We have the boys in such a great school - they create so many opportunities for parents to be involved. It's less about big events like Bake Sales and School Auctions and more about frequent times for parents to come in, be a part of the community and then get back to their day - it makes the kids feel important and the parents feel connected.
While our Wacky Wednesday isn't until January (keep your eyes peeled for a post on that), Bruce went in for Reading Time earlier this week and he had such a great time. The kids are split into groups (based on the number of volunteers that day) and they spend 30 minutes reading to kids from books selected by volunteer's children.
Ethan was so proud to pick out his books - he showed me his books before heading off to school and said, "You know 'Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus' is a good book because it has this silver medal on the cover." (Referencing the Caldecott Sticker on the cover).
The picture below is so awesome - Bruce is having a great time and Ethan is so engaged and proud. Though, apparently Fabiana (Of "Awww - Fabiana got kicked in the face" fame) wasn't as impressed as she simply got up and wandered off shortly after this photo was taken.
And a sentimental shout out to Ethan - he told his teacher he wore his Buccee's t-shirt in honor of his Grandpa Buck that day. Sweetest kid ever!!!!!
Every year, Dad hosts a fun party for some folks at work . . . a great dinner followed by a fun White Elephant gift exchange. They boys have always been at the house during the party, but have never shown any great interest other than greeting everyone, having some food and then retiring upstairs for TV and bedtime. Well, I guess things are changing as we round the corner to their 7th birthday . . .
This year, Ethan, our extrovert, who has never meet a person he didn't adore and want to chat with, was super intrigued by the gift exchange and made his way down as we started and sat in my lap to observe the festivities. He asked great questions about the proper strategy of a White Elephant (when to steal, how to discern good wrapping from good potential gifts, etc.), and laughed along with us as people opened the various lemons.
His interest spiked off the charges when, as one of the last gifts opened, a remote controlled helicopter was uncovered. He then really wanted to know how it could end up with us. I'd selected a gift early in the cycle, so I explained that someone had to steal our gift first before I could I'd then be eligible to make our own steal of the helicopter. Upon hearing this, Ethan went into full salesman mode . . . displaying our gift (interestingly, 3 artisan beers, a bottle of wine and a troll doll piggy bank) prominently in an effort to entice one of the last three participants.
We ultimately reached the end of the road and, alas, our gift was not stolen and the helicopter resided with another guest - a new kid we've hired this year named Nathan. Ethan was doing his best to contain his disappointment when Nathan made his way over and asked Ethan if he'd allow him to give him the helicopter even though the exchange was over. For a kid that already has a bright smile, this led to one of the brightest.
The pictures below represent the post-acquisition love and adoration he felt for this helicopter - genuinely like no other present he's ever received. I think he was so genuinely proud that he did this all on his own . . . having a twin brother gives both of our boys more confidence to achieve more than they would on their own - but Ethan rarely goes out on a limb like this and it was incredibly nice to see him get a great reward and the satisfaction of accomplishing his acquisition goal!
Ethan literally sitting in "Big Bed" staring lovingly at his new prized possession.
He begged us to let him sleep with it . . . I assumed that he'd push it over to the side to get comfortable, but this picture was taken around 11:30 PM, roughly 4 full hours after his bedtime . . . arm still firmly around the treasure.
A little brightness for your day. School photos came in and the boys win again for most photogenic! See below for solo photos and class photos.
Notes on Noel's class photo
- Jack: in the denim jacket and Timberland boots - Jack is here for 2 years from England and you can see the mischief in his eyes. The other day I asked why he was dressed so sharply and he told me he'd entered a hip hop dancing competition and won second place. When I relayed this story to his mother she let me know there was no such competition. I loved how Jack gave himself second place to add validity to the story (anyone else would have gone too far and said 1st place)
-Sid (to Noel's left): adorable to boot and a total nice kid all around
- Theo: totally looking longingly into the distance
Notes on Ethan's class photo
- Abe (back row, glasses): the sweetest kid on earth with the voice of man who smokes a pack of Marlboro reds every day
- Fabiana (front row): Love her one leg up jeans look and will forever be the girl who got kicked in the face by her Capoiera teacher ("Aw, Fabiana got kicked in the face....)
Catching up on old posts - we gathered a group of boys together for a soccer team not knowing how things would go. Bruce was head coach and I was Assistant Coach.
