Cheers to 2014!

Wow. I just realized that I written a post since Thanksgiving!  As you can see, I am a busy mom.  My life right now is seriously my boys (including Sean).  It has been tough adjusting from that full time working mom to being a house wife/mom but after 4 months now, I think I have the hang of it.  Hunter is still going strong with the "terrible 2" thing and Tyler is teething bad.  He will be 4 months old this week which is really hard to believe and when I sit and think about how fast he is growing, I shed tears.  He is 16 pounds, wears a size 3 diaper, wears 6-9 month clothes, rolls over each way and scoots a little now when he is on the floor.  He also recently has cut his first tooth.  I know.  Some days, I'm like, what happened to my little baby?  It also doesn't help when Hunter was gaining ounces at a time and not pounds at a time like Tyler.  Hunter is going to have a brother that is bigger than him at this rate.  Hunter weighs 25 pounds (maybe 26).  He is going to be lean like his daddy and I guess Tyler is just taking after me..hahaha.  Either way, they are both doing great.  Hunter is talking a ton and actually speaking 2-3 word sentences like crazy which I think that I am the only one who really knows every word he says, but hey, he says it!  We put him in swimming lessons for awhile just to keep him in the water because our pool is chilly right now.  He did very well.  At one point he was the youngest in his group and received 2 ribbons for excelling.  Sean has been working a lot but was able to take some time off around the holiday so that we could all be together and he could take a break.  It was well worth it to have him home.  I even got a few days that I could sleep in!   I wouldn't really call it sleeping in because I did have to feed Tyler when he woke up and plus I just can't sleep in anymore.  Either way it was nice because I didn't have to get up right when Hunter starts yelling "Mommmma!" around 7:30 am. BTW, we don't even use the monitor for him anymore because he yells so loud! 

 

We had a wonderful Christmas and was so grateful that my mom (Mimi) could be here.  She was such a great help and I was able to actually relax and drink a few glasses of wine (well, more than a few =).  Sean and I went out a lot and her and I went out a few times too.  Between Santa, all the grandparents (we can't thank them enough) and of course Sean and I, Hunter and Tyler were so spoiled on Christmas day (in a good way).  It got to the point that Hunter was just done opening presents so I took all the ones that he didn't unwrap (along with some that were already opened) and put them in a big box in his closet to save for a rainy day. He had a toy overload!  His Mimi got him this huge remote control truck that was bigger than he was!:

 

 

 

And he also got a remote control Fire Truck that lights up and the ladder extends out and up on it that he manually just drive around the house:

 

He is all boy!

 

Tyler got a cool little bumbo seat from his Maw Maw and Paw that he can play on and can be used for him to feed on.  Tyler loves it because he can sit right on the floor with Hunter and watch him play with his cars.  Hunter also got a stock pile of new shoes from them until he turns probably 5.  Tyler also enjoyed his very 1st Christmas =)

 

My sweet little boy. 

 

Our big gift that we gave Hunter this year was the train table with his Thomas the Train set.  Fortunately, I bought the train table off of Craigslist for $50 and one of my good friends gave me all of her nephews Thomas the Train sets.  The train set that she gave me was so enormous that there was no way we couldn't even fit it all on the table. We figured we can set it up bigger somewhere else as he gets older. Right now, the patio is a perfect spot.  He really loves it and is so into "choo choo" trains now.

 

"no cheese, mom"!

 

I'll spare you all the other toys they both got but that was just to name a few. I hosted Christmas this year at my house (usually it's at Sean's mom's) and without the help of my mom, I couldn't have pulled it off with all the cooking.  She helped me out a ton and we all had a great time.  Hunter and Tyler  literally had a second Christmas present opening at our house between all the gifts that his sister and grandparents gave so Hunter was busy and on a "toy high" with that.  Tyler actually managed to take a little nap while there was so much excitement going on with everyone.  Phewww, just thinking back to that day exhausts me!  LOL. It was all worth it though. 

 

 

Sean's sister, Marnie got engaged to her fiancée Eric on Christmas Eve so we were celebrating that also. 

 

Congrats, Marnie and Eric!

