all Hallows' eve

Hudson goes to school on Thursday. His friend Max is often dressed up as a firefighter or Superman. But not today! Just Hudson was dressed up as a race at driver!

Sterling is the cutest cowboy, don't you think?

Halloween is not my favorite holiday, so Violet does the trick-or-treating during the day (all the shop owners participate, which is nice). 

This year, our neighbors are having a toddler party out front which should be fun. Hudson and Sterling are friends with all the kids and babies who live next door!

squirrel eviction

After living with squirrels for 18 months, we finally have properly evicted them last month. With the scaffolding up, we thought it would be great to get an exterminator in before the facade guys filled up all the holes in the cornice. The squirrels were starting their fall nest and were a little combative to the masons fixing our facade. Over the past year and a half, we also had about four litters of baby squirrels grow up and leave the nest. Rather, our front wall. I had had enough.

We had tried everything. We drilled holes in our wall and shot in expanding foam, we poked the squirrels, we sprayed them with ammonia. No avail. Squirrels don't eat poison (it is illegal to kill them in NYS), and they are persistent.

The exterminator actually ended up working from the inside. He cut a big hole and then filled it with rouble, wire mesh and expanding foam. 

This time, we know this worked as the squirrels sat outside out window on the scaffolding looking at us for three days. They were trying to figure out how to get back in. Thankfully, this time we finally foiled them, and we are finally squirrel-less!

Hudson still says "shoo-shoo sqwuel" any time he sees one on the street. Smart kid.

potty-wise

This post is for my friends, as well as a good reminder for me in the future for little Sterling.

August was a big month for us. Hudson was potty trained in a day. No more manly dirty diapers. Now, it seems like I can't remember when he wasn't potty trained. This milestone really makes a parent feel that all that "parenting" is worth it.

Every parent and child is different, but I'll let you know what worked for us. I used the Pottywise book by Gary Ezzo as a guide. He outlines a number of methods - you have to find out which works best for you and your child. Hudson is an intense boy who loves quick achievement, so I knew the best method would be the intensive 1-4 day blitz. Before any training can begin, you have to make sure your kid is ready -wakes up dry from a nap; goes to a specific area to "do his business", etc. If he isn't ready, it's best to wait so that you and he both can succeed at the right time. 

I took off Friday from work and Violet had Sterling out most of the day - so we were able to focus on one thing all day - potty training The night before, we showed Hudson all the candy/treats because tomorrow is a special day. We also had him "teach teddy" how to use the potty that evening and get a reward for doing  such a great job. The emphasis was in being clean and dry, NOT on performing on the potty. This allowed for a lot of consistent opportunities for rewarding, not just when he needed to pee. "Are you clean and dry, Hudson? Yes? Pick a treat!"

 

After a couple accidents, he really started to get it, and the consistent rewarding was really useful. Rewarding "clean and dry" was really the key for Hudson. He was understanding why it was important to use the potty.

That night, Dave wanted him to wear a Pull-Up to bed, but I thought that would be back tracking. What's a little more laundry? Hudson woke up dry his first night! We had a few accidents here and there, but Hudson has done really great and is very good at letting us know when he needs to go. He feels empowered and I am relieved that I don't have to change giant dirty diapers. As Hudson is tall for his age, it is such a blessing to have this milestone behind us, as I no longer get looks as to why my three-year-old-sized child is not toilet trained.

on the waterfront

We discovered and enjoyed hanging out at pier 6 this summer which was fun. It started one day when Violet was ill and I stayed with the kids. We med up at the water park. We went back for more over the course of the summer discovering all the playgrounds and of course ice cream! Sonice to live so close to such fun parks...

oui, oui mon cheri!

So this summer we had the pleasure of *finally* making it to Governer's Island. It was a free ferry ride and to our delight, there was a French themed fair with antique carnival rides!

We tried to get a photo on the ferry, but with two active boys, it's not easy!

The rides were so fun, especially the bus on the carousel.

We also had a picnic and Sterling got to nap in the stroller

While Sterling was napping, Hudson and I got adventurous and went on the fastest ride there (it was actually really fast - there was a 9 year old near us crying), and Hudson loved it! We also went on a swing. As we were moving, I didn't get the best pics, but they are still a good memory!

The dragon ride!

Then we went back to the little carousel which was Hudson's very favorite! We'll definitely go back next year. I think Sterling will have more fun too!

friends

We had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with friends this summer and fall. We've also met some new ones too! We enjoyed playing with Emma at the first beach day (the water was cold!). Sterling and Hudson loved the sand!

We also got to hang out at a pool party at our next door neighbors' back yard (isn't the faux grass fabulous? Totally makes sense in the city). Lulu lives on the first floor and Rosie lives on the fourth floor too!

And more playtime with Rosie!

We also met a lot of new babies: Eleanor, Caradine, and Corrine:

And of course we had some quality time with Ellington! Learning to share:

Hudson had some quality time with his besties: Emma, Bryden, and a new friend we met at the park (whose parents are mutual friends of ours), Veronica.

We've had so much fun!

bouncy boy

Sterling *loved* his bouncy seat - much more than Hudson ever did. He was content for up to 30 minutes hanging out and jumping.

In May, we also started solids - and Sterling loves food! It's amazing how much he has grown!

Ands what's a post with out brothers, aka "the Hooligan" and "the Boss"!

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day, I was blessed enough to have my mom come for a visit. Hudson was very excited to have his Oma come visit, as was Sterling. 

Sterling was beginning to smile more (I feel like he started later than Hudson, but he is much more smiley now on comparison!) which made the visit fun!

I feel so blessed to have such good happy healthy boys!

brothers

So this spring, Hudson started to show more interest in Sterling as Sterling became more aware and reactive. This is one of the first times that the boys were playing together...

With spring also came warmer weather which means we got to playoff at the park! Also, our dogwood tree in the front yard actually bloomed this year! The fertilizer worked (hopefully the current scaffolding won't kill it now!)