Daycare Life

We have been blessed to have some wonderful people take care of our kids each day over the past few years and they are both thriving because of it! 

Even though Lilly is not smiling in any of the pictures, I promise that she loves these ladies and they love her (and Brayden)!

Ms LaTonya (1 year old teacher who Lilly was ATTACHED to)

Ms Chante (gym teacher/floater...she rocks!)

Ms Brenda (1 year old teacher...love her Puerto Rican spirit!)

Lilly recently moved up to the 2 year old class (this was a hard one for me because so much transition happens in this class...potty training, dressing themselves, colors, numbers, etc, etc).  Basically, it means that I don't have a baby anymore but instead I have a little girl.

I was actually concerned about how she would transition to the new class, but she went for her 2hr visit and never looked back!  There was no transition week for Lilly.  And apparently, she is now "in charge" in the classroom.  Small and mighty, I tell you!  She knows what she wants and knows what to do to get it!  She is also fiercely independent!

Within 2 weeks of moving to the new class, Lilly decided that she was ready for potty training so off to Target we went to buy Minnie Mouse and Princess panties.  She is doing OK with it, but still has at least 1 accident daily (mainly #2 or because she can't get her pants down far enough not to pee on them when she sits on the potty). 

I can't figure out to turn this thing (but this is Lilly's score card for the 1st day of potty training :)

Brayden has also been doing very well in his new class.  He moved up in early August to the Pre-K 2 class (rising kindergartners)!  They have "homework" 1-2 nights a week which I am fine with as long as it isn't mandatory just yet :)  Most nights we do the homework and he enjoys doing it because he loves to write, draw, cut, etc and that is what the homework is.  His 1st assignment a few weeks ago, was to write 5 words that start with each letter :D, E, and F.  Brayden came up with the list on the ride home and immediatly went to work writing the words out.  Of course, I had to help him spell them, but he did a great job! 

Tonight's assignment was to practice writing big "G", little "g", big "H", and little "H".  Brayden jumped right on that too, and went a step more and wanted to write a bunch of G and H words out!

     Duck, Dog, Daddy, Deer, Dare, Ethan, Egg, Eye, Ears, Eat, Football, Foot, Feather, Family, Friends

I love his enthusiasm for doing his "homework" right now!  I just hope it continues next year when we start school!

T-Ball Fall 2013

Brayden is playing T-Ball this fall for the first time and is loving it!  I am not surprised though!  Most of the team is kids from daycare so he is very comfortable playing with them and one of his friends mom is the coach. 

They have 30 minutes of practice and the a 30 minute "game" each week.  It is perfect for this age and short enough for the younger siblings not to get into too much trouble!  They are learning the basics of hitting, catching, throwing/pitching, fielding the ball, etc.  During the games, each kid gets at least 1 turn to hit the ball and run the bases.  They don't play with outs right now so they just run to 1st base, then the next hitter hits and they run to 2nd base, etc. 

The kids are all so cute sitting on the bench cheering for their teammates when they are up at bat.  Each and every week, they have done this "Go Zach, Go Zach!!" or whomever is at bat.  SO. STINKIN'. CUTE!

The organization that he is playing with is big on sportsmanship, which I really like.  They encourage the coaches to teach the kids about a different aspect of sportsmanship each week and then at the each of each game, 2 kids are awarded for good sportsmanship.  The kids get a medal and get to take a big sign home for the week to put in the yard!!

Brayden won this past weekend!  We couldn't be more proud of him!  Keep up the good work buddy!  That is what it is all about! 

He is already asking to play basketball this winter...not sure about that one yet.  But we will definitly be signing up for soccer again in the spring as well as swimming. 

NCSU Football game

The fist NCSU football game of the season was this past Saturday and boy was it HOT!  Upper 80s, high humidity, and not a cloud in sight!  And of course, the game was at 12:30 so we were out there in the heat of the day.  It was still fun though!

The kids enjoyed tailgating (I failed to get any pictures this time because we just ate and went in pretty quickly) and the game was good (NCSU won 40-7 I think)!  But the biggest deal of the game was that we got to go out on the field during halftime!!

