A New Achievement...

In early August I started working with Brayden on learning to ride his bike without the training wheels. He wasn't to excited about it because he was really into riding his scooter, which he was getting fast on, but each time he rode his scooter I pulled out his bike to try and work on it.

We put the seat down as low as it could go, took the training wheels and the pedals off. Brayden worked on trying to move the bike with his feet and then balancing himself. It took about 2 weeks, but he finally got the hang of it.

For more space we took the bike to the church parking lot and tried putting the pedals back on to see if he could do it. After a few minutes he got it! An exciting achievement for our little guy.

Sarah taking a turn on the scooter.

Now we can't get him off of the bike. Every day he wants to ride around the block. We are working on learning how to ride in the street safely.

We spent an afternoon with Sammy and the boys wanted to show off their skills.

Golfing with the Boys...

Brayden and Sammy had the opportunity to go golf for the day with their Daddies. Brayden has gone once before with Jason, but this was Sammy's first time. Brayden got to drive the golf cart for the first time. He seemed like he did pretty good based on the video. Jason said they had a good time. I am sure it will be one of many more times in years to come.

Turtleback Zoo...

Jason is still working on his Africa trip pictures, so at some point in the near future we will have a post on his trip, but for now we will keep moving forward.

We took the kids to Turtleback Zoo in August for a family day. I have heard many good things about the zoo over the years, but have never been. It is about 30 minutes from our house.

It was one of our hotter days of summer, but we sweated our way through and enjoyed our time together.

Our first stop was the train in honor of Sammy and Stephen, our nephews who LOVE trains! It was a short little ride, but Brayden enjoyed it. At the end we ask the engineer to take his picture with Brayden and he proceeded to pick Brayden right up and pose for the picture. It was so cute!

All Aboard!

Some animals that stood out to us were the HUGE python, the outback aviary, the farm pig, the big cats, the bald eagles and the prairie dogs.

Such beautiful colors!

That is one BIG pig!

Leopard

Cougar

Sarah loved that she could get so close.

Brayden's favorite.

We saw the cutest little prairie dog poking out of his hole.

A Happy Day...

Brayden was sick this weekend. He started Saturday evening off with a stomachache and by the end of night was throwing up. No fun!

He and I didn't get much sleep on Saturday night and stayed home from church Sunday morning. By Sunday evening though he was getting back to himself.

He had a great night's sleep last night and at breakfast I told him I was so happy that he was feeling better, he said "Me too, because it is picture day and we get to start homework today!" I hope he still gets excited about picture day and homework in a couple of years.

I e-mailed his teacher, Miss Benson, to let her know about him being sick and if he complained about a tummy ache to send him to the nurse.

This was her response back.

Hi Mrs. James, I just wanted to let you know that Brayden is having a great day.  If you didn't tell me he was sick, I would have never known!  He is such a sweet boy and a hard worker. Have a nice afternoon, Miss Benson I love when others recognize how special our boy is. It makes my heart happy.

Brayden, This & That...

I am sure I have mentioned how much I love this kid, but I don't think I will ever be able to say it enough. I LOVE MY B-BEAR!

My favorite part of the day with him is when he first wakes up and comes down to the kitchen and climbs up in my lap as I sit at the kitchen table to give me a hug and say good morning. It's been a routine for quite some time now. Ahhh! How many more years do I have of that? Cherishing those moments.

He is always making me laugh.

Mommy: Let's thank God tonight for something we are thankful for.
Brayden: Dear God, thank you for this day and thanks for letting me get to chew gum today.

He has his own unique personality that makes him so special. He is my boy.   : )

Riding his scooter is a favorite thing to do.

His night to help mom make dinner.

Neon bowling at a friend's birthday part.

Nothing better than DQ and Daddy.

Sleepover in Daddy & Mommy's room, while Mommy was away.

This first video is especially for PaPa, where he learned the word "Hootenanny" !

Yankee Game...

We got to a Yankee game several weeks ago with our friends the Kenyons who were home for a week from Panama where they are missionaries. Brayden and Malachi are the same age and are best buds whenever they get to see each other. 

This is Derek Jeter's last year, so it was great to be at one of the games. The Yankees came back to win in the last inning, which was exciting.

Emma, Sarah, Malachi and Brayden

Amy, Jason, Tara and Gerritt

The next Derek Jeter??? Brayden James is a great baseball name!

Cousins...

Sarah and Brayden have two cousins on my side, Grace and Claire, who we unfortunately don't get to see as much as we would like. They have 4 cousins on Jason's side, who we get to see more often. We love them all from oldest to youngest - Grace 15, Claire 11, Sophia 7, Sammy 5, Caleb 2, Stephen 2. 

Grace

Claire

Sophia

Sammy

Caleb

 

Stephen