Blackberries and my Big Boy

So far this week has been a pretty big one for Eli and I.  POTTY TRAINING! I'll admit that I was pretty nervous but based on the experience that my friend recently had and pretty much everything I have ever heard about potty training I don't think anyone will blame me.  I hadn't really planned on doing it this week because we have another wedding coming up at the end of the month and I didn't want to have to worry about pulling over at the side of the road every time Eli needed to go to the bathroom.  However, I think Eli has been ready for a while and he is doing a great job! Lately he has been telling me to change his diaper pretty much every time he pees when usually he would run away whenever I tried to change him. That was my first clue that he was basically done with diapers.  So one morning I put him in underwear just to see if we could do it... nursing a baby and trying to get a toddler on the toilet at the same time is not easy!  Needless to say we had a couple of accidents that morning.  When we went for a walk in the afternoon I put a diaper back on him because I thought there was no way I could get him potty trained without Bruce being home.  While we were walking Eli told me he had to pee so I put him in underwear again when we got home and he hasn't had an accident since.  I guess I was the one that wasn't ready to potty train and so he figured he would just do it himself.  I just can't believe how grown up he is now.  He isn't really a toddler anymore, he's a little boy.  I'll probably have a meltdown when he turns 3.
I try to get out for a walk with the boys at least once a day so that we can enjoy the remaining sunshine and so Eli can explore and get rid of some of his energy.  Along the path that we got down I have noticed tons of wild blackberry bushes and an apple tree so a couple days ago Bruce came with us and we picked some.  Once we started picking I could really see how many blackberries were growing.  We probably could have been out there for hours and not even make a dent.  It just made me so happy to live somewhere where I don't even have to have a green thumb to be able to enjoy fresh fruit.  Eli had a great time and we are still enjoying our blackberries everyday.

Our loot

He's really excited I guess

My guy

One Month

Well I can't believe it but it has been a full month since we had Simon.  How is that even possible? I thought that time went quickly with one child and now it seems to be passing even faster.  These past few days have been pretty eventful.  Bruce's family was nice enough to take Eli to their place for a couple of days so that I could catch up on my sleep and have a little rest.  We sent a text to Bruce's mom the day after he arrived there to see how things were going and I guess that about 10 minutes after walking in the door he fell, hit his face and got a black eye.  He is a tough kid though and when he got home he couldn't wait to show me his battle scars.  It was so nice to be able to bond with Simon for a little bit and hold him while he was sleeping.  I don't get to do that nearly as much as I would like to because there always seems to be something else to do.  I did however, miss my little Eli very much but I don't think he missed me at all because he was having too much fun.  I actually think that he probably missed Simon more because he wouldn't let him out of his sight for the first few hours after he got home.  Simon is doing great and getting big!  I think his cheeks will start to rival his big brothers pretty soon... at least I hope so.  Other than that we are moving on with the day to day and enjoying what we have left of the summer time!

Eli and Liam at Liam's birthday party

Putting on a couple of "cutie marks"

Bruce's mom sent this the day after he fell

Eli showing me his shiner

Simon is so happy...

Eli holding Simon's hand while playing cars

Simon and Daddy

My little one month old

Just Another Day

Life in the Chenuz household goes on and I am happy to say that I think I am getting into a routine of sorts.  The last few days here have been absolutely gorgeous and sunny so life is feeling pretty awesome.  Bruce also as his grand re-opening of his Marble Slab store this weekend so the great weather seems to be a good omen.  I am pretty sure that it is going to be crazy busy and that it will be a complete success.  While the weather has been lovely and I am not wearing my pyjamas around the house all day anymore, I am certainly missing my family.  It was so nice to see them at the wedding but I could have done with a longer visit that's for sure.  The sooner we get to see them all again, the better!

This week I have been busy socializing with my friends again.  Eli's best buddy, Liam, had his third birthday party yesterday and we all had a great time.  There was a kiddie pool and sprinklers and all sorts of goodies for the kids and even better goodies for the moms.  Three of us all have kids under 9 months and at one point one of the boys, Elias, came up to Simon and kissed him and then kind of looked at me very confused and said, "Where's my baby?"  I thought it was pretty cute.  Needless to say it was total chaos but in the best way possible.  Later that night after the older kids were in bed just the ladies had a nice get together to say goodbye to a couple of the women who are moving away this month.  By the end of the night I felt pretty proud that I brought Simon to two outings!

Today I realized that Eli will be an actor when he grows up.  Sometimes I can't believe the faces that he pulls and I just laugh at him all day long.  I mean when he can go from this...

So happy!

to this...

High-functioning sociopath

I just don't see what else he could possibly do with his life.  Here are a few more candids that I took today.

He's so proud.

Bath night

Sometimes I think he's a redhead

 I'm pretty sure this is the most adorable baby boy on the planet.

Life With Two

Here's my brother!

Last weekend our little family was lucky enough to attend my sister Haley's wedding at the Kicking Horse Resort in Golden.  We felt so grateful to be there and I know that the Lord had a hand in the timing of our little Simon's arrival so we could enjoy time with family and support Haley and Des.  It was a beautiful venue and we were so happy to see family and get to introduce Simon to everyone.  So congratulations to the happy new couple!  I am so happy to welcome Des to our family! Unfortunately we only have a couple of pictures from that weekend because Bruce, who is usually in charge of that for us because I can't take a decent picture to save my life, was running after Eli for most of the weekend.  Cory was nice enough to take this one for us though.

Eli would only smile at the ground

Let me in!

I have to include a picture of a very curious raccoon that came to our window last week.  My sister-in-law, Selina, was sitting on our living room couch when Bruce noticed a pair of eyes hovering over shoulder.  After a couple moments of panic I reached over and shut the window so that the raccoon wouldn't climb inside because he seemed very inclined to do so.  The window is insanely dirty but we got a couple good ones of our visitor.  After a few minutes he had 2 more join him in snooping around our windowsill.  Needless to say I have been nervous every time I've opened one of our windows ever since.

Life with two little boys has proven to be pretty hectic.  I have no idea how my Mom accomplished it with 4 kids!  Most days the only thing that gets done is keeping them both alive... Eli barely makes it by some days.  The other day when he coloured all over himself and the walls with permanent marker was a dodgy one.  Luckily for him I was so hormonal that I just started crying instead of shouting.  Then he asked me if I was sick so I started laughing.  That story makes it seem like I'm not enjoying myself but I really am.  There is nothing quite like having a new baby in your home.  I think that I probably give Simon hundreds of kisses in one day and Eli is turning out to be a very affectionate older brother too. Every new face and sound that he makes just fills me with happiness and love. All things considered Eli is doing really well too.  He is still my goofy little boy who just wants to be a super hero and lately a My Little Pony as well.  Hopefully soon I'll feel confident enough to venture out into the world so Eli can get rid off some of his excess energy.  And here are a couple of pictures of my beautiful new baby Simon.