In between Christmas, we managed to go to the Broward County Fair where Hunter had a blast.  I am not a fan of riding on rides at a fair but I loosened up because the rides that Hunter could only go on (obviously) were on the ground and didn't do much so I was ok with it.  Tyler, of course, slept the whole time.  He is such a great baby to take anywhere =)

 

 

 

Hunter just won a turtle playing a water gun game with Mimi and wanted to run around with it so this was the photo we got.

 

Also, we can't have a visit where we don't go to the park with Mimi so here we are one afternoon just hanging out and burning some energy off of Hunter:

 

 

 

 

 

I love my Mimi!

 

My mom and I went to lunch down by the beach one afternoon and were able to go to the Hard Rock one night and hang out. It was nice just being with her like old times minus the kids.  Sean is such a great babysitter =)

 

Notice the glass of wine....

 

 

At the Hard Rock!

 

I do have to take this time out to remember back when I had Hunter how in 3 more days from today I would be going back to work (see blog here).  I am very fortunate to be able to not go back to work this time with Tyler and have such a hard working husband.  I've realized that even though I have more tougher days than  I want, I'm still fortunate to be at home raising both of them.  So cheers to the new 2014 year! 

 

Turkey Blessings...

I can't believe that it's Thanksgiving already! Time flies when you're busy!   I feel like everyone wants Thanksgiving to hurry up so that they can go ahead and move onto Christmas.  I admit. This year, I am one of them. I already have my Christmas Tree and a few decorations up but we do have a lot to be thankful for and I'm especially thankful for having my wonderful family.  My husband is such a great dad and husband and is always thinking of us and what we need.  He always makes sure that whenever he is out to make sure that if we need anything before he gets home  to get it for us.  For instance, our outdoor fridge is always stocked with milk because both him and Hunter are such milk drinkers  so I never have to think twice about making sure to have any.  He is also working extra shifts every month to make sure that we make ends meet and to have a little extra so that I can stay home with the boys.  I truly am blessed.  Also, as you all know,  I am extremely thankful for my boys.  They couldn't be any more cuter and love that I have them to squeeze and kiss. I look forward to them as they grow and make memories with each other. 

 

This year Hunter and Tyler are thankful for the following things:

 

Hunter 

• His mommy and daddy and especially his baby brother =)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• All of his grandparents who all spoil him terribly (Nana and Grandpa Jim, Paw and Maw Maw, Grandma and Grandpa Weeks and Mimi)
• His swimming pool
• His play room where he can go bananas in and pull out every truck, toy and block and make mommy beg me to help clean it up everyday before bedtime =)
• His cars and choo choo's
• His Cars and Nemo movies

 

 

• His little school
• His milk, cookies, cake and peanut butter and jellies!
• His naptime for when he thinks he can get out all of his books and whatever else he can find from his shelves and put them all around his room before he finally passes out

 

• His "bubbas" (bubbles)
• His pockets in his shorts to shove as many cars into
• Getting out all of mommy's pots and pans out and matching the lids every evening while mommy cooks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• His Lullaby Elmo and "Googas" at night

 

Tyler

 

•  His mommy for producing his milk for him "on demand" and all times of the day.
•  His big brother who surrounds him with his toys on a daily basis and expects him to play (so cute!) and daddy for holding me and making silly faces at me while mommy makes dinner!
•  All of his grandparents as well who spoil him terribly!
•  His pacifiers! (this is one of mommy's too!)
•  His swing (unfortunately, this is the last week for him to be in it due to him getting a flat head...lol)
• His crib (during the day..lol)

 

• His activity mats and bouncer so he can exercise and coo
• His white noise machine because without this my mommy would not get any sleep

• All of the fans and lights that mommy and daddy have in the house because I am obsessed with them!

We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

  

 

 

 

 

The Moon and Googas!

