The Sunshine in my Day

Some fun shots of my little guy from a great day we had together.  

Everett the Builder!  (Looks JUST like Uncle Jamie when he was little here!)

This is my new favorite picture.  

Notice how he is still using the calculator as he poses for me!

I told Everett to give Elmo a kiss and it really looks more like he is biting him.  

I Miss You Papa and Nanma!

Everett had a blast with my parents during their visit.  He is still asking for them every morning when he wakes up.  

So Refreshing

Everett loves playing in the pantry and I do not find it odd at all that his favorite toy in there is a can of  diet coke.

Papa and Nanma

Trying to escape the misery of a bad Cleveland winter, Grandma and Grandpa have come to Phoenix.  Everett is having a blast and showing them a sneak peak into his daily, crazy life!

Hanging with Great-Grandpa George

Everett loves Papa's mustache!

Imagination Ave.

We found this great indoor play place called Imagination Ave. this week.  It is set up like a little town for kids with a schoolhouse, market, Fire Station, Doctor's Office, movie theater, clothing store, Home Depot, and a house.  The kids can play with all kinds of toys and can ride cars along a street.  It is the cutest place!  Everett LOVED it.  It has everything he loves - trains, cars, play food, a bouncy house, slides.  It is a great place for him to run around and we loved watching him.  

Driving a police car with Daddy

Everett loves trains!

Look who's in jail!

Bouncy house fun!

Paging Dr. Everett....

Best Buds

Gabe came over to play and have dinner with us today.  Everett LOVES having him over.  They chased each other and took turns on the slide.  Everett even shared his cracker with Gabe. They are going to be such great friends.

Still Holding

Today Everett finished his dinner before I finished making ours, so I brought out the play-doh and gave it to him while he was still in his high chair. He pretty much only played with the containers and lids and left the play-doh alone.  This was at approximately 5:30pm.  This photo was taken at 7pm as I read him his bedtime stories.  I'm not sure if you can see it in the photo, but he is still holding the play-doh containers.  He would not put them down the entire time. When Everett finds something he loves, he doesn't let go! 

Danger is My Middle Name

So these photos of our daredevil require a story to fully understand how happy Everett was to climb the ladder.  About a month ago, I was giving Everett his night-time bath and he was happily playing in the tub.  Billy had to do something in Everett's closet before I put him to bed so he walked past the open bathroom door carrying the ladder.  Everett saw this and tossed his bath toys like a hot potato, stood up, put one leg over the side of the tub, and screamed, "All done!".  He wasn't sure what Daddy had been carrying, but he wanted in!  I had to towel him off quickly and show him what Daddy was doing and he begged to touch the ladder.  But it was bedtime so away it went and off he went to sleep.

Fast-forward to today.  Billy took out the ladder to remove some dead lightbulbs.  He remembered that the gate was upstairs so he went to get it (gone approximately 10 seconds total) and when he came back down, there was Everett - finally getting his chance to explore the ladder.  He then climbed up and down it about 50 times saying, "Ladder, ladder" every time. His curiosity takes him on so many adventures! 

And yes, he has a tooth brush in his mouth, too!  Just climbing it wouldn't be dangerous enough, he needed a sharp object, too!

Mommy's Secret Weapon

There is a fabulous park near us that has a huge playground with a giant climbing structure, tons of slides, a splashpark, and even buried dinosaur fossils they kids can dig up.  It is surrounded by duck ponds and waterfalls.  PLUS it has a train that you can ride around the whole park.  Translation: This park s the perfect way to tire out a toddler!

Everett and I took Daddy on this sunny afternoon.  It was great fun and Everett passed out in the car on the way home and slept for 3 hours.  I love this park!

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe a whole year with Everett has gone by.  It is amazing to think he started out as a 5 month old baby who loved his jumperoo and tried solids for the first time.  I look at him now- energetic and smart, active and sweet - a true toddler!  He has his own likes and dislikes.  He talks nonstop.  He is a great eater who LOVES fruits and vegetables.  He has started pretend play and "pours" milk into his toy cups and stirs the food on his toy stove.  He has started saying

"Please" in such a sweet voice with such an angelic smile that we'll never be able to deny him anything ever again!    

It was amazing to watch him grow this year.  I have loved being home with him and being able to introduce him to so many things.  We went to the Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, countless splashparks, mountain hikes, the ocean, road trips and plane rides,  a farm, countless parks and playgrounds, and logged hundreds of miles with the stroller.  We did swimming lessons, storytime, and playdates.  I saw his first step and heard his first word.  I watched him feed himself and choose his own books.  Before my eyes, my baby turned into this amazing little boy.

I start the new year with a smile because I get to go into his room every morning to hear the sweetest sound I'll ever hear..."Mama!!!", with such joy and excitement.  It is the sound of love. It is the sound of innocence.  It is the sound of happiness.  It is my life and it is beautiful.