From Will's Perspective

Will asked to use my camera this afternoon. Here are some shots, from Will's perspective.

A race between Henry, Nana and Daddy (on the tricycle). Henry won!

Nana posed for the new photographer.
Will caught Daddy with his phone out.
Pop!
Brother.
The sky.
Henry's running face, close-up.

Mommy.

His bike.

A (self) portrait of the artist as a young man.

I can't wait to see more photos from my little photographer!

Art Class

At the end of the last semester, I gave Will four options for spring extracurricular activities and told him he could choose two. Out of soccer, swim, gymnastics and art, he chose soccer and art. Soccer doesn't start until next month but he had his first art class (at the Glassell Junior School) yesterday afternoon.

As it always is with new activities, it took Will a few minutes to get used to the class, once class started up, he had an absolute blast. The kids learned about the Chinese New Year and made masks and lanterns!

While Will was at art class, Henry and I headed to a nearby park to run and play.

I even wrote his name in sticks.

I wish Henry could join Will in art class, but he's just a couple months too young and the class for his age group didn't have enough students enrolled. So for now, it just means I get an extra hour with my littlest boy to play and have fun while his big brother explores his creative side.

Field Trip to the Fire Museum

On Wednesday, Henry's preschool class took a field trip to the Fire Museum.

They put on their "listening ears" for a brief safety presentation by a real fireman
and all pledged to never ever play with matches.
They watched a safety film where they learned to stop, drop and roll before heading back to Tyke Town to play. Everyone slid down the pole

and played in the house.

Cutest little fireman ever!

After our time at the Fire Museum, we all headed to a nearby park for a picnic lunch and lots of playtime. Henry and I love field trip days!

The Long Weekend

We had a great long weekend, full of birthday parties, outdoor fun, really good food, and lots of science.

We started the weekend off with some pumpkin muffins. My boys are such good helpers in the kitchen!
Saturday was full of birthday parties, but for some reason, I didn't take any pictures. Henry went to a pancakes and pajamas party in his monster pjs (everyone loved them -- we must have received at least 10 compliments on them!). It was such a simple concept and so fun! After we got home, we sent Henry upstairs to put on some real clothes and this is what he came up with.... all by himself! Love the superhero gloves and pose!
After lunch, the boys found time to make a volcano with Daddy! And then Will and I were off to another party. While we were gone, Gene and Henry made halibut lagareiro style (garlic halibut). Yum, yum, yum!Sunday was a great day too. We watched a bit of the Chevron Houston Marathon. It goes right through our neighborhood and we were eating our regular breakfast at Skeeter's (mile 13) as the marathoners ran by. And of course we enjoyed celebrating 40 years with Nana and Pop.

Today, Gene was back at work, so the boys and I headed down to Sugar Land to visit the Houston Museum of Natural Science location there. Here Comes Science by They Might Be Giants blasted the whole way to Sugar Land. Great tunes for an outing to the science museum! As always, the dig pit was the biggest hit. 45 minutes later and this huge triceratops was unearthed. Henry says it was a great weekend; thumbs up for sure!
I couldn't agree more.

40 Years

Yesterday, Nana and Pop came over to our house so we could celebrate their 4oth wedding anniversary with them. We were a week late, which is very typical in our family, because someone is always traveling.
Nana and Pop treated all of us to dinner at Buca di Beppo. Kitchen table!The little boys were there too, inhaling plates of caprese salad and spaghetti and meatballs, but I didn't get a good shot of them. I did get a good shot of Pop!Anniversary cardAnd lemon cake for the whole table to share. Yum!Special candelabra for the special couple. We capped off the evening with a bit of Spanish bubbly back at our house. Everyone was cracking up here because Henry was doing an insane potty dance behind me! Happy 40th anniversary, Gene and Nancy! We wish you many more years of happiness and joy together.

A Boy and His Elephant

Every morning, the boys bring one of their stuffed animals downstairs to be their special friend of the day. One day recently, it was Ellybo's turn. Elly the Elephant joined us for breakfast and Will asked me to take a picture of the two of them.

As always, I was happy to oblige!

A Perfect January Day

Yesterday was a gorgeous, shorts-and-t-shirts kind of day in Houston. It was the perfect day to run down the street to the park.

It was the perfect day to play with your brother.

It was the perfect day to pretend to be the Kratt brothers going on an adventure.

It was the perfect day to climb.

It was even the perfect day to get a little dizzy!A beautiful, spring-like day in the middle of winter? Perfect!

The Piano

Our new piano arrived yesterday! I don't know who was more excited -- the boys or Mommy?? They started banging on it right away. I haven't played in probably over twenty years but I printed out sheet music for Fur Elise and was pleasantly surprised to find that playing the piano is a lot like riding a bike. It took a bit of practice (okay, a lot of practice) but I can play the song through. I am definitely rusty but my boys loved my "beautiful music." (Obviously, they don't have much to compare it to!) It's only been 12 hours but I am already loving having a piano in our home.Next up on the agenda is finding a piano teacher. Will is itching to start lessons!

Lego City!

Uncle Mike and Aunt Jess got Will a 662-piece Lego City fire station for Christmas. It took Will a little over a week, but he built it all, all by himself, including the two fire trucks. Now he wants the Lego City airport. So proud of his work! My little builder. I see my future and it is filled with thousands and thousands of tiny Lego pieces!

Winter Break

Winter break was so much fun this year! I loved the lazy days with my boys. We played, cooked, spent time with family and good friends, explored, and didn't have to worry about schedules or rushing around to get anywhere on time.

The best part of winter break was definitely spending time with family and friends. I snapped this picture of Nana and Pop with all four of their grandkids on New Year's Eve.
After indulging in lots of delicious meals and sweet treats, we tried to get back on track with lots of veggies (and a codfish cake or two!)
and lots of exercise!
And of course, we've had tons of fun playing with all the new Christmas toys. Gramma and Grampa got the boys three new games that they are obsessed with (thank you!) and Nana and Pop got Will an awesome science kit. Daddy helped them test a bunch of liquids to determine if they were acids or bases. The boys recorded their results in their science journals, of course. Building toys were another favorite activity. While Will and I worked on his 662-piece Lego fire station, Daddy and Henry built his new Trio King's Castle. It wasn't long before Will gave up on Legos and joined in the battle against the Wizard's Castle! And what better way is there to relax on vacation than with a good book? Will started reading chapter books over the holiday! He loves that can read his favorite Beverly Cleary books all by himself. We had such a great time over the break that I am definitely not ready to send my boys back to school and work tomorrow!