Attitude

This is Bryce's new face when he's showing you he does not approve of something. What a drama king! He totally looks like he wants to say "O.M.G. I cannot believe you just did that!" We see this face when we tell him NO or Stop. In the case above I was simply turning off the water toy in the tub. How dare you, Mommy!

Wordless Wednesday

Bedtime Battles

Bedtime has been difficult with Hudson the past few months. Since converting to a toddler bed he has discovered that he is not restricted to staying in his bed. We've tried putting him back into his bed over and over again and we've tried standing guard outside his door, but the only thing that would work for both he and I (because I'm exhausted myself come bedtime) would be for me to lay down with him until he falls asleep. After months of doing this, I've realized we really need to change things! Not only are we creating a horrible sleep routine, but I keep thinking that this could be Bryce next! Sooo, I've recently started tucking him into bed and then I close his bedroom door so that he cannot run out. The first few nights consisted of heartbreaking screaming and crying. After a couple of minutes I would go back to his room and retuck him in (because at this point he's trying to open his door). Upon returning to his room, he is so happy to see me that he gets right into bed and falls asleep quickly...as long I am still there! Okay, so were getting a little better- at least I'm not lying in his bed for half an hour. Fast forward to tonight... I tuck Hudson in, kiss him goodnight, and close his door. It was surprisingly QUIET! After waiting for the pitiful screams, but still hearing nothing, I decided I better check on him! As I open his bedroom door I can hear him snoring! YES! Sweet Success! He fell asleep on his own. BUT where? I was so curious! Did he stay in bed? Nope. Was he in his tent? Nope. Possibly the closet? Nope. As I looked around I found that he squeezed between the tent and wall! After taking a picture for the memory book I, of course, tucked him in again!

View of the tent and wall from the doorway

Snoring baby

Happy Half Birthday, Bryce!

YES, I'm full aware that B's actual "half" birthday was Friday...story of my life...poor second child doesn't receive the same attention as the first, but TRUST me B does just fine in the attention department- in fact he demands it!

Now, all about B-Man!! Bryce is full of personality. He's such a happy little man. He really loves getting a reaction from people (and strangers) and will charm his way into receiving a smile from you! Bryce runs so fast and he amazes me at how well he maintains his balance. I swear he looks as if he's going to fall right over sometimes but keeps on going! B loves taking pots and pans out of the kitchen cabinets and drawers, and he'll come running from a mile away to get into the dishwasher if it's open. Although he's a lightweight he's pretty adventurous in trying different foods. Bryce loves putting on shoes that may be sitting by the door. He's even been known to carry a purse or two with his big shoes on! He adores Toy Story 3! Santa brought it for Hudson as a Christmas gift, but B is the one who carries the case around. He actually will sit and watch the entire video! This is huge for B since he's always on the go! Bryce is finally saying "baby" (for the longest time he called all babies "mama"). B is a great sleeper. He goes right to bed with minimal fuss and sleeps all.night.long! B is a binky boy- I think he gets that from his brother! Bryce loves his blankie! He carries it around the house with him and will sometimes snuggle with it in the middle of the floor. For comfort, B "bangs" his head things...usually the wall or the couch...he'll sit up against it and hit the back of his head on it over and over and over again! Although I've mentioned it before, I cannot talk about Bryce without talking about music. He loves music and busts a move anytime he hears it, in fact, the reason he loves to see momma at the end of a workday is because I give him my iPhone with the iPod turned on as soon as I walk in the door everyday! B is turning into a little lovey. He used to be so stiff, but he's learning to cuddle very nicely. He gives great hugs...and kisses! He always makes a "mmmwwaahhh" sound when he gives you a great big open mouthed kiss! Bryce's little mohawk, bright eyes and smile, and love for dancing is B in a nutshell these days! We absolutely adore our B-Man! Cannot imagine our family without him. He makes us laugh every.single.day! Love you to pieces, Brycie!

Wordless Wednesday

Photo Bug

I'd say that I've recently become obsessed with pictures. Seriously. Just ask my hubby! Not only do I want to be sure to capture each and every moment of the boys' childhoods, but I also love the professional, artsy looking shots out there now. I think it's fair to say that from now on I'll be searching out a professional photographer for all of our family sessions. Last Christmas a friend, and pro, shot our Christmas pics. She did such a great job, was less expensive than the chain stores, and was more creative with her shots! Then this fall, after a little twisting of Brian's arm, we got family pics taken on the beach outside of Boston. Again, awesome pictures that not only captured our first family vacation, but also captured the beautiful view that we experienced all week. I'm learning that the professionals not only have a great camera but that they also use a little photoshopping to ensure that their photos really pop. I know that I will never be as great as the pros and do not strive to be; however, it's still fun to play every now and again! Tonight I was playing around with taking pictures of Bryce while he watched Spongebob. I sat next to him, I stood on the ottoman and looked down on him, and even laid on the floor below him...which brought about this beautiful pic! I even got fancy and played with some special effects!

Original picture
SPECIAL picture

Wordless Wednesday

Although Wordless Wednesday is just that...WORDLESS, I'll fill you in on what it is! I've seen a few other mommies do this on their blogs and I thought it was a great idea. Each Wednesday I'll post a favorite picture from that week. That's it. Just a picture. This will not only save me time but will also ensure a guaranteed blog posting when I might otherwise not be blogging at all! It might be kinda fun for you to try and figure out what the boys are doing in the picture (because sometimes it's hard to tell :)) Happy Wednesday!

