Brayden

Lunch Date!

2014-10-01T03:05:00.002-07:00

B had a half day last week and it's our tradition to go out to eat for lunch, after I pick him up. He chooses the same place each time and orders the same thing. Give the boy hummus and pita and he's a happy camper.

We laugh each time he gets it because it's the only time he stops talking and he devours it like I haven't feed him for days. When I was pregnant with him and couldn't eat anything for 9 months, my home care nurse suggested trying hummus and pita, so if I could keep it down it would give me lots of protein. Well, it was the only thing that I could eat and keep down the whole 9 months and to this day it's B's favorite food.

Open House

2014-10-01T02:58:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month we attended open house at B's school. I really like B's teacher. He was super excited to show me everything. We completed a scavenger hunt around the classroom and school so we could see all the specials rooms too. Each kid in the class did a self portrait and it was hanging up in the hall.

Yep, of course, I knew without even having to see the name that my kid was the one who drew an Angry Bird instead of himself:-/

Drum Lessons!

2014-09-25T17:49:00.001-07:00

I guess you can say music runs in my side of the family. Accroding to Ren, he has a cousin who is an accomplished pianist who travels the world too, so we can just go ahead an say he has a little bit on his side of the family;-)
B has always banged on anything and everything since he was a baby. Which kid doesn't? I know I ruined a few of my mom's pans that way(Sorry Mom!). But add that with his love of the Blue Man Group parade and music in general, I had thought about lessons for him for awhile. If you ask people with a music background, they say wait til they are at least 6 and can read then you can start lessons if they show an interest. So about a year ago he had his first lesson and loved it. His first lesson was with Ryan and he is probably one of the nicest people I have ever met. And he has the patience of a saint to deal with my kid, and they both would have fun during the lessons. But like most teachers here, they are musician and do lessons on the side. So that means he rarely has days off and travels the country and world for his job. So we don't get to see him often but I text him videos of B every now and then and when he gets a chance, he has a lesson with B.
Since B was enjoying lessons so much I tried to see about getting him some on a more consistent basis. Ren knew someone who was a teacher so I nicely asked if he could ask him to ask around to see if he knew someone willing to give B lessons. I figured that would produce better results than a google search. He found someone who was willing to open her already full schedule for us. We laugh each time after the lesson that she probably texts her friend who refered her and says he owes her big time! Rachel is his teacher now and she is also a saint and in the few months he has had lessons with her, has taught him so much. It was important for me to find someone who would teach B to read music. To watch his little brain absorb it all each week is fun. He loves to finsih one thing in his lesson and go right back to talking to her about anything and everything. Yes, she knows all about the show he's going to have, his bunk bed, his school, skylanders, etc.).
Will he have his famous show on the strip someday as he has talked about? That remains a question. But taking lessons now to help him grow and develops has been fun for all involved and we can't thank his two teachers enough for taking on our 7yr old for this adventure.

First Grade!

2014-08-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

We have a first grader! B has been excited for school for a couple weeks now which was awesome. We did have some tears on the way to school in the car but once he got out he was great. I felt so bad for him knowing I would have been the same way. In the car I just smiled and told him how it was going to be a great day but really I just wanted to pull over and hug him and head home.
B is a night owl and being in a pm kinder class last year, this year will be a learning curve for us.

Once we were ready to go to school I asked if I could take his picture and of course he said "no!"

But I knew how to make him laugh at least for a second!

See, I told you he was happy when he got there!

His teacher seems really nice too. Theses are some of the things he brought home.

Before school started we went to the teacher meet and greet. She seemed like a great teacher and it's a long story, but B ended up with a different teacher after that night and it was because I requested it. But this teacher took a picture of each kid and I am so glad Ren took a picture too because it's cute.

Wish us luck, my patience might need it as we adventure though 1st grade. He had a wonderful year last year and I know this year will be just as fun and exciting for him.

Happy Birthday!

