Happy Easter!!

We had a great Easter weekend!! My sister was able to come in town on her spring break and stay a little longer then usual so that was a lot of fun and I know that Brody really enjoyed having her around! We did a lot of fun stuff and were very busy while she was here.

We had a cook out at my parents house and roasted marshmallows and hot dogs over the fire pit! It was a lot of fun and a good day to do it. In the picture above Brody is helping Marmee feed the birds!! He loves doing this and will always grab her hand and say "tweet tweet"...... like he is saying lets go feed the birds Marmee. It is very cute to watch him help her! Suprisingly he does not run off, but stays there until they are all done putting the bird seed in the bird feeder. It is very cute to watch.

Brody is pushing Amy on his fire tuck...... Amy had been pushing him. :)

Roasting hotdogs with Marmee... He did not last very long at this. :)

Looking at what the easter bunny brought him in his easter basket. He got some tractors which he has loved playing with!! Lately he has been a little obsessed with tractors so he loved these!

Family picture...

Brody playing with Aunt Amy

We went to one of Brody's favorite play areas with Amy. It was fun for him to play there and show Amy all the different things to do there. I love this picture of him and Amy.... like he is saying here I am hanging out and having a good time!

We had a good time while Amy was here and I know that Brody really enjoyed playing with her and following her around the house!! Thanks for coming and staying with us Amy we had a great time with you!!

Let the hunt begin!!

On Sunday our church had an easter egg hunt for all the kids! It was so much fun for Brody to be able to be a part of it this year! We have been hiding eggs at home and letting him find them so that he knows what we mean when we tell him to find the eggs and put them in his basket. Brody hunted eggs with his classmates (only 1 year olds were in this play room hunting eggs-- with their parents) which made it really good so that there were not a bunch of big kids running around pushing all the little kids out of the way. :) It was fun to see him get into it and he did a great job finding the eggs, opening them to see if there were any "golden tickets" inside, and then putting them in his basket.

Let the hunt begin!
Yeah there was a golden ticket in this egg.... we get to go to Chucky Cheese and get a free pizza and tokens!! Good job Brody!!

Look at all the eggs!

Me telling him that the hunt was over.

We will hunt more ester eggs at our families house next weekend! :)

It is an outside day!

Trying to teach a 16 month old how to use a spoon is quite the task and a very big patience builder for me! He is doing better and will always grab the spoon and put it in his mouth it is getting the food on the spoon that is the problem. :) Every time he had some apple sauce on the spoon, when he would bring the spoon to his mouth the apple sauce would go flying either on the table, his bib, or the newly mopped floor. :-) I know he was having a lot of fun and was trying his hardest to scoop it out of the bowl. I am not sure how much actually got into his mouth. :-)

Today we went outside to play in the yard!!!!!!!! As I opened the back door I praised the Lord for what a beautiful day it is outside!! It is a great day to be outside and play! We spent some time sliding down our slide, and swinging on our swing set. (Funny because when we moved into this house I wanted to get rid of the "older" swing set that was in the yard...obviously I did not have kids yet and I am VERY glad we did not get rid of it!!!) We also painted the fence. We got out some paint brushes and started going to town getting the fence painted with water! It was kind of fun to see his reaction to this since he has never painted before. :-) The paint brush did not hold his interest very long though.... he found the water and started playing in it!! I think tomorrow's project is for him to learn what a weed looks like and to learn how to pull it!!! hahah j/k

This is a picture of him when I said it was time to go inside! :-)

Just playing around!

Even though our swim lessons are over this week has still been eventful and full of fun! We were able to get some fun "new" toys from a big consignment sale going on now. I was able to get lots of trucks, tractors, books, puzzles, and a fun 4 wheeler that is battery powered and moves at the push of a button. I got all of them so cheap that I could not believe it! We were in need of some new outside toys for him and boy howdy we got some good ones! As any good mother would do I have put some back and will pull them out through out the summer.

His cool new 4 wheeler!! He did not know what to think about this at first but after he figured out how to start it he really enjoyed it! I can see many a summer day outside playing with this toy!!!

Brody is "learning" the proper way of hitting a golf ball. :) I think he would rather pick the ball up and throw it!! :)

We had some friends from out of town come over and play. (This toy is another great find from the sale and Brody has been playing with it every day!!) Ayan was adopted not to long ago by some friends that we have grown up with. It was fun being able to see him and his momma!