Happy Half Birthday!

Today Hudson is 2 1/2 years old! Wow, I can't believe that in six more months we'll have a 3 year old! So far the terrible two's have been nothing of the sorts! Hudson rarely has meltdowns, if ever, except when sleepy... He might get a little whiny and doesn't listen as well then, but if this is the worst it gets then I'd say we hit the lottery!! Since Hudson received Toy Story 3 from Santa he has become very good at using his imagination and playing with his toys. I think we should credit the movie with him learning how toys are meant to be played with! Hudson is still an extremely picky eater. I swear he'd live on chocolate or strawberry milk if possible. Hudson is a french fry eater! I never thought that I'd be looking forward to the day when all he wants to eat is pizza or hot dogs! Even that would be an improvement over what he wants now. Luckily he'll eat peanut butter and fruit! When Hudson plays with his brother it looks more like torture. He always hugs him at his waist until they both fall onto the floor AND then he won't let go. Poor Bryce lays beneath Hudson screaming for help all the while Hudson is laughing! Hudson loves to play with kids, especially bigger ones. He surprised us at how outgoing he was at Bound Around this past weekend. He followed a little girl, probably about 6, around everywhere and kept asking her "what's your name?"! I wish I had as much energy as Hudson. I mean, really, he's only 2 1/2 and he no longer naps (which Mommy and Noni are not fans of)! He usually wakes between 8:30 and 9:00...and it's still a struggle to get him to bed at night. Lately he's been falling asleep just before 11. Needless to say, we're working on changing that schedule a little. We haven't gotten rid of the binky at bedtime yet and still need potty trained. Wow, we're going to have a busy 2011! Of all of the things I want to remember most of Hudson at 2 1/2 it would be how sweet and loving he is! Just tonight he said "give me a hug!"...this was while he was standing in the bathtub, soaking wet but how could I pass up such a sweet request? I didn't...I got myself a wet hug! He then proceeded to say "hug my nose"! I'm loving our sweet big boy at age 2 1/2!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Our Family to Yours!

With each new year comes new resolutions, new goals, new hopes and new wishes. Each year my goal is to become more organized; however, working full time and with two little ones I find that I am way too tired for organizing things! It's much easier to throw everything onto our massive bookends in the living room. Oh, and I can't forget about "old faithful"- my junk drawer in the kitchen! So instead of hoping to "organize" these things more, I'm going to try to worry less about the little things that don't matter very much! Instead I'm going to continue to try to best the best momma that I can and hope to create beautiful memories for my little men because they will never remember how unorganized the bookshelf is! I'm also going to try to document our lives a little better on the blog! Since there's not a spare second in the day to keep a scrapbook or log of their growth and milestones the blog has become just that for us, so I'd like to better document our daily happenings. For example, I never wrote about how Bryce woke up almost every night a couple of weeks ago, screaming, at 4am! I had to rock him (and give him mini donuts) to get him to relax! We even watched TV a couple of times! Boy were those nights difficult, but just a couple of weeks later (and with him sleeping through the night again) I think it's hilarious that the boy was soothed with donuts! You better believe that I will always have a bag in our cupboard :) Anyways, stayed tuned. I hope to get a blog make-over soon. A new look and a new way of blogging that will work out better for me and our readers! I'm thinking that I might post once a week! This weekly posting will highlight our previous week. This will be easier for me to maintain and you will also know when to check for something new! Details to follow!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!

Presents, presents, and more presents!

After a long night (Brian slept on the couch because he had a terrible cough) and I ended up with both boys in our bed (I brought Bryce in because he woke up crying and Hudson later came in on his own), we had to wake the boys up to see what Santa brought them! I'm guessing that's not going to happen next year! Bryce was the first to go into the living room and we was very excited to see all of their presents. Hudson came running out and got just as excited. The boys tore the paper off like champs, but wanted to play with and open every. single. package! We would have been there all morning if the boys didn't get tired and decide that they didn't want to open any more! We actually had to save some presents for later that day. I'm guessing that won't happen again either! Christmas morning was so much fun! Time to play with some toys before our guests arrive for brunch!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

*Notice Franklin's necktie*

*Bryce is making the same face as Meredith-too funny!*

Christmas Eve was spent at the Suhar's home, as usual. The boys had a blast, as usual! They didn't get into too many things (except for Bryce pouring an entire glass of red wine on himself and the carpet, sorry Meredith!). It was sitting on the coffee table, and Bryce just wanted to take a drink! He is so quick when he's grabbing something. Before anyone could stop him, the wine was all over the place! Luckily Meredith didn't mind at all and the wine washed right out of his Christmas jammies and the carpet. With all of the fun and excitement going on we thought the boys would fall fast asleep in the car on the way home. Surprisingly, Hudson didn't sleep at all. Instead he was a ball of energy when we got home around 11pm. It took about an hour and Daddy's magic touch to finally get him to bed. Santa then had stockings to fill, presents to put out, and cookies to eat! This really is the most wonderful time of year!