Thanksgiving 2015

It's the middle of December and I'm just getting around to writing about Thanksgiving, a little behind on things, but that's what 2 kids and a husband with a crazy work schedule will do.

Thanksgiving was perfect; our family was together, we ate yummy food and shared many a laugh. We had a full house with Mom and Bill, Dad, Jen and the girls, and David, Amber and Annalise.

We have so much to be thankful for, but family easily tops the list. Without them and the love we bring into each other's lives, it would be a boring and quiet life.

Happy Thanksgiving 2015!

Winterthur in November

We got to spend an unseasonably warm day in November with Anita and the kids at Winterthur. It's hard to get all of us together with hectic schedules so we jump at any chance to spend time with them. The boys adore Jenna and Justin and I love seeing them grow closer and forming relationships. It's funny to see how Jenna pairs off with Chase and Justin with Asher.

 

I had never been to Winterthur before but after this visit we will be back. The grounds were huge and so many gardens to see but the main attraction was the children's garden. I can see us spending many days there, in the Spring and Fall especially. 

California stole our hearts

When asked if myself and the boys would like to join James out in California (he was out there for business) there was no way we could turn the opportunity down. California has always been on our list of places we would like to see; James has never been. I have been to southern Cali but never San Fran. It also is the first vacation we have taken just the four of us.

Let me start by saying we fell in love with California and will absolutely be going back in the future. The climate, the outdoor lifestyle, the laid back approach to life are all things we ate up during out time there.

We stayed in the town of Campbell, just outside of Santa Clara and San Jose. Adorable little town with the best breakfast place called Stacks. Even the boys approved as they were served Mickey Mouse pancakes both mornings.

Our trip was brief (Friday to Monday) but we packed a whole lot in. I traveled by myself with both boys and we had a layover. The boys did so well but about 7 hours into the trip they were done. If it had been a direct flight, there wouldn't have been any break downs or tantrums but we managed. We grabbed dinner in downtown San Jose and headed to the hotel as everyone was exhausted.

Yay for jet lag..Asher was wide awake at 3am, the up side was we skipped any lines at breakfast. Saturday we headed to Santa Cruz, a beach community. After spending the day there, it is a wonder I got on the plane to head home. We all know I'm a beach bum and that town just screamed my name. We spent some time on the beach and had a paddle in the freezing water. We then checked out the pier, or wharf as the locals called it and watched the seals and sea lions. While the boys took a nice nap James and I drove a along the coastline and then into Big Basin Redwood State Park. The trees there was unlike anything I've ever seen and the smell was divine. I so wish I could have bottled it and bought it home.

Sunday was spent the day in San Francisco. We took a bus tour, which while it was nice was a tad long while having the 2 boys with us. I kind of wished we have toured the city by ourselves but there is always next time. We did get to go over the Golden Gate Bridge and the views were astounding. The photos I took do not do it justice. We were sat on the top of the double decker bus for the tour and it was open air. The boys were loving sitting up there, until we got onto the highway and were going 55mph across the bridge! It was a tad windy and Asher completely lost it lol. We did the rest of the tour from the inside of the lower level bus.

We ended our time in San Francisco by having a nice dinner on Pier 39 at sunset to celebrate James passing his CCIE. He has been studying for this certification for the past 4 years. We have all sacrificed by lack of time as a family together so its an unreal feeling to know we have the main man in our lives back full time.

Halloween 2015

We had such high hopes for Halloween this year, unfortunately it ended up being a bit of a doozey. Both boys came down with the worst cold and cough they have ever had the beginning of Halloween week and is only just starting to ease up now!
Chase missed his Halloween parade and party at school. The day of Halloween James got stuck working all day and didn't make it home until 8:30pm and so didn't even see the boys in their costumes. I wasn't planning on letting Chase trick or treat at all because of how sick he was, yet the moment our doorbell started ringing with the neighborhood kids, he begged and begged to go. Because I'm an awesome (sucker) Mum I told him we could his a couple of houses and head home. So we threw on their costumes, piled in the wagon and off we went to a whopping 4 houses. He had a blast, and I so wanted to let him keep going on down the road but the coughing started and so we headed home, put on pjs and climbed into bed.

