No more binkies!!!

It is done... we did it or at least we started it.

For 6 months we told Autumn that when she turned 3- there would be no more binkies. We figured if we took it away from her... we would also just take them away from Gavin too. Let's be honest- in a fit of panic either she or we would grab it out of his mouth and give it to her... So, no more binkies for anyone in this house.


It has been 3 days now (night and day) and we have successfully overcome the addiction. I am amazed that there was not more screaming, kicking, or meltdowns... other than the occasional request for it... we are fine. We did it!!!

I am so proud of Autumn and Gavin. Gav of course can't voice his frustration and although it takes him longer to fall asleep during the day and night- he seems fine also.

thank god i am not going to have one of those kids who is like 5 yrs. old sucking on a binky in the store. It just looks strange and a little pathetic- not that I can't understand and relate to how that happens.

Birthday Shots....

the loot.

there is nothing more upsetting than watching kids rip through gifts with no attention to who bought and selected them... they motor on through with no time to play with them or appreciate them. Both Matt and I agree that this is something we would like to somehow avoid during Birthday parties. Who knows... maybe we will come up with a system to slow the process down. This year we tried to make her give the giver a hug before moving onto the next... it wasn't pretty nor was it perfect- but we will figure it out. Maybe we will move back to our system of no gifts... but that is extreme- any suggestions?


vegan blueberry cake and cupcakes

she asked for a Blueberry birthday cake for months... then it turned into a request for a cake AND cupcakes... blueberry of course. So, here you see the finished product- Vegan Vanilla and Blueberry Cake with Butter'milk' frosting. Both were delicious and were adapted from a recipe for vanilla cupcakes from The Joy of Vegan Baking, an excellent resource for baking recipes of all types.

Autumn turns 3

Do you know what that means? This blog is three.

Wow.

Anyway, she got lots of good stuff, had a nice day. Ran around in circles and then crashed. She slept in until 7:00AM! We'll update in good time.

This is her on the day before her birthday with her little cousin Turner. He's uncle Simon and Aunt Christina's son.

Uncle John

One of the coolest things Autumn gets is childhood books from Uncle John. We have some old looking books that Autumn just loves. We can't control when she'll fall in love with a book, but when she does, she wants to every night. So when, in early May, she discovered "the Twelve Days of Christmas", we went with it.

And so did she. Here's the YouTube link.

She loves singing the last part fast. Loves it.

Gavin Turns One

On Saturday, with little fanfare, Gavin turned one. We think he had a good day. It began with pancakes at one of our favorite places, Amy's Place on Main Street. He mowed some pancakes, then mommy pulled out a cupcake. Which he enjoyed. (Note the full body bib)

Next, nanny and granddad took Autumn and Gavin to the Buffalo Zoo. They looked at animals, watched Autumn go on the train by herself, and then played in the little toddler room. I think this image sums up how Gavin is one. in it, he looks like a little boy, not a baby.

Nanny and Granddad had to go after to zoo, but grandma and grandpa came over and more festivities ensued. Autumn had gone to the toy store to buy Gavin a present, and now she wanted him to open it.



So we did that.

Next, it was time for the cupcakes for Gavin's birthday dinner.

He's one.

It's strange to even write that. And while I'll deny that it went fast, these round number birthday's are so interesting. He's getting bigger. On his first birthday, he actually went poopy on the potty.

I know.

He was struggling a little to push one out, so we gave him this little thing you stick up his bum in order to loosen some stuff out. Normally, you would just hold him on the changing table and let the stuff push it out. But I figured, he's one. I'll stick him on the potty.

He laughed, and then pooped. And peed! I was yelling for Rhona to come and have a look, but she was busy with Autumn. So we high-fived, and went on with the night.

Now, I realize this isn't something to get worked up over. We had stuck a thing up his bum that makes him poop, so there's nothing to see here, right?

Wrong.

The next day, he did it again. I had just fed him a strawberry carrot delight that I'd made, and i figured, what the heck, I'll sit him on the potty. Like the day before, he laughed, and laughed. And then, pooped. And peed.

Will we have a kid who's potty trained before he walks?

No. I doubt it too. But that's two diapers I didn't have to change. And both were substantial poops (I got a picture of the second one, his first unassisted potty poop).

It was a good weekend.

Happy birthday little buddy.

Gavin, on the eve of bing one

OMG, people say. He's almost one? And she's almost three?

Wow, that happened fast.

They repeat it a few times, shaking their head and pondering how time has just flown by over the last year. Well, here's a counter point.

Nu-uh.

Time didn't fly for us. In the last year, we didn't sleep a lot. Here's a list of the reasons we didn't sleep:

Gavin needs food. The lack of sleep comes with a new baby. We knew this. It wasn't news. Like all little babies, he woke up every night looking for food for about the first three months. Then, just when he started sleeping a bit, along came potty training.

Autumn learning to be potty trained. this sounds wonderful, right? No more diapers, no more smelly bums. But wait. Autumn was still in her crib, so she couldn't go potty on her onesie. She needed help. "Maaaaaaaaam, I gotttttttta goooooooo potttttttyyyyyy!". Which would inevitable wake up Gavin and remind him that his belly wasn't filled to the absolute maximum and it required food.

Gavin needing to be held. It should be noted here, for the record, that two is way more than one. With Autumn, we were good about not bringing her to our bed. We held firm, and it didn't take Autumn long to be a good sleeper. but with Gavin, we weren't as good. That's because for the most part, we were dead tired. So he slept in our bed a lot. Snuggling. So it's no surprise really that he quite liked snuggling in our bed, and if we moved him into his crib, he would let us know that rather liked the other better. And since the manner he would let us know is crying, he did that.

A lot.

Throughout this last year, Rhona and I have held that we just needed to make it through it. By Gavin's first birthday, Autumn would be in a bed, and getting up to pee whenever the heck she wanted (she is).

Gavin would be a better sleeper, having learned to get himself back to sleep and no longer nervous if his belly wasn't overflowing (he is).

But the suggestion that this has all happened so fast, as if we're sitting around wondering where did the time go, is a load of hooey.

Thank heavens we friggin made it.

(All of this should not be read to think last year was complete hell. We had many, many fun times. It's just that none of them came between the hours of midnight and 5:00AM.)