A few random pics from the Summer

Looking through the photos from the summer and a few good ones below:

Cutie Ethan eating some dinner

Noel's favorite glass

The boys trying out the binoculars Avo sent them...to add insult to injury Noel's shirt is on backwards and Ethan's is inside out! 

Now they're getting the hang of it

The Yin and Yang of Ethanoel

Just a quick post to brighten your day.  Noel's going through a little rough patch now.  We think his inner introvert is sprouting and he's not much in the mood for sharing....or playing nicely.....or being around other people.  That wasn't the part that's supposed to brighten your day.  If it did, that's a little weird...

His fits are relatively short-lived and the lack of courtesy and respect is followed immediately by a swell of smiles, hugs and kisses.

On the other side of that coin is Ethan who is in a constant good mood of late - a flood of sharing, hugging and general good vibes all around.

Experiment A seen below.  The control is the box, the variable is the child.  Same environment, extremely different outcomes:

Miscellaneous July, 2013 . . .

Some miscellaneous pictures from our assorted Summer, 2013 activities . . .

When you are unable to locate your favorite blanket, clearly a shark slipper is a clear second best option . . .

Inchworm, inchworm . . . clothing optional, of course

Driving may cause drowsiness . . .

Noelly showing his gymnastic skills at Little Gym . . .

The boys enjoying their favorite yogurt with their favorite new babysitter, Michelle - Noel's former Asst. Guide from his Toddler years at St. Alcuin.  Such big boys with adult faces in this picture.

Summer with Uncle Ronnie . . .

We have repeatedly stated in this blog just how thankful we are to have such a phenomenal support system for our Brigade.  Starting late in 2012, we transitioned away from a nanny to having some dedicated help from my folks (Mon/Tues) and "Uncle Ronnie Thursdays" when he's been good enough to pick the boys up from school and take them on a serious of adventures.  

Uncle Ronnie has always been #1 playmate for the boys and its been very fun to watch our boys crack his dusty, crusty heart wide open.  I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere there is an alternative blog where Uncle Ronnie is typing a similar post, but talking about just how lucky he is to get to spend this precious time with these two incredibly boys, who just adore him.

Lots of pics in this post from an assortment of activities between the "Three Amigos" . . .

The Three Amigos Part 1: What do you think about our mustaches? Ethan's pose in this pic kills me - so funny with him twirling his mustache. 

The Three Amigos Part 2:  This picture is ridiculously adorably funny of all three of them

Outing to the nearby Perot Museum:  Noelly cooking "lunch"

This picture is definitely sweet in many ways - first off, the boys discovered and asked to wear Grandpa Buck's hats . . . once they had them on, we were able to see  (thanks to Ronnie's camera skills) just how much they're growing and aging.  Their little faces look like little men here.

More fun in Grandpa Buck's hats . . . unable to decide on activities - swimming or grocery shopping??

One of many pictures captured of Uncle Ronnie taking full advantage of the "let's lunch somewhere Pai and Daddy would never take you" rule.

Cute Ethan with Ronnie/Noelly at an outing to the Katy Trail icehouse.

Noelly and Ronnie at the Ice House

Is that a ice cream shake we see, courtesy of Uncly Ronnie?  "Coldy, coldy, coldy!!"

Someone found Uncle Ronnies cap . . .

Bike ride to Crooked Tree and the Garden!

Uncle Ronnie's favorite babysitter assistant . . . his iPad, where the boys think all fun videos live . . .

July 4 with the Brigade . . .

July 4 fell into the middle of the week this, but that didn't stop the Milam men from making the most of the day . . . we were packed with activities from dawn to dusk and had an incredibly memorable family day . . .

For reasons we neve quite understood, the boys' school was open for July 4 . . . here are the boys, awaiting pickup, showing their patriotism after an elaborate "parade" around the school grounds.



While Daddy and Noel enjoyed lunch upstairs in the playroom with television, Ethan opted for his own "show," electing to have his lunch solo watching the washing machine spin clothes.  100% his idea.

Here we are at the boys' first official movie in the theater, Monsters University.  We were all disappointed to find that we picked a theater where the seat springs were heavier than our 40 lb boys . . . hence the "booster" set and edge sitting in an attempt to compensate.

Officially an hour into the movie - Ethan perfectly perfectly perched, fully engaged, feeding himself popcoron one kernal at a time.  Noelly, on the other hand, gave up on the perching and decided alternating between the laps of Daddy and Pai worked better for him.

After a long swim, here we are enjoying a traditional July 4 family dinner - BBQ.  Not cquite sure who Noelly is making eye contact wiith in the corner. Great end to a lovely day.

Muddy Puddles!

One of their favorite shows at the moment is Peppa Pig about a precocious British Piglet whose favorite activity is jumping in muddy puddles. It was a rainy Spring day and we decided to walk down to the church and find some muddy puddles of our own.

They weren't sure what to think when I gave them total freedom to get soaking wet and jump in the puddles:



They were even more surprised to see Pai jump in on the action:




And, of course, the next day we revisit the puddle and I tell them they can't jump in it, so they find a loop hole.  To be fair, they weren't getting in the water as I'd instructed:

Carefree and shirtless

Earlier in the spring, we rented a plot at a garden down the road from us as a project for the boys.  They were excited to help dig in the earth and plant some seeds. 

 

A couple of times a week, we head down, check out the plants and water the plants.  The boys love it and are really getting in touch with nature.

 

One unseasonably warm day, Ethan "accidentally" sprayed Noel with the hose.  Without a back-up shirt, Noel embraced one of the upsides of being a guy and went shirtless.  Ethan, of course, followed suit and they spent the afternoon exploring and being boys:

 

 

The bikes and scooters aren't super mobile on the thick grass, so Ethan makes do:

 

A new playground at the church has become their new favorite adventure:

Noel saw a spider web and decided to come back down:

Creative painting

The boys are really into painting right now.  Their skills have gotten better over the past few months evolving from painting blobs on paper and telling us what they are into them telling us what they're painting before hand and there being a resemblance (reference Noel's "Lots of Sharks" and Ethan's "Thunderclouds with Rain").

Check out some of their earlier work below.  It's strategically cropped as Noel found himself to be more "inspired' without pants on:

Then the boys revisited a medium they always find hilarious - our faces:

Spring with the boys...

We'd just finished swim class one Spring afternoon and while walking back to the car, the boys stumbled upon some dandelions.

It's one of those videos I innocently captured, but after watching it, realized how it perfectly captured the boys in an unabashedly happy moment.  Who doesn't like blowing dandelions on a warm afternoon while enjoying a lollipop?

I imagine this is a video I'll watch on a loop after the boys are grown up and gone.  In the dark.  With Kleenex.  And Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  And Queso.  And Cake....