Weekend Recap

We had a pretty busy weekend around here but also found time to just relax a bit too which is always nice.  

We started things off great with a much needed hair cut for the biggest of the boys.  I love his curls and how they tend to droop over his face, it somehow makes him still look like my baby.  But the bangs in front of his eyes were getting a bit much, and little dude was sweating up a storm with all the extra hair.  He does look like such a big boy with his newly shorn head. 

I love this picture of the boys.  Marcus is on the move and he literally always wants to be right where his brother is.  Here he's playing with Lucas' toes and the look on big brother's face clearly shows he's non too impressed with this. 

Something about a baby in just a diaper always puts a smile on my face.

We gave Marcus his first baby approved pasta bolognese and he was clearly a fan.  Kid really likes food!

I love this impromptu moment between the boys after dinner.

Saturday afternoon my in laws came over to watch the boys while the hubby and I went out to celebrate our anniversary.  We didn't do anything too spectacular, ran a few errands and went to ikea which is always a treat for me cause ikea with a toddler that wants to touch everything is exhausting!  Afterwards we went to an early dinner at our fave sushi place where it was so nice to eat my food hot for a change and to indulge in a cocktail.

After dinner we went to chapters for a bit cause I can't honestly remember the last time I browsed for books all on my lonesome.  And that right there in my hand is a bag full of books that I got to peruse before purchasing!

As dates go it was low key but since this was the first time I left Marcus for an extended period of time it was just what I needed.  

Sunday morning we spent extra time snuggling in bed with the babies and kept it pretty low key.  When we don't have any plans we like to make big breakfasts and hang out.  While Marcus has his morning nap we either snuggle on the couch with Lucas or maybe work on a craft. 

We recently relocated this ottoman  in our living room and this is Lucas' new favourite way to watch his morning cartoons.

Sunday afternoon we had my cousins communion and it was nice seeing my family.  We don't get together as often as we would all like cause we are busy with work and kids.

Me and my baby.  Just love the after nap cheeks he's got going on here.

I've said it before and it won't be the last time, Lucas is obsessed with his cousin Emily.  He literally spent most of the evening chasing her around and hugging her whenever she let him.  She's kind of partial to him too.

This picture of the cousins just does wonderful things to my heart! I love that even though the boys aren't looking at the camera they are lovingly looking at each other.  Best brothers!

Pretty much the only decent family picture we got.  The struggle is real with a baby and toddler for family pics.

I love my mom!

I love my dad too.  Can you tell we are related?

And finally the girl of the hour!

The hall where my aunt and uncle held the dinner was a mere 10 minutes from my house so we got home before the baby fell asleep so we could do story time and bottle before bed.  

The hubby and I finished off the night with an episode of big brother Canada and passed out shortly after the kids.  It's a glamorous life around here.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend. 

Five on Friday - Anniversary Edition

Today is my five year wedding anniversary!  A lot has happened in the last half decade, we moved into our first home, we had two children, we changed jobs, we made a few renos to our home, we lived and loved.

I thought today I would pick one thing or picture from each year that we've been married that kind of encompasses what that year of marriage was for me.

ONE

I guess the biggest thing that we did our first year of marriage was move into our home.  I'm from a fairly traditional family and I myself uphold very traditional values so there was no way that I would move in with the hubby before the wedding.  The house we purchased was only going to be ready the month after the wedding so it all worked out for the best anyway.  I look at these first photos of the house when we moved in and see all the hand me downs that friends and family gave us that helped so much after paying for a wedding ourselves.  Also all the little changes that we've made throughout the years that have made this a home and not just a house.  More nostalgic is looking at a picture of the two empty rooms that we used as office spaces and now are filled with sleeping babies at night.

