9/23/2007 Alex and Nick on the couch, looking in the same direction and smiling at the same time! A true rarity!!!!
9/15/2007 Yardwork is a chore started at an early age in our house!
9/15/07 Playing in the sand box. Alex loves to pour sand from a level high enough to get into everyone's eyes and mouths!

This is a special setting on my new camera where it only has one color and the rest comes out in black and white - strange and artsy all in one button!
Alex likes to go "HIGHER!"
9/2/2007 Nick likes living and sitting on the edge, despite all of our warnings!!

A Day at the Zoo a month ago

9/2/2007 - Alex Feeding the Lorkeets
Nick and Alex playing with the periscope in the Aquarium Building
Nick sliding in the play area
Singing "Ring around the Rosey" at home. Nick loves to fall down, Alex not so much.
Alex's doggie getting a check up.

THE CAST IS OFF! 8/29/07 Nick is all smiles, but he is refusing to attempt walking yet. He was walking, running, and even jumping just this morning, but now that the cast is off, he is a little tentative. We'll see how long this lasts.
Alex is happy, too.

Broken Leg! :-(

8/1/2007 Daycare called David and said "We think Nick has a scratch on his foot. He's been crying like we've never heard him cry before." David left work right away, and when he got there they told him that when they were pushing the buggy through the door after a walk, they think Nick's foot got stuck and twisted between the buggy and the door on the way in. Turns out they broke his leg ! :-( For all my medically minded friends - it's a Toddler's Fracture, specifically. Daycare has re-examined and changed their procedures for buggy rides, but Nick now has to have a long leg cast on for the next 4 weeks. This was as soon as we got home from the Orthopedic Surgeon's Office. He's doing ok with the cast most of the time. He gets frustrated with it a lot though. He says "All done, red boot, All DONE!" and "NO broken leg"
He is scooting around, and has even ventured a few unbalanced steps in it (just try to keep a 2 year old non-weight bearing). It will be a miracle if he gets through 4 weeks without breaking something else.
Alex started giving Nick a ride their bus to help him get around. Nick thought that was pretty funny.
8/3 Nick has gotten the chance to play with some of the inside toys that he hasn't seen in a while, since we've kept him home from day care for a few days and he can't play outside (which really makes him sad - although, we did go out and swing for a bit the other day).
7/21 Here were the boys at the County Fair - obviously prior to the broken leg - as you can see Nick loves to jump!

Grandpa Visits

7/8/07 - Grandpa came up for a visit, and Nana and Pop-pop stopped by, too. The boys were so happy to see them all!
Alex took a walk in Grandpa's shoes
Again, Nicholas really, really, really loves trains.

6/30/07 Cousin Cassie turned 1 year old today! She's a cutie!!!
7/7/07 The boys got another great birthday gift of a very cool new pool. They had fun "helping" to put some of it together. I would blow up a piece, and then Nick would grab it, bury his face in it, puff out his cheeks, and blow!
It has a slide . . .
And a water sprinkler built in!
Did I mention that Nicholas really, really loves his trains?!?!

May and June 2007

I am surprised by how much time had past since my last blog update, so there are several posts below to catch things up. When Daylight Savings Time kicked in early this year, the boys went from going to sleep at 7:30 to refusing to go to sleep before 9:00 pm - unfortunately even later on some nights. This has really cut back on the things David and I are able to accomplish in an evening. Darn Daylight Savings time!

To add to the lack of time, I was on my ICU rotation in the month of June, and at the end of the month, I was horrified to realize that I hadn't taken any pictures of the boys. We spent much of the month playing outside, going to the Zoo when we could, and playing with Water. 5/22/07 Outside playing with the house and the water sprinkler . . .
And the water table
They figured out very quickly that they can pick up the sprinkler, move it, and chase each other with it, which is why I took this picture from the deck. Alex is pointing to an airplane.
5/26/07 - They love to shout "WAKE UP" if you pretend to go to sleep. And then they jump on you! Alex is clearly looking forward to the jumping on Daddy part - as you can tell by that mischievous smile.
5/28/07 - We won't be able to do this much longer, but they still really enjoy sharing those bucket swings together! This is at Aunt Jenn's house. Nick is on the left; Alex is on the right.

Another Birthday Already?

5/19/07 - We started the day off early by opening some presents first thing in the morning. Nick wanted to wear his jacket because he was "bRRRR."
Nick and Alex really like airplanes. They point out every single one they see in the sky.
This was their BIG birthday present this year. Nana, Pop-pop, Grandpa, Aunt Jenn, Uncle Ryan, Michael, Cassie, and Mommy and Daddy all contributed to their big play house.
We picked up some noise makers for their birthday song, but Nick decided to use his as a spoon to dip in to the icing before we had a chance to sing to them. I think Michael would have liked to have done the same, but he was a very well mannered little boy and showed a lot of restraint!

After the mass confusion of last year's birthday party, we kept this party very small. A lot of the family was out of town, anyway, so it worked out.
Later, the boys got to open a few more presents, and they LOVE their new trains.

Daycare - The day before their birthday

5/18/07 I was able to go in to daycare for their birthday party. They have cupcakes or strawberry shortcake after nap time when one of their friends has a birthday. This was Alex's and Nick's day to celebrate, since their birthday fell on a weekend.

As usual, Nick is still asleep (he spends a lot of time sleeping at daycare), but Alex is one of the first ones up from nap, and running around.

Why doesn't he nap like this at home?
Alex got so messy playing at daycare he had to wear a borrowed shirt on that day.
Here they are celebrating with cupcakes. That's their friend, Sara, next to Nick. She's been in the same class with them since they started going to daycare when they were 11 weeks old.
As you can see, preschoolers really know how to get a party started!

April Summary

4/13/07 We spent a lot of time at the Zoo this month, even though it was still pretty chilly out on most of the weekends we could go.
The Zoo has a boat ride, and this was the first time the boys got to try it. There was no line, so they got to go on it as many times as they wanted to - 3 times in a row!
4/20/07 - Playing in their play tent at home. Nick in front, Alex in back.

4/29/07 We were at the Zoo again, but thankfully, it was a little warmer on this weekend! They love to P-LAY (as Alex says it) in the play area at the zoo.

4/9 Nicholas *standing* on a chair at the table to get into stuff that he shouldn't. Alex is literally not far behind.
4/9 We bought new hats for them - they both really, really like them. Here is Alex showing off his.
4/9 Two brothers hugging!
Whose belly is bigger????

3/25 Alex wearing Mama's sunglasses just before he broke them in two (just like he always does with my sunnies)
3/25 - Nicholas at the zoo. He and Alex sure did like the bears!
3/25 - Alex looking at a moose.
4/1 - Nicholas saying "CHEESE!"
4/4 Nana and Alex saying "CHEESE!"