Swimming Lessons

Brayden has been taking swimming lessons for the past 2 weeks. He went Monday-Thursday last week and Monday-Thursday this week. He's done really well. They start out with floats on their backs and then they take those off and swim for a little bit and then they sing songs and jump off the side of the pool. That freaks Brayden out a little bit. He has to be holding the teacher's hand when he jumps, he won't just jump off the side by himself.

The Y has what they call a "boat" which is a PVC pipe contraption that the kids can stand on out in the water. Monday, we had a scary incident. Brayden decided he needed to go potty (this was after they took the floats off) and just like that, jumped off the boat. Naturally he went under. He had learned enough to kick himself back up out of the water, but he would go back under again. He went under and came back up again without any of the lifeguards noticing it. Tyler and I, along with another lady who tried to help, were on the side and Tyler was trying to reach him, but he was too far out. We could tell he was losing his strength and less of his head came back out of the water each time he went under. When we realized no one was going to do anything and chances were he wasn't coming back up the last time he went under, Tyler reacted naturally and jumped in after him, clothes and all. What he didn't remember until he climbed out was that he had his 4 month old IPhone 5 in his pocket. :( We've got it in rice, but it's not looking good. Even though the entire ordeal probably only lasted about a minute, it felt like forever. We obviously were a little upset that no one saw him. We were right by a lifeguard in a chair and there was a lifeguard in the water around them who was supposed to be watching. The director called to apologize so that made us feel better. Luckily, Brayden doesn't have a fear of the water after that. He went right back in after he went potty and has continued to do well Tuesday and today.

That was probably the scariest moment I've ever had as a parent though!

Father's Day Weekend

We had a great Father's Day weekend. Tyler was at the Gridiron Men's Conference Friday evening and Saturday. Friday night, we hung out at Mom's and the kids had a great time catching lightning bugs. We also had fun watching Luke catch bubbles. Luke is my brother's new Border Collie puppy and he is the sweetest dog. We all love him.

 

Saturday, Mom and I ran some errands and while we were waiting on Mom to get ready, Brayden built a block castle and he was so proud of it.

We caught up with Tyler once he got done with the conference and got some groceries. That night we had dinner at Mom's.

Sunday, we went to church and went to eat at Jim N Nick's after church. It was weird and sad only seeing my dad and Tyler for Father's Day and not having either one of my grandfathers to visit. Of course, I didn't get any pictures of Brayden with Tyler or with my dad. I'm falling down on my job. Sunday afternoon Brooke and Danson went noodling so Mom kept Bentley. We went over to visit and Bentley decided it would be a good day for a swim. So we stripped them both to their underwear so they could swim.

Bentley also likes to pick up dead bugs. :)

Brayden is very lucky to have such a great dad. As much as I love Tyler as my husband, I love him so much more as Brayden's father. I don't think Brayden realizes it now, but one day he'll understand what a great dad he has. I hope they grow up to be the best of friends!

Weekend Recap

We got to have a date night this weekend and it was very nice! Mom and Dad had a campout with Brayden Friday night. They built a fire and had a tent outside and everything. I think they only made it until about 10:00 before they went inside, but Brayden loved it. They cooked hot dogs over the fire and had all kinds of fun. While they were camping, Tyler and I drove down to Montgomery to meet up with my brother-in-law and his wife. Their kids were with grandparents too so we got to have a double date like the good ole days. We went to eat at Mugshots (my favorite!) and just spent time walking around Books-A-Million. It was so nice to just walk around a store without worrying about keeping a 3 year old occupied.

Even though we didn't get to see these cuties, it's been a while since I shared any pics of them. I think we're going to see them over the 4th of July weekend so I'll update then.

Saturday was very low key. I just did some grocery shopping while Tyler worked on a project for the kitchen. Saturday night Brayden and I ate dinner at Mom's while Tyler finished his project. I'll have a separate post on that.

Sunday was church day and we didn't do much that day either. It was a great weekend!

Dattery

So Brayden talks about this boy named Dattery a lot. He is obviously not real (because who would name their kid that) & he's not quite what you would consider an imaginary friend. You see, Dattery only exists to have the things happen to him that could possibly happen to Brayden. He has talked about him for months. The first time he talked about him was when he was in the bathtub but now I can't remember what was happening. The most recent instances of Dattery visiting happened while we were at the beach. One day we were in our canopy on the beach & Brayden was playing right in front of it in the sand. A gator/mule/I can't remember what it's called came by but it stopped when it got to us because Brayden was in the way. Brayden looked up right when it was stopping but freaked out because he thought they were going to run over him. When I say freaked out, I mean he had a look of absolute terror on his face & came running into the canopy. Mom & I both reassured him that they would not run over him & they waved to him as they drove by. And a little bit later Brayden said he had a story to tell us. This is what he said "This one time my friend Dattery was at the beach & him got runned over by a go kart (that's what he calls them) & him broke him leg!"

