Happy Birthday William Ian!

It is so hard for me to believe that my "baby" turned two today!  The fastest two years of my life!

I can remember the day he was born (well parts of it, as i was pretty out of it from the lovely labour and surgery) and it is amazing that we have gone from that day, to his second birthday.  I do remember hearing his little cry when they pulled him out, and being told he was a boy!  I remember asking if he was okay and he was and I remember my mom getting to hold him befoer they wheeled him out to check on him.  Then I remember when I finally got to hold him and have him lie on my chest, it was the most amazing feeling, one that words cannot describe.  I can remember my mother in law joking that she didn't think I was going to let anyone take him off of me, and I think I smiled, at least I did in my head, because she was exactly right.  At that moment, there was no way anyone was going to take him from me. 

From that day on, our lives have changed in so many ways, including adding another little man to our family.  Parenting is by far the hardest job I have ever had, but also the most rewarding.  It is nearly impossible for me to put into words the love that I feel for both my boys.... watching them grow and learn and change is the most amazing thing, and everyday I am in awe of the little people that are part of me. 

Bringing Wil home was another exciting day, or maybe terrifying!  How was I going to know what to do with this tiny wee person?!?!?  We had our share of struggles those first few weeks, but as time went on things got easier and easier, and we got to know each other and figured things out.  Before we knew it, he was rolling over, getting teeth, eating solids, crawling, standing, turning one, walking, talking, running, more talking, expressing his needs, sleeping in a big boy bed and now turning two!  Here are some favourite photos from his first year... this was super hard because I literally have hundreds and hundreds of them....

Sleeping like a sack of potatoes on daddy, about 3 weeks old.

Happy little guy at about 5 months!

7 months

Helping with the dishes, 11 months.

Partied out at his First Birthday Party!

There is a whole other year of photos for his second year of life, but I am tired and it is late, so I will skip right to two years old! I can maybe add more  at a later date.

At two (and this is my blog so I can brag if I want to) Wil:

• can sing his ABC's
• knows all the letters, upper and lower case, and the sounds they make
• can count and recognize numbers to 20
• talks non stop about everything he can
• "reads" well loved books
• loves to hug and cuddle and give kisses
• loves music and singing and dancing
• is an amazing big brother and can make Carson giggle like no one else can
• loves his little brother and talks to him and gives him lots of hugs and kisses too
• he doesn't let daddy leave in the morning without getting a hug and kiss and making sure he honks the horn
• loves hot dogs, chicken nuggets and french fries
• also loves ALL vegetables (including broccoli) and fruits
• loves being active and playing all sports, especially hockey in the basement with daddy, and tennis in the garage
• can throw a tantrum of epic proportions
• likes going to the mail box and opening it himself with the key
• loves having his bath at night and drawing with his tubby crayons
• loves his stuffed elephant and will not go to bed without it (I have no idea what I will do if we ever lose it!!)
• is a total ham and loves to make people laugh
• enjoys being around other kids and people in general - is a social butterfly
• loves books
• loves tools
• LOVES the iPad, and can navigate you tube to find his videos, and can find all his games
• enjoys animals and making animal sounds
• loves with all his heart
• has a smile that can light up a room
• is the most loving, caring and kind little man

I could very easily go on and on about all the amazing things that Wil can do, as you can see I am an extremely proud mommy.  We have been so blessed to have a child like him.  He has touched my life in so many ways, and made me a better person.  On even the hardest days, he knows just how to melt my heart and make everything seem better.  I have loved watching him grow over the last two years and I look forward to seeing the person he becomes through the rest of his life. 

Says "cheese" with his whole face, love it!!

Jumping at his party!

Carson ready to celebrate his brother's birthday!

Two years old today!!

Happy Birthday William, Mommy, Daddy and Carson love you lots and lots!



Beds and Heads

Nothing looks more peaceful than a sleeping baby/child.  Both my boys are very "active" sleepers, moving from one end of the bed to the other and back again.  I love that I have a video monitor so I can see all the postions they get themselves into.  I also tend to sneak in to take pictures (something I have done since Wil was wee) because I just think they are so cute.

Carson likes to sleep curled up or on his side most of the time.

Wil sleeps everywhere except for on his pillow most times!

