Zach's 2nd Birthday

I can't believe my little Zachary is already two! Yesterday we celebrated his birthday with my family. We had Nani, Nene, Gigi, Sammy, Ellie, Maddie, Brian, Maggie, Seth and Rob over and enjoyed a big pot of chili. The kids were unusually well behaved even though Zach and Avery failed to take a nap.

After the party Maggie, Brian, Ellie and Maddie spent the night. This morning Eli made eggs "your way." Later when they were getting ready to leave, Avery asked them to stay and when they said they couldn't he asked to go with them. Maggie said that he would have to be strapped to the roof of the car because they didn't have room, but Avery was alright with that idea.




This afternoon, we had a few friends and their kids over for a second 2nd birthday party. We served leftover chili and Eli coined it "Sara's Three Pepper Chili" (in honor of the green, yellow, and red bell peppers). It's cool to think of it being named after me, but I rarely follow any recipe exactly because I tend to be missing some ingredient(s).

Making the Most of the Winter Weather

Today, while Zachary and Mommy took a nap, Avery got to go outside and play in the snow with Daddy. Eli told me that Avery was having so much fun he refused to come inside and made them stay out in the cold for over an hour.

They managed to build a tiny snow man with the small amount of snow available (about 1/2 an inch). Then they went to the play set and had "icicle fights".

Genevieve's 5th Birthday

My niece Genevieve is five. Happy Birthday, Gigi!

I cannot believe how time has flown by. In just a few short years my my parent went from zero grandkids to six; three girls and then three boys. Now they are all starting to grow up. They, also sit across from each other at the dessert table. They are all cute as can be though!

Fire Station Party

Today we took the boys to a birthday party at the Ashburn Fire Station. They had face painting, a tour of the fire house, and the highlight: a visit from Spiderman. Avery reasoned out that it was "just a man in a Spiderman costume" but it didn't detract from his excitement and fun playing the games "Spiderman" led.

Avery got his face painted with a rainbow on one side and a smiley face on the other. Zach didn't want anything to do with the face painting and didn't join in on the games with Spiderman either. He did enjoy balloon sword fighting, which quickly degenerated into balloon sword popping. Both boys loved the cake and ice cream, of course. You'd think we never give them goodies.

Snow Angels

This has been a dry winter, but we finally got some snow and the kids went CRAZY!!! We got Zach down for a nap right as it started snowing, but Avery was too excited to take his nap. After a protracted negotiation we got him to lie down long enough to doze off and get a short nap.

Afterward, both boys played outside with Eli and the neighbors. Enjoy the cute matching snowsuits as this may be the only time they ever get worn.

Cute Pictures of the Boys

Sometimes I try to picture the boys as an outsider would, to have an unbiased opinion of how they look. I still think they are the cutest boys I've ever seen.

Zach loves to grab my head and look into my eyes and say, "I love you mama." Here's a picture of him doing that.

Zachary's Big Show at Little Gym

Tonight was Zachary's turn to have a Big Show at Little Gym. It was less structured than the one Avery had, and felt more like a regular class. The kids still had various techniques to perform, like somersaults and balance beam routines, but everything was less complex and structured.





Eli and I brought Avery along with us, and the staff allowed him to join in on the fun too. This was his original group so he got to see some of his former classmates and his original teacher Starla. At the end of the show when Zach got his award, Avery went to get one as well. The lady handing out medals said, "I'm sorry, I don't have one for you." Even though he already had one from his own class he got very upset and ran to me, crying.