Since Hunter was about 20 months old he has had this obsession for "googas" or as we know it, stars.  We have no idea where he developed this word for it and he is well aware what the real name of it is.  When we read a book and I ask him where the star is he will point to it and then say, "googa"!  If there is anything that has a "googa" on it, he wants it. This also crosses over into the marine life where he loves starfish too.  It's so funny.  I recently was cleaning out his closet and found his ladybug (which he thinks is a turtle) that displays the moon and stars on the wall when you turn out the lights:

 

He absolutely loves it and at bedtime he lays there and changes the colors of the moon and "googas" until he passes out versus banging his feet on the wall and getting up and trying to play while in the dark. This has kept us from going in there and telling him to stop.  We have also put a lot of the those glow in the dark stars on his wall but the brightness of the stars have worn out so they aren't as bright.  So in place of those glow in the dark stars the ladybug and also on his sound machine there is a slide that contains the moon and stars that he has to have on until he goes to sleep.  I'm sure that you have probably assumed that he is the number one fan of the "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" song.  We sing it to him every night while he throws a little fit about the idea of going to bed and while we sing it he realizes that he is tired and wants to get into bed and cuddle with his blanky's and the ladybug.  Also, when we are on Youtube looking at other random videos that he likes he will always make sure that he gets his fair share of some "googas" aka "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" songs too.   He is so cute about the "googas" and we wonder how long he will have this obsession and call them that.  (Please note that we when he says "googas" we always refer back to him as stars since we are working on his language development).

 

 

We have also decided on putting Hunter back in school part time.  Not just because I need a break for 5 hours 3 days a week but the fact that he does miss other kids.  Plus we know that it will help with his language development too just from interacting with them and so far it has been working really well.  I was somewhat hesitant on doing it because I didn't want him to contract all those viruses again and bring them home to his new baby brother but it hasn't been an issue (keeping my fingers crossed).  I admit its nice while its there because I can get a lot of work done around the house, work out and just spend some one-on-one time with Tyler.  So its been working really well for all of us. 

 

Other than that, we've been keeping busy and I have found some relief by keeping Hunter on a pretty strict regime here at the house.  Not that I didn't keep him on any type of schedule but I have just tuned it up more outside of his usual naptime and bedtime.  I have to thank my sister in law for this.  She is a pre-K teacher so she knows how well kids do when they have a more structured schedule.  I made notecards (nothing fancy) where I have written the word and a picture of what we will do next and made a little pocket where he puts them in when we switch activities.  Here is what I have:

 

• Whatever time he wakes to about 9:30 am (this time frame is for me because he obviously can't tell time)  - get dressed, eat breakfast, watch a little TV and playtime
• 9:30-11am - do an arts and crafts activity (this can range anywhere from painting to just simple coloring), snack and outside play
• 11 to 12:30 - lunchtime,  clean up  and naptime (my personal fave)
• whatever time he wakes - usually around 3 - snack, outside play or indoor play (I just let him pick).
• 5:30ish - dinnertime
• 6-8 pm - bath time, playtime and TV show if his choice (usually either Cars, Nemo or Barney)
• between 8-8:30 - Brush teeth, "googa"time and lights out!

I put this right at our kitchen where he sees it. 

Not that we didn't have some sort of schedule for him but having him actually put the new activity card in the pocket has really helped him have an easier time of switching activities so that there is no room for temper tantrums and there has been less Time Outs. This has taken about a week for me to see results but overall its worked pretty well.  There are times where we stretch some of the time frames or days where its raining and obviously we can't go outside so then I have to create something else for him to do.  Sometimes I even forget to have him change the card and he reminds me by running to it and having me find the card for him to put next.  So he really does pay attention to it.  That's my pat on the back when he does that. =) 

Love these boys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tyler: 7 weeks!

Okay. Yeah I forgot to post anything about Tyler at one month...oops! So I'm posting a 7week update on him. Hey, it's been busy around here! Hunter is in this "terrible 2" stage like big time! His jealousy is starting to subside which is somewhat of a relief but things are starting to get a little better.  I did have a rough few weeks there. Okay back to Tyler... like I have said before he is 100% opposite of how Hunter was since day one.  Tyler weighs 12 pounds and is 24 inches long.  When Hunter was 7 weeks he weighed 9 pounds and was 23 inches long.  He is already growing out of some of his 3 month clothes and is also in a size 2 diaper.  I tried holding him off as long as I could with keeping him in size 1 diapers because we got a huge stock pile of size 1 diapers from friends that I hate to not use but after having blow out after blow out of poop in all of his clothes, I decided it was time when he was 5 weeks old to move up a size.  Sean causally mentioned the other day that we could just save them in case we have another baby and I quickly replied, "yeah right!, I hope you are having the next one, because I'm not!" (Especially not any time soon, I'm still working on the weight loss here).  Tyler's been super smiley lately and melts my heart every time he does it.  He even smiles a lot when Hunter gets close to him.  It's so cute.  I managed to get a photo of Hunter kissing him on his changing table which he makes sure to do every morning when we get him dressed.   

