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.

First Solids!

Old enough to start solids? crazy! OK not really. We started him a little early, but still, time really needs to slow down.

At just over 5 months we started Grayson on some solid foods. So far he's tried rice cereal, avocado, and yams. He didn't mind the rice cereal but since tasting avocados he's become more weary about what's on the spoon :) I also don't think he's 100% ready for solids, you can see in the video he still has a tongue thrust thing going on - but we'll keep trying.

Tet Party

This past weekend was a busy one! two birthday parties and the annual Tet party hosted by Mary - we had fun! which is good because it looks like this weekend will be a quiet one at home with the kids all battling sickness.

Somehow I persuaded a friend of mine to help make another dragon cake for the Tet party ;) it seemed like a great idea at the time, and no better year than the "year of the dragon" to tackle the project, but I doubt she'll be in a hurry to "help bake" any time soon ;) Thanks friend!!
We had 2 - 6 month olds, 3 - 3year olds, and a 4 year old home for a P.A day and we still went ahead with the cake! call us crazy but we managed to somehow get the job done! It took 5 hours to decorate and we only called in backup help for the last hour! My friends husband stopped by after work to help keep the kids busy and out of the cake. We could have used more icing but after the 5hour mark and decorating the cake while carrying Grayson in the Ergo - I was more than done. I'm convinced that If I didn't have such a good friend help me out there would have been some tears shed!

The finished project- piped stars, orange slice gummies, red color mist, and red sugar sprinkles!



Owen - dressed for Tet! I wanted all of the boys to wear Ao Dai's this year - I'm afraid that as Owen gets older he may not be so willing to dress in the traditional clothes, and I wanted some photos of the three of them together.


Noah - Dressed for Tet! at first he mentioned that he didn't want to wear his "pajamas" but he quickly came around.


Grayson - dressed for Tet! the smallest Ao Dai we have is this one and it's a size1. The boy was swimming in it - but he still looks like a cutie!




Owen kept asking if he could help decorate the cake and at first we entertained the idea, by the end we were yelling "get away from the cake!!" and so his "job" was to place some chocolate coins on the cake board at the party :)


Grayson posing with his little friend in their matching Ao Dai's. Too cute!


Who wants cake??


Bev organized this awesome dragon craft for the little kids.


The dragon parade was put on by the younger kids this year! what a great job they did - amazing that they've been home long enough and are old enough to participate in this special part of the evening!


Video of the Dragon parade