Bruce has a long history with team sports and great Project Management instincts. He was great and keeping the boys on task, supportive of each other and led us to an undefeated first season!!
There were a few weeks, though, when Bruce was out of town, leaving me in charge. And unlike Bruce, I have a long history of one individual sport (with none of the skills translating to soccer) and am easily distracted - you can imagine 6 boys and a manic coach - chaos was certain....
However, Bruce and his PM skills came to the rescue. Before he left, he handed me a piece of paper that I simply had to follow - complete with team rotations and timely reminders to give to the boys throughout the game. The Ghost Raptors' first season was undefeated (stay tuned for a recap of the following Spring 2017 story - SPOILER ALERT - the boys got a nice dose of defeat).
Oh - and about the team name - we asked all of the boys for some name suggestions and many were thrown out. The Milams rallied for the "Dino-mites" to make a comeback from their first team in Dallas. A few others were thrown out (The Snow Leopards, The Tigers) - however, when Abe suggested the Ghost Raptors, all other names paled in comparison and there was no turning back - the Ghost Raptors were born!
Fall 2016 Ghost Raptor roster (L to R) - Keaton, Ethan, Abe, Sid, Noel, Jack)
The coach included
Getting crazy after their last game
Coach Pai wrangling the herd of kittens while Bruce was gone.
2016 marked our third Halloween celebrated in Seattle and the second one in our N. Cap Hill home. Our location in Seattle continues to be the unplanned/unexpected gift that keeps on giving . . . N. Cap Hill does Halloween like nowhere we've ever seen - two blocks down are streets lined with incredibly decorated homes, elaborate costumes and themes, and wall to wall people working their way to get a view.
This year also allowed us to continue our goal of social immersion in the city . . . we invited a host of families from the boys' school to join us for dinner and trick-or-treating and had a fantastic response. The boys were proud to show off their house and neighborhood while Dad and Pai continued to get to know their parents a little better. The rain did set in about halfway, but luckily the neighborhood is flush with large, full trees and we were able to squeeze a good 90 minutes of trick-or-treating in before returning home to assess the candy haul.
Now for the important stuff . . .
Hard costume year - who knew that Harry Potter costumes are pretty much limited to Harry Potter! Boys finally decided on Ant Man with Dad and Pai following suit.
Ant Men ready for battle!
The mob before being released . . . that's some pure joy on the boys' faces.
Today was the first day of school for the boys. The summer was super fun all around - loads of camps, trips and general loafing around. Though, we realized about 10 weeks in that the boys were around each other 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - more time than any two human beings should be around each other. They really weren't too bothered by it until the end and you could see it wearing them down.
So when the first day of school came around, they were super excited. Ethan laid out his clothes perfectly and Noel chose his comfiest pair of pants for the special day. Speaking of - apparently, we didn't document last year's first day, so we'll rectify that and update with a reference link so you can see how much changes in a year.
A few pics below of the big day:
Noel picked up this "cool guy" pose that neither of us has seen before
Ethan LOVES his brother
We finally got a great pose!
And then we said "Go Crazy!!" - Noel went with "Cool Guy" pose again
Ethan at his new desk decorating his name - he was so happy to see his friends again!
And Noel in his new class - he sat next to the new kid iand immediately starting talking to him - very sweet and inclusive.
The boys and I just returned from our first camping trip and it was an amazing success. This was a sentence I was unsure I'd be able to write about 72 hours ago.
So, I'll tell you a classic tale of my lack of foresight and Bruce's ample foresight.
About a month ago I was cleaning out my inbox and came across an email for Y Guides - a YMCA-based program that one of the dads organized. They do 2-3 weekend trips at various camp sites around us. And I'm all, "This sounds like fun - I'll sign us up." Looking back, I think it took Bruce an insane amount of willpower to not look at me and say:
But whatever - they said we were like 36th on the waiting list and I'd get credit with the boys for trying. A week later I get an email saying "Good news - you're in! Fill out the form and we'll see you next week!"
Cue Bruce pragmatically outlining some things I hadn't thought of:
1) He's in NYC that weekend for work
2) I'm no longer really what you call a "roughing it" kind of guy - I grew up camping with my Dad, and memories mostly include torrential downpours, running out of gas and Knippa family reunions (thats a separate blog all together) - I'm now more of a thread count guy.
