Mother's Day Tea

Owen's school hosted a Mother's Day tea & I was crazy excited to attend. All week Owen and I would talk about how fun it would be when I get to go to his school watch him perform in the concert and hang out together afterwards eating cake & drinking iced tea :) He was so excited to surprise me with the songs he learned and give me the Mother's Day gifts he created. I always talk about how much I LOVE his school and it's days like these that make his school even more special. Truly I couldn't be happier with how well he's adjusted to school and how much he enjoys it, I'm so grateful to his teachers for this positive start to his school years.

Scoping the audience for his mommy:)

seriously, this was my view the entire time! sooo frustrating.

Mommy and Owen 

Mother's day gifts :) Inside the package was a plant, what I love most about my mom write up, a cookbook of recipes  from each of the students and a painting.

I learned from the Christmas concert that going early isn't good enough to get a good seat, I thought I was being smart going REALLY early to the concert but apparently those that got the front row must've camped out,  seriously.

Taking video proved to be very difficult. I eventually had to give up and just sit back and enjoy the concert. My boy did a wonderful job and I was teary eyed through most of it :) such a performer my little boy is.

Grayson Crawling

By the way Grayson was finding his way around the room, I knew it wouldn't be long until he mastered crawling. He's been rolling, twisting & turning for a while now, and the past week he was able to get from sitting position into crawling position. He'd rock back and forth and eventually flop down on his belly and get frustrated that he wasn't moving, so we knew it was coming soon. Is it bad that with each baby these type of milestone's I don't try and rush anymore? All of that changed yesterday! I spoke with my mom in the morning and told her that I suspected he'd be crawling over the next few days, and he started crawling later in the afternoon!

By the end of the week my little baby will be moving so fast all over the house. Already, his favourite spots to get to are the dvd's, speakers and towards the stairs, baby gate is going back up today for sure. Slow down baby, mommy isn't as ready as you are!

First Play

When Catherine arrived to pick up Hannah, I asked her if she had her camera or video camera in the car. I wanted to video the kids acting out a play, and knew she is always prepared with her camera to capture these types of moments :) Owen was the narrater and I think he loved being able to tell the kids what to do and have them actually do it without a fight. Noah was the prince and of course, Hannah was the princess.




Sooo cute! my favourite part is When Hannah yells for Noah to come & get married, & he hurry's down the hill all ready with a kiss :) 

My boy has the best happy face ever. His whole face lights up and you can't help but smile right back at him :)

A couple of weeks ago Noah finally got to take his bike out for his first ride. He got a new bike for his birthday but we needed to put the training wheels on it before he could use it. He can pedal the tricycles at  a local play place so I wasn't thinking he'd have any difficulty with his new bike but I was wrong. Poor little guy found the slight hill on our street a struggle and Daddy had to help him out with it, but he managed to ride his bike on his own on flat surface. Noah also kept putting on the brakes to stop instead of keep pedaling, but I think a couple more tries and he'll get it. 

a little help up the hill from daddy

he especially likes the new bell daddy bought for him

he kept looking at his feet instead of where he was going, made for a very wobbly ride :)

9 Months Old

9 Months old already! that's amazing to me. My littlest one is still oh so sweet and is starting to keep us busy with his constant motion! he's wanting to crawl and doesn't like sitting still for long. Somehow he finds his way around the room by rolling and most recently creeping. He's able to move himself forwards now, but hasn't quite figured out how to crawl. We don't have long before we have to put up the baby gates again, I'm guessing another week maybe two if we're lucky. Grayson is getting into everything these days, and after everything that he shouldn't. His brothers toys are a favourite for him to get to, as well as the remote and dvd's. Time to start moving valuable things out of his reach. Just this week he's started trying to pull himself up and he's already had a good head bonk off of the side bar of his jumperoo, got a nice bruise with that one - my poor baby :(

I've just started feeding Grayson some jarred baby food because he was gagging on everything else. I just can't seem to get the texture smooth enough for homemade foods and this is working out much better. At least he's getting some veggies this way and I think it's helped him sleep longer too. He hasn't been waking nearly as often and we've had a few nights in a row that he's only woken once to nurse! hopefully that trend continues, it's been great getting at least 5 hours consecutive sleep. We'll try and move him to his own room soon, probably once he doesn't wake to nurse.

cute, cute, cute! he's a jumping maniac in the jumperoo - practically bounces himself right out. 

here he goes - on the move after something!

