Dad & Pai in Parrot Cay - Ethan & Noel Caregiving Part I: Uncle Ronnie!

Pai has really stepped up his blogging game and I gotta keep up!!  Found a host of posts in "draft" status, so better sooner than later!

 

I think everyone is aware that I took a new job in Seattle, which started in September, 2014.  HBK kept me on longer than I expected, so Pai and I had to be creative to fit in a trip before I took the leap. We planned a trip to Turks & Caicos and turned to a slew of fantastic caretakers to watch the boys over the 5 days . . . first up, a few days with the boys' favorite play buddy, Uncle Ronny!

 

Noelly showing us how Uncle Ronny handles car safety while driving down the Interstate

Ethan getting in on the action . . .

Noelly showing just how close he is to fitting into adult size t-shirts . . . wasn't that long ago when the neck hole would slip over his shoulders.

Ethan showing his ninja pose!

Summer Staycation with Gramma and Papa . . .

We've long since appreciated that the boys enjoy their time with each and everyone one of our extended family . . . as long as they have each other to lean on, they're both usually up for any adventure on the table.

 

Dad and Pai did a below average job of finding summer activities this summer after our Alcuin June session ended . . . this was our first full week of no school and the boys took their first staycation to Flower Mound to spend a couple of nights with Gramma and Papa.   They've always loved their time at the condo, but the house in Flower Mound represents a whole new adventure . . .

 



 

The biggest hit:  A fun slip-n-slide down the hill in G&P's back yard

Ethan modeling Gramma's slippers in an effort to warm his feet up!

Super adorable pic of the boys exhausted after a long day of activities.

July 4 visit with the Waids . . .

We spent July 4 with our favorite family, who also double as our favorite Godfamily for the boys . . . the boys are head over heels for Coco and Teal and Dad/Pai always get some great time with Travis & Denise.  Sad we didn't get a full group photo out of this trip, but lots of great shots of the kids . . .

Noel was sooooo excited to share the double swing with Coco . . .

Ethan and Teal enjoying Klyde Warren Park (we lasted 18.4 minutes in the 95 degree heat!)

 

The boys and Coco made a homemade apple pie with Aunt Denise . . . super delicious!

Travis and Adam (who is holding Dad's sweat towel at Klyde Warren)

The boys begging Coco to stay and live with us forever!

Punta Mita 2014

We made our fourth trek out to Mexico for Spring Break and it's amazing how much changes with the boys each time.  They went from being these little wobbly boys who didn't want near the water and now they can't get enough of it.  Bill and Barb went with us this year and it was a great trip from beginning to end.

Here's a little series of the boys having a ball in the water:

Noel and Ethan "helping" Papa with his jigsaw puzzle:

Noel kept finding the perfect piece and knew exactly where it went!

Ethan acting as project manager on this year's sand castle project.  Pai was the general contractor:

 Last day family photo shoot.  Ethan grabbed the camera and told me to make a funny face:

Then he gave Noel the camera and struck this pose:

Finally, we got everyone together for a nice photo:

Shark Vader

Not much to this post - the picture says it all.

Ethan went upstairs one afternoon rather innocently and came down in this outfit.  None of the pictures came out great as I was in a bit of a giggle fit.

Spring Soccer: Take 2

We signed the boys up for their first soccer season about a year ago.  To say it was a disaster is painting it a kind light.  It. Was. Horrendous.

The boys are currently in a Montessori Day Program and for those of you not familiar with this educational philosophy, it's a self-guided learning platform that instills a love of learning and teaches respect and courtesy.  Or, if you're Uncle Ronnie, you just tell everyone the boys are learning to be monks.

The Dino-Mites were a team of Montessori kids in a league of largely non-Montessori kids.  And for the better part of six Saturdays, no fewer than 7 of the 8 kids ended up in a crumpled, weeping mass on the field because the other kids kept stealing their soccer balls, pushing them down or just generally lacked the respect and courtesy.

