Big Boy Toy Store

So it finally happened - we took B on his first trip to Toys 'R Us. He has been in Babies 'R Us plenty of times but now that he's a toddler it was time to step it up. Armed with a TRU gift card and a crisp $20 bill from Yiayia (which he kept trying to give back to her), he was ready.

TRU is one overwhelming place, to say the least. So many toys, so many bright colors, where do you even begin? Oh that's right, the clever folks at TRU have that all figured out for you. You have no choice but to start with all the outdoor fun things you *must* have in order to be eligible for parents of the year. I'm pretty sure I wanted one of everything they had to offer. B just wanted to play with the balls. Luckily Dan was there to say that no, B does not absolutely need the set of plastic golf clubs that are labeled for 3+ years old. I still have my doubts but I'll go with it.

Before we even got to the store I already had something in mind that B could buy - a water table. He loves his bath and splashing all around and we love spending time on the patio by the pool. What could be better? Apparently so many other things we had never even thought of that TRU obviously had. We found said water table but since that was with the outdoor fun items in the front of the store we had to walk around and see everything else. The first thing we put in the cart was the elephant for B's Little People Zoo. Too cute to not add to the other animals we have at home.

Our goal was to find something that B would like to play with on the patio, that would entertain him for a little while, and that he could do on his own. That last one was key. When he was younger we could put him in this and he would be content and contained for long periods of time (20-30 minutes). Now that he can walk and run he is all over the place all the time. We found a cute little car he could ride in that was super marked down but then realized that he would not be able to move the car around on his own. We would have to constantly push it in circles around the patio. No thank you.

Then we thought of the Cozy Coupe that our neighbor's son has. Pros: it's adorable, B can move it around on his own, it has a cover to protect his perfect baby-soft skin from the harsh Florida sun. Cons: not 100% sure that B would move it around on his own. He prefers for us to push him around on his ride-on toys inside the house so why would this be different?

So B we made the wise decision to go with the water table. Oh, and to clarify this was not a sand & water table, just a water table. Sand & water table = mud everywhere. No thank you. While B was napping Dan put it together and after getting B dressed in swim trunks and a rash guard we were ready to see if he made a wise purchase. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

{checking everything out}

{the water table came with balls = win}

{showing Daddy how to play with the scoop}

{finding all the places he can put the balls}

{I'm so happy he can reach the top - the balls spiral down and it's super cool}

All in all the water table has been a hit so far. We did learn after the fact that we need to fill it with more water because the green spinning thing you can see in the pictures actually creates a lazy river for the balls when you spin it. But I'm pretty sure that B will just throw it in the water.

Easter Recap

Easter has come and gone - hard to believe that this year is going by so fast! We had a great Easter weekend full of lots of fun things for Bradley to do. As Dan put it - even though this is B's second Easter, it's really his first one that he can enjoy and have fun with. He was only a tiny 4 month old last year who couldn't sit up yet or crawl, what a difference a year makes!

Saturday morning B went to his very first Easter Egg Hunt. I wasn't sure how that would work out and if he would even find any eggs, but it was great. The Egg Hunt was at our friend's house and they had scattered and hidden eggs all around the front and back of the house. And there were 20 (yes, 20!) kids there. Oh my. I don't think I could handle more than 5 kids running around my house. B had lots of fun playing with all their kids' toys when we got there and eating crackers. This boy LOVES crackers. He wanted to walk around by their pool but whenever he started whining because we would let him down the situation was quickly remedied by a cracker. I guess we love crackers, too.

When it was time for the Easter Egg Hunt to begin all the kids went outside with their baskets. And B found lots of eggs! And he put them in his basket! We were very proud of our little man. Then he sat down and  proceeded to take the eggs out of the basket and then put them back in. Some of the older kids even gave B a few of their eggs which was so sweet. He had a great time and I'm so glad he was able to experience that this year. All that excitement really tired him out, he was asleep by the time we turned off their street.



{let the hunt begin!}




{B found his first egg}




{looking for more}




{fill that basket up, B!}




{taking inventory}




{playing with the eggs}




{my little cutie}




{my little cutie with my big cutie}




{it's tough work carrying that basket around}


Easter morning began with B finding what the Easter Bunny left for him. He loved the Easter Eggs and loved them even more when he found Goldfish and Puffs in the eggs. The Easter Bunny sure does know how to make B happy  : )



{he actually went for the Batman toy first}




{hey, it sounds like there's something in these eggs!}




{Goldfish!!!!!! Better eat them fast before Millie finds them ...}




{trying on his new shades}


We hosted Easter dinner this year. This was our first time actually hosting a holiday at our house and even though it was tough doing all the prep work and setting everything up with a toddler in the house, it was great. I like decorating and hosting, and I love that Dan does the bulk of the cleaning. Win, win. I think everyone had a great time and B had fun so that makes it a great day. He even got to put his feet in the pool with Daddy and that put a big smile on his face. B also got Easter Baskets from Abuela and Grandma & Grandpa, as well as lots of other gifts. It was like Christmas all over again!



{Easter table}



{B and Grandpa}



{appetizers}




{the Jandernals}




{Easter cake pops}




{opening Grandma & Grandpa's Easter basket, with a little help from Grandma}




{opening Abuela's Easter basket}




{B and D chatting on the bench ... love them!}



Family Photos

We had our family photos taken a few weeks ago and we have received the disc of pictures! I'll split them up though or else this post will be super long.

We I decided that Straub Park in St. Petersburg would be a nice spot for the photo shoot because of the part and water, and it's just somewhere we don't go very often. My brother in law offered suggestions of other (and by that he meant "closer") parks such as Phillippe Park (very nice but we always go there) or even the dog park down the street. Um, no.

So here is Part 1 of our family photos.  : )



{having a blast on Daddy's shoulders}




{walking around}




{playing in grass for the first time. yes, we have grass at home but I'm scared of snakes and such so B doesn't play there.}




{so proud of our little man}




{the whole fam}




{that's us, the Jandernals}


Part 2 coming soon!