The Wyatt Times

2011-03-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

We were listening to a Disney CD the other day, and the song from Peter Pan comes on where it goes, "we're gonna fight the injuns, the injuns" and Hudson says "Why are they going to fight Thomas and Percy and Edward?" Oh, engines...

I have been reading the Chronicles of Narnia, and Alden has been really interested in them. The other night, we were reading part of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" together and she says, "Mom, can we be buddies?" It was the cutest.

Hudson Pees on the Potty!

2010-11-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

So, lately, when Hudson and Alden take a bath at my parents' house, he has been peeing in the tub. And I mean, really, can you blame him? That warm water will trigger it in you.

We usually let him sit on the potty for a little bit before he gets in the tub, and a few nights ago, he actually peed in the potty! But, then, he pooped in the tub, which neither of the kids have EVER done. Yuck. I am thankful that I wasn't there for that...sorry, Auntie Amber.

Tonight, I am working and Matt said that at the end of the bath, when the water was almost drained out, Hudson was standing up in the tub and starting to pee. Matt says, "Wait! Stop! Go in the potty!" and picks Hudson up, wraps him in a towel and sits him on the little potty. Alden grabbed a book, and what do you know...He peed in the potty! Hooray!

Now, I guess we need to get serious about the potty training. I am a little nervous about potty training a boy, but he seems to be interested at least, which is better than Alden when she started.

It is 12:50...I should really be in bed. I am thankful that this is my only night shift for the 6 weeks.

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we really tried to fit a lot in. Saturday, Matt had a study day, so the kids and I went to the Y, and then to the dressage show at the fairgrounds. We made it just in time to see Dawn, my trainer, and her horse do their second level test. As usual, we only lasted about 25 minutes at the show, but the kids were very well behaved, speaking quietly and not running around the horses, so I call that success.While the kids were napping, I was able to ride Phoenix, and give him a bath. Then, we went to my parents for dinner. It was supposed to be a date night for Matt and I, but our plans to watch a DVD kind of fell through and we went to bed at 9:45.

Sunday, I taught kindergarten Sunday School and Matt did his usual combo of youth and college classes. The kids and I went with my parents to Uncle John's house to celebrate Nana's 90th birthday, which was on the 1st. Nana is just so amazing. She is a lovely, servant-hearted woman and I can't believe all that she does and all the people she cares for. She is definitely one of my heroes!
I mean, how many ninety year olds are doing high-kicks on a pool float???
We also called Nana's sister, Auntie Cornelia, because she turned 94 that day. She would have been right in the middle of the kick line if she wasn't in California!John - taking a break from his MC/DJ responsibilities to do some grilling.

The kids had a great time in John and Linda's pool, and looking at the tractors and dump trucks. It was so good to see everyone and have a chance to spend time as a family before Nana's big extravaganza party at the History Museum next weekend.Hudson asking,"Where is George?" The cat...that Uncle John bowled into the pool...and who spent most of the afternoon hiding under the sweet potatoes.
Hudson closed himself up in the wine cellar and was pretending to be in jail.

The kids finally fell asleep in the car after we were more than halfway home. We stopped to let my parents off at their house, and both of them woke up screaming, and continued to scream all the way home, through their bath time, and into their beds. Phew.

The next day, Matt spent with us after having two days in a row to catch up on school work. We went to the pool and had a picnic since it was the last day of the season. We read some during naps and had dinner again at Bebe and Pop pop's. It is cute that Hudson is starting to call my mom "Gaga" sometimes. Now we can refer to her as "Bebe Gaga".

First Day of School!

2010-09-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

Alden and Hudson had their first days of school today. Alden's new class is called the Superstars, and her teacher's are Mrs. Neri and Mrs. Turner. They had a short day today, but from what she told me, they "went to music, ate snack...ring cookies and I don't like ring cookies, only chocolate chip, had circle time and calendar time, read The Kissing Hand, and did a craft." Whew. She ran out of class and asked when she could come back, so I guess things went ok. However, as we were leaving, she got kind of sad, and I asked her what was wrong. "I didn't want to share," she said. (SHOCKER) I asked her what her teacher said or if she had a time-out, but all she said was that her teacher told her to share. MAYBE by the time the child goes to kindergarten she will have caught on to the sharing thing. But, in a way, I can't blame her too much. I don't like to share either.Here is Alden on her last day of 3's in May.And from her first day of 3's a year ago. She has grown so much!
Hudson is in the Rainbow Kid class with Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Gregory. Alden was also in their class, so they seem like old friends. Hudson and I had to kill about 30 minutes before and after his class since Alden started at at different time. We walked around and looked at books, and he was actually jumping down the hallway when it was his turn to go to class. Mrs. Leonard took him in and she said he just got right into playing with the toys and acted like he had been doing this all his life. When I went to get him, he was so excited to show me the bristle blocks and alphabet blocks. He had such a great time.

