CtC - Day One: Make Christmas Cookies

Our first activity is making Christmas cookies! I was a little nervous about undertaking the activity, because well, I'm a perfectionist - especially when it comes to decorating cookies these days!! But I told myself that this is a fun, carefree activity that is about the kids and not decorating skills. :)

Caiden and I started off with making the cookie dough, and then Ezra got to help out with cutting out the shapes. I handled baking the cookies and making the (peppermint) frosting to speed things up a little. We still ran out of time on day one, but no big deal - that just left us the chance to decorate the next day without having to watch the clock for bedtime.

I got the kids set up at the kitchen table for our decorating adventure!

Caiden and Brian worked together on decorating, while I teamed up with Ezra. Caiden did a great job frosting his cookies and deciding how he wanted to decorate them. I was really impressed! :)

Ezra took the "shake vigorously" approach with the sprinkles and often covered more than just the cookie. :) He also figured out that he could decorate a cookie by dragging the frosting side over the scattered sprinkles on his tray. LOL!

 I had just enough frosting for the cookies, and the cookies were a perfect size for little hands to manage. I also kept it simple by having only 3 colors to work with. This was a really fun experience and I'm glad the whole family got to participate!

Countdown to Christmas

This year we are kicking off a new tradition - the Countdown to Christmas! I was inspired to do this from a very similar idea I read about on another blog I follow. Here's how it works: there are 24 numbered envelopes. Each envelope contains a fun activity for either the kids or the whole family to do. That's it! Super simple and a fun way to stay connected to one another as we get thru these hectic days leading up to Christmas.

While I do know what all the activities are, I don't know what is in each specific envelope. Well, I know what a few are because certain things need to happen on or by a specific day, but the rest will be as much a surprise to me as it will be for the rest of the family!

I used my Silhouette cutting machine and my printer to create all the cards and the numbers for the envelope. It only took a couple of hours to print, cut and assemble all of it.

 The final piece was going to Michael's and picking out a cute box to hold the envelopes. :)

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this works out!

New Blog Supplement

Most anyone who knows me, knows I am quite the sentimental pack rat. B has his own similar affliction, and together we have boxes and boxes of stuff that has followed us around the country. Every once in awhile, I get the urge to purge but when set to task, I am often overcome by nostalgia and find it nearly impossible to part with so many precious mementos.

Until now.

Now that we are firmly enmeshed in the digital age, it is becoming less necessary to physically carry around all the trinkets linked to precious memories. Do I really need my Prom ticket? How about that ticket stub to a Gaelic Storm show? Or what about those knick knacks that I've had since I was a child that do little more than collect dust? Yes, it's easy to put those items in boxes and forget about them, only to pull them out from time to time and fondly reminisce over them.  That's why it has been so dang hard for me to let them go.

Until now.

Thanks to that awesomely evil addictive site Pintrest, I came across a brilliant idea for managing our mementos. Take a picture. Load the picture into a blog post. Write about the memory tied to that item. Donate/sell/re-gift the item to someone else. My memories stay intact (which was always the most important part), I can someday turn the blog into a physical book, and I will no longer feel obligated to hold on to the object.

I. LOVE. IT!

This concept instantly resonated with me, and I am ready to put it into action. And what better time to start clearing out than before a big move to what is going to be our long time home! I need to be careful about overwhelming myself with this project. Like I said, I have a lot of stuff I've been hanging onto for a long time. I'm hoping to find a way to take baby steps with the process. Maybe an entry or two a week as time allows. And if I can't get thru them all before we move, then I'll be OK with taking them to the new house and finishing it out there. But they will not find a cozy corner to stay indefinitely. Oh no. No more!

Please message me or leave a comment if you'd like to be added to the email list for that new blog. Part of the fun of keeping memories is to share them with others! :) I will keep the Batavia Duchette blog going, so don't worry about that! I just wanted a new separate space for the other one.

