Going for a ride

We have an heirloom family toy, a Little Tikes tractor-trailer. The boys' cousins have all played with it and now it's their turn. It used to hold blocks, and now it's home to Mr. Potato Head and his brother. Kevin occasionally likes to take it for a ride and today, Alan decided that it looked fun. He hitched a ride on the back of the trailer while Kevin drove them around.

Snow Day

Although friends up north may laugh, today was a snow day here in South Texas. I was up with Alan at 2:30 in the morning and saw that the road was covered. Come morning it was still all over the roads, dusting the trees and bushes, but not much on the grass.

Kevin's school was closed for the day, so Grandma took him out into the back yard to check out the snow. Then we bundled up Alan and we all went on a walk around the Circle. It was fun seeing all our neighbours out enjoying the day. Lots of the kids were "tobogganing" and "sledding" on boogie boards and laundry baskets - whatever works! One of them was walking with their big, friendly, shaggy dog and Alan got all excited! Doggie says "woof"!


The backyard (full size)


The front yard (full size)


Grandma took Kevin to check out the snow out back


Up...


... and down the Circle


Alan was glad to finally get out of the house!


Kevin and Grandma

A vacation from vacations

A few years ago I read an article "A Vacation from Vacations" in the magazine Wondertime and it sounded like a lot of fun. Instead of the hassles of travelling out of town and rushing around to see all the sights of the destination, this kind of vacation was about spending time together as a family with minimal distractions and stress. We certainly needed a break after the last year, and not having to travel with two little ones was certainly appealing. So when a new resort opened up in town and I saw they had special rates for their Grand Opening, we decided to cash in some points and take a break!

Like the article suggested, we left the laptops at home and the TV off. We just brought some books to read while the kids were asleep. Part of the appeal of this resort was an amazing water park and pool, complete with a lazy river to float in and a great children's area. We stayed two nights and managed to hit the pool three times, thanks to a late check-out time on our last day.


Cool lounge chairs right in the pool - a handy perch for the boys!


Alan wanders while Kevin checks out the pouring water.

We had gone to the main pool the first afternoon, setting ourselves up by the beach entrance so Alan would have easy access. This boy knows no fear! Rather than staying in the shallows, he kept heading into deeper water until he started to float. Poor Daddy had quite a time trying to keep his head above water! Mommy and Kevin did some swimming and then did a circuit on the lazy river before rejoining Daddy and Alan for some pool-side snacks.

The next two days we went to the children's pool which was full of fountains, sprayers, little slides and a squirting fish. Since the deepest this pool got was only two feet, we didn't need to worry about Alan heading out into deep water!




The boys LOVED the arching fountain!


Kevin pumps to spray the water.


A ride on the spitting fish!

Since he couldn't head into deep water, Alan decided the next best way to drive us crazy would be to walk in front of the slides and confront the rushing water. He is going to drive us bonkers!!!


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The resort also had a fun kids activity program. Kevin and Alan were too young to be left with them, but there was still plenty to take part in like decorating t-shirts, s'mores at the pool-side fire pit, and a rubber duck race on the lazy river! But even better were all the open areas to explore! There were lots of water features, paths and expansive lawns - including one that led right onto the golf club's fairway. Daddy had to call Kevin back from the greens before he got bopped by a golf ball!


Kevin admires the waterfall behind the lobby patio.


The boys explore the lawn - Kevin heads for the green.


Kevin and Mommy roast the marshmallows.


Kevin had his first s'more, but Alan declined to taste.

On Saturday morning, we went to see the Rubber Duck race on the lazy river. They do this every weekend, but since this was the Easter holiday weekend, the rubber ducks were dressed up as bunnies, lambs and Easter eggs. We stood on the bridge by the finish line and waited for the boys' ducks to come down the river. Who knew that Kevin's duck would be the winner!


Here they come! Go #17 and #19!


The lifeguard captures the winners!


Kevin and #19, his winning duck!

