2.5 Year Toddler Update

I might be a month behind on this one, but better late than never, right?!

Last month, Brayden turned 2 1/2 years old and has grown, developed, and changed so much in just 6 short months! I'm not going to lie, I'm super sad that his baby features (chubby cheeks and thighs) are slowly fading away.

Clothing: Mostly 2T and some 3T
Diapers: Size 5 - working on learning to use the potty has been an interesting time!
Shoes: Size 7 and some 8's
Weight: 34 pounds (estimated)
Height: 36 inches (estimated)

In his last update, I mentioned that he hit a "word explosion" right before turning 2. Since then, those words have turned into more words which turned into phrases and he hasn't looked back for a single second. His current favorite phrase is to say "I want _____"! It's also hilarious to hear how he mispronounces things. Take orange pumpkin for example - "ooo-range pun-kin". I just love it!

His favorite place ever is the park. He also still LOVES the splash pad! Anywhere water is, that's where Brayden wants to be. We keep a pair of boots at both my house and my mom's house so he can splash in the puddles after it rains.

Like the rest of the country, he’s super obsessed with the “baby shark” song and it’s so cute to see the look on his face when the song starts. We’ve listened to it at least a million times!

He also LOVES his momma which of course melts my heart. I've heard before that there's just something about the bond between a little boy and his mom and "they" were right!

As far as food goes, Brayden loves it, especially "ice cream" aka frozen yogurt. Other favorites of his include pizza, spaghetti, tacos, waffles, chicken nuggets, cereal, chips, refried beans, french fries, fruit, and of course, candy (which is totally limited). He's not always open to trying something new, but once you convince him to take a bite, he will usually want more.

Favorite TV shows include Puppy Dog Pals and Mickey Mouse, but he now asks for Little Einsteins by name as well as "Paw Dogs" which is also known as Paw Patrol.

Landmarks are something he's picked up on as well. For example, he knows when we've made the turn to go to the park, my mom and dad's house, the frozen yogurt place, school/church, etc. 

Over the summer, we had all kinds of exciting adventures like swim lessons...

...seeing the 2017 World Series trophy on its tour...

...feeding the giraffes at the San Antonio Zoo...

...an Astros game...

...and Sea World in San Antonio!

Brayden travels really well in the car and we love going on new adventures and exploring new areas!

He LOVES animals of any kind, especially dogs! My dogs still aren't super agreeable to allowing him to touch, but we can convince them every once in a while with a little snack or treat!

Just like any boy, Brayden loves playing in the dirt. I ended up purchasing a giant plastic container that I keep topsoil in for him to play with. He loves using his shovel and bucket to repurpose the dirt (aka put it all over the backyard)! Another new fascination as of late has been dinosaurs. Being a boy mom sure is interesting!

Since moving up to the two year old class at school (where we also added an extra day), I've seen a huge change in the information Brayden absorbs. He knows his numbers of 0-10 and even surprised me the other day by counting to 10! He also knows his colors very well. We are currently working on letters and shapes, too! He's come a long way in just 6 months and I love seeing the new things he says and does every day!

Personality wise, Brayden is still a pretty chill, happy, and sweet kid although he has his moments/days just like most toddlers. He's easily redirectable when he's upset by reminding him to use his words and asking what he wants. We are loving and cherishing this time with this sweet kid we've been blessed with!

Thanks for following along in our journey! Stay tuned for his next update at 3 years old! :)

Astros World Series Trophy Tour

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend!

We had an amazing weekend to say the least and the highlight of our weekend was seeing the Commissioner's Trophy from the 2017 World Series (earned by the Astros, of course)!

A local business decided to add our town as a stop on the World Series trophy tour and the rest is history!

As a little back story - in January of this year, the Astros hosted a "fan fest" event in Houston which is a free event to enter, but there are several "extra" options you have to pay for (including a picture with the World Series trophy). Well, we obtained the entry passes but did not snag the "extra" options in time before they sold out. Also, fan fest was held on the weekend we returned from Dopey Challenge and an extra 2 hour drive "just because" didn't sound like much fun at the time, especially since all of the events I was interested in were sold out already. So, we missed out. I assumed I would see the trophy at some point during a game this season, but to have it up close and personal like this was an even better treat!

