A star is born!

Luca was quite the performer at his Christmas concert at school. Check out his glow at the end when the audience applauses. I always knew he was a ham!

Check out this wonderful new trick....ugh!

Moving on up!

Nico's newest past time is climbing..everything...all the time. He doesn't want to sit in a highchair, but he wants to climb it. all. day. long. So we have officially put it away and Nico's taken over Luca's booster for the time being (until an identical one comes in the mail. That way there will be no fighting over color!) Doesn't he look so proud?

Fancy Footwork

First off I want to say how brilliant "Aqua Doodle" is...art with water? A neat mother's dream! And as an added bonus, the mat is big enough for both boys to doodle at the same time.

On this day, the artwork got a little sidetracked and the boys decided to paint their feet...what makes it even better was that, again, it's just water! Look at their concentration!

What do you get when you try to take a really nice fall pictures of 2 small boys?

Need I say more?

Stink-or-Treat?

Who wouldn't answer the door for the cutest skunk (Luca) and dinosaur (Luca's friend Brady) on the block?
Nico was the true "stinker" on Halloween! Aside from riding in his stroller or the wagon, he had enough Halloween after about 5 minutes in his costume. This face matched his attitude. Despite a case of the crabbies, he rocked his costume almost all day.

Mike and I were the "skunk keepers" for Halloween, and thanks to the clothespins on our noses, I didn't smell a thing all day!

Luca kept saying what a fun day it was, and I would have to agree...What a sweet skunk!

Happy Halloween!

You Spin Me Right Round Baby

MY little monkey

Mmmmm...Mr. Independent

I'm not a HUGE fan of dirty children...Ha! But with Nico's current stage of independence, I have no other choice but to deal. Here he chooses to forego the use of his spoon for that of his fist while eating oatmeal. The camera doesn't do justice to what a mess his face was!

A rare day...

...that my boys are feeling photogenic and content enough to sit together for longer than a sneeze. Could it be the frozen treat Luca is snacking on and keeps feeding to Nico?
Feeling very silly!

I love how Luca is opening his mouth as he's feeding Nico.

Happy boys...oh how I love these faces (especially their smiles).

Busted

mmmm...beer
What? I wasn't doing anything!

I have a feeling he'll have the same look on his face in 20 years when I catch him opening the door to the wine fridge!

Future Dog Walker

A trip to Nonnie and Papa's house is not complete without Cooper getting his proper excercise! As soon as we arrive, Nico is eager to pull out the leash and put it on him, then proceeds to walk LAPS with him around the house. Whatever it takes to keep him busy...

Guess when the time is right to get another dog, I'll have just the walker for HER (it will be a girl too...we need more of those in this house!)

Lots to Smile About

It's the first day of school! (we're both smiling about that!)

And a cool monkey backpack to boot.
Luca is loving preschool, which isn't a surprise.
Today, after his teacher covered the easel with a newspaper that had a picture of our president on it, Luca asked "Are we going to paint Barak Obama?" When his teachers asked him if he knew who that was, he said "why, he's the President of the United States of America". We'll be working on the secretary of state for Monday.

All Aboard to Blackberry Farm

Nonnie and Papa treated us to a special day at Blackberry Farm recently. While I was a little concerned the concept of a "pioneer town" would be over Luca's head, he loved (as he called) "the old stuff". Silly me. Nico was difficult to contain on the train and tractor ride since he couldn't RUN on those...

but ALL of the boys had fun!

"Driving" Range

Nico's experience (we supplied our own car, thinking he would like to "drive" at the driving range, but standing in it is more his style.)
Luca's experience (test driving the new clubs with dad).
Comparing him to Tiger Woods is not a good thing anymore...so look out whomever the next child protege golfer is these days :)

George...

...is what you get to call him when he is such a big part of our lives! Luca LOVES Curious George and was elated to find out he was going to be making an appearance at our local Pottery Barn Kids.

Nico wasn't too keen on the idea of visiting with George, but Luca was willing to do whatever it took...including waiting VERY patiently in a long line.

George is holding a picture that Luca gifted to him on George stationary. At the end of his 30 second photo op, Luca couldn't understand why that was all...I think he thought he'd get more "face time" with him, but cherished the moment just the same.

Laundryman

Luca was "supposed" to be helping me take the laundry out of the dryer...but when I looked behind me, I found him IN the dryer. It was ok though~ he was still getting his job done, just from a different perspective!

What do you get when you ask your 3 year old to put on his own clothes?

Maybe I'll be a little more specific next time!

Nico meets the sprinkler...

and

loves

it.

Put on your blue suede shoes

Nico started walking at almost 13 months to the day... so we figured it was about time to find him some big boy shoes. He loves wearing them (I miss seeing his piggies though)...
but they definately took awhile to get used to.

I guess he's officially a toddler now?!?

All smiles (and a few teeth too!)

I could eat him up!

Take Cover

It may look like Luca is romping and stomping in puddles on a rainy day...

but the bigger picture shows he's just "helping" dad wash the car.

Just like daddy with his shirt off, but Mike? Where's your umbrella?

QT in MI

mmmmm.........s'mores

Quality time is an understatement in this case when we are talking 7 days, 1 house, 27 people plus 1 exchange student, and 3 dogs, but quality time it was.

When my brother and his family were "in town" we ALL high tailed it up to Michigan for the 4th of July week for some much desired TOGETHERNESS. Although the pictures don't capture all the laughter, food, crowdedness, tubing, swimming, skiing, drinks, and laughter, memories were definitely created for all and the time spent together was well worth it.

Luca was surrounded by many nature loving cousins who fit right up his alley...
Here's my boy treating a butterfly with such tenderness (if only he treated his brother the same way)

The ride of their lives! Nonnie's crazy idea turned into a great one...Anna is pedaling the bike as fast as she could down a hill with the wagon attached filled with as many kids as her legs can handle. It was thrilling for all (even as a spectator) and remarkably no one got hurt (can't say the same about the soccer game that took place in the exact same field later that week)

2011 ~ Same place same time?

Buds

My brother, Carrie and the kids were in town not too long ago. It was so fun seeing Nico and Elsa side by side! These cousins are only 4 weeks apart, and the last time they saw each other was last summer when they were just infants!
These 2 spent lots of quality time together during their visit, and thanks to Elsa, Nico is now a walker!

Feeling Hot Hot Hot!

Have you been outside lately? It's been a little toasty! Good thing we have a baby pool, plenty of babies and plenty of water to cool us off.

Yes Nico, Vinny has nipples too.

Vinny, Nico and Luca had a blast in the pool. Annie actually had to get in the pool to keep these 2 newish walkers above the water...I don't think she minded on this hot day. (Ava stayed cool snoozing inside in the AC).

Hey ladies ~ check me out!

Rockin' Out

The boys now have matching rocking chairs, thanks to special 1st birthday gifts from Nonnie and Papa. Nico thinks he's so big to crawl on and off by himself, and Luca has found a new love for his now that Nico has one too. Doesn't he look like such a big boy?!?

Dad's Day

As usual, Father's Day was spent running around, but this father couldn't have asked for anything more special than spending time with his boys. Happy Father's Day to the greatest daddy ever!