Tools

Lance continues to love working with tools. When he's not working with Daddy using the real thing, he's happy banging away with his plastic and wooden versions on his workbench (or the bookshelf in this case...)
He has made it clear over the last several months that he does NOT like loud, noisy machines at all. Lawn mowers, electric saws, vacuum cleaners, magic bullets...etc. are not this little guys' favorites. Lucky for him, Stef hooked him up with some bright orange ear muffs which he is happy to don whenever necessary!

Brotherly Love

One of the highlights of the last four and a half months has been watching the relationship between Lance and Kiran develop. From the get go, Lance has been incredibly loving toward his little bro. He voluntarily gives Kiran hugs and smoochies at random times throughout the day. He lovingly gets annoyed with Kiran's constant wiggles and has recently started demanding that Kiran "stop it! stop it, KK! No kicking!" when he wiggles his legs too close to his big bro.
Kiran loves to watch Lance play and is a good sport when Lance climbs in his crib with him when he wakes up crying for mommy after a nap.
Lots more ups and downs to come, I'm sure, but this is the scene I was lucky enough to witness this morning.

Tucked In

One of Lance's new pastimes is to make comfy beds for his stuffed animals and other friends. He loves to lay out his blankies nice and neat and tuck his loved ones in. Here he is with Elmo, Sassy the mermaid, and two trio block creations all set up on the couch with pillows and Lance's blanket- ready to read some stories before dinner.

Brothers at Bathtime

Special Time with Pops and Elisi

Pops and Elisi made a trip out to Hawaii for Lance's birthday and we were able to enjoy several days with them.
Highlights included a picnic dinner and fishing on Coconut Island, setting up and playing with Lance's new lego train set, reading books, working with tools, swimming together in the ocean and pool, and some major love fests between Kiran and Pops. We caught two wonderful moments on video- so special for me to be a part of these relationships!





And, of course, captured the fishing master at work with his pupils...

Noodle Mustaches

Spaghetti for dinner provides all kinds of opportunites for fun.

Lance is Two!

We celebrated Lance's second birthday this weekend with friends and family and a birthday party at our place. For weeks leading up to the big day, Lance was talking about the fact that he was "gonna be TWO!" and was ready to recite his birthday wishlist which included a fishing pole, a new potty seat (suggested by yours truly) and a drum.

That said, Lance knew his birthday would be a special day, but I don't think he expected the fun and excitement he would experience at his party. All of his best buddies came over for a fantastic morning that included a treasure hunt, a pinata, hot dogs, birthday cake and time to play with new toys.

Stef worked his artistic magic, once again, to create a dump truck pinata, and watching a bunch of toddlers whack it with a stick was some real entertainment! Lots of smiles all around.

Pops and Elisi were here to share in the special day and to provide and incredible amount of much needed help. It was real treat to have them!

The best part was that Lance TOTALLY got it. He knew it was his very own special day and couldn't have been happier about it.

The past two years have been so full of love. Here's to lots more!

To watch Lance's pure joy and excitement, here's a quick video of the birthday song for our two year old..