Lake Bums

It wouldn't be summer without a trip to the lake! This year we just did a quick day trip to Falls Lake with family.

Blake is obsessed with "Papa's boat". He is at the age where he wants to drive it... and press all the buttons.

Blake also surprised us this year by wanting to sit on the tube! He has never been a fan of big bodies of water, so this was a huge step. He even splashed his feet!

What can I say... he is just out little superman! :)

Our First Movie Date

Today is an exciting day! Blake and I had our first movie date!!! This was Blake's first trip to see a movie in the theater and we went to see Planes: Fire and Rescue. This was actually the sequel to the Planes movie that he has already seen on DVD. He loves this type of movie so we thought it would be a good movie start for him. :)

We also had a very special "third wheel" on our date. Granny came along because it was also her birthday!!! She was great company and we are so glad she was able to join us on this adventure. I honestly thought that Blake would only last 30 minutes in the movie. Luckily he surprised me and we stayed the whole time. He would want to stand or walk around every now and then, but he overall did really well! We even had a successful potty trip! Yay! Now that's a good date! Haha.

Baseball Boy

Blake and I enjoyed a Friday night at the baseball fields with the Wiggins family. Joshua is on the Rolesville All Star team and we went to cheer him on for the night. Blake obviously isn't too interested in watching games at this age, but he sure had a good time learning to play!

After watching the game for maybe 20 seconds, he decided to go make friends with some of the other kids "watching" the game. There was a very sweet young boy and girl there who had a glove and a ball. They jumped into playing with Blake. They taught him how to catch the ball (kinda) and throw the ball. He had a blast showing us all of his new skills. :)

It was a great night. Something so beautiful about a summer night, baseball, community gatherings, kids running around playing with each other, smiles, laughs, and so much more. The only thing that wasn't so beautiful was making Blake go home when the game was over... he never wants the fun to end.

Aloha Zoo

I LOVE the zoo! It is seriously one of my favorite places. There is something so magical about seeing these beautiful exotic animals in person. In the past I have only been to the NC Zoo in Ashboro. We actually took Blake there last year. This year, I was lucky enough to hear about a different zoo in NC... Aloha Zoo! Aunt T finally had a day off work and we spontaneously decided to take Blake to see the animals.

It was an awesome experience! We learned that Aloha Zoo is actually a rescue zoo! Many of the animals there have been rescued from abusive environments. The zoo is also privately owned by a family and they have set up a very personal and interactive zoo experience. We had a blast!

Stretch was probably mine and Taylor's favorite exhibit. Stretch is a giraffe who had been abused by being kept in a mans garage. Stretch is actually supposed to be alot taller, but because he was kept in a garage, he couldn't stand up for a long time and that stunted his growth. He is now living the high life and getting lots of love at Aloha Zoo! Blake wasn't so sure about Stretch. Haha.

Blake's favorite exhibit was the "Roar's"...aka the tigers. :) When we walked by their cage they started to roar and play with each other. Kinda scary but also really neat! We were also lucky enough to visit when there was a baby tiger! They had him in a play pin and we were able to watch him and pet him. He was so cute as he walked around and tried to growl. Haha.

 

The other really cool thing about Aloha Zoo is that they take you on a "Safari Ride" around the zoo. We got to see many exotic animals up close and personal as we were driven around the grounds on a hay ride. Super fun. 

 

Carwash Concerns

Blake went to the car wash with me for the first time...that he can remember. He went to a car wash when he was a baby and it was a disaster. He cried the whole time. I thought that he would love it now that he is a big boy toddler. I guess some things never change.... He didn't cry but he wasn't so sure about it. Haha!

Blake at Two and a Half

I have got to be the proudest and luckiest mommy in the world to have such a beautiful, loving, smart, and well rounded little 2 1/2 year old. He is my world!!!

Blake is about two and a half, so I should probably give an update (along with some awesome pics of his spunky little self)....

• Blake is weighing in around 35 lbs! 
• He is almost done potty training.
• He still loves cars and choo choo trains.
• His vocabulary has increased so much! He is not talking in sentences....and copying everything I say.
• He is so smart! Wise beyond his years.
• His personality is really starting to show and I think we might have a class clown on our hands. He is all about showing off and loves to make people laugh.
• He is now sleeping most nights! If anything he will sneak in bed with me or call me to his bed.
• He still wakes up at 6 every morning. Clock work! 
• This summer he is very active... enjoying story time, gym class, playground swings and slides, and lots of play dates. He is having a blast!
• He still isnt a fan of singing. He likes music and dancing but doesnt like it when people sing. HAHA!
• He likes to talk on the phone. 
• He has a huge imagination. I love watching him play with his toys. There is a whole different world in his head.
• He is VERY healthy. No major sicknesses... knock on wood! We take our vitamins!
• He loves all Disney Pixar movies... new favorites are Finding Nemo, Planes, and Meet the Robinsons

I could go on forever... but we will stop here. Now enjoy how undeniably cute he is...

Potty Training Time

It is that time!!! Potty Training time! Granted, we are starting a little earlier than I had planned. My goal was to do it sometime this summer, before going back to work in August. I have honestly been terrified of the potty training experience, so I kept putting it off. I was just really worried about it being the right time for Blake. The last thing I wanted to do was to try too early and he struggle with it.

Well, the other night when getting ready for bath time, Blake ran over to his little training potty and peed. No joke. Right there he peed perfectly.... like he had been doing it for years. HAHA! I was shocked!!! We had been working on all of the pre-training stuff, like finding the potty and flushing and stuff, but I never expected him to actually do it! Oh boy, did we celebrate! We jumped! We cheered! We high fived! HAHA!

The next day we went to Target to pick out "big boy underwear" Blake picked out two packages: Mickey Mouse and Disney Pixar underwear. I have to admit, they are the cutest little things I have ever seen! We waited until afternap time to try the first introduction of potty training.

When he woke up we put on his new underwear.... and then he immediately peed everywhere.... and then he screamed and had a melt down. Uh oh! Not looking like a good start and this momma was so worried she messed up. But, it wasn't anything a few M&M's couldn't fix. My mom had the great idea to keep a jar of M&M's in the bathroom as encouragement. I might have been very generous with the M&M's to get over the first bad episode. HAHA! We both had more than one ;)

After the first melt down, everything was magically better! During the day we had many little accidents but we also had several GOOD pee's in the potty!!! He also started to get really excited about using the potty. And we kept those M&M's flowing! :) Overall I thought we had a very successful first day! I am so proud of Blake and how he is growing into such a big boy!

We don't have much planned for the next few days, so hopefully we can keep the routine going and be potty trained in no time!! Fingers crossed! The thought of not changing diapers anymore is pure joy!!! Haha.

Tobacco Tall

We have a very unique house. Most people have a nice little grass yard or a neighborhood street. Not us!! We have a HUGE pond in our backyard and farm fields in our front yard. Straight country! :)

This year the farms have tobacco growing in them. It has been so neat to see the whole farming process and Blake has loved seeing the tractors. About 2 months ago we sat outside and watched them prepare the fields and the rows. A few weeks after that we saw the little sprouts placed in the ground and now we have just watched them grow, grow, and grow! The tobacco is now the size of Blake. We measured.... haha!