2 minutes

"2 minutes."

We hear this regularly out of Oliver's mouth these days whenever we're about to transition to something perhaps he doesn't want to do (nap, bath, bed, etc.), OR if there is something he does want to do that he thinks we don't want him to do (play in the garage, color with a pen, etc.).  It is making us keenly aware of what we say.  Perhaps, he is mimicking our time warnings when it is almost time to transition (5 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute).  So funny!

9 months is here already

Nine months passed "slower" with Oliver.  Aiden crawled sooner, so that could be why it feels like nine months has flown by.  Aiden is starting to "stretch" out and get so big.  He is outgoing, social, and vocal (when he is happy and sad).  We love to see his little personality developing!

 With big brother!

8 months!

Aiden turned 8 months and grew so much in just two weeks!  He now claps his hands (loves patty-cake!), pushes himself to a sitting position from crawling, and pulls himself to standing.  I often find him holding onto the bars of his crib after a nap. He looks so much bigger to me since even his 7th month!

And Oliver, a most helpful big brother, will regularly get the stool and climb up to get Aiden's toys for him when he is upset.  He gets the basket and dumps the toys so Aiden will not be sad.  Oliver even looks for Aiden to make sure he is around when he hasn't seen him in a while (after nap time).  And a regular ritual is hugging his brother good night.  Such a tender heart!

Traveling Continues...to Boston!

Traveling has certainly slowed since we've had kids, but it hasn't stopped!  We visited Boston for a friend's wedding.  Lindsay flew out first to drop the boys for some grandparent time.  

Then, Mark flew out and we enjoyed a beautiful weekend!  We enjoyed an evening at a comedy club.  Had a full night's sleep, then headed to Jamaica Lake for a wedding-day brunch.  That afternoon, we rode bikes to have a snack on the harbor.

Our view:

Meanwhile, back in Virginia, Oliver was enjoying some fun playscape time:

 And Aiden was starting to clap, and do patty-cake, patty-cake:

 The wedding ceremony was a combination of Indian, Methodist, and Jewish traditions.  The reception was full-on dance party and we had a great date!

The next morning, Mark found an incredible brunch spot, and this is what we had:

 Yum!

Then, we headed to a nearby park to enjoy the incredible weather before we flew to Virginia to pick up the boys.

Zoo

We had our first visit to the zoo!

The Austin Zoo is a humble zoo, but still features lions, tigers, and bears (Oh my!).

Oliver's favorite feature, though, was feeding the animals out of his hand.  His little giggles were precious as the animals licked and slurped the treats from his small hands.

And a special treat was a train ride!