But the costumes, hands down the best yet. I think I'm going to dress the boys in them from time to time because they are so ridiculously handsome in the Top Gun outfits.

 

Maverick and Goose

Can't handle the cuteness

Asher James: One Year

Happy birthday baby boy!!!!! We officially have a one year old! What a year it's been...gone are the days off needing to hold up his head, now I have to stop him from climbing onto everything and anything and playing referee between him and Chase. We had such a fun time celebrating his first birthday but a part of me still got teary eyed seeing another one of our boys hit a big milestone.

Stats: Asher continues on being a beast and weighs 24lbs 12oz (90th percentile) and is 31.5 inches tall (97th percentile). He is exactly the same weight Chase was at 2 years old and is only a couple of inches shorter so I don't feel so crazy about pulling out the 24 month sized clothes. Poor boy had to get 4 shots and my heart just broke as he wailed away. We had a good cuddle afterwards though to make things better.

Sleep: I can finally say things are excellent where sleep is concerned. He is sleeping a solid 12 hours at night and one long nap (2-3 hours) in the afternoon. He is also putting himself to sleep. Thanks to recommendations from friends we started having music playing softly in the background and what do you know, it worked! I will rock him for a few minutes to calm him down and he loves snuggles. He cries for a minute when I place him in his crib but then settles down and falls asleep. No waking up in the middle of the night or anything...hallelujah!

Social: Asher has become very outgoing and will chatter and smile with anyone while we are out and about. We have started attending storytime on Tuesdays while Chase is at preschool and he loves it. He interacts well with the librarian and with the other kids there.

Diet: I never thought I would say Asher has become picky, but he has and that has led to a lot of frustration on my part. He will eat sandwiches so I try to fill those with healthy stuff. He has refused to eat meat, pasta, veggies. Basically bread and fruit were about it. I will say the past 3 days he seems to be improving and has eaten pasta, meatloaf, mashed potatoes etc. The doctor said it is normal for them to get picky around a year but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's just teething to cause him to be this way. We started giving him milk around 11 months, well I should say he kept stealing Chase's sippy cup. Over his birthday weekend we switched to solely whole milk and have packed the bottles away.

 

Skills/Milestones: We are still working on walking but he is charging full steam with his walker and thinks it's hilarious when Chase rides on his cars next to him. I just love watching them play together. He can say he is a stair climber and makes like the wind towards them if the gate is accidentally left open! He loves to bounce on the trampoline and go head first down the slide...yup he is fearless...lord help us. He has a total of 7 teeth now and the Dr said his 1 year molars are starting to come through. He is continuing to add words to his vocab including; car, Cisco and ball. He can follow directions such as, "go find Chase", "go get me your shoes", "lets go outside", etc.

Favorites: Mummy, Daddy, Chase, play food, train table, paci, books, water table, ball, Cisco, Mickey Mouse

 

It has been a true joy watching this little boy grow over the past year. He amazes me with how quickly he picks things up and I know the biggest reason for that is to keep up with his big brother Chase. He is such a happy baby and def is a little monkey. He keeps us on our toes but I absolutely love it. He has us all cracking up daily. He has bought so much happiness to our home and our family wouldn't be complete without him .

Chase Patrick: Three Years

Our big boy turned 3 this month and I'm not going to lie this mama was a little emotional (I hid it well). He is just growing so fast and with that he is wanting more and more independence which makes me so sad but I am so proud of the little boy he is turning into.

Stats: He is our petite boy, must be my Mum's side of the family creeping in :) His weight is 27lbs 8oz (5th percentile) and 36 inches tall (20th percentile). I find it amazing he is so light as he never . stops . eating !

Sleep: Chase loves his sleep and I love him for loving his sleep. He sleeps a solid 12 hours at night (sometimes more) and on preschool days takes a 2 hour nap. For a while he was giving us a hard time about going to bed but thankfully that has calmed down.

