Bran...Summer Part 1

Summer Days

I can't believe summer is already halfway over.  The days are just flying by.  We have been spending a lot of time outside playing. The water table, splash pad, and sprinkler have been big hits.

There are a bunch of different splash pads around the area.  We went to the one in Hilliard with Callie and Lily.  They had a great time.  Lily especially enjoyed pouring cups of water on Bran's head.  The Powell splash pad wasn't as big of a hit.  It is set up for bigger kids, so Bran ran around for a little while but just wasn't that into it.

We enrolled Bran in a 8 week swim lesson at the Dubin Rec Center.  He loved the first class, but had quite a few rough ones afterwards.  He really enjoyed "swimming" around on his belly, being thrown in the air, and splashing.  He would only jump in from a seated position at the edge of the pool.  Being dunked and floating on his back were his least favorite activities.  Mommy and Daddy learned quite a bit from the experience, including not to schedule swim lessons an hour before bedtime on a weeknight, haha!

Joe was on call for Father's Day.  He was able to spend the morning at home so we could all enjoy breakfast together.  Later that day Bran and I went to the hospital to visit Daddy at work. We picked up some Panera, but Bran spent the whole time just wanting to run around the courtyard.  He also got a naked ride home after he decided to splash in the fountains.  He was he supposed to know it wasn't meant to be like the splash pad?! 

We went on a beach vacation to the OBX in June, but that is going to need a separate post!

Fourth of July was spent at the Mayhills.  Bran was much bigger this year and able to enjoy the bounce house with the big kids.  Bran also got excited hearing the fireworks and started saying "boom boom".  So he ended up staying up way past his bedtime to watch the fireworks show, we couldn't believe it.

Joe's Birthday was very low key.  We spent the weekend before his birthday having an adult weekend in Nashville with Luke, Katie, Nate, and Callie. So we just ate German Chocolate Cake (which Grandma Lude made while watching Bran for the weekend) and sang "Happy Birthday" which Bran LOVED.

One of our favorite things to do this summer has been enjoying the free concerts at Scioto Park.  We even took some friends to enjoy us one weekend after a little cookout.  The kids especially enjoyed the picnic strawberry shortcake we brought along.

Going out to eat has become very challenging.  Bran is lucky he is cute!

We made a visit to the Columbus Zoo with Nicole and Henry.  We had a great time walking around checking out all of the animals.  Bran was "roaring" at all of them this time instead of "woofing".  He also knew so many animal names this time! (Monkey, Giraffe, Elephant). He liked the dinosaur exhibit, as long as we stayed about 10 feet away.

I can't even keep up with all of the new things Bran is saying these days.  He has such a huge vocabulary I can't keep up.  He is starting to put together more and more small phrases too.  He knows all of his body parts and especially loves to show off his BELLY!! He is so animated, playful, and full of personality.  His sweet side comes out too sometimes, he has started to give us kisses and big hugs. He loves to kiss the puppies and his animals (ducky and sneetch) when he is going to bed.

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Bran...April-May 2017

Brannock hit the 15 month mark.  He was the life of the party at the doctors office for his check up and just kept jabbering away to anyone who would listen.  Everyone got a kick out of him! The pediatrician said he has a very good demeanor for a 15 month old.  He weighed in at 27 lbs. 7 oz. and was 2 ft. 8 in. tall. 80th percentile all around now, big boy!

We are amazed with Bran's increasing physical abilities, vocabulary, and overall understanding of basic life skills/activities with each passing day.  Brannock is so smart and is a boy with no fear.

The boy loves to eat.  Lately his especially enjoys eating with a fork and spoon, even foods that should be finger foods.

Some words he is saying these days: Puppy, Buddy, Izzy, Woof, Moo, Mama, Dada, Duck (which he has started confusing with milk haha!), Ball, Coffee, Hot, Apple, Uh Oh, Stuck, Bird, Night Night, Help

Bran's favorite thing in the world is being outside.  He would play outside all day if we let him.

Easter weekend was very busy.  The babysitter and her girls did a great job of getting Bran ready by letting him try out their Easter hats.

Our first stop Easter weekend was Aunt Nikki and Uncle Jeremy's house for Easter with the Lude's.  Bran had a great time playing outside with his cousins, searching for eggs, and even got to meet the Easter bunny,

Our next stop was Grandma and Grandpa Roelle's house.  Bran enjoyed more food, an easter egg hunt, and a visit to the school playground right down the road.

We have enjoyed a couple visits to the zoo already this year.  Bran is really enjoying it now.  His first trip he was "woofing" at every animal.  It was hilarious and everyone that heard him got a good laugh.

We also met up with the Burgers, McQuades, Wojnarskis, and Shanks at the Toledo Zoo.  The kids had a good time, especially in the aquarium.  We'll be adding two more babies to our group soon, and Bran officially won't be the only boy.

Busy days make for a sleepy Bran.

Go Cavs! LeBRAN is ready to shoot some hoops.

We spent Mother's Day at home just relaxing and playing outside enjoying the beautiful sunshine.

Columbus is full of parks.  We have a whole list of new places to explore.  We start with Amberleigh Park which is only a few minutes from our house.  Bran especially enjoyed climbing out to the big slide and playing the musical instruments.

We finished out the month of May with a Memorial Day cookout with the Mayhills and Stimsons.  Bran and Lily were the life of the party and had so much fun playing together (and especially interfering with the grown ups corn hole games.)

We also had a cookout at our house on Memorial Day.  Bran got to play lacrosse for the first time, and had a great time chasing the big kids around.

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