Easter, Vacation and the Backyard!

Hello, hello!  I haven't posted anything in awhile because really, not too much is new around here until Easter came and then BAM a whole bunch of exciting stuff happened around here- Easter, a family vacation, first tooth (no pictures yet...they're coming) and a new addition to our backyard.

We took a trip down to Kansas City to the Great Wolf Lodge for a few nights.  It was a blast!  Water park, arcade, kids crafts, shopping, a trip to the zoo.  We all had so much fun.  It was so nice to spend time all together and not be leaving for work/training as soon as the other one of us gets home.  I'd love to make this a tradition!  John?  Hint, hint :)

Met up with Neal (John's uncle) at Dave and Busters for Lunch 

Wiley the wolf.  He's like the "face" of the Great Wolf Lodge

See that big thing behind her?  She could climb all the way to the top and slide down herself.  

First ice cream cone for Adler.  

This guy thought he was invited to our lunch at the zoo

It's not the best picture but I wanted to be sure I remember this forever.  Adler was in bed,  and the 3 of us ordered pizza.  Sloane insisted we have a picnic on the floor and watch Brave, so we did.  Great memory.  

Hula hoopin'

Of all these cute little guys a little girl could choose to "stuff" Sloane picks the dragon :)

Her "cabinet" inside our room.

Let me tell you about our new play set.  There is a place in town called Backyard Adventures.  Sloane, Adler and I frequent there often especially in the winter months.  They sell outdoor play sets but they have their show room open during the week for kids to come and play.  It's wonderful during bad weather.  Everytime we go she sits on this "rocket rider" (on the right) and swings.  She was in love with it.  Of course John and I both would love to have such a nice play set but thought they were always too expensive.

Well one day Sloane was swinging away and she said to me, "Mommy, I'm so happy when I swing."  Ugh, how stinkin' sweet is that?  I called John and said we needed to start saving our money.  I'm not normally a "buy whatever to make them happy" type parent but this just broke my heart.  Every kid should be able to swing when they want right?  It's like your job as a child- swinging.  :)  Anyways, we had money set aside for a possible small trip John and I had thought about taking for my 30th birthday in May, combine that with a heck of a deal on last year's model and Bam!  We bought one.  Sloane even saved every coin (and dollar) she could from g'ma, g'pa and helping us around the house to contribute for her rocket rider.

Big Boy!

Adler is an eater.  You put it in front of him and with the exception of baby food, he will eat it. It's now impossible to eat a banana or a popsicle without sharing with him.

Because he eats so much I found that I was trying a new food once in awhile but I made sure that I always had a few staples on hand (peas, carrots, ham, cereal) but recently I noticed that was pretty much all we were feeding him.  

This week I've been on a mission to find fast, healthy,"adult-like foods" that he can eat and so far we've had a lot of success.  This week we've tried sweet potatoes, avocados, blueberries, and even ate an entire pouch of mix of cherries, greek yogurt and sweet corn- MESS FREE!  

Here are some pictures.... I think he's just so sweet when he eats- probably because he's all smiles!  

And who knew that a "fancy, big girl" cup from Target costing a whopping $1.50 could entice this little lady to drink more milk!  Totally worth it.  Excuse the cheese and milk face :) 

Girls Afternoon Out

Last weekend Sloane and I took a little "girls only" trip to the Science Center of Iowa to see Sue, their new T. Rex cast skeleton now on display and let me tell you...it was AHHHH.may.ZING!

Despite being members I had not taken Sloane to the Science Center in over a year.  The last time we went I remember thinking she was too old of the "kiddy" stuff and too young for the "big kid" stuff.  This time around was perfect!  There was so much for her to explore, touch, feel, create, throw, build....I even had fun.  Why did I wait so long to go back?  We spent two hours there and only left because it was closing time.  

Our first stop was digging in the pit for fossils.  This box was filled with recycled tires, goggles, brushes and pails to help you dig for treasures.  

 

Next stop was upstairs where you could build your own rocket and then launch it.  Sloane and I are amateurs.  Neither of us had built a rocket before but I must say, we were both very pleased with the results!

   

 The look on her face after she launched it was just priceless.

After rockets, race cars and bubbles we watched looked at the sun, moon and stars in their galaxy dome.  Last time we went she was too scared to lay down in the dark.  This time was much different- I was afraid I was going to lose her!  We laid down in the center and watched one of their little five minute movies on a solar eclipse.  She loved it.

By the time we were done it was almost five and we were both hungry.  I took her all the way out to West Des Moines to the new Scratch Bakery .  Everyone has been ranting and raving about this cupcake shop that just came to DSM so of course we needed to check it out.  We got there and were 27 in line.  She waited as well as a 3 year old in a cupcake shop could.  It was $2 of pure happiness.