(Can you find him in all those patterns?!?!?)

"Bum in the Air" has been Wil's favourite position since he was very young, I still find him this way all the time.

This week Wil got his Birthday Haircut too!  It almost didn't happen, there was a lovely tantrum to start our appointment, but a lollipop and getting to sit on mommy's lap for the cut solved the problem, and after it was over he said, "not so bad mommy".

Post hair cut... how gorgeous is this kid?!?!?

Carson wanted to spike his hair up too, it's a little thin!

One more for the road.... brothers!!

Stay tuned for a mid-week bonus post....



Hats and Books!

Since I was very little I can remember loving books and reading.  I have always had a lot of books and will read some of them over and over again.  One of the things I like best about being an elementary school teacher is that I can use great story books for any subject and any lesson.  With Wil, I read to him before he was even on the outside, and have read to him every day of his 23 and a half months.  Wil LOVES books, he has more books than toys, and when we go out shopping, he asks for new books before anything else.  this makes me happy, and I enjoy the special time we spend together reading.  Now this time is more special because we read to Carson as well.  So far he enjoys books too, he smiles and squeals and kicks his feet.  This week some of my favourite photos (and I realized I take a lot in a week because I had 56 to choose from!!) include books.

Wil and I have read some of his books so many times that he can now "read" them to me.  Wil is reading us a bedtime story and Carson is eating his first book!!

Wil likes to Climb into Carson's bed with him when he wakes up and read him stories.

It melts my heart!!

Another thing I can't resist is a cute hat.  Boys don't always have clothes as cute as baby girls do, but they do have some nice hats! (Thank you Baby Steals!)

Carson in his Snowboarder hat... Wil has one too, but wouldn't sit still long enough for a picture.

Carson the Friendly Dragon.

We had a garage sale today and Wil helped out by testing the toys while wearing his awesome Bear hat!

Finally, I have had more than one person ask me to post about Chad and I as well, which surprised me a bit.  As a mom, I think it is natural to not think about ourselves as much as we did before kids.  I just assume that everyone would rather hear about the kids than me, and of course I am happy to talk about them.  As for Chad and I, things are going well.  We have settled into a nice routine with the two boys.  Chad is doing really well with his company, WestPark, they have grown a great deal and are celebrating by attending a parking conference in Vegas (so I am told!) in a few weeks.  I am loving that I can stay home with my kids, although I do miss teaching from time to time, I wouldn't change a thing about my choice to not go back right away.  Other than that, we haven't done anything too exciting lately, we just hang out with our little family and enjoy our time together.

Sundays are football days at our house now.... the Redskins won last week so Chad was a happy little football fan!

And one more for the road....

Wil teaching Carson how to use You Tube on the iPad to watch Sesame Street videos.

(Carson is not really sitting on his own yet, just for a few seconds, I am just speedy with the camera!)

Until next week....

Favourites of the week

Carson is now 4 months old!  At 4 months, he is a happy little guy and he loves to smile and laugh. He rolls over from his back to tummy really well, and from tummy to back once in a while.  He is a wiggly worm all the time, and spins himself in circles in his crib while he sleeps.  Carson still likes mommy's company in the night and wakes me up a few times, but we are working on it and it is getting a better. 

This is why we wear sleep sacks in our house!

 Wil loves his little brother and Carson adores him too!

Yes, I dressed them matching in the shirts Grandma R gave them... so cute!

At 23 months old (I can't believe he is only a few weeks away from being two!!!) Wil is embracing toddlerhood and all the good and not as good that come with it.  He fully enjoys "stalling" when it comes to nap and bedtimes and the latest thing he tries to convince us to let him do is sleep in Jerry's bed!

The Start of Something Exciting!

Inspired by a good friend of mine and her awesome blog, and by the fact that so many family members and friends live far away, I decided to start one of my own.  I hope this will be a good way for people to hear about our lives and adventures and mostly to see how the boys are growing and changing every day! It will also help me document the journey I am on being a mom of two amazing boys!

My hope is that at some point each week I will be able to write about some of the highlights of the week, and put up some photos for you all to see.

This is all I have time for tonight... both boys are sleeping and I need to go to bed too before the littlest one wakes me up for the first snack of the night!