Birthday Week

Happy 2nd Birthday to my birthday buddy, William!  Thursday was a special day as we celebrated having the little guy with us for 2 whole years!  I can't believe how fast time is flying.  He is such a little man now and has made the transition from baby to little boy.  

Birthday gift from Aunty Miriam...stackable days of creation blocks!

Despite the tears on his face, he actually loves them.  (He was just getting over a little meltdown episode from I can't remember what. Those have been happening more frequently...welcome to the 2s!)

Birthday party!

Opening his gift from Nonno and Nonna

And lest you think I just don't like to properly dress our children, William has no pants on because we're potty training and is wearing underwear.  Not only does that save on the amount of pants I'd be washing, it also makes it easier for him to go potty.

Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes!  He LOVES this book and carries it over to Zenith, slaps it down on his lap, demanding to be read to.

What is it??

A hat!

Just like Daddy's!

This goofball now wears it all around the house

Cake time!

Carrot, pineapple cake with raisins and walnuts and a cream cheese frosting...he shoved 2 pieces in his face pretty fast.  And he didn't mind one bit that it was wheat-free and refined sugar free. :)

On Sunday, my parents came over to celebrate his birthday with him so we had a lovely brunch and then dinner later on with them.

He just loves his brekky (that's "breakfast" for all you Americans :P)

And of course we had to make the party John Deere themed ;)

Matching buddies

His new tool belt and tools from Nana and Bumpa (which he of course had to wear everywhere)

I had a very nice birthday on Thursday as well.  Zenith impressed me thoroughly with birthday gifts that were very "me."  He bought me a whole tin of my favorite loose-leaf tea, along with a beautiful hand knit tea cozy for my tea pot since I love to have cuppas but can never finish my pot of tea before it cools off.

He also bought me some locally made all natural soap and bath salts which smell sooooo nice.  He even drew me a bath, turned on some relaxing music, and let me soak and read while he took the boys and cleaned the kitchen.  Now THAT'S a good man. ;)

We were able to get out last week for a walk on a local trail since we had a few days of warmer weather.  We're selling our previous double stroller because it's too heavy and wide and bought this one used.  It's a lot easier for me to handle by myself.

And of course we can't forget about Pookie!  Yes, I started calling him that and it stuck...but it suits him, I think. :)  He is growing so much and his tummy seems to be calming down and he's less fussy.  Still a more active baby than William ever was, but he's very happy and smiles so easily.

Tummy time!

Unfortunately I don't have any more pictures of Marcel (I know, I feel like a terribly Mummy!) but I'll try to be better about taking pictures.  Here at least is a video.

I think I'll end it here.  I'll give you all a further update on everything else soon!  I've been pretty bad about updating the blog, but honestly there just hasn't been a lot going on (or I forget my camera when we do).  I'll try to be better, I promise!

Hope your week is starting out well.  Happy Monday!

Lindsay

Wintertime Fun!

Well, I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated!  It's been a busy month with the holidays and I'm still trying to figure out a new routine for us at home.  William has moved into the terrible twos stage and I've been trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing to adjust to that.  Marcellus has been a fussier baby than William was, I think due to him having contracted Lyme Disease from me in utero.  He went through a series of antibiotics and now it's just a matter of waiting to see if he ever develops symptoms before we doing anything else.  Hopefully having caught it right away will prevent anything in the future.  So between the two of them, I'm learning new lessons in patience and perseverance.

Let's see, what's been happening...New Year's Eve we carried on the tradition at my sister Kaite's house with our Yankee Swap.  We had a delicious dinner of Spaghetti Bolognese and then put the kids down to bed while we adults carried on with the party.

"Kid's table"

Because what's a party without sweets???

The new "bar" built by Dan himself!  We mixed up some alcoholic and Paleo drinks and came up with some yummy concoctions.

We did the Yankee Swap like we did last year and exchanged gifts, wrapped as crazy as we could.  Zenith got a Bluetooth speaker from Dan (we love playing music around dinner time so it was perfect so we can stream from anywhere!) and I got a "Winter Wellness Kit" from Mom which was just perfect since everyone has been getting sick around here.  William got his first real cold which was nasty for a couple weeks, and then Marcellus came down with a mild one.  Both the boys are currently getting over from a more mild cold, which I think is due to me making sure William is getting lots of Vit C from his food and I've been going crazy with vaporizers and essential oils.  I've been drinking Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar which I think has kept me from really getting sick.  All these natural home "remedies" have both prevented sicknesses and also made them more mild when we do get sick.

We kept the holidays going around here for awhile after Christmas.  I've been baking lots of paleo goodies, playing Christmas music, had all the lights going and Christmas scented candles lit.  Mom watched William a couple Saturdays ago so Zenith and I could go on a "date" (with my little buddy Marcellus, of course since I'm still breastfeeding).  We went up north for the day to the outlets in Concord to do some shopping since Zenith was looking for some classier looking cowboy boots and I was in need of a new coat.  Unfortunately the boot shop we went up there specifically for hadn't updated their hours online and were closed.  But we still had a nice outing, toddler-free, not dictated by nap time and were able to stop at a cute little cafe for lunch and then a Brazilian Steakhouse (which was delicious!) without little hands grabbing, or the constant "more? more? down? all done!!"  I was even able to find a coat for myself which has been nice since the temperature has dropped significantly.

Speaking of which, we've had a few snowfalls and Zenith was finally able to take William out for his first snow outing!

Rugged up...poor kid could hardly walk!

What's playtime in the snow without finishing up with some hot cocoa??

He was loving this.

Good to the last drop!

Milk mustache!

William's language is really coming along.  He is starting to say more sentences and remembers the words for a lot of things around the house.  Here's a clip of that:

He has a little Koala bear that he loves to take with him when he goes "bye byes" so when he said this squirrel outside, he thought it was his Koala, which he calls "Po" (I don't know why)

Besides the tummy issues the antibiotic caused (gas I think), Marcellus is a pretty happy kid.  He is very easy to make smile and has finally started to settle down.

Well, I think that's it for today.  William just woke up from his nap.  Surprisingly they both napped at the same time which is why I was finally able to blog!  That doesn't happen often, so that was nice.

Happy Wednesday and we're halfway to the weekend...yahoo!

~Lindsay