The Last Couple of Weeks

I really try to keep the blog updated, but life is just so busy right now and I just looked at it today and realized it has been almost 2 weeks since the last update. I've got to do better, especially since one certain little boy is turning TWO this week! How is that possible?!?!? Here is a short update from the past couple of weeks.

 

We've had lots of dress up time at home. Lots of nights we are dressed as Spiderman, Batman, or a fire man!

 

 I'm still not sure what they are going to be for Halloween (it changes daily!), but we did get out the big inflatable scary cat this weekend so we are somewhat getting ready for it! The boys were super excited about getting the cat out!

We've played lots of soccer. Today was the first day that Harrison realized he could kick the ball while we were out there and he and Joel spent almost the entire time on another field playing soccer.  He was a sweaty mess! This rough and tough boy can't wait for it to be his turn to get to play!

 Hudson loves soccer (comes home talking all about it and can't wait until next week), but I've said it before and I will say it again, he is just in la la land when he is out there! He does a lot of running, and he does get in the middle of the action, but the ball could be sitting at his feet and he would not even know it! Bless his heart...he is way more concerned about all the people that are there than kicking a ball. Needless to say, there have been bribes. Don't judge! Last week, he scored his first goal...for the other team. He was so proud (and it was pretty I must say!) that he ran over to me and told me he got to get ice cream since he scored a goal (obviously collecting on the before mentioned bribe!)! Oh well...he still got ice cream. He sure does look cute while he's out there!!!

 There is a little boy on our team whose dad coached Hudson's t-ball game in the spring and their big thing is the eye black! They always have it with them and the boys love to wear it!

The boys got to take their first bath in our new master bathroom tub/swimming pool! They loved it. Finished pictures coming soon. We are hoping that it will be done by the end of this week! Woo hoo!!!

 Last week, I picked Hudson up from school and the first thing he said to me was, "Look Mom, I'm a pothead!" I was dying...

 More soccer pics!

 I just love these four cuties! Their parents have all become some of our dear friends!

 It was such a beautiful day yesterday that we decided to head out to Oak Mountain for the morning. The boys love to hike!

 Harrison didn't want anyone to hold his hand! He wanted to do everything on his own, which resulted in a couple of falls and bloody knees, but he's a rock star and it did not even phase him a bit!

 It was so nice that we got a mile and a half into it before realizing we had gone that far. So, a mile and a half back made 3 miles! That's a lot for little legs! The walk back was clearly not as pleasant as the walk there...they were exhausted and hungry and there was nothing we could do! However, a little snack and the petting farm turned some whiney kids into happy ones again!

 After LONG naps, we headed to the Schreiner's to watch the Alabama/Ole Miss game. Fun times!

We've got a really busy week this week, which includes Harrison's big birthday, and then a super fun weekend planned next weekend. Can't wait!

Jam Packed Weekend

We had a weekend filled with FUN last weekend! To get the weekend started, the boys and I headed to the zoo Friday morning. We had not been in about a month and the boys were getting antsy! We love our zoo!

 

This time, Hudson begged and begged to feed the lorikeets. We had avoided it until now because I knew what would happen when a lorikeet landed on my child (total freak out!), but of course, he had to experience it himself. And, he came through with that total freak out we were expecting! :)

That was the quickest waste of money ever because the second the first bird landed on his shoulder, he threw that cup up in the air so fast! Thankfully, they gave us another one and while Hudson stood just outside the exhibit, Harrison had a blast watching all the birds land on me and eat! He didn't so much want them on him, but he loved how close he was. Overall, we had a good morning at the zoo!

After a nap for Harrison, we loaded up and headed to the lake. Jordan's 30th birthday was Saturday and he wanted everyone to come celebrate with him at the lake! We got there around 5 and made the most of our 24 hours on the farm! We definitely celebrated Jordan's 30th right!

Friday night, as soon as it got dark, we headed out to the pasture to catch lightning bugs. Unfortunately, we stink at catching lightning bugs...but, we had one happy boy doing it!