He is all boy just like Brody! He was a lot of fun and I know Brody had a good time sharing all of his toys with him!

We are so excited for you guys and think you have a great boy!! It was fun getting to see you all and catch up on things.

*We also want to say a big congratulations to our friends Scott and Julie! Addison Grace was born this morning and we are so excited for them! She is a little cutie with a full head of hair!! Congratulations!

Swim lessons!!

We have been going to swim lessons this past month. It has been a lot of fun and something Brody has really enjoyed! He can say swimming and kick, kick, kick..., bubbles, and slide. :) When we first started going he did not want me to let go of him in the water and would be fine as long as I was holding on to him. Now he wants to be very independent and walks in the water without holding my hand. :)

Ja was able to come with us this last time and swim with Brody and watch him show off in the pool. :)

What a cute little boy!!

I have started going early just so he can slide down the slide as much as he wants to and then when class starts he does not fight me all the time to go over to the slide. :) I lost count today of how many times he went down! I was glad Ja was there so that they could go down together as well! You can see from the pictures that he really likes it!!

Walking in the water to the stairs for the slide. This is the part where he does not want to hold your hand. Today he went under when he was walking and even though he swallowed a little water he kept on going! It did not even phase him which I thought was Great!

(no worries I am always right beside him when he is in the water!!)

Having a blast going down the slide with daddy!

Kicking his feet. They let the kids swim towards a toy that is in the water and this really helps them learn to kick their feet. He has gotten much better at this!

It is important to learn how to relax and float in the water so the noodle helps him do that.
This part of the pool is really cool because it is kind of a lazy river. The water pushes you around.

1 2 3 Jump!

We are playing a game with the class here. We have really enjoyed the classes and have enjoyed being able to be active in the winter! I think he is going to have a lot of fun this summer at the pool!

Weekend with family!

This past weekend we had a great time with Ja's family! We showered Holly and Ryan with baby gifts to help them prepare for their expecting baby! We are so excited to meet baby Andersen and can't wait to find out what it is! I know Brody is going to love having a cousin around to play with! I know that some of my best memories of our family is when my sister and I would play with our cousins Bryan and Bradley! We would play all kinds of things together and I can't wait to see what kind of games Brody will play with his cousins! Congratulations Holly and Ryan you don't have much longer until you meet your little baby!

This is a picture of the hostesses at the shower.
Not only is our family growing by Holly and Ryan having a baby, it is also growing by Heather getting maried to Drew!! Yeah!! We are so excited for them and so glad that Drew is going to be in the family! We went shopping on Friday for bridesmaids dresses and heard about their plans for the wedding..... it is going to be beautiful!! Congratulations you guys!!

I unfortuantly do not have any pictures of Brody this weekend. My camera battery died and therefore I did not get any pics. He had a great time with his family and has been saying their names ever since. I will put some new pics of him up soon!

Weekend fun!

Aunt Amy, Uncle Eric and Laney came to visit with us this past weekend! We always enjoy spending time with them and were very excited that they came! I know Brody enjoyed it and loves saying their names. :) He mastered Eric's name and says it pretty good. :)
Brody having a good time at Marmee and Pops house.

"Lets see here Laney what can we have for a snack"

Pops reading Brody a book. Brody still loves books and we read them all the time! My friend Julia said that she went to a class about the importance of reading to your child and said that if you read at least 3 books a day to them then they will have a bigger vocabluary then other kids who don't read books. So we deffently fit it into our day!!

Brody playing with Marmee's cell phone. What is it about cell phones that kids like? :)

Getting ready to build a bridge for his train to go under.

Wow what a bridge!

We had a great weekend and can't wait to see Amy, Eric and Laney again! That is all Brody has been saying for the past couple of days..."Amy", "Eric"...... he is like where did they go?!?! :) Guess you all will just have to move here so we can see you every day!!! :)

Swim lessons

We have been taking swimming lessons at the YMCA this month! It has been very fun and we have really enjoyed learning how to splash, kick, blow bubbles, walk in the water, "swim" after a toy duck, and Brody's favorite slide down the kiddie water slide! He is doing very good and I can tell he is soon going to be a little fish in the water! I really enjoy getting in their and helping him learn how to swim and going down the slide with him. :) We are taking the class with our friends Julia and Jasmine. It has been fun watching Brody and Jasmine become better friends and even exchange Valentines cards with each other! :) This has been a really fun activity to do in the winter!!