2014-08-26T20:14:00.001-07:00

Happy 7th Birthday to B! 7?? Yikes! It's fun to see how much he has grown, especially in the past year. He makes me laugh, challenges me, and exhausts me with his endless energy, is kind and caring, and has made me look at life from a different perspective, and I wouldn't trade him for anything. He LOVES zoo animals especially the polar bear so for a few months now he has said he wanted a polar bear cake. Of course though the night before his bday he notified me he would like a Ninja Turtle cake instead. Great. Thank you Pinterest for letting me borrow some ideas:-) He was super excited when he saw it and it tasted delish so I will call it a success.

The night before his birthday we took him to a show. Last year was Blue Man Group. This year he decided Jabbawookez was what he needed to see. So we headed to the Luxor to see the show. I will admit that their masks scare me but it was a fun show. I would see it again so that's how I usually decide if a show is good. B even got to give a few of them a high five as they walked through the audience at different times. He danced and laughed the whole time.

On his actual birthday he wanted to go to Springs Preserves. We go about once a week but right now it's his favorite thing and they have a mini golf exhibit that he really likes. So we spent the day there and had a nice lunch too.

Then home for cake and presents!

He was a happy boy all day and kept saying, "I'm 7!!"

As Time Goes By

2014-07-30T22:15:00.002-07:00

You guys, I just spent the past hour trying to get into this account so I could update it. So I guess that tells you how long it has been since I have updated since I can't even remember how to log in. Or you can just scroll to the next entry and see it has been over a year. Yikes!!
What a year we have had. The first milestone. B started Kindergarten! So many emotions with all that went along with that day but I can honestly say it was a wonderful year. If you would have told me 2 years ago that it would have gone this well I would have laughed. There wasn't a day this year that B was not excited to go to school. He loved going every single day(seriously!) and we are beyond thankful.

Yes, I cried when we dropped him off. Part of me was sad that this little boy has grown up so fast and I was really sending him off to the real world now. But most of the tears were because I was so proud of him. If you know B you know how nervous he gets in new situations so I had no clue how the day would go. But he walked in with a smile and continued to every day after that. Yahoo! The other great part was that Ren was able to get away from work for a few minutes so we could all go and drop him off. Your kid only starts kindergarten once(hopefully) so this was a huge milestone and I am glad all three of us were a part of it.

I realized that after we had dropped him off , it was 6 years to the day that we had brought him home from the hospital. Both days when we got into the car I prayed that he wouldn't cry and he didn't, but I did;-)
The weekend before school started B turned 6! He Loves The Blue Man Group. Their band gives a free parade through the casino each night and we have taken B so many times the Valet know us and always keep our car up front(High rollers, Ha ha!) along with many workers who always recognize us and say hi. So for his actual birthday we took him to the show. We were lucky enough and got moved up to a few rows from the stage. The Blue Men walked through our row many times and B was so excited yet a little scared(I can't blame him because they totally scare me). He laughed so much and danced through a lot of the show with everyone around him and had a blast. At the end the Blue Men were outside so he was super nervous to be standing right next to his idols but he still hasn't stopped talking about it a year later!

He also had a Star Wars birthday party for his friends at a bounce place. He planned it for months and told anyone who would listen that he was having his party there. He was the perfect host to his friends and he had the best smile on his face the whole day.

Halloween!

B was Hulk and Iron Man for Halloween. Yes, he changed halfway through the night he went trick or treating. We also went to a few events leading up to Halloween and he got to wear his costume to school for their party so he had a great time and continues to get a lot of use out of both costumes.

So you are at least caught up on a few months. I promise it won't be a year til the next post, if anyone even reads this anymore;-)

Summer Fun!

2013-05-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

It's Memorial Day weekend and all over facebook and twitter everyone is so excited for summer to get here. It makes me laugh because summer has been here for a while for us and B is loving being in the pool again. He LOVES to swim and putting a pool in was probably the best thing we have done. On his own at the end of last year he started to refuse to wear his floaties. He did great and then I let him use the snokle and mask and he was in heaven. He would float and swim and have a ball. I decided that eventhough if he fell in he can swim to the side and get out, he probably needs some lessons. So, we started last week and much to my surpise, he loved it and didn't care he didn't have his snorkel. By the end of the week last week he was swimming across the pool on his back and also under water. He loves to jump in so I caught him in action a few days ago!

