Is there anything better than...

...a day at the lake?

...a firetruck pulling up right outside your house?

...the first day of preschool?

Brady turns 3!

We've come a long way, baby!

Brady Thomas on his actual birthday...

His 1st birthday party

His 2nd birthday

And his 3rd birthday
...it all went by so fast!

We threw a pizza party at our house to celebrate. Brady was such a help with the decorations (or not)

The theme was "Cars" - not terribly original, but it is what he loves and thankfully the party supplies were abundant.

We had cupcakes made from scratch and I must say they were yummy - someone is an awesome baker. (that's me - in case you weren't getting my hints)

This was a popular spot with the little boys :)

He was spoiled with many presents!!

A bike from Grandma and Grandpa was a hit!

We sure love you, little man! We are so proud of you!

And...a late night ride before the birthday is over :)

More and More of Us

It's me again! Third day in a row! Yeah!

Brady never met a playground that he didn't love. Really, really love. Akron has some great city playgrounds/parks and we've enjoyed the trails, too. Well, we did, until our faces started melting off from the humidity.

Even though we have a playground just a block away from our house, Brady likes this playground a few miles away with the "weely weely tall slide." I like it too because it's right by Target. I didn't get any photos of him on the slide because it is weely weely tall and I'm too scared to go to the top.

We always stop at the swings for approximately 4 seconds.

He has mastered these shaky thingamabobs and can cross without Daddy's help.

This contraption makes Momma sweat. But he can do it.

Here we are on a cool Saturday morning hitting the trails. Brady has his magnifying glass and zippy bag to collect and study his nature finds :)

Momma and Brady (don't look to closely at Momma)

Daddy gets the honor of pushing B up the hills. How great is it that the trails accommodate strollers? It probably means they aren't real trails, but, oh well.

My handsome hubby :)

Now I'm not going to post another blog for 3 months. See ya then! :)

Summer Vacation in Iowa

We took a week-long vacation at my parents' house in Iowa at the beginning of July. Normally only Brady and I get to go, but this year we had the pleasure of Daddy's company!

We all got to meet Baby Lilia Jane, the newest DeArment and a gorgeous sweetheart just like the rest of us!

Brady had a BLAST - nonstop playing with cousins and Grandma and Grandpa. At the end of every day he was an exhausted, dirty, smelly, sunscreen soaked mess.

Love this photo :)

We all took turns holding Baby Lilia - Addie loves babies!

Little Miss Gracie - six months older than Brady. They are total buddies!

Reese chilling with Grandma. I can't believe how grown up my two oldest nieces are. Seems like just yesterday they looked like this!

We celebrated Brady's 3rd birthday a little bit early.

My awesome and beautiful sister in law, who normally hides from the camera. Love you Shan! :)

Uncle Nathan taught Brady how to properly make a s'more.

Miss Mali Sophia, almost 18 months old, never ever stopped moving. When I did manage to scoop her up, she was the squishiest snuggliest sweetie pie and I didn't ever want to put her down.

We love summer days in Iowa! Wish we could have stayed longer, but Ohio in the summer isn't so bad either!

Introducing Owen

You haven't met Owen. He is my nephew and one of the sweetest boys ever. He is also pretty handsome. He was recently "officially" adopted into the DeArment family, so he is stuck with us and our name forever! This also means he can finally join the blog! We are so thankful for Owen and his special place in our family.

I have a ton of pics of Owen that go back to when I first met him, three Christmases ago. So now it's time to play catch up! Let the posting begin!

Owen belongs to these two dorks - Jeff and Erin. They have since added two little girls to the family as well!

Owen is a very patient friend to Brady. He is one year older, but plays with Brady so well. Where ever you find Owen, you usually find Brady! As the only two boys in the DeArment family, they have to stick together!

Owen has the most soulful, beautiful brown eyes. He is always watching and learning.

He has a super-special relationship with his Dad.

One of my favorite "antics" of Owen when he was younger was him feeding himself yogurt with half the yogurt on his chest. It didn't bother him!

Owen also shares his clothes with Brady - Brady can't wait to get that T-Rex shirt!

The most recent shot of all the DeArment grandkids. Left to right is Gracie, Owen, Mali, Reese, Lilia (in carseat), Addie, and Brady. A motley crew for sure!

A pretty special family indeed! We love you Owen! (And your mom and dad aren't so bad either!)

MORE photos to come - including Mali and Lilia since you haven't met them either :)