We had a wonderful time.  It was a good reminder how fun and necessary it is to spend time with her one on one.  My next "date" idea is already in the works but this time I'm sure it will be a fight between John and I to see who gets to take her! :) 

Have a great week everyone!  

A Hairy Situation

Apparently my eating habits aren't the only thing Sloane inherited from me....

HER HAIR!!!

Don't get me wrong, I love my hair and her hair for that matter.  But my hair takes work to get it to look a certain way...I guess her's does too :)

Like most little girls I'm sure, Sloane doesn't like to have her hair brushed (can you tell why!?) so I got into a bad, bad habit of putting it into a "messy" pony or bun.  It's so cute that way too!  See...

Well after a few days of cute but messy hair she woke up with this....

Oy.  If I had waited any longer her beautiful locks would have turned into dreads.  So, because I didn't want a little Bob Marley running around I went to target and got a new brush designed for detangling, two different types of detangler and detangling shampoo. Oh and a bag of swedish fish for her to eat while I yanked on her head.  Don't tell John :)

In the end, it was rough but we pulled through.  Never, ever, EVER again will I do that.  

And here's a lil picture of Mr. Adler.  What a love isn't he?  Seriously!  He's always happy and if he's not all I have to do is pick him up.  He's a mama's boy and I like it that way!  

Strong Brees

John and I started another blog called "Strong Brees".  Check us out here!

We both wanted a space were we could document John's training for his IronMan race and my progress as I continue to work towards my fitness and nutrition goals.  This blog won't include any of the kiddy stuff so if you want to see pictures of Sloane and Adler keep checking back here.

Strong Brees is our place to share what we have been and will be doing for exercise on a daily basis, our meal plan, recipes and any additional fitness/race endeavors we encounter along the way.

We hope to see you over there too but of course understand that what we eat and how we exercise isn't exactly interesting to everyone. :)  

Snack Wars

Just like her mother, Sloane is a "grazer".  If given the option she would snack all day long and never eat a true meal.  Recently, Sloane started this habit of yelling "snack" in a demanding, rude voice whenever she wanted something to eat.  It was kinda funny to begin with but then started to wear on both John and me.  

I came up with this great idea.  A "snack box" in the fridge.  I think I recall seeing similar ideas on Pinterest or other blogs and thought I'd give it a try.  I found a little containter we weren't using and filled it with snacks that I was comfortable with her having at anytime.  

It wasn't too long after I put it in the fridge that she wanted a snack.  I showed her the box and explained that from now on anytime she wanted a snack she could come pick one from her snack box.  She didn't have to ask mommy or daddy for permission BUT when the snacks were gone, they were gone (for the day).  She was thrilled.  She clearly didn't realize or care that the snacks in her box were healthy options.  She just wanted to pick herself.  

So... I took this photo about twenty minutes ago when I was done stocking the snack box...

This is what the snack box looks like now.  We're minus a fruit strip, two applesauces, a yogurt, a granola bar and a string cheese.  I hope this new freedom of picking a snack whenever we please wears off quickly or I may have to come up with another plan.  :)

    

WE'RE BACK!

Hello?  Are you still there?  Does anyone still check this thing?!

So, our computer crashed about five months ago.  Totally gone.  Everything- pictures, videos, documents- All gone.  Did I have stuff backed up?  No.

Big mistake!  BIG.  HUGE!  Name the movie.......

Back up your stuff people!

Long story short, we paid lots of mulah to send our hard drive off to data recovery to get what they could from it.  The results of the recovery were pretty good although I haven't seen everything.  We made it almost half the year without a computer and just couldn't take it any longer.  We ended up with a new mac mini.  I know I'll love it eventually but we're still getting used to it.

Ok, so I have obviously tons of catching up to do on this blog but first I need your opinion. (Seriously, leave a comment!  I really want to know what you think we should do!)

Here is the deal: John has officially signed up and begun his training for an IronMan, yes an IronMan!  That's 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run.  He's crazy, I know.  And I have finally, and I really mean it this time, found what I really believe I've found my true passion in life (aside from being a wife and mother of course)....fitness.  I've been teaching at the local YMCA's for almost two years and I'm just around the corner from getting my personal training certification. Both of us have really gotten serious about our workout and diets and think it would be fun and interesting to "document" our journey.

So here is the million dollar question for you: Should we include our diet and training stuff in our family blog- the daily brees or split it up into two different blogs?  I'm kinda leaning towards two different blogs because I'd rather not share our family stuff especially pictures of the kids if this fitness stuff draws in strangers. But can we really keep up two blogs?  Would people want to read two blogs about us?  I mean I don't know if we're that exciting!   

So what do you think?

I'll leave you with a little photo we had taken this fall by Christina.H.Photography