The only way I could get him out of the pool after swimming all day was to bribe him with ice cream. Hey, whatever works!

Cookie The Counting Cat!

2013-05-01T13:00:00.003-07:00

B's class has a few pets. Thank goodness the only one that gets to visit families on the weekend is Cookie, and she is a stuffed animal. I remembered before I picked B up that it was his weekend to bring her home so I was curious to see if he cared or not. A few minutes later he came sprinting out of school swinging the bag she came in saying, "Mommy, Mommy, look what I get to take home!!" He had to show me everything right then and there. So I saw that she came with a book, a journal, and crayons so we could record a few of the counting things that B and Cookie would do together. What a difference a year makes. I know for sure a year ago B wouldn't care at all the Cookie was visiting us and would refuse to write anything in the journal. So here are a few pics of B and Cookie counting various things.

Of course we had to call Grandpa and Grandma T and Aunt Kylie on the way home from school and tell them all about Cookie too.
Cookie goes back tomorrow. I am a little sad but nowhere near that I am crazy enough to consider getting a real pet:-)

Monster Jam!

2013-04-01T16:42:00.003-07:00

In the quick review in the last post I forgot to mention that we went to Monster Jam World Finals 14. Before we went, that meant nothing to me. But after, I now realize the World Finals are a big event. When I saw it advertised we talked about taking B but didn't rush to get tickets. It was at the UNLV stadium that holds 40,000 people. So when I went online to buy tickets and saw it was sold out I was shocked. I guess it is a big deal! We found tickets, bought B some ear protection and we headed out to the stadium. I figured B wouldn't be interested and would want to leave by 8:30 at the latest. We got there around 3 for the Pit Party so he could walk around and see the trucks up close.

By the time the show started at 7 I thought we would be good to go to head home soon. Boy was I in for a shock. B LOVED it all. The driver introductions started around 6:30 and he danced and clapped and cheered the WHOLE time. And I will admit, I had a blast too. I never thought I would cheer for 2 monster truck racing against each other or for a truck during the freestyle that crashed into something, flipped over and lost a wheel and was still about to turn back over and continue on. B's favorite truck that night was Bounty Hunter. We bought him a flag and he waved it with pride.

It was such a fun time and we stayed til the END at 11pm! I learned my lesson, we will be buying tickets for next year in 19 days when they go on sale!

Happy Easter!!

2013-04-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

And happy every other holiday we have missed blogging about! We are still here, things are still great and time keeps flying by with no time to blog. So lets catch up real fast....
-The holidays were the best! We had Grandma and Grandpa T visit before xmas, and then x-mas morning Aunt Kylie came to visit! So we stayed busy and as usual B loved his audience.
-R turned another year older and we celebrated with the usual balloons and cake(spiderman, of course)
-R's parents came to visit and Grandma Z extended her visit so we could go to a Chinese New Year party at the Bellagio.
-B got a really bad cut on his lip that should have had stiches but I decided the scar on his lip would be better than a mental scar from visiting the ED.
-B and I had that awful flu that went around. It knocked him out for 3 days. He has NEVER stayed in bed or stayed on the couch more than a few hours when sick and this time he laid in my bed for 3 days straight.
-He still loves school
-B has already swam a few times in the pool this year
-R has formed his corporation and is negotiating partnership. Which really all that means is each paycheck goes to our lawyers and accountants and any spare time is spent in meetings, phone calls and sending emails. Since R and I are both on the contracts and he is busy with work, that leaves me to handle all those things.
-We decided for Spring Break to do a staycation. It was the best decision. We did 2 nights at Aria hotel. The rest of the week B and I went non stop with play dates, egg hunts and lunch dates. I loved every minute of the week and was so sad sunday night that we had to go back to reality.

So there is the quick version. Hopefully it won't be three more months before another update;-)

Decorations!

2012-12-19T21:23:00.005-08:00

I only put out our inflatable snowman this year(against B and Grandpa's wishes) but B still has fun with it!