So then a couple of nights later we took Brayden & Bentley to ride the Ferris wheel at the Wharf. When we got in we talked to Brayden about how important it was not to rock the gondola or do anything crazy because we could fall out. So right on cue, a couple of minutes later, Brayden says "Hey guys, this one time my friend Dattery was riding the Ferris wheel & him fell out & another cart (from the ferris wheel) was coming by & it hit Dattery on the leg & broke it!" 

Dattery always shows up just in time to have the bad things happen to him so they won't happen to Brayden - he's such a great friend! 😊 I'll make sure to post again when Dattery comes back!

Beach Trip 2013

We just got back from a family beach trip to the Fort Morgan/Gulf Shores area and we had such an absolutely great time! My parents, my sister and brother in law & Bent, and Brayden and I went. My brother couldn't go because he just started a new job and couldn't take off and Tyler chose not to go because he HATES the beach, with a passion! I know, what's wrong with him?!

The Fort Morgan area is a great place to stay because it mostly consists of houses so the beach is not crowded at all. Seriously, this was either side of our canopy while we were there:

No people!!

We stayed in the cutest house and it even had its own private pool, which we LOVED!

We drove down last Saturday. We stopped for lunch at Arby's in Bay Minette and stopped at Walmart in Gulf Shores to get groceries so we didn't get to the house until about 5 or so. Since it was my birthday, we grilled cheeseburgers (my favorite!) for dinner and had ice cream for dessert.

We spent most of our days at the beach. We tried to alternate our evenings with going out to eat and eating in at our house. Sunday we spent the day on the beach and in the pool and went to eat at a place called Behind the Pines for dinner. Brooke got sick at her stomach right before we got our food. They went straight home after dinner and she was out of commission the entire next day with serious stomach pains. Luckily she started feeling better by Tuesday morning.

Monday, we spent more time at the beach and pool and had spaghetti for dinner that night.

By Tuesday, I was needing a break from the beach. I had gotten quite a bit of sun Sunday and Monday and I just wanted a day where I didn't have to put on my swimsuit and lather up with sunscreen. We decided to take the ferry to Dauphin Island. We figured Brayden would love it and we were right. It was a lot of fun!

We ate at a place called Lighthouse Bakery in Dauphin Island and it was absolutely delicious! Their sandwiches were so good! We felt a little like we were in Mayberry on Dauphin Island. We took a shuttle from the ferry dock to the bakery and the bus driver told us to give him a call when we were ready to be picked up. When we called the number, it was the police station! We really loved Dauphin Island. That night, we went to one of our favorites for dinner - Sea & Suds!

After dinner we took Brayden and Bentley to The Track to ride some rides. Unfortunately Bentley was only tall enough to ride the carousel.

Brayden enjoyed riding the train and also got to ride the Go Karts with Brooke.

We also went to get Dippin Dots after that. That was a FULL day!

Wednesday we hung out at the beach and pool again. That night, Brooke and Danson went on a date while we took Bentley to dinner with us. We went to eat at Lulu's. Brayden and Bentley had a great time playing in the sand while we waited.

Thursday the water was seriously crazy. The waves were crashing like crazy because of Tropical Storm Andrea so we didn't get in the water at all. However, during the night the tide had been HIGH so a little lagoon had formed. We set up our canopy right in front of it and Bentley and Brayden loved playing in it. It was perfect for them.

I also took a lot of pictures of everyone else that day too.

Thursday was also the day Danson and Dad went home. Danson had to work Friday and Saturday so they had to go back early. That night we cooked at home and just enjoyed some down time.

Friday we enjoyed our last day on the beach. A couple of nights while we were getting ready to go out to dinner, Brooke just threw Bentley in the sink to bathe her. She's still so little, she fit just perfect!

That night, we went to Cosmos for dinner.

After dinner, we took the kids to The Wharf to ride the ferris wheel.

Saturday we packed up to head home. We stopped at Lambert's on our way out because we knew Brayden would love the whole "throwed rolls" concept. We're not really sure what all the hype is about with that place, but it was packed at 10:30 in the morning! Brayden made sure to raise his hand for a roll.

We seriously had the best time. There was no drama, everyone got along great, and no one got stressed. I love my family and loved spending a full week at the beach with them. We missed Tyler and Jordan like crazy. Now I'm wondering how I'll make it another year before I get to go back!

South Beach Update

I'm back from the beach! However, it's with great sadness that I have to announce I'm back from the beach heavier than I was when I left. :(

My plan to stick to Phase 2 just did.not.happen. Let's face it, when you're on vacation the last thing you want to think about is what you're eating. At least I thoroughly enjoyed the food aspect of my vacation including dippin dots, fried seafood, and birthday ice cream. :)

Suffice it to say I'm back on Phase 1 starting today. I'll weigh next Monday and let you know how it goes!

The sad thing is, it only took 1 week to get me back to square one. Today has been so hard and I've wanted to eat everything in sight! I know all of this is probably too much information, but I want to be totally transparent. :) I'm a work in progress!