Pike Swim Class

Ryan and I were invited to join David's swim class inside the pool area this morning to learn about boating safety. Normally we are only allowed outside the pool area with a window to look in to watch the class. I took advantage of the opportunity to take some pictures. Here's David saving Ms. Patty from drowning by pulling her to the side of the pool with the noodle. This is such a great class for David. There are only 4 other kids in the class and 3 are boys his age.

Here's David holding onto his life vest and jumping in to Mr. Steve.

David was a little disappointed when he saw the size of the boat. I think he had speed boating plans for the morning!

Here's David swimming to catch a floating toy. He is really trying to do all the swimming by himself. He's improved so much since the first week when Ms. Patty was dragging him all over the pool.

Poor Ryan. I didn't realize we were going to be invited in to the pool area this morning. He was sweating it out. His little cheeks were so red! The kids in the pool were great entertainment.

At the end of each class the kids get 2 jumps in the pool. David is always excited to jump in . . . and then not so excited when he realizes that he's in the pool with out his flotation device.

Ryan and Michael

We watched our neighbor's son, Michael, last night. Ryan was very happy to pull out all of his cars to show Michael. The two are only 3 months apart. They had a lot of fun with the cars and trains.

Storytime at B&N

I've been taking the boys to Barnes and Noble on Thursday mornings for storytime the last few weeks. We go right after David's morning swim class. It works out as a great reward on Thursday mornings when David does not want to get into the pool at class. Last fall when we tried this David could barely sit through one story. This time around he sits and listens to all three. Ryan is another story. I basically spend the 30 minutes chasing after him and picking up the books he throws on the floor.

Here's a happy Ryan after tossing all of the books from the table to the floor. He really enjoys clearing off tables.

David and Twix

David was desparate to go outside this afternoon and Ryan wasn't feeling so great and had to stay inside. My compromise was sending David outside with Twix by his side. He was thrilled.

They played ball and ran all over the yard. Twix had her tail wagging the whole time. I think they were both very happy.

Ryan thought David and Twix looked like they were having a lot of fun.

Lobster Attack

We went on a tour of Red Lobster this morning. The kids stood around the table and were allowed to touch the lobsters while listening to information about lobsters. David was a little timid about touching them. When the tour guide picked the lobster up and showed the kids the lobsters teeth the tour guide mading a "SNAP" sound right in David's face! David ran from the table so fast! Two moms and me had to run after him to catch him. He was terrified! After holding him and explaining that the lobster could not hurt him he did join the kids back at the table. Good Grief!

David enjoyed being in the kitchen. Each child got to work at the counter and put breading on a shrimp. It was good they didn't have to do too much more. The gloves they had to wear were enormous on their little hands.

David shared his goldfish snack with Ryan while we waited for our popcorn shrimp and chicken fingers. Look how happy David looks to be sharing his snack! :-)

Clifford

The boys had the day to themselves on Saturday. Paul took them to Barnes and Noble to see Clifford. David got to sit with his friend Emma and listen to stories while they waited for Clifford to arrive.

Snow Much Fun

It was finally warm enough - 20 degrees - on Sunday to take the boys outside and play in the snow. Everyone had a blast in the snow. Ryan was so happy on the sled. Paul pulled him up and down the little hill behind the house.

David had more fun running through the snow and kicking it in the air. He really wanted to build a snow fort, but the snow wasn't heavy enough. He said he'll wait until we get some heavy snow and then he wants to build a fort and fill it with snowballs.

Ryan and I came in the house first and then he sat in his chair with his milk watching David and Paul shovel the back porch.

Ryan's New Trick

Ryan's new trick is climbing on top of the kitchen table. He thinks it is hysterical when we tell him "NO!". He gets a huge smile on his face and just laughs at us! What is the future going to hold with this one!?

Once David saw Ryan climbing up he had to find a new way of climbing too. He quickly discovered how much fun it is to climb to the top of the cozy coupe and then pull himself on top of the table. My little climbers! We're going to need to build a rock wall in the house to accomodate this new trick.

Happy 2nd Birthday Kaitlyn

We celebrated Kaitlyn's birthday this past weekend. Shelby hosted a Minnie Mouse themed party. Kaitlyn was gorgeous in her Minnie Mouse dress.

Everyone had smiles for the candy from the pinnata. This is always so much fun because the kids get so excited.

Kaitlyn loved her cake. She couldn't wait for Shelby to cut it. She started on the icing right away!

David and Kelsey helped Kaitlyn open her gifts.

We were able to get all the kids on the couch! This was not an easy task! Eight happy kids!

Snow Day Activities

We had a snow day today! No preschool for David and no playdate for Ryan. I thought kids were supposed to sleep in on snowdays. . . David was up at 6:45 and ready to go! By 10 a.m. we have painted, played with playdoh, tried out skiing and every other game on the wii, and watched pbs with snacks.

Here's David trying to ski. He weighs 28 lbs, so the board doesn't really pick up his motions. He had a lot of fun trying though. He's getting ready for a ski jump in this shot.

E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!

The boys had put their Eagles gear on today to cheer the Eagles on during the playoff game. David watched the game for a little bit and was repeating everything Paul was saying about the plays. It was all good until the game wasn't going our way and then some words we don't want David saying started coming out of Paul's mouth. He was distracted with a bath at that point. Here's a picture of the three boys reading during pregame.

Out to Dinner

Last night we got to go out to dinner with Nana Sharon, Pappy Dave and Aunt Susan and Uncle Gary. David was very good sitting at the big kids table. He enjoyed sharing peanuts with everyone at the table. He ate very big bites of his mac and cheese so he could get his cherished Mater Pez dispenser as a reward - Thank you Aunt Susan!

New Year's Eve Wii

We let the kids play baseball on the Wii. They had fun trying to pitch and hit the ball. I'm very appreciative of the strap that holds the controller in their hands. I think we may have had some flying controllers otherwise. Paul took a turn playing baseball with David.

Shelby gave my parents some instruction for the boxing game. She's a lightweight professional in her spare time.

The instruction seemed to help my mom more than my dad. She took him out without any problems.

Ryan and Kaitlyn did not understand why they couldn't play. Maybe in 2 more years.

New Year's Eve Downtown

We went downtown State College for the First Night activites on Wednesday afternoon. It was bitter cold - 5 degrees real feel. We braved the elements with David and Kelsey to check out the ice sculptures and see the reindeer. The library had a children's activity set up. David and Kelsey made hats and 2009 glasses.

Here are David and Kelsey sledding on the ice hill at the Central Parklet. After they slammed into the hay bail at the end of the mountain David was ready for another ride. He loved it!

It was so cold. I don't think Kelsey was able to move her arms or legs. Shelby had her bundled.

The reindeer were sleeping because they were so tired from Christmas. David got to touch their antlers.

Please Touch Museum

While we were visiting Paul's parents we took the boys to the Please Touch museum in Philadelphia. It was so much fun. There was so much for the boys to do and nothing was off limits for their little hands. We were there for over 4 hours. This was David's favorite part of the day - riding the bicycle into the air. He's up over our heads in this picture. He wasn't afraid at all - slightly scary for me to think about. Here's David pretending to be Dr. Brown and examining Ryan.

The boys had a short tea party in the Alice in Wonderland exhibit.

At the end of the day we went for a ride on the carousel inside the museum. It was beautiful. Ryan was very pleased with himself.

We made our way back to this slide before we left. Ryan and David both loved it. Ryan was able to go down by himself, but David wanted to go down with him. It's nice to see that there are moments when they do want to be with each other.