Cool Tricks

Hudson was 8 weeks old on Tuesday. I feel like that is a big milestone for us. Only 3 more weeks and we will be past the "4th trimester" and mostly out of the woods!

He seems so much bigger lately. His face seems rounder, and just last week his hair started growing in, and every day it looks longer. He had lost all but the part around the base of his head after he was born. Just last night, I fed him at 8:45, we gave him his bath, and he went to bed...and slept until 6:00 am!!!! AMAZING! I did have to reinsert the passy one time, but I was thrilled. There is no guarantee that it will happen again any time soon, but I am encouraged!


Alden had preschool Monday and Wednesday. She learned what the colors of the stoplight mean, and that red and yellow make orange. Tuesday, we went to Jessica's parents' house. It was great to sit outside and visit with Jess. Alden, Miles, and Lydia spent most of the time playing in Debbie and Craig's new fountain. Luckily, we had dressed in layers, because Alden kept getting wetter and wetter. By the time we left, she just had bloomers and a diaper on. This is kind of a cold, rainy day, so I thought we would try to start potty training. That lasted about 4 hours. Alden was just not interested, and I am not going to push it. Plus, it was a poo day, which happens every three days or so, and Alden has been whiny about going all day. She did finally go 15 minutes after she laid down for nap, and has been up twice since then. Good thing I wasn't trying to sleep this afternoon, because it wouldn't have happened.

She has been playing with these little plastic horse a lot. Ashley gives her a bowl of water to wash them in, and then showed her how to put them on the kitchen chairs to do "cool tricks". Then, we spent over an hour burying the horses in the sandbox yesterday.

HUGE Praise!!!

Our wonderful realtor, Pam, called last night and we have an offer on our house!!!! What a prayer answered! God is so good!

I am faxing the contract back to her right now, and we are set to close on October 15th! The folks buying it wanted to move quickly, which is fine with us. We will be losing some money, but after having it on the market for a YEAR, we are just thrilled to have this burden (almost) lifted! Plus, with the market the way it is, hopefully, we will be able to make it back on the buying end of things.

Of course, there could be unforeseen circumstances, and it isn't set in stone yet, but we are rejoicing and so thankful. We are trusting that God has just the right place for us in Apex, too.

Weekend at the "Yake"

Today I was reading a colors book with Alden, and there is a picture of a lizard. We were talking about the blue-tailed skink we saw at the park, and that it had a blue tail, etc, etc. Then, she busts out with, "Alna no have tail. Alna big girl, short neck." WHAT?? We all had a big laugh about that one at dinner tonight.

We had a great weekend at the lake. I don't think we could have asked for better weather, a more beautiful place, or better company. Alden and Hudson were remarkably pleasant, and Hudson slept A LOT, which always makes life more pleasant for everyone. Alden had a great time playing with Avery and Nate, going on the boat with Dad and watching him waterski, and eating pop ice. Unfortunately, within the first 5 minutes we were there, Alden tripped outside, and skinned her knee. That led to at least 30 minutes of boo-boo drama that night and at least an hour or two's worth over the rest of the weekend. She didn't want to get in the water at all because of it, which was sad, since I know how much she loves to swim. She did eventually jump off the dock to Tom Bogan, though.

Hudson loved sitting out on the deck in the shade and getting passed around. He slept so well in his pack and play that we have moved the bassinet out of the room, and he is now officially in teh pack and play at home, too. Who knows how long it will be before we are in a place where he can have his own room. It was so fun to visit with my Alpha Chi friends and hard to believe that we have known each other 12-13 years! We had a "sprinkle" for Laura and Matt who are expecting a baby in February as a prelude to a more formal shower this winter. Before I forget, on the way up to the lake, Alden was playing with "the eye" and pretending to change the eye's diaper...saying that he had peed or pooed. That kept her busy and entertained for a good while. For those of you who haven't always read the blog, here is a picture of "the eye."

Sleep Remains Elusive

What a week! Is it already Thursday???

Since I last posted, the sleeping situation has not improved greatly, and has been further complicated by Hudson having a cold. Lily, luckily, is doing better, (although around 3:45am she and Kaylee were barking at something outside), but Hudson's snorting and sniffing has kept us and him up instead. He has also been more fussy, too, right after I said we had turned a corner. He has required a lot of rocking, bouncing and stroking lately. Thankfully, my mom has been home the past couple days and has done a LOT of rocking. Matt and I were reflecting last night and don't remember EVER having to do this with Alden. Aren't second children supposed to be easier??

