happy new year

I wanted to take a moment to tell you all how grateful I am for each and every one of you. I can't believe we are closing the chapter on 2013. The past year has gone by so fast. It was a year filled with little miracles, and it was a time where we said some goodbyes. We have grown as a family. Our children have achieved new milestones. My husband and I have grown as a couple. We have set new goals for the coming year. We have truly been blessed in 2013 and look forward to seeing what 2014 has in store.

May 2014 bring you everything you wish for and more.

Happy New Year!

Photo credit Nicole Marie Photography

merry christmas

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas with your family and friends. I decided to disconnect from here over the holidays to enjoy some much needed family time. I wanted to savour every moment with my wonderful children and husband.

We have had a jam-packed Christmas but we loved absolutely every moment of it. Our kiddos were all smiles as we attended parties, went tobogganing, met Santa and his elf, decorated gingerbread men, completed a few Christmas-inspired crafts and opened a ton of presents.

I hope to catch everyone up over the next week or so. I am still on holidays until the new year, so I fully intend to cram as much as I can in the next few days with the fam.

I still can't believe in a couple days we will be ringing in 2014!

christmas photos 2013

Only two more sleeps until the big day! I have been off my A game this year. I have to apologize for the lack of holiday-inspired posts. It feels like we have been rushing around trying to jam as many holiday activities in as possible while dealing with constant sickness in our home. I have decided as much as it brothers me that I have a million and one things that need to be accomplished, it is now time to slow down and enjoy some family time. I know I need to cherish each and every moment with my little ones, especially now that the holidays are here.

Well, it is next to impossible to get my children to co-operate for photos but I was determined to get a few Christmas-inspired shots. We had handfuls of candy and lots of raising of our voices but I think we managed to get a couple photos that captured our children loving the holiday decor and gingerbread men.

3 months

Wow, I feel like I say this all the time but I can't believe how fast this little guy is growing. Today marks three months!

My dear son, you are growing at lightening speed, please feel free to slow down. The last month has been a bit hard on you. You dealt with a cold that did not want to go away. It seems to us you are on the mend now, fingers crossed this is true. You started teething (yes, you guys are reading this correctly) You are drooling like a bulldog and it's a miracle you still have your hands left as you are constantly gnawing away at them. We can see two little teeth trying to poke through on the bottom. You are one strong and determined child. When we put you down, you try to sit up on your own. You have also decided it's time to roll over. You have only accomplished this a few times but I don't think it will take you long to master the art of the roll.

You love to smile and chat with everyone. I love love love the stories you tell me, especially the ones when you first wake up in the morning. You are an eating machine. I feel like you are attached to your milk supply 24/7. Gone are the nights when you slept for 5-6 hours. Now it seems like you eat ALL night long and can't go more than two hours at a time without a drink.

In the last month you received your first set of needles and took them all like a champ. You were 13 pounds a few weeks ago. You are wearing mostly 6-9 month clothing. You are loving all the Christmas lights and we can't wait to celebrate your first Christmas.

Well, I better stop writing as I can hear you getting fussy in your bed. I guess it's time for another feeding...

our monkey turned four

Well, it's about time I shared with all of you Little Miss L's 4th birthday celebration. Several weeks went by and each week I would ask Little Miss L. how she would like to celebrate her birthday. Each week she would respond with a different answer. One week she would like a princess-themed party, next a butterfly theme, followed by Barbie ideas then Dora etc. you get the picture. I finally realized letting a soon-to-be four year old decide was probably not my best bet.

As most of you know, I always look forward to hosting my children's birthday parties. I still remember all the effort my parents put into my birthday parties to make sure I had an absolutely fabulous day. I can only hope to live up to what my parents provided. I love hosting parties at our home but this time around I had to admit defeat as I knew hosting a party in our home with a newborn is not exactly what I wanted to do.

After going through a list of different places I found the perfect match. Our daughter loves gymnastics so what better place than the gym to host her party. Little Miss L. had an absolute blast running around with her friends and family. After getting their energy out, they filled their bellies with lots of yummy treats.

Thank you again to everyone who came out to celebrate her big day. It means so much to us to have so many wonderful people surrounding our family. Also, a big thank you to our surprise visitors - it made our weekend extra special.

P.s. I have to admit I enjoyed the easy clean up. I didn't have to spend hours afterwards cleaning and organizing our home.

santa loves bubbles

I feel like I am a broken record but here I go again... things have been super busy around here and that is why I have been MIA. We are still trying to get accustomed to being a family a five, trying to function on very little sleep, dealing with three sick kids - did I mention I hate this time of year? - keeping our household afloat and trying hard to accomplish all we can when it comes to our work. Now, the holiday season is upon us and our calendar is pretty full. Don't get me wrong, as most of you know I am not one to sit around and enjoy being busy, but I am trying my best to find a balance between work and family. Right now, I feel guilty that I am not accomplishing as much as I would like when it comes to my businesses. When I do find the time to get work done, I feel guilty for leaving my family. When I am spending time with my family I feel guilty because I am thinking about how much work I need to complete. It has been a vicious cycle over here but I know in time things will all even out, so until then please bear with me everyone.