2012

2011

2010

Fashion!

2012-12-19T21:14:00.003-08:00

B could care less about his clothes. There is one exception though and it's when he wears a polo shirt with buttons, all the buttons must be buttoned. And it makes me laugh and smile every time!

Parenting!

2012-12-19T21:08:00.001-08:00

I am not a model parent(whatever that is) so that is why I am 100% comfortable sharing this story. I wasn't feeling well a couple weeks ago. Ren was working, B was full of energy and I could hardly stand so I told B I needed to lay down a while. 2 minutes later he yelled to me from the kitchen that he was "sooooo hungryyyyy". So I told him to go to the pantry and find breakfast. He replied "oh sure!" and I heard lots of noises and he seemed to manage. A few minutes later I asked what he had found and he told me Oreos. Remember I wasn't feeling well so of course I responded "sounds great!" He was quiet for a long time and I asked just how many Oreos he did have. He responded, "A lot!!!!!"

Ok then, yes I guess he did. And when I came over to inspect the package he then told me, "the rest are for Santa"
Thanks for making me laugh B!

Sick :-(

2012-12-07T08:39:00.001-08:00

Poor B was sick with the stomach bug yesterday. Besides having a fever and throwing up, you wouldn't have know he was sick because he ran around most of the morning as usual. Then in the afternoon it all caught up with him and I was able to finally get him to sleep a little bit. He woke up from his nap and felt worse. A little while later when he came up to me with huge tears and said "mommy, can you please make me feel better?" Nothing like feeling even worse for the little guy. The good news is, the McDonalds smoothie ended up helping make him feel better and by the evening he was running around playing as usual.

Meet Our Elf!

2012-12-02T16:19:00.002-08:00

Let me introduce you to our Elf. Her name is Scout, and she sometimes goes by Toni(both names chosen by B)! I know, I gave in and decided we would do Elf on the Shelf this year. Partly because I am tired of B asking if it is Christmas yet, since he has been asking since October. And also because B is growing up way too fast and soon he will have no interest in this type of thing I am sure so I am trying to get it all in:-)
She came with a book and we read it often but don't really do exactly as the book says. But it's fun and once in a while she brings a little something for B and she likes to hide so B can find her each morning. She's fun and we like having her here as we keep a countdown to Christmas! So welcome to our family, Scout(aka Toni)

Thanksgiving!

2012-11-22T21:22:00.000-08:00

Today was Thanksgiving and it was such a perfect day. We had great food, great weather to spend half of the day outside in and a great family that we could spend the day with laughing and playing. When B asked me today what I was thankful for I said I was thankful for him he responded "YAY!!". When I asked what he was thankful for he of course responded "monster trucks and Avengers".

Homemade pie and rolls cooling off. B waited patiently all day for the pumkin pie and asked about every 3 minutes if it was cool yet. And the rolls were amazing(yes I am bragging but they really were!).
And the boys who made today the best, thank you!

Picture Time!

2012-11-12T20:42:00.001-08:00

We have been so busy and I have a million pictures to upload and talk about but just can't find the time. We just got back from a wonderful much needed family trip to Disney. So after my trip to NYC, having Grandma Z here to help with B for 2 weeks, then a family trip to Disney, it has been non stop and I am a little sad to see it all end but also ready to get back to a routine. So while we were outside playing today I made B come over for a picture because he's growing up too fast and I read that article that Moms don't get in the picture enough. He's never happy about taking a picture but if you pin him just right he looks happy;-)

Hulk!

2012-11-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

B wore his Captain America costume all morning until I heard him screaming in the living room and saw the costume flying across the room. Yep, just a normal day for us. B was transforming into Hulk which of course requires "ripping" his clothes off and walking around the rest of the time without a shirt. So I figured I might as well send Aunt Kylie a picture of his muscles. She then responded with a picture of hers and how strong she was. B laughed so much and each time had to go find something new to lift to show how strong he was. It made our afternoon pass quickly so thank you Aunt Kylie! Here are the pics!

School Pictures!