 

I took this of him at the doctor's office while waiting for the doctor.  So cute!  He loves sticking his tongue out now while smiling. 

 

One of Ty's silly faces.

 

I love how Hunter is really trying to bond with him even though he wishes that he could play with him.  He will put his cars and parts to his trucks in his crib or around his changing table and every night I have to go in Tyler's room to pick up what he left or else I step on it in the middle of the night.  LOL.  Tyler's also really used to dealing with all the noise Hunter makes with his yelling and screaming around the house so he is able to sleep just about anywhere now in case he dozes off.  I mostly have him in his room anyway because we've been working on having him sleep in his crib instead of his swing  so I just have his video monitor on me wherever Hunter and I are at the time. Tyler is also sleeping at night on average about 5-6 hours straight and then wakes to eat and goes right back down for another 3 hours.  About once a week though he will sleep for the 5-6 hours straight and then be wide awake for almost 2 hours.   He's not fussy at all but just thinks its time to play but I can't help to not be cranky about it because he just smiles and coos the whole time and he's so cute to cuddle with so I we just get up and wait for Hunter to wake up.  Those days I drag a lot but like I said it's usually just once a week.  I usually am able to take a nap when Hunter takes one at lunchtime and Tyler takes one with me so I'm not completely sleep deprived especially the days when Sean is working so much and it's just me here. 

Here's Hunter helping Ty do Tummy Time

 

We also had some visitors this past week!  My dad and his wife, Elaine - aka "Maw Maw" and "Paw".  We had a really nice time with them and glad that they were able to visit.  Hopefully, next time they will be able to stay longer because they made a short trip but Hunter had a great time and loved being with them.

 

Fun playing at the park.

 

Maw Maw enjoying the boys.

 

Pumpkin carving time! 

I can't believe that Tyler is just about 2 months old.  It seems like just yesterday that I was still pregnant wondering when he was going to be here.  We're so happy that he is here!

 

I love my boys!

 

Oh brother ...

Now that things are somewhat settled in our house with us being a family of 4, things for Hunter are starting to become a little more clearer.  He has officially become jealous.  Not that I didn't think this would happen at all, I just didn't know in which ways he would express them in and the fact that he is in that "terrible two" stage.  For instance, whenever I'm feeding Tyler this is pretty much the only time Hunter acts like he really needs something and acts out on it if he doesn't have it right away.  He points to Tyler and starts crying and saying, "Ty!".  He gets so mad because he knows that its him that is preventing him from me getting up right away.  Then he does something that he knows he is not allowed to do and always results in  a Time Out that is enforced right away as best as I can while feeding Tyler (btw, we have 2 Time Out chairs on each end of the house for this).  Lately, he already knows that he did something wrong and has already been heading for the chair before I say anything....haha!  Another example, of his "jelly" and I think a little bit of him being that "typically 2 year old pushing the limits" is  before bed we either watch Barney or Youtube videos on the computer and this is also the time that Tyler goes through a tough period trying to put himself to sleep and I need to keep going in his room to check on him (almost always just to insert his paci and re-swaddle him) but while I am doing this Hunter will either a). touch the remote to the TV and push all the buttons that either cause the volume to sky rocket or do something to the movie or b) touch mommy's computer and cause some issue with it if we are watching Youtube videos.  He knows better that these are both off limits and to not do either of them before Tyler arrived but now this is his "jelly" acting out. In my world, he so funny because Tyler is such a good baby that he pretty much sleeps and eats all day (with the awake time that Hunter participates in) so those 20 minutes that I feed him are so miniscule compared to the whole day that he gets my full attention.  Haha.  I totally feel his frustration because I did spend all of my time with him before Tyler was here so I'm just being patient and letting him get through this and he did turn 2 so he is testing us more.  The one really good thing is that he does love being involved with "Ty".  He always wants Ty to take a bath with him and always gives him kisses.  He also loves to help me give Ty his paci when he starts to get fussy and I always let him pull up the chair to Ty's changing table to let him see me change his diaper and get him dressed.  Hunter picks out his outfit every morning =).

