two

she's funny and fierce

she's sweet (every now and then) and saucy (a lot)

and today she's TWO!

Georgie is one of a kind, magnetic and fiery.
We love her beyond measure and are buckling up for a wild ride!

You can read her birth story here and here

52 weeks ago

52 weeks ago our life was like this

what felt like a never-ending Saturday at the time, 

would have completely been erased from my memory if I didn't have this wee little blog. 

I've decided to keep more of my personal moments and kids milestones off this space

and use it to persue other topics and personal interests. 

Lately I've been feeling more inspired to write here again 

but I certainly love to look back once and a while!

Amazing how quickly a year goes by...

from cow baby to playing (eating) playdoh with her big brother.
I can't believe in about 2 months this little lady is going to be a big sister!

this boy of mine

this 3 year old business is turning out to be all sorts of challenging.
Saucy pants attitudes, talking back, tears, crankiness, defiance.
All new levels of patience-testing I tell you.

And then he comes barreling in from outside,
proudly giving me two flowers he had hand picked just for his mama. 

Me: Oliver these are beautiful

Oliver: Yes they are beautiful, see you later mom.
There are some really great 3 year old moments to be had.

king of the castle

In less than 3 months, he will be THREE!

Oliver has both blown me away and put me place lately. 

His independence has reached an entirely new level. 

He has to go potty "By myself... you wait in the living room" he says

As he scampers down the hall, shuts the door and climbs up onto his throne "Myself"

I can hardly believe that only a few short months ago, 

I was questioning on whether he would ever even be potty trained!

Our conversations often completely crack me up. 

Oliver "where did you go mom?"

Me "I just put Georgie down for a sleep"

Oliver "Good idea Mom"

He tells me "Good job" and "that's ok, no problem" on a regular basis. 

Of course he also screams, cries and pulls other two-almost-three-year old type shenanigans daily.

We went through a rough stage a few weeks ago where he was only talking in the third person and it was seriously freaking me out. Honestly try explaining to a two year how not to speak in the third person- it's messy. "Oliver not going to bed, Oliver stay up" "Oliver not getting dressed, Oliver stay back home" Thankfully we seem to be getting past it. 

It feels like forever ago since he was a little babe, how quickly nearly three years can pass. 

And in one day he can learn how to do laundry and put his own pants on... inside out and backwards:) 

Parenting can be so hard (most days), each stage has it's challenges. 

But each day has such big rewards too. 

And this day I call a win!

brother + sister

As Georgie becomes more and more interactive with her brother, 

I find myself sitting back watching these two little people in awe.

I was a bit nervous adding another child into the mix, 

not just in my own capacity as a mother but also for the impact it would have on Oliver. 

A siblings personality and their role in the family changes you. 

I didn't know if being a big brother would be a role he would relish or resent. 

But as it turns out, Oliver was born to be a big brother! 

While he is still getting used to her messing up his perfect line ups, 

he loves her, always concerned for her and looking out for her. 

He's happy to give her hugs and kisses and needs to "get her" as soon as she's woken up. 

Oh these two Taurus babes! We are preparing for some epic battles to ensue,
no doubt with these fiery personalities but they also have an undeniable connection
that I will do my best to nurture and protect. 

boy wonder

Oh this little boy of ours is really something. 

He often sounds like a broken record, on repeat, over and over again. 

He demands you acknowledge every word that comes flooding out of his mouth! 

And let me tell you, every little thing that crosses his mind gets talked about. 

Oliver is very black and white. Things are what they are. 

A trait he most certainly gets from his father. 

They aren't diggers anymore, "No, it's a backhoe", "it's a bulldozer"

It irks him to no end when somebody refers to something incorrectly. 

It will not be tolerated and he must correct them... repeatedly if necessary, he can't help himself. 

Of course if he is the one getting it wrong and you correct him, well then he is still right and you are wrong. A trait he most certainly gets from his father ha!

Me: "Your a silly goose" 

Oliver: "No I not a silly goose, I Oliver"

Of course my favourites are him imitating me, he loves going in to get Georgie up from a nap and says in his highest pitch mom voice - "whos' making all this noise in here? Hiiiii Georgie,  MOM it's Georgie!" then proceeds to tell me about a hundred times that it's Georgie 

and she is a little baby, not a big boy like him. 

Of course some of my not so faves are him talking back and be super saucy, which include things like

Oliver: "no pictures"

Me taking pictures

Oliver: "I said no pictures!"

