A Day at the Park.

We have thankfully gotten a reprieve from onslaught of hot weather. With the (much appreciated) cool down in temps, we Butlers have been spending a lot of time outdoors. I couldn't be happier.

In between doing outside projects, we managed to sneak away to our favorite park,  Close Memorial. We decided to forgo the stroller and let Brady walk, while we secretly worried we would be constantly chasing him from water's edge. But, our little guy did great. He even moved to the correct side of the sidewalk when we came across the occasional passerby. What a little gentleman. Sometimes he just amazes me.

I just grabbed a couple shots from the day, a feat for me considering I have been very lackadaisical about taking pictures lately.

I believe it was President Roosevelt who said "Speak softly and carry a big stick." Not sure this is what he had in mind. Not that Brady has really mastered speaking softly either.

We made it all the way to the bridge, which is Brady's favorite spot of the whole park. He knows he gets to throw rocks in the water. It was a little more nerve wracking this time since he wasn't buckled in a stroller. Extra care was taken to ensure he didn't throw himself over the ledge along with the rock. We survived, unscathed.

Brady finished the rest of the walk with style...courtesy of his daddy.

When I see pictures like this, it reminds me of when Mike and I would walk here while I was pregnant. We would talk about the days, months, and years to come, always with a smile on our faces. Our conversation always went to "one of these days, he will be running around this park." Sure enough. It's such a happy/sad feeling. Sad because my little tiny baby is gone. Happy because that little tiny baby has grown into a full-blown toddler boy who is, by description, all boy.

We wouldn't want it any other way.

Ten on Tuesday

I've decided to start doing a "Ten on Tuesday" post. Here it goes...

1. I "borrowed" this idea from another blog. I like it because it allows me to be completely random (which I am) and put things in a list format (which I love).
2. I feel guilty for leaving the blog abandoned, once again. I really do have great intentions about being one of those people who update their blogs regularly. I'm workin' on it. Truly.
3. Speaking of abandoning, I am currently neglecting my to-do list of chores for the day in order to complete this update while the little guy is napping. As soon as I click "Publish Post" I am right back to tackling the to-do list. I'd much rather be blogging.
4. Braden's nanny is coming to visit in exactly 17 days. We're all excited and I'm pretty sure she's already started packing.
5. Tomorrow is my brother's 21st birthday. It is so hard to believe. I remember when I was turning 21 and he was turning 12. It seems like a lifetime ago!
6. In my blogging absence I celebrated my 30th birthday. Turning 30 doesn't bother me...I'm the happiest I've ever been and I am so blessed. I find it does however carry a certain weightiness to it. My age makes me sound like a grown-up...although I don't (always) feel like one. Ha!
7. We went camping for the first time as a family. It was an honest-to-goodness blast! We were thankful to camp with family who has much more experience in the great outdoors than we do and for a campsite with electricity (we actually had coffee pots for morning goodness!). It's a memory I'll treasure for a lifetime. We're already looking forward to next year...not that I'm encouraging time to go by any faster.
8. I am ready for fall. It is my all time favorite season. I love everything about it: the smells, flavors, colors, decorations, weather...you name it. This morning I made double orange scones (from scratch!). I got the recipe out of a fall recipe book. It did not disappoint.
9. Brady has been on a dog kick lately. Namely: Ubie, Zeke, Lexi, Zeus, and Little Puppy. Lexi is my brother's dog and the other four went camping with us. Braden will randomly come up and say he loves one (or all) of them at any given moment. Yesterday we told Brady that Uncle Lance would be stopping by and he specifically asked for Lexi to come. We actually had to call to make sure Lance would bring her. It really is sweet. And, before you ask...NO! We will not be getting a dog any time soon!
10. Lastly, I wanted to leave you with a picture, of course. I can't remember when it was taken, but it wasn't too long ago. He was having a lot of fun. I tried to get a picture of him actually licking the ice cream, but the picture didn't turn out. Gotta love the ice cream goatee!