Just Because it is a Leap Year...

Hello and Happy February 29th!

It seemed like a great afternoon to make cookies - but really, what afternoon isn't?

Here is my little kitchen helper standing on his booster chair. Ethan really loves to be in the kitchen. Whenever I am working in there - he runs off to his room to noisily drag one of his little chairs in to see what I am up to and if he can get in on the action.

He likes to wash dishes, make Mama coffee, build houses out of snacks, cut with his tupperware knife, add ingredients, stir and mix...basically whatever I will let him get his hands on. Making popcorn in the air popper or smoothies in the magic bullet are a couple of the all time favourite kitchen activities.

When Daddy came home from work he sent Ethan in to get him a treat. Then they had a cookie "CHEERS!".

When Beckett woke up this afternoon, Troy took the boys in to play in Ethan's room so I could finish the cookies and make us some dinner. Ethan dumped his toys (as usual) and Daddy thought of a clever way to keep Beckett propped in his sitting position (he still tips over quite a bit). Ethan thought it looked fun - so he got his own "boat".

Here's drooly Beckett...

...Ethan giving Beckett a hug...
...and a kiss...
...and Beckett adoring his big brother...
Any memory of "Challenging Moments" disappears when you see your kids do things like this. These boys make me feel like I am going to burst from joy sometimes.

Baby Giraffe and the Mooselephant

When Beckett goes down for his morning nap, Ethan and I usually go out to the backyard to dig around, and it is muddy. I got tired of having to rinse the clumps of mud from my shoes each time I needed to go in the house - so I went to W*l-M*rt and got myself some fancy new gum boots (who says I don't splurge once and a while?).

Ethan is crazy about the boots and loves to put them on and try to get around in them. Except they are huge - way bigger than any other footwear of Troy's or mine that he has tried.

They look like giraffe patterned prosthetic legs...and in them he walks like a newborn giraffe.

In other news, Ethan has been crazy about drawing the last while and every morning he likes to have a round with the crayons. When he sits with Troy he is very demanding about what Daddy should draw because he is a good artist and can draw anything. When he sits with me we scratch away at Daddy's drawings and color them in. I am a good "colorer".

This is an awesome picture of a Mooselephant that Troy did - and the coloring inside was entirely completed by Ethan. This is one of the first times he has aimed to color an object on the page (not just scratch at random) and I have never seen him use so many colors on one picture. For mom it was picture and blog worthy.

Nice work, Ethan!

Beckett, Twenty Five Weeks Old!

Here you are trying your first taste of real food - not a bowl full of mush. You are eating homemade yam puree. The first touch of the dipped spoon to your tongue made you pucker up, then smack your lips.

You spent the rest of dinner opening your mouth so wide that you started to shake and trying to grab the spoon from me to get the goods to your mouth faster. I think you liked it!

This week was also the first time you were sick (or sick enough that we could tell). You got a wicked cough and have crackle-ly chest. Still smiling though...

Sunny Days...

It feels phenomenal to have the sun back. I'm ok with rainy weather - but it doesn't seem fair to have the baby outside in the stroller watching Ethan, Cooper and I play when it is windy and wet. And it has been windy and wet for a long stretch.

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The good weather came just in time. I feel a little overdosed on Kindergym and Rec Centre playgroups - which you have to rely on this time of year to get out of the house and not get your baby soaking wet and cold. Ethan and Beckett are just getting over really bad coughs that have lasted longer than usual - and I suspect that they got sick from sharing germs at Kindergym. The foam pit at "special gym" is especially suspect...

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Anyways - since the boys are sick and it is nice out we have mostly been playing in the yard at home lately. It is a nice change and the early signs of spring have me feeling giddy about the upcoming summer. I've started tidying up the yard and resuming some of the digging and stone laying that was started last year. Ethan loves schlepping stones and shovels around and of course the mud and dirt piles are always popular.

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This end of this week has us flipping the calendar over to the month of March which is awesome. Somehow, the two months since Christmas has quietly slipped by and I literally feel like I have dropped off the face of the Earth. Hello again to everyone out there...it is my spring mission to be sure you hear from me again soon!

Beckett, Twenty Four Weeks Old!

Not much has changed for you in the past week - and we didn't do anything exciting. Dad was on holidays so we spent a lot of time hanging around together. Last Friday I put you in childminding at the Rec Centre so Ethan and I could go for a swim. You were a delight for the staff - they couldn't believe how relaxed and easy going you were. Ethan was jealous of you even though he got to go in the pool. He has always wanted to "play" in the childminding room. Maybe next month we can leave him in there while we go swim for the first time...

Beckett, Twenty Three Weeks Old!

You went to Bryden's birthday party this past weekend. You started holding on to your bottle sometimes - usually when you are really hungry.
You suddenly seem to really "get" the Jolly Jumper. Ethan or Dad hold your hands and help you bounce up and down saying, "Jumpy, jumpy, jumpy, JUMP!".
Dad is so excited that you are such a good jumper. I personally think it was the magic slippers that inspired you...

Beckett, Twenty Two Weeks Old!

Here you are sitting in your Bumbo - happy as can be (as usual). You were really enjoying the seat today - usually you try to straighten yourself right out of it. We've just noticed that your grabbing and aim and hand work in general has really improved in the last couple of weeks.
Other than that, you have just been busy being cute.