Back in our room, the boys enjoyed the balcony and the view of a pond with fountains. On our first night, after watching the fountains for a while, Kevin asked Daddy "Water up please?". The fountains had cycled to a lower height and Kevin wanted them back up. Sorry sweetie! Unlike the shower head in the bathtub, Mommy and Daddy don't have any control over this water flow!


The boys loved the view from the balcony!


The view from our balcony!

Before we left the resort, we went to one more activity - Zoomagination had a presentation on the lobby patio. They had a lizard, a scorpion, a pair of hissing beetles, a baby wallaby, a snake, a cockatoo and a two-toed sloth! At the end of the presentation, Kevin had the chance to pet Sheila, the baby wallaby.


Kevin pets the baby wallaby!

What fun getaway! We look forward to doing it again!
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Alan loves Fanny Panda

It's no secret that Alan loves pandas. The other morning, Alan was particularly attached to one of his newest pandas, Fanny. He tried to pull her through the slats of the crib (rather difficult since he was pulling the front legs through one gap and the back legs through another). Mommy lifted Fanny out of the crib for him and he carried her to the top of the stairs.

There he met a new challenge. He wanted to go down stairs to play with his big brother, but didn't want to let go of Fanny either. Alan normally goes down the stairs backwards on his hands and knees. Necessity being the mother of invention, he went down on his bum, using one hand to lower himself step by step while the other hand held on to Fanny. It was slow going, but eventually they made it down the landing!

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Working out

Kevin has been having so much fun following along with Mommy's workout that we set up a workout just for him on the Wii. Here is Kevin finishing off a Sun Salutation. We're so proud of him!

Wii have fun!

Mommy has been working out with the Wii more since we got the Wii Fit Plus. One of the new features is Baby Stats - now Alan can have a Mii and we can track his weight with it.



Kevin has been following along with Mommy while she does her yoga workout and has been cheering her on.

It's curtains for the boys!

Kevin has always loved playing with the curtains, whipping them aside with a big grin when we call out "Where's Kevin?". Well little brother Alan has been having just as much fun hiding in them and playing peek-a-boo.

Stupid Daddy Tricks

Daddy teaches the boys how to best appreciate music. Sorry if the video is shaky, Mommy was trying very hard not to laugh!

A Lazy Afternoon

Finally a weekend at home! The boys enjoyed playing in the family room, jockeying for position around the PSP playing Baby Einstein.



Mommy and Daddy worked on pile of laundry, and Alan decided that the nice fresh clothing was the perfect spot to romp around in.





Kevin took advantage of Mommy sitting in one spot to fold clothes and played with her hair.

An afternoon at home

Kevin and Alan hang out in the kitchen with the bubble machine.



Hunt those bubbles down!



Or catch them in mid-air.





It got a little slippery so we moved the mats to give Alan a little traction before he fell too many times. Not that he noticed or cared! Bubbles!



Eventually we had to turn off the bubble machine so Kevin decided it was time to draw on his chalk board.



Circles!

What a big help!

Kevin is fascinated with the new washer, so much that he's helping Mommy empty the dryer!

The Thumper Sleeps

One of the reasons Kevin has the nick name "The Thumper" is that he's bouncing off the walls when he should be napping. When he does crash, though, sometimes he does so in the funniest places.

Here he is in front of the family room fireplace on his ABC carpet, where he fell asleep in the middle of playing.


Up in his room, he'll often pull the pillows off his bed on to the floor. One of the pillows is the big curved Snoogle, which mommy used while she was pregnant. Now it's perfect for making a nest in Kevin's bed...



...or on the floor.

One of his favourite thumping items in his bedroom is the rocking recliner. Sometimes, we'll find it 4-5 feet away from it's original position because he's been rocking it so hard. Yesterday, mommy found him asleep in it.



Sweet dreams baby panda!

Wakey wakey!

Mommy sends in Alan to get his big brother Kevin up for the day. "Hey! How did you rate such a big bed?"

Hanging out with the boys

Ahhhh, the boys kick back with Daddy. It's a lazy Saturday evening and we're hanging out after a spending the afternoon at the park.

Look up!

Look up! It's the moon and a star. Alan checks out the constellation above him in his exersaucer.