It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Lately it seems that we've been so busy, but we've not been doing too much - except baking! This year Christmas just kind of came out of nowhere for me. Suddenly I realized that it was mid-December and I still had shopping to do! AHHHH! We've had some really cold, windy days that have kept us totally indoors. Clayton loves to play with his Hot Wheels track. And in regards to how his shirt is on he "loves it like that."

From St. Nicholas the boys got matching Christmas pjs. Clayton thought we needed a picture of them together in the pjs, but didn't really want to be next to Levi.

December 13 was the annual Christmas Party at the Ambassador's. Levi's not too much younger than their twin grandchildren. And since their grandbabies are in South Carolina, they snatch Levi up for some snuggling every chance they get...well, Mrs. Wilkins does anyway. I'm glad I got a picture of Levi with Ambassador and Mrs. Wilkins.

Here's another shot of the boys that Clayton thought I needed to take. He's got a "shiner," as he called it. He was playing a game with Cyle and hit the corner of a chair. Boy did it ever look bad the next morning. Luckily it's pretty much gone so it won't be in the Christmas pictures.

Clayton is my helper in the kitchen. Really, taste tester would be a better description. Here he's sampling some cookie dough...

Here's my happy little guy. Levi is such a smiler. For the latest cakes, visit Baking at Huckleberries.
Have a very Merry Christmas!

Levi's Baptism

Levi got baptized on November 29 at Immaculate Conception. Deacon Biri performed the ceremony and it was very nice. Cyle's mom made Levi's baptismal outfit. It's so cute. She used pieces from my mom's wedding dress (collar and cuffs) and ribbon from her dress (little bow tie). My friend KarenKay smocked his shoes.

Poor Cyle is recovering from being sick. Thanksgiving evening Clayton got a nasty stomach virus (so nasty he and Cyle and Grandma Huck took a trip to the ER) and passed it around to all of us. First Cyle, then Cameron, Kathy, Curt, and me - on our way home! Cameron got sick during the ceremony, so Garrett and Anna took him home immediately after. The rest of us went to eat at the Branding Iron for some barbeque and cake, of course!

This was taken beforehand (luckily)...Godparents Uncle Cameron and Aunt Sherri with Levi.

Levi was so good throughout everything. He didn't cry when Deacon Biri poured the water over his head and stayed content throughout. I had to laugh when the baptismal candle was lit and Clayton started singing "Happy Birthday." It was too funny. If I smell Levi closely enough, I can still smell the Chrism Oil. We are so blessed to have such a precious little boy.

November Vacation

We've just returned from our trip to Missouri. We had a great time visiting all of our friends and family. Our visits always seem to just fly by.
Clayton and Levi got decked out in their finest camo for opening day. Can you tell it's deer season? Look how happy Cyle looks! Maybe a little tired, too.

We visited Claire and Vincent one afternoon. It's hard to believe they were the same ages as my boys when I started watching them!
They're so big now. Claire is 10 and Vincent is 8...ahh, where do the years go? Clayton loved playing ball with Vincent and "playing" the piano and xylophone, too.

Somehow I managed to get pictures with all of the great-grandparents,
but very few with the grandparents! How?
Above are the boys with Great-Grandma Arnold.

Four generations of Hucks:
Great-Grandma Mel, Great-Grandpa Clete, Grandpa Curt, Cyle, Clayton and Levi.

Great-Grandma Grossheider and Levi.
Here again, I didn't get a picture of both boys with Grandma.

It really was a fun visit. Clayton adjusted really well to sleeping at Grandma and Grandpa Huck's (which he refers to as "Uncle Cameron's house") and even slept in a big boy bed. Levi didn't mind being passed around one bit and outgrew several outfits while we we're there. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends!

Oh the weather outside is FRIGHTFUL!!!

Is that Clayton in his costume? No, just his snowsuit! Last Tuesday night we got over 4 inches of snow. Clayton, who doesn't yet realize that we've got at least 6 more months of snow, couldn't wait to get out in it. Luckily for me his snow suit from last year still fits.

Clayton carved a really cute jack-o-lantern and we couldn't even see it because of the snow. He did have a lot of fun playing on the front porch until he got "too cold."

These are my clemintine-o-lanterns. The kids at playgroup devoured them. Clayton ate so many cookies that day that he actually threw them up. He should've stuck to the oranges!

Clayton has been watching a Bob the Builder movie about a water mill. So we took a field trip to the historic Watson's Mill in Manotick. He picked out a bag of whole wheat flour milled on site. We got to see the giant mill stones, gears, the elevator and watched a movie about how the mill works. We took the flour home and Clayton helped make some cookies with the flour.

