Airplane

Not sure what it is... maybe a teething toy?.. Anyway, Luke loves to play with it -- he puts it over his eyes and says "you can't see me!"

The Sling

Yukari received the new sling this week, to carry Ian around town.

Green monkey

Ian and Luke's Aunt Liz and her kids (Alison, Scott, and Olivia) sent some nice gifts for our boys this past week. The one Luke is wearing here is a green monkey towel -- great for after the bath! We couldn't get a shot of the two boys together, with Ian and his puppy toy. Every time I try to get their photo, one makes a face or looks away... Anyway, Luke is much with his towel here that he looks :)

Nap time

Luke and Ian enjoying a nap together, in the warm winter room. Don't worry, they don't actually sleep in the same bed... Yukari just put Ian in bed to wake up Luke -- but it didn't work ;)

Family time in the park

We had a nice day here in Boone today, with temperatures in the upper 40s F (about 8° C). This is the first time that Yukari and Ian have had much time outdoors since he was born a couple of weeks ago.

Wind, mud, and puddles

Luke and I (Paul) go to the Boone Greenway Trail quite often. Of course, it is a great place to walk or watch the ducks, but also I am working on an educational project there with one of my Appalachian State courses this semester -- so I am out there 3 or 4 times a week.

We were over at the Greenway today, and with the melting of snow this week, the ground is very muddy and wet. Luke loves to play in the puddles, and always manages to fall face-first into a puddle or slick of mud.

What to do on a snowy day?

Like most of the country, we have had quite a bit of snow here in the mountains of North Carolina this winter. In fact, I don't believe we have seen the grass in our back yard since early December.

What to do on a snowy Saturday in January? Well, this morning we all got up early and the two boys enjoyed some time together in the living room. Luke loves Ian's "hippo" rattle, so he keeps a close eye on the bassinet -- more for the rattle than for Ian's sake ;)

Then Luke helped me (Paul) outside with some snow shoveling. We snapped a couple of photos, just goofing around in the hallway putting on our gloves and boots. Luke has been wearing Ian's little newborn hat that we got from the hospital last week. Yes, it is too small for Luke's head, but that doesn't stop him from wearing it anyway... He also has a car rear-view mirror that he likes to carry around the house:

We finally did make it outside to shovel a bit:

Ian Wallace

We are so pleased to welcome our son Ian into this world. He was born on January 18th at around 5 in the afternoon. Just a few photos here from his first couple of days:

Fall Colors

The autumn has been beautiful here in the mountains of North Carolina. Luke and I (Paul) often go to the Boone Greenway, where there is a trail and fields for running and kicking the soccer ball around. There i nothing like a sunny fall afternoon for capturing a few photos of a 2-year-old:

Poznań, Poland

Paul (that's me) was in Poland for about 10 days in October, in and around the beautiful city of Poznań. I was traveling with two other faculty members for the College of Education here at Appalachian State University, and we were able to find funding to bring along four teachers and administrators from local schools systems here in western NC. The goal of the trip was to meet with counterparts at the university and local school systems there, to organize cross-cultural projects. We also helped organize a conference at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, where we offered workshops, and I presented one of the keynote talks.

I wan't really expecting Poznań to be such a picturesque city, and very European. In October, the days were clear and dry, with plenty of sunshine. Here are some photos from around the old part of the city:

The K-12 schools we visited were also surprising, in that they seemed to me to be more like museums! Can you imagine going to school in building that are inspirational? With natural light, plants in the hallways, and hardwood floors? We had a chance to talk to many teachers and students, and in particular I remember one student who remarked, "we love our teachers".

Here are some of the photos from K-12 schools we visited in and around Poznań: