Before and After




Lately, Hudson has been shedding so much. I don't know why this year is the worst, but it is!!! There are clumps of hair all around the house and any free minute I have is spent vacuuming them up. It is starting to drive me crazy! I decided to take him to Fabulous Furballs to get trimmed and brushed. They shampooed, conditioned, blow dried, clipped nails, raked the heck out of his hair and gave him a nice "puppy cut". Before we left, I took a photo of him. Ben got quite mad that I was not taking His photo, so I had to take his too...

I was so impressed with this "salon"... all of the groomers were in smocks with "bling" on the backs of them (there names were done in Swarovsky crystals). Everyone there was quite trendy... lots of guys with tattoos and piercings and the women were all quite funky. The salon was beautiful... chandelier on the ceiling and great decor... quite out of place for a grooming shop - I liked it! Anyway, we picked Hudson up later on that day and WHAT a difference! He looked so much younger and less "frizzy".... When we got home, I took an "After" photo of him and again, Ben started to fuss. I asked him if he wanted his photo taken, and he quickly stopped whining and posed for a shot - what a funny guy!



This was Hudson's "before"


This was Benjamin's "before"


This was Hudson's "after"


This was Benjamin's "after"

"Num Num"




Today, Ben I and I did some baking. He had his breakfast and I was not sure what we should do until nap time, so I pulled out my cookie cookbook and the first page that opened, was.....my favorite cookie ever! SNICKERDOODLES!

I asked Ben if he wanted to "help mommy make cookies for daddy" and his answer was "num num" (I'll take that as a yes!). He was such a good helper - mixing the eggs with a spoon, helping pour the sugar in the mixing bowl and watching them in the oven while the cooked, all the while saying "num num".... When the timer went off, he can running to the oven. He knows to stay back while mommy has the oven door open...he will stand at the end of the kitchen and not even take one step until the door is fully closed and I give him the "okay". We let them cool and then sat in the kitchen and did our taste testing... you can imagine what words came out of Mr. Benjamin's mouth...."num num!"

I think we will try and bake more often - that way he learns about the kitchen and daddy gets fresh cookies when he gets home! Its a win win! I just need to find him a cute little apron (a cute BOY apron that is)






I got a cute Halloween plate a few weeks ago and thought it would be cute for our cookies today - we'll see how long they last on the plate ;)

Ooooohhh... Halloween is almost here!

I must say, Ben and I were quite productive today! We had his "Time for Two's" class this morning with his 2 "girlfriends" Taylor and Emmerson - they are twins that are 1 week younger than Ben. I met their mom in my mom's group about 6 months ago and honestly, I think they play together at least every other day. They are great girls and Paulette is a awesome girlfriend! Anyway, after our Class we came home and Ben had a 2 1/2 hour nap.. which gave me 2 1/2 hours to get some work done...very nice! When he woke up, we had lunch and then decorated the house for Halloween. He had so much fun "helping" me put decorations on the doors and on the walls...he is a hoot!

I loved this sign. It is metal and looks nice and antiquey (is that a word?)


My lovely cream colored pumpkin... a great Hallmark find (by my mom!)

A fun little metal sign... Ben likes to scream every time he passes by the spider...

Ok, so here is where the real fun began... I told Ben to watch Hudson for me as I quickly stepped outside onto the porch to take a photo of the front landing and my wreath. They were out of view and down the hallway a bit. I could see them, but the camera could not (as I was trying to get focused). I took the photo and looked at it on the camera, and saw my 2 boys right in the shot. I started to laugh, which made Ben laugh too... the next thing you know, he has his face pressed right up against the window and is laughing and licking it....

So much for a "Martha Stewart" shot.... oh well, I like this one better! ;)

I know I have been posting long blog entries lately... I have just not been on here for a while so I am making up for it now I guess. This little video is of Ben tonight. He is quite the performer lately. He LOVES the Rock A By Bear song by who else but the Wiggles. He knows all of the actions and whenever we are in the computer room, he points to the computer for me to play it. I had the camera on my knee and he did not know it was on. Here he is dancing one last time before his bath...it is so funny that even at his age, if he knows I am video taping him he gets embarrassed or shy and won't do it, but if I pretend that I am not he dances away!

Let's Go Bananas!


Last Sunday, we took Ben to his very first concert! It was the Wiggles...his favorite "band". He loves to watch them on TV and whenever he hears their music, he stops and starts to dance. I remember first watching them on TV when he was only a few months old and he loved the bright colors and music. I would get teary back then because I would imagine him at one of the concerts dancing and clapping.. I used to think I was so lucky to have a baby and that one day "when he was big", we could go to one of their concerts. I never thought they would come to Edmonton (seeing as they are from Australia and back then I did not know how "cool" and popular they are)...When I heard they were coming, I think I was more excited then Ben!!

