Miscellaneous Pics - January, 2012

Some extraneous shots - January, 2012 edition . . .

First up, a couple of shots of Dad on his own during one of Pai's infrequent overnight work trips . . . enjoying new ritual of pre-bedtime "Finding Nemo" (now that they're 2+ years) right up until the 7:29 PM moment when they were hungry for a late night snack in the form of strawberries.

Next up, a hysterical picture of the boys upon waking up early on a Saturday morning . . . we'd heard some light rumbling, which led to giggling . . . when Dad finally made his way towards their room he encountered the sight below . . . the boys, newly potty-trained, clearly banned together to make a very clear statement about how they felt about their future relationship with diapers . . . cute stuff:

Lastly, some baby model shots as we tried out some different clothes in advance of our 2 year professional shots . . . also a good indication of just how long their respective hair had grown - Noel's working the side curl while Ethan is working a full on shag (and a super crying expression):

Cooking with Pai!!!

We had a school project for the boys that involved us cooking with the boys. We made two recipes and they had a blast helping measure, pour and mixing ingredients.

Noel is his newest role, Project Manager. Here's he's saying, "ETHAN....ETHAN....no, put the flour here! Ethan...no, put it here!" And I'm not exaggerating...he constantly tells everyone what to do and where to go these days:

The boys were totally into feeling the soft flour:

Mix it up, mix it up, mix it up together....

Noel pointing out where the sweet potatoes should go:

Ethan likes to be fastidiously clean, so the flour on his shirt was NOT pleasing him:

Noel: "Guys, if I want it done right, I'll just do it myself."

Big Boy Haircuts!

Haircuts have always been a source of "push n pull" in the Brudam Brigade household . . . Pai has always been a big fan of "as long and shaggy as their hair can get," while Dad has been yearning for a something a bit more sculpted for quite a while.

As we headed into our 2 year photo shoot, Dad got his wish and we took what's become an annual trip to Miss Ginger, the Park Cities specialist when it comes to the "3 & under" crowd. Our first visit (well documented within this blog) was not our most successful day, but we're happy to report that the 2 year haircuts were spectacular successful.

Ethan went first and literally walked right in and climbed into the chair with no direction . . . he was entertained by a Thomas the Train video and sat patiently without a peep. Noel was up next and it went similarly - he took a toy plane and a protein bar with him for his haircut journey and it was over before he had a chance to get uncomfortable.

Definitely some cute pics to summarize the outing . . . Noel in the chair, a couple pics of each boy beaming from their car seats, post-haircut, and a home shot where you can really get an idea of the finished product. The haircuts definitely transformed them into big boys!!!

Moving into big boy beds...(With Full Video)

I just finished converting the cribs into their transitional beds. Afterwards, the boys kept saying "broken!" as if their cribs weren't right. That being said, they were really into checking out their new digs as demonstrated by the video below. I hope this isn't foreshadowing what tonight is going to be like.

Check it out and we'll keep everyone posted on how the transition goes:



UPDATE: After a few weeks, during which we experienced a shockingly easy transition . . . we really have been blessed with some incredibly good sleepers. A couple of pics of the boys breaking in their beds and an adorable pic of them cohabitating (thanks, per usual, to Ethan).

NOEL GOAL!

As most of you know by now, Uncle David is super passionate about making sure the boys are well-versed in soccer.

Check out the video below of Noel working on his skills over the holiday and a giving a special shout out to Uncle David:

New Years with the God-sisters!

Over the course of their first two years, our Brigade has been incredibly fortunate to have a wide reaching support structure . . . a big part of that has been the Waid family - Travis, Denise, Teal and Coco. They're our official God-family and we spend at least 4-5 weekends a year with them during which they boys are showered with love and affection from Teal and Coco, who have been incredible big sisters.

The picture below is from New Years . . . we had a "grown ups only" dinner downstairs and sent the boys, Teal and Coco and some other children of another set of good friends. . . what's most adorable is what you see happen when you leave them alone. In both shots, Coco is going for the full on cuddle with Noelly Canoli, who seems to be soaking it up! Very sweet.

Ethan and Noel's Second Birthday!!

They boys celebrated their 2nd birthday on December 29, 2012 surrounded by many our closest family and friends . . . Gramma & Papa, Avo, Uncle Ronnie, the Godfamily Waid, Sharon & Claire, Chad & Marci and their girls, Karen & Kyle and their girls and several others.

It was a lovely, simple day . . . good friends, some great (yet simple) toys, and some GREAT cake with their favorite theme of the moment - Nemo!

Lots of great shots from the celebration -

(1) First up, a great family shot - again displaing the full length and shag of their current haircuts

(2) & (3) Some great shots of each boy blowing out their respective candles . . . apparently, Dad thought Ethan needed a little more help than was clearly captured in the photo.

(4) A great pic of our favorite little "helper," Ethan - helping to slice his birthday cake.

(5) Noel holding court with some of his favorite ladies . . . Morgan, Claire and Hattie.

(6) Noel and his dueling "Lightening McQueens!"

(7) Ethan showing off his spectacular stacking skills with the Peters clan

(8) & (9) Some cute shots of the boys together, playing and sharing their new toys.

(10) Avo and Uncle Ronnie, giving Noelly a cuddle

(11) Pai and Uncle Ronnie enjoying the new patio while the boys drive around their new tractors

(12) Sunday showing that she can still get her celebration on, even at the advanced age of 15.

Christmas, 2012!!

The entire Brigade had an amazing 2012 Christmas . . . lots of company on hand to help the boys open what was ultimately a heaping stack of presents, albeit mostly on the learning/reading genre with one notable exception discussed below. Gramma & Papa, Aunt Carol and Aunt Joanna spent the night with us at the house and then Uncle Ronny joined us later in the day for the big present unveiling.

Up first a good series of pictures where the boys are opening presents and enjoying the time with everyone . . . they really figured out that there was some good stuff underneath the wrapping paper, so much so that we had to really try to focus them on one present at a time so that they didn't solely focus on the unwrapping effort.
















Below are a shot of Noelly trying to find his second wind and then a pic of the boys with what was the favorite toy of the morning - clickety clack cars with a descending track . . . definitely hit at least three of the five senses in a big way.



















Lastly, two pics of the boys with the gift that Uncle Ronny and Aunt Joanna have waited over a year to buy for the boys . . . two "just my size" electric Mini Coopers. The boys LOVED (and were a little overwhelmed by) them, climbing in and out over and over again to show everyone just what big boys they'd become. We finally got 'em out on the open road only to find that they are a little too advanced for them - their 2 year old legs were a good 6-8 inches short of reaching the pedals. Consequently, Dad, Pai and Uncle Ronnie rigged brooms, tennis racquets and anything else we could find so that we could operate the cars from behind while the boys enjoyed the ride and tried to figure out how the circular steering wheel come into play. These will definitely be a big hit for years to come (especially once they finally grow into them!).

















We definitely all had a fantastic year and are already excited to experience Christmas, 2013!

Bouncy Boys on Bouncy Cows

A quick video of the boys demonstrating a lot of new skills (talking, balance, bravery) as well as an age old skill (fighting over the same toy).

Enjoy!!