4 months old...

Whoops... here it goes... I'm starting to neglect this blog! It's only a matter of time now before I forget about it completely.

Alex has started gymnastics in PG so we're driving there now on Saturdays. He seems to like it, but plays shy a bit around the teacher. It's parent and tot, though, so one of us goes in with him. We're back to library time again... Rhyme Time is always fun. This will be Alex's last session and then he'll be 36 months and have to go with the older kids. That'll be different because for that one, parents are NOT included! :) Everything changes when he's 3... he has to become independent! Wow!

Connor is growing and learning new things every day. He's can roll from his tummy to his back (propelled by the weight of his larger than average head, no doubt) and works very hard to get from his back to his front --- so far unsuccessful, but close. He has become a SHRIEKER and loves the sound of his own voice. It's so cute! Giggles are few and far between. He's a very serious little boy, so when we succeed in making him laugh it's like hitting the jackpot!

For your viewing pleasure... here are some recent photos:

Our Lake...

Well... after 6 months of snow, we're finally seeing some signs of spring! Only up here in the north can it go from -15 to +23 in only a matter of days... leaving a really rapid melting mess to contend with!







We celebrated the warm weather by having a snowball fight... in our t-shirts! It was fun, but poor Alex sure had a hard time keeping his balance in the slush.

And now... just cause I haven't posted enough of Connor lately... here' s my 3.5 month old!

And, courtesy of Aunty Lindsay, who purchase matching pj's for my boys for Christmas... here's a photo of my little jailbirds! Enjoy and Happy Spring!

Happy Easter!

Alex is pretty excited about Easter this year. He's convinced that the sneaky Easter Bunny is going to leave him lots and lots of chocolate when he's not looking. I'd like to teach him the true meaning of Easter... but I haven't yet. How do you explain crucifixion to a two-year old without causing him nightmares??? So for now, we'll just share with him the Hallmark version of Easter and the fun traditions that go along with it.

Alex was pretty determined to colour eggs with Grandma last Sunday, so I went to Superstore to grab a kit and a dozen eggs (Grandma only had two... what fun would that have been?) He really enjoyed himself and has wanted to eat eggs every day this week. Here's a few photos of the fun.






























This year we decided that Alex did NOT need candy or stuffed animals or any of your traditional Easter basket fare... so we decided to ask the Easter Bunny to give the boys something really special. It took 4 hours in the freezing cold for us to put together... but it's going to be sooo worth it Sunday morning when they see it (well Alex anyway!)

We built it on the deck because there's still a foot of rock-hard snow in our yard... so I guess the next challenge will be getting it off of the deck and onto the grass. Who knew April would still feel like the dead of winter?

Too many toys!!!

What do you think? Do my children have too many stuffed animals?

I came home from an outing with Connor to this sight... and no sign of Alex anywhere... hmmm...




















but I was able to dig him out... no harm done! LOL

Alex has an "evil laugh" (it's cute really) so I always know when he is up to something. I can't turn my back on him for a minute unless Connor is sleeping safely out of reach, or he does stuff like this...

One time I found Connor with several stickers stuck to his head and Alex giggling his face off. I wish I'd thought to grab my camera then. Connor takes it all in stride and now is starting to smile and make, what I hope, are laughing sounds... which only encourages his big brother to further antagonize him! :)

I also discovered this on the table... looks like my boys got creative while I was out, too! :)

All grown up...

Wow, what a difference a winter makes. The last time I took Alex to the playground --- before Halloween (our first snowstorm was before Halloween and it still hasn't melted yet), he was unable to climb monkey bars, hold on to the swings, and didn't have the nerve to try the tire. Look at him now. We went to the playground yesterday for the first time since last fall. Wow, he's all grown up! Last time all he did was dig in the dirt and go down the slide a few times.

Of course... maybe I'm rushing him a little bit. I decided that yesterday would be a good day to teach Alex to ride the trike that Mom and Dad gave him... here's one of his attempts! Maybe he's not so grown up after all! :)

Through the eyes of a toddler...

Or an "almost preschooler" I guess... whatever the title he falls into, it's a wonderful age, albeit a messy one!

I myself don't particularly enjoy the late February early March melt that seems to last forever each year... but it's very warm and spring-like today (when the wind wasn't gusting and blowing dust in our faces) so we decided to enjoy "Mr. Sunny" while we could. Today on our walk the only rule I enforced was to stay on the side of the road. Everything else was fair game as we were both dressed in "play clothes". Alex picked which direction he wanted us to go... and he set the pace.






















"This is wonderful... a mud lake" he said, as he came across a particularly deep one! :)



























Connor was oblivious to this mucky excursion as he slept the whole time, and continues to sleep as I type.

March already???

Wow... my baby is now two months old!!! I guess one of the best things about being born on January 1st is it'll always be really easy to remember how old Connor is. With Alex's birthday at the end of July I always have to count in my head... umm... 2 years and 6, no 7 months... Connor turned 2 months yesterday. How fast that flies! When Alex was a baby Mom and I did pages of him with a photo of every month from newborn to 12 months... so that's what we're doing again for Connor. Here are some photos that I took this morning to commemorate his 2 month "birthday"... enjoy... I think they're pretty darn cute!