First day of school!

Today was the first day of the school year!  As always I had to take pictures of these guys all morning to commemorate the first day. 

I walked in to find Mr. Z playing magformers, which are still his favorite toys. 

Then he and I went to get Tahl who was in bed. (At least I thought it was the first time Zev had been in Tahl's room..)

This is actually a happy face.  He thought it was funny that I was taking his picture. 

Then he, of course, told me "I still sleeping." 

Then I heard Zev from the other room tell me, "Hey! Take a picture of this!" He had climbed up here where I had loaded stuff on his bed so I could vacuum his room later. 

When I looked down in Tahl's room, I saw this. This is where Zev lays when he sneaks into Tahl's room before 7. He always brings his own stuff and talks to Mr. T. 

Next it was time for a shower.

After the shower, we went to the kitchen, and the boys each found a new book at their seats. They were so excited to get new books for the first day of school. 

Tahl got "Giraffes Can't Dance".

Zev got one of his favorites from the library, "Superhero ABC."

This is Z with a sign from his school. 

He is so excited and proud to be in pre-k. 

I think he looks JUST like his Uncle Oren (or Unkin Ornin) in this one. 

In these hilarious pictures, he was not yelling out "cheese", but instead "octonauts!" Apparently they make him very happy. 

We stopped in the middle of our picture taking because Buby and Buster woke up at 5:45 their time to call Zev and Tahl to tell them to have a great first day!  Thanks Buby and Buster! 

Tahl was busy reading his book. 

Zev got right back to posing big time.

I love this one. Look at that guy looking right at my camera! So proud. 

He went off to read.

Now it was Tahl's turn to pose. I made the mistake of pointing to my mouth to show him how to smile. Whoops. 

It got better. 

He was so proud of his (Zev's old) pink shirt. He thought he looked really handsome. 

This one of them looking at each other cracked me up. 

They started to get a little crazy now. 

I thought this one was cute of Zev. 

Tahl's smile is just a little fake. 

Tahl made that smile for the promise of a jelly bean. Only the healthiest food for the first day of school.

To go with his jelly bean, he had a bagel and yogurt with blackberries. 

Zev had yogurt and his amazing dad made him an egg in a nest, one of his favorites. 

Finally ended up with a cute one with both boys looking when I wasn't even trying to bribe them. 

Here is T on his way into school. 

In the car on the way, Zev told me that now that he was in pre-k, he liked grown up music.  He then requested to hear "Hey Jude" because it is the longest song in the world.  I think after our big jam session, both boys were in a good mood and really relaxed. 

We walked Zev in, and he didn't really need for us to hang around.  I walked Tahl to his room where he sat down and got right to work on the puzzles. He didn't even cry when I left! I truly could not believe it. 

Tahl's teachers said he cried a little bit later, and that he was a little nervous in gym.  They also said he was so sweet, a great listener, and a great helper.  I was so proud of him.

Zev's teachers also told me he had a great day! They said he only cried when he didn't want the day to be over.  They wrote me a note saying he was a great listener and answered all of the questions they asked him about the story (which is the exact opposite of last year). He was most excited that he went to gym, loft, and to blow the shofar.  He was so happy that he got a noise to come out when he blew the shofar. I hope both boys continue to have such a great year.  I love their teachers, and I know they both already do too. 

Adventure week!

This was the last week before school starts for both boys so I decided to do a week of exciting activities. Around here, we've been calling it "adventure week."

The first day I took both the guys to the dentist. (They were actually excited about this...) Here is Zev sitting in the chair.  They both did great, but I don't have any pictures of Tahl because he got his teeth cleaned while sitting in my lap. 

After the dentist I took the guys to get their hair cut. I think Zev's turned out really cute. 

Tahl was a really good listener.  Here he is looking up when she asks.

I think they did a pretty good job. 

Cute as always

In the afternoon we tested out our new pool raft. Tahl was relaxing. 

Zev wanted his picture taken too.  The new haircut makes him look so cute, but it didn't last for long...

because he is his father's son, so of course, he loves a head band. 

Zev wanted me to make a movie of him jumping in.

Here is a video of Tahl singing.  I'll have to get a better one when he isn't distracted by the water.

This is Tahl in time out.  I put him in the chair, and he said, "That's okay. I like chairs. I'll just be lazy."

On Tuesday, we went with some friends to the arboretum. 

Exploring Alice's tea party at the Mad Hatter's.

Then we went to the new Children's Garden.  It was really cool, and I can't wait to go back and explore it more when we have cooler weather and more time. 

Zev climbed really high in the tree house. 

Tahl could not get quite as high as he was hoping. 

Then all the kids ate lunch out in the heat.

They had a really cool water area that the boys enjoyed. 

Zev really liked shooting these guns to make things go. 

 These guys love a good bridge.  They especially love making people "solve their riddle" before they can cross a bridge. 

After naps that day Zev went to play group.  Tahl and I played with a puppy the whole time. 

Tahl kept telling everyone, "This puppy likes me!" 

He also told me that the puppy should be named "Cookie." He was too cute. 

On Wednesday we went to the zoo with friends. 

 Look at these two holding hands while they walk. 

Tahl is a carousel riding guy now.  He LOVES it. 

On Wednesday afternoon we went to play with a friend. The guys had a great time having a dance party and playing with stickers.

On Thursday we had friends over for the morning.  Tahl and A were playing legos.

H was busy with the airplane. 

Zev was playing legos while also being a king who needed shade... Not ever sure with this guy. 

All the guys spent a long time hugging good bye. 

That afternoon we saw this picture of Harper on her first day of school.  Zev and Tahl ask to look at her all the time now.  After the first time I showed it to Zev, later Tahl told me, "I need to see your phone.  I need to see Harper Barper."  These guys love their cousins. 

Isn't she the cutest?

On Friday morning, the boys went to meet their new teachers. Tahl was excited to go in his new classroom.  He met his new teachers Lori and Shari. His favorite part was the class pet, Henry Hampster. 

He really loved this bear too, but he wasn't so sure about the teachers.  We may have some crying on Monday. 

 Zev was really excited to meet his new teachers, Connie and Laurel.  This is Laurel and Zev snuggling during Shabbat. 

Tahli got to snuggle me during Shabbat. 

In the afternoon we went to get ice cream. 

Zev got chocolate chip cookie dough because it is Ari's favorite. 

 This handsome man asked for chocolate.

He loves to pose.

He and Zev still managed to eat half of my ice cream and all of their own. 

While we were there, Zev said to Tahl, "If you give me a bite of your ice cream, I'll give you a big smooch!" Then Tahl gave him a bite and said, "Thank you for asking." To which Zev replied, "Thanks Tahl. You make me feel special." It was too cute.  While I was sitting there thinking my kids were the cutest ever, Zev started coughing.  When I asked him if he was ok, he said, "Oh yeah, I just sprinkled some pepper on my tongue."  He really just has to try everything...

On the way home, Zev told me,"It's hot enough to roast a marshmallow in here!"  It's a good thing we had already decided to swim that afternoon.

Tahl really wears these sunglasses ALL day. 

These guys were working together to fill up the giant bucket. 

We have lots of fun in the pool. I think we will all be sad when it gets too cold to swim.  Here is Zev "taking Tahl to jail."

We had a really fun "adventure" week. I'm really nervous for the first week of school, and I'm sure I will take lots of pictures of the boys' first day!