 

Happy 9 Months Grayson!

Swim lessons are going well and the boys are enjoying themselves. It was a rocky start with Owen deciding he didn't like swimming because he didn't know how, and he would put up a fuss about it prior to his lessons. Luckily he isn't nervous anymore and his instructor is happy with how he is doing and how much confidence he's gained. Owen would often tell the instructor he was nervous prior to attempting the activities, but lately he hasn't been doing that & I can see he's gaining confidence as well as skill. I'm not sure he'll "pass" the sunfish level, we may need to take it again in the fall.

Noah enjoys his lessons and isn't the least bit nervous. Noah's the youngest and smallest in his class, his head is barley above the water! he is in the sea otter level, which is a gradual parent-instructor transition.  After his first lesson Gavin didn't go in the pool with him anymore and he's doing fine with his instructor. When one on one Noah does what the instructor tells him to do, but while waiting his turn he's often in his own little world - bouncing up and down and singing :)

There's a local play place that has a huge inflatable slide that the kids love. When we first started going there Hannah would climb up the slide and go down at least 3x before Noah even got to the top! his little legs just don't move very quickly ;) here is a short video of Noah on the slide.

8 Months Old

8 months old and still the smiliest, cutest baby ever! he seriously smiles all day long, he rarely cries. His favourite two people are his big brothers, he thinks they are just the silliest, funniest people in the world. I wonder how long that will last? He has some fussy moments, preferring to have me in his sights at all times, but he really is a happy, easy going baby.



Even with blueberries smeared all over his face he's happy :) he loves to eat. I think he's starting a bit of a growth spurt because the last few days he's fussed for some more food once he's finished his meal. An obvious sign my little one is growing. Currently he eats three meals a day (usually eats when we do) and nurses approx. 5-6 times a day. We've just started giving him a sippy cup with water in it at meals, hoping he'll take to the sippy cup better than he did the bottle. Grayson still refuses to take a bottle, even Gavin can't get him to take one anymore, so I'm not away from him for any length of time.


Grayson has started being able to hold his weight on his arms but hasn't gotten up on his knees on his own yet. I'm not in a rush to have him completely mobile just yet, but I do enjoy watching him try his very best to get to something he wants! usually he rolls in the general direction of the desired toy etc. but often he doesn't quite get there :)


I do love when babies can sit on their own though, makes life soooo much easier! I can set Grayson up with a few toys and he'll play much longer now that he can sit and play. In just a couple of days he mastered the sitting skill. I snapped a quick photo of him sitting unassisted to show he can do it, but for the most part he still has pillows etc. around him for support.


Such a big boy now!

Meeting the Easter Bunny

Yesterday morning we took the kids to the mall to meet the Easter Bunny. I was surprised by how quickly the line up went and there were some activities for the kids set up to pass the time. The kids coloured some Easter colouring pages and then were asked if they wanted to have their face painted. Noah jumped at the chance but Owen isn't interested in that kind of thing so he decided not to participate in that. Noah had his face painted like a bunny and loved it! every time he'd look in the mirror he'd get a huge grin. At one point his bunny teeth had rubbed off and he said " I was a bunny, but then my teeth fell off!" sooo cute.

Grayson has started experiencing some stranger anxiety, I wasn't sure how he'd like sitting with the bunny but he was happy and smiled a big grin at his new friend :)










Owen's bunny ears!


Cutest boy bunny in the world :)


I had big plans to shop for myself while at the mall, I'm in desperate need of new summer clothes. As usual, as soon as I enter the mall with the kids I decide I need to come back another time...alone. I just find shopping with them more work than it's worth, sigh. Oh well, I'll have to plan another shopping trip soon.