2012-11-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again, time for class pictures. I figure the less I plan for them, then hopefully B will participate. Since he's in 2 classes he was having his class picture taken in the morning and afternoon. So I dressed him in dark colors hoping that when he got dirty it wouldn't show up too much in the pictures. Of course the only dark clothes he had were a little big but he survived and the pictures made me laugh and smile so I guess it's a success? So here are his 2 individual pics.

His class picture made me laugh out loud when I saw it. I love this little boy so much!

He is growing up so much and I love the little boy he is becoming. There are so many things going on in this picture it makes me smile and realize that this is the best school for him.

Halloween Fun!

2012-10-29T11:55:00.001-07:00

We went to 2 halloween parties this weekend and B had so much fun. Not to mention he got to go to bed late which always means he gets up extra early the next morning:-( B is growing up and loved playing all the games that each event had. And they had long lines and he didn't mind at all waiting. He danced the whole time! So here are the pics of our little Superhero this weekend.

Second party!

If you know me you know I hate letting B go in a petting zoo. But after I asked him 5 times if he really wanted to go in and he said yes each time, I decided I should be nice and let him!

And loading up on the sugar, thanks daddy! :-/

He's super excited for the real deal halloween on Wednesday!

NYC!

2012-10-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

I went on a girls trip to NYC last week and had so much fun. The boys stayed back in Vegas and I am sure had just as much fun. B is totally attached to Ren lately(yep, even refering to him as Ren). I welcome it since it gives me a break without having to go though B's tears to get that break. B is growing up and is finally ok with me being gone and the big part is that he can actually talk about me being gone without a huge breakdown. As much as I love B and Ren, it is always good to get alone time for myself for more than just a few hours. So, 5 days was heaven! The only list I left for the boys was the school routine, like which door to go in for drop off and pick up and where to sign in. Other than that, they were on their own. I realized when I came home and arued with B the following night for 20 minutes that Doritos were not an acceptable dinner that maybe I should have covered that before I left, but all those things seem silly. They boys had a blast, and I did so I can't complain!
Here are my pics from the 5 day!

We saw 3 Broadway shows while there too. If I lived in the perfect world, I would live in NYC so I could see Broadway shows all the time. The third night we saw a play that Sissy and Krista were super excited about because it had a guy in it from the show Downton Abby(I think that's it). So after we stayed by the stage door to see if we could see him walking out. And we did! See how excited we all are? I think they only let me in the pic since I was the one with the decent camera!

Saturday we walked around lower Manhattan and then went to Top of the Rock and walked through Times Square on the way back at nigh.

(no, we didn't plan our outfits!)

So thanks to R and B for holding down the fort, to Sissy for arranging her schedule so we could meet in NYC and Krista for living near NYC so we could hang out too! Coming home to see the boys at the airport is always the best feeling in the world!! Oh and I forgot, thanks to R for the upgrade on the flight home. Perfect for the 6hr flight home!

Cars!

2012-10-14T12:09:00.002-07:00

B loves anything that has to do with Hot Wheels or Monster Trucks. He also loves going through the car wash. So I wasn't surprised when B was off playing and when I asked what he was doing he said "the Hot Wheels are in the car wash!". I came to see and saw he was using his toy hand blender for the car wash. Makes sense! So cute!

Imagination!

2012-10-11T15:46:00.003-07:00

B was playing Lord of the Rings the other day. His Hot Wheels tracks were the arrows and an old wrapping paper roll was his arrow. Too cute!

Field Trip!

2012-10-07T17:21:00.002-07:00

It's that time of the year again, B's school's field trip to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch! Last year was freezing cold and this year was the opposite. We love that summer is staying here a little longer than usual so we can get some swimming, but 100 degrees in the pumpkin patch at apple orchard was too hot though. And after about 45 minutes poor B was allergic to something and his eyes were red and puffy. It was still a lot of fun though and of course we couldn't leave without getting cider!

Captain America!

2012-09-21T17:27:00.001-07:00

B insisted on wearing his Captain America costume to bed last night. When I woke him up this morning it took him awhile to wake up. It must have been a busy night for the super hero!