Busy busy busy!

It seems blogging opportunities are few and far between these days... and while I am not complaining (the blog will always be here), my sweet boys are growing up right before my eyes and are a main reason why I don't have the extra energy at the end of the day to record my thoughts on here like I use to.

I know because I like to write, that I'll get back to it more faithfully one day, but for now... it will be in bits and spurts! I appreciate that you still stop in from time to time... and hopefully a continued lull in posting means that life is just busy and full of fun.

For the last couple of months we've been busy with sports! Soccer and t-ball for E, and swimming for both boys on a weekly basis. To add to the chaos, PC and I are both playing ball on separate nights, and on rare occasions, PC even squeezes in some golf.  E is having fun on the fields... he is really getting into t-ball and loves to play defense on the soccer field. H likes to cheerhis brother on and often works on the side lines to hone his own skills!

PC and E both got new bikes this spring so they are learning the rules of the road together when time permits!

A few weeks back we got invited to a wedding on my side of the family. It was the first time the boys had been to a wedding ceremony and all the fun that comes with the reception. They did really well and we had so much fun!

This past week, E had his JK graduation land now I am x-ing the days off the calendar until school is done for him and I don't have to pack his lunch for a whole two months. It's going to be awesome for both of us! He has done really well at school this year and we are extremely proud of everything he has accomplished in his short school career!

H is busy being a little boy... into everything he can get his hands on, talking up a storm and raising hell at every check point! He keeps us on our toes, but we wouldn't have it any other way. I am clinging to his baby ways as I know he is quickly outgrowing them.  We have registered him for preschool in the fall (which also underlines that he is not a baby anymore) - his transition into that program should be interesting to say the least!
 

In the last little while we also celebrated Mother's & Father's Day! I love these special occasions because it reminds me how lucky we are to have our family life and all of its supporting pieces, including our parents who are hands-down fantastic grandparents. PC and I both enjoyed our special days and mainly because of our two boys who remind us daily how lucky we are to be their parents.

All around its been busy, but yet a great couple of months... we are looking forward to vacation time and doing a little relaxing soon. I took this photo on my phone when we were at the cottage on the long weekend in May. It was a gorgeous evening and this shot is one of my faves!

Until next time... enjoy the little things in life.

 

Hudson: Age 2

Sweet lovable Huddy Buddy! Today you are two years old. You are changing by the minute, and your baby days are evaporating before our eyes.

I look back on the last 24 months and wonder where the time has gone. Two years ago we welcomed you into our family as the best Christmas gift we have ever received and today we are gathering family and friends to help you blow out your candles, again, just nine days before Christmas. 

I am amazed at the little man you have become. You started walking in April and by May you were running EVERYWHERE.  You've almost mastered the stairs going up them and now going down them step by step, and often times standing up (with a drink in one hand and a ball in the other). One of your favourite activities is to throw a ball from the bottom of the stairs up to the top and then laugh hysterically as it trickles back down to the bottom.  You could literally do that for hours!

You are a quick boy... if you are thinking about something, you are doing it almost immediately - like getting a knife out of the top drawer to cut open your frozen yogurt treat.  We never had to baby proof the house too much with your brother, but you've ensured that we didn't miss that step with you!

You are now 33 inches tall, and a solid 29 lbs. You have a big appetite. You are not so keen on veggies, but are definitely a meat and potatoes kind of guy. You often eat up your meal quite quickly and then eye your brother's plate beside you as if to say 'are you done yet?'

You are a demanding little man... when you want something, you want it - NOW! If we decide to tell you NO, you take it very hard, but then have this way about you to plead your case on why you have to have something your way.

You are stubborn, yet caring. When you've done something wrong or not nice, we encourage you to say sorry, and you give us the eyes and that lip, but eventually you do make your way over to offer a hug to the person or thing you've done wrong to. Its one of the cutest things to witness (on a daily basis)!

You've started talking a lot more in the recent months.  You definitely have a lot of your own non-audible conversations in a day, but more and more the words are coming together. Our favourite expression of conversation is when we try to put you bed, and you immediately demand 'up, book, rock' in that order! You know what you want, and if your words aren't understood, you resort to a very firm finger point (often pointing towards 20 things, but we eventually narrow it down to 1 and tell you the word for that).

You love to say 'uh-oh' and are getting really good with with 'peas' and 'tank-you'. When we tell you you can't do something for a specific reason you say 'oh' with such cuteness, as if to say, 'I had no idea but thanks for letting me know' - and then you do it anyways! Your favourite animal is a 'woof-woof' and you really enjoy the show 'Jake & the Neverland Pirates' - hence the theme for your second birthday party. When the music to that show comes on, look out dance moves! You love to listen to music and dance with your brother. You've got some pretty cool moves that ladies enjoy!

