Braden had his birthday party with his friends at Bounce U (his request). Here are the boys trying so hard to sit still for a safety video on safe bouncing...who are they kidding...like any 3 yr old practices good safety!
Pausing for a picture with Mommy -
Blowing out candles on the cake (this was before Braden burst into tears as we were all singing Happy Birthday). It was actually really funny, but i think he got a little overwhelmed by all the attention -
The cake...Costco did the baking, I did the decorating -
Opening presents with all of his friends -
An attempt at a family photo -
The party favors -
All in all a great day to celebrate my sweet little boy. We followed his Bounce U party with a family party the following day.Here are the boys attempting to sit quietly while I get a picture. I had to do a little bribing, but what mother doesn't -
We took several trips to the zoo this summer...some with friends, some just the boys and me. It was hot, hot, hot but well worth the time away from the house. Here is sweet Asher enjoying the toddler bounce area -
Braden and his buddies, hot and sweaty -
Enjoying a little lunch...this was taken on one of my solo trips to the zoo...let's just say I managed to spill two large cups of grapes, Braden's milk and a bowl of strawberries all within a matter of minutes. Some lady even came over and said "Honey are you doing this all by yourself?" Apparently things looked a little chaotic as I was trying to get everyone situated to eat. After both boys started eating, it was a very pleasant lunch. Nothing like discussing monkeys and elephants with a 3 yr old over a grilled cheese!
Ready for naps...that is one of the great things about the zoo!
What else? The boys spent a lot of time this summer climbing on Tyson...this was before we had to amputate his leg (more on that later) -
Braden's little imagination took off this summer. It was so fun to watch and be apart of his imagination. It's things like that that I find so delightful in a 3 yr old. Here is Braden pretending to be a fireman -
And while Braden did that, Asher did a lot of this -
Oh yes, and then there was the fair...the lovely Williamson County Fair. It was actually a great place for kids and created some good people watching for the adults.Here is Braden brushing the creepy, fake sheep -
Asher and Daddy checking out the petting zoo area -
Braden spent most of his time at the fair, staring at this...I mean who wouldn't stare?! He kept asking me "Momma, why those pigs cryin'?" And all I could think was "I mean I would be crying too!" That poor momma!
Braden did love riding some of the rides -
And while he was riding, Asher was chilled out with his sippy cup in the stroller. The sippy cup transition was a big one for Asher this summer. He flat out refused a sippy cup until he was 11 months old...quite different from his brother who took one easily at 6 months old. Oh well, each one is different as I am very quickly learning!
This is how we spent every afternoon this summer...all of us (well Austin was usually at work so this picture must have been taken on a Saturday) piled up on the couch watching some afternoon cartoons. I wake both boys every afternoon from their nap and Braden still wakes in a very grumpy mood...thank goodness for cartoons and goldfish to help remedy grumpiness.
Austin had to be in Chattanooga on business for two days so me and the boys decided to tag along for a quick overnight trip. Chattanooga by the way is a great place for kids...between the aquarium, the children's museum and the outdoor fountains there was plenty to do. Here is Braden digging for dinosaur bones in the excavating exhibit -
Asher and Daddy -
Braden got very brave at the aquarium and touched a snake -
This picture brings back good memories for me b/c a little over a year ago, Austin and I took Braden to Chattanooga for a quick special trip before Asher was born. Here we are a little over a year ago, just a few weeks before Asher was born -
and here we are in the exact same spot a little over a year later -
In August, we packed up and took a week long trip to Austin's parents house. Braden got tired of waiting during the packing chaos that he made himself a little bed right in the front door...notice he does have his backpack ready to load in the car...just hope he packed some underwear in that backpack!
Asher, suggested I pack this -
Every morning while Asher napped, Braden and Nana and Coach spent their mornings on the paddle boat -
Braden got to fish for the first time. Here he is trying out his Lightning McQueen fishing rod -
Here we are taking Braden fishing for the first time. This was actually really neat for Austin and I because we spent so many lazy summer days in high school out on his parents pond fishing and dreaming about what our future held. Fourteen years later, it was really neat to be there together with our son carrying on that tradition -
While in Lexington, Austin and I got away a few different times. We toured the Woodford Reserve Distillery one day as displayed by Austin -
And we even met some old friends in Louisville for a quick overnight trip that included a great Rascal Flatts concert.The highlight of Braden's week was when we took him to ride an old school train. As you can see, it was pure joy -
Ash, Nana and I enjoying the ride...the whole train ride was 45 minutes and it was about 150 degrees in the non-air conditioned train...surprisingly Asher did really well considering he couldn't get down to crawl around -
On a sad note, we found out this summer that Tyson has a very aggressive form of bone cancer. Within 5 days of his diagnosis, we made the difficult decision to amputate his leg in hopes to keep the cancer from spreading. It was a very sad few days for us as Tyson is like our child...he's been with us since we were first married and he's been a friend to our boys since they first came home from the hospital. Here is is, right after surgery - 
All in all, Tyson has recovered very well...he still runs in the back yard with Braden, greets Braden in his room every day after nap, climbing up in bed with him -
And as you can see, the boys are back to climbing all over him -
And yes, we spent all summer in the thick of kitchen renovations...started the first weekend in May and ended last week!!!! Hallelujah for a brand new, fully functioning kitchen! In case you forgot, we went from this -
To this -
Well, that's about it for the summer...now onto school, Asher's first birthday, pumpkins, football and cooler temperatures.