Jasmine and Brody getting nice and warm after their swim lesson. :)

If you notice we got Brody's hair cut and man oh man what a handsome little boy he is! :)

Brody Hiding

I took this video of Brody one day when he went and got his paci and blankie from his room. We only let him have these when he is in bed. He knows this and trys to hide from us when he goes and gets them, only he does not hide in the most secretive places. :) We thought it was pretty funny. Notice how at the end he comes and gives me the blanket. :)

On a different note--
We started swimming lessons last week and love them! It is great to go and swim in the pool in February! He is doing a great job and really enjoys going.
Also to update on a previous post... Brody has done an amazing job in his sunday school class since I took the pictures of his sunday school teachers! He knows their name and every time we pass the church he says their names. :) I am now trying this method with the workers that watch him while I am at my Bible Study. Hopefuly it will work just as well! I am so glad that he now enjoys going to church!!

Playing in the snow!

Yeah! It snowed! We wanted it to snow so that Brody could experience his first real snow day. He experienced it last year however he was just a little baby. :)* He did not know what to think of it. When we were inside he would tell us that it was snowing outside... but then when we went outside he was not familure with all the white snow on the ground! :)*

Walking in it. Saying um mom what is all this!

I am not to sure about this!

Ja made snow balls with him.

Ok mom... I am cold and would like to go inside please.

I said I wanted to go inside!! I don't want to be on the ground making snow angels! :)*

15 months old!

Brody is now 15 months old!! I know I say this every month but I can not believe it! Every day Ja and I see him doing new things, and wonder where our baby has gone!
He can now reach the back door knob and wants to go out and see the birds. He likes watching them eat and will wave hi to them and tell me that they are eating.
He is very independent and wants to do things on his own, yet is starting to get clingy. :)
He is not sure about the nursery workers at church (he just moved classes). So we took a picture of them and every day we talk about how nice they are, where they work, that they are there to teach him about Jesus, and that he is safe with them when Mommy and Daddy are not there. I hope this works and that he is more familiar with their faces now. He knows their names and can (in his own way) say them. SO we will see how he does tomorrow!!
He loves everything train right now! If he sees, hears, or even thinks about a train he gets very excited and starts telling you what a train says.
He is a very good eater and will eat anything we put in front of him! I am very thankful for this!!
He still hates his stroller! I don't think that will ever change. If I could push a grocery cart around the mall or everywhere we went, I think he would be ok. He likes to stand up in those. I know, I know, the signs say not to let your child do that, but for the sake of my sanity I let him stand up in the cart while I pile all of my things underneath the cart and in the part where he is supposed to sit. :)* The boy just wants to move around! I can just see me having to drag him shopping with me when he is older! That is a boy for ya!!
He is a great talker and will try to repeat what we say. If we ask him to say something he will try to say it!
He still loves his books and can point to almost every animal in his animal books when we ask him where they are.
He is the sweetest little thing and at the same time very active! I know that when he gets older our Saturdays are going to be watching him play sports! He is just like his daddy in that way!

We are seeing him change and grow every day and we try to savor each moment because we can tell that he will grow up way to fast! :)

A day with Friends!

Today Brody and I went to the Library and to the mall play area with Julia and Jasmine. Brody liked the Library and warmed up toward the end. Jasmine even shared some of her stickers with him while we were there! Thanks Jasmine! Then we headed over to the mall to play and eat a healthy lunch at
Chick Fil-a! We had a great time and as you can tell Brody was tuckered out when we came home! (Don't worry I moved his foot :)* It was great to get out and play since it is so cold outside! Next month we start swim lessons with Julia and Jasmine..... I can't wait to see how that goes!

OUR NEW KITCHEN!!

We decided to remodel our Kitchen since it really needed it! We had already taken out the drop down lights that used to be in our kitchen and decided it was time to do our countertops. We asked some family and friends to help and they did an amazing job!!!! We greatly appreciate everything they did for us and for all the help that they offered!! We could not of done it without them!! Thank You so much!!

We just had Brody's pictures taken by a wonderful photographer!!! You have to go to her web blog and check out some of the pictures that she took of Brody! These are just some of the pictures that we get to choose from. She is going to send us a password and info on how to see the rest. So if you are interested in seeing the rest either make a comment or send us an e-mail. Hope you enjoy the slide show with music on her site! :)

ashleyannphotography.com

(go to her blog)