I have been trying my best to get our family into the holiday spirit. I hope to share with you guys a few holiday-inspired crafts and activities that we have been up to. Until then, check out these two mini Santas. Both Santas were in a fabulous mood but it's hard to tell with Baby D who has been under the weather. I hope that we can clear this house of all those nasty germs before Christmas so we can all enjoy ourselves.

gymnast

A few months back, we decided to take Little Miss L. out of dance to give her a chance to experience gymnastics. Our little girl enjoyed attending dance class (ballet and tap) but she was always jumping and tumbling where ever she goes. So, what better place to do that (instead of in my living room) than at the gym.

Little Miss L. had no hesitation when entering the gym for the first time and she never looked back. I loved watching her evolve over the last few months. She never shied away from trying something new. She is easily distracted and often does not pay attention to instructions but still somehow manages to complete her tasks.

The other night, the parents had the chance to enter the gym with their children to watch a class up close and personal. Little Miss L. had a fantastic time showing us how she could walk on the beam, swing on the rings and complete the middle splits.

Here is a peek at what we witnessed during her class...

winter wonderland

We had our first snow day today! The kids loved waking up to a winter wonderland. We have been busy crafting, playing outside and sipping hot chocolate. Yes, life is good and I am not complaining one bit.

I had a chance the other day to snap some pics of the kiddos. It was no easy task but I think we got a few good ones. I can't wait to share them with all of you!

2 months

Yesterday marked two months for our little guy. I can't believe how much you have grown in a month. You are wearing mostly 3 month clothing but it won't last much longer. You are full of chatter these days and your brother and sister love making you talk. Their favourite part of the day is singing to you and watching you smiling back at them. You have been battling a cold for most of the month, I am praying you get over it real soon as it has been hard for you to sleep and eat properly. You still have a massive appetite and you took a bottle for the first time this month without any problems. This makes momma happy as I can now get out of the house (by myself) and leave you to spend time with others. If you hadn't been stuck with this awful cold, I am sure you would be sleeping through the night 90% of the time. You have been giving me a full nights sleep off and on this past month and I love it! I love that you recognize mommy and daddy's voices and now hold onto our fingers when we hold you. I call you my little cuddle bug as we could cuddle together all day long. Tomorrow, we will head to the doctor's for your first needle, I am hoping this is harder on me than you. This weekend, we are heading to get our first family photos as a family of five done. Let's hope you and your siblings decide to co-operate just this once.

FYI- If you are wondering where I got this totally cute giraffe outfit, check out the awesome creations by Alycia at TuTu Chic Boutique

d turns 2

Alright, I know I have been slacking in the blogging department, but dealing with ear infections, eye infections and colds has been keeping this momma extremely busy. As you know, I consider my blog to be a digital diary for my children to look back on. So, I thought I better get caught up and share with you Baby D's 2nd birthday celebrations (it only happened in August... I know!)

We had a two part celebration. One afternoon we had a little pizza party at home with some of Baby D's buddies. Baby D is obsessed with cars, so it was only fitting to have a Cars-themed party. The kids had fun tattooing themselves, munching on pizza and sweets and helping Baby D open his goodies.

I can't believe how much Baby D has changed in appearance since August. He looks a lot more mature now after his haircut but I am missing those long luscious locks he once had.

Thanks again to all of D's buddies for attending and showering him with so much birthday love! Here is a look at part 1 of the celebration.

The sweets. More to come in later post about food and decor choices for D's parties.

Teddy race cars and stop lights.

Lunch time.

I think someone was loving their pizza?!?

These two crack me up - when they get together is it nothing but giggles.

Tattoo station.

Digging their tattoos and stickers.

Check it out!

halloween recap

Ok, I have finally come out of my Halloween sugar-coma. This year, I was looking forward to the big night of trick-or-treating as both of the older kiddos understood what the celebration was all about and they both were old enough to walk on there own (woohoo, no more aching back at the end of the night.) The kids didn't really have a choice when it came to costumes this year - I know, bummer eh? Each year, Halloween arrives and it is always either cold, raining or snowing. One afternoon, while we were out running our family errands, I came across skeleton onesies. I thought this would work perfectly as I could layer underneath and the onesies would keep them warm. Little Miss L. wasn't too thrilled with the idea as she wanted to be a princess, so to win her over, I suggested she wore a princess costume to school and sported the skeleton in the evening (see I am not that mean.)

With costumes ready and candy purchased, it was time to get down to business. We started our night with a spooky inspired dinner. Who doesn't love blood juice and green worms? After dinner, we headed out to my sister- and brother-in-law's to join them for trick-or-treating. It ended up being the perfect night for all the kiddos as the rain stopped just in time and it was actually pretty warm out... of course, on the year I am actually prepared for crap weather! The kids filled their bags and I may have sampled a few chocolate bars for them. I loved hearing both of the kids excitedly yelling trick-or-treat and smiling as they walked away with a bag of goodies.

Well, that about sums up our Halloween. I hope all of you had a spooktacular time!