The Boy Gets Bigger - 2 Month Birthday

As you can see, Bennett is growing into a little chubster! He continues to be a super happy baby and today we celebrate his 2 month birthday. At his last appointment (which was a few weeks ago) he was 10lb 5oz. We go back to the doctor this week for his 2 month shots, so I'll have a growth update soon.
I'm sure you can tell, from the lack of updates, that we've been very busy. I'm back at work now and we're still trying to find a routine with the 2 kids. Madeline is still adjusting to life with Ben around - she's very loving and gentle towards him but she freaks out if he cries (or if he even makes a sound like he might cry). She screams at the top of her lungs "baby cries! baby cries!" or "Mommy! Feed baby, Feed baby!" I can't figure this out. I'm not sure if she doesn't like the sound or if she is mad or worried about him. She's always been very sensitive, so I do wonder if she senses what he's feeling and she's upset she can't help him. Michael and I are both stumped on how to help her (and how to make it stop!!). It's the worst in the car, because we can't do anything about it. It has made for some very looooong car trips. I'm talking 3.5 hours on the way to the cottage with her screaming in the backseat. As you can imagine, I'm not in the mood to drive anywhere lately.

Weekend Pictures

On the weekend we headed to Grandma's house to celebrate her birthday! We had a great afternoon with the family (and some fabulous steaks!). I wanted to share some great pictures that Michael's brother Rob and his girlfriend Jordan took while we were there. Clearly they have some talent that I don't :)

The Little Ham

For some reason I just love the face she's making in this picture. She's only doing it because she's eating a banana....but it makes her look like she's got so much attitude. Makes her look way older than she is.

And here's another face....

The purpose of the photoshoot was to show off her cool new fall clothes from mini mioche. Pretty sure she's going to live in these, just like she lived in the summer dresses we got (seriously....i was so happy that I had 3 of the same dress in different colours. She wore them almost every day!!).

Update: Wanted to let you all know you can use code MCFALL to get 20% off online purchases of mini mioche. Enjoy!

Little Dude

Bennett is now 17 days old and continues to be a very chill dude. Although he was born weighing only 6lbs 10oz, he's now currently packing on the weight. At his first appointment at a week old, he was up by over a pound. Michael and I can even notice a difference in how he fills out his car seat, his bouncy chair and his clothes (out of the newborn outfits).
He spends most of his days eating and napping with the occasional break to chill in his bouncy chair. He seems to love being swaddled or taken to the park with his big sister while he's in his sling.
Right now we're going through a period of fussiness each day around 3-5pm. This has been interesting for me because it's also when Madeline is getting a bit restless. Did I mention she cries every time he cries?? I can't figure out if she's crying because it upsets her (she is very sensitive) or if she's just trying to compete for my attention. I think it's the latter. Regardless, at 3pm today you should think of me and my competing babies.
For those of you who are wondering - I'm currently not working and am home with the kiddies. I'm off for a couple of weeks and will then be gradually easing back into work.

Birthday Girl

We celebrated on Sunday, with family, Madeline's 2nd birthday! In her bright pink birthday dress (that she kept telling me was "pretty dress") she mingled with everyone, blew out her candles (with help from Mom), opened presents and ate too much sugar.
Thanks to everyone who joined us in making this a special day for our big girl!

Here's a shot of this year's cake. Again, we went to the awesome people at Noisette Pastry Works . They did a fantastic job again this year and the cake was delicious (lemon and raspberry)....perfect for the hot summer day!

Here she is applauding the crowd after singing "Happy Birthday".

With her Aunt Katie (are they starting to look alike?)

In her "pretty dress"....

Looking forward to next year!

Leap Frog - Tag Junior

We've had the Tag Junior in our home since last fall but Madeline is just starting to really use it on her own. For those of you not familiar with the Tag system, it's a "toy" that helps kids learn to read. At her age, it's actually more about helping children enjoy books and reading. It gives her a bit of independence with her books (I don't always have to be around) and it brings the books to life (music, sound FX, etc).
As you can see in the pictures below - the Tag Junior is designed perfectly to fit in the hands of the little ones (unlike the Tag which is designed for older kids and looks more like a pen). Madeline just grabs it, presses the on button and then starts to explore her Tag books by placing the toy anywhere on the book. The toy then plays a corresponding sound (it reads the words, or a character in the book says something or it plays music).



While we do read to Maddy a lot, she absolutely loves books so this toy has allowed her to explore her books on her own. You can also program the Tag to say your child's name when they turn it on. I think this is a new feature....or else I'm just discovering it. Madeline loves that it says "Hello Madeline" every time she presses the on switch.

The only drawback to the Tag Junior is that you need to buy the special books to be able to use it (obviously!). The books are reasonably priced and have lots of popular titles (Winnie the Pooh, Dora) so it's not a huge deal. Clearly she enjoys it.....

Happy Birthday!!

On Tuesday, our little girl turned the big 0-2!! Oy!
We spent the special day up at the cottage with Nana and Aunt Judy. She opened a couple of presents from Nana and Mom/Dad - both were a big hit. We got her the My First Dollhouse from Fisher Price. This thing was out of stock everywhere I went back in June. I must have gone to 5 different stores looking for it. I finally found it at the TRU at Yonge & Eg and I had to carry the massive box down the street (lets remember I was 7 months pregnant...so the box just seemed bigger). 2 weeks before her birthday it went on sale and every store seemed to have it in stock.
Anyhoo, she absolutely loves it and has been playing with it non-stop since she got it. So my adventures to find it have paid off.
Tomorrow we'll be celebrating with the whole family at a party at Nana's house. She's been talking about her Birthday party for about a month now. I have no idea if she really knows what it's all about. She'll tell you that there will be cake and balloons and that people will sing "Happy Birthday". I think she's most excited about the balloons. I'm most excited about the cake.... and maybe the wine :)

In other news, Ben had his first dr's appointment last week and gained over a pound since we left the hospital. He's feeding really well and seems to be growing like a weed. He's quite a happy little man.

Saying "cheese".....