Soccer and Spiderman

Nothing too exciting to blog about today. Just wanted to share a couple pictures from last night and this morning so that Dada can check out what we've been up to once he's able to read the blog again. It's definitely a bummer to not even be able to email him about our day right now.

Last night Brennan's school had a little picnic. I didn't know of anyone that was going, but thought it would be fun and it got me out of cooking, so we went. There were very few families there, but we had a great time. Brennan didn't eat much food; he was too interested in playing with the big kids. There were two soccer balls there and he immediately wanted to play. I have never seen him be so outgoing and independent. It was really surprising. He was laughing with the kids and holding their hands. He even walked by me at one point while holding a boy's hand and said, "Goodbye, Mommy!" He really had a great time and I enjoyed watching the big kids be so kind to him. I pray he is kind and patient like these kids were last night when he get bigger.

Today was the Groton Fall Festival. I assume it's an annual event, but this is the first time I've heard of it. It was at a local park and B and I decided to check it out. We had to park FOREVER away, but thankfully they had free shuttle service, which made Brennan's day. The festival was cute. There were tons of booths and lots of vendors and gobs of free stuff for kids. Brennan walked and walked and walked all around with me. It felt nothing like fall since it was 76 degrees and we were both sweating, but I'm so glad we went. Brennan even got his face painted like Spiderman and painted a pumpkin blue!

Annual Pictures at BF Clyde's

I decided to take Brennan to BF Clyde's Cider Mill this morning. I figured it would be much less crowded on a Friday morning than a Saturday morning and hoped I could get some good pictures of him. We've taken him there every October and it's so fun comparing the pictures we take each year.

Unfortunately there were a lot less pumpkins there than usual and many of them were super ugly. But I still managed to get some cute pictures. First, let's take little trip down memory lane.

Here are a couple of pictures from October 2010. We went there twice that year.

Here are couple from October 2011. Brennan had just recently started walking.

And finally here are the shots from today. I put him in an orange button-up shirt to keep up with tradition, but it was really too warm to be wearing it.

Love him! We are getting professional pictures taken a week from tomorrow. Hoping B cooperates as well as he did today!

Here's one more with pictures from each October.

Big Boy

Brennan's school has a drop-off line. The school recommends parents use it and we've been using it since day one. You simply wait in line in your car and drive around the circle until you're up the building. The kids all arrive to school at the same time, so there are "veteran" kids who have been attending this preschool for a few years and then newbies like B. So far each time I've dropped Brennan off, I've walked around to his side of the car and gotten him out myself. The teachers are happy to get the kids out for you, but the first time a teacher opened B's door and started unbuckling him before I got over there, he started crying. Since that day we've been working up to the teacher being able to get him out. This week was his first week back to school after vacation, so on Tuesday he let the teacher (not his actually teacher) open the door and do his buckle, then Mommy actually got him out. Last night we talked some more about possibly letting the teacher get him out of his car seat, but he kept saying, "No, Mommy do it." We even prayed about it during his bedtime prayer.

Well this morning on the drive to school I brought it up again. And all of a sudden he said the teacher could get him out. When we pulled up to school to wait in the line he was super excited to see one teacher wearing a green shirt and one wearing a red shirt and was still saying one of them could get him out. I told him I'd be super proud of him if he was brave and even bring him a treat when I picked him up. This got him even more excited and he immediately said, "Doughnut!". Sure enough when it was his turn, he was super happy to let "red teacher" get him out of his car seat. He said, "Peek-a-boo!" when she opened his car door. Then he started talking a mile a minute once he was out saying, "No rain. Playground today!"

I know it's not really a big thing, but I just love little milestones like this. Brennan is a big Momma's boy, so this was a big step for him. I hope he keeps it up because it'll be so nice on days that is raining and after the baby is born if I'm able to just stay in my seat during drop-off. I might've even gotten a little teary-eyed driving away today because I was so proud of him. Dang these pregnancy hormones! :)

Guess it's time for me to go grab the kid a doughnut before I head back to pick him up!

I'll leave you with a video of him from Tuesday on the drive home from school. I'm so glad he loves school, but good grief could you at least be a little happy to see Mommy??!!

Myrtle Beach

We just got home on Saturday from our annual family vacation. My mom and dad are gracious enough to pick a spot each year and we all meet for up for week of fun and relaxation. We've been to Las Vegas, NV (pre-Brennan); The Great Smoky Mountains, TN; Pompano Beach, FL; and then this year Myrtle Beach, SC. The trips are always fun and once we get home, I always make a Shutterfly photobook for everyone so we can remember the trip. I'm already almost done with this years!

