Brody ~ Age 4

1.  Who is your favorite person in the whole world?
"Mattox"

2.  What is your favorite color?
"Blue...and Red"

3.  What's your favorite television show?
"Jake and the mini pirates" ~ He means Jake and the Neverland Pirates, but that is what he has always called it.

4.  What's your favorite outfit?
"Pajamas"  ~ This was his first answer until I reminded him about his chef costume.  He is wearing his pajamas while answering this.

5.  What sport do you like best?
"Baseball"

6.  What song do you love?
He couldn't think of this one and said this one and started clapping.  I asked him if meant "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, and he said yes.  He and Evan do love that song, but there are some other songs that he really loves singing on the radio.  We listen to a Christian station, and I love when he sings "Drops in the Ocean."  He always sweetly asks me what are drops in the ocean so I explain that the song is referring to how many times Jesus will forgive us.  It is a great moment for me!

7.  What's your favorite cereal?
"Captain Crunch."  What he refers to as "Captain Crunch" is actually "Cinnamon Toast Crunch."

8.  Who is your best friend?
"Ummm...A baby"  He thought about it a little more and said "Evan.  I play with Evan."

9.  What do you want to be when you grow up?
"A Chef"

10.  What is your favorite book?
"The B.I.B.L.E."  His favorite book is his little red Bible.

11.  What are you really good at?
"Sleeping."  With coaxing, he also says he is good at giving hugs and kisses.

12.  Where do you wish you could go on vacation?
"The Beach.  And I want a surf board to go swimming in the ocean."  He is always telling me this in the car lately and can't wait to go to the beach next month!

13.  What is your best memory?
"Seeing the airplanes."  Our visit to the air show this weekend is fresh in his mind.  Kids have short memories at this age.

14.  What would you buy if you had $1000?
"Ummm, I want to buy coins to put something in."  He doesn't yet grasp the concept of spending money.

15.  What vegetable do you hate the most?
Nothing.  He likes everything so asking him this question really confused him.  He was telling me things he does like to eat like cheeseburgers and salads.

16.  If you could have a wish, what would it be?
"A hat."  When I asked what kind, he said a magic hat.  Some of his favorite cartoons have had genies so he knows about granting wishes.

17.  What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
"Cookie"

18.  Who is your biggest hero?
This one also confused him, but he finally decided on "Super Mattox."  Yes, Mattox has super pooping abilities.  Haha!

19.  What do you like to do best with your friends?
"Play in my kitchen area."

20.  What do you hope you'll get to do before your next birthday?
"I want to play and get presents."  This is what he associates with birthdays.  We are really working on getting him to focus on the questions asked.

Best Quotes of Brody:

"Baby Mattie is in my tummy/heart."  He says both because he still gets confused.  He knows Mommy carries babies in her tummy so he wants to do the same, but we have told him Mattie is in his heart because he loves her.

"I want Daddy to help me, and I want Mommy to watch me."  He tells me this all the time before his baseball games.

"Ohhh, but I want to.  But I like to.  Pity pease!"  Said when he is asking me to do something, take him somewhere, or get something for him like a snack.

"Ewan, give me a kiss!"  Demanded before Evan can get out of the car to go to school.

He pretty much talks all the time, but these are just some of those sweet little sayings that I don't want to forget. He also says some not so cute things too when he is mad.

"Mommy is bad, bad, bad!  Bad, bad, bad Mommy!  You not getting any something!"  Haha!  He threatens not to give me any "something" when I am being mean.

And in case you don't believe how much this kid loves to talk, here is a little sample of his general ramblings in the car after taking his brother to school.  Yes, I was driving, but I was not looking at him or my phone.  I just held it up and let him talk which is why he isn't always in the frame.  Haha!

Videos: Christmas Morning 2012

This is my annual posting of our Christmas morning videos.  I just love capturing my kids' excitement as they come down to see what Santa has left for them for Christmas.  I love looking back at these videos and remembering these precious times and seeing how much the children have changed.  Last year, we carried Brody downstairs.  This year, he made his own way down.  Next year, I am sure he will be more vocal in his excitement.  Every year since Evan was 2, he has verbally proclaimed everything that he spotted as he made his way downstairs.  You can check out some of those other posts from 2009, 2010, and 2011.  Nothing captures a moment quite like video.

Video:  This first video is the actual coming down the stairs and the first spotting of the presents.  Evan was his usual verbal self and was quite funny looking for his new DS game.  It was right in front of him the whole time as Santa had taken it out of the box and plugged it in so that it would be ready for him.  Ha!  Brody made his way straight for his new tricycle and climbed right on.  We are sure it won't take too long for him to figure out how to ride it all by himself...once his feet can more fully reach the pedals, of course.  I do hate that this video is often not in focus as we find the new camera's video function is a little more difficult to keep in focus while taking video.



