Jonah @ 18 months

Pin It Now! Today is Jonah's year and a half marker - pretty hard to believe last year at this time I had a 6 month old baby and wasn't even pregnant with Liam and this year I have my two beautiful babies!
We go to the doctor's in a few weeks for his checkup but I had him get on our scale this morning and it looks like his 28 pounds, my big sack of potatoes.  I had him get on the scale because I was curious about his weight but also because I have had to become a total entertainer/distractor these days to keep him busy/out of trouble.  He is a wonderful boy - SO boisterous and ultra curious - into anything and everything and runs everywhere.

At 18 months - Jonah:
-Loves to eat!  Especially soup with rice and veggies and chicken or ground beef, meatballs, fruit - watermelon, grapes, tangerines, kiwi and strawberries.  His favourite treats are french fries and timbits.
-So far doesn't seem crazy about eggs, cheese (what the heck?) and raisins
-Loves to play outside, runs around, shoots a ball around with his mini hockey stick
-Started talking more and tries to repeat words.  Favourites are: Dada, Hieeeee, Stuck, Duck, Babeee, Meee Mee, Momma, Quack and Moo.
-LOVES to sing and dance.  The boy has rythem.  Bops his little bum around anytime a song comes on the tv, radio, a toy - whatever, he's not picky.  Hums songs all day long, Frere Jaques is his current have.
-Is a sweet soul to his brother, always trying to rock him, put in his soother, say hi - but a bit jealous I think as he's also gotten a little suckier since he's been here.
-Starting to use his own spoon.
-Thinks it's funny to do something naughty then look over and give a HUGE big cheeky smile.  It's hard not to laugh.
-Still a great sleeper, goes down between 6-7 and wakes around 7-8 with one afternoon nap, sometimes two on the weekends.

-Just now starting to play strange if someone new comes to the door or if someone he doesn't know tries to talk to him when we are out.  Still wants to be social but acts a bit bashful now to strangers. 

-Loves to be a helper - particularly with the vacuum! 

-Is really into how things work, super picky about the toys that he finds interesting and really only interested in toys that "do something" (stacking, building etc).  

-Makes me proud to be his mom! 

xoxo

Liam @ One Month

Pin It Now!

One month? Four weeks?  Eek - how on earth did that happen?  I'm glad I remembered really - I am the youngest child so am trying to make a conscious effort not to forget to document things for Liam in the same manner that I did for Jonah -BUT - I do have to say now that I have two - I completely understand how it happens!  And it's not what I would have thought (that I'd be too busy, frazzled, distracted, etc) - it's more that with Liam here we just feel so natural and since we've been through it all before I forget that he's new.  It's like this team of four is an engine that's plugging away together - It is so nice!
So at one month Liam...:
-Sleeps!  The child sleeps!  Praise the Lord.  For sure my favourite habit of his :) - he is a really restful soul, goes down at about 8 or so and sleeps till 3 some nights then back up at 6 or so - other nights will be up at 1 and then again at 5 or so - its nuts and the complete opposite of his brother so completely NOT what i was expecting.  I tend to wake up to check on him if he goes longer than 5 hours but he's gaining weight steadily so I'm not going to rock the boat on that one.
-Lifts his head and neck when he's perched on one of us - has a crazy strong neck, was born that way!  Came out and started peeking around like a little bird.
-Weighs 10 lbs .07oz, and steadily gaining weight
-Still has long little chicken legs and a skinny bum and is still all "curled up" like a pretzel if you unswaddle him.
-Is hairy!  Ha!  Makes me laugh that he has hair all over his body
-Started to look around and focus
-Loves his hands, grasps around his face - I have a feeling he'll have a special blankie or stuffie in the future.

-Hated his first few baths but seemed to like the last one (although he's only had 5 total.  Stinky pants.  I sort of feel guilty about it because it's totally the second child thing happening here but am definitely more laid back this time and he just seems cool with it, I mean he's a boy and boys like dirt right?).
-Becoming a lot more alert during the daytime with lots of coos and squeaks.  Lets us know if he wants a new diaper, is hungry etc.  Likes to eat every few hours during the day.
-Takes his soother and likes to chillax with it during the day and a little bit at night.
-Not really a fan of the car or his swing yet - getting a bit better with both but during the day likes to be flat in his bassinet with his arms above his head.
-Sleeps in his crib at night in the miracle blanket then with a little baby sleeping bag on top for some extra warmth

-Is a pretty great sport considering the amount of poking (Jonah), licking (Ben) and "rocking" (Jonah) that goes on.  We're working on being gentle.

