Ahhh ... a beautiful breather

Tonight Steve and I took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese to have a family celebration. We were celebrating two things:
1. Joel giving up his paci (because he lost it - but it still qualifies!)
2. Evan wearing underwear to sleep (no more night-time training pants!)

It was nice to have a fun family night together. We have been having issues with both of the boys (Joel's defiance and destruction; Evan's attitude and actions toward his brother), but they were actually very well-behaved tonight. They had a lot of fun eating, playing and picking out toys with their tickets. They also each got a present from us for this big milestones. (Joel had picked his out as in incentive, but Evan's was a surprise.) They were very excited about the "party", and told us thanks for it afterwards. When we got home they had fun playing with all of the "loot" from the party. They even shared pretty well! All in all, the whole evening was one of those shining moments in parenthood when you have fun with your kids and see how much they are really growing and learning what you are teaching them. I hope that you enjoy some of the pictures from this evening.