Octoblur

Whoa! Where did the time go? October was such an amazing and busy month that I know I will end up leaving a ton of details out of this post.  I will try to keep it to the biggest events so that I don't yammer on about nothing. At the beginning of the month Ashley came to have a visit and we celebrated her birthday! I always feel bad that we can't offer our visitors a real room but we still had a great time and I hope she enjoyed her birthday even though she had to sleep on the couch.
This month was also Eli's third birthday!  I cannot believe that my little guy is three years old.  Every day he gets cuter and crazier in equal measure.  I can only hope that I will be able to continue to keep up with him.  He enjoyed his birthday very much and I have to say that once you become a mom there is more joy in seeing your children happy than anything else.

Presents!

Batman ice cream cake! Made by Daddy

Eli had also been looking forward to Halloween for such a long time.  He knew exactly who he wanted to be and I have to say that he played the role pretty well.

When I asked him to make a Batman face...

POW!

BAM!

Showing his muscles

The Justice League!

Apparently Eli is heavier than Bruce anticipated

Eli, Simon and I also got to go to Edmonton for a full week! It was amazing but as always it felt very short.  It was so nice to see everyone and Eli had a blast playing with his cousins.  I am always so sad to leave and Eli is still asking me when we get to go again.  I hope it is very soon because the Christmas season is coming and I would love for Eli to have the Larsen Christmas experience... and of course it isn't Christmas without family.

Hanging out with Grandma

Almsot 4 months!

Well there is a brief synopsis of our October. It is a little rushed and lazy but Simon doesn't like to go to bed until somewhere between midnight and 1 a.m. so I have to do this quick during this naps! I'm trying to fix that nasty habit this week... wish me luck!

Even The Little Things

Eli and I had a very uplifting and spiritual moment the other day that I knew I would have to share with everyone. Bruce and I only have one vehicle so I do all of my grocery shopping, etc. with our stroller.  It is fairly easy in the nice weather because we live close to lots of different shops and generally both boys are pretty good for me.  A couple of days ago I had to stop at the hardware store and Eli insisted on bringing along his baseball hat with a shark design on it.  Somewhere in between the hardware store, our house and Tim Hortons he dropped it.  When we were about a block and a half from home he turned around in the stroller to ask me where it was.  I had absolutely no idea he had even lost it, I can't see him very well because Simon's car seat blocks my view.  Once he had taken his pants and underwear off and was naked from the waist down and I didn't notice until we had almost reached our friends house, but that's a story for another time.  Anyways... needless to say Eli was very upset that we couldn't find it and I was not relishing in the thought of retracing our steps for the next hour trying to find it when I was sure it was gone for good. However, I did turn around and as we were walking I couldn't see it anywhere.  We even stopped back into the Tim Hortons and it was no where to be seen.  As I turned to go back home with a very disappointed little boy I thought to myself that I should say a prayer with him.  So we pulled over off the sidewalk a bit and said a little prayer that we would find his hat.  Even now thinking of Eli's sweet voice repeating my words in prayer makes me tear up.  As we got ready to head off again I had a distinct feeling that we should go back into Tim Hortons.  As soon as I opened the door one of the employees pulled the hat from behind the counter and asked if we were looking for it, even before I had a chance to ask about it.  I was so happy to be able to explain to Eli that Heavenly Father had heard our prayer and helped us to find that hat that he cares so much about.  I know that it was an important lesson for Eli to learn but I think that I learned more from it.  I tend to get caught up in the day to day distractions and forget to focus on teaching Eli about the Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and how much he is loved.  That experience just filled me up with so much determination to do better and an even deeper understanding for how much our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy.  He was just waiting in the wings for us to say that simple prayer so He could answer it.

A New Month

Well September is here and I cannot believe it! In just a few more days Simon is going to be two months old.  We have just been so busy that I have hardly noticed the time passing and then I look over at him and suddenly he's this cubby little baby, wearing 3 month clothes, instead of a newborn.  He is such a happy little guy and is starting to sleep much longer at night and smiles quite a bit now.  Last week we finally received his bassinet and I am so happy with it.  I cannot even begin to tell you how tired I was of using a play yard for him every night and then having to move it out of the way in the morning.  Our space is so small as it is that it felt like it took up half our bedroom.  This new one is so lovely and I don't have to lower Simon to the floor to put him in it!

Little piggy

He didn't waste much time breaking it in as the first time he slept in it he promptly spat up all over in it.  Oh well that's life!  He also spat up everywhere in our Primary class this week and the kids were absolutely disgusted.  It would have been pretty funny if they weren't already acting like little terrorists.  They certainly didn't need something to run around and scream about.  I'm sure that in a couple weeks I will laugh about it... I don't want to complain too much because I would much rather be in Primary than any other calling.

New bed!

We did attend another wedding at the end of August but Bruce has all of those pictures so I will have to do a separate post all about it.  Needless to say we made it there and back safely.  I also had a birthday! Bruce got a manicure and pedicure for myself and a friend and I am so excited! If there is one thing a mom needs it is some "Me" time .  My sister also just sent me a package with a new book, bookmarks and a wand! Don't be surprised if in my next post one of us has had their eye poked out because I've been practicing my spells.

Eli is as crazy as ever and I'm doing my best to keep up with him.  I'm getting my energy back though so I think we are all starting to feel a little more like ourselves.

 Using the Elements of Harmony (My Little Pony)

Batman

Eli loves Liam

Watching men do work

I think September is going to be a great month!

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.