Ok, so I’ve let this blog go a little (a lot) stale.  I’m the first to admit it – but I have an excuse, sort of – it’s summer time!  This has been our busiest summer yet, jam packed with swim lessons, trips to the beach, Disneyland, art classes, play dates…the list goes on and on.  Oh, and I forgot to mention – no daycare!  At least not for the summer months.   So yeah, I got a little laxed with the blogging – but I’m back in full force and will be posting regularly – yeah, I know, you’ve heard that one before. :-)

Now for a quick update on Christian and Aidan:  They turned 3 at the end of July and we had a big pirate birthday bash complete with friends, a pirate pinata who died a horrible death, a mini water park in our back yard, enough pizza to feed a small army (which we did) and a yummy Dobash cake (mmm, mmm, mmm).  I’d like to say that I took tons of great photos and am sharing them here, but the truth is, it’s really hard to host a party AND be a photographer – so one picture will have to suffice.   Anyway…

I’ve learned something  about Christian and Aidan that I’m sure will prematurely turn my hair gray – they are total dare devil, adrenaline junkies!  We put them in swim lessons and I soon discovered they are fearless.  I mean I sort of knew this all along, but watching them at swim lessons has solidified all my beliefs.  It’s not their performance in the pool that’s got me freaked out so much as what they did out of the pool.  I mean, how many 3 year olds (actually, they were still 2 year olds at the time) do you know who jump off the high dive and come to the surface shouting, “Again! Again!”?  Fortunately, I had the good sense to bring my camera with me that day and was able to document this horrifying event for them (see below).  Seriously, my hands were shaking while I watched them through the viewfinder.  I think they have monster wave riding in their future.

So, the monkey on my back this summer was getting the boys potty trained.  They start preschool in September and are required to have the toilet thing down pat.  Can I just tell you that this is the one task I’ve dreaded since the day they were born?  If it was up to me, I’d probably have them in diapers until they left for college – ok, maybe not, but the thought of getting two boys trained at the same time was about as scary as having a root canal with no anesthesia.  Well, I’m happy to report that all my fears were in vain.  In less than a week’s time, we said goodbye to diapers for good.  Mission accomplished.  Hey, when I set my goals, I reach for the stars, baby!

We’ve got a vacation coming up next week and I’ll make it my life’s mission to post photos from wherever we end up.  Until then,  enjoy!

Aidan giving a reluctant Christian some brotherly love:

No, really, they love being photographed:

Celebrating their 3rd birthday with a Pirate Paaarrty:

Aidan practicing his “airplane wings” at swim lessons:

Catch me if you can!

Contemplating their jump off the high dive:

Christian wondering if this is a good idea:

What the heck!

Christian showing good form:

Wheeee!!!!

Aidan up next:

No fear:

Canon ball!

After class with their completion certificates and chocolate treats:

A sudden down pour:

Aidan catching raindrops:

Christian having a blast getting soaked:

Aidan under a very cool tree:

Christian:

Christian having fun at the spray fountains:

Aidan:

Christian fresh from the kiddie salon:

Silly Aidan:

Hangin’ with their favorite gal pals after swim lessons:

They only look sweet – 2 seconds later they were slapping each other:

Aren’t they the cutest fire fighters you’ve ever seen?

Aidan to the rescue!

Aidan, my little hero:

Someone making a rare appearance in FRONT of the camera:

Someday soon they’ll surf with me:

Enjoy the rest of your summer everyone and thanks for stopping by!