His growing vocabulary is often very amusing and remarkable,

He has started to memorize and recite verses from books and t.v shows. 

This morning he started reciting "Mortimer" one of his new favourite Robert Munsch books. 

It's pretty incredible how much he has learned in just 2 -3/4 short years. 

Ahhh he's nearly 3,THREE I say! 

And we certainly get all the good, the bad, the ugly and the wonderfulness of a 2 year old!

Such a great boy, son and amazing big brother!

mom on a wire

September proved to be a challenging month.

We've (I mean me) hit the 4 month wall.

Both of my kids were great sleepers for the first 3 months!

While others were experiencing grueling newborn schedules my kids easily slept for 4 + hours at a time. Not to mention the happiness high I was on, the sunshine and rainbows of a sweet new baby.

But then it hits. The 4 month wall, where sleep schedules worsen, teething begins and some dark clouds move in threatening to rain on my parade. Sleep deprivation officially settles in.

Guy was away for about 10 days during the course of the month so parenting a busy 2 year old, a 5 month old (and 12 year old dog) on my own, while working and NOT sleeping

made me feel like I was stretched pretty thin, anxious and stressy (it's a word... maybe?) 

We are on the roller coaster of two year old emotions with Oliver. And it is an intense ride some days! Ok, most days. He is sooooo particular about everything and wants to be oh so independent by doing everything on his own "my do it" or "only me" to be exact. Which is fine, great even except when it isn't working out and there's a screaming baby and then a screaming toddler and a mama who is losing her mind. Of course going on broken/non existent sleep means my "patience well"

is running a little dry to begin with.

And then there is Georgie Girl. She is restless. So incredibly restless.

Even when I hold her she throws her body back and forth, thrashing about with force.

She doesn't want to be put down but she doesn't really want to be held either.

She does want attention, my attention and all of it.
This little lady goes from happy to sad to happy in nano seconds.
Sometimes she even laugh-cries! Our breeding schedule of producing not one but TWO taurus children is really going to bite us in the ass keep us on our toes!

But then there are these beyond incredible moments each day when Oliver is big brothering (it's a word... maybe?) Georgie and she is beaming her toothless grin at him and I am a puddle of mushy love on the floor. My heart is fuller than full. Or when we are together as a family of four, playing and enjoying each others company. Oliver is chatting away to Georgie, giving her toys (her own of course!) and we just get to marvel at our beautiful children and it takes all the other icky stuff away.

I know that one day I'll look back at this time and have forgotten about the sleepless nights or the restless child and long for Oliver to tell me "I sit you Mommy"
or have my little Georgie Girl bounce and kick with joy when she spots me from across the room
(instead of the stink eye I'm bound to get during the teenage years).

It's on a good day, when things are running smoothly (ie Georgie is sleeping, Oliver is at daycare and mama gets to write a blog post while sipping on a hot coffee) that it is easy to get perspective but some days are just hard and some days (as my wise sister once said) "there are too many hours today"

living on the edge

This little girl is strong and determined.

Incredibly drooly and trying to (did) roll over!
And as it turns out, yell-crying must be a family trait. She does it too.
Or maybe it's a Taurus thing because my sister definitely had some of that going on when we were kids, it was her own version ....we called it the wind up .

Georgie is 4 months (+ 2 weeks) old as of yesterday,
she's grabbing for her toys,  people's fingers and my hair.
Just like her brother, she too has a kung-fu grip
She's definitely a mama's girl but loves herself some daddy time too.
She's wild about Oliver, beaming her toothless grin at him always.
In turn he bends downs and talks to her to in this high pitched, sweet voice (totally imitating me!)
"Oh hiiiiiii Georgie Girl, hiiiiii"
"Whatcha doin' Georgie"
It makes me laugh everyday.

Georgie Girl is little more on the petite side than her brother at this age.
Oliver was weighing in around 17 lbs at the 4 month mark and little Miss was 14 lbs 7 oz at her
3 1/2 month appointment (I'm guessing she's at about 15 lbs now).
Although they were neck in neck during the first month!
Georgie still has her blue peepers, her perfect little lips and adorable chin!
She can really mean-mug it when she wants to, pout that bottom lip like nobody's business
and also has the absolute greatest smile!
We couldn't possibly be more in love with our little girl.

Happy 4 Months Sweetness.
xoxo