We had a very low-key weekend. Lots of rain on Saturday made us not feel that guilty about just hanging out inside. Sunday, we tried a new church, and I got to get out and swim laps at the pool.

Alden had school again on Monday and Wednesday. Monday was the last day for me to drop her off at her room, and she ran down the hall screaming, "Barney, Elmo, where are you?" Wednesday, we started the carpool system where the teachers meet us at the car, and get the kids out of the seat, and then put them in at pick-up time. We talked about it in the car on the way over, and Alden was excited her teacher was going to get her out of the car seat. When the time came, and Mrs. Gregory was about to lift her out, Alden first says "Bye!" and then, realizing that I wasn't coming, too, started crying, "Mommy, Mommy." So sad. Apparently, her tears didn't last long, and I was able to get a quick workout in at the Y. Wednesday was also "Yewo" (yellow) day, so Alden wore a yellow dress and came back from school telling us how they sang "The Wheels on the Bus."

She has a blue bag from school for her papers. The other day she wanted to show us her artwork and said, "Where'd my bag go?"

On the way home from school, she was saying, "Pete-Pan, where are you?", and decided he was in the trees, watching her. Today he was in the trees outside watching her eat.

This weekend Alden was big into the potty for some reason. She even peed a couple times on the "Big Potty". I want to indulge her, kind of, but most of the time, she just wants to be naked and have someone read her books in the bathroom. A current favorite is "Possum in the House." I think next weekend, we will get some panties, and start the potty thing hard core. I am dreading it.

What else, what else...Hudson is becoming very adept at carrying on a conversation in baby talk and is really smiley...when he is not fussy. At least there are some redeeming times to balance out the hard ones. He has also begun standing up and straightening his legs a lot more when you pick him up. I put an outfit on him yesterday that fit fine last week, and it was small. Probably-the-last-time-he-could-wear-it small.
Alden made "tents" out of her books for her people and her passys. Alden can "read" Go Dogs, Go, and Quick as Cricket.

She has been very protective of the TV, and had to share it with Pop-pop the other day. At dinner that night, I told her she needed to give Pop-pop a turn, and she says, "Alna's turn all day!" Hmmm.

Coming back from the Y today, she saw her name on her cup, and said "Alna, A-L-D-E-N". And we thought she wasn't paying attention to the alphabet.

She really likes "Yo Gabba Gabba" on Noggin. This is a very weird kids show. Every now and then throughout the show, they show a different little kid dancing, and saying, "My name is ----- and I like to dance." The other day, Alden busts out with, "My name is Alna and I like to dance." Of course, it was not that easy to understand, and it actually took me a few minutes to get what she was saying. Since then, she has said it for Auntie Ashley, Mommy, Pop-pop, Bebe, Lily, Kaylee, Passy and Juice. Who knew we had so many dancers in the house??

Hudson's Fifth Week, Alden Starts School!

I am utterly exhausted right now, but am going to make an effort to knock this out, because I don't know when I will have another free moment to do it anytime soon. Good chunks of blogging time are few and far between.

Last Wednesday, Alden had her Meet-the-Teacher Day at preschool. It was raining, so she got to wear her ladybug raincoat from Auntie Leigh. She was a little skeptical about going in at first, but since mom got to stay, and once she saw the toys, everything was great. I am just SO glad she is going, and after visiting feel like this will be a great place for her and that she is going to have a great time. She went right for the Elmo and Barney animals, and played with playdough, the baby dolls, and the shopping cart. There is an older lady who does music time with them each day, too, and Alden thought playing the bells and shakers was fun. "Just like at the library!"

Today was her first official day of school. Matt met us over there, and we did a quick drop off. She cried for a few seconds, and then the teacher said she had a great time playing. She only stayed for an hour this first day, and Hudson and I stuck around for the parents' meeting. I am looking forward to her staying for 2 1/2 hours next week!Matt was off this past Friday, which was GLORIOUS. Granted, we didn't do anything very exciting, ran some errands, went to the park, but it was nice to have his company and help with the kiddos. We decided at the last minute on Friday to head to Charlotte for the weekend. Some of our friends were getting together for a cookout, and we are going to have an open house there next weekend, so we felt like it would be a good opportunity to check on the house, and show Hudson off.