The other happy boy FELL ASLEEP on my shoulder while we were walking around in the pasture! That is unheard of and I thoroughly enjoyed carrying around the large sack of potatoes for a while! :) Poor buddy just gets so worn out at daycare.

 

Saturday morning was cold up at the lake! We were not prepared! Fall is definitely on its way. It did warm up some though and we were able to take one last summer boat ride, swim, and of course ride gators and tractors. What more could a boy want!?!?

 We came home Saturday night and put the exhausted kids in bed (they had had no naps at all on Saturday!), and then watched the Auburn game. We are thankful for DVR as we can delay the start of the game until we are ready to watch! And, we make sure we stay off social media so we don't spoil any outcomes! :) We were pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the game although it gave us a small heart attack!

Sunday was church day. You can see how much the boys loved me taking their pictures!

Harrison is just about done with sippies. He sees Hudson drinking out of a cup and he has to do it too! It helps that he only drinks out of cups at school.

 Silly boy!

 Sunday afternoon was Hudson's first soccer game! He really wanted to try soccer again this year. He really did a lot better than he did last year! At least he was running with the swarm of bees this year instead of playing in the grass like last year. That is an improvement! He is still not too interested in getting in the middle of all the kicking, but he's out there running and trying and that's all that matters.

His team name is the Thunder!

 And our course our buddy Haines is on our team. We can't do anything without Haines!

It sure was HOT on Sunday afternoon. The black uniforms didn't help. They got through it though (and we did too!).

Can't wait to spend more Sunday afternoons on the soccer field!

"I" Words

This boy is learning SO much in school this year.

 

Each week they are doing a different letter. Last year it was learning to write that letter. This year it is learning not only how to write it, but how it sounds, and what words start with that letter. This week is the letter "I". Each Monday, we have a homework assignment. We have to find 8 things around the house that start with that letter, and we are also supposed to let him take one of those things to school for show and tell.

My first thought was the word "iron." I don't like to make it too easy for Hudson when we do this (and most of the time he comes up with the words by himself, but like I said, this week was kind of hard). So, I went and got the iron and held it up to him and said, "Hudson, what is this?"

He had no clue. Not a single clue what it was. Clearly, as evidenced by our dry cleaning bill each month, ironing is not on the agenda. But, I KNOW we have used it in front of him before! Surely, right!?!?

You want to know what his first word was that he came up with all on his own??? Ipad.

Isn't that just so typical of this generation! Is Ipad even in the dictionary yet???

Second word...you guessed it...Iphone! Ha!

Then of course with did iron and ice cream and insect and so on. I even sat "Indian style" and asked him how I was sitting so he would get Indian, and then I remembered they don't call it that anymore. It's "criss cross applesauce" now if you were wondering! Oh he did not know what an Indian was after all so we scratched that one. I asked him who wore feathers out of their hats...his answer, Captain Hook. He was right on with that. Who was I to disagree?!!?

Coming up with "I" words that he would know was HARD though! Ha! I was even googling "I" words. We came up with 6 and left the last 2 for Joel to help with as I had a meeting last night.

When I looked at his sheet this morning, one of his last two words was "internet." I know that he knew Ipad and Iphone, but internet? That's impressive. That is until I asked Joel about it and he said he forgot to finish it with him so he just finished it himself!

Oh and of course we forgot to send him with an "I" word for show and tell this morning (not really wanting to give up our Ipad or Iphone, or most definitely not catching any insects, ice cream would melt, etc. I think we failed at homework this week! :)

Weekend Stuff, Dah-doh, A Snake, and a Baby (not ours!)

We have had a nice, relaxing weekend after a good week back at work and school (a short week so that made it even better!)!

 

This picture below of sleeping beauty was taken Wednesday night after Harrison asked to go to bed at 5:30. He went back to school this week and it did a number on him! Good news is that he LOVES his new class and I've gotten only good reports from his teachers. We've even had great drop offs! The second day, he ran in without me and went straight to his teacher and gave her a hug, and then blew a kiss to me! Melt my heart. On Thursday afternoon, his teacher told me that he is so smart and that he knows all of his colors. I felt like the worst mom because I didn't even know that he knew his colors, but sure enough, he does! It is amazing how much he has developed from his surgery in July. He is just talking so much and is so happy all of the time. While it was terrible going through it, we know we made the right decision! 

