Noah turns 4!

Noah turned 4 a few weeks ago and we celebrated by having a soccer party with his friends! It was a total hit and the kids had a blast. We decorated sport cups for our "water break", did some stretches, played "Simon Says", ran a few drills, and then scrimmaged! It was fun to watch how competitive some of these little guys are already. And one of Noah's little friends came out of nowhere with some serious soccer skills! He was dribbling down the field, scoring goals like a pro. After the game, we had bag lunches and soccer cupcakes.

I can't believe my little guy is already 4! When did this happen? I'm really loving 4... he's turned into such a great little helper and really is an amazing big brother. We're excited for some serious 4-year-old adventures.

Noah and Eddie ready for some soccer action!

Ella and Aubrey decorating their sport cups while waiting for more guests to arrive!

getting name tags...

ready for some soccer fun

stretchin' it out!

Gabey gets in on the action

Gabey's party date, baby Violet!

a few drills...

water break!

time to scrimmage!

a little extra coaching

GOAL!

a little lunch

and a cupcake!

kicking practice!

Great Wolf Lodge

We decided to take a little family trip with Noah's BFF, Eddie and his family this spring break. The boys had 2 weeks off from school and we needed some kind of distraction from the 'Heights, so we headed to the Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos! And what a distraction it was!

I'm pretty sure the masterminds behind the Great Wolf Lodge had like 6 kids of their own and had gone on enough family trips to realize that the best time of the whole trip was at the hotel pool! So, they capitalized on that idea and created the Great Wolf Lodge, a massive indoor water park in a giant lodge where you wouldn't ever find a reason to leave during your entire stay. If any of you have ever been to a Great Wolf Lodge (apparently it's a chain... genius!) then you know exactly what I'm talking about. The place is completely self-sufficient and kid-friendly with an arcade, a pizza place, an ice cream parlor, and food stands all within feet of the water park (they even had a spa for the moms and tweens!). So you could check in and never leave until your check out time...

The boys were pretty much stoked about the whole adventure. We even booked a suite with Eddie's fam so they could have a little slumber party and maximize their time together (which was funny because they totally crashed within seconds of hitting their pillows from exhaustion). Their jaws dropped as soon as they saw the giant water slides and water adventures that were ahead of them and they pretty much played non-stop until dinner time. We went back the next morning for some more water fun and the excitement continued. Noah and Eddie even went on the huge water slides with their dads... which, btw I had no desire whatsoever to try... and had a blast.

I had a serious Great Wolf Lodge hangover from that place on the ride home. It was so loud in the water park and there was so much stimulation that I got a crazy headache. One night was definitely enough to enjoy the whole experience! But, we're glad we went. Noah had such a great time and continues to ask weekly, "Can we go to the Great Wolf Lodge again?" To which I usually answer... "maybe next year!"

here are the pics:

so excited!

weeee!

water b-ball!

did I mention how much fun Gabey had?

re-fueling

so awesome!

nothing beats the breakfast buffet!

splashing around with mom

drying off with dad

the lazy river

the arrival

the boys in action!

Gabriel Turns 1!

We celebrated Gabriel's 1st birthday a few weeks ago. I can't believe this kid is already 1! The last 6 months have seriously flown by. I'm pretty sure he turned into a toddler the day of his birthday because it seems like he's 1 going on 3 now. He decided to start walking the week before his birthday. He's now running, climbing, dancing, signing, talking (in what sounds a lot like Hebrew), and doing lots of pointing. He also refuses to be spoon-fed any kind of food and demands an adult-sized utensil at every meal. He's pretty easy going most of the time, but definitely knows how to throw a tantrum when things aren't going his way. He's a total daddy's boy and loves his big brother. He follows him everywhere! They play together really well but when the occasional argument arises, Gabriel knows how to hold his own (i.e. pulling hair, pinching, and full-body tackles are some of his favorite moves). He is a really fun little guy to have around and we're glad he's part of our family!

first words: da-da, ma-ma (finally!), hi, no-na (Noah)

favorite food: shredded cheese, avocado, cottage cheese, apples, black beans

favorite song: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"

favorite book: "That's Not My Truck"

favorite toy: talking Elmo doll, mommy's keys

favorite naughty activity: turning the computer off, unplugging the TV (usually when he wants attention!)

first signs: "all done", "milk"

We had a great time celebrating his birthday with family and friends. Here are some pics from the festivities:

Gabey walks!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Hi everybody, Noah here. I couldn't think of what to get my mom for her birthday and my dad had some lame ideas about flowers or making her a card so I decided to take matters into my own hands and hack into her blogger account. You see, I'm a child of the 21st century so even though right now I write all my letters on top of one another and my stick figures look more like spiders with multiple limbs coming out of the same place, computers allow me to overcome the limitations of my fine motor skills and verbal abilities.

So, for my mom's birthday I'd like to tell you all some things that make my mom great. First of all, she is incredibly patient with me and my little brother. I mean, we go out of our way to make her life difficult. This isn't malicious in any way, it's just what we're supposed to do and trust me we are good at it. In fact, Gabriel may be better at it than I am (he's a quick learner). She's also really good at dealing with my dad, who, let's face it, is not well in the head. I'm pretty sure that med school and residency has turned him into some sort of medical robot so that he knows fancy words but none of them make any sense. The good thing about this is that he pretty much does whatever mom says but otherwise he's really not very useful in any way I can see. I mean it would be one thing if he made good money but we all know that hasn't happened. The best thing about my mom, though, is that she is really, really interested in me and everything about me. I mean I can tell her anything that I did during the day that I thought was interesting and it's like I discovered penicillin. I never have to worry that she's going to be there when I need her, I feel safe and taken care of and she also lets me express my individuality, supporting my clear talent for dance with great enthusiasm. So, here's to you mom, happy 31st birthday and thanks for being the best mom an almost 4-year-old could ask for!

Also, here's a video my dad made me make. Don't worry about Gabriel screaming in the background, it's not because I knock him down 10 seconds into the video, he just can't stand that I look better on camera. Plus, you'll see, he freezes up when the camera is on. Anyway, my poor dad, he's really grasping at straws for presents this year and is using me and my brother to try and get away with not getting her anything good. . .

Spring...

is almost here!

we celebrated by hitting the playground everyday this week so far...

It's crazy to think that we were in the middle of this just a week and a half ago!

as fun as the snow was, we're SOOOO glad the warm weather is here... hopefully to stay!

Art in the Park

We headed down to Central Park last week with Noah's bff, Eddie to {finally} enjoy the rising temps and check out the craft and "Art in the Park".

We had a great time at the playground. Gabriel was so excited to be able to crawl around on the padded ground -- he could hardly contain his giant grin! Noah and Eddie had a blast on the climbing ropes and walls. I had forgotten what a great playground 110th & CPW is especially for an almost toddler and pre-schooler... we'll definitely be returning soon!

Then we headed over to the Discovery Center for to craft some birds out of pinecones, puffballs, feathers, and googly eyes! Noah is totally into crafts right now and he LOVED this project. He got to make one for him and Gabey which was double the fun.

After we worked our bird-making skills, we wandered over to the Harlem Meer to watch the ducks. We sang "Five Little Ducks" and watched them come up to us and beg for food. Noah and Eddie argued over whether they were ducks or geese and then we headed home.