Oh, and the address is: http://ourmementos.blogspot.com/

It's brand new, so there are no posts yet. I'd like to change the look of it too. Stay tuned! :)

Memory Lane

I took a stroll, well drive really, down memory lane today. I had to tend to some business out in Hoffman Estates, and since we had some extra time, I decided to show the boys the house I grew up in. We drove over to Rolling Meadows, and first I toured thru the downtown. Man, was that just a surreal experience. It's been several years since I last did that, and while some things haven't changed, so much has changed! The police station/city hall looks exactly the same. The fire station and the funeral home is still there, as is the gas station on the corner of Kirchoff and Hicks. Fratello's is in the same spot and the Jewel shopping center remains (Altho, it changed quite a bit over the years while was growning up. My mind's eye still shows the 1980s version of it). But the 7-11 is gone, the Barro's Pizza is long gone, the Dunkin' Donuts we used to stop at after church has relocated. And most startlingly of all, the Dominick's is gone. There are lots of new brick condos/apartments that have taken over many of these old places, and it just looks so strange to me. I was almost feeling overwhelmed as I drove thru and tried to take it all in. It was so familiar, but then again so different. I felt so emotional over seeing how different things look compared to how I remember them.

Next we drove over to the old house. Driving down the main neighborhood road felt so strange! I was suddenly flooded with memories of walking/biking/driving that road and all the cul-de-sacs while I still lived there. Again, I felt overwhelmed and emotional while taking in how things have changed/matured. Now that he is getting old enough to understand, I told Caiden this was my old neighborhood and that I used to bike ride all up and down that street when I was younger.

Finally, we pulled up in front of the old homestead. I knew it had changed, but again my mind's eye stubbornly held on to the vision of how the house looked when I last lived there.

Seeing the major transformation it had undertaken really jolted me. I sat there for a few minutes and just stared at it thinking and remembering. Noticing what was gone and what was still there. Seeing how the trees have grown, that the bushes were still there, and the lamp post still lived in the front yard. But the front doors are red now, the house is brown with a strange rock border. The windows are new, and there are some shutters missing.

 We drove around to the back of the house, and I laughed when I saw they put the sliding glass door back in the kitchen and removed the slider from the family room. The patio has been redone, the fence is gone, and while my favorite climbing oak tree is still there, there is no way a kid could get up there today without a very tall ladder. I was startled to see how much the trees had grown that are near the edge of the road. I remember when my dad planted them and that I was taller than they were. Now those trees are 25 years old. The elm is gone and the crab apple too. But the peonies are still there, and that made me smile.

I used to fantasize that maybe we could buy that house back someday, but I discovered today that I don't feel that way anymore. I have my own family now, and I want to build and create new memories with them. Trying to re-live and re-create the old ones just wouldn't feel right. I do wish that house still belonged to Mom, because I would love for my kids to know that house like I did and to play in that yard like I did. But it doesn't, and they won't, and I think I'm OK with that. I can still take them to that neighborhood and say that's where I grew up, and that's the park I played at, and that's the creek we always talked about. It's no longer mine, but it is still accessible and I can always share that part of my life with them in one way or another.

So, I think it is time to properly say: Goodbye, House I Grew Up In. I will always carry so many memories - both joyful and sad -  that were created in and around you. I've had a hard time letting you go, silly as that may sound, but I'm finally ready. It's good to see you now and then to remember what you meant to me. But it's time for me to let go, so I bid you a fond farewell. XOXO, Me.

Shamrockin'

Can you believe this amazing weather we've been having? 80 degrees on St. Patrick's day!!!! It doesn't get much better than that here in Chicago during March. I swear, this has been the best end of winter ever. Heck, an amazing fall, followed by an incredibly mild Seattle-style winter and now launching into the most beautiful spring I can remember has made for a great welcome back home to IL. :)

On Friday, the boys and I hopped in the car and headed out to Aunt Cathy's to spend the day with her. Caiden has been asking to go to "Aunt Caffy's Park," so we made it extra special by enjoying a yummy picnic lunch there. We spent a couple hours at the park and then headed back so the boys could take their naps. Cathy and I chit-chatted while they snoozed, and then when they got up we played some more before heading back home.

On Saturday, Amy and Jerry came up for a long overdue visit. We soaked up the beautiful weather and spent most of our time outside. The boys played exceptionally well together and had lots of fun playing in the yard and in the sandbox.
That night, B graciously stayed home while Amy and I got out for some much needed girl time and went to see local favorite Modern Day Romeos perform at Chord on Blue in St. Charles. I couldn't believe it when I realized the last time I went out for St. Pat's was way back in '07 on the famed party bus! It was also crazy to be walking outside at night in a strapless summer dress in the middle of MARCH and be completely comfortable. :) The band put on a great show, and we were in our usual spots in the front row.

