Wednesday Naps

Getting Rylan a nap on Wednesdays is difficult.  Our normal nap routine at home is to read a book right around 1pm and then both boys go to their beds.  It usually takes Rylan at least 10 minutes to fall asleep.  If I try to put him down earlier than this, he typically will not go to sleep (unless he's already fallen asleep in the car or on the floor downstairs and I just move him).

On Wednesdays we have to leave the house at 2pm to pick Carter up from preschool.  So Rylan will only be asleep for about 45 minutes at this point (which is not a long enough nap for him - he really needs 1 1/2 hours and sometimes up to 3 hours).

Today I took this photo of Rylan sleeping before picking him up.  Whenever I have to go in his room while he's asleep, he's always completely on his pillow with his feet between the slats.  It's probably because of all the stuff he demands to have in his crib before going to sleep!  I always ask him if he has enough room to sleep and he demonstrates that he does, but then does this.

Usually Rylan will wake up a little when I get him from his crib and then go back to sleep in the car as we drive to school.  Unfortunately this still isn't enough sleep and he's often grouchy for a few hours in the afternoon.

This morning I organized a playdate with Rylan's PDO class at Monkey's Treehouse.  We had 5 of the 11 other kids show up which was a great turnout.  It took a little while but eventually all the kids played with one another.  Rylan's main buddy Radnor wasn't there because his mom works on Wednesdays but Rylan seems to have another buddy now - Lucas.  They were stuck to one another.  I wish I had gotten some pictures but didn't get the chance - maybe next time!

Ball Pit Diving

I think Rylan will be pretty good at being safe at home plate (as long as his head doesn't go through our wall and turn him off from doing this) ...

Rabbit Play

We went to the downtown library last Friday to see the marionette play "The Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings" again with Missy and her boys.  Everyone did great but Carter's favorite part was getting close to the puppets after the show (Rylan could care less).

Library Pete was really animated with the elf and had him dancing.  Carter LOVED it and was dying laughing.

The Circus

We took the boys to the circus yesterday.  Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey was at Bridgestone Arena (where the Nashville Predators play hockey).  I got seats in the 3rd row of the second level that weren't too ridiculously expensive.

In "preparation", we watched Madagascar 3 again (the animals join a circus in this one).  The boys were refreshed on some of the things that happen at a circus.  Carter most wanted to see a trapeze performance.

We got to Bridgestone almost an hour before the show was supposed to start because it was advertised that you can come meet performers and animals on the floor.  It was super crowded though and after a few minutes he headed to our seats instead.

The boys waited really patiently for the show to start.  They were REALLY excited.

Other than always wanting snacks, the boys were mesmerized (for awhile, at least - including intermission, the show was 2 hours and 15 minutes).

The boys were really excited to see the elephants.

One of the first performances was with the horses.

And then there were some tight rope motorcycle riders while the tiger and lion performance got set up.

These guys were pretty entertaining.  I'm sure all the "scary" moments were staged but it was still a little frightening thinking about what could happen if one of the tigers or lions decided they'd had enough!

Next were some girls in these clam-shell balls ...

and ones that did a performance hanging from their hair.

This is what Rylan thought of those performances ...

There were a lot of martial arts performances.  Carter liked this "trick" because it was like Vitaly the tiger in Madagascar 3 when he jumps through a tiny ring on fire.

Rylan continued to sleep through intermission but woke up right in time for the show to start again.

The trapeze was the first thing after intermission.  Carter was excited about it, but unfortunately they didn't do much.

Elephants!!!

Today Carter said his favorite part of the circus was these guys - "the motorcycles in the big cage".

The version of the circus we saw was called Dragons.  The theme was carried out throughout the show and at the end, a giant dragon came out.

After intermission, a bunch of kids came back with these flags.  Carter begged Brian for one so they now have these "weapons" - they are constantly used as swords at home :)

The boys did awesome and really seemed to enjoy the show!

Cheap Trick Video

I finally recorded Carter singing Cheap Trick.  Here's his version sung on the way to school ...

Painter's Tape Track

I found this idea in the Family Fun magazine the other day and decided it would be something fun to do  today.  It's a holiday so kids are out of school (making places like Monkey Joe's crowded with big kids) and cold outside (low 40s) so we needed an indoor activity for at home.

So I used painter's tape to make roads, parking lots, and access to other car "buildings".

We eventually used our Duplo Legos to make an obstacle course too.

The boys are over it now, but it was something new that they enjoyed for a good part of the day!

Natchez Trace & Bowie Nature Center

Yesterday was warm enough that we felt we could get the boys out for a little hiking.  Brian and I really want to start mountain biking again but all the trails are about 40 to 60 minutes away from our house.  One of the parks that is the closest is Bowie Nature Park in Fairview (another town in our county) and we wanted to check it out to see what the trails were like before we arranged for someone to watch the boys so we could go.  (We didn't want to get all the way out there and then be disappointed by the trails.)

On the way out to Fairview, we passed under the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge.  We stopped here for a few minutes to check out the bridge and find a letterbox that had recently been placed by it.

I think Carter was most excited about the NPS map he got from the information station!

The letterbox was hidden inside the split of a tree trunk.

The stamp was a nice carve of some horses.

The boys got to climb up on the base of the bridge (which is HUGE).

After stopping for lunch, we got to the Bowie Nature Park.

We had brought along the backpacks for the kids and since they'd already seen them, there was no chance of getting even Carter to hike.

Most of the forest seemed to be pine trees (everything was covered in pine straw) which is unusual for around here.

We stopped at a picnic shelter for snacks and to let the boys stretch their legs.

And then we finished the hike (we probably did 2.5 miles).

I'm really glad we checked these trails out before planning on biking there because the trails were more like jeep roads than single track trails (we didn't check everything out though).  It was still worth hiking and spending the day outside.

After hiking, we promised the boys to take them to the playground in the park.

Poor Rylan kept chanting "playground" but then fell asleep just a couple of minutes before we finished hiking (and was SNORING SO LOUD!!!)

After letting Carter play for a bit, we headed home.  And Rylan woke up at the car and realized he missed out on the playground :(

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

The Rylan version ...