Nashville!

This past weekend, we took a little weekend trip to Nashville. We wanted to get away as a family and explore somewhere new, and we've always been curious about the Music City that is only 5-6 hours away from us. 

After a slow start to the weekend (it took us two hours and a car switch to get out of town), we had a wonderful time. We stayed at the Opryland Hotel, which is a beautiful and huge resort with lots of restaurants, shops, pools, and a spa. We visited several delicious restaurants including the famous Jack's BBQ, Sopapilla's, and Noshville. We also spent time at the Country Music Hall of Fame, Downtown Nashville, a nearby town called Franklin, and Music Row. I know there is a ton that we didn't get to see in our short visit so we will definitely be back, and for longer than a weekend next time!

This is inside the hotel.
There are 3 or 4 big sections to the hotel, each with it's own water feature/atrium.
We were inside the Cascades area, which had a beautiful waterfall and pond.


This was the view from our balcony.

This is in the Delta section of the hotel.

This area had a cute little shopping area on an island.

There were riverboat tours that one could take around the island.

 

On Saturday morning, we decided to explore Downtown Nashville.

First, we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Inside, there were tons of things (from cars to clothes to guitars) that belonged to past and present country music musicians.

Kylie was very curious about this juke box.

She had never seen one before and had about a million questions about it!

This was an outfit that belonged to Jason Aldean and a guitar that belonged to Taylor Swift.

There was also an area where you could sing, play, mix your own song.

Here we are recording the Barlow version of "Wagon Wheel."

This is a display of Taylor Swift's stuff.

I can't remember who this car belonged to, but it was an old Firebird which was also Jon's first car.

Brooks loved looking at the cars.

In case you can't tell what the kids are doing, they are clearly flexing their muscles!

Posing by someone's motorcycle!

After the Country Music Hall of Fame, we walked over to Jack's BBQ which is right in the middle of the downtown action.

It was delish!

After lunch, we walked around a bit.

There were tons of boot stores, as well as live music venues.

Even at noon, there were several bars/restaurants playing live music.

This would be a fun place to come back to once the kids are older or for a weekend without the kids.

After a nap at the hotel for the boy, we decided to explore a nearby town called Franklin.

It was a really cute town with lots of little shops.

There also happened to by a "Classic Car Cruise In" at the Factory in Franklin.

This was actually a life saver for us because Brooks had been melting in the car and he completely pulled it together as soon as he saw all of the cars!

This was inside the Factory, which I believe is actually an old factory of some sort, but is now a big building with lots of shops inside.

After that we went to a Mexican restaurant called Sopapilla's that was amazing!

Following dinner, we went back for a quick swim at the hotel.

Then we put the kids to bed and enjoyed a couple of hours on the balcony before putting ourselves to bed!

This is the only picture I took from Sunday.

We explored the hotel a little more in the morning, and then went to Noshville for brunch.

After eating, we drove through Music Row which was actually not that impressive...Just a bunch of buildings with recording studios and radio stations.

Overall, it was a really fun trip and it felt so good to get away from real life for a couple of days! We might have to make it an annual tradition!

More Cbus Adventures!

Our late spring and early summer days continue to be filled with fun Columbus adventures. Here are some pictures to tell the tales...

Brooks is such a little man. 

I love all of the different ways he lounges around the house.

Kylie's last web from her last day of preschool.

In typical Barlow fashion...Making silly faces.

We've enjoyed DQ and several other ice cream joints quite a few times!

Kylie and I had a girls's day when Brooks had his last day of "school."

She chose Target and Panera...She is definitely my daughter!

We enjoyed some Memorial Day festivities at a local park.

My mom came to visit us for a whole week.

I didn't take enough pictures, but we had a blast.

We went to the zoo.

I love this picture.

It was so bright that neither of them could open their eyes, but they were saying, "cheese" loud and clear.

We went to the outlet mall where they have several little play areas.

Kylie and my mom reading books.

My mom is a expert french braider.

Kylie always asks for a braid from her whenever they are together.

We explored the local castle park.

Brooks started sleeping in a "big boy bed."

He still gets out of bed at least once per night, but he's doing better each day.

Jon and I celebrated our 7th anniversary!

It's been an amazing and fun adventure!

The kids had their last day of gymnastics for the spring session.

It's a short break...Summer session starts this week!

Annie and Claire came over for a fun play date!

We said, "Bye" to the Murano...

... and, "Hello" to the Acadia!

I finally found a DC with my name on it!

And I finished two more quilts for two more friends expecting babies soon!

