Discovery Gateway

We went to the Discovery Gateway Museum today with Nicki and Jackson. It was a lot of fun. I had gone with a friend just two months ago or so, but even in that short amount of time, Brayden was able to do a lot more. It's so fun to see him interact with Jackson and just play. As usual, I couldn't keep myself to just a few pictures. My boy's just too cute!

Jackson

Brayden is obsessed with his cousin Jackson. All Jack has to do run around yelling out anything (it could be nonsense and usually is) and Brayden just stares at him laughing. It's funny because he gets pretty shy around other kids, but he just squeals with delight when he sees Jack.

Mountain Goat

I was telling my friend Kimberly about what Brayden has been doing lately, and she told me how one of her kids is like that. She called them "mountain goats" and I liked it!

A couple days ago Brayden climbed up on a box we had in our front room (don't mind the mess). And yes, he was barely on there but he didn't fall luckily. I'm now counting him as a climber because he also climbed up three stairs at my sister's house last night.


Another "mountain goat" trait he has apparently is carrying heavy weights (at least for his age). I bought some two pound weights to use when I do the 30 Day Shred dvd, and he started lifting them this afternoon! He was basically doing bicep curls with bad form. Lifting it up and down, up and down. When he dropped it, it was only because he didn't have a good grip. Here's some documentation.




And my favorite:

Bargains

I have a love/hate relationship with yard sales, the DI, consignment shops, etc. I'm sure it's like this for most people. Sometimes I get sick of them for a time, but I always return to the "hunt." It's in my blood- my mother is a yard sale fanatic.

They are so hit or miss. I love them when I find a good deal, but I get very annoyed if I spend my Saturday morning at yard sales and it's all junk. Or, as my brother-in-law Andy put it when I bragged about my "hit" day on Facebook, "I think you forgot the "s"" (put a s in front of hit and you'll know what he was talking about). Today was awesome though.

Here are some of my finds today:


This is my favorite of the finds. I really only have one nice serving dish to take to dinners, and I love this one so much more! The color is brighter and more evident in the next picture.


These are Pottery Barn egg cups (and also the first thing I have ever owned from Pottery Barn).




I know the pictures are blurry, but you get the idea- cute egg-shaped lantern type decorations. We also got a planter to put on our deck, an "AMORE" word carving to put over our bed, and a couple other small holiday decorations. Also, one of the yard sales was a fundraiser for a girl's softball team and they were also doing car washes so we had our car washed too.

Inspired

I am so inspired tonight. Adam and I went to the gym earlier. Now what I'm about to say may at first sound discriminatory towards older people or people with disabilities, but I promise it isn't. So, there were a lot of old people there and that actually really inspired me. You know, they're 60+ and they are not giving up on their bodies. They are doing all they can so that they enjoy life and can have more of it. I also saw a man there leaving after swimming that only had one leg. And then when I was on the elliptical machine an old man with only one arm got on the one next to me. It really was a "slap in the face" moment because I realized that even with all their challenges they have probably been taking better care of their bodies than I had been.

I was also inspired tonight by Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. I have been so excited for this show, and he did not disappoint. I have got to make sure that Brayden knows what real food is and will eat it and like it. I know that will only happen if Adam and I eat real food more often than processed food. I will say that I think I have might great strides in this, because my whole family will tell you just how picky I was. If you didn't watch this show, I urge you to. His passion for healthy living was so evident and so inspiring!

Parenting

I'm in the midst of trying to organize our home, and I found the advice cards guests wrote at my baby shower. Now, many moms were wise and wrote things like "Enjoy them now, they grow fast." Heck yeah, they do. I love all those. However, I think my very favorite one comes from Adam's 9 year old (10 now) cousin named Camille. Her advice was to "Make him laugh! Look for lady bugs and always have ice cream!"

Don't you just love it to pieces?

Eat, Pray, Love

I have a conflicting relationship with this book. I've read it more than once, skimmed over it looking at what I've highlighted or noted multiple times. It inspires me so much but at the very same time it makes me insanely jealous. I have made peace though when I read it after having had Brayden. Because even though I can't travel the world (at least not right now), I have so many joys in my life that the author hasn't experienced. Anyways, the trailer for the movie came out today, and I am so excited to see it!