We took Alden to the pool Saturday morning with the intention of wearing her out before the car ride. She swam a lot, and can go about 6-8 feet by herself now. She really surprised us by wanting to wear a float, which she had adamantly refused all summer. Once she had it on, she realized she could swim around all by herself, and thought it was great. "I don't need Mommy, I do it myself!" Unfortunately, she was not tired afterwards, and didn't sleep a wink on the way to Charlotte.

It was strange to be back at the old house. But, good, too. It felt like a beach house or vacation rental...the furniture was there, but nothing in the drawers or kitchen cabinets. But, it also felt great to have the space again. It looks great, and hopefully, the open house will go well, barring any interference from Hurricane Hanna.

We were able to get together with our friends the Fairchilds and the Johnsons, and their daughters, who have grown so much since we have been gone. It was great to have friends to catch up with. Jarred, who Matt originally replaced at Shea, and is on international staff with Campus Crusade, was there, too, with his girlfriend, Shelly. They haven't been back in a year or so. They are here now for a couple years to train and raise support before re-upping for another stint.

We went to church on Sunday, which was good, but depressing, too, since we LOVE our church in Charlotte, and haven't found anything that comes close here yet. We ran into some of our Bible Study friends, and were able to introduce Hudson to them.

Sunday afternoon, we all crashed and slept almost 3 hours. SO GOOD. We did an impromptu dinner with the Johnsons and got to see the Tolles, who are expecting TWIN BOYS in November.

Matt and I were really looking forward to a great night's sleep afterwards. Hudson had a great night, sleeping straight from 11-4, but Alden was up from 2:30-4:15. I felt like I owed her a certain amount of grace since we dragged her back to the old house, and none of her things are there, and that she probably was a little rattled. She was yelling, "Mommy, Daddy". When I asked her the next day why she was upset, she just said she wanted Mommy and Daddy. She was playing with her Little People Zoo animals later that morning and I hear her, with the zebra, and he was "crying" and needing his Mommy and Daddy, too. Alden was saying "It's ok, zebra," and then, petting it, and saying, "He's happy now!".

Monday was Nana's 88th birthday, and it worked out that we were able to meet her, Kitty Scott, Elizabeth, and Scottie for lunch. This was definitely the highlight of our weekend, as we have missed seeing our family in Charlotte since our move. Alden was so glad to see Scottie, and they entertained each other really well during lunch. Hudson was pretty fussy, and had to make a couple trips outside to settle down. Luckily, he gave in to sleep before our food came.

Alden crashed out hard in the car as soon as we drove out of Charlotte. We always joke that going or coming, she always stirs in Asheboro. True to form, as soon as we got to the city limits, we start hearing some "Eh, eh" sounds from Alden and Hudson. By the time we were a few miles down the road at the Chick-Fil-A, it had escalated to a full-scale scream-fest. Matt and I looked at each other. All we could do was laugh...and dream of the days when the crying will stop, or at least subside a little.

Monday night, we had a surprise party for my high school friend, Kristen. We were a little late, but were able to eat some cake and visit. Kristen is the first one of us to turn 30. I guess it hadn't really occurred yet to me that I, too, will be 30 this year. All of a sudden, it seems old. Wow.

And, we continue to be exhausted. Last night, Hudson had his best night ever, going from 10:30-5 before he woke up to eat. However, Lily wanted out about every hour and a half because she has diarrhea and needed to go out. We can't win.

And tonight, we made an effort to get Alden in bed before 8:30, and yet she woke up around 9:20, and was just crying for the last 15 minutes. AHHH!

The good news this week is that we have definitely turned a corner with Hudson. I think, as he is able to see more, he is more entertained and distracted, and thus, can be by himself now for longer than 3-5 minutes. He likes his Baby Einstein Star a lot, except when Alden practically flattens him as she tries to lay by him. Sometimes I think I need to put Hudson in an enclosure, or hang him from the ceiling so Alden can't maul him.

He is really holding his head up well, and has even rolled over, although inadvertently, from his tummy to his back. He gooing and gaa-ing and smiling more, too. I am liking him more and more. I would like him even better if his long sleep patterns keep up. He seems so much bigger. When we got back from Charlotte and put him in the baby tub, he looked huge. It is amazing how quickly he is growing!

Alden eating her corn in front of the TV. When we were ready to walk after dinner, she said the corn wanted to come and danced it around, "The corn is excited!" Alden and the corn rode in the wagon.

Reading books to Kaylee. I think we must read at least 50 books a day. And that is a slow day.