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First smiles

Guess who has a social smile?

A visit from Auntie Danielle

Last weekend Danielle came to visit. It was wonderful to be able to spend time with her and have her get to know the boys. Sorin was very comfortable with her, playing nicely and reading books. And Rian was happy to snuggle (except when I went out on Monday--but Danielle handled the screaming well:).


On Saturday we all went downtown on the subway and walked a street fair. Sorin enjoyed a hot dog and spent time in the Washington Square Park playground. Danielle and I both got new shades.


Sorin was exhausted after our adventure, but as usual refused to nap. He later fell asleep on the couch, and woke up to greet Aunt Nicole and Uncle Aaron in a bit of a funk.


On Sunday we got to see Heath for brunch (he's here for a conference).


Danielle (with Sorin's help!) also made us a delicious dinner.

The boys

I thought this picture was too cute not to post!

Who's who?

We've been trying to figure out who Rian looks like. I was sort of expecting him to look just like Sorin, but he really doesn't. And there really isn't any question that Sorin is a mini Thadeous! This weekend I found a baby picture of myself and was surprised at how much Rian resembles me then. So it seems I have a mini-me as well! Judge for yourself...

Happy Birthday Sorin!

Sorin turned 3 on May 10. Despite the new addition to our family, we tried to celebrate in style. Sorin and I baked cupcakes to bring to the Yellow Room on Friday.


On Saturday, Oma, Opi, Nonna (who brought the gorgeous purple cake!), Nonno, Aunt Nicole, Uncle Aaron, Thadeous, Rian and I all feted our big boy.

A baby brother

We have a new baby! Well, he's not so new anymore, but I've been a bit busy:). Rian Dennis was born on April 28th at 10:47 pm weighing 7 lbs 7 oz. He had a bit of trouble transitioning to breathing air so he spent a few days in the NICU, but he quickly improved and came home on May 1. Sorin had a bit of trouble transitioning to being a big brother, but that's also improved over the last few weeks. Sorin loves to show everyone "his new baby" and likes to help Rian when he cries. Having a toddler and newborn is infinitely more challenging than I ever imagined. Thankfully my Mum was here for 4 weeks, which was a HUGE help. Here are some pictures of Rian's first few weeks:

The boys meeting for the first time:




With Dada, Oma, Opi, Nonna, Nonno, Grandpa Efer, Auntie Nicole/Uncle Aaron, and Aunt Juliet/Liana:









The boys hanging out:


Rian's first bath (not a big hit!):


Our first major outing as a family (to Central Park with Emily, Jerry, and Jacob):

Happy Birthday Giselle!

Birthday party weekend

This weekend Sorin went to TWO Birthday parties! On Friday evening we celebrated Joao's 3rd Birthday on the 38th floor of Scholar's. Joao and his family recently moved here from Brazil and he and Sorin have become good friends in the Yellow Room. Like Sorin, Joao is very into cars, and the theme of his party was from the movie "Cars." The boys basically spent most of the time running around the (thankfully empty) space like nuts and pretending to fall down.


On Sunday we celebrated with Liana, who turned 1 this weekend! Sorin was very excited to hear that Marcia the Moose would be there. We saw her last year at Katie and Erika's party, although I doubt he remembers. She was very entertaining. Interestingly Sorin, who is normally quite reserved in settings like this, got right into the thick of things by the end.

Sleep-over

Last night Thadeous and I "went away" to the W Hotel (our mini-version of a babymoon) while Aunt Nicole and Uncle Aaron came to our place for a sleep-over. Sorin had a blast! He didn't bat an eyelash when we left, and we were told he never asked for us and was very good at showing them how things work. I hear there was pizza and playing, and apparently a good time was had by all. Tonight before bed Sorin asked where Auntie 'Cole and Uncle Aaron were. I told them they were at their house, and he said he wanted to say goodnight--so cute!

Taekwon-Do

There was no gymnastics on Saturday since it was spring break, so Thadeous and I thought it would be fun to do a trial Taekwon-Do class at a new school that opened near by. As a martial arts enthusiast and practitioner, Thadeous was very excited. Sorin was a little wary at first (and it didn't help that the two other little boys in the class were having major melt-downs). But Master Dawn was very skilled at working with children and he quickly got into it. After a warm-up they did running/jumping/punching (yes, all at once!) exercises that Sorin was amazingly good at. They then punched and kicked (with control) a bag, and ended with breaking his very fist board! All in all it was a great success, and we may just have to enroll him!