Arizona 2013

Brody and Heather make orange juice with GG

GG with Maverick and Mara

Brody makes Mara laugh.  Mara really seems to dig Brody, he got some really good belly laughs out of her!

Brody swims to the stairs; he really learned how to get around independently with the life jacket.  Mara and Sean are swimming too in the background.

Barry threw Brody into the water and I caught him in action right before he  splashed.

Maverick LOVES water and the pool was no different.  He splashed and splashed.

The Hebel family in front of the orange tree at GG's house (it was very bright outside so the picture has sort of a hazy exposure).

Some of the boys being weirdos.

The Park family with GG by her orange tree.

Sean thought he'd play photographer as he took our family pictures and I decided to cooperate really well.

Maverick staring longingly outside at GG's house.

Maverick cut another tooth on vacation and he's showing off the first four he has, his little bunny teeth!

The scene at Saguaro Lake

 Brody enjoys his sandwich at Saguaro lake (brrr, it was windy!!).

Picking every last orange off of GG's tree with my lovely assistants.

Sunset at GG's park

Brody and Maverick were playing together, I actually caught it on camera for a change!

Tortilla Flat: Brody and Barry went for a little hike up the "mountain".

Brody getting even better at swimming.  He learned to hold his breath and go under really deep.  We were so proud of how fast he learned.

We flew to Arizona last week with Sean, Heather and Mara to visit GG. The weather wasn't the greatest, but we managed to get in some swimming, making orange juice, visiting Tortilla Flat, among other adventures. All three kids were great on both flights! Sleeping for Maverick wasn't the best, but he was teething and he had a cold, not to mention the strange surroundings. It was fun to visit with GG. Brody learned a lot about swimming and we all had plenty of time to relax on our little get-away.

Winter Zoo Visit

Brody enjoyed the giant sand box.

Everleigh and Brody really liked the aquarium exhibits (so did Maverick and Briggs).

We went to the Minnesota Zoo the Sunday before we left for Arizona. Scott and Ami and kids were there too so we traveled through the exhibits together. Brody really liked the giant sand box. They all loved the aquarium exhibits too. Maverick really enjoyed watching the big tank because he could see all the fish swimming by. Briggs loved SHARKS!!

They grow up so fast...

One minute they're learning to crawl (sometime around Brody's birthday right after Mav was 8 months)...

The next minute they learn to pull up on furniture to standing (he learned 2/12/2013)...

Then they're warming up to get in trouble (this was 5 seconds before taking a tumble down and narrowly missing a nice blow to the head on the corner of the tile step by the fireplace)....

The next minute they remind you to lower their crib mattress as they dangle over the edge...

And before we know it, the two brothers will be playing hockey together!  For now Brody plays and Mav just gets excited when he gets the stick or puck so he can eat them.

Time flies in the life of two growing boys! These are just cell phone pictures, but it seems that a phone is always nearby to capture split second moments. Maverick learned to crawl the beginning of February, then February 12 he pulled himself all the way up to standing using the picnic table at daycare (Omi caught a quick picture of this). The boys are busy keeping me on my toys. I just went through and reorganized Brody's toys to eliminate the small ones that Maverick can swallow (after an incident when I caught him trying to swallow a picture hanging tac and had to dig it out of his mouth). Brody really wants to go outside everyday. It's a little tricky to coordinate with Maverick, but Barry tries to take him out sledding, making snowmen, and having fun running around in the snow.

Snow Day

Brody is very proud of the snowman he helped make. He even found that bucket that we used for a hat.

I bought a couple of saucer sleds (the only ones I used growing up). I wasn't sure if Brody would be daring or not, but he LOVED it!  Granted the little hill behind our house is pretty little, but enough for him to get going fast.  He didn't even mind crashing into the tree at the bottom.

Sometimes it's nice to remember that I do exist behind the scenes in the Park house!  Brody is putting on his cheese smile for me:)

Baths

My snugly Mav in his frog towel.

Mr. Blue Eyes

Lion boy, Brody

Brothers, aren't they sweet?

Brody and Maverick both love bath time. Maverick loves to splash and loves it when Brody is in the bath splashing and playing too! Brody still isn't a fan of water over his head, but we work on it every time we do baths. Sometimes it helps if he gets to wear goggles:)

Brody's Birthday Party

Brody is excited for his party to begin!

Waiting as we sing "Happy Birthday"

Enjoying a yummy cupcake!

The crew of little kids!

His airplane birthday cake that my coworker made.  Super cute!

Brody had a great 3rd birthday airplane party. He got many great gifts and had lots of fun playing with all of his cousins.

Happy 3rd Birthday Brody!

Lion towel, roar!!

Brody posing in his airplane birthday shirt before daycare today.

Happy birthday Brody, we love you!