June Gloom Looms

We've experienced a beautiful, yet unusually cool summer in southern California. Unfortunately, the coastal weather has been disappointing, but that didn't stop Braden from still having a lot of fun at the beach in La Jolla.

Braden did just tell me he wants to be an acrobat, so apparently he is already practicing his skills.

Now I know how he had so much sand on him!
Braden likes to be really clean.....

But flossing his toes with seaweed?! That's a bit overboard!!

Braden stayed busy building a giant sand fortress....even the birds at the beach like to hang out with him! (Papa probably taught him a bird call to attract them).

Looking cozy in a sweatshirt, Braden seems perfectly content even though it was too cold to go in the ocean.

Dr. Feelgood

We are going to miss a lot about the town we live in now when we move in a couple weeks. Fortunately, Braden doesn't need to see a doctor often, but when he does, we can always count on Dr. Du. He actually begs to go see her all the time...the lollipops may have something to do with it.

Braden will be starting at a new preschool, so we stopped in for a quick check-up.

Standing 44" tall, Braden weighs in at a lean 37.5 lbs. He brought his new toy trucks in because he said he thinks Dr. Du loves monster trucks and would want to see them. She definitely acted like she loved them!

Dr. Du always refers to Braden as being "mature" and a perfect patient. He loves her!
Braden has a look of suspicion...and for good reason! Poor Peggy gets a bad wrap! Braden made me promise he wouldn't have to see her at this visit. I told him we'd see her but there would be no shots....he was upset with me because she did do a finger stick to check his hemoglobin. Afterwards he wanted to tell Dr. Du that he really doesn't like Miss Peggy because she's so mean.

BMXer

Braden has been eagerly anticipating taking off his training wheels. We told him we would do so when he turns 4 next month. He'll probably be in for a surprise when he realizes how tough it will be to ride without training wheels. In the meantime, he is proud of his tricks.

Surprisingly, he hasn't taken any spills on his bike.

This little punk is a bit cocky!
Love his look of concentration as he tried to speed up an incline...

No hands generally=bad idea.

What a cute little bobble head!

Another bad idea...riding a bike up the steps to the slide at the park.

Again, the look of determination...

Off the curb...shockingly, he landed it without a hitch!

Call of the Wild

Gramma and Papa are like Energizer bunnies...maybe that's where Braden inherited all his energy from! After Papa and Gramma had a very busy morning, they decided they wanted to take Braden to the Wild Animal Park.

I'm surprised Braden allowed a bird to perch on his head. He would typically be concerned about the potential for a pile of poop to land on his hat!

Braden acquired his love of birds from Papa. The birds in the mountains near Papa's cabin are the most spoiled in the world. Braden loves treating all these wild birds like pets!
Gary once warned me that his parents had this professional picture taken of him with his bird because that's what happens when you're an only child...Braden does treat his dogs like siblings, so I guess that's the same concept.

Feeding the ducks...C'mon, where are all the real wild animals?!! He did tell me the cheetahs were the coolest animals there. Thank goodness he didn't say the flamingos or ducks!

Just chillin' with Gramma...

More chillin'...

Because it's always about 150 degrees at the Wild Animal Park, Braden decided he'd get cooled off, even though he was fully clothed.

Looks like Gramma instigated the silliness. Braden looks like he's thinking, "Gramma, we look ridiculous!"

Dr. Du just informed us that Braden falls into the 100th percentile for height...doesn't mean much at age 3, but maybe it'll be significant when he's seeking an athletic scholarship! Hey, at 44'', he's tall enough to ride lots of rides, so he's happy!

I think Braden's too old for this ride, but he never misses an opportunity to ride a carousel.

Braden was excited to announce, "Mom, you'll be happy to know that I might not want to be a pirate anymore when I grow up. I want to be an acrobat instead." Awesome...

Summer Splashin'

Braden took a break from throwing the ball around to toss some water balloons at Daddy.

At first, playing with water balloons seemed like the most fun activity in the world.

Braden launched several balloons and cracked up when they splashed on Dad.
He proudly caught a few...

and was very excited when he prevented the balloons from slipping through his fingers.

But then, the fun ended abruptly when he missed a catch and got a balloon splashed all over him...

Independence Weekend

To celebrate the 4th of July, we spent a few days at the beach in San Diego. Unfortunately, the sun hid out most of the weekend, but that didn't stop us from enjoying a relaxing trip.

Couldn't really blame Braden for not being eager to boogie board since the water was a bit chilly. He knew Daddy would get creative!

This kid has a great life...I probably would have had a panic attack, but Braden seemed to enjoy being buried in the sand. He let us bury him right up to his neck, but then wanted every grain of sand washed off his body.

Braden is a bit of a neat freak....again, he was bothered by the sand on Daddy's feet. Good thing we brought baby wipes!

Cheetos and sand are a very messy combo! Braden didn't seem to mind!

My favorite guys wondering if they were brave enough to take a dip in the frigid water...

Braden helped Matt build a sand fortress and then enjoyed witnessing the tide take its toll on the creation.

Braden had a blast in the pool that was created...

The waterfall was an unexpected surprise!

The waterfall turned into raging waters...

Braden cracked up onlookers as he cruised through our campground on his bike while pulling Pepper and Enzo along.

I got quite a workout chasing them around. Surprisingly, Braden didn't tire out!

Pepper is such a good sport!

Poor Enzo...the slightest efforts poop him out!

Preschool for Grown-Ups

Braden was terribly disappointed at school one day recently because he didn't get a lollipop. He went on to explain that the good kids get a treat, but the kids who get in trouble don't get one. Apparently he put the sheet over his head at naptime and howled like a ghost to scare the girls with one of his buddies. Personally, I thought this was funny, but apparently the teacher didn't.....

Anyway, this brought up another topic that I thought was interesting. Braden asked if I got a lollipop at work when I do a good job. He was puzzled when I told him that I don't get treats even when I work really, really hard and do a really good job. This conversation reminded me of a few things Braden has said recently that were humorous, but had some truth to them as well. Braden mentioned that I shouldn't wear tall shoes (high heels) to work because I can't run very fast in them. He wanted to know if I take my shoes off at playtime at my job. He also wanted to know how Daddy and I take a nap at work. He couldn't understand how we could fit our "big bodies" on the little mattress like the one he uses at preschool. Treats, playtime and naptime would make our jobs much more enjoyable. Maybe Braden will run a company one day where he can incorporate these ideas!

Ranch dressing makes everything edible...even broccoli!

Ready, Set, Go!

Playwerx just may be the most ideal place ever created for kids. It's such a simple concept, yet Braden and Jett had an absolute blast running, climbing and sliding through the course. This indoor super-park was the perfect spot to spend the afternoon with friends.

Braden and Jett competed to see who could maneuver through the obstacle course the fastest. Both boys displayed their impressive athletic abilities. It's amazing how winning is so important, even to 3-year-old boys. They got into a little fight as they were neck and neck in one of their races. Fortunately, they worked through it and had a ton of fun! These slides are far more fun than the average slide, according to the boys. So, I tried it out for myself....yep, they're really fast!
This was the expression on Braden's face the whole time we were there....
Without naps, we thought the boys may crash...Both boys left their marks. Braden chose to leave his graffiti on the light switch.