We were also "treated" (ugh) to a couple overtly expressing their love lust right next to us for a good hour. Amy and I both wanted to tell them to "get a room!" I'm generally fine with some "dirty dancing" for a couple of songs, but they were getting downright graphic. *gag*

Annoying couple on the right

Anywho, the holiday weekend wouldn't be complete without some festive cookies to celebrate! The next day I got to teach Amy how to decorate with royal icing, and we both had so much fun with it! I think she is going to be a natural. :) Of course I took a couple of pictures as well.

It was such a FUN and relaxing weekend! Great company and beautiful weather are so good for the soul. :)

Hobie Gras '12 - Mardi Gras Cookies

Our good friend Rob has had a tradition that he has kept alive despite living in Seattle which is his annual Mardi Gras party aptly named "Hobie Gras." The key is that this party happens here in Chicago! We haven't been able to attend the last half dozen or so parties, but this year we finally got to go again! :)

Naturally I wanted to bring along some festive cookies, but I was drawing a blank on what to make. I started searching "Mardi Gras cookies" and came up with some awesome looking masks, but those were way too time intensive for me to attempt. Next I found some cute bikini topped cookies with candy bead necklaces. I thought those were clever, but then I started thinking about how it is you technically earn your beads at Mardi Gras. This lead me to become extra inspired, and knowing the party attendees - they would get a good laugh out of my creation.

Now fair warning - these aren't, uh, kid-friendly cookies, per se, but they do engender the real theme of some of that Mardi Gras craziness. (And this will be the closest I'd ever get to participating in said craziness. :P ) I actually hemmed and hawed over posting these, but I'm pretty proud of how they turned out and heck, this is my blog. :P So I hope you get a laugh or a giggle over these. If not, just pretend you never saw it. ;)

They did indeed go over well, and earned a hearty guffaw from the party host himself. :) And it was SO awesome seeing so many fabulous people we haven't gotten to hang out with in far too long. Rob has such a great group of friends, and I realized how much I'd missed seeing them over the years! Rob, you have to move back now so you can keep throwing fun parties! :)

Wordless Wednesday - Hugging Spree

Ezra's 18 Month Recap

Has it really been six months since I did Ezra's one year update?! He has grown and changed so much since then makes it hard to believe it's only been six short months! Nevertheless, he is still my darling little cuddlebug and just as cute and sweet as ever. :)

He has covered quite a few milestones since the last update, and this will be quite a long detailed entry to try and capture as much as I can remember.

Let's start with the stats from the doctor's office for both his 15 and 18 month appointments:

15 Months (appt was on Dec 16, so closer to 16 mos old)
Weight: 26lbs 1oz - that puts him in the 50-75%. (Gained 3lbs from August)
Height: 34in - off the chart! (Grew 2.25in)
Head: 18.5 inches

18 Months
Weight: 27lbs, 10oz (up 1 lb 9 oz from Dec) which puts him in the 75%.
Height: 33in (yes, it looks like he shrank an inch, but the 15mo measurement was probably inaccurate) - that puts him in the 75%!
Head: 19 inches - again in the 75%.

He has been very comfortably wearing 18mos sized clothing since close to his first birthday, and he just moved out of regular size 5 shoes into Converse size 6. I don't think it will be long before I move him into 24mos/2T clothes!

Ok, let's hit up the milestones, shall we?

• Ezra walks like a champ. When motivated he can move quite quickly! Falling flat on his face is no deterrent if it means something like the opportunity to climb the stairs! He has recently discovered the fun in pulling along toys on wheels behind him. He is also getting very good at walking backwards. He isn't running quite yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before he has that mastered too!
• Still holding steady at 4 teeth. Two top front and two bottom front. Those first two that came in were the top pair, and they made their grand entrance in September.





First teeth!