You are a shy boy! In new situations or in meeting new people, your immediate reaction is hide your head, or cover your face. It takes a while to warm you up to new things but once you are comfortable with a situation, its hard to break you away from it. You have an infectious laugh. When you think something is funny or someone makes you laugh, you usually have the whole room laughing right a long with you.

You like to help out and if we give you a job to do, you are very enthusiastic about it. Sometimes you initiate the jobs on your own - like putting away dishes out of the dishwasher or swiffering the floors!

You are still a good little sleeper... some nights you like to stay up later than your brother but you don't mind sleeping every chance you get. On the weekends and in the evenings you love to play outside but now that the snow is here, you aren't such a fan of getting ready in all the winter gear.

As you embark on your third year, I want you to know how special you are to our family, and how much you are loved. I know you will always be the baby of the family, and I will cling to any opportunity to savour those moments, but at the same time I can't wait to see what this year has in store for you. You are the spark plug of our family, you get us going and bring an element of sass and attitude that we were definitely missing! We love your silliness, and love your determination to succeed!

We are so proud of the little boy you are, we love you so much and are so thankful for the joy you bring to our lives. Thank you for being you... and for being my baby boy! Daddy and I love you today and always. Hugs and kisses little man. 

Love Mom xxoo

24 pounds of TROUBLE!

If there was ever a boy who was put on this earth to keep me on my toes, I am pretty sure its my baby boy!

We are in that stage of discovery and independence, and while this is a great from a one year old's perspective, its wearing on my last nerve as a mother!

 It seems every time I turn around he is into something... I think he believes he was put on this planet to identify the baby loop holes in our house - and trust me, there are many of them!

I guess the biggest challenge for me is believing that he can and will get into something each and every time I am not all up in his grill. His older brother was not that kind of a kid, and still isn't. E's level of mischief is actually pretty pathetic as it isn't worth charting on the holy graph of mischief. However, I can see that H is making up for that.

I try not to compare my boys... because while they are brothers, they are very different personalities and as such require different parenting techniques. But I can't help it! For E, raising your voice just an octave or two got his attention and deterred him from any further destruction, but for H, raising your voice three octaves (or down right screaming your head off) doesn't do anything but encourage him to continue his actions. Once he has it locked in his mind that he wants to do something, I have yet to discover a technique that will change his mind.

This week, H discovered that he's tall enough to pull the door handle open that leads to the basement stairs. When E was in this stage, we kept the door to the basement shut and that was the end of it. We actually only installed one baby gate in the whole house at the top of the second floor stairs for E. But now with H, its a different story. He insists on opening the basement door and I can't trust that he won't instinctively go head first down the stairs, so we took new measures to ensure that doesn't happen - a second gate. 

He's not pleased about it, but at least I can safely contain him to the first floor and do so with peace of mind. Of course... restricting him only triggers the 'what kind of trouble can I cause under her nose' button, and it turns into issues like these... 

But such is life... with a busy boy!

He's not all trouble all the time, every now and again, we are pretty pleased with his actions... like last weekend, before the baptism, he decided to take his first unassisted steps... in the presence of Grandma & Grandpa B too!



We love him to pieces... we just hope, like all parents of a busy boy, that its JUST A PHASE!

 

Dramatic First Haircut!

My baby boy just sheded another layer of his baby days as we took him to get his very first haircut. If it were up to PC this haircut would have happened around the eight month mark, but in my books, it could not occur until after his first birthday.

Why?

Well, no concrete reason of course, but from my standpoint babies don't need haircuts, little boys do... and before turning one I still considered my boy a baby!

H did celebrate his first birthday back in December, but we just got around to scheduling the haircut (with our neighbour across the street) last week!

Prior to the haircut, H had some pretty cute little wings growing .... he was all business in the front, party in the back, but post hair cut he is looking a little more business all around.  I swear with every haircut that E gets, he ages just a little, and the same can be said for sweet baby boy now.  He's a little more of a boy and a less of a baby with this first milestone now under his belt.

The hair cut itself was high drama - you would think we were branding a suspecting cow! One look at the hairdresser - who we know quite well - and H was full of hysterics! He definitely felt the need to audition for the part of 'very upset baby' for the duration of the haircut, but in the end he was all smiles and happy to have a new 'do!

Of course, being the good Mother I am... I snapped a few photos as the drama unfolded. You can see for yourself just how good of a little actor we have on our hands!

 The 'BEFORE'

And let's begin... 

Tricked you... piece of cake!

 

H's First Birthday Party (kinda a big deal)!

Invitation designed by Dolcetto Designs

Although the birthday boy won't officially be 1 until Friday, we celebrated his ONE-derful milestone with a cupcake party a little early.

