Daddy's Birthday

Daddy used to whine that his birthday lasted just one day; whereas my birthday lasted all 5 days after that... It turns out at least for now (for this year?) Daddy got a few days of special. (Ethan will get the next few; Mommy may get a dinner.)

We started a few days early while Daddy was at work and snuck in a surprise art project. Daddy is going to be quite the cool cat when he sports this shirt around town!

Then we did some sneaking of our own and enjoyed a night on the town, eating fondue and listening to the Austin Symphony with the beautiful Austin skyline behind us.

Gabi and Ethan helped make a banana cake for Daddy while one of his favorite meals was being prepared. Gabi, of course, insisted on topping it off with TONS of sprinkles to make it extra festive.

birthday song part 1

Since Daddy had to work and Gabi had school on his actual birthday, we continued the fun the day before at a special splash pad!






We surprised Daddy with a homemade ice cream cake, and we got to sing to him once again!

birthday song part 2

We love our special Daddy a lot!!!

...and one more time to grow on!

...and that shirt that Daddy will wear with pride!

Awesome August

We had a great August! At the beginning of the month, we spent a week at the beach on family vacation; we got ready for some exciting birthdays at the end of the month; and we had some fun times with family and friends in between. Here are the snapshots we were able to capture:

makes it tough to watch the political conventions

Daddy selfie!

We love any time we can spend playing with Maven and Addi. (even if they don't quite understand why someone would possibly want to take a picture while they're eating)

Ahhh, to get 2 kids smiling at the same time - that's the true challenge.

There's just something about bathing babies.

They try to take turns pushing each other on the swings - which is cute - but Gabi seems to have an unfair advantage...

They warn you about '2'. They don't warn you as much about '3.' And man oh man, these two are not easy, but they sure have a lot of love!

goofballs

Lookin' good in shades:

Good times with cousin Joey this month:

Ethan got to use his brand new plate he painted to light his Shabbat candles for the first time.

First, he watched big sister show him how to do it, and then he was a pro!

23-month old Ethan is sooooo close to his birthday, he can feel it, smell it, and act it! This was the month of "E.E do it!" and "No!" We 'lost' a lot of cute baby words that he's now pronouncing more accurately, just another sign that this baby is growing up too fast. 'Nene' became closer to 'thank you.' 'Mum' became closer to 'milk' etc etc etc. He insists on doing everything himself, including climbing up in his car seat by himself, now that it's facing forward. He has opinions and will be the first to let you know when he has one that isn't so pleasant. BUT, this Ethan is quite friendly and such a lover, giving hugs, high fives, waves, "Hi!"s and flirtatious smiles to just about anyone.

These 2 videos were literally taken 15 minutes apart. Welcome to 2?

Try putting that thing in a car seat.

Just needed big sister from school...?

Big sister Gabi gave him a bath. Little brother Ethan did not appreciate it.

This boy is and always has been incredibly musical, recognizing rhythm from a very young age. He now pretends any object is a guitar and sings all day long.

Twinkle Twinkle

Ethan goes Heavy Metal.

Bim Bam

See you next month!

Beach Babes

There is a fantastic company who has photographers walk up and down the beach at Ocean City and takes beautiful pictures of children and families. They then create keychains and other tchotchkis to take home. I have telescope pictures from my days in Ocean City as a little girl, and my older siblings had pictures from their kiddos from years past. I was afraid I'd never get my Ocean City beach pictures, until the photographers showed up, and my kiddos decided to actually turn their smiles on! Look at these beautiful beach babes!








Another day when most of the cousins were there - minus Joey womp womp - we found another photographer who captured some more gorgeous moments.