 

 I love it when football season is back in gear because Friday and Saturday outfits are pretty much set! Hudson asks to wear his jersey every single day so he is extra happy when I tell him it's Auburn day! I will say that on Friday, he said he needed to wear his Alabama shirt and that no one wears Auburn shirts, they only wear Alabama ones! :( Clearly, we are not doing something right here! Thankfully, he got over it fast and was more than willing to wear his jersey!

 I told Harrison to "show me his teeth" and he literally showed me his teeth! Oh well!

 The bathroom renovation is now in full swing and we are FINALLY seeing progress! The tile is almost done being put in, the granite is going on the cabinets this week, and hopefully by the end of next weekend, we will be very, very close! I'm telling you, if we can get through this renovation, we can get through anything! :) I feel like we are just living in dust right now, so I'm ready for all of it to be over and I can have my bathroom back (you know, since we've been without one since MAY!).

I've started playing tennis again! It is very exciting and I'm thankful that Joel is being so understanding of me needing this little outlet! I'm playing on a team this fall and so far, I'm just loving it! Friday night, one of my co-workers who is way, way, more advanced than I am and is on a team going to nationals in October, had a fund raiser tennis event at Hoover Country Club. It was a mixed doubles competition where you switched partners every four games, and whoever won the most games at the end, male and female, won a prize! It was SO fun! Most of the people there play a lot more than I do, so it was some tough competition!

 Our firm is assisting them in going to nationals, so they had the sign up at the event! These are all co-workers!

 Saturday morning, Joel and I had to pick out lights for the bathroom, so after that, since we were downtown, we picked up Chick fil A and headed to Railroad Park. It was hot, but the kids saw 3 trains, so they were in heaven! I must also mention that on Friday night, Joel and his mom took the kids to Irondale (again!) to watch trains and eat at the Irondale Café. We are becoming regulars there!

 Harrison now his a name for his big brother....Dah-doh! It is so funny! We are not sure how he got Dah-doh from Hudson, but he talks about Dah-doh ALL the time! Hudson can't stand his little nickname, but it's sticking so well that I find myself calling Hudson Dah-doh too!

 We watched Auburn win last night from the comfort of our own couch! Hopefully, we are going to get down there for a couple of games this year. I'm looking forward to it, but it's hard in our stage of life with the two small kiddos! Watching from home is just as fun though and the best part about it is that when it is over, we can just go to bed and don't have to drive the two hours back! :)

This morning, we had a snake in.our.house! We were playing with the boys in our downstairs room and it slithered up right next to Hudson. He loved it (in fact, all the boys loved it), but I was and still am freaking out about it! It was small, but that just means the mama is out there somewhere! No clue how it got in our house!

 This afternoon, we got to meet baby Nolan Barrow! So exciting! We were waiting all morning for him to be born as Abbey went into labor overnight, and he arrived around noon! He is SO precious! The boys loved meeting their new cousin (I think??? Joel's cousin had the baby so not sure what that makes him to our boys!) and kept saying that baby Nolan was soooo cute! Which he was! A tiny little thing at just 5 pounds, 13 oz (I think). Hudson was wanting to hold him so badly...it broke my heart that we had to tell him he could only take a peek! Our boys are the last people that need to touch that baby--ha! It was sweet though. Even Harrison was enthralled with baby Nolan! Can't wait for the boys to have a new play mate in the family!

That's about it for our exciting weekend!

Labor Day Weekend

We headed up to the cabin for Labor Day weekend with the Bridges. Margaret and I both had been worried all week that one of the kids would get sick and we wouldn't be able to go, but Friday got here and all seemed well. Hudson woke up and was eating breakfast and said his mouth hurt. We looked in there, and there was a little sore--nothing major and certainly nothing to be concerned about. However, an hour later, his lip and cheek were swollen so bad that he could hardly talk! It was terrible! It was really hurting him too. Of course, we headed to the doctor, hoping and praying that it was nothing serious. Thankfully, Dr. C. said it was either a bite of some sort, like a spider that may have crawled into his mouth while he slept, or it was an allergic reaction to something. We have no idea what it could have been. After some Benadryl and some antibiotics, the swelling went down and we were good to go!

 

We got there around 4 that afternoon and the Bridges arrived around 5. Hudson was SO excited. This was his first real sleepover too as he and Haines were sharing a room! Margaret even overheard them talking about how they were going to stay up all night! :) Thankfully, that did not happen! They were actually perfect angels and even napped! They insisted on sleeping in the same twin bed (even though there are 3 beds in the room that we put together!).

 

We played and played Friday night, ate dinner, and then went to the brow to do s'mores! So fun! 

 

 I hate that my phone went blurry on this picture!

 Then, it was rub a dub dub, 4 babies in a tub. These kiddos were dirty!

 Matching pj's!

The kids actually went to bed pretty easily (we were shocked!), and the adults stayed up way too late talking! It was really fun, except when you don't go to bed until 12:30, and then there are terrible storms from 3:30 to 4:30 that had the whole house up, and all kids were up by 6:30, that's not a whole lot of sleep! Oh well, we managed! That's what naps are for!

Saturday morning was hike day! We first went and saw Desoto Falls.

Then, we headed into the park and did a hike. Of course, Margaret came prepared and had a scavenger hunt for the boys. They had a list of things they had to find along the hike. They loved it! I have to admit, it was really cute and fun for the adults too!

Harrison LOVED the hike! He just had the biggest grin on his face the entire time! He did pretty good too! Sarah did good too, but she spent most of the time in her mama's arms!

Joel is showing Harrison a caterpillar!

 Big boy with his walking stick! Clint found all the boys walking sticks and that was a huge hit! I think they even came home with us. :)

 We found a spot near the creek and the boys just loved throwing rocks in the water and getting super dirty! They wanted to swim SO bad. They might as well have just gone in because they had walked all in the water and were just as filthy as could be!

 Snack time!

 Sarah had to wear her jersey just like the boys. She turned into a cheerleader that night!

 We hiked for over 2 hours. We could not believe we made it that long, and unfortunately, by the end, the kids were showing it. Well, mostly Hudson. He fell (for the thousandth time) and cut his hand and you would have thought the world had ended. He was just exhausted. Overall though, the kids did awesome! We would totally do it again!

The kids were so dirty that we got out the baby pool when we got back and let them clean up. Clothing was optional. We only had one "incident" on the deck! :)

After LONG naps for all, it was back to playing and getting ready for the big game! There was a lot of gator riding on this trip!

 Again, Miss Crafty Margaret brought these adorable lizards for the kids to paint. They had a blast doing it. She also brought hand towels and we made some really cute ones with the kids hands and feet! You can tell in the picture below that Harrison is painting his hand instead of his lizard. Clothing was again optional. For some reason, Harrison would not stay in just a diaper. If we took his shirt and shorts off, he wanted it ALL off!

 As you can imagine, it was a wild house and Margaret and I did our best to keep the kids occupied so the guys could watch the game. We were able to get the kids down and watched the second half and that was fine! Again, we stayed up way too late, but it was so, so fun. I can't wait to go back with them! Might have to be an annual thing!

The Bridges left on Sunday and it was a really sad goodbye! Hudson was so sad that his buddy was leaving him! We actually went down to the lake for the day, so that took his mind off of it for a while, but it really hit him when we got back to the cabin that night. He cried and cried for his buddy!

We had a couple of really good long boat rides while at the lake and Harrison has finally decided he likes riding in the boat! It's just amazing how different this child is now that his ears are clear.

 On Monday, we decided we needed to experience some culture and so we headed to Mule Day in Ider, Alabama. We had heard it was fun, and boy, was it a sight! Ha! We weren't able to stay very long because it took us longer to get away from the cabin than we had thought, but it was still a good time.

They had a little train that rode around the event and my train obsessed kids just had to ride it. Forget the mules, they just wanted to see the rinky dink train!

 Not a great picture, but the boys liked watching the mules pull the blocks! It was quite interesting!

What a great weekend we had!