Shirtless and bathing suits...

Shirtless lunch time fun!!

Here is one of the boys just laughing at one another. This happens a lot!!


Zachary laughing at Nicolas:


Nicolas laughing at Zachary:


Zachary, playing peek-a-boo:


Nicolas, just relaxing...



Here we are in our bathing suits and hats. There wasn't enough sun to need their shirts as well...

Zachary:


Nicolas:


You've got to love summer time!!!

Pool day

Since it was so hot yesterday we decided to put up the boys' pool. I am actually really happy with it. It is definitely big enough for them and they loved it! Here is a picture of the boys in their pool...


I love the little whale that spurts out water (you can see it in the middle of the picture at the bottom).

Here is Zachary playing with his boat:


Nicolas is just so happy (he's playing with Daddy here who is not in the picture):


After the boys nap we headed over to Brenda's parents place to go for a swim in a big pool. The boys loved it. They both tried out their birthday presents from their Auntie B and Uncle Stephane (the floats). Nicolas loved it and spent quite a bit of time in it. Zachary didn't like it very much. But I am sure in time once he gets used to the pool, he'll be fine.


How I love holidays. It is so weird to have Steve home right in the middle of the week but nevertheless, it was awesome! How about we do it all over again next week??

First time walking caught on video...

Well, Zachary took his first real steps this evening. He was bribed with food (a piece of fruit placed on the chair in front of us). We were thankfully able to get him to do it more than once so we could catch it on video.

Here it is...


Please excuse me looking terrible in the background!

Happy Father's Day!

I just wanted to wish all the Daddies out there a Happy Father's Day. I am lucky enough to have a great Dad myself and also a great father-in-law. Steve is such a terrific Dad especially for someone who is so new to the whole experience. The boys adore him and can't seem to get enough. All three of these special men are and will be great role models for my boys. There will be no excuse for them to not know how to be a good man...

I leave you with a few pictures of Steve and his little men...





Happy Father's Day!!

Golf ...or hockey??

Nicolas and Zachary were given a golf set (shocker, I know!) for their birthday. Zachary has been very interested in it lately much to Steve's delight. Here is a little video of him trying to hit the ball - not the ball that came with the clubs but a softer, bigger ball. The only thing is that it kind of looks like he is playing hockey more so than golf. I guess only time will tell...

A day filled with silliness and laughter...

The boys have just been giddy today. They have been playing very well with each other all day. There have been lots of new games that they have been playing which have resulted in lots of giggles.

Here is one of the silly games they were playing today...

Sleeping Cutie!

Nicolas slept through the night last night but was up a little bit early this morning (around 7:00am). Needless to say, by the time nap time rolled around he was exhausted. This is how I found him less than 5 minutes after I put him down. He slept for a little over 3 hours too...




And this is how I found him towards the end of his nap when Zachary woke up...

Shirtless fun...

Since it was so hot today, the boys played with their water table before their nap and got their shirts all wet. So, they took their nap shirtless. They look like such little men when they are only wearing their shorts. We decided that it was best to keep them shirtless after their nap since it was so hot and humid. They were in heaven (typical men!).

Zachary:


Nicolas:



Nicolas is doing this funny thirst quenched sound now when he drinks. I was able to get it on video today. I just think it's so cute!!

Night number two

Well last night was officially night number two of not going in to the boys at all during the night. We had been doing pretty well with their sleeping but I knew it could be so much better. So, I figured I would try just letting them figure it out by themselves (since they are pretty good self soothers).

On Sunday night Zachary only woke up around 4:00 am and he cried off and on for about 30 minutes. Then they both slept until 7:45. I can totally live with that. Last night, neither of them woke up at all. Steve woke me as he was getting ready for work around 6:45 and I realized that I had not heard a peep coming from their room! Now, this does not mean that they didn't make a peep at all, but it wasn't enough that I needed to hold myself back from going in to them!

I am so proud of my little tikes! They are getting so big and they are growing up so fast...

Fun Outside!

Steve built the boys a swing set yesterday... Here are the boys swinging in the driveway before the swing set was moved to the backyard...

The swing set (Zachary on the left and Nicolas on the right):



Zachary (loving his new swing set):



Nicolas (he was exhausted and in need of a nap - hence the slouching):

Zachary did it!

Zachary took his first unassisted steps last night! I was walking around holding Daddy's hands (barely according to Daddy) and when they got close to me, Steve let go. Zachary took 3-4 steps to come over to me. They were real upright steps... not half falling over steps! We are so excited! I am anxious to see how long it will take for him to actually start to walk now that he knows he can do it?? And, it will be interesting to see how long it will take Nicolas to join in on the fun!