Before we left, I told Dave that if we make it to at least the half way point of the show, I'll be happy. I packed books, water, treats and toys, just to make sure that he stayed in his seat and that he stayed occupied...he has a great attention span for certain things, but I was not sure how he would do. As soon as we got there and got seated he had his eyes glued to the stage. It was probably 15 minutes before the show started, but he did not even try and get off of my lap... he stayed there for the entire show! (he got up a few times in the aisle, but just to dance). We were so proud of him. When the show was over, he even walked holding our hands the entire way to the truck...what a big boy!

Dave got him his first concert T-shirt... it has all of the Wiggles' faces on it. When he wears it now, we have to first go through and he will point at each of them and I have to say their names. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, we'll get to do it a few times before the shirt goes on... needless to say - we only wear it if we are not in a rush to get dressed! ;) I love him to bits!

family photo....the best we could do

Ben and Dad rockin' out

the stage

the Wiggles!

Dave was able to get this video when Ben didn't see him... this is him half way in, clapping away to the music... I love it!

I've Lost My Baby Ben...

The other day I was making Ben his lunch and I asked him to head over to his highchair so I could lift him in. I went to the fridge and when I turned around, he had pulled himself onto the bench at the dinner table. He tapped on the table, as if to say "this is where I am eating today mama". I asked him if he wanted to eat at the table like a "big boy" and he grunted his "yes". He ate his whole meal with the proudest smirk on his face! He looked so small at that great big table all by himself and that is when it hit me.... I've lost Baby Ben. I now have a Little Boy! So sad, but at the same time So Fun!!

We spent the next morning watching some of the Wiggles and eating grapes on the couch. He wanted to be "cozy" on the couch, so I got one of his baby blankets. That made me even more sad... it covered his legs and part of his tummy but that was it. His toes stuck out of the ends! I can still remember swaddling him up in the same blanket and having extra!! My Little Man is getting so big! I try and remember all of the little things about these past 18 months and most of it is a blur....where did the time go!?

We went for his shots on Wednesday and he got weighed and measured....29.6 pounds and 33 inches tall! He was 7 pounds and 21 inches when he was born. He was so brave, but for the rest of the night when he was not occupied doing something, he would look at me and then grab his arm and point to where the needle went in and then he'd start to cry. He layed down on the couch with me for 15 minutes and we sang songs and I rubbed his arm. He has not cuddled like that for 9 months - since he had the flu in January.... as much as I wanted him to feel better that night - I loved the fact that he wanted to cuddle with his mama on the couch!

Mr. B's Cool New Do...

Today has been a great morning so far! We woke up, had waffles and blueberries, got dressed and then went for a haircut. There is a lady at Beaners that does such a great job on his hair, so we popped in today to see if she was busy. Ben is always so excited to go, he shows you with his fingers how the "lady" uses the scissors - but when we get there and get seated...things change. He always cries! Then we look at the posters on the wall, or he watches another little boy or girl getting their hair cut, and the rest of it is great! He loves the trimmers when she tickles his arm...what a flirt! She spiked his hair today with gel - he looks so grown up!

We got home and I decided to grab the camera and take some shots before it got messy. This is his "smile" now - when you ask him to smile, or say "Say Cheese", I get this little goofy smile... it makes me laugh and then it makes him do it more. I think we are a long way off from "baby Gap model"... he he he!

The weather was not so nice yesterday and Ben was in a "not so nice" mood, so we may try the photos outside today - we'll see his mood after his nap this morning...fingers crossed - again!

My Little Man - Last September

I was looking through old videos tonight and came across this one. One year has gone by so fast!!! I remember Ben being a big baby and I have hundreds of photos of him, but actually watching him on camera again shows how big he really was! I have been bad with not taking photos of him lately...whenever he is doing something cute, my camera is always on the opposite floor of the house and by the time I run for it, the opportunity is over. We have a great trail near us and my goal tomorrow (weather permitting) is to take him out there and get some photos... fingers crossed!

Dave has been hard at work on our deck. I am very proud of him! He has planned and built it from scratch himself - my dad came by two nights to help with the footings and framework, but other than that, he has been hard at work every night after work and then this weekend....hopefully by Tuesday, we'll have a deck!!! That is my other goal - photo of the deck and yard. We have one tree, but hopefully by tomorrow we will have a few more - we are going tree shopping!!! I find it funny how 5 years ago, tree shopping would not have made me excited - shoe shopping maybe...its funny how life changes! ;)

Another example of this is that it is 10:45pm - Dave has tomorrow off and he is already in bed and that is where I am headed too...are we getting old or what!? ;)

good night,

E