The Huffies: 2013

We had a very lovely summer here, lots of sun and good weather. And that meant lots of time spent in our backyard and the pool. Charlotte started her new daycare/preschool in July and has matured into quite the spunky little two-year-old. Ethan grew and grew... out of so many clothes and even his infant car seat into a toddler one.

Here is Ethan looking very much like a little boy and much less like a baby. Good-bye infant car seat! Pretty soon, he'll be asking for the car keys....

One of the things I loved about the summer was the ability to put Charlotte in cute little dresses.

Not to be outdone by his sister, here is Ethan modeling the latest in toddler boy fashion.

Here is Charlotte having a picnic with Bunny and Pink Dance-y Frog in the backyard. The girl loves her food...

And her Mad Tom IPA. Nothing like a cold one on a hot day... No really, don't call CAS, the bottle is empty--her thirsty parents got to it first.

The pool was in full swing this summer. Charlotte and Ethan love the water.

Ethan looks like he's ready to dive right into the water and out of Dada's arms.

Dada and Ethan

Ethan is pretty much ready to start swimming lessons.

Charlotte has learned to use water wings. Here she is swimming on her own with Nan to spot her.

And here is Charlotte trying on Nan's hat for size while doing two of her favourite things: being naked and eating.

Ladybug swimsuit!

Too much fun and sun can tucker a guy out. Ethan taking a nap on Mum.

Wes was able to keep active this summer with lots of running and biking, even making it to the Quebec City Marathon and finishing with a fantastic time of 3:09. Only pre-race photos made it to the blog as no photos were taken after the race.... those who have run marathons will understand why. Charlotte stayed back to spend a special weekend with other family and Ethan got to hang solo with Mom and Pop in beautiful Quebec.

Here is Wes at race kit pick up looking plucky, happy, and otherwise unhurt.

Lacing up the sneakers on race morning.

Ethan wishing Dad a good race. Go Dad go!

Back in Ottawa, the kiddies got to go biking with Dad. Here they are in the bike trailer ready for a nice ride. Apparently, Charlotte is not happy about holding hands. Sorry Ethan.

But mostly, our summer was filled with general monkeying around. Good times.

Hello All,

It's been over half a year since our last post, so this one is going to be a bit long...

October was Charlotte's first official trick-or-treat outing. She had a fantastic time in her "baby-bug" costume, as she calls it and of course, chowing down on her first candy!

Dad and Charlotte on their way up to the Thompson house. At 18 months, Charlotte just started walking and needs a hand, literally, from Dad.

I think Charlotte ate about 7 of these gummy candies that night.

Ethan got into the Halloween spirit too by bringing out his inner pumpkin. Pretty good for a 3 week old.

Is that a baby or a jack-o-lantern? Hard to tell...

Then, in almost a blink of an eye, it was Christmas. Months go by really fast with a newborn and a toddler running about. Although, neither Charlotte nor Ethan understood the concept of Santa, Charlotte had a lot of fun opening presents. We spent Christmas morning with the Mullers and then went over to Nan and Dada's (Grandma & Grandpa Huffman) for a yummy dinner.

Our Christmas tree!

And our beautiful Christmas fire a la Dad.

Charlotte on Christmas morning

Charlotte opening prezzies at the Mullers

Ethan getting a snuggle from Auntie Amy

Ethan & Dada: BFF

And then came the new year. January & February were a blur of even more sleepless nights and snow, snow, snow. Charlotte spent a lot of time in her snowsuit and Wes spent a lot of time shovelling our laneway. But they both took advantage of the snow and Saturday mornings became Daddy-Daughter cross-country skiing time. Charlotte cozy in the ski sled with blankets and snacks, Wes towing the sled on skis getting a heck of a workout! We also took Charlotte and Ethan to their first Winterlude on probably the busiest day. Janet fell into an informal mommy group with a couple of other new moms in the neighbourhood. So Ethan now hangs out with two very cute little girls on a weekly basis and Mom gets to have a conversation with actual adults!

Dad and Charlotte on a very snowy day

Our house is hiding behind this mountain of snow

Dad and Charlotte at Winterlude

Mom and Ethan out on a walk in the neighbourhood. You can never been too young for shades.

Ethan and his playgroup pals, Laurel and Anna Sophia. This was the best pic we could get without one of them falling over.

Winter was still very much present in Ottawa when March came around. Luckily, we had a trip to Florida to visit Nan and Dada to look forward to at the end of the month. Charlotte had such a great time on the beaches of St. Augustine. She would have stayed there all day if we let her. Ethan was only 5 months old at the time and didn't think too much of the beach but got to spend some quality time with the grandparents.

Ethan all smiles on the beach holding Nan's hand

Charlotte absolutely loved these ducks. Here she is eating the food we brought to feed them. Okay, so maybe she didn't love them all that much....

Mom and Charlotte making "cupcakes" on the beach, a.k.a. filling the pail with sand until it overflows.

Charlotte and Dad having a grand time on the carousel! So much fun!

Nothing beats morning cartoons on Nan & Dada's big comfy bed

This giant grin says it all

And then came April and Charlotte's 2nd birthday! Wham! Just like that. No warning, just all-of-a-sudden-you-are-two! Charlotte was excited to have a birthday party having seen her good friend Dora the Explorer have one on what we call the "third parent"in the house (a.k.a. the DVD player). We got some of her favourite things together, her family, some "ba-noons" (a.k.a. balloons) and of course, cupcakes!

There is nothing like a little cupcake to go with your buttercream frosting

Charlotte in her party dress!

Reading with Cousins Emma and Meghan

Happy birthday to me....

Yay! Prezzies!

Yay! More prezzies!

And even more!

For a week in May, Grandma and Grandpa Kim from Alberta came to stay with us and visit their grandkids. We taught Charlotte to say "Hal-mo-nie" (Korean for Grandma) and "Ha-ra-bo-gie" (Grandpa) before they arrived. It was a pretty hectic time in the house, not a lot of good photos were shot, but we did manage to capture a few moments on camera.

The gravel along the railroads was a big hit with Charlotte at the Science & Tech museum. Trains? Bor-ing. Gimme gravel any day of the week.

A proven method to get your toddler away from gravel is to put her on your shoulders

Charlotte and Harabogie going for a drive

Charlotte and Dad on a snowmobile simulator

Ethan and Halmonie hanging out

Ethan and Harabogie

Charlotte and Halmonie

The last few months have been incredibly fast-moving. Charlotte is now 2 and Ethan is 7 months old. They are starting to interact with each other and Ethan's personality is coming out more and more each day.