where's DD???

At times, Daddy and Mommy worry about not spending enough time with both kids. We make every effort to make sure each one is treated fairly. No favorites here. Both kids are unique and special in their own way. Every parent says that right? At the same time, we also make attempts to spend some one on one time with them and focus on their individuality.

This weekend, Mommy had an opportunity to spend quality time alone with Logan - a very rare event. Mommy pictured having moments of giving Logan her undivided attention, sharing laughs and creating memories only to be known by the two of us. Surprisingly, Logan was not amused at all. Every two minutes, he asked for his brother. It was constant "Where is DD?, I want DD, Let's go Mommy". Instead of taking advantage of having Mommy all to himself, he was sad that DD wasn't with us.

It makes our hearts smile to know that Logan already admires his kuya.

PA Weekend

Day 1 - Dutch Wonderland

All summer we planned on taking the boys to Dutch Wonderland.  But our calendar was filled with other fun family activities that we decided to schedule this for late summer/early fall.  We drove to Lancaster to spend the whole weekend spoiling the kids.  Dylan was thrilled when he found out he can ride EVERYTHING and as many times as he wants.  Logan just followed his brother and proved he is fearless.  It didn't matter which ride, Logan was getting on all of it.  Even though it rained for about an hour, it didn't stop us from standing in line and letting the kids guide our day. The trains, trucks, tractors and airplanes were a huge hit, of course.  But this time, Dylan got to ride his first "big boy" roller coaster with Daddy.  They even sat in the first car.  Dylan thought it was so cool and so much fun.  Luckily, Logan was napping or he would have not been very happy. 

 

Can we sleep in a hotel?

Dylan has a great fascination with hotels.  Whenever we go somewhere far, he asks if we are staying in a hotel... "the room with white beds and a TV and we can call for our food and eat on the bed".  This weekend when we told him we'll be staying at a hotel, he was thrilled.  More so, both boys were excited to share a bed for the first time.  We were surprised at how well they actually did.

PA weekend 2

Day 2 - When we woke up, we told the kids we have another surprise for them.  Dylan couldn't wait and kept asking all kinds of questions.  As we were driving closer to the Strasburg train station, Dylan says, "Look, Logan it's a real train!"  Their surprise was a Day Out with Thomas the Train.  Not only did we ride Thomas the train, but we also got on the Strasburg train for little tour of the Amish country.  The boys were in train heaven.  Every where they looked there were trains everywhere, all different kinds.

Throughout the day, Logan shouted "choo.. choo...!" and "Aaaallll ab-urd!"  We're not quite sure how it's possible, but we can say that Logan is more obsessed with trains than Dylan. Logan, who isn't fond of anything on his head, even kept his conductor's hat on practically the whole day. 

Sixth Sense??

In the last couple of weeks, we've noticed that Dylan has developed a new skill: writing his name like a mirror image. We've been assured by his teacher, Mrs. Parul, that this is normal for his age. Good thing because we were concerned that this was a sign of some sort of sixth sense. ;-)

This is NOT taken in front of a mirror. This is exactly what it looks like on paper.

Sky Manor Airport

After hearing lots of great review about this place, we finally decided to check out The Sky Manor Airport.  We knew that with Dylan's fascination with airplanes and Logan's fascination with anything his older brother considers "super cool", it'll be a hit.  The drive was a little bit over an hour but it was worth the trip.  We started with a little picnic right by the restaurant so we can watch the airplanes as they took off.  Even though the boys were starving, they were too distracted and overwhelmed with having front row seats as they watched the airplanes take off.  One by one, the kids pointed and screamed in excitement as each plane flew right by us.  There were several different kinds that only Daddy and Dylan could really tell the difference.  We were actually surprised at how Dylan easily picked up the differences between the planes. It was a great afternoon even if it drizzled for a bit.  

 

 

First Day of School - 2011-2012

Today was the boys' first day back in school - Dylan as a Pre-K and Logan a little Pre-schooler. Daddy and Mommy took them to school and, of course, took a bunch of pictures to document this milestone. (Did you expect anything less?)

Our day started off with a hearty breakfast at home. Daddy went to Jefferson Diner to pick up some pancakes, sausages and eggs. Dylan requested for hot chocolate (his new favorite thing to drink.. just like Blu from Rio).

After breakfast, we gave them their new lunch bags and put on their rain boots. Both were quick to point out how heavy their bags were! Yes, because you boys eat A LOT!

It was a little bit harder for Logan to go back to school this time since he's been enjoying being home with Mommy. He was a little bit clingy (okay, a lot) for the past few days and we knew he would need some time to get used to being in school again. Last night, when we asked him if he misses Ms. Amy, he replied with his cutest "yesh". We know he'll be just fine. Before leaving Logan, we had to let his teachers know to keep an extra eye on him because he's currently in the stage of hitting and pushing anyone who gets in his way. We may just have a future bully in our hands. When Mommy picked him up today, Ms. Amy said Logan was actually pretty well behaved. There was only "one or two incidents, but he stopped".

Dylan was surprisingly excited to go back to school. He even told us that he's missed Ms. Parul. He got up early and got ready. He also picked out what he was gonna wear (which then Logan also wanted to wear the same thing). Dylan was even more psyched about wearing his new rain boots to school (and, of course, so was Logan). On our way to the school, we went over the rules: no hitting, kicking, or being mean; you have to share and always answer Ms. Parul, Ms. Nancy, and his other teachers are talking to you; you have to look after your brother. After he got that all down, he said, "Don't worry Mommy, I'm not gonna cry when I go to school cuz I'm a big boy now. You shouldn't either." And he was right. This time, there was no crying. Can't say the same for Mommy, though.

Just before we had to say bye to our butterball

Logan, the little teacher's pet, sitting with Ms. Parul.
To their right is Logan's teacher, Ms. Amy.


Left: Dylan dancing during the "Get up and Dance" song.
Right: Sitting with his friends Kayla and Oliver during circle time.

When Mommy picked them up, they were still sleeping and not ready to talk about school. Luckily, Daddy was already waiting for us at home (yay, for coming home early) and Dylan told us about the book they read (appropriately about going back to school), his new friends, the songs they sang and what colors he used for the different shapes he had to color.

It was an overall great first day of school (even though it was raining all day) and we can't wait to see what new things they'll learn and discover this year!

Liberty Science Center on Labor Day

It was a rainy "last day of summer" so we headed to the Liberty Science Center where we knew the kids would have a great time exploring and discovering new things. We spent most of our time at the I Explore where the kids played with the rice box, rock xylophone, and ball machine. After convincing the kids to check out other parts of the science center, we visited "Wonder Why" and played with the largest bubble maker we've ever seen! A hit for the boys were the huge swimming fishes and turtles as well as the water and sediment model of Hudson River.

Dylan's photoshoot

It's about time we brought Dylan for his 4 year old photoshoot. It only took Mommy a month to finally schedule an appointment during her time off. It was an adventure to say the least. Mommy was alone with both boys and we were there for a little over two hours. The boys were kept busy with lots of snacks, juice, trains and a few bribes. Overall, the boys did great and we got some awesome pictures of our 4 year old.

Dylan did great with the photographer and she got lots of great shots. Here are three of our favorites: