3 1/2 Years Old

Tomorrow this sweet boy will be 3 1/2 years old. I thought I would do a little update on him since I never really do that for him anymore.

Hudson is at full speed all of the time. His energy level blows me away and for whatever reason, it has really picked up lately, if that is even possible! He is hard to keep up with! He is SO silly all of the time too. And loud. :) He is sweet too. He loves to snuggle with you at night and watch a movie, and of course when we read books before bedtime, and loves to give hugs and kisses. He is so sweet to Harrison too. We have started getting to the "these are MY toys" stage now that Harrison is on the move and loves to play with toys too, but for the most part, Hudson is really good with him and is always concerned about where he is, especially if he is near stairs or somewhere that he shouldn't be.  

He is a big help around the house too. We can tell him to clean up the toys and he will do it. He also loves to vaccuum, swiffer, and wipe things up. Anything that we are doing, he wants to help do too.

He has gotten a mouth on him these past few months. He definitely has started to talk back. Listening is a struggle for him (I hope I'm not the only one with a 3 year old that doesn't listen!) and when he doesn't want to do something, he will let you know it. We still do time out some, but taking away toys and/or taking cartoons away is usually more effective these days. For the most part though, he's such a good boy and when he's acting up, it's usually because he is overtired. This boy still needs a nap! He is still taking a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoons (at least on the days that we are home). He naps with about 50 stuffed animals in his bed. It's hilarious.

Hudson is finally officially potty trained. We are now working on the "not announcing it in public for all to hear" stage. For example, when we were eating lunch in La Paz last weekend, he yelled that he had to go poo poo and then, after me telling him in the bathroom to whisper what he did to Daddy (because he still is so proud of himself for it all and couldn't wait to run out and tell him), he runs out and yells again that he did it. It was SO embarassing! Luckily, the people beside us just laughed and said they were in that stage of life too. Anyway, all that to say, we've spent so long making such a big deal of the whole process that it is hard to now not talk about it so openly anymore. That is hard for a 3 year old to grasp!  Life is so much easier now that he is potty trained, but I swear, why does he need to try out every single public bathroom there is??? I will make him go before we leave the house, but it never fails that he will have to go again as soon as we get somewhere.

He is a funny little kid. We laugh daily over the things that come out of his mouth. I should really write all of them down when he says them because I forget them so easily, but I think this is why I love this age so much. He is really using his imagination these days and I love to see what he comes up with. There is always a story that goes along with whatever he is doing. Right now, it seems that snakes are his thing. There is always an imaginary snake close by. I think he does it because he knows how much I despise snakes!

He has started answering the phone when it rings. I don't tell him to answer it, but he beats me to it sometimes. One time, I was giving Harrison a bath and Hudson came running into the bathroom with the phone in hand saying it was a lady and that it wasn't Migi and she was not nice. Incidentally, everytime the phone rings, he thinks it's Migi or Pops, so that is why he thought that, but it was so funny. I think it was a wrong number that called. At least I didn't have to deal with them--Hudson took care of it! Ha!

Hudson is still a bit of a picky eater and really doesn't eat that much at all. Lunch is usually the meal he does best on. He is coming around on eating veggies. He still just despises broccoli, but he will eat green beans and okra thank goodness (that's about it, though). If we can just get him to try things, he usually will like it. It's the trying that is the hard part.

I think he is pretty smart too. The other day, he told me that stop signs were octagons and that they had 8 sides. I was pretty impressed by that. He loves to count how many things there are and loves getting "monies" to put in his piggy bank. He is recognizing letters too and can write the letter H (and "o" too, but that one is easy!). He knows how to spell his first name and last name (orally), and also Mommy and Daddy. He knows his birthday and where we live, days of the week, and his left from right. I know I'm forgetting tons of things, but he is just learning so much every day! He also knows how to get everywhere! His sense of direction is remarkable.

He is a pro at using the Ipad. He loves to play Memory on the Ipad (and the board game too!) and also watch train videos, draw pictures, and play with all the other apps we have on there for him. He's pretty self sufficient with it. He is also really good at puzzles and can do them all by himself too. He loves the easel that we have. He loves drawing pictures (even though most of the time I have no idea what he is drawing).

This month, Hudson will be starting soccer! I can't wait. He has been doing Soccer Shots at school for a while now and he loves it, but I'm interested to see how he does in this setting. I'm sure it will be chaos. As long as he can use it to get some of that energy out, it will be a success for me. I'm not sure I will be able to handle it if he's the one playing in the grass. :)

He is our little buddy and I just can't believe he is already 3 1/2! That seems so old to me! Happy half birthday Hudson!

Life

I think I'm becoming a twice a month blogger. I just haven't taken that many pictures lately and I hate to blog and not have any pictures! I made an effort today to take some though (not that we did anything special).

Last weekend, we went to Will Blocker's 1st birthday party. Such a cute and creative jungle themed party! Hudson and I had a lot of fun with the party favors afterwards (and it's really creepy to me that you can only see my eyebrows--ha!).



 

Will's first birthday meant that we are 7 weeks away from Harrison's first birthday (6 weeks now--eek!). I think it's about time I start figuring out what to do for his party! Part of me just really doesn't want to do anything...he won't even know it's for him! But, the other part of me knows that making it a full year (especially with all the ups and downs and sickness we've had with him this year) does call for a big celebration! And, we had a party for Hudson, so I hate for Harrison to be left out! I'm sure we will at least do a small family celebration--I mean, I have to see what he will do with a smash cake! I have an idea (he doesn't turn down meals!), but can't wait to see for sure!

Yesterday, I went down to Auburn to have lunch with my good friend Ashley from college. Her little girl, Claudia, just started Kindergarten this week and I told her a year ago that on Claudia's first day of school, I would come down there and have lunch with her to maybe help her get through the day! Well, I missed the first day by 5 days, but at least I made it down there in the same week! I just had the best time catching up. It was a short visit, but a fun one. And, it was great being down in Auburn. I miss that place so much. I told Joel when I got home that I think we should move there. :)  He said that a lot of people are retiring there (guess that was my answer!).

I snapped a quick picture of the Toomer's trees before I left--I was a little embarassed to take a picture with my big mom camera, so it's not a great picture, but you can see how awful they look. It is just really sad!

So, back to the whole Kindergarten thing. It has really hit home with me this week (with ALL the first day pictures I have seen!) that Hudson will start Kindergarten in 2 years. That just doesn't seem that far away and it already is breaking my heart! I can't imagine how I will be on that first day. It will be here before I know it though so it's really making me treasure these last 2 years that I will have with him! We are already starting to talk about it though and he knows that when he's 5, he will go to big school!

Harrison has been quite difficult these past few weeks (probably why I haven't taken many pictures lately--they would just be of him fussing). His new teacher is trying to get them all on a one nap a day schedule and he is having a really hard time adjusting. He is just not ready to drop that morning nap! But, it is what it is, and we're dealing with it. It just makes for a really hard time between 3:30 and 7 pm! Some days, I put him down again when we get home because he is so inconsolable, but that does seem to mess up his night schedule a bit so it is better to deal with it and put him down for the night between 6:30 and 7. He basically sleeps away the day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when we are home to catch up. I know he will adjust though and the one nap a day thing really is better--it gives so much more freedom to us, but for now, he's still doing two naps at home.

He is all over the place though. Here he is trying to climb the slide...

Hudson had an adjustment to his new preschool too. The first week was hard--really hard. He came home the second day and told me that his new friends didn't like him and that they wouldn't talk to him. I cried myself to sleep that night. It just hurt my heart (he later said that it was the girls that wouldn't talk to him and I told him that he just needed to get used to girls being mean because that's never going to change!). What am I going to do in the teenage years??? :) But, we stayed positive and pressed on, and I'm happy to say now that things have gotten SO much better. He is happy to go everyday and see his new friends. He talks about his "new school" all the time, he loves his teachers, and I can already see how much he is learning. He does still talk about his old school, and especially his buddy Caleb, but hopefully we will see Caleb soon for a play date! He really does have a great personality and seems to fit right in with whatever. I'm thankful for that. He is the best kid...I just love him so much it hurts and I am just so proud of him. He has had so much come his way with the new school and having to be potty trained and he has done so well with it all.

This picture below is awful of us, but it just shows how active Harrison is these days. He wants to be on the go and not held for a second!

Hudson loves driving Harrison around in the Jeep. Harrison is happy with it as long as Hudson keeps moving. If he stops for a second, it's all over!

I just thought this was so cute. Hudson really does take care of his little brother (even keeping an arm around him while he drives!). Makes my heart melt!

I think Hudson is saying, "Mom, Harrison busted out again!!!" Harrison knows how to undo the velcro strap, but luckily Hudson knows not to drive when he's not strapped in!

I think this post is becoming so random, but that is our life. Today, Hudson completely busted on the driveway and scraped his knees up. They were bleeding pretty badly, so a bandaid was a must. You would have thought that it was the end of the world. This kid is TERRIFIED of bandaids. I mean, not being able to breathe, terrified. We had to put it on him though because there would be blood everywhere! I had to take a picture (mean mama!).

Phew, this has taken me a while to update, so that's all for tonight! Until next time...

Weekend at the Cabin

We spent last weekend at the cabin and it was so nice! There was a hint of fall in the weather, and it got down right chilly up there at night and in the morning. It is nice to be able to let Hudson run around up there. There is so much for him to do and he just loves it.

Harrison had a lot of fun exploring too!

He practiced walking a lot!

He had so much fun with this little push toy. He got wreckless at times, but he had a ball.

Saturday morning, Joel, Hudson, my mom, and me all went canoeing on Little River while Harrison napped back at the cabin. I thought Hudson would love it. I could not have been more wrong about that. Once you are on a canoe in the middle of the river, there's not a whole lot you can do about a child that is throwing a fit. It was a bit of a miserable experience, thus, no pictures! But, we will go again--we just might have to leave Hudson at home! Ha! Truthfully, I think he was just so overtired from the night before that anything and everything was making him upset. I do still think he would like it (but I'm not trying again anytime soon!).

When we got back to the cabin, Carrie had arrived, and then shortly after that, Trey, Shondra, and Morgan came too. We had a full house, but that is what makes it so fun! The boys took humdingers of naps and I got to sit out on the porch and read my book and then visit with the family, and I enjoyed every second of it (that is, until I got stung by a wasp! Ugh!).

Once the boys were up, we headed back outside to play some more! Mom and Dad treated us to a wonderful dinner out (they have the BEST restaurants in Mentone!!!) and then we came back home and sat by the fire pit outside on the bluff. It could not have been more perfect!

Sunday was more playing outside (the weather was unbelievable for August!), followed by car drama (both Carrie's AND our car wouldn't start!). The guys weren't able to get Carrie's started so she had to take my parent's car back, but we did get ours jumped off. So weird! Anyway, I'm not sure I have mentioned this, but Carrie is moving back to California in 2 weeks so I was thankful to get in one good last visit with her before she leaves. To say I am sad is a huge understatement...I am REALLY sad, but Andres got a great job out there. I guess that's just life! I'm planning to visit in September though and I can't wait!!!

We had such a good time this weekend. I can't say enough about how awesome the weather was. I could just feel fall coming, and you know what that means, college football! We can't wait for more trips up there this fall. That is the best time to go and hopefully, we'll go a lot!

Second Day of School

I'm a day late on this, but better late than never. I couldn't decide which picture to post, so I'm just putting them all up. This is the second day of 3 year old preschool for Hudson and pre-toddler for Harrison.

 SERIOUS CUTENESS! Love these boys.

I talked to Harrison's teacher this morning and she told me that Harrison was the only child in his class that took naps at all yesterday (he took 2!) and he did them all on a cot with his nap mat. They said they just put him down and he went right to sleep! Go Harrison!

Birthday Weekend

We had a really fun weekend this past weekend. Friday night was our long-awaited date night. We think our last date night was in January--that is pretty sad! Joel and I went to Chuck's and had a fabulous meal, and then came home to a quiet house...all night long. It was great. We tried to sleep in, but I was wide awake at 5:30 am and could not go back to sleep. But, there is something to be said when you can get out of bed when you want to, and not when someone is saying, "Mommy Mommy, I need to...!" Not that I don't love being woken up by a certain little boy, but it sure was nice to have a morning off! :)

The Reed's had the kids back to our house by 9 am and then we all headed up to the lake for the day/night. We had a great time on the boat. I was a little afraid of how Hudson would do on the tube this time since we sort of went airborne the last time we tried it, but he was fearless and had the best time! He kept wanting Pops to go faster.

I even decided that this time I was going to attempt to ski. The last time I skiied, I was probably 12 and I actually got up on the first try. This time was not pretty. I could not get up at all. It was pretty embarassing to say the least! I inhaled a lot of lake water! :) I'm not sure I will be trying that again any time soon.

We took one last boat trip out after dinner and it was so fun watching the boys wakeboard while the sun set. What a beautiful backdrop! Oh and I got to blow out some candles after dinner too! I love my birthday! Thank you to the Reed's for bringing a cake. It was fun!

Yesterday was my official 31st birthday. I'm now "in my 30's." Oh well, it doesn't feel any different. We hung around the lake yesterday morning (more boating, tractor riding, and gator riding!) and Hudson even saw AND touched a snake. I am quivering just thinking about it (and very glad that I was not around when they found it!). He thought it was pretty cool though. We came back home yesterday afternoon and then headed to my parent's house last night to celebrate the August birthdays. Carrie, Mama Jean, and I all have birthdays the first week in August.