We took a trip to the zoo during the march break with some of Gavin's family. I think everyone had the same idea as the place was packed with people, but we enjoyed ourselves and the weather was perfect! Here are a few photos from our day at the zoo.









Later in the week, baby Grayson was able to enjoy his first time in a swing at the park. The weather was really warm and it was lovely to be able to get out of the house quick without having to wear coats, hats and mitts. It's so much easier to take the kids out in warm weather!








Grayson's first time in the swing! he loved it. Eventually he fell asleep and the bigger kids got to play at the park for an extra hour or so while Grayson finished his morning nap.

7 Months Old!

At 7 months old you are almost sitting unassisted. You can sit on your own for a little while before you start to tip over. Sitting alone seems like such a "big baby" thing to do, I can't believe you are almost at that point already. Just last night while on your belly, you managed to squirm and roll your way over to the other side of the room to get to a toy you wanted. Once you get that knee under you you'll be off crawling. Unbelievable.

Your personality is really starting to show and you are as sweet as your big brothers and as stubborn as well. This past weekend Gavin and I enjoyed our first night away since you've come home. Grandma and Aunt Maegan babysat while Gavin and I enjoyed our overnight in Niagra Falls. It was great to spend some time together (mostly talking about the kids, isn't that always the way?) and enjoy a leisurely dinner, we don't get out often enough. I was hoping that would change, but it seems that you were too stubborn to take a bottle for Grandma or Maegan, so I doubt they'll be to eager to babysit overnight for a while. Must work on the bottle taking A.S.A.P.

We also need to work on getting you to sleep longer stretches. Waking every 2-3 hours (at most) at 7 months old just isn't working for this Mommy anymore :) Soon you may just find yourself in your own bedroom, maybe it will help. I can't imagine you sleeping any less. Your schedule during the day is great and you've been going longer stretches between feedings and taking your solid food like a champ. Night sleep will come with time I'm sure.

Happy 7 Months Grayson!

Bye Bye Soother!

For the longest time the boys had been limited to only using their soothers when going to sleep, but last month we decided to toss the last bit of babyhood in the garbage! it seemed like the best time because there were no transitions happening. We always had an excuse for letting Owen hang on to the security of his "seus" and Noah, he just got to use it because his big brother had one :)
Having the two older kids go to sleep so easily and sleep all night also played a part in not pushing them to let it go. This mommy is oh so tired with Grayson still waking multiple times a night, I had no desire to mess with the other two's sleep.

We told the boys that if they tossed their soothers in the garbage then they would be able to go shopping and pick out a new toy. It worked like a charm and they handled it so well. No tears or major fussing at bedtime since. Owen did tell us he was sad he didn't have his soother anymore, but hasn't made much of a deal out of it since that conversation. Way to go boys!

Noah's 3rd Birthday

Oh how I love birthdays! Noah started requesting a super hero party for his birthday just after Christmas, that is until he changed his mind at the very last minute and thought a Diego party would also be nice :) luckily, he is still easily persuaded and we went ahead with plan A. Thank goodness, as I'd already had everything prepared for the super hero party - why do kids do things like this to their parents?

Here is my 3 year old sweetie on the day of his party. How can he be 3 already? he seems to have changed so much in looks lately, losing any "baby" look he had and starting to look more like a "big boy" by the day. Three is such a challenging age but it is also so much fun. His personality is blossoming and I find myself fascinated at how quickly he is learning these day. He's still my shy, sweet, cuddly, loving baby boy, but he definitely has some spunk! he's silly, emotional, feisty, and takes his role of being "Owen's guard" very seriously lol. Don't mess with Owen or you'll have to stand up to this little shorty :) He's a great little brother to Owen and follows Owen everywhere, but he is also a great big brother to Grayson. He loves his baby brother, a little too much at times, almost smothering him with love :) he likes to help me care for Grayson, and loves to entertain him, and keep him happy. He loves everything to do with crafts, particularly colouring, enjoys books (his favourites are his new super hero books, and seek and find books. He's becoming a picky eater, sometimes turning his nose up at an entire meal - makes for mealtime somewhat frustrating and loooong. Yesterday he had his 3 year wellness visit and he is close to the 50th percentile for height, and he is now 27lbs ( about 15th percentile for weight). I know how much kids change from 3 - 4 years so for now I'm going to soak up every last bit of baby he has in him. I love you Noah! my sweet sweet baby :)



