Christmas photo attempt #1 - Nov 21

Well, last years Christmas photos were tough. Trying to get a two year old and a two month old both smiling was not easy.... 

But compared to my attempts so far, last year was a breeze. 

With now two, fully mobile, and quick kids, my Christmas photos are not going smoothly. 

Outtakes! 

Escapee!

Grump.

Distracted by the bells.

Birthday party! - Nov 13

We were able to attend a very fun birthday party at Chuck E Cheese! A rare non-family birthday party. I hadn't been to a Chuck E Cheese since I was a little kid myself. 

So fun. The kids had a blast. It was definitely an action packed afternoon. 

Both E and J had fun. J and Daddy had lots of fun playing games together and E and I spent the afternoon sitting on the rides. 

J was very good at the basket ball game and really enjoyed the car racing. 

E's favorite "ride" was a broken Barney ride. She just wanted to sit next to him all afternoon. 

Dressed up for the party!

She loved all the rides! 

J having a great time. 

I was crouched down, holding down the gas pedal! 

Barney love.

Out cold before we got out of the parking lot. 

Such a fun day. 

Halloween - Oct 31

We thought we were going to skip Halloween this year. 
J was spooked by it last year and so when it got brought up again this year, he wanted oohing to do with it. 
He was fine to decorate our house with happy Halloween decorations. I didn't want anything spooky that might get him scared. Apparently age 3 is a bad time for new fears (says my kids Doc) and so Halloween was falling at a bad time for J. That, and the move, starting school, me going back to work and being fully potty trained ... he's had a big few months. And apparently, all that can manifest itself as "baby stress" = fear. 


All that being said, we took it slow, didn't push and J came around. By the time Halloween day rolled around, he was tactically vibrating he was so excited to go trick or treating. 


I did take the opportunity to get a few pictures or my cute kids in their matching jammies and costumes. 

I'm SO glad J warmed up to Halloween this year!! 

Crafty J -Oct 24

Ever since J started preschool. I've been thinking I need to allow him to do more crafts at home. 


I always had an excuse before. First- he was too young, he'd eat the crayons, he'd eat the play dough or markers would end up on the furniture. 
Then, we were purging and getting ready to move. 
Next, we had cleaned to sell our house and I didn't want a mess. 
Then of course we are in the process of packing. 
My next excuse, we've just moved and my house is a cardboard disaster ..... and on and on. 


And then J started preschool. 

These 2 ladies watch 20 kids for two hours, they have a snack, always do at least one craft and the place is spotless when I pick him up.
I figured if they can do it, I surely must give it a try. 
So I bought J some paints, I'm not quite ready to start with glue and sparkles just yet. 
He has really enjoyed it. 
He needs to have his projects taken away before he "over loves them" and they turn into one big mess but it is nice to see him getting creative and using his brain for imagination. 

One of the crafts J has made at school.

Birthdays! - Oct 23

We made it through our month of birthdays, with our sanity intact. 
The fourth consecutive birthday party of the month was for cousin AL. She shares a birthday with my guy J.
We attended a party at my brother and sister in laws house. 
So much fun. Balloons galore, crafts and popcorn for the kids. 
They had a blast. 

Balloons!

The popcorn was a huge hit.

Practising walking.

Lunch.

Big kid lunch tables. Such a great idea!

Happy Birthday!

The kids were pooped.

Such a good time. Although it's a busy month, it's great to get to spend time with cousins. I'm so glad our kids are so close with their cousins, I think that's really important. 

J's 3rd birthday party -Oct 16

We had another birthday party for J at the Kinsman mini gym this year. A much different experience than last year when I hosted J's party, early, and 36 weeks pregnant. 
It was another great time. 
C and I tried something new with cakes. 
I found the idea on Pinterest for a Rainbow cake. J has been obsessed with rainbows and their colours for almost a year, so this seemed perfect. 
It took three tries but we ended up with individualized rainbow cakes for all the kids and a "real" rainbow cake for the adults. 
It was a great time. 

Happy Birthday

Freshly walking

This little guy just got a big wet kiss from E.

Some quiet time looking at the swimmers. 

The kids all playing with balls. They'd throw them out, and my brother would throw them all back in. They had a blast!

Cuteness - Oct 16

As E gets bigger, it gets increasingly difficult to get pictures of her sitting still or looking at the camera. 
I was able to get her sitting next to her brother, watching the Cat in the Hat (her favourite show), and snap a few cute ones I thought I'd share. 

And ... I finally got a nice one of J.