Aidan rides a two wheeler

ONE

This summer Aidan learned to ride a two wheeler for the first time. I was on the phone with mom and and decided to only grab the camera once Aidan built up a little confedence. The play by play I gave my mom on the phone was a bit as if Aidan hit a home run in the little league world series. I remeber saying something like: "Kyle is holding onto the seat, Aidan is on the bike trying to get his other foot on the pedal, they' re going.....OH MY GOSH HE DID IT!!!!". Aidsan took off on the first try. By the end of 30 minutes Aidan learned to get on and do the turns by himself. The summer of 2008 is going down in history for Aidan.

Two

Three...and he's off.

Beach babes

Although I do not LOVE the sun, I do LOVE the beach. It is such a dream to live a hop, skip and a jump away from the Long Island Sound. This beach is amazing. It is a sea of shells and soft sand. Aidan and Ethan love everything Penn Field beach has to offer.

The birds are a little aggressive. Aidan no longer leaves his snacks laying around.

Aidan could not resist climbing the life guard tower.

Ethan thought about climbing it too....

Aidan looking at a seaplane go by in the sky.

It's fun to see how Aidan and Ethan's minds work. Aidan figured it out that he could fill his bag quicker by scooping up the shells. Ethan was being more selective with his picks.

Preschool

Essentials of a preschooler: a cool lunch bag with a healthy lunch ( water in a Sigg bottle, turkey cheese on whole wheat tortilla roll, grapes and carrots), his favorite t-shirt ( thanks grandma and grandpa) and his favorite blue leather shoes.

Aidan practice raising his hands before entering class.

Our big man goes off to preschool.

Miss. Donna introduces Aidan to the class.

School is so much fun. On the first day Aidan learned about the color red. He also took part in helping a classmate Daniel celebrate a birthday (which is where the mask came from). This is how Aidan came out of class at pick up time. A totally different kid. I hardly recognized him.

Our family arrived in Connecticut the week school started. I scrambled to get Aidan into preschool. Not only were all the great programs full, Kyle and I first had to decide which schedule and location would best benefit our family and Aidan. The A to Z preschool program has been just right. I love the teachers who are animated the entire class duration. The way Miss. Donna introduced Aidan I felt like he was the star of a play. The nicest part about the program is that the teachers make an effort to make each child feel special each time they are spoken to both on an indiviual or group level.

Silly Family photo

Bitting is our name being silly is our game. 30 days in a hotel is a bit more than any mother can ask for. This self portrait of the four of us perfectly reminds me of how great our boys have been during the times of transition. How they without their help to be able to roll with the punches our move from Zurich would have been nearly impossible. There was a three week span where they were in four different countries. I'm back tracking our blog updates. Stay tuned to see more pictures of our vacation city hopping along the Italian coast, how September 11th has a whole new meaning to us and what a great destination Trumbull, CT is to call "home".

October 2008

Here are the most recent photos of Aidan and Ethan for those of you who are going through withdrawls. Our first Halloween in the States was a blast.

Hay ride

The cutest scare crow I've ever seen!

Too heavy...

Just right!

Making crafts for grandma.

Warning: Three week transition

As soon as I post this blog, the computer will be shut down. The movers are due to arrive in a half an hour. The move is a two day schedule. Packing today where they wrap and protect, protect, protect all our treasures and the actual load in the container/ truck tomorrow. Starting Wednesday morning we will no longer have a home address or telephone number. Doesn't it sound like we are checking into some retreat for R&R after a burn out? Almost, since my sister Thanh and husband Brian are the best hosts in the world at their beautiful home on the river and scrumptious home cookin’. They are an active duo which perfect for our boys. Aidan and Ethan will spend a fabulous five days with aunt Thanh and uncle Brian while Kyle and I jet off to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary on a house hunting trip in Fairfield, Connecticut. I can’t wait!!!

Please note that during this time of transition we will be reachable best via email.

Swiss Family photo

Dear Swiss Family,

Four years, newly married, two kids, a whole new culture, new best friends and a breathe of experiences, what more can we ask for when looking back on all that our family has accomplished while living in Switzerland? There is so much to speak of we would like to focus on just one topic – the people. The people we have met while living in Zurich are like family (due to the European holiday schedule, not all members could make the family photo shoot). Together we celebrated births and birthdays, multicultural holidays and worked together to build the support of a great village in which it takes to raise our children. We love your smiles and your sincerity.

We would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your resilient support. Your phones calls and help in every form during the past weeks have made this move possible. We will miss you immensely and hope to meet again soon. This is not a good bye but an invitation to “see you on the seaside”.

Lots of love and respect –The Bitting Family