Snapshots - Hank and Gus at 18 months

Couldn't resist putting these two shots up of Hank and Gus taken at 18 months, in the same yellow t-shirt no less.  I suppose you aren't supposed to compare siblings to each other but it's hard not to.  Looks like Hank had more hair and more heft than Gus at this age, but Gus carries all of his weight in his cheeks. They are both little cuties if you ask me, and only get cuter everyday.  

Hope you all have a great weekend! 

Gus the Goose

Hank the Tank

What a winter!

As I write this, I'm looking out my back window at the snow coming down for the 2nd time in two days.  I've lost track of how many "snow" days we've had this winter - I think this week may get us to a total of 5, a whole week of school missed! It's nothing compared to the winters we have in Canada, but you would never know it!  The world stops.  Over and over and over again. 

Poor Gus - can hardly move in that snowsuit!

Our first snow man!

The StayPuff Marshmallow Man

Luckily, we are fans of the white stuff and actually got a fair amount this time (we seem to have a lot of false alarms for some reason).  So today was spent out playing in the snow, making snowmen, throwing snowballs etc.  Matt and I somehow managed to take care of both kids all day - but we both collapsed on the couch as soon as they went down.  Man, those kids are exhausting!  At any given moment, Gus is scaling new heights, climbing on anything and everything he can. I can't tell you how many times I've walked into a room and found him standing in the middle of a table! His head is constantly covered in bruises from knocking it on the undersides of tables while climbing, or from tumbling down a flight of stairs, as he did last weekend.  Hank is a touch less adventurous, but much more vocal so he wears us out in a different way.  Did I mention that he is also currently obsessed with pee, pooh, and penises?  A delight!

The boys at the cabin

So, besides the weather this year being a series of polar vortexes (known simply as "winter" in Canada)  and snow storms, it has been a great but busy time! We've done a lot of traveling, heading to Chicago early in January for Whitney and Ryan's engagement party, and then to Park City for MLK weekend for an awesome 40th birthday celebration of a friend of Matt's from college.  Throw in a trip or two to NY for work and we have been run off our feet.  We were happy for February to arrive knowing that we had no plans to travel for the entire month!  What a concept!

We've been heading out to the cabin every weekend and really enjoying this bonafide winter we are having this year.  It has snowed every time we've been out which makes everything beautiful and more fun for the kids.  Hank continues his ski education, while Matt and I still haven't done one run!  One day...

Hank celebrated his birthday in Bryce with a small group of friends

Receiving his favorite gift - a very loud airplane from Auntie Alice and Uncle Brian.
He is beside himself. 

I'm wrapping up my Animal Planet project in a month and looking forward to going back to having only one job.   Also on the list of things to look forward to - our spring break trip to the Dominican. Bring on the sunshine!

I leave you with some cute shots of the Goose Man.

Happy 4th Birthday Hank!

My little baby is turns 4 today!  It doesn't seem possible, but if I've learned anything since becoming a parent it's that time is a funny thing.  The past 4 years have been the longest and the shortest of my life at the same time. Having Hank has been a wild ride; he's teaching us as much (probably more) about ourselves as we are teaching him. 

This year has seen Hank grow from being a curious toddler to a precocious preschooler.  He loves school, other kids and his little brother.  He also really loves anything mechanical, including watching videos of washing machines on you tube.    He is confident, defiant, sweet and silly.  We can't wait to see how his unique personality continues to develop in the years to come. 

More on his birthday celebration next week, along with an update on our whirlwind of January. Mwah!