• He self-weaned from breast feeding in October at 14 mos old. We were down to one to two feedings a day and for a few days he simply refused to nurse. So I took that to mean he was done. For a few weeks to follow, he would occasionally try to lift my shirt looking to nurse (usually only in the morning when Brian would bring him into our room which was part of the old routine for him), and I would remind him that he was all done nursing. Sometimes he would get upset and other times he just moved on to something else. Part of me was sad to see nursing him end and to not have recognized those few final nursing sessions as being just that. But at the same time it is refreshing to have my body back to myself after 4 years of pregnancy + nursing.
• He also kicked the bottle habit shortly after weaning. He started refusing bottles at nap time, so I switched him over to a sippy cup, and he was much happier. It has been kind of nice no longer having to worry about having clean bottles available and freeing up cabinet space.
• Within the last month or so Ezra has started making clearer words. And on Feb 18th, he was saying "hi" all day long. Before that, you could sometimes get him to parrot back mama or dada. And at other times, it almost sounded like he was saying things like "here you go" clear as day. I think he is working hard on mimicking sounds and words though. He certainly "says" plenty in his own little babbling language, and often he'll repeat the same series of sounds to you when asked. I just have no idea what he is actually saying! :) He also says "bong" for the bell in a book and "ding dong" for the chimes on a doorbell/house toy.

Videos of Ezra Talking


• He is also signing more things. He signs milk, bath, more, book, waves goodnight/goodbye, and blows kisses. I think there may be a few more, but I can't remember at the moment.
• He is still very much a mama's boy which (most of the time) I think is the most precious thing. He lights up when he sees me, and is often my little shadow. He gets upset when he is forced to stay in the playroom while I am working in the kitchen (much to Caiden's chagrin), and he gives me the biggest hugs when I come back and pick him up. He is also very hesitant to leave my side when we go different places. I have learned that he needs extra time warming up and do my best to keep him close until he starts feeling more comfortable.





Somebody does NOT like Santa Claus!

• Speaking of hugs, he is the cuddliest most snuggly little guy on the planet. I love rocking with him at nap time and bedtime because he is so content to just lay over my shoulder and let me cuddle and kiss him to my heart's content. We often play little games, and I love making him giggle and laugh during these times. I often call him my little cuddle bug.
• He also still enjoys being carried around and seeing what is going on at "big people levels." I think if he had his way, he'd be carried around all day long. :) He also likes to sit on my lap whenever possible. Often I'll just sit on the floor, and he'll bring over toys or books and hang out in my lap. I am making sure to enjoy those opportunities as much as I can!
• We have finally moved into that magical period of coordinated naps. Around Thanksgiving, the stars aligned and we were able to shift his bedtime from 6pm to 8pm. Fortunately he started sleeping in later as well and gets up between 7:30 and 8:30am. This has allowed me to push his nap to the afternoon (usually around 1pm), and he usually naps for 2-3 hours. Caiden also naps in this window, and I adore having a break and time to myself in the afternoons. It appears to be a very healthy sleep schedule for him as he is usually in a pretty good mood for much of the day.
• He has been eating like a champ. I swear these boys are going to blow out our food budget! :) He has oatmeal, fruit and some O's for breakfast. For lunch he has been happy with grilled cheese, banana, more fruit and veggie straws. Some days he enjoys an after nap snack, and dinner usually involves sweet potato plus whatever else we're eating that night. He doesn't appear to have any allergies to any foods either. We haven't been able to be as aggressive about limiting his sugar intake as we were with Caiden. It was pretty easy to hide the sweets from Caiden when he was this age, but now he gets to eat those things more often and Ezra often wants demands some of what Caiden is eating. I still try and limit the sweets, but he does get to enjoy them from time to time.
• Ezra has learned how to throw some wicked temper tantrums. They are almost humorous to watch (at this age anyway!). When he first started throwing them a couple months ago, Brian thought he had hurt himself and wondered what all the commotion was about. He was shocked to learn this was just one of Ezra's soon to be many temper tantrums! His tantrums often take the form of a boo boo lip accompanied by tears and an angry cry. When he really gets going, he'll fold himself in half (if standing) so that his hands and head are also resting on the floor. Sometimes he goes into all out stretched-out-on-the-floor-on-his-belly tantrums. He is generally distracted out of them by either getting focused on something different or (in extreme cases) getting what he wants.
• He absolutely loves climbing the stairs. Boy was he ever furious when he discovered the safety knob we had to install on the stairwell door to prevent him from unsupervised climbs! All I have to do is ask him if he wants to go upstairs and he makes a beeline straight for the stairway! Heaven forbid if something is in his way! LOL!
• He is very particular about closing doors and gates. Whenever he spies one that is open he makes it his personal mission to make sure it is closed right up. 
• He absolutely loves playing with gadgets and electronics. His favorites include remote controls, phones, and cell phones. With the phone, he'll often walk around with it next to his ear. So cute! I have to often keep an eye on my purse or pocket as he'll pluck my phone right out before I know it!
• He has really gotten into books. For nap/bedtime, we must absolutely have his two favorites on hand: The Best Nest and In A People House. He will seek those out as soon as we get into his room. And those are the first things he asks for when he wakes up. In fact, one of his first understandable words/sounds was "bong" for the bell in The Best Nest. From our library downstairs, his top books are Gossie & Gertie, Ollie, Brown Bear Brown Bear, Baby Colors, What Does Baby Say, and You Are My Sunshine. I absolutely love spying him sitting down with a pile of books and looking through each one of them.
• Ezra and Caiden are getting better and better about playing with each other. Sometimes Caiden is a bit rough or not in a sharing mood and in those instances, there are tears from both of them. But when they are happily playing together it is the sweetest thing. I love peeking in on them and just observing them interact with one another. Caiden often calls him "buddy" and often asks for Ezra to keep him company in the playroom. Ezra likes playing with Caiden's toys, and I think as he gets older they're going to have even more fun playing together. Just the other day, I caught Ezra grabbing Caiden's hand and pulling him around the room. It just fills me with such joy to hear them laughing and giggling together. Those are definitely the good days. :)