TWO

Our second year of marriage was consumed with babies on the brain.  Shortly before our first anniversary my sister had our niece, and until that point we had been trying without really trying, but  decided to kick things into gear.  We very soon realized that something was wrong.  I had not been having regular periods for years now and we realized that it was obviously affecting our success in conceiving.  We spent the year back and forth with our fertility doctor and finally conceived a few months before our second anniversary.  I know that some infertility journeys take much longer but trust me when I say that every month that goes by feels like an eternity when you desperately want to see those two bright lines.  This picture from our maternity shoot really shows the happiness of impending parenthood.

THREE

Oh year three you were good to us.  We welcomed our wonderful son Lucas in September and our lives just got a little sweeter.  We adjusted to being new parents and that was not without its trials, but I found a new appreciation for my husband.  He excelled at being a father, he would cuddle, feed and change that little man like it was his job (it sort of is lol) and everyday I fell a little harder for him.  There are so many pictures that could encompass that year like this one after our son was born.

I also love this one of the two us from a Christmas photo shoot we did that year.

 

But this candid shot from Christmas is one of my favourites from that year.  Our new family of three.  The many of what we affectionately dubbed our silly family selfies.  The tired eyes of new parents.  Still holding each other like it was yesterday.

FOUR

Year four was kind of busy.  We spent that first summer as parents just filled with fun activities as parents.  We celebrated our little man's first birthday.  We made the final decision that I would be a stay at home mom.  We celebrated holidays.  Oh and we got pregnant again hehe.  Yup just before our anniversary we found out we were expecting another boy.  It wasn't really a surprise we had been trying again shortly after Lucas' birthday, we just weren't expecting to conceive so soon.  There are so many amazing memories from that year I just can't pick one picture.

 

FIVE

Another stellar year really.  We spent the summer really soaking in everything with Lucas knowing that come September he would have to start sharing our attention.  Then we welcomed his little brother and life was never the same.  Its really wonderful this feeling of explosion that happens in your heart for your spouse whenever you see them with your children, and know that he is your partner in every way.  We have loved so far the adjustment of being a family of four, which really occurred a lot easier than I think we were expecting.  Its not without its moments of frustration and extra guilt but so far I think we have been making it work.  I admit that it sometimes puts a strain on how much patience we have for one another, since we put our stresses on each other, and we have yet to have a date night out, which we are rectifying this weekend.  I do believe though we have tried to make more of an effort to connect in other ways.  Having talks at the end of the day when the kids are in bed.  Making sure to say hello and kiss one another when the hubby gets home from work (you would be surprised how this little gesture is important), and making time for ourselves when we can.

Its been five years of highs and lows, but incredible highs and lows that we faced together.  There's no one else I would rather do life with than you.

Here's to many more my love.

Friday Favorites with A Little Bit of Everything, Momfessionals, and Grace and Love.

 

 

And 5 on Friday with A. Liz Adventrues, Carolina Charm, Hello! Happiness, and The Good Life.

Life Lately

Thought I would recap a few highlights from the last two months.  They have been eventful and busy but then I'm coming to realize that even when we don't have plans life with two under two is always going to feel busy.

At the beginning of March we celebrated Marcus' baptism with our closest family and friends and while I love to throw a good party I realized how much work and time management it requires when you have an active toddler and a demanding baby whose needs require to be met first and foremost.

This is literally the best photo I got of this kid in his dapper outfit.  He wouldn't sit still for the rest of the day except for the snooze he took courtesy of his Nonna during mass!

With his godparents, Gianni ' s sister and cousin.

With his future girlfriend.  Our best friends had a little girl two months after Marcus was born.  

This sweet boy is both full on terrible twos some days, and then the most affectionate little person ever.  I most times don't even need to ask for hugs and kisses, he doles them out like its his job. 

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with some crafting.  Say the word paint and this kid starts undressing himself and gets hyped up.  I love that he loves crafts as much as his mama, although I'm dreading the logistics of crafts like this with two.

We celebrated the fact that we had the first mild day in weeks with a little homemade chalk paint and watching the birds outside.

We moved Marcus out of the infant seat recently and this is pretty much how he sits the whole time he's in the car unless he falls asleep.  His eyes peeled on his brother.  I'm pretty sure he loves that he's got a better view of the world now. 

