Tuesday, February 18, 2014

TWO!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, wow, wow, when did this happen. My boys are turning 2 tomorrow and I don't think I am ready for that. I thought the first year of their life was going to be the most challenging with the majority of the ups and down and it turns out I am in for quite a ride. Like others before me have said every stage (age) has its ups and downs and I realized that the first year was actually cake compared to the second. Both were amazing but very different. Actually the most difficult stage was from 14-19 months when the boys were fully mobile and into everything. They constantly tested boundaries and I had to worry about their safety ALL of the time. Now they are still testing boundaries but because they can comfortable go up and down stairs and get on and off of things I can take a deep breath (once is a while).
Hudson
Those long eye lashes, furrowed brows and adorable grin are impossible to resist. You are so darn cute and you know how to use that. You are strong willed and even though your brother might be a bit bigger and a tiny bit faster you NEVER miss a beat. You get what you want and often take what is your brother's. For some reason your brother's food and toys appeal to you and you can't resist taking them. You love to test boundaries and you have had your fair share of time outs in these last couple of months. You are also our snuggle bug and you love daddy. I mean LOVE daddy, if you had it your way you would be in his arms all day every day. You two have a special bond and it is so adorable to watch. You also love your blankets (not as much as your daddy of course) and I can you Linus because you love to drag them around the house with you. Often you even lay on the floor and snuggle up on your blanket to relax, pretty darn cute if you ask me. You can't get enough of water, you could play in the sink for hours,  you are not happy when water play time is over. Holy cow you have a pair of lungs on you and you let us know when you aren't happy......lol. You love playing with your train table but it isn't good when your brother joins you. Somehow you always seem to want the same trains and an argument usually ensues. When you play with it alone though you have a blast and it is so fun to watch.
Sleep
You are still a great sleeper and you go to bed at night by 7pm and wake up anytime between 7 and 8am. You went down to one nap this year and your naps last anywhere from 2.5-3 hours. Actually sometimes I even have to wake you up so it doesn't interfere with bedtime. You like to sleep with your fingers through your blanket and unlike you brother you are happy when you get up and you after chat and play in your crib.
You love your brother and whenever you wake up or he isn't in the room you are looking for him. You literally say "brutha" thousands of times per day.
Motor Skills
You starting walking right around your first birthday and you have been on the go ever since. You like to climb almost as much as your brother and you love to press buttons.
Verbal
Your speech was a bit of a concern for mommy (I worry too much) and she took you to see a speech therapist. The speech therapist thought you might be a bit behind but she wasn't overly worried. We were offered some advice on how to encourage speech and given an option to do speech therapy. Right around that time you started talking more so mommy decided to wait and watch to see how you progressed on your own
                          Hudson eating a snack at the play group we go to :)
                                    Hudson with a messy spaghetti face
                                             Hudson cheering on team Canada in the hockey game today

                                             Hudson colouring (and licking the marker)

