Gabey turns 3!

I can't believe it! Our little boy is 3! We had a great time celebrating with a bunch of his playgroup friends. I decorated the playroom in a "Thomas the Train" theme, of course... and set up "stations" around the room for kids to move around and explore. We had a coloring station, a watercolor painting station with Thomas pictures, a game station, a reading station, a snack station, and of course the train table and other train tracks set out. The kids seemed to have a great time and it was a fun way to celebrate!

Happy Birthday, Gabe!

the party room!

birthday boy!

painting station

Noah was pretty stoked to dress up in Gabey's Thomas Halloween costume

and be the door greeter!

Thomas tunnel from gma S!

I even painted some craft paper to look like actual tracks...

the kids loved it!

Pin the funnel on Thomas!

the train hoarder himself

the cute party guests!

the big kid table!

happy birthday boy with his blue cupcake!

his generous friends and the gifts!

birthday song :)

Aunt Chrissy Visits!

Aunt Chrissy came to visit us for a few days around Gabe's birthday and we had a lot of fun.  I'm pretty sure the boys love her more than me, so it might be a good thing that she lives so far away!  Seriously, though... she's amazing with the kids and it's so nice for them to have that connection with her.

We had some city adventures while she was here, which was a nice break from our daily routine! We hit some fun playgrounds, restaurants, and museums... and had some nice down-time just hanging out at home too. 

Come back and visit soon, Chrissy... we miss you!

fun with Chrissy at the playground!

Shake Shack for lunch!

Noah making pizza at the Brooklyn Children's Museum

pizza delivery!

Dad, the Chinese dragon!

Gabe, the grocery clerk

Noah, the bus driver

 Gabe, the executive

Noah, the costume designer

crazy boys in the sand pit

fun with shapes and patterns

best buddies

(for a second!)

water fun!

Yellow Belt Testing

Our after school activity schedule got a little intense this winter! It was fine, though because I felt like it got us through some long, cold days. We continued karate, which he is really loving still. He recently tested for his yellow belt, which was really exciting. This has been a great way to get a lot of his aggressive energy out in a positive setting. He tells me he still wants to continue through yellow belt... which apparently means sparring, bow staffs, and nunchucks. YIKES!

warming up!

watching the cool green belts test for purple belts... awestruck!

a little ice cream to celebrate!

Fun day at the Central Park Zoo!

This winter was kinda rough! We were plagued with a nasty stomach bug that everyone in our family seemed to get twice! Noah was the last to finally get it and it definitely took a toll on all of us. So, after getting a phone call from Noah's school that he was sick and needed to be picked up, we were quarantined once again. The next day was a half day for his school and the weather forecast looked amazing. After we determined that everyone was feeling much better, we ditched school and headed down to the Central Park Zoo. We needed this day SOOOO badly! It was the perfect zoo day -- not crowded at all, the animals were all out, and the boys were so ready for an adventure after being cooped up for the past few weeks. I really needed it too! Our daily routine can get so monotonous and it's just nice to break away every once in awhile and do something fun and different. We made a day of it as we picnicked afterwards and then hit a fun playground. Such a great day to re-charge our batteries and look forward to spring!

checking the map

penguins!

seals

polar bear!

the red panda was even out!

a little lunch

some tree-climbing

hanging out on the lawn

awesome slide at a nearby playground

topped off with ice cream!

Noah's Piano Recital

Noah has been taking beginner group piano lessons after school once a week and they had their first recital a few weeks ago. I thought group classes would be a great introduction to music lessons for him because he is such a social kid and that would be a great motivator. So far it has seemed to work out well. But I will have to admit that it's been funny to catch myself getting WAY too involved in his practice time. He gets really frustrated if I hover or correct him too much and then refuses to practice. (hmmm... flashbacks to my beginning piano studies with my dad?!?) So, I've had to take a step back and find some balance with my involvement in his practice time. I'll be honest, it's been pretty hard! But he pulled off a great performance at the recital and I was super proud!

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relaxing with his buddies before the performance!

"Hot Cross Buns"

the very dramatic bow!

(much rehearsed by the teacher)

supportive little bro

post performance pic!

the piano class!

Noah and Ms. Chang

"Hot Cross Buns"

(so sad I cut it off before the ending bow... so cute!)