"BLOCKS!!!" "BIG BLOCKS!"
New Friend

And since I did it with Alden, here is a shot from Hudson last year...even though he wasn't in school.I used my first hour of free time to get a hair cut. I am hoping that once they are on the full schedule, that I will have a couple hours to get to the barn or to the Y. Yay! I feel like I have been waiting for this year for a long time!

We met Matt for lunch at CFA, and the kids had an early nap since Armen and Lucy were coming over. They got into Alden's dress-ups and at one point, they were all running around the house in princess dresses. Where was my camera?!?!?

** As usual there are more pictures of Hudson because he will still smile at the camera and not run away.

Lots of Change

2010-09-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

This summer, we lost all the videos on our F: Drive when the computer crashed. Since the beginning of August when we went to Ohio, our computer has been in the shop and we haven't had one at the house. Well, I haven't. Amber graciously has loaned Matt her laptop, but he is on it ALL the time. There has not been much opportunity for blogging around here.

Not to say that there hasn't been anything going on. Actually, things are quite different. On Monday, August 16th, Matt was supposed to go to orientation at Southeastern. We still weren't sure if he was going to be able to go for sure, but that morning, the Youth Director called and wanted to meet. He officially offered Matt a part-time internship that enabled him to quit his other part-time job, and to really pursue school. So, he went that afternoon to orientation and I went up for the spouse meeting that night. The next day, he registered for classes and he started on Thursday. What a whirlwind that week was!

God has taken us on quite a journey these past four years. It is hard to believe that it has been a year and a half since Matt lost his job here. There has been so much uncertainty, and although we have tried to be positive and trust in the Lord, the black cloud of unemployment was always there, hanging over our heads. God has continually provided for us, and has blessed Matt with the grants and scholarships to cover his school and books. Our living expenses were what we were up in the air about, but with his internship, and if I continue to work, we can make it happen. I have to admit that I am not thrilled about the prospect of continuing in my job for three more years, but it is paying our insurance, and who knows, maybe another opportunity will present itself. In the big picture, it really doesn't matter, because it is just so good to be on a path to something, and to know that we are here for 3 more years, and just to feel like things are a little more concrete after years of uncertainty.

Snow Family Reunion

2010-07-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

It seems like June was completely dominated by our trip to the beach. Nana's side of the family, the Snows, had a reunion in Atlantic Beach over the weekend of the 12th. We caravaned down with Bebe and Pop pop, stopping at the outlets in Smithfield for new Crocs, Cars Jibbitz for Hudson and princess Jibbitz for Alden. Of course, when you are in Smithfield, you must eat at Smithfield BBQ.

We got to the hotel and had about an hour for the kids to get in the pool before we went to a cookout at my dad's cousin Glenn's house. He and his wife, Connie, just built this great house a couple years ago, right on the sound. It was a lovely location, and they put on quite a BBQ for everyone. BBQ twice in one day...does it get better? Alden was a little leary about seeing the whole pig on the smoker, though.

Everyone had a great time visiting, playing cornhole, and running around the yard. Glenn pulled up some of his crab traps, and the kids got to see some crabs, shrimp, and fish, and Cousin Ron kindly instructed us on differentiating between male and female crabs.

The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and went to the beach. Our animal adventures continued when we found a pretty big hermit crab just hanging out in the shallow water. Both of the kids were so excited about the ocean, and they had a great time out in the "deep waves" with us. Vickie and her boys came out for a while, and my cousin Lori and her son and daughter. Alden and Kate had fun running around together. The last time we had seen them, they were not even one yet!

We had a little bit of time at the pool, and we all tried to take naps. Alden and Hudson sharing a bed didn't quite work out as planned. Alden and I ended up together and Hudson and Matt bunked up.

The kids were enthralled with the golf course outside the hotel...and the geese in the pond. Glenn and Connie had arranged for all of us to have dinner at a restaurant on the sound, which was a perfect place. There was a lawn outside for the kids to run around, and a dock they could walk on and look at the boats. The food was outstanding, and the pastry chef had made us a fantastic cake for the occasion.

Sunday morning, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and some good visiting time with Nana, Kitty Scott and Dickie before packing up and going to the aquarium. Alden had been excited about going FOREVER. Basically since she knew what a shark was and that there were some in the aquarium. We spent the morning at the aquarium with Dillon, Vickie and Mario. Hudson decided that Dillon was his new best friend and would not let him out of his sight. Dillon and Matt had a great time goofing around and checking out all the creatures. Hudson was really brave and wanted to touch the rays and skates, and horseshoe crabs in the tanks. Alden was a little more cautious and preferred to climb on the gigantic frogs. Both kids enjoyed seeing the sharks and otters.

Do crabs have passys?
Hudson enjoyed playing a game with Vickie's glasses.From the aquarium, we left the beach and stopped for lunch at McDonalds