Hunter loves participating with Tyler when he's on his play mat.  It's so cute.

Now that Hunter is 2, he has been talking a lot more.  Not like full blown sentences all day long but he is always pointing out everything to us and whenever Sean and I tell him a new word that he hasn't heard he always repeats it.   Before I took him out of day care, the director did mention to me that he may need to be evaluated by a speech therapist and I got really concerned.  I wasn't too worried because all of his teachers were bilingual and Hunter followed their directions in Spanish but he always knew what I was saying too.  So I knew that Hunter probably wasn't too sure at how to answer anyone whether if it was in English or Spanish so that is why I thought perhaps he was a bit delayed.  Plus, I knew that when I was going to be home on maternity leave that he would pick up more words because I was home with him more.  Also, he wasn't even 2 years old yet and I knew that boys are usually more delayed that girls.  When I took Hunter to his new pediatrician (which I love and is also Tyler's), I asked him about the whole language thing and he said as long as he can say approximately 50 words that he is fine and he can clearly say that many.  I asked him about being evaluated by a speech therapist and he told me that I do not need to be concerned at all if he isn't picking up new words easily and if he was nearing 3 years old and couldn't say more than about 50 words then yes, I would need to.  So that is a relief for me.   Hunter is such a sweet boy and loves to give all of us kisses and hugs.  He loves to dance and sing his ABC's.  He is starting to really show his personality and at times he tells me that he just wants to play and be by himself in his room!  LOL.  He will tell me to go and will shut the door and say "bye mommy". Then 5 minutes later I will go in and see the mess he made with all his books all over the floor and will ask me to read to him.  He still loves his cuddle time with me and always leans on me and says, "cuddle?" and wants to hold my hand.  My heart melts and hope that it lasts forever.  He is all boy and loves animals of all sorts.  He loves to go on walks and look for lizards and of course loves playing in water, especially his pool. I am looking into to putting him back into daycare part time because  I know he misses being around other kids.  He does have a little playmate who name is Hannah and she is 3 that lives in our neighborhood.  I try and have him see her about once a week and he loves her and that helps.  I love seeing him interact with her now that he is older because she talks to him like he is her little brother and he does whatever she says! He really enjoys playing with her.  LOL. 

Anyway, so far the SAHM job has been pretty good.  Yes, I have moments where I want to scream for a second but overall, I can't complain.  Naptime and Dinner/Bed time are the toughest part of my day because that is  when they both almost always need me at the same time but we get through it.  Tyler is such a great baby and he is becoming more aware so he does need more awake time which is great because he is smiling more and is starting to be used to the noise from Hunter.  He is growing like a weed and I'm going through Hunter's hand-me down clothes more faster than I did with Hunter.  Tyler goes for his next checkup in 2 weeks and I've already weighed him and he weighs 10.5 pounds at 5 weeks old so I'm thinking he will be 11 pounds at that appointment.  These boys are going to be the complete opposite!  I already see it.



Love these boys so much.

 

Life in the Hapgood House...

Since Tyler has been here (3 weeks!) we've all been adjusting to having our 4th member of the family.  Nana (Sean's stepmom) and Mimi (my mom) have come to visit during these 3 weeks and have been a tremendous help. I'm so glad that they were able to be here and spend time with the two of them.  You kind of don't know where to start because you've been on such a routine with your 2-year old that having a newborn makes it a bit more challenging.  You have one more to watch and check on (not that I didn't know that) and finding ways to make it easier on yourself is the challenging part (aka super multitask) ; plus making time for yourself and getting enough rest comes into play.  I will say this: Tyler is a lot easier than Hunter was. Hunter was definitely not a sleeper like Tyler and he just goes with the flow. Tyler is a sleeper but now that he's 3 weeks old  he is more aware.   About every other night he goes through a fussy period around 8:30 pm for about 2 hours where he is overstimulated and I'm wondering if I just need to keep him up a little bit more during the day but other than that he is great!  