 Social: The big change in this area is that he has started preschool. He goes Tuesday and Thursday mornings and he is doing really well there. I was a little worried about how he would do being away from me and while he does shed some tears when I leave, the teacher says he stops immediately. When I go to pick him up he tells me all about his morning and the things he has done and what he had for snack that day so I know he does have a good time there and makes me feel great about sending him. I guess with the "freedom" preschool has given him he has started asking that I leave him places, like his friends houses and Grandma and Granddad's house (don't worry not some random public place). Nothing like making Mummy feel not wanted anymore! Just kidding he still asks myself and Daddy that we are going places with him all the time.

 Diet: I have no clue where the food goes that Chase eats, as he weighs next to nothing but will eat and eat all day long. He still will eat everything and anything, thank you easy child! He will still eat his veggies first and we have to bribe him to eat his mac n cheese, bread etc with more veggies (strange child).

Skills/Milestones: We have been diligently working on potty training since spring. He was completely trained, doing both businesses in the potty and wearing underwear out and about. Then it all came to a screeching halt and he regressed...completely. I think a lot of it is to due with Asher and the fact that I still change his diaper. Since the end of the summer we can refocused on this area and he has been doing really well. He will stay dry all day and night long but will not poop in the potty for anything. I've tried stickers, candy and toys on top of the fridge as prizes but nothing seems to work. So we will continue the battle.
Just the other day Chase impressed me with counting to 10. I had no idea he knew all the numbers let alone counting...thank you preschool! He also knows his alphabet. He has really gotten into puzzles and does so well with them. He will sit and do them over and over which makes for a great quiet time activity and gives me a chance to get a few things done around the house.

Favorites: Thomas and Friends, Paw Patrol, Disney Cars, Henry Hugglemonster, playing with Cisco, playing outside, play-doh, digging in the sand, playing with Asher, lollipops, Moes, Chick Fil A, Kinder Eggs, books.

I love this little boy so much! He is certainly trying at times but overall he is such a kind, thoughtful and smart little man. He always makes sure others are ok and he loves his brother to no end. He does such a good job of teaching Asher how to do things and is so proud when Asher does something for the first time. He enjoys helping me cook and Daddy wash his car. He cracks us up daily with the funny things he says. Basically I can't imagine life without him and we are so blessed to call him our son.


 I am so proud of this little boy we call our son. He amazes me every day, the way he views the world with such excitement. I'm so lucky that I get to spend every day with him.

First Day: Preschool

It was a big day in the Prendergast household as we entered the world of school newsletters, backpacks and snack duties, as Chase started preschool.

I was really nervous as to how Chase would do going to preschool, him being ok without either myself or Daddy there, or Asher for that fact. We had been prepping him for a while as to what was going to happen. Every time we drove past his preschool we told him all about it and what we would be doing there. As we walked down the hallway to his classroom I was awaiting the tears and the clinging while telling us not to leave. I am so proud to say that our boy did not do any of those things. He hung up his backpack in his cubby, washed his hands and said "ok I'm going to go and play with the trains now." Both James and I said bye to him and he didn't even notice us leave. I was so happy that it went so smoothly, that he felt comfortable enough there and that he knows we will be back to pick him up shortly.

I love my children, I really do but threenager is no joke (and Chase technically isn't 3 yet), and so I'm not going to lie that getting a bit of relief from the tantrums and attitude is really nice. I also love that I get to give Asher a little one on one time. I will be getting to take him to the baby storytime at the library also. That said I was beyond eager to go and pick him up and to hear how his day went. He was beaming when I walked into the classroom and proceeded to tell me snipits of his morning throughout the rest of our day. Some of the highlights:
- was holding his cup of water, moved it to his lap and then spilt it
- played with a boy named Finn
- he and Finn played with a dog on the road (playmat road not a real one) and it was sooo funny
- played on the dinosaur outside on the playground
- read a book about a school bus

I love getting to have conversation with Chase. His speech has always been his strength and it's amazing the things he comes out with and how much detail he puts into his sentences. I am so excited for Chase. He is a smart little boy and I think he is going to do great at preschool. He is a kind boy and I know he will make a lot of friends. Yay for preschool being a hit.