Playing with Daddy's old toys at Grandma & Grandpa's house






Boys in the bath






Caiden sharing his pear with Ez

• Once or twice a month, I'll leave Ezra with Caiden at Wednesday's Drop 'n' Play at the park district. Initially he is very upset that I am leaving, but about two minutes after I've left, he is a happy camper. It's nice that he gets to socialize with other kids (while having his big brother around), and I get a little break too.
• We've also been working on reinforcing his interest in music. We did a session of Kindermusik (sadly the teacher was not very engaging) and then a session of Tot Rock. The Tot Rock classes were a lot of fun, and he seemed to really enjoy them. They have lots of fun songs and instruments, the teacher was fantastic with all the kids, and Ezra seemed to have lots of fun there. I look forward to taking him to more of those classes soon.
• He's gotten very good about cooperating with picking up toys and putting them away when asked. When he sees Caiden or Brian or me picking up toys or books and putting them away he gets in on the action as well.
• He is definitely at the age and the type of kid who freaks out when a parent changes something about themselves. Brian shaved his mustache and goatee off and Ezra was completely freaked out about it. Brian tried to pick him up right after he shaved and Ezra had a massive freak out. Full on silent shriek followed by a very loud and hard cry. I came upstairs shortly after and he totally clung to my legs and hid behind me whenever Brian got close. It took a few hours, but he finally got used to seeing Brian's new look and understood he was the same person.
• Overall, he's been pretty healthy. He's had a handful of colds with runny noses and a couple of rough nights' sleep, but in general nothing major. Fingers crossed that he finishes out the winter in the same manner!
• He had his first and second haircuts over the last six months. The first was in October at the same salon where Caiden had his first cut. He did pretty well and only got upset at the very end. I opted to have a less dramatic change and decided to keep his hair on the long side. He had his second cut in January and handled it like a champ!

Pre-haircut in October

During his first haircut

Goodness this has turned into a mighty long entry! Then again, there was six months worth of recapping to do, and at his age there is a lot of material to cover!! I tried to capture as much as I could without turning this into a novel. I hope I got it all! :) Let me leave you with one of my favorite videos and a cute picture of Ezra all dressed up for the snow.

Video of Ezra in the Bath

Our little man in the snow

Cookie Monster

Ezra was very excited to have his Valentine's Day treat! He wasn't completely sure what to make of it at first, and did lots of looking at the cookie and then looking at me and grinning. Eventually he decided to give it a taste and it wasn't long before it was all gone! :)

Little Hugger

I had some other photos planned for posting today, but then I captured this little gem on camera last night and its cuteness far surpassed anything else. :)

The Little Hugger