I cannot believe that I have a one month old and an almost one and a half year old!  Jonah turns one and a half on Tuesday, his favourite song these days is the Happy Birthday song so I'm going to do a little something special for him to celebrate ;0) 

Trip down memory lane

Pin It Now! I am so behind in posting layouts on here - so am going to try to slowly get caught up!

I think this pic is from around Sept or so, and the layout is from my scrapping trip in the fall - before Jonah had even turned one and now we're nearing his 18 month mark - crazy to think about!

Lots of my mind's eye on here and I love those canvas rolled flowers.  

Our house of boys is doing great - Liam is a great baby, we call him Benjamin Buttons because he looks like such a little old man sometimes.  Jonah is doing great, practicing lots of new words like Whale (wha-wole), Apple, Shoes (sooos) and Baby (Ba-bee) and the ever popular Duck and Quack noise - I nearly died the other day when I was singing "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands" and his refrain was "Quack Quack!" - funny boy :) 

Special Delivery!

Pin It Now! We welcomed little Liam Glenn into our lives last Thursday April 12th and life with him has been so wonderful and sweet. It honestly does not feel like just over a week that he's been with us, he fits in so well.

I ended up being induced last Thursday - my dr. gave me the choice of being induced then or waiting over the weekend - I was 8 days overdue at that point so chose to go ahead with the induction even though I was wanting to have him naturally - I was just at the end of my rope by that point, SO big and uncomfortable - and rightfully so - the little guy weighed in at 8.5 pounds and an extra long 22 inches!  He is long and skinny - opposite of Jonah who was 8.6 lbs and 20 inches - he is our chubby bunny.  Other than that Jonah and Liam are so similar looking - I see a bit more of me in Liam but overall they are really really similar - I'm thrilled b/c obviously I think Jonah is just the cutest!  And his birthdate allowed for my dear friend Emily to meet him right before she moved to South Africa so the timing was great.

Jonah is having a bit of a tough time with the transition - he loves his bro and wants to look at him, kiss him and gently touch him - but we do notice he's being a little "suckier" than normal - wanting to be picked up, crying on a dime etc - just not his normal happy go lucky self - we are giving him lots of cuddles and attention to help him with the transition and I know pretty soon it will pass but it's heartbreaking none the less.  I keep telling him we love him so much and we are so lucky to have him but he's not even a year and a half old so I'm sure the whole thing is just confusing to him.  He is our little pet though - funnier by the day - he loves having his hair brushed, it's seriously the most adorable thing on earth to watch, his eyes close and he smiles when we brush his hair.  He also loves to dance - if music comes on or if we start to sing he shakes his little booty and turns around.  

Liam is a wonderful baby - I swear I have gotten more sleep in the last week than I got in Jonah's first month of life and I really don't think I'm exaggerating - part of it is that I'm more relaxed I'm sure so when he's sleeping I am able to sleep also but part of it is that he's just easier to get to sleep and stays asleep so far - he's already slept a few nights in his crib which has been great.  It's also worked out that he goes down initially a bit earlier than Jonah as a newborn which is nice because has given Kirk and I a bit of a break in the evenings.  I know that any day his sleep schedule could turn on a dime so I'm thankful for each restful night we have.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

Pin It Now! This is the eve of my due date with baby number 2 - clearly he's following in his big bro's footsteps and going to show up fashionably late and while with Jonah I was itching to go into labour at this time in my pregnancy (or about 2 or 3 weeks prior if I'm being honest) this time around I'm enjoying these last few days of solitude and rest before the baby arrives.  And the fact that I am blow drying my hair while on the laptop.  Two things that I know I may not get to do again (let alone in tandem) for quite some time!

I worked right up till the 11th hour with this pregnancy and this past week it's really hit me (partially) just how much our lives are about to change.  I know I will never be fully prepared for what's about to happen but I just had a lot more time to think about things with Jonah.  With this pregnancy whenever I did have time to pause and think about a baby I just automatically thought of Jonah.  The truth is?  He's turned into a little boy on us!

All of the sudden Jonah is just off and at 'em - he started walking about 3 months ago and never looked back.  His new speed is full fledged run and I joke (sort of) that he has two speeds:  Running and sleeping.  The kid is a wild child.  I do not know where he gets his endless supply of energy - must just be a  boy thing but he does not take after Kirk and I and our couch potato ways at all - even to take a bottle he has to be moving - walking around or twiddling one of his legs or waving his hands.  He is a wonderful, joyful and social boy - just loves to laugh and visit with people.  He loves his daycare which is a huge plus since I can't imagine being home with him and a newborn by myself all day every day - not that I wouldn't love spending the time with him but would literally be a logistical nightmare.  This morning when I was getting ready for the day he figured out how to climb up onto our very high bed and then proceeded to jump head first into the pillows.  Ha!  He also loves climbing onto tables, tupperwares, basically anything he can get his little legs up onto....so while I'm happy to have the flexibility to have him home with me - at least for the first few months of this new babies life I'm happy to have daycare!  