So much fun!

The boys got this super cool gift for their birthday. They have been playing with the balls inside, but hadn't really ventured inside the pit until about a week ago. Now, they are madly in love with it! This morning they had an especially good time. They both climbed in and started throwing the balls out while I was throwing them back in. They thought it was such a funny game. And I thought it was so cute I had to snap a few pictures...

Nicolas is in the pit throwing the balls at Zachary:


This is one of Zachary climbing in to join his brother:


Zachary and Nicolas laughing at me trying to keep up with the balls they keep throwing out:

Eating with a fork

I am trying to get the boys used to eating with utensils. They have been doing really well with their spoons so I decided to try them with a fork. They loved it! So, now they want me to put almost everything they eat on a fork for them. I am very happy about this except for the fact that it means all meals take quite a bit longer now. But I guess they have to start somewhere, right?

Zachary:


Nicolas:



On a side note, my Dad stopped by for a quick visit yesterday right as the boys got up from their nap. They decided they wanted to eat their snack while sitting on their Papa and I snapped the cutest picture. Here it is...

Fun at Nana & Papa's house....

We were at Nana and Papa's house for part of the weekend and had a wonderful time. The boys discovered the piano. They loved to play it. They especially loved that they could walk up to hit and still manage to reach the keys. Maybe we will have a musician after all??

While we were there we got a chance to see all of my Dad's family (my grandfather, aunts, uncles, and most of my cousins). We were there to celebrate my grandfather's birthday. He is doing so well and the boys just love him. Even though they don't see him often enough, they is still recognition in their eyes when they see him. Maybe it has a lot to do with the fact that he looks so much like my Dad. Everyone also decided to celebrate the boys' first birthday as well. They got some great gifts and some money to help pay for their college one day... Nana made them some cupcakes so they had some dessert after lunch. As you can see, they enjoyed it...

Zachary:


Nicolas:


We can home during nap time so the boys could sleep. Sadly, they only slept an hour so they are exhausted tonight. They are both in bed already and it is only 8:10. Usually the first baby to go to sleep is not in bed before 8:30. When they woke up we were stuck in traffic. Go figure.. Saturday afternoon at 3:00 and there is still traffic to cross the city! I gave them some water to drink since it was hot and the AC is not working in the van. They refused to let go of their pacifiers so this is how they drank their bottles...

Zachary:


Nicolas:

Fun outside

I am so happy that the boys love being outside. This is going to be the best summer! This morning before going down for their nap we decided to play outside on the deck. They played with the water table and their little castle. They were in heaven!

Zachary loves to "eat" the water. It is so funny and he is always soaked after playing with the water table.

Nicolas is just happy doing whatever. It doesn't take much to please him.


I think I need to call the airport and thank them for changing the flight paths. The planes now fly over our house (not very close but enough that they can clearly be seen in the sky) and the boys love to watch them. There is a plane that goes by every 10- 15 minutes (sometimes more often depending on the time of day) and the boys are always pointing to the sky. It is the cutest thing. Sometimes they see them long before we do...


Here they are... partners in crime!

Swinging in the house!

Since the weather has been so awful lately, we decided to hang the boys' swings in the basement rather than outside. I figured it would be a fun activity to be able to do when the weather does not permit going to the park. So, Steve hung the swings from the main beam of the house. The boys love them! They had a blast being able to swing even though we were not at the park. Here are a few pictures...

Zachary:



Nicolas:



Both of them:

Peanut allergy?

Well, the boys had peanut butter yesterday and Zachary broke out into another rash all over his face, neck, chest and back. The rash looked eerily similar to the one that was caused by the dog licking him on Saturday. I am almost 100% positive that we are dealing with an allergy to peanuts. He did not eat anything else yesterday that was new and it was the second time he had a reasonable amount of peanut butter.

I gave him some Benadryl and it seemed to help however, he was very itchy. He was up almost all night crying and scratching. He wouldn't sleep unless he was with me. I only had a chance to fall asleep at 4:15 this morning. He was awake for the day at 7:15 which gives me a total of 3 hours of sleep for the night.

Now the question is where to go from here... Do I make an appointment with their pediatrician to find out if he should be tested for it? Can they test them at this age? Should I be more closely monitoring his food intake? How likely is it that the reaction was more pronounced because of his reaction to the dog the day before? Can his eczema flare up more and become worse after exposure to an allergy? Could that have made it look worse than it was??

So many questions... I guess I will start by giving Kim (my cousin) a call. Her son has a peanut allergy and maybe she can point me in the right direction...