My dad was selected as the Stanly County representative for the "This is Our State" campaign and he and his family (along with a representative(s) from each county in NC) were asked to go on the field.  We had to meet at a certain section a bit before the 2nd quarter ended.  Then they led us down 5 flights of steps to the underneath section of the end zone seating area.  It was MASSIVE down there.... buses, huge trucks, etc were all parked underneath as well as the NCSU helmet golf cart and the huge old NCSU drum.  The best part was that the team ran right by us as the entered the locker room at halftime! 

We had a few minutes to stand around and chat as well as take pictures...of course, Brayden was not being cooperative so I had to sneak a few pictures in of him :)  Lilly was quite excited about the entire experience though even though it was totally during her nap time!!

The team walking by!

MawMaw Rachel on the field!

In addition to getting to go on the field, when we were at the beach with Matt's family at the 4th of July, we recorded a "This is Our State" video.  They played out little video right as we were walking out onto the field!

Matt's birthday and Buh's birthday

Happy Birthday Matt!  We love you!

We went to Albemarle for Buh's (my grandmother) birthday.  While we were there, we also celebrated Matt's birthday. 

Happy Birthday Buh!  We love you and are glad we got to visit with you for your birthday!

Buh with a picture of my grandfather and his 2 sisters at Christmas in the 80s

The kids also got to pick potatoes from my parents garden!!  They both loved it and Lilly was very specific about which bucket each potato went into.  Silly girl!

Learning about picking potatoes

Brayden & Mommy picking with Lilly sorting to her liking.

Silly girl!

Just like her brother, she LOVES to ride in this car and Paw is quite happy to oblige.

Eating corn on the cobb.  This girl knows what she is doing!

Cheesy face again :)

Lazy 5 Ranch

My mom has been talking about the Lazy 5 Ranch for a while now.  She finally convinced me that we needed to go, so back in the fall we picked a weekend and put it on the calendar.  I am SO GLAD that we did!  This place is awesome!!

We got reservations for a 10:15 wagon ride which meant we had to leave my parents house by about 8:30.  We got to the Ranch a bit early and were able to walk around some and see a few animals from afar.  The wagon ride was wonderful!  Not crowded and you get buckets of food to feed the animals.

Waiting on the wagon ride to start

Brayden, Daddy, and Paw

The entire principle of this place is to allow you close contact with the animals (although there are a few that you can't get near).  As the wagon moves along, animals walk/run up to the wagon to be fed.  You have to pay attention to the way the guide tells you to feed each animal.  Some can be hurt if you feed them incorrectly.  Every so often the wagon will stop and you can take pictures, pet, feed, etc the animals.  Such a neat experience for the kids (and us grown ups)!

We fed emu, ostrich, several types of deer, water buffalo, several other types of cattle, giraffes, zebra, and lots more.  They also have petting zoo where you can continue to feed some of the animals including camels, donkeys, sheets, goats, etc.

Emu/Ostrich - up close and personal

Zebra

Llama - they were somewhat aggressive and really wanted the food

Giraffe - One of them was 25 feet tall!!!

Matt and Brayden feeding the giraffes

Luther the rhino - he is in a pen and you can't get close to him

Brayden feeding a cattle of some sort

Hello bird

Beautiful rolling green hills

Deer - none of the deer on the property are native to the US

Water Buffalo (I think)

Another giraffe

Peacock

Lilly was unimpressed

Brayden loved it and Lilly was not excited but I she is still a bit young.  We will definitely be going back when she is a few years older so that she can experience it again!

Hanging out with Paw

Lilly feeding the sheet

They also have a nice picnic area and play area for kids to get their wiggles out!

Kangaroo - one of them made laps back and forth along the fence lin for about 5 minutes while we stood and watched

As an alterative to the wagon ride (a bit cheaper also), you can drive your car through the park.  I would not suggest this because some of the animals can get a bit excited and scratch your car plus you don't get a guided lesson as you drive through the park.

If you are in NC, you definitely need to check this place out!  It is near Salisbury, NC and is relatively cheep and a fun time for the entire family!  We will be going back one day!!