Owen dressed in his spiderman t-shirt for the party. So many people participated in the theme by dressing in super hero clothes - it was so fun :)


I saw some similar cupcakes on pinterest and knew Noah would love them! It was my first time using fondant and it was tricky to find the time to bake/decorate with a baby at home, but I am really happy with how they turned out. I think Noah really liked his cupcakes :)





Cake time! This was the first birthday that Noah was excited about. Things must've suddenly clicked and he realized the party was all for him. For the days following he could be heard singing "Happy Birthday" to himself - so cute. His happy spirit lasted for days afterwards too. At first he seemed a little overwhelmed, but I was proud oh the way my usually shy boy handled himself. He made sure to thank people for their gifts and he was cheerful all day, no tears at his party - success!












Hopefully he'll be able to reach the pedals on his new bike soon. We were hoping he'd be able to use the bike as a balance bike, but Noah is smaller than we realized :) oh well - I'm sure his determination will pay off and he'll learn soon enough.


Happy 3rd Birthday Noah!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I wish every day could start out so wonderful! the kids woke up excited about the day, happy loving and cuddly :) much different morning than the one we had yesterday. I made Owen a special Valentine's day lunch with everything red and heart shaped :) I didn't get a photo because Grayson was crying and needed to be fed, and we were already running a little late - but I'm sure he'll love his special lunch, especially the little treat and Valentine's day card I included.

After seeing a Valentine's day card on Pinterest that I loved, I was really excited to make a similar one for Owen's classmates. I wasn't sure how well it would turn out as he wasn't in the most co-operative mood that day, but I love it! He was excited to share his Valentine's with his teachers and class today and he couldn't get over how "the card looks like I'm giving the kids a lollipop and I really am!" too funny.


Happy Valentine's Day!

6 Months Old!

Just this month you've started being able to put the soother back in your mouth:)


6 Months Old, you are growing and changing so fast Grayson! Suddenly you've started to LOVE your solid foods and make all kinds of noises while we are eating dinner just so you can get a taste of your food. I think you've gained weight literally overnight, as you suddenly felt much heavier after the weekend. I guess finally adding a breakfast to your morning routine has helped pack on some ounces ;). We are loving your adorable double chin and chubby belly these days and you are comfortably fitting all of your 6 month clothing now.

You think that your brothers are the funniest people in the world :) and you are enjoying playing with toys more and are already getting frustrated when you see something out of your reach and you want it! You are always full of smiles and light up when you recognize someone or hear a voice you recognize.

You are starting to find ways to communicate what you want, like when you are hungry you toss yourself backwards in search of food, your daddy and I are loving this! it's much better than crying and makes for much happier and quieter days.

I'm hoping that you build up your immunity soon and stop catching every cold out there! It seems like you are healthy one week and sick with something the next. Just as sleep starts getting a little better you catch something and wake up all night fussing! I feel bad that you feel awful, and you keep getting bronchitis and have been put on puffers for your last two colds. I'm really hoping you out grow this and it doesn't become the norm for you.

I see how much you've changed over the last month and can't wait to see what you'll be able to do this month! Happy 6 Months baby!


I can't get enough of his cuteness!

updateGrayson had his 6 month appointment today (Feb24th) he's such a little guy! weighing only 14lbs 8oz (3rd percentile), head circumference 41cm (not even on the growth chart), and he was 69 cm (about 50th percentile) for height.