Ethan and Noel's Spring Class Party

It's hard to believe that the boys first full school year is coming to a close . . . seems like it was just a week ago that we were consoling a hysterical Noel after staying for only one hour on the first day.

Today was a spring party for all four Toddler classes . . . it was a party that we co-sponsored as part of the school's annual fund raising effort . . . fun day at the park with food, an easter egg hunt, and a portable petting zoo for the kids. Some great pics below

First up, a rare pic of the boys together (the event photographer painfully tried to get them to pose together), staring at the farm animals as the vendor set up.

Next up is an Ethan series . . . he absolutely loved holding the animals

(1) Chasing the guinea pigs around their container

(2) Holding the baby chicks . . . it was during this phase that he was convinced the baby chicks could "FLY!" So much so that he would hold them high and then drop them into their bucket hoping to see his theory in action.

(3) Look at that face, admiring the baby duck

(4) Here he is after picking up a soft brush (unassisted) and proceeding to gently brush each and every animal in the pen . . . here, he's covering the baby goat.







































































Next up is the Noel series . . . Noel was slightly more apprehensive around the animals, but he did just fine after some coaxing from Pai and Dad.

(1) and (2) A couple of pics of Noel's unabated joy in experiencing a baby duck.

(3) Noel and a classmate admiring the baby chick from afar.

(4) and (5) A hysterical set of pictures . . . first Noel followed the goose around the pen simply waving at it (from behind). After doing this for a couple of minutes, he literally belly-flopped on to the ground where he (unhappily??) began to pet the goose. Guess he thought it was better to be at eye level for this exercise.

Boys do the darndest things...

Adam Milam, reporting live. We just received images from South Versailles of not one, but TWO babies stuck in a cupboard. They're in good spirits and, in fact, appear to be enjoying the close quarters.





















We'll have an exclusive interview with them later today, so stay tuned for more news at 11.00!

Our first of many plumbing adventures....

Last night we realized the boys officially moved into a curious phase of cause and effect. An age old "If/Then" experiment, if you will. And they did...

We were getting ready for bath time and while Bruce got the boys' bath ready, I was in the other room getting PJs. No one was paying attention to the boys. Given it was so quiet, we should have known something was up.

I walked back into the bathroom and saw the boys at the toilet, giggling as Ethan flushed it. Naively, I assumed they were just fascinated with the flushing process. Their laughter raised to squeals of utter delight in correspondence with the rising water - this was no ordinary flush.

They ran to the bath tub to get more toys and dumped several more in. After about 30 minutes of trying to fish something out with a wire hanger, I gave up for the night.

Tonight, the toilet came off and after fishing around the business end of the toilet, we found the culprit - the nasal bulb they loathe so much!

Noel's Spring Semester at St. Alcuin . . .

Noel's teacher sends us pictures of him in class on a regular basis. Below are a few from the past couple of months:

He's quite the Renaissance Man...he cooks, he cleans, he's a lover of the arts:

Miscellaneous Pics - March, 2012

Just a few pics taken this past month that we wanted to share:

Can't believe we've gone from walking the boys to the boys walking the dogs:

Ethan climbing the dinosaur at the park:

Playing at Blake's in her bouncy house:

Taking the popcorn popper our for its first spin:

Ethan and Noel loving their lollipops:

Spring Break 2012 - Punta Mita - Days 5 & 6!

Sorry it's taken a bit longer than expected to put out the last post from our incredibly easy and enjoyable vacation to Punta Mita with the boys . . . the pics below are from teh last two full days of our trip, days 5 & 6:

First up, some pics of some well-earned alone time for Dad and Pai:

(1) A good shot (if you look really, really closely) of us giving paddle boarding our first attempt . . . Gina (our great Punta Mita nanny) hooked us up with some locals that delivered the boards to us and we made a solid 90 minute investment, clearly going much farther than we'd originally expected.

(2) & (3) Some great shots from one of our favorite spots, the Four Seasons lobby bar, which has a fantastic view of the nightly sunset. We made it a regular occurrence and had some lovely nights just relaxing before heading out to dinner.

Next up, some pics from our final day, taken at our local beach, just outside of our unit.

(1) First up, a perspective shot (taken by Gina) from our balcony, looking down at the pools and local beach surrounding our complex.

(2) A cute pic of Ethan and Noel playing with their favorite toy genre, the monster truck/dumptruck/garbage truck genre

(3) One of my favorite pics . . . Pai located a plethora of iguanas and lizards around the pool deck and would take each of the boys on a "iguana safari" each night . . . this is a pic of Noel's journey, who clearly took full advantage.








































Lastly, a great, great shot of the full Brigade in our last fleeting hours . . . such a great trip and one we'll look forward to repeating again next year!

Spring Break 2012 - Punta Mita - Days 3 & 4

We're firmly into the middle of our spring break excursion and have continued to have a great, relaxed time . . . its been great to see how much the boys are enjoying the beach and swimming this year vs. last, especially given that we weren't able to swim much over this past summer.

Definitely some great shots below:

(1) First up, the boys enjoying their morning tv ritual, which has been split between Ice Age and Lily & Stitch. Pai and Daddy definitely try to steer them towards Ice Age after one Lilo viewing.

(2) Next up, Pai and Ethan enjoying their favorite chocolate chip pancakes at the nearby four seasons.

(3) Ethan showing off his tough guy look . . . the ray bans definitely help him overcome the mock turtleneck look.

(4) & (5) Some adorable pics of Noel-y Canoli on the beach - the Beach Club had a big truck, which certainly played into his wheelhouse. We especially love the second pic, where he's showing his "proud peacock" side . . .

(6) Super, super cute pic of Ethan in his turtle swimsuit and matching hat . . . given that he wore the hat for exactly 8 minutes over the course of the first four days, its pretty amazing that Pai managed to snap this pic!

(7) & (8) Last up, a couple of pics of Pai & Dad enjoying some time on the beach with the boys . . .

Spring Break 2012 - Punta Mita - Day 3 - Nap Time on the Beach!!

Here are some adorable pics of Daddy and Ethan after an exhausting morning in the pool and on the beach . . . we'd forgotton to take the pacifiers out of the diaper bag post-air travel, which delighted Ethan to no end. The combination of said pacifier, a warm towel, Daddy's arms, and the crashing waves put both boys to some peaceful sleep . . .

BEFORE:













AFTER:

Spring Break 2012 - Punta Mita - Days 1 & 2

For our third Spring Break with the boys, their first since starting school, we decided to return to Punta Mita, exactly replicating our great trip from 2011. It's a great location that lends itself to a very simple trip with the boys - sun, sand, heated pools, a great local nanny and a really great condo with lots of space to spread out.

We've just completed our second day adn I thought I'd post some pics from the trip so far . . .

First up, some super cute pics of the boys in their big boy seats, required by American Airlines now that they are over the age of 2 . . . both boys are in firm possession of their most cherished security object - a pacifier for Ethan and a blanket for Noel. All in all, our travel was uneventful - the boys snacked, watched Cars on the iPad and made it through each and every one of our planned activities, spanning puzzles, flash cards, and sticker books. Only one brief outburst from Noel when we wouldn't let him roam freely, but otherwise a success!

Next up, a series of pics from our first couple of visits to the Punta Mita Beach Club . . . more to come later!

• Noelly, posing with Daddy, while he puts away some cashews, his favorite treat of the moment

• Pai with Ethan, screaming with excitement over just returning from playing in the surf

• The boys getting ready to set sail in their "toddlers only" sea kayak!
  

• Lastly, a great shot of Pai with the boys on the beach