There were lots of child-friendly activities at the mill. Here, Clayton is grinding up wheat into flour. He thought this was especially fun.


Clayton's new sayings:

"Oh my gosh!" Only it comes out, "Oh my dosh!" He says it all the time. For example, "Oh my gosh! I ate my toast!" It's so funny.

He told me at breakfast the other morning, in regards to his cup, "Just leave it alone!" (Think he hears that often?)

This afternoon, I asked him if we should clean out his stuffed animals and give the ones he doesn't play with to a little boy who doesn't have any. "No," he told me, "I want to keep them ever and ever."

Levi is doing really well. He's such a content, happy baby. I'm truly so blessed. He's so smiley all the time now. I've got to get some more pictures of him!

Happy November!

Getting Ready for Halloween

The air has a definite chill to it and the trees have dropped most of their leaves, we're well into Autumn and getting ready for Halloween! (Or Hallowe'en, as the Canadians spell it.) Last week I tie-dyed shirts for the boys and I. I never did get a good picture of the boys and the shirts where you could actually see what's on the shirts. They have jack-o-lantern faces on them. They did turn out really cute. The funniest thing is, they are wearing the same size shirt in this picture!

So today, Clayton wanted to pick out Levi's outfit. This is what he chose. Levi was just so happy, I had to get some pictures. I guess he liked it, too!

Clayton keeps telling me, "I'm busy." I can't imagine where he hears that from...but he is. This morning we were getting ready to leave the house and I carried him out to the car, forgetting that his car seat wasn't in. So I sat him in the driver's seat and said, "Here. You can pretend to drive the car while I go get Levi." I ran back into the kitchen to grab Levi, already in his car seat, and leave a note for Cyle. I wasn't in the house two minutes. When I got back out to the garage, Clayton had put the keys in the ignition, started the car, turned on a blinker and windshield wipers, had the radio blaring and was jamming to the music as he "pretended" to drive the car. Next time, I'll make sure he's strapped into his seat before I run inside...

Have a great week!

Autumn Leaves are Falling Down

We are having the most gorgeous autumn! The trees are on fire and the weather has been just perfect. The days Clayton has school, Levi and I walk through the town of Richmond. We've been enjoying the sunshine and all of the colors.

Last week the big oak tree in our front yard dropped 3/4 of its leaves. I raked a big pile and Clayton played for nearly an hour and a half. Of course, I raked the same pile about 15 times... It was a nice warm day so Clayton got to wear his 'old tractor machine shirt.' It's probably one of the last times for the year. His imagination is really taking off. We have to be really careful about what Halloween things he sees. After watching a Thomas the Train Halloween show, he told me that he saw a ghost in our kitchen and was scared. Last night, after hearing a story about a baboon, he told us, "a big giant baboon" was coming and he was scared because it was mean. He's always making up stories. Except for today in church when a lady told him was really good, he looked at her and said, "I be LOUD." At least he knows that he's not supposed to be loud in church. Actually being quiet is another thing...

Levi is all smiles now. I finally caught one! Isn't it just so cute?! He's still growing like a weed and is increasingly interested in what we are doing. He likes to be up so he can see what is going on.

This weekend we celebrated fall with a campfire in our woods. Three families came down, one pitched a 13-man tent in our backyard, and we enjoyed the autumn weather. We roasted hot dogs, made s'mores, drank apple cider and the kids rode go-carts and played in the woods. It was really a fun time. I, of course, forgot to take any pictures - ahhhh - until it was too dark. Oh well. We also got in one last trip to the apple orchard. We picked up windfall apples from the ground and got 30 lbs for $10. They were better looking than the ones in the bins. Now it's time for applesauce and apple pie!

To see my latest cakes, check out Baking at Huckleberries.

Grandma and Grandpa Huck and Uncle Cameron Visited!

We started out the month with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Huck and Uncle Cameron. We had such a great time while they were here! The guys got in some pretty good hunting, Clayton got lots of playtime with 'Un-le Tamron.' Kathy and I got to do a little shopping. And we got to celebrate Grandma's 50th birthday!

We visited the town of Wakefield, QC. It's a charming town on the edge of Gatineau Park. I think we visited during the best weekend of the year - the fall foliage was beautiful.


We did a little shopping while we were there and let Clayton run around a little. I love how he wears his hat!

One of Wakefield's main attractions is their covered bridge. It really was pretty cool.

It was so nice having everyone here. I'm so glad they came to visit!