Orange Belt

Andrew graduated to an orange belt in Taekwondo. He's been working hard on his moves and had them down for the big graduation ceremony. Knife hand strikes, high blocks, number 2 kicks...just some of the moves he has learned. 

 Noah is a big fan and was cheering Andrew on.

There he is in the back, getting his orange belt

Noah is a Tiny Tiger in training. He's a few months away from actually participating, so he's practicing from the sidelines for now. The Tiny Tigers start each practice with the following pledge:

I promise to be a good person (right hand up, reinforced with the left)
With knowledge in the mind (hand points to head)
Honesty in the heart (hand over the heart)
Strength in my body (both arms bend to make muscles)
To make good friends (right hand out for hand shake, reinforced by left)
and to earn my black belt (using both hands to lift belt)

Noah knows the pledge already, including the hand motions. Now he has Andrew's old white belt to play with.

Pretty soon he will be ready to join Andrew on the floor!

Spring Cleaning

Home Depot is one of Andrew's favorite places. Luckily, in springtime, there are plenty of excuses for a trip to Home Depot...

This mama bird thought our porch was a nice spot for a nest. Our spring cleaning must have been a success! Her eggs haven't hatched yet, but she is constantly vigilant. We are watching too. There is another bird who likes to make her nest in the attic, above Noah's room. She is back again this year, with a new noisy crew of youngsters.

We celebrated Earth Day with a trip to Shelby Farms. It was a beautiful day, with plenty of food and fun games for the kids. Andrew wore himself out in the bounce houses and practiced for t-ball. Noah rode a pony for the first time. I think he enjoyed it, despite his serious face. No smiles for the camera, he was all business.

A few highlights from recent weeks...

We enjoyed a friend's birthday party at Putt Putt. Great weather, mini golf, go carts, and more. 

The highlight of the month (possibly the year!) - we got an ice cream maker. The boys are loving it! So far, vanilla is the fan favorite, with chocolate coming in a close second.

Noah, Halloween pajamas again?! Grow out of them, already, geez!

Andrew had his first sleepover at a friend's house. I was a little worried that he would be scared to stay away from home all night. He wasn't worried, just very excited. And he had a great time, of course. Good friends and teenage mutant ninja turtles. What more could a boy ask for?

The spring weather has been perfect for outdoor cooking. And while the sausage cooks, the kids play. Due to size constraints, ownership of the toy car has for all intents and purposes passed on to Noah. However, Andrew still likes to reposes it occasionally and squeeze in.

Cheers to some good times! More to come in May...

Easter Wrap-up

It seems like keeping the kids eating healthy is a daily battle. So often they come home with candy from school or a birthday party. At home, we try to keep it as natural and unprocessed as possible, which is especially difficult around holidays like Easter. Last year I bought a natural Easter egg dye kit (Pottery Barn usually has them) but this year I procrastinated and they were sold out. So we made our own dye, using these instructions. Turmeric powder makes yellow, beets make red, and I used blackberries for a nice purple. Green comes from chlorophyll capsules, which we skipped because I couldn't find them. I'm sure they are at Whole Foods, but honestly, I didn't look very hard. And since they didn't jump off the shelf and into my cart by themselves, we didn't have any green eggs this year. Still, the final product turned out pretty good, especially the yellow.

 

On Saturday, we loaded up our basket for the traditional Polish blessing of the baskets. We had bread, sausage, and cheese. A baby food for Noah. Andrew threw in a chocolate bunny and a tomato. A little bit of everything made it in the basket!

Usually the kids have an Easter egg hunt after the blessing, but the weather was horrible - rain all day long. They skipped the hunt and just gave out the eggs to the kids. Andrew started in on a chocolate bunny, the first of many consumed over the weekend.

The Easter Bunny delivered more tasty treats and by Sunday the weather had improved enough for a little egg hunting in the front yard. Noah was more interested in throwing eggs out of his basket, actually.

 

More Easter treats before church! You need to wear shades to eat this much chocolate.

Noah is not a big fan of candy or chocolate, but he is a big fan of Andrew. He loves watching his big brother.

 Taylor and I have our own Easter tradition - watching Chocolat. It's one of my favorites.

Easter weekend was rainy and cold, but the following weekend was great for working in the yard. And nothing makes Andrew happier than yard work, especially if it involves the truck, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow. He worked hard all day long and spread two truckloads of mulch. His reward was a nice dinner at Chick-fil-a and a bath.

Noah was doing his own heavy lifting...in the house. One of his favorite games is pulling all the clothes out of his drawers. This is almost as fun as pulling all of the DVDs out of the TV cabinet. Coincidentally, both of these are my least favorite games. (Look at him bending those knees! His physical therapist would be so proud.)

In an attempt at distraction, and to keep the house reasonably clean, we went outside to enjoy the sunshine. .

Spring is here and Midtown has got some great views right now...