This is literally Lucas, all day, everyday.  Getting himself into shenanigans and situations that makes me just shake my head. 

We recently introduced finger food to Marcus, a full month early than his brother because someone was too interested in how his big brother was eating and wanted in on the action.  We had been practising with puffs for a few weeks so he could perfect his pincer grip and recently he got the hand to mouth coordination down pretty well.

We celebrated Easter with our families and matching yoda baskets, because why not.

This is my favourite photo from the holidays.  These two precious cousins have grown closer the last year.  The seek each other out the moment we get anywhere, and then its five ten minutes of just hugging and kissing.

Easter at Nonna's house where we got ten minutes of peace with nonna's old school "play pen".

This Kid.  That face.  Its so sad he doesn't have any personality hehe.

We finally made it to the park on a mild day, and this one wasn't too sure how he feels about the swing quite yet.

So Marcus started crawling already! 7 month birthday exactly like his brother, and now whenever he realizes I'm in the kitchen he follows me in there.  I will never make a cup of coffee in peace again. This face though, as if he's saying "Mom not too sure where you're going without me!"

This Kid.  That Face.  Yup my kids lack so much in the personality department.

We recently celebrated my niece's 4th birthday!  This pic of my sister and Marcus is just too precious for words.  She's the best aunt ever.

Of course she's as frozen obsessed as most girls in the world, so she kind of flipped out when she saw what the boys had given her.

This moment right here.  Lucas started chasing and following Emily around calling her Elsa, and whenever they would make it to the end of the house they would stop for hugs.

Mild days after the longest winter call for lunch picnics outside.

So I had started noticing that Marcus was gaining some confidence in pulling himself into a standing position so I last minute decided on Sunday to get the hubby to put his crib down, and by last minute I mean 2 minutes before I was supposed to put him to bed.  What I put the husband through.  Either way, good call on my part cause this is how I found the little guy the next morning, looking all sly.

And standing position conquered.  This only means that I'm 100 times more exhausted at the end of the day making sure he doesn't fall and hurt himself, and I'm dreading the realization that he's bound to be walking in another month or so like his brother did, and this summer will be equal parts fun and tiring.  That face though makes up for the less hours of sleep I've been getting.

 Wow, well if you read all that good for you, but if you stayed for the cute pictures I don't blame you.

Show and Tell Tuesday: What's in a name

I thought I would get back into the swing of blogging with joining a link up with a new fave blog I started reading a month ago.  We are sharing today the background on how and why we chose our children's names, and even how we got our own names.

I have had a girls name picked out since before the hubby and I even started dating, because I was always convinced that I would one day be a girl mom, but God is always laughing at our plans and helping us realize that he knows better than us.  So when we were pregnant the first time we knew we were going to find out the sex, and since Gianni had agreed and liked the girl name that I was fond of we just needed a boy name before our scan.  What should have been half the battle ended up taking us until the night before our ultrasound to settle on what would be our first child's name.

We literally scoured a baby name book that my sister lent me and had settled on a few names that we liked, but we were having a hard time on finding a consensus on one name.  I was pretty partial to Luke and found the origin of the name was Lucas, which meant bringer of light.  Once I read what the name meant and told Gianni we just knew that we had found the right name.  We had just went through a year of fertility treatments and trying to figure out which meds would help us successfully conceive when it indeed happen through an IUI, we felt like we had finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel.  It just seemed right, and I couldn't imagine any other name for my son, he truly lights up our world in more ways than we could have imagined.  His middle name is Pietro, which is the same middle name as the hubby.  We had already agreed before conceiving that we weren't fans of the whole Gianni Jr. idea so we settled on using the same middle names.