I tried to keep the party simple and low-key so that the birthday boy could just enjoy his visitors and not be too overwhelmed by all the party hoopla, and it seemed to work well!

H was a perfect birthday boy... he had a decent nap before the party guests started arriving, and he was pretty into his presents and cake too, which put a smile on my face.

I decided a few weeks ago that I was going to attempt to make his first birthday cake.  I did a trial run and it went pretty well so I put on my baking hat and took on the pressure of making a first birthday cake and 30 matching cupcakes for the big day. The cake was by no means perfect, but I was happy with how it turned out and seeing my baby boy dig into it was such a treat! It served its purpose well!

H was spoiled! He is now in toy heaven (and his big bro has discovered that 'sharing' toys isn't such a bad thing when your baby bro comes through with a new haul of boy entertainment)!  The only question now is... what will Santa bring the boy who just got everything?!

Here are some fun pics from the party! I can't hardly believe he is going to be a year old tomorrow - its kinda totally a big deal!

11 Months: Can't sit still!

Whoa! Another month has flown by and my little man has become quite the mover and shaker! Honestly, if you blink for a second, you might lose him! He is go go go, all. the. time.

I remember this stage with E, but not to this extent.  E was content to have some freedom, but didn't really get into any kinda of trouble during his exploration phase.  H on the other hand is willing to push the limits on EVERYTHING! Once he has his sights set on something, if you step in and deter him, he gets pretty vocal about how you've wronged him! Its cute, and his sweet smile is able to buy him a little bit of slack!

He does like to put up a pretty good fight once he does get his hands on something he considers awesome, and it takes a little effort to pry it out of his clingy little hands. Despite his determination, he is still easily satisfied by a change of scenery or some attention from his big bro!

H is still babbling up a storm, and he and his big bro are starting to get a little grabby with each other! It won't be long before the title 'Little Brother', is only going to mean an age gap, and nothing else!

The last month has been a lot of fun to see Hudson rapidly developing and changing. He has finally mastered the sit up from a crawling position, and loves it so much that he spends a good 20 minutes practicing his new moves before giving in to a nap!

He is still the best little sleeper... clocking at least twelve hours per night, and loves his two naps a day. When he is awake, he likes to fuel up on any food he can eat on his own! He has a huge appetite and is definitely a meat and potatoes kinda guy!

Our 11 month photo shoot was mainly done outdoors... as it was 14 degrees outside in NOVEMBER! We have seriously had the best weather lately and I am not complaining as photo shoots outdoors are always much more exciting for everyone involved!

Hudson, at 11 months, you are on the go, and keep me on my toes, but I love being at home with you during this time, and watching you master your milestones. You are such a happy boy, and one that reminds me each day how privileged I feel to be a Mom to such a special little man.  I hope your final month enroute to your 1 year milestone is as exciting as the last 11 months have been for me.

Happy 11 Months Huddy Buddy!

10 Months: Picking Up Cheerios

My baby boy is now 10 months old.

The more I am enjoying my time at home with him, the more I am realizing the reality of returning to work in two short months. I often hear myself telling others, if you want a year of your life to fly by, have a baby! Its sounds a little absurd, but its so true - at least for me! The time is flying by... but let's not dwell on it (right now)!

At the 10 month mark, H is an eating machine... baby foods are almost non-existent. He's onto full blown table food, and is loving the finger foods.  We are having a small issue with cheerios lately. Well... its my issue more than his, but for every 50 cheerios I put on his tray, I am picking up 48 off the floor. Its the age of discovery, where he is entertained by dropping one (or many) items on the floor, over and and over and over again. Meal time gets old fast with this Mommy, but he is LOVING his food. He practically needs a bath after every meal... as he likes to dive into everything he's offered.

H is a whopping twenty pounds... and he's like dead weight if you have to carry him around on your hip for too long. Talk about a forearm workout (problem is my left arm is ripped, my right arm ... flab)! He's solid, but he's so happy and becoming more vocal about everything.  He has the Ma's and Da's down pat... and can associate one with the other. He also likes to talk your ear off ... no matter what the subject, he can definitely share his opinion!

He's on the move too... crawling forward in the army stealth mode and starting to help himself to whatever he's sees at his level. His big brother has been a huge help in making sure he doesn't get into anything that he shouldn't be!

If he's on his game... he can wave hello and goodbye on command! Very cute, and very fun to see him react to something you ask him to do! This boy also has a daily case of the giggles... its one of the best part of the days listening to him focus in one thing and whether its the word 'poop' or his brother running circles around him, his laughter is infectious and can cure any bad mood!

The 10 month photo shoot was lots of fun... we had to wait for the rain to clear up but it was worth the wait.

Hudson, at 10 months, you are such a fun little boy... eager for independence, but satisfied with the life that surrounds you! I love you to pieces my little pumpkin! Happy 10 months!