Today was the first day at Hudson and Harrison's new school and I am happy to report that it went really well! I think they are going to love it. I forgot to take a first day of school picture this morning, but I plan to do it tomorrow with my NEW mom camera! Joel surprised me with a new one and I can't wait to use it. Anyway, I'm going to say that Hudson is officially (and FINALLY) potty trained. He hasn't had an accident in a week and I'm just so proud of him! It sure does make things a little easier!

10 Months

Today little buddy turns 10 months old! The picture taking on the chair has officially become impossible. He wants nothing to do with it anymore and sure won't stay still!

He found his tongue today and it has been out all morning long! So funny!

He is just so darn cute. I love 10 months. He is all over the place crawling and pulling up and cruising on all the furniture. He is starting to let go some and balance, but I think we still have a ways on walking. I don't know why I think crawling is so cute, but I just do. I just try not to think about all the nastiness that is involved in crawling! He loves playing on his play table (he can really dance already!), throwing balls, and following Hudson wherever he goes. He also loves playing with doors! This is JUST like his big brother. Hudson was obsessed with them too (I think they must both have engineer brains like their daddy!). He has also become obsessed with the ceiling fans. Also, I'm not positive yet, but he, just like Hudson, is doing a lot with his left hand. Wouldn't it be strange to have two left handed kids?

He is now picking up and putting everything in his mouth. While this is great at mealtimes as he can feed himself, I have to watch him like a hawk when he's on the floor. I have fished out many things over the past month, from chalk, leaves, bugs, AND dog food just to name a few. Speaking of mealtime, he is doing great on table food and we are just about weaned off of baby food. He does still like his bottles, but not like he used to. He is down to maybe 6 ounces at each feeding, mostly 3 times a day, sometimes 4 if he needs a boost in the late afternoon. I try to just give him a snack to tie him over, but that is his fussy time for sure and sometimes his bottle is the only thing that will calm him down besides a nap, which I hate to do at 4 pm!

As for naps, he's taking two really good naps a day. He sleeps from about 8:30 to 10 am and then again from 1-3 in the afternoon. He goes to bed at 7 and gets up anywhere between 6 and 7:30. It just varies. We know when he's awake when we hear him banging on top of his crib. We have a monitor too, but the banging is usually the tell-tale sign that he's ready to get up!

He is finally saying Mama, but I'm still not sure if it is directed to me. At least he is saying it! He is still very attached to me, but he is starting to get comfortable with the grandparents too and responds to them when he sees them. He knows the word "no" very well as he hears it a lot. He doesn't like it, but it usually gets his attention! He also knows his name and will crawl to you when you say "come here" (just like a dog!).

He is still a big boy, weighing more than 24 pounds I think. He's in mostly 18 month clothes.

That's about it at 10 months! We are on the countdown to his first birthday. I can't believe it is almost here!

Since I haven't posted in a few days, I thought I would just dump the pictures from the camera from recently into this post too.

We had a fun time playing at the Bridges' house last weekend.

We called this "the stare down!"

These two boys are becoming fast buddies! Hudson learned for the first time (from Haines) that the "music truck" actually sells ice cream. Up until this point, the music truck has only played music. :) Now, it is all he can talk about. He says, "If you take money to the music truck, you can get ice cream." He had to learn the truth sometime!

Sunday before church. Yes, they were posing (this was the best I could do--Hudson just insisted that he had to sit on the stairs). :)

Angel face!

He is just trouble...

Joel has had to work all weekend the past few weekends so we went to church by ourselves on Sunday while Joel went to work. We were just about to leave when Joel came out of our room wearing the same thing Hudson had on. It was so cute! Hudson just loved that he and Daddy matched!

I have been obsessively watching the Olympics every second I get a chance. Hudson has gotten into the "limpics" too. He's my snuggle buddy at night. I just love it! But it's making me really tired...I don't stay up that late usually!

Joel and I celebrated 7 years of marriage on Monday! It's been a great 7 years!

We are actually going to celebrate our anniversary and my birthday tomorrow night with a date night and the kids are spending the night out. It is going to be glorious!!! I said when we got married that we would always make sure to celebrate our anniversary and my birthday on two separate occasions, but getting the opportunity to have 2 date nights within a week just isn't feasible at this stage in life. I'm thankful for our one night out though and will cherish every minute of it! And hopefully I will get to sleep in past 6 am on Saturday morning!