We didn't settle on Marcus' name until after we found out we were expecting another boy.  All I could think of was how hard it had been to settle on a boy name the first time around and now we had to do it all over again.  Once more we both had our favourites and couldn't come to a consensus.  I was really fond of the name Christian but couldn't get the hubby to warm up to the name at all.  Also I'm Portuguese and there is a very famous soccer player of the same name, and the hubby just couldn't see himself naming his child that and have all our friends and family thinking we named our child after a soccer player so I conceded and we settled on the hubby's choice of Marcus.  However, I once again referenced the baby book to find out what the background meaning of the name was and it stems from the God of war and means strong; and it somehow fit.  We had gotten pregnant much quicker this time around at the clinic, however half way through the cycle that we conceived we almost didn't make it to the IUI and thought the cycle was going to be a bust but suddenly everything turned around and we indeed successfully conceived again.  A warrior already.  For the middle name one of my front runners for the first name had been Julian, but we wanted to upkeep the tradition of an Italian name.  When we were looking for names I realized that Guliano would work for two reasons, it was the Italian version of Julian, but also could honour my father in law Liano.  I really lucked out in the father in law department, and he is an amazing grandfather to the boys, and we just felt blessed to honour him in such a small way.

Funnily enough both the hubby and I were named after famous European singers that our parents liked.  Also my parents decided to not give any of us middle names, however originally as the eldest I was supposed to be named after my paternal grandmother Florinda, although bless her she was an amazing woman I'm kind of glad my father like Sylvie way more.  Ironically I am the mirror image of my grandmother, so at least I can honour her that way hehe.

Its funny really how after you have chosen a name and you see your child there is no other name that you could imagine for him/her.  I feel like both names also have come to encompass their whole personality.  Lucas just feels like the name of a rambunctious and loud boy, which fits our son to a tee, while Marcus feels like the name of a silent but kind soul, which in the time that he's been here fits him exactly.

Can't wait to read other mom's journeys to picking their little ones' names.

A New Normal

I realized recently that I had been referring a lot to the updates I made here about Lucas to help me figure out new milestones with Marcus; and I missed the time that I would spend recording those moments for posterity.  So with that in mind I have made a decision to slowly get back to blogging, if only for the need to write things down that the boys do, and remember as well those milestones and moments in Marcus' life, and how raising two has been like.

I feel like we are coming out of that fog that always engulfs parents in the first six months, before a set routine is established, and better sleep, eat and play patterns start taking hold.  Even though Marcus unlike his brother is still not quite sleeping through the night, we have a daily routine that has been working great for the three of us.  We were able to establish a nap routine much quicker this time since we worked around big brother's routine, and I worked hard to establish a simultaneous afternoon nap so this tired mama could get some much needed me time, or a nap alongside the littlest.  I have always been a firm believer that routine is key in establishing good sleep patterns, and overall it fosters a sense of security for children, so making sure that I found a groove with two kids has been essential for my survival.

Life some days is hectic, other days riddled with a groundhog effect of routine.  After the most awful winter we have been stuck indoors a lot and cabin fever with two littles is not easy.  I have become a mom who loves the outdoors, and I know that Lucas is just dying to be outside running around from sunrise until sunset.  I secretly can't wait for that too, Lord knows that child has way too much energy that has taken everything in my arsenal to expend during these cold months.  We've spent more days than I can count not leaving the house at all, since towing two around is not the quickest or easiest thing to manage sometimes.  I have found though that sometimes a quick jaunt to the store, or library is enough to recharge my batteries with the little guys, and now that Marcus is out of his infant seat, we are loving that he gets to sit in the cart or big stroller and watch the world. 

I have loved watching Lucas blossom into this big kid, and truly the most affectionate big brother.  He puts himself in his car seat, patiently walks alongside me at the stores, and overall just listens better.  Obviously its not like that everyday, he is still a temperamental toddler that can lose his crap over being given the wrong sippy cup.  Overall though he's matured a lot in the 7 months that he's been a big brother, and thank god he still hasn't outgrown the need to cuddle with his old mommy, I need them way more than he does.

Well that's where my mind is at lately, and hopefully I can get back into the swing of things and keep updating on a more regular basis.  Happy week everyone.