 

Here is Tyler compared to Hunter at this stage (not trying to compare the two of them already but its such a huge difference!):

• Tyler takes a pacifier already- Hunter didn't take one until he was 4 months old
• Tyler takes a bottle - Hunter didn't take one until he was 7 weeks old
• Tyler has been out of the house the first week he was born (he's such a good baby that's why!) - I didn't take Hunter out of the house until he was about a month and a half old
• Tyler sleeps in his crib and loves it - I didn't even attempt this with Hunter until he was about 3 months old
• At 2 weeks old, Tyler weighed almost 9 lbs - Hunter didn't even weigh near that until he was about 2 months old

Such a big difference already!  My pediatrician said that the second born child is 99% easier than the first.  I guess that's because we are so relaxed with the second one.  Haha. 

I was really worried about how Hunter was going to be when Tyler arrived and has completely taken me by surprise.  He is very interested in him and whenever he is awake he likes to be next to him and put his face right up to his which does make me nervous but I guess that's his way of getting to know him.  Then sometimes he will give him a kiss on his cheek.  There's been a few times when he plays with one of his soft balls that he has thrown it to Tyler and we have to remind him that Tyler can't catch and throw yet (haha).  Hunter has his moments of jealousy too but I know it's normal.  For instance, I went to change Tyler on Hunter's changing table in his room and Hunter threw a fit.  I totally didn't see that coming and had to teach him that he has to share that with Tyler every now and then. He does surprise me though.  I have usually been waiting for Hunter to finish up with his bath and then I'll give Tyler a bath in the baby tub in the tub after he is done.  Well, the other night, Hunter grabbed his baby tub and put it in the tub and kept saying, "Ty, Ty, tub" (that's what Hunter calls Tyler..so cute!). So, since then I've been able to give them a bath at the same time and Hunter helps! Which reminds me, I need to take a picture of that!

While Nana and Mimi were here we were able to go to a few places and had a great time with them (Nana came first and then one day later Mimi arrived):

 

We went to an alligator farm with some other animals which was so cool because I've never seen an alligator up close before.  Hunter loved it!



Look at our tour guide so close to the alligator!

Hunter could have held a baby alligator but was scared to much to hold it. Tyler got to see him too =)

Nana!

 

Hunter and Nana playing with one of his birthday gifts.



Here is where we went to a Botanical Wildlife Garden with a bunch of different animals.

Hunter is very interested in ducks these days so we took him to feed them at a nearby park.

A proud Mimi holding her 2nd grandchild.

Mimi swimming with Hunter.

Also, Hunter had his 2nd birthday party!  I chose the theme of Cars. He loves that movie and figured that was perfect.  Plus, Walmart has a big pack of decorations that was perfect because with Tyler being 2 weeks old I knew I would have zero time to make any or do anything creative.  I really wanted to have a party for him and made it a "Hunter 2nd birthday/welcoming Tyler" party.  My mom was in town over that weekend and helped me take care of food and all the party necessities so a huge thanks goes to her for that.  Also, Sean's mom went to a yard sale and they had some leftover decorations from someone else that had a Cars theme birthday party so she picked up all the Cars stuff they had.  They were a hit! I was glad that I had so much help with organizing it because I was still in a little bit of pain and stressed making sure everything was ready in time. Not to mention I just had a baby 2 weeks prior.  I would have never imagined doing this with Hunter and didn't realize that I was having it so quickly after Tyler was here but it all worked out. We had about 8 kids come plus their parents so we had about 18 people over for a pool party.  The party turned out great and all the kids had a great time. I never thought there would be so many kids in the pool!  Sean and a buddy of his sure had a workout that day with being in the pool with all of them! I'm unable to get in because of my C-section, which I'm still so bummed about.  I have to wait a few more weeks until I'm all healed.  I'm hoping the pool is still warm at that time =)

 

All the kids picking up the candy from the piñata.

Thank goodness for Publix cakes!  I love how they can make a cake with cupcakes!

Hunter and his buddies!

Sean with all the kids underwater.  I love my husband...he's such a big kid.

Here were the Cars boxes that Sean's mom was able to get at that yard sale and the kids playing with them....

 

...and the big kids playing with them.=)

 

 

BTW, this post took me about 3 days to write with all the action going on around here!