Holiday Party

Mark's holiday work party is usually quite the affair.  This year the theme was masquerade.  They go all out for their parties, so we tried as well:

What a fun date night treat!

2nd Birthday

Aiden celebrated birthday number 2 or Dec 8th.  We had a small family gathering with pizza and cupcakes.

He loved helping to sing "Happy Birthday" to himself, loved blowing out the candle,

and the icing on the celebration was in fact the icing on the cupcake!

Mark grew up with Tonka metal trucks and he really wanted our boys to have one.  We happened to find just that on craigslist.  It was a hit!

First Dentist Appointment

Oliver had his first dentist appointment.  He was a bit apprehensive, until we showed up and he was told he would get to select a show and watch it as they cleaned his teeth.  Awesome!

Meanwhile, Aiden was enthralled with the construction happening on Mopac (the office had picture windows overlooking Mopac).  He had his own "show" of every digger truck you can imagine.

Haircuts

I have tried to cut our boys' hair on several occasions.  I am resolved to longer try.  Cutting moving boys' hair is not my gift (perhaps without training).  So...they go to Jarrod.  He is fantastic and has been described as being able to "duck and dodge" as he achieves beautiful hair cuts on our boys.  Aiden looks so big!

Halloween 2014

Leading up to Halloween, our plan was for Aiden to wear the dinosaur costume (size 18-24 months) that Oliver had worn the last two years. Oliver would be superman.  Great, set.  Then...Oliver decided he wanted to be the dinosaur. No problem, Aiden didn't mind either way.  Except, the leg part of the costume was a little short.

Oliver still pulled it off with "roaring."  Meanwhile, Aiden felt super big with his floor-length red cape!

And Daddy was dressed as Dr. Schwarz from his work day.

We trick-or-treated with neighbors, visited friends, and then handed out candy. It was a relaxed, fun evening!

Pumpkins!

This year, we returned to the first pumpkin patch Oliver visited around his first Halloween (2011).

It is a Methodist Church downtown Austin and they have a field filled with pumpkins.  We were surprised to find very few pumpkins there this year.  We learned that they had unloaded truck after truck and just couldn't keep up with the demand.  Apparently, that particular pumpkin patch has gotten very popular in the last three years!

We took a family photo, and then the boys helped us load our pumpkins into a large, two-wheeled wheelbarrow, and Oliver pushed it to the check-out tent.  He felt very big (it was a BIG wheelbarrow!).

We couldn't wait to carve, so we started right after dinner.  Look at those perfectly round eyes!  Daddy used something special to obtain that perfection.  It can be found in one of the pictures below.

Oliver being silly:

 Digging out the seeds.

Aiden wanted nothing to do with the sliminess, but he was more than happy to say "cheese!"

 A family of jack-o-lanterns!

Bike Riding

Oliver is fully balancing and steering his push bicycle (or balance bike, strider bike, etc.) that we know he is ready for pedals.

Aiden is also doing quite well, keeping up with his brother on his push tri-cycle.  See him scoot along!

Thomas the Tank Engine

What a special treat we had this weekend!

We saw this event online over the summer and thought it would be a fun outing.  We hesitated, thinking Oliver might enjoy it more in a year or so.  Boy, are we glad we went as a family.  Oliver's enthusiasm when he saw Thomas was priceless.  His little body was overtaken with excitement as he jumped up and down shouting and running to get a closer look at the big Thomas engine.

And Aiden had so much fun too! He was consumed with the train ride.  We sat in cars with windows open and Aiden loved sticking his head out enough to feel the breeze.

The whole event was more like a mini-festival.  They had a rock-climbing wall, pictures with Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt, an imagination station (arts and craft), a mini-golf station, storytelling, and a gift shop with any Thomas thing you could want.

And a surprise to us, was the Thomas engine's face is created to talk.  So, before he pulls away from the station, he says a few words.  The kids were mesmerized (and some of the parents were too!).

What an eventful day!

Painting

We've been painting recently, as Oliver has so much paint leftover from his construction birthday party.  Both boys LOVE to paint, glue, cut, whatever...

While painting, I ran to grab my camera because I noticed how different their little personalities are, even just in the way they express themselves in paint.

All the colors mixed, on his hands, elbows, face.

 Each color, still separate.  No paint on arms/elbows.

I love how unique each of our boys is!

First Day of School

Who doesn't love first day of school pictures?!

Oliver looks SO much bigger than he did last year.