Unfortunately Kyle wasn't able to be on our trip this year since he's deployed, so I wanted to make sure I shared some highlights and pictures here so he will be able to see. Prepare for a picture overload!

Our 4-bedroom resort was right on the beach this year!

Brennan wasn't a huge fan of the beach the first day, but after that he was all about it!

At Clint's suggestion, we ate at Medieval Times. Brennan really liked it!

Brennan and GeGe!

Brennan even got knighted while we were there!

Playing in the waves with Mommy.

B's favorite thing was to sit close to the ocean and dig in the sand.

And throw sand all over himself (and Mommy).

I was able to take this picture right before the wave came and washed the words away.

Brennan with GeGe and GaGa!

A shout out to Daddy!

The resort held daily turtle races in the lazy river. This is Brennan's "mean face"
right before the race.

Brennan's turtle finally won a race on Thursday! 

The balloon making stilt walker took a family pic for us at Margaritaville!

Broadway on the Beach had some kiddie rides. B loved them!

He was even willing to ride them all by himself. We went back a 2nd night since
he liked it so much!

Brennan with GeGe and GaGa after eating ice cream!

Spending a week here was pretty amazing!

Amanda and her two girls came to visit!

The kids all liked playing on the beach.

And getting tickled in GeGe and GaGa's bed!

Brennan in the water with GaGa and Hollie.

He's such a water bug and loved the pool.

Love is in the air!

My dad took B to the local fire department. I think B liked this as much as the ocean!

Not in focus, but a sister shot!

And at least one halfway decent picture of Mommy and B!

Our annual "good" family photo.

And the crazy photo.

The night we got home, I wrote down some of my highlights in my journal because I know I won't be able to remember everything and wanted to make sure I could share some of the details with Kyle when I get to talk to him again. Some of these are repeated from the captions above, so bear with me.

• Brennan was a great traveler there and back - this kid really likes airplanes!
• Thankful for people helping me out at the airport; they do take pity on a pregnant mom traveling alone with a toddler!
• B working on his activity binder I made for the trip.
• Our resort was right on the beach; just a short elevator ride down.
• Loved starting each morning playing on the beach.
• B slept really well in the pack-n-play and napped well each day. 
• How mesmerized B was by Medieval Times; him getting knighted.
• The heated outdoor pool was a huge a plus.
• B watching the turtle races and cheering.
• Amanda coming to visit.
• B learning how to do thumbs up.
• B kissing Adah.
• B riding rides at Broadway on the Beach all by himself and LOVING it!
• B swimming all by himself with swimmies on his arms.
• B's love of elevators and remembering what floor we stayed on.
• B remembering the combination to my parents' safe all week after opening it one time.
• How much B loves my family even though we don't see each other often.
• The funny things B said, "Double shot Maker's Mark", "Hollie is looking for a man", "C-Dub is making a baby", and coughing like C-Dub.
• Watching B play mini-golf.
• Eating Krispie Kreme donuts - YUM!
• B winning 200 tickets on the Wheel of Fortune game at the arcade.
• Finding B's Halloween costume at Old Navy.
• My mom and Amanda getting to feel the baby kick.

Top Five Photos

Linking up at the last minute after arriving home from vacation. I always like going back through my pictures and finding my top five. Here they are in chronological order.


For some reason I really wanted Brennan to wear a bow tie to Kyle's SOAC graduation at the end of June. Once I got the idea in my head, I wouldn't let it go and we ended up finding this one at Macy's. I thought he looked so cute in his khaki shorts, button up shirt, and gingham bow tie. I liked the outfit so much that I snapped some big brother pictures since we were ready to make our announcement public at that time.

I have multiple shots from Brennan playing in the hose this day and decided to go with this one because I love the pop of green from the grass. This boy loves water and doesn't care if it's all over his face.

This was taken shortly after Kyle left for deployment. He cut Brennan's hair right before he left, so it's super short in this picture. Brennan and I went outside on a beautiful day so I could hopefully get some good pictures of him. Several of them weren't in focus, but this one was my favorite from that day.

I wanted to include this one from Brennan's first day of preschool. I think he looks so grown up and I'm sorry his Dada wasn't here to see him walk into school like such a big boy.

I didn't get any "top five" shots of Brennan while we were vacationing in Myrtle Beach other than this one. I just love it. I am so happy my friend Amanda and her two girls were able to visit us while we were there. And I think it's safe to say Brennan was happy to see Adah!

Tuesday is the last day, but it's not too late to link up your Top Five photos too! Check out these great blogs and add your photos today!

• Click.Pray.Love
• Sarah Halstead Photography
• Ramblings and Photos