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
  

Professional Photos - 2nd Year Edition!!!

It's pretty hard to believe that we're taking our second annual family photo. Just looking at our 3-month photos and even last year's family photo it's crazy how much things have changed. Noel was still trying to master walking last year.

This year, Chad and Marci took us out to a great little farm on a chilly Sunday morning. It took a little while to get the boys warmed up and we got some great pictures. And we were SO happy to have Kim in town the same weekend as the photos. One of the best pictures of the day was of the five of us.

Latest and greatest family portrait:

The boys looking adorable:

Noelly the Ham:

The many sides of Ethan:

Noel gave us a smile only after the promise of candy:

Look on the sides of the couch for some Reese's pieces:

Our favorite pics of the day!!

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):