Fynn
My little wild man, you are still you own guy. You are independent but love your "brutha" at the same time. You bring him soothers if he is upset and you rub his back. When mommy asks you to share you are very good about letting your brother have a turn (Hudson is still working on that.....lol). You still whine but it isn't constant (unless you are sick). You are still incredibly busy and there is never a dull moment when you are around. You walk on your tip toes and because of that you have the most defined calf muscles of any 2 I have ever met. You are really into books and puzzles right now. Your favourite book is "I love Trucks" and you love doing puzzles with daddy. You can get pretty frustrated when you can't figure things out. You like to try to play with the trains but you often put too many in a line so when you go over a bridge they all fall apart. This makes you very upset and you generally launch one (or more) across the room. We are working on that. You love bath time and when we are all having a long day mommy sometimes gives you more than one bath just to keep you occupied.
Sleep
You don't seem to need as much sleep as your brother and although you also go to sleep at 7pm you wake up like clock work right at 7am (I am not complaining). Your naps are shorter than your brother's and you usually wake up after 1.5-2.5 hours. It works out fine though because you guys are in different rooms and mommy doesn't mind some extra one on one time with you. You aren't quite as adaptable as your brother when it comes to sleep in general. If we go off of our schedule you don't do well and often wake up in the night. Also if you are sick you wake up multiple times.
Motor Skills
You are very physical and don't have any fear. You climb everything and I don't really worry about you falling (although I worry what you will get into). A couple of times I have gone to get Hudson upstairs and come back to find you jumping on the pub table. I now make you come up with me because I worry for your safety. You and your brother are obsessed with daddy's coffee maker. You drag the kitchen chairs to the counter and press all of the buttons and insert the cartridge to make the coffee. Mommy bought you your own toy coffee maker but you weren't fooled and still wanted the real thing. You also have a huge fascination with the humidifiers in your rooms. You take it apart and splash in the water, it drives me crazy....lol. Another thing you love to do is push your step stools around and flick lights up and down :)
Speech
Your speech was also a bit behind but in the last week you seem to be saying tons and learning multiple words per day. It is like you are making up for lost time. I love that you are talking more because I am really learning how and what you are thinking.

Words
Hi, bye, daddy, mommy, poppa, pop, brother, up, cracker, cookie, water, car, truck, bus, more, bubble, no, book, all gone, pee pee, poop, diaper, birdie, duck, banana, apple, soother, ball, that, this, dog. downstairs, wow, uh oh, buddy, tv. hot, light, dirty, oh no, cheese, go, choo choo, two, ho ho ho (for santa), bounce, bath, jump, pizza, Cole, Sam, mouse, floor, fall, moo (cow), ssss (snake), grrr (lion), bad, teeth, meatball, thank you, please, hockey, meow (cat), share, me, heater, oval, star




Big Boy Rooms

We moved into our house in April of last year and we didn't have much money to decorate. We basically moved in, slapped a couple of pictures on the wall and that was it. With the boys' second birthday coming up and knowing we had almost been in the house for a year we started to start on their rooms. We are still on a very limited budget so instead of asking for toys and games for the boys (they have a ton) we asked for room décor. I really like how they are looking.
 
 
Hudson's Room
 
 I found this awesome shop online and my sister gave the boys each a name plate for outside of their room for Christmas. I loved the colours so much I decided to use it as inspiration for their rooms. The theme of their rooms is now  transportation because I didn't stick to the initial car theme.
This is my favourite angle of the room :)
                              The route 66 sign and tractor are tin and eventually I would love it if that entire little area had tin signs covering it (not in the budget right now)
   I had the hardest time finding ANYTHING to cover these windows, for now they are just those easy fit shades in a beige colour but eventually I would like to get custom made blinds in a cool pattern. I am also thinking about doing some book shelves across the bottom of that wall
                       This is the glider from their nursery I would prefer to get a new chair but one step at a time. My friend Kim ordered Hudson a red hand carved Play sign for above his little chalk board
 My sister's friend made that cool ruler growth chart in the corner
 These are the vintage cars that were the inspiration for their nursery



Fynn's Room



                       My friend Kim also bought Fynn a sign that says READ in orange to go next to his book case and over his bean bag chair
                              This believe sign was given to me when I was trying to conceive
                        Fynn's personalized pillow bought by my sister for his first birthday

Pictures from Hudson and Fynn's 2nd Birthday Party

                                       My attempt to be crafty, I had a cuter banner ordered from Etsy but hubby  threw it in the garbage because he didn't know what it was :(
                                You probably can't tell but these were collages of the boys over the year in the shape of the number 2
            The boys are obsessed with all things cars and trucks so that was our theme
                                               Hudson's collage, I take terrible pictures
                                             Fynn's Collage
                          Canada Olympic hats and Cheetos make a great gift :)
                                               Fynn learning to blow out a candle
                                                 Pictures of the brothers together
                             Grandma and Grandpa were home for the party :)
                                              Hudson has cool shades for his party
                                               They loved playing with the balloons :)