3) I'm sharing a cabin with 5 other dads and their kids
4) Casual dude talk is not my jam - I'm less sports and more pop culture
Nonetheless, I'd paid for the weekend and we were set. So Friday came around and as we say in our household, "and away....we......go!"
We arrived at the camp Friday night and the Super Pandas (our group name) were in the Yarrow cabin. Our group head said these accommodations were much nicer than the previous camps, so my expectations were positive. Well, we walk in to the cabin and the boys shrieked in happiness while I shrieked in horror (in my head, of course). Here's a picture of Ethan claiming his top bunk:
Ethan super excited about his sleeping situation
We go to dinner and it's what you would expect - one meal, prepared for 200 people. Noel asked where the menu was and I told them this is what we call "roughing it." He was intrigued mostly because he wanted to know what happened if you didn't like what they served (fast forward to us eating ham sandwiches from our cooler after seeing what was served on "Chinese Food" Night).
Well, the boys really took to the camp and it was super fun. Rarely do they get freedom to run about and not always be in my line of site. Over the next day and a half, we participated in some super fun activities and it was so much fun seeing the boys have a blast. A few highlights below:
Waterslide on the COLD lake:
On the way to dinner, the boys found an old tree to climb
Ethan casting a line for the first time!
Us getting ready for a round of Life or Death - a version of tag in the forest
Ethan climbed so high - and then looked down and said, "I'm done!!"
Noel went pretty high as well!
Playing around with some props before campfire skit:
Strongman Ethan finding his own props:
Beachside s'mores
We tried archery for the first time and both of the boys did quite well.
Look at that form!
Look at that pose! He got that tough expression from me!
We built a fort on the beach. Afterwards I realized the engineering might have been questionable.
Here's a video of their skit from Saturday night. It's basically them asking what kind of "pepper" someone has (pronounced like Peppa) - at the end he asks what kind of pepper he has, they all say "toilet peppa" and throw it at the audience.
The weekend came to an end and it really was a negotiation to get the boys to leave. They wanted to stay there much longer than we had time for. And let's be honest - Pai needed a good shower, a stiff drink and a plush mattress.
So, maybe I can rough it after all - or at least look the part:
And who knows - after sending Bruce pictures of the weekend, he said he'd probably be in for next year (let's see if I reference this post in about a year!).
The boys' relationship is definitely different than most other sibling relationships. Twins don't know any differently - they came into the world together, literally sharing a space since before they were born.
Often times, they entertain each other, wandering off and playing in their own world. One day at lunch, they decided to eat on their own and found a cozy lounge chair to let their meal settle. They were just sitting over there - talking about who knows what, but they were perfectly content in each other's presence (It made me a little weepy typing that sentence).
A few minutes later, we turned around and they'd made a new setup on the wall. Not saying a word and just enjoying the view - and each other's company.
We often tell people - the relationship with each other is the most important thing to them. And that picture pretty much sums it up.
We always try and get a good family shot and on our last night, the weather was perfect, so we gathered the boys around for a quick shot and then headed out to dinner.
A great family pic:
Versus our first trip there - how much has changed:
Ethan and Avo - one of them is feeling their margarita kick in.
Ethan BEGGED us to ask the mariachi band over to play for us. He was overcome with emotion. Avo is for SURE overcome by the margarita...
Bruce is entranced by the mariachi band; Noel couldn't be bothered
After a week in paradise, one gets used to be waited on hand and foot
Our boys have never been the most adventurous. Their tendency has usually been to dip a toe in the water and scamper off or proclaim they'll tackle something next year.
Well, lo and behold, Noel announced he wanted to try boogie boarding. Bruce raced to get a boogie board to while the moment was still fresh in Noel's mind.
It took a couple of tried for Noel to get in a rhythm. A few missed waves and skinned knees later, Noel really took to it and it became a daily adventure. Well, it was a 20-minute adventure before he got bored and then Pai used the remaining 40 minutes of the hour to show off his surfing skills:
Bruce and Adam (aka "Brudam") were married originally on October 24, 2008 in San Francisco, California, pre-Prop 8, at the San Francisco City Hall. We then had a phenomenal wedding with our family and friends on April 25, 2009. We initiated the surrogacy process in late 2008 and finally achieved a successful pregnancy on May 8, 2009. Ethan and Noel were born at 36 weeks on December 29, 2009 and this is where the story begins . . .
