Pray for Kate

This precious little girl is in need of our prayers! At the young age of 5, Kate Mcrae is battling brain cancer. You can read about her story here:

http://www.prayforkate.com/

Please take a few minutes to read about how you can help this amazing family as they are in the midst of the most challenging time of their lives....and give your children an extra hug and kiss, for we never know what the future holds.

The One-Animal Zoo Trip

We have a membership to the Phoenix Zoo, which is nice because I don't feel like I have to get my money's worth all in one trip! This trip, the main event was the new Komodo Dragon exhibit. Ok, so it was the ONLY event really. We waited in a fairly long line with all the other zoo members to get a sneak peek of the huge lizards. The rest of the day was spent playing in the play areas and walking for at least a half-mile back to our car. But did I mention we saw really big "dragons"?? Brayden has been waiting months for this exhibit to open!

Waiting in line to see the dragons!

So handsome

They are so big..and so cool!

Seeing ONE animal at the zoo today really wore me out...

Ssss...Aaaa...Dddd = SAD!

Brayden is a sponge these days. He soaks up anything he sees, reads, hears...both good and bad! He can tell you the difference between a carnivore, herbivore and omnivore (if you don't know, just ask him next time you see him!) He knows so many different types of dinosaurs, even ones I didn't know exsisted, such as a "Giganotosaurus." He can recognize every letter of the alphabet and tell you the sound it makes. He is beginning to write letters as well, and even wrote his name in sidewalk chalk:

He tells amazing stories and loves to sing and make up songs:

He loves to play pretend and is a different animal pretty much everyday. If you call him "Brayden" instead of his chosen animal, he will quickly correct you (even when he's in trouble, which drives me crazy!) Our favorite is when he is a T-Rex. He walks around stomping, with his arms drawn into his sides (cause a T-Rex has short arms of course) and 2 fingers out for his "claws." One day recently, he decided to be a mole. I don't really understand the costume, but I just went with it:

Our amazing Brayden does come with his fair share of challenges. He tests us daily...ok, hourly really. He can be so loving, and yet so crazy sometimes.

However...

last night while reading books before bed, that same 3 1/2 year old completely blew me away. He pointed to a word and slowly said "Ssssss....Aaaaaa.....Ddddd... SAD!" Yes that's right, he read his first word.

Wow.

The first grade teacher in me just saw visions of chapter books....

the Mommy in me is just so proud

Trouble...with a capital T!

Caleb is officially completely mobile.
He crawls on his hands and knees....everywhere.
And gets into....everything.
Safety locks and gates, here we come!
Days of Mommy getting anything accomplished...OVER!

Deep Thoughts by Mommy

So the boys are both ridiculously sick, but we had a funny moment this afternoon that I have to share. Brayden finally has some sort of an appetite, and asked for chips and turkey for lunch. After devouring his chips and leaving his turkey untouched, the conversation went as follows:

Brayden - "Can I have more chips Mommy?"

Mommy - "Yes you may, but only after you eat a few bites of turkey. You need to eat something good for you so you get better"

Brayden - "But chips ARE good for me, cause I like them!"

Mommy - "Well, not everything we like is good for us"

Thanks for the life lesson Mommy... I'm sure he is still pondering that thought!

Go Tangerine Tigers!

Brayden had his very first soccer game this morning...ok, so I wouldn't actually call it a "game." It was more like soccer chaos! I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids playing or the parents watching! Here are a few of the highlights:

Ready for his first game - with his bear from school as his cheering section!

Look out Caleb, you will get trampled by crazy kids wearing orange!

Making his first goal during practice - a natural!

About 10 minutes into practice and he says "I need a break, I'm tired"

Ok kid, then explain to me how you can run around my house non-stop all day long and you don't seem to need a break?!?

He loved kicking the ball... in any direction... on any field... to any player!

This is what it looks like when you put a bunch of 3 year olds on the field and attempt to play!

How many kids can you fit in one goal?? Apparently a whole team of them!

So handsome :)

Coach Andy says "Ok kids, head to the field to start the game!"

Kids immediately take off...and don't stop!

Brayden and JP takin' a breather on the field

A much needed after-game snack

Caleb and Aunt Gigi cheering for Brayden (and Notre Dame of course!)

The beginnings of teaching good sportsmanship:

Mommy: "Brayden, say good game to the nice boy..."

Brayden: "..."

Mommy: "Give him a high five at least!"

Brayden: "..."

Mommy: "Ok, let's go eat your snack"

At least I tried!

Our Texas Adventure

We had a wonderful trip to Texas to visit ReRe, Pops, Hollie and Melody! We went to the Fort Worth Zoo (which, by the way, is soooo much cooler than the Phoenix Zoo!) but forgot our camera, so you'll have to take my word for it! We ate lots of good food, including Karen's famous chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, pinto beans and cornbread, and spent lots of time just hangin' out with the boys :)

We love you guys and can't wait to see "y'all" again soon! :)

These headphones paired with a DVD player = amazing

Caleb loves his Aunt Hollie and Aunt Melody!

Pops and the boys :)

The second day we were there, the weather was surprisingly cool and not too humid, so we decided to go to a nice park to go fishing. Hollie and Melody bought Brayden his first fishing pole and we headed out!