Brooks King -- 2.5 Years Old

He refused to take a picture unless he could be riding his favorite Lightning McQueen car!

It's all about picking my battles with this little man!

I blinked, and my babies have became little kids. My baby boy, Brooks, is 2.5 years old already! If I had to choose one word to describe him, it would be independent. This guy is strong-willed, persistent, and loves to do things all by himself. He will try almost every task I give him on his own first before asking for help. He walks up and down stairs by himself, sits in an adult chair at the table, and insists on climbing in the car and buckling himself into his car seat (I always fix his initial attempt because it's never quite right). I love this quality about him, and many of these things actually make my life a lot easier, but sometimes it's more challenging. For example, it is a chore to get him to hold on to my hand when we walk through a parking lot. Apparently, he thinks he is old enough to do this by himself as well! He is also extremely loving and loves to give hugs and kisses, as long as he thinks it's his idea. :) He loves to make others laugh, and will do whatever silly thing it is for as long as others are laughing. If I had to guess his primary love language, I would say it's words of affirmation. He lights up when anyone praises him, and responds pretty well to positive reinforcement. He eats up any attention he can get from Kylie, which she gives him, and I love to see! He is SUPER busy, and never stops moving. From the moment he wakes up until he goes to sleep, there is some constant movement even if it's just a finger tap or foot wiggle, it's non-stop!

Brooks is a little more opinionated than his older sister, and so I have a pretty clear idea about the things he likes and dislikes. He still loves cars, trucks, trains, legos and play-doh. He likes running, jumping, gymnastics, riding his bike, playing basketball, wrestling, chasing, going to the park, and watching hockey with daddy. His favorite TV shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Paw Patrol (his favorite dog on the show is Marshall) and his favorite movie is still Cars. His favorite colors are blue and orange. His favorite foods are all fruits, hummus, peanut butter with honey or jelly sandwiches, pizza, milk, water, juice, and fruit snacks. He seems to take more after Jon in the food department. He definitely prefers fruit to vegetables and fruity snacks to chocolate ones. He still loves his pacifier, especially the one he calls, "other paci," and taking baths. He enjoys going to "school," and his best friends are Cristian, Alexander, Annie, and Claire.

He is still a 2 year old, so the things he doesn't like are made pretty obvious by tantrums, screaming, or throwing things. I am happy to say that he has pretty much given up hitting as a means to get attention though! Like Kylie (and probably because of Kylie), Brooks has a strong fear of bugs. There was a bug inside the car on his window yesterday, and he had a major meltdown, and I could see true fear in his eyes. He also had a nightmare last week about bugs. He woke up screaming for me in the middle of the night, and when I went to check on him, his heart was racing and he told me, "There is a bug in my crib." He also doesn't like the wind. He usually wants to be held when we are outside and it's windy. If he has his mind made up about something, and he is told to do something differently, he almost always has a tantrum. He does not like not getting his way, and does not give in easily. Usually it just takes 1 time out to get him to give in, but every now and then it takes multiple time-outs. He doesn't like too many vegetables, but he is getting better in this area. He also refuses to go to the bathroom on the potty, so I'm going to call the potty a dislike too.

His milestones and achievements are still quite obvious as he is still changing and developing rapidly. The best and most obvious is that he is now clearly talking and communicating everything! He can still be hard to understand if you aren't around him all the time, but Kylie, Jon, and I have it all pretty much figured out. Jon's favorite word is, "gaggy," which means daddy, and mine is, "poo-cket," which means pocket. He knows all of his colors, and can count to 15 without help. He has running, jumping, and galloping down. He can walk up and down the stairs all by himself, and climb just about anything he sets his mind to. He can also do forward rolls and appears to be strong. He can listen to and follow directions, and I'm told he does this really well at school. He is wearing all 2T clothes, size 7 shoes, and size 5 diapers. He sleeps from 8:00pm-7:30am, and naps from about 1:30-3:30pm. He is still sleeping in a crib, and he gets his pacifier when he is sleeping. He is also not yet potty trained. So our goals for this summer include *transitioning to a big boy bed, getting rid of the pacifier all together, and getting him potty trained. Hopefully, by his 3 year update, we will have accomplished all of those things! :)

We love our independent little boy more than words can say. He is such a fun kid and we feel extremely blessed to have him in our lives!

*Update: Between writing this post and actually posting it, we did transition Brooks to a big boy bed. It's been a bit of an adventure. He loves to get in and out, hop into bed with Kylie, steal her covers, etc. But we've been working on proper big boy bed etiquette, and he seems to be getting better each day!