It has been so rainy here this month that any days with sunshine are to be cherished. For the last two days we've had cool, sunny, gorgeous days, and they have reminded me why I love living in Nashville in the spring. Since we moved here last year, spring has officially become my favorite season. (It used to be fall, but that's when we lived in the northeast.)

We have spent as much time as possible outside in the last forty-eight hours, and it has been so good for my soul. Yesterday we went to "Dragon Park," and Brennan had a blast.

Today we went to the Nature Center at Warner Park.  There is a dirt pile where the kids can dig and get filthy and just be kids, but that wasn't the best part.  The best part was on the other side of the main building where Brennan watched the frogs, tadpoles, minnows, and salamanders in the pond.  (There was also a large snake, and that didn't thrill me so much.)  After we were done looking at the pond, we decided to go on a mini-hike.  We saw a wild bunny rabbit and found a small outdoor stadium tucked away in the thick woods.  I wanted to keep going but just had on flip-flops and didn't feel great venturing into the woods with Brennan all alone.  We will bring back Daddy soon and really explore.  Brennan could have kept going forever! Have I mentioned before how much I love living in Nashville in the spring?

I know I'm really late, but instead of writing one ridiculously long blog post, I thought I would try to catch up a little at a time.

Here are some pictures from Easter. After church, we went and had lunch with some friends at their house. Brennan successfully ruined his pants in just an hour. Grass stains, mud, and a rip in the crotch.

Oh, to be young and carefree.

The other night Brennan and Daddy were having so much fun playing on the bed, I just had to get some pictures.  The lighting was all wrong, but it seemed more wrong to let the moment go uncaptured.

Airplane

We don't normally condone jumping on the bed, but since they were playing together and sort of "wrestling," we let it go.  He needed to burn some energy!

Sometimes it's hard to resist the simplest forms of entertainment.

I have been keeping a list on my desktop for a while of cute and hilarious things Brennan has said over the last few months. I don't want to forget them, but I can't keep a virtual sticky note forever. Here are some of my favorites:

Out of the blue while playing: "I like being Brennan."

Uttered in confusion: "What's that about?"

When we told him to do something because he was a big boy: "Brennan's not a big boy."

"Oh my peas! What to do now?" (This is clearly a response to the TV show, "Super Why.")

"Mommy looooves Brennan."

While trying to get the dog to come out on the deck: "Annie, come outside. Come on, boy. Take my hand." (He actually tried picking up her paw and pulling her. Too bad she weighs twice as much as him and didn't budge.)

"I'm talking nonsense." (He says this all the time and is now inventing a nonsense language. His favorite word is sheeky (sp?), and he has given it several different meanings, one of which is "boy.")

Regarding a mirror Jim was using to look at the back of his head: "Don't do that, Daddy. That is not a toy for you to play with."

"Hungry. Want junk food."

While cleaning up his magnetic letters: "I'm making a nice pile for my mommy and my daddy at work.  They like that." (No one can argue that we're not trying to teach him to clean up!)

At breakfast: "Trying to chase my Chex. Come here, li'l guy..."

My Mother-in-law always says that when Brennan goes through a grumpy stage for no particular reason it's probably because he is about to reach a new milestone. As Brennan went through various grumpy stages when he was younger, she was usually right. Well, yesterday Brennan was so ill-behaved I couldn't wait for him to go to bed. He threw grocery store tantrums, whined and cried over everything all day, and generally drove me crazy. He has been getting over an illness, but he's been on an antibiotic for six days, so I don't think we can blame the behavior on his sinus infection.

Yesterday after MDO Brennan refused to take a nap. I think he was too wound up. Anyway, he sat upstairs and babbled for a really, really long time. I finally started writing down some of the things he said, because I thought it was so funny. Here are a few of his thoughts...

"Brennan likes french fries and cheeseburgers and chips. Look at this, Mommy! Way up high! In the sky! Hi Grandma! Hi Nana! Go downstairs with Mommy and eat a rice cake. Oh man. Giraffe, come out. Puppy, where are you? Oh, there's puppy and giraffe. Mommy, come out of the door. Brennan coughing. Mommy likes coffee. Mommy likes coffee all the time. Mom, go see toys. Downstairs. Look at this Thomas. Mom, Come OUT THE DOOR!"

Anyone who has a two-year-old -- especially an energetic two-year-old boy -- knows how difficult it can be to enjoy a meal in a restaurant.  Crayons only entertain most kids for so long, and when that child is hungry, there is no rationalizing or explaining that the food still needs to be ordered and made.  This is where our blue bag comes in.  (Actually, Brennan called it a blue purse for a while, but Jim has broken him of that since he has to carry it too.)

Last spring for Mother's Day my sweet mother-in-law bought me a fabulous gift.  She bought a little Take Along Thomas set that Brennan calls his "Thomas Box."  She told us that it was to be used for restaurants only in a restaurant survival kit.  Along with that she bought some Thomas colorforms for the same purpose.  Well, that has turned out to be one of the smartest and best gifts anyone has bought us in these last two years.  I don't know how we would ever enjoy a meal without our restaurant survival bag!  Several times total strangers have complimented us on Brennan's behavior in restaurants, and I always say the same thing.  I tell them that it's all about the blue bag.  

Now, I understand that when Brennan reaches a certain age, we will need to engage him in conversation more at meals, and it won't always be appropriate to entertain him with toys.  But he is not there yet.  He doesn't understand waiting, he can't talk about much (not for an hour and a half anyway!), and, let's face it, it's unrealistic to have those kinds of expectations from a small toddler!  So until he is a little older, we will depend on our blue bag.

For those people who might be interested in starting their own restaurant survival kit, let me emphasize first the importance of finding portable, small toys that do not make much noise, do not require a lot of parent help, and that the child cannot play with at any other time. 

Here is a list of what I always keep in our bag:

• Take Along Thomas kit (I cannot find the link for this anymore, and I'm not sure that the exact item we have is even available anymore.  I'll keep looking because B loves it.)
• Thomas Colorforms (This is not the actual set we have, but it looks good.  I've seen it at Toys R Us.)
• Magnet tin
• Non-rolling crayons  - Melissa & Doug makes the best ones... they're chunky for little hands, do not break easily, and don't roll away.  They're worth ordering online.  Buy two sets!
• A small coloring book and sometimes a little blank notepad
• Wipes and diapers (the wipes are mostly for cleaning fingers and anything else!)
• Disposable bibs - I'm bad about remembering to repenish these!  (These are available at Target.)
• Disposable placemats - We don't always use these, but they're nice to have for fast food or less clean restaurants!  (These are also available at Target.)
• Snacks / finger foods for when the wait is long at a restaurant.  I generally keep a bag of raisins, some applesauce to supplement a meal, and some Cheerios or other finger food.  These things can stay in the bag for a while until they're used up.  However, I will often just throw in whatever will work in a pinch.
• A sweater for me (I'm often cold in a restaurant)

I leave the bag hanging on a hook by our back door, so when we decide to go out to eat, I can just grab it and go without having to round things up.  I check on the snack situation before we leave, and then we're on our way.