago. We stayed in a 2 bedroom condo next to Disney – Brayden was super excited to have his own bedroom and to sleep in his own big bed. We arrived Thursday night after I got off work. The next morning we took Brayden to Magic Kingdom for his birthday! He had a great time on all the rides. And he’s old enough now that he recognizes most of the characters. When we first got there Mickey and friends had just started performing in front of the castle. He instantly recognized Mickey Mouse!! We then started going on some of the rides. The lines for everything were soooo long, but Brayden was a trooper. The average wait time was about 30 minutes and it was HOT! But there was enough going on around us that he was able to stay pretty entertained. We didn’t go up and let him stand next to any of the character – he was still a little unsure about it. As we were leaving for the day we stopped to watch one of the little short parades. And we were right about the characters. Brayden was watching Pluto from about 20 feet away and didn’t notice Clarabell Cow come up to him. He turned and he screamed the most petrified scream I have ever heard. It took him about 15 minutes and a sucker to calm down. We then headed back to the condo to go to the pool and the lazy river! It was nice to relax after a long day at the park. Ryan and I had a great time watching Brayden play in the sidewalk fountains. He would go up to them and bend down to see where the water went and then all of a sudden it would shoot up and hit him in the face! He thought that was hilarious.
The next day, Saturday, we hung around the condo resting and napping until dinner time. We then went over to the Swann Hotel and had dinner with some of the Disney characters. Again Brayden had the “you know what” scared out of him. He was fine watching Pluto and Goofy from far away but the instant they were 5 feet from him he would scream. So the nice lady who guides the characters around had to keep Pluto and Goofy away from our table. But she did have one of them sneak up behind Brayden so we could take a picture of him with them without him knowing. After dinner we headed over to the boardwalk and enjoyed a little “concert” that was going on. Brayden got right on the grass and danced with all the kids. We walked around and watched a few of the street performers, Brayden chased a few ducks around and then we tried to watch the fireworks from Epcot, but we couldn’t see them from where we were standing. We then took the last ferry boat back to the Swann Hotel. Brayden always enjoys riding the ferryboat.

We had to check out Sunday, so we got packed up and went and had breakfast and then decided to go miniature golfing. Brayden shot a whole in one with Ryan’s help on the first hole. But after that he didn’t want anything to do with hitting the ball, he only wanted to walk around carrying his ball and club. In the middle of the game he decided that he now wanted to “bigger” club. So Ryan and I resorted to using the “little” club to finish out the game. We had a good time. And of course I ended up winning! For some reason I always end up beating Ryan no matter what we do; miniature golf, video games, bowling… you name it! Ryan and I love to get out and take trips/vacations and it looks like Brayden enjoys it just as much as we do! Although Brayden was non-stop and he wore Ryan and I out, hopefully we can do it again sometime soon.

This year we had a great 4th of July. To start, Ryan and I were both off from work so we got to spend the whole day hanging out with Brayden. Early in the day, we got out the secret stash of water balloons. Brayden didn’t really understand the concept at first, but after he saw Ryan and I having fun throwing them at each other we all couldn’t stop laughing. He kept throwing them and popping them faster than we could fill them up. After word we went to pick up some fireworks. We then headed down the street to our neighbor Ryan’s house (he is also a firefighter who works with Ryan). We continued our tradition of BBQ’s in the driveway and shooting off fireworks and having a good time. Brayden had a blast riding his Winnie the Pooh truck outside and stomping on pop-its all night. He was a little terrified of the fireworks at first, but after a couple he decided he was ok watching them from my lap. (sorry I forgot to take pictures)

So this month for Book Club (thanks Brit!) we are reading The Host by Stephanie Meyer. Now most of you probably now that Stephanie Meyer is on some best seller list for her triology about vampires(Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse)! Brittany talked me into reading them, and they were pretty good. I think I read all three in about 3 weeks. Her latest book recently came out and I'm having a tough time getting through it! I got to finish though so I can pass it onto the next person! Wish me luck as I venture into the world of aliens and love stories (at least I think that's what this book is about!)

I still can't believe that it's been two years since Brayden was born. It seems like yesterday Ryan and I were trying to figure out how to take care of a newborn. I guess you could say we made it through it. Now on to the next stage - Toddlerhood! I thought about having a birthday party with all of Brayden's little friends, (he's got quite the social circle for a two year old). But since we have decided to take him to Magic Kingdom at Disney World we kept it sweet and simple. Grammy and Pa Pa (Ryan's mom and grandpa) are in town, so we had a small little celebration at home. Brayden got a few gifts that he loves. (we kept the gift giving small, since we feel like we are busting at the seams of our house). Brayden received a couple of additions to his Geo Trax - if you have any boys I definetly recommend this, I even love getting down on the floor and playing with it with him. He also recieved a Mack Car Carrier. His friend Caleb has one and he seems to really enjoy playing with it. Grammy gave him a Teddy Ruxpin. Do you remember those? We haven't really had a chance to sit and read with his new bear, but once things quiet down we will sit and play with it.

It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted...but here is what we've been up to. Ryan finally finished his course at HCC. What a relief. He should be home now most nights as we ease back into our normal schedule. His mom and grandpa flew in for his graduation ceremony. Each person had the chance to have someone pin on their badge during the ceremony. Ryan and I decided that it would mean so much to have his grandfather do it. I think it meant alot to both of them.

Ryan and I had the chance to see Bon Jovi in Concert last month! They were so good. It's funny though, I never thought that they were getting old until I saw them on stage. It's kind of funny to see men in their late 40's wearing things that you only see on 20 year olds. The music was great. I have to say, I think I enjoyed Daughtry just a little bit more than Bon Jovi. If you ever get a chance to see Daughtry in concert, go for it. I am so glad he was on American Idol. I still don't understand how he didn't win American Idol! I hope the next time I see Daughtry in concert, they are the main act!! They are that good!

Tonight is Brayden's first night in the his Big Boy Bed. I decided it was finally time to convert the crib into a big kid bed. I thought it was going to be a struggle for him to stay in bed. I put him to bed at his usually time but before leaving and turning out the light. We talked about how he would be spending his first night in his Big Boy Bed and how proud of him I was. And what do you know. NOT A PEEP! It's been and hour and just checked on him and he is completely asleep. WOW! and I thought it was going to be hard the first night. He is such a great kid! I hope the next few night to follow are this easy! Stay tuned!

So I have to admit it, I'm addicted! It's Thursday night and my two favorite shows are BACK!!!!!! Grey's Anatomy and Lost. It doesn't get any better than this. So if you need to reach me on a Thursday night, chances are I'll be sitting in my pj's glued to the TV.

And so it starts....the adventure of little boys. Brayden finally got his first ouchie. I have no idea how or where he got it, but we made it a special moment. I even went to the store and bought "cool car" band-aids. Of course they only stayed on for about 20 minutes. I guess I will need to learn how to cope with all the bumps and bruises that are yet too come!

A couple of weeks ago I went strawberry picking with my neighbor Brittany - strawberries off the vine...it's hard work. But the rewards are well worth it. Not only did we spend an hour or so picking strawberries, but I then had to come home and clean them, cut them and then bag them to put them in the freezer. I was thankful when Ryan said he didn't want any jam. I was tired of looking at strawberries when it was all said and done. But it's great now that I can just go to my freezer and pull out the berries for smoothies. This is a treat that Brayden loves. I think my favorite thing to do with the berries would have to be...making strawberry lemonade...yummmmmm!

As Brayden has gotten older he has definetly started to become Ryan's little shadow!