I am proud of how we've worked together as a family since I've been back at work.  I was so nervous for these last 5 months - how we would balance our work lives with our family lives but all of us did really great.  I enjoyed working a lot more than I was expecting (I was actually sad to leave all my friends on my last day!) and Kirk and Jonah were both champs.  Was tough for Kirk I know to have to leave a lot earlier than we had in the past but he did great and Jonah did really well with super long days at daycare.  I'm happy that for the next year I'll be able to keep him on a more flexible schedule.

I haven't been good at keeping up this blog - mostly because one of the sacrifices of going back to work full time was that there really was just less time left at the end of the day - but we did a lot as a family these past few months, went away to Florida for a week and went to Mont Tremblant with my family - both trips were awesome, and I do want to keep this blog up to chronicle the boys milestones - it is such a nice thing to be able to look back upon since life is just continuing to move faster and faster.

I am nervous in a whole different way for this baby's arrival.  All of the things I knew nothing about with Jonah will now be no biggie - changing diapers, feeding etc - and I know I'll be less hard on myself for things I can't control like not sleeping and having a fussy baby etc - I know now from Jonah that newborns cry a lot, and sleep in small spurts, and no book tells you how to get them to stop doing either of those things because to be honest? That's just what they do and they will outgrow it.  What I do worry about this time is having enough of me to go around, to give Jonah the love and attention he has and to give it to a new little person also.  I have to believe that the love we have for Jonah will just multiply and there will be a different place in my heart for this new baby but just as large.

See you soon ;)

Now & Then

Pin It Now! I have been being nostalgic lately - maybe it's because one of my besties is moving halfway across the world (literally - to South Africa!) but it's re-enforced to me how lucky I am to have these ladies in my life.

I remember watching the movie Now and Then when it came out and hoping that me and my girlfriends would stay friends all those years later - we were 14 when the movie came out, and as hopeful as I was it also did seem so far away.  Now - 17 years later we are woman.  Closer in age to the parents in the movie then the kids....eek.  Hard to believe, but true.

This pic recently resurfaced as we were gathering images for a book to give to Em before she goes away - I remember this day so clearly, it was our last big outing just before we all left for University.  We were 18/19 and leaving each other seemed like the worst thing ever.  We would spend every day together, by our lockers, going out for lunch, going tanning at lunch (yuck!) and having lattes and bagels together.  It was pre-Facebook, pre-internet really...most of our evenings of high school were spent on the phone with each other (a landline) for hours on end.  Analyzing, gossiping, talking about what we did that day (even though we were always all together).  It was such a familiar routine.  

Fast forward 12 years and this is us now.  So far there are 4 kids, 4 dogs, 4 husbands and 6 significant others.  We each have our own lives - independent of one another, our own careers, homes, lifestyles.  We don't see each other every day anymore.  But we do stay in touch.  There are little ways we integrate into each others everyday lives.  Through texting, or Facebook, or emails throughout the day, visits when we can swing it.  Remarkably I think we'd all agree that we are closer than ever.  Any pettiness or cattiness that plagued us throughout high school is gone - washed away by girls that have grown together into supportive women.  What's left is a strong group of woman who I'm so proud to call my friends.  

I love that these girls that I grew up with be known by my kids as their Aunties.  So special.

Upside-down

Pin It Now! Our lives right now are upside-down -- not in a bad way, but just in a nutty way!  We made kind of a rash decision that we would do some reno's to our house before baby #2 makes his way here and are now scrambling like mad to get everything done.  Between that and work and family time it's left little time for anything else.
My scrapbooking stuff is stashed away but it will be worth it in the end - part of our renos include finishing our basement with a dedicated craft area - woot!

We have had a great start to 2012 - we visited my parents in Naples - I haven't had a chance to download the pics yet but there are some great ones.  This layout is from our visit prior just before I finished up mat leave.
Jonah is such a funny boy these days - he's starting to really get into playing with toys and figure out how things work.  He also LOVES to eat - tonight we went for sushi and he ate an entire bowl of rice, an entire serving of edamame, some chicken teriyaki and some udon noodles.  Cute boy.
In other news I am obsessed with Pinterest lately - going to add a follow button here on my blog.
Have a great day!