We decided to take a break from soccer and wait a year before revisiting.  We asked the boys about a month ago if they'd be interested and they were beyond excited, seemingly lacking any memory of the previous season.  

The boys got new cleats, dusted off their Dino-Mites outfit and were ready to take the field.  Overall it was a good second effort.  They peaked in the warm-up, puttered out mid-game and Ethan brought it home with a goal at the end earning the Dino-mites their first victory of the season!

Here are a few pics of last weekend's festivities:

All is good the day before the game - good spirits and new cleats in the season's hottest colors.

Showing off their outfits for Ronnie

Ethan showing off his cleats in foreground and Pai showing off his leggings in the background

The boys taking a break after their first time on the field.  Noel asked if there could be fewer people on the field. 

Me explaining to the boys that they have to play (my left hand) in order to get a cookie (my right hand)

Coach Gregg trying to get Noel to play.  No dice.

Coach Gregg trying to get Ethan to play.  No dice.

Coach Gregg says, "Good hustle, boys!"

Ethan doing a post-game roll down the hill.

Soaring Spiders (aka Leaping Lizards)

It's pretty clear by now that Bruce is the more laid back parent of the two - a trait that I'm rather envious of at times.  

I get uptight about manners despite the fact that they're four years old.  I about passed out when Ethan asked the woman in front of us at the grocery store "Why do you look so scary?"  I once Googled "one ear smaller than the other" because I was convinced Ethan would grow up with one normal sized ear and one miniature ear after measuring his at 6 months old and they weren't exactly the same size.  

Well, Bruce is off on a work trip to Europe this week and we've gotten into a nice groove.  I've thrown caution to the wind because that's what needs to happen when you're rocking things on your own.  

Both boys: "Can we sleep in big bed tonight?" - Sure

Noel: "Can we have cookies after breakfast?" It's Saturday...why not?

Ethan: "Can we jump from the foot board of our bed onto the chair."  Before I could answer with a "NO!" our little daredevil did it anyways.  Throwing caution to the wind was letting them do it a second time while I captured it on film:

Notice I ask Noel what his name is, assuming he'd answer with Spider Man.  He answers so matter-of-factly, "Noel Milam"

As you saw at the end of the previous video, Ethan didn't want to be filmed.  This one just made me chuckle:

Snow Day....or more like Snow Week

Catching up on some postings as we finish up the year.  Right after Thanksgiving, Dallas was hit with a pretty awesome ice storm that effectively shut the city down for almost a week.  We lost power for a day, but the boys didn't seem to mind because it meant no school.  However, when they made the connection between no power and no TV, things took a different turn.

That being said, we made the most of the weather and spent about an hour walking Fritoe, looking at all of the branches that fell and slipping around the icy sidewalks.

Check out a few pictures of the boys enjoying the cold:

Classic Noel - taking it all in and trying to get his footing

Classic Ethan - Jumping right in and will figure it out as he goes 

Brotherly love

Ethan loved hearing the crunch of the ice when he ran

Ethan catching up to Noel to see what he was doing

Noel wanted to "ski" down the hill

All in all it was a great time - they loved the wintry weather and were said when it melted a couple of days later.

2013: Professional Photos - 4th Year Edition!

2013 saw us continuing to feel the pressure with respect to our annual family pics that we take every year heading into Holiday Card season . . . our friend and photographer, Chad, recommended the rail yard in Colleyville, which was a HUGE hit with the boys, who really brought the adorableness for this year's cycle . . .

 

Family pic - Pai deliberately revolting against the matchy-matchy thing

Hey - here are the bottom of our shoes, all casual like!

A barrel, some graffiti and one adorable Noelly 

Noelly has a secret . . .

Ethan bringing the charm . . .

The boys loved their own rail car . . . Ethan clearly more than Noel

Truest representation of their relationship at this time - one of our favorite pictures ever

This one speaks for itself . . .

Daddy getting a little Noelly nuzzle.

Ethan and Pai holding a pull-up contest (Ethan won!)

Super happy family . . .