African Safari

This past weekend we headed up to an African Safari.  This was Fred and I's 3rd time going, Blaiden's 2nd time, and Adilene's first time.  It was so much fun!  A few months ago I noticed tickets on Groupon and I knew that it was something we wanted to do so I went ahead and bought them.  Last year we went in May and so only about half of the animals were out.  This year we wanted to make sure all the animals were out but also not go on a super busy weekend.  This was the perfect time to go.  There were people there but it was not packed.  We could drive through as quick or as slow as we wanted to.

I had talked it up to Blaiden a few days before we went so he would be excited.  Pretty much he only wanted to see the giraffe, he also said ducks but I'm not sure where he got that idea.  I also talked about a crocodile but he said he was scared and didn't want to see one.

This big day had finally came and we headed out early in the morning knowing it would take a while to get there.  We had to stop half way so Adilene could eat.  Once we got there we got the kids out of their seats and decided we would do the drive thru first.  That is where most of the animals are and the giraffes which is about the only thing Blaiden could talk about.  It started out great and Blaiden was having a blast feeding all the animals.  Then we got to the buffalo, they were very friendly and I think the size was just a little to much for him.  I could have added to the fear because I was holding Adilene and I didn't notice the buffalo until its entire head was in my window.  I had a little freak out while trying to get Adilene out of the way, after that Blaiden didn't enjoy them.  There was also an elk that stole our cup of food and that really upset Blaiden.  It was a good thing we had another cup of food or Blaiden probably wouldn't have had any more fun.  Adilene enjoyed being out of her seat and playing with me but I don't think she cared or noticed much about what was going on. 

We finally got to the giraffes and Blaiden got to feed them carrots.  He had so much fun and all he kept saying was they are "biiiiiiiig big big!"

After we finished the driving thru part we went and ate a little lunch and walked around looking at a few animals.  We did see a crocodile and Blaiden made his "roar" noise trying to scare it and show how brave he is.  We also got to see monkeys, turtles, red river hogs, and a few birds.  Blaiden was just a little to small for the camel rides but maybe next year.  We had an awesome time and I can't wait for next year when Adilene is more interested.

Potty Training

If you don't want to read about pee, poop, and get way to much information regarding a 2 year old's bathroom habits I would stop here.  If you don't mind this kind of talk read on, you have been warned...

I don't even know where to start with this post.  We tried to start several times with the first time back when Blaiden was around 2 I think.  We bought his potty chair about 6 months before that.  No matter what we did he would not use the potty.  He would sit there for a minute or two but then would get up and if we tried to make him sit, there would be a major melt down.  I was at a loss because he would never use the potty, I would even try to get him on there mid stream and once he sat down it would stop until I took him off again.

I read way too much about what was the best way to go about it and everyone had their own tips and tricks.  We decided that we needed to just have him naked all the time and give him chocolate when he actually made it to his potty. The first day was a very trying day, I really just wanted to give up then all the sudden he started to go pee on the carpet, realized what was happening and went and sat on the potty to finish.  After all the clean up I gave him a ton of praise and a few M&M's and he seemed to understand that this is how it all works.

That afternoon we took Kiara outside and Blaiden was still naked and in that fresh air he went pee outside.  I thought I would use this to my advantage because he seemed to like to go outside so several times a day I would let him go outside to pee.

After the first week was over and he did his first big job in the potty we asked him what he wanted as a treat and he said ice cream.  We headed out to Cold Stone and he got blue sweet cream with sprinkles on top, he still talks about his blue ice cream.

It has been about a month now and it is still a work in progress.  When he is naked he does really well and we don't really have accidents anymore but the second he gets clothes on he forgets all about using the potty.  He also has a hard time going #2 on the potty.  He will say "me butt hurt" and ask for a diaper so he can poop, or conveniently wait until he has a diaper on, not sure how we are going to fix this problem.  He still runs around the house naked all the time and really is only dressed if we leave the house.  Some of our company have gotten a little surprise when they walk in the door.

Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame weekend is about a month long.  There is so much to do and only the last weekend really has anything to do with football.  The kickoff celebration is the Hot Air Balloon Classic.  We go to this event every year and it just gets better with Blaiden more interested now.  There are about 20-50 balloons that all take off at the same time, sky divers, and they end the night with all the balloons lighting up in the dark to music.  We got there, ate some greasy food and watched all the balloons take off.  Blaiden got to play with some friends and we just relaxed on the grass.  We were getting ready to leave because it was getting late but another group of people said they were on their way so we stayed to say hi.  We ended up staying for the light up and Blaiden loved it!  There were some other kids around and they were all dancing and running around crazy to the music.  The entire way back home he kept saying "Me ride hot balloon," so I think he enjoyed it.

The next thing is a rib burn off.  This is where all the restaurants compete for the best ribs, sauces, and other things.  There are other things to do like listen to music and carnival stuff.  You can also walk through and see all the floats that will be in the parade.  Fred did this one with a friend this year.  When Fred came home he said we need to take the kids next year because there was a lot of kid friendly activities.

Then last thing we did was go the parade.  Blaiden had been looking forward to this since he went to the 4th parade.  This one wasn't as exciting for him because they didn't throw any candy but he loved all the music and balloons.  He also thought that the old cars and trucks were trains and kept saying "choo choo."  The music was a little loud for Adilene but she is very observant and enjoyed all the action going on around her.

There was a lot that we didn't make it to this year but maybe next year will be better. 

A Fun Afternoon

The other afternoon we decided to get the swimming pool out and spend some time outside.  It had been raining for days and so we were so excited we could actually get out of the house.  We stayed out there all night and ended up grilling hotdogs because we just didn't want to go inside.  Our neighbors were out in their yard and so Blaiden got out of the pool only to go jump on the trampoline with the older kids.

Fred had to work that night and so I was happy there was someone else to entertain Blaiden while I cooked on the grill.  Adilene rolled around on the grass and was just as happy to be outside.  She even enjoyed putting her feet into the pool.

I think Kiara had the best time.  After running about 100 laps around the yard, chasing her ball all over, and getting in pool with Blaiden she sprawled out on the grass and just soaked up the rays of sunshine.  I am not one to really take a lot of pictures of our dog but she just looked so regal.