Video:  This video is a longer continuation of the first and shows Brody playing with more of his new toys, mostly his new Lego blocks and Alphie robot.  

Happy 1st Birthday, Baby Brody!

I can't let this special day end without writing a little something commemorating the occasion.  What a wonderful year it has been!  I just don't know what we would do without our little Brody.  He has brightened our lives and our home with his smiles and his laughter.  He is his Mommy's beautiful angel, his Daddy's little buddy, and his big brother's best friend.  We all love him to pieces.  Evan describes him perfectly when he says, "He's so sweet and cute!"  Yes, Brody, you are!  We enjoyed a wonderful day with you today although we had your big birthday party last weekend.  The weather today was perfect, and we played outside and just enjoyed the special time with you.  We look forward to watching you grow and develop into a handsome and amazing little man in the coming years.  Mommy hopes that those years don't go quite as fast as this past year though.  

Here is a little video that makes me smile and cry as I remember the joyful occasion of your birth:

Video: Brody enjoys his cake!

Brody finally dived in after given a fork.  He definitely knows what to do with utensils and prefers not eating with his hands.  Of course, it did get so good to him, he had to resort to his hands and making a mess!  Love that messy cake face!

The Cutest Video Ever

Video:  We really think this may be the cutest video we've ever seen.  Brody just had so much fun entertaining his six month old cousin, Cate, at Christmas this year.  He has been waiting for her to learn to sit up with him. 

Videos: Brody in action!

Brody is just doing so much these days that photos just don't capture.  He has really come alive and is trying to get around, talk, and play like a big boy.

Video:  Brody tries to crawl! 



Video:  Brody drives his first car at the mall.




Video:  Brody learns to play like a big kid and sat in front of this little puzzle game for a long time totally entertained!  He is just so curious and really loves to figure stuff out on his own now.




Video:  Man, he just jibberjabs all day long.  He is definitely going to be a talker like his big brother.  Sometimes he sounds like he is trying to say "mama," "dada," "lalala," or some other almost word.  He actually started saying "lalala" after I sang the Elmo song (La la la la, la la la la, Elmo's song).  He was definitely trying to sing along.

Video: Brody is Playing

Video:  Brody has really come alive at 4 months old.  He can almost sit up completely on his own, can pull up to a sitting position by holding one of our fingers, can reach for, grasp and hold his little toys, and can make all sorts of sounds that are beginning to almost sound like words.  He is so fun!  He loves playing in his exersaucer too.  The little pandas seem to be his favorites so far.

Videos Videos Videos!

 Video:  We love making this baby laugh.  Daddy finds all of Brody's tickle spots!

Video:  Mommy makes Brody laugh by telling him she's going to get him and then blowing raspberries on his neck and cheeks. 

Video:  Evan is getting very good at riding his bike these days.  Thank goodness we have a little cul-de-sac across the street from our house.

Video:  What kid doesn't love a bounce house?  Evan had a ball bouncing with his school friends at Micah's birthday party.

Video:  Evan loves to make up jokes.  Most of his jokes are so silly and even though they don't really make sense, we can't help but laugh.  While in the car, he made this one up that started out pretty straight forward but got sillier and sillier the more he said it.  It started out something like "Here's a stack of pancakes that a chef made.  I hope you like them cause they're going on your face."  He started adding "Giddy up, pancakes" in there at the end too...haha!

Video:  Brody can hold his rattle now!  Toys, here we come! 



Video: Big Brother Teaches Brody to Fight

Video:  To say Evan is crazy about his little brother is an understatement.  He loves to entertain him and can now make him laugh.  One night this week, Brody was lying on the bed getting ready to go take a bath, and big brother was playing with him.  He would take Brody's little fist and pretend to hit himself in the face.  Then, he would yell "pow" really loud and fall backwards on the bed.  Brody would just erupt in giggles every time.  Daddy grabbed the camera to shoot a quick video.  It was kind of dark in the bedroom so the video looks a little grainy, but it is still the cutest!

Video: Brody's First Smiles

I love baby smiles, but why oh why are they so hard to capture on camera?  They are just so sudden and never quite last long enough, but oh they are so beautiful!  Big toothless gums and all!  I love this little baby's first smiles so much, and we finally caught one of his first social smiles on video.  Mommy has been learning how to make baby smile by talking to him and tickling his little cheeks and belly.  Just adorable!