The local Toyota dealership went all out with this event including Cracker Jack, Popcorn, Sunflower seeds, hot dogs, and hamburgers!

A local news outlet was also at the event and they interviewed several fans (including us) which was fun!

Buy me some (popcorn) and cracker jack...

We arrived early and the line went pretty quick!

The Astros game was also playing on several tv's inside the show room floor!

Brayden LOVED his first taste of popcorn!

As a surprise, the Astros mascot (Orbit) was there, too! I told him that I loved his ring, so he had to show it off! 

No inappropriate pictures with the trophy, please. Seriously...it's sad they even have to tell people that.

This was seriously so cool to see in person!

It's so shiny! (Then I started singing that song from Moana...)

No trophy tour is complete without a selfie!

After we finished with our pictures, we sat for a minute to text people and post to social media. Orbit walked by and started "helping" Brayden with his game. I died.

Oh yes, and while waiting, they called a door prize number and guess what? It was mine! I won this orange Astros hat! YAY!

Sunday afternoon was SO much fun and I really appreciate the Tarver family for hosting this event! Seeing the World Series trophy in person with my little family was a pretty incredible experience, one I'll never forget!

World Series Champions

Source

When you reminisce about your childhood and the way you were raised, there are few things that have remained consistent through time. You could say that family, faith, and some friends have always been there, but as times change and children grow into teenagers and then adults, few hobbies/likes/dislikes stayed constant.
 
As far back as I can remember, baseball has always been a huge part of my family life. From April to October, you could almost always catch an afternoon or evening game on our television. If we weren't watching baseball on TV, we were playing baseball/softball at the ball fields or even better, we were attending a game at the Astrodome or Minute Maid Park.

Those rainbow seats, the giant scoreboard, Orbit running around on the field, Junction Jack, Tal's Hill, the roar of thousands and thousands of Houston fans...there's just not quite anything else like it in the world. 

Throughout my childhood, we took yearly summer vacations to Houston where we would spend a day at Astroworld (rest in peace) followed up with an Astros game the next day.

As a teen, my dad and I formed a bond over our love for this sport. One day, he showed me his box of baseball cards that dated back to the 1960's and I was instantly fascinated. During those teenage years when relationships can be strained between a kid and their parents, my dad and I spent HOURS at local card shops over the weekends, scouring through boxes and boxes of baseball cards. I was determined to find rookie cards of all of my favorite Astros and I almost succeeded. Those cards still remain in a box under my bed to this day and I pull them out on the random occasion to take a walk down memory lane.

It's funny how over time, those moments and memories come and go....even funnier how a smell or sound can bring us right back to that moment and all of those memories come flooding back. Baseball will do that to you. It's a sport where you can experience some really big highs and some really incredible lows. It's an unpredictable game and one that makes you truly believe that anything can happen.

Biggio, Bagwell, the Killer B's - the mid to late 1990's were perhaps one of my favorite times as an Astros fan, as my true love for this organization began to develop. I spent many a night cheering on my favorite boys of summer as they went through division wins to the playoffs, the World Series in 2005, and back to the rebuilding process to start over from scratch again. Watching Craig Biggio receive his Hall of Fame plaque in Cooperstown New York two summers ago was a pretty special moment, too.

Now that I'm a parent, I want to pass on the tradition of the love for this sport to my son - one that began back with my own grandfather and his son (my dad). I want to tell him stories of how I grew up watching baseball with my dad and how 9 innings of a World Series game on November 1, 2017 was added to the list as one of the best moments of my life.

I honestly never ever thought I would see the day when the Astros would win the World Series. Not at all because I didn't believe in them, but because luck never seemed to be on their side.

The. World. Series. Y'all. Somehow it still hasn't fully sunk it.

I finally understand how Saints fans felt back in 2010...and Cubbies fans felt last year. When your team, a team you've been following most of your life is able to accomplish what seems to be a near impossible feat, it's one of the most incredible feelings in the world. I'm pretty sure I'm still walking on cloud 9.

Thank you, Astros. Thank you for allowing the heart of a young girl and her dad form a bond over the love of a team and a sport. Thank you for showing people everywhere that anything is possible if you believe. Thank you for giving hope to the city of Houston after such devastation. Thank you for a lifetime of precious memories. You will never know how much it truly means to me.