Well, it has been a long, long winter, but we survived it! Of course the joys of the season kinda kick started with the holidays. Although we were very busy, it was a much more enjoyable experience this year. As you can plainly see, Brody's enthusiasm was through the roof. And he actually decided to open a few gifts instead of just running off with a piece of wrapping paper to snack on! We spent New Years with our friends next door, and the Three Amigos made it until midnight and then some (those little party animals)!
We also explored the snow a bit this year, Lord knows we had plenty of it, and found it to be most exhilarating, that is, until your face
plops down in it!
During our long
days inside, we resorted to all kinds of things to keep ourselves busy.
From"monkeying" around, to
building amazing towers, delightful afternoon naps, or chillin' with a cuppie full of milk, we did it all. We even braved the cold on occasion to go
out and enjoy a
meal or two. In addition to all that good stuff, we also spent some time working on climbing skills, computer skills,hat-modeling skills, and Rock Band skills.
After all, chicks dig guys with skills- so we have to practice to stay good;^)
So this winter we were fairly productive, but we are definitely looking forward to spring kickin' in!!!
As you can see, Brody already loves his little sis. And he also hates taking family pics as much as I do.
As far as Evelyn, you can tell she is mine as well. I had to dangle a slice of pizza over the camera to get her looking in the right direction. 
I would like to start by saying I don't know what the deal is with the underline, but I could not figure out how to make it go away. This is a picture of Brody taken one morning when Erin woke up. Brody had been noticing that one of his toys was always misplaced in the toy box when he started his day. Prior to waking Brody up on this morning, Erin walked downstairs and ducked into the ottoman to pick out her favorite toy--the r.c. car that only spins left or goes straight (lame). Brody had been suspecting her for some time and was lying in wait as she opened the box. She was caught red handed. (Disclaimer: parts of this story may not be true.)
This is a picture of Brody's first birthday cake. I should say, it was supposed to be, but I didn't take the picture fast enough. The vast majority of the mess cannot be seen in the photo. As least he had fun. We would have really good video of the cake eating ceremony, but there were technical problems with the video camera. Does operator error fall under the technical problems category? I would tell you the story, but I don't want to name any names. I would likely really upset my oldest sister-in-law if I did that. Sarah.
This picture represents Brody's first trip to the waterpark. He was up at the Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells in August. I wanted to start him off slowly, so I took him to the children's area where he waded in knee high waters. He completed his epic journey down the slide behind him. Then he stood up and looked to the sky, realizing he was destined for greatness. Now, nothing could stop him.
This was Brody's second Halloween and his first costume in which he could stand upright. He is, of course, a dragon. He put the costume on and got into character, carving a path of destruction through the living room like all dragons. After the hard work, he decided to head for the couch and curl up for far too short of a nap. 
Threw the top one in too cuz I thought it was cute.