This year has already been a struggle getting him to LEAVE preschool at the end of the morning (T/Th).  He has already had music and movement class, chapel, arts and crafts, and a lot of outdoor play time. We are thrilled he is enjoying it so much.  

Museum Field Trip

The only museums we have visited have been children's museums.  So, today, we had a fun outing with friends.  First, we rode the bus (a fun trip in and of itself).  Oliver really wanted to sit by his friends and show them how not to fall when the bus was moving.

Then, we visited the Blanton Museum's free summer storytime.  Our tour guide was thoroughly engaging, asking multiple questions of the kids and what they saw in the piece of art.  She was teaching them how to engage with art, in a way.  We walked to a piece of art, talked about it, then read a book that corresponded with that piece of art.  Even though Oliver was on the younger end of the suggested age spectrum (3-7), he was thoroughly entertained and focused (He loves books in general.), so it was a perfect adventure!

After the storytime, we were free to explore the museum.  The kids' favorite exhibit was probably this one:

It is literally a sea of pennies (600,000 to be exact).  And above, hangs 2,000 bones.  Oliver simply enjoyed playing in the pennies.

Increased Verbal Communication for Aiden

Aiden is talking more and more!  We traveled to Virginia, another week passed, and I started to notice a marked difference in his efforts at communicating verbally.

Expressed words include, up, more, please (mainly sign language only), truck, dump truck, dog, hot, plane, bye-bye, hi, help, no, hush (thanks to "Goodnight Moon"), Oliver, Mommy, Daddy, kitty kitty, and several more.  And of course, vrooooommmm is heard regularly all over the house.  He also makes the "eeeeeerrrrrrrrrr" sound as he pretends to blend things (yes, we still drink smoothies often!).

Opposite from Oliver, Aiden is not fearful of the loud noises various machines make, including my hair dryer.  He likes to carry it around and make his own vvvvvvuuuuhhhh sound.  One morning, I had finished using it and put it up.  He fussed and I asked him what he needed.  He rubbed the top of his head, pointed up, then did the sign for please.  He was telling me he wanted to play with the hair dryer.  He certainly communicates boldly in whatever way he knows how!

Traveling with the boys

Travel with the boys has changed over the past year.  Aiden is certainly more aware and active.  Oliver remains entertained by looking out the window, telling stories, or watching a show.  Our most recent trip was on a plane and I traveled without Mark.  The way there was uneventful.  The way back, however, we had a long layover that I just wasn't excited about.  However, I had not taken into account the fun and free entertainment in an airport!  During our 3+ hr layover, we had lunch, rode the train/tram all over the airport, ran and walked on the moving walkways, rode the elevator, rode the escalators, met new friends and raced them on the moving walkways, and explore airport maze art.

Tinkering in the Garage

This past weekend, Mark built a "work bench" (pictured behind Aiden) for the guys so they could work while I cook dinner.

We hope one day they will tinker and hammer, etc. while I cook or Mark works in the garage.  I would say it's a success, as they have "worked" on this evening while I've been cooking.  They do prefer Daddy's big bench for now, though!

 Aiden literally "looking up" to his brother.

Dinner Outside

Tonight, we enjoyed dinner outside!  It is perfect weather right now, and the mosquitos are just starting to come out (at dawn and dusk), so we are trying to soak up the last few days of spring.

Walking More and More, and Speaking

Since taking his first steps, Aiden has continued to prefer crawling over walking.  However, starting this past Monday morning, Aiden regularly "practices" and is completely humored by it.  He will push up, take 4-6 steps, then fall forward and giggle.  All day Monday and Tuesday, he has repeated this pattern, even when we're outside.  I'm fine with him taking his time.  At the same time, it would be nice to hold two hands instead of carrying a growing baby, and holding a little boy hand.

Aiden is also becoming more and more vocal with specific words "More more!" and "Dad-dy!" when Daddy comes home (or he thinks he sees Daddy come to the door).  He also says "O-vaaah," which you can kinda hear at the end of this recording.

Construction 3rd Birthday Party

Oliver is very much into construction.  This year was the first year we decided to have a friend party, not just a family celebration.  So...we made it construction-themed!  

We gathered large cardboard boxes, created a cardboard house/castle/village and the kids painted them.

After the "project" was complete, we moved into the backyard to enjoy lunch and play time.  It was a success!

Singing "Happy Birthday!" (Oliver sang along.)

Cousins, all born in 2011 within 5 months of each other. Pictured oldest to youngest, from the left.

We had fun (and Aiden enjoyed his cupcake)!