Happy Birthday to Tyler!

Thanks to Gema and Grandpa, Tyler's birthday party was a real success. The cake was fantastic and without any hint of gluten! Here is the actual singing of Happy Birthday, and it was so nicely sung by even Tyler, himself!

Party Time

Here is a video that documents Tyler's 2nd birthday party in Newton. Gema and Grandpa generously allowed 17 children into their home for pizza and ice cream cake (great cake!). We had a nice, but chilly (45 degrees) morning outside on a dinosaur scavenger hunt and bean bag toss, and soccer and tunnel time, and hula hooping and T balling, and then we warmed up in the house for the real eating extravaganza. Tyler did great as the center of attention. He really seemed to love every minute.

Tyler Travels to Boston

The jet setting Tyler had another trip to Boston this weekend for Passover. Gema unearthed a castle from Jon's childhood which kept the kids occupied for hours. The piano was another big hit, solo and with cousin, Kenny. During his birthday party, he got to meet some new friends, like Bella, the duaghter of Mike's good high school friend, Alex, who is living in Providence, RI.

Bubbe Obi

We just returned from a fantastic trip to Boston where the boys enjoyed time playing with Gema, Grandpa and especially, Obi! In these shots, Sam and Tyler decided to make Obi very cozy with his blanket and then everyone lay down for a rest together.

Present Time with Martha

Here you can see the amazing amount of presents that Martha brought for Tyler...he is so spoiled! He loved every one and even let Sam help in the opening.

More Cake

Here are some more shots of the boys loving their pink cake! Go Piesmans!

Tyler's 2nd Birthday

When I asked Sam what kind of cake we should make for Tyler, he didn't skip a beat, he said, "Strawberry cake with pink frosting..." Hmmmm....No matter, we made it, he loved it! He also enjoyed all of the great gifts, here you can see him showing off some of his favorites to Sam.

When the Cat's Away, the Mice will Play...

While Mike and Tyler were galavanting in California, Sam and I were enjoying a lovely weekend alone in San Antonio. Despite the bad weather that we experienced here in Texas, we still managed to have loads of fun. We went to see the play, The Moose and the Muffin with our friends, Owen and Noah, and then played in the playground with them after the show. The highlight was getting a high five from the moose! On Sunday, Sam and I went to the zoo and saw the new Africa Live exhibit. In one part, the birds literally walk right on top of your feet! Although we missed Mike and Tyler, it was really a nice weekend for Sam and I.

More California Trips

Tyler even got to go to the beach while he was in town. He enjoyed the sand, but seemed a bit skittish about the waves and the ocean. Hopefully, by this summer, he will be nearly ready to surf.

Now Trying to Impress Michelle

You can see how much Tyler adores his cousin, Michelle. Just look at the way he gazes up at her and gives her those big, cheeky smiles. Michelle is actually a great pianist (see earlier blogs from August, 2009), so hopefully she will be able to teach him a few tunes as he develops his musical ear.

Tyler and the Piano

Tyler had a nice time amusing himself with the piano in California. After only a few tries, he really figured out all of the buttons. Here is one of his prize pieces.

Tyler's Trip to California

Tyler and Mike had a male bonding trip to Los Angeles last weekend. According to Mike, Tyler was a great traveler, sleeping on both legs of the airplane trip, waking up at 4 AM most mornings raring to go, and being a wonderful eater (to Polina and Grisha's delight). Here are some shots with Boris and Grisha.

Bernoulli's Equation

Sam learned a bit about air and gravity today at the museum. He had a literal 'ball' trying to make this beach ball stay up as he slowly moved the column of air in one direction and then another.

Dinosaurs Unearthed

Here is some video from the actual exhibit. Sam was a bit wary of the big dinosaur moving at unpredictable intervals, while Tyler wanted to get in to touch each dinosaur personally. Amazing how different two boys can be at times...

Dinosaur on Broadway

The Museum of National History here, called the Witte Museum, has a new exhibit, called "Dinosaurs Unearthed" and wouldn't you know it, they landed right on a major intersection, at Broadway and Hildebrand. The boys were so in awe of the outdoor T-Rex, I thought I would never get them into the exhibit (which would have obviously been more cost effective). This life size one moved and roared every few minutes, so we spent a great deal of time hanging out on the street corner prior to ever going inside.

Play Catch

Here is the quintessential big brother game of catch, it goes something like this: "Tyler, do you want to play catch? Say Yes. Yes. OK, catch. Oh, you weren't facing me? That's OK, I'll throw it yet again at your back..." Ugh, thank goodness for older brothers...

Haircuts

Here are some before and after pictures of the boys pre and post her haircut...courtesy of Papa.

The Hip Hop Piesmans

This morning, after a great Challah French Toast breakfast, the boys burned off some energy with a hip hop dance party. As you can see, Sam has a new type of 'white man's overbite', we like to fondly refer to it as the 'stick out the tongue and groove'. Tyler is even getting into the action. Mike really needs to work with them if we can hope that they have even a bit of the rhythm that he has!

Singing to Nemo

Here is Tyler singing a bit to Nemo. In the middle of Do-A-Deer, you can see that Tyler is a bit dismayed as Nemo seems to be swimming away from his show. I think he says, "Nemo...look!" to try to grab his attention again. I think he intends to be a lunge singer when he grows up (Tyler, not Nemo).

Chilling in the Classroom

After the Purim/Shabbat celebration, Tyler was invited by Sam to his classroom for the Kiddush and the Motzi. Sam had a costume malfunction after a trip to the bathroom!

Purim at School

This year we had Haman and King Achashvaros grace our presence here on Fawn Bluff. Sam really wanted to be Haman, so we created a menacing costume, although the most authentic part, the beard and moustache, were too itchy for Sam to endure. We recycled Sam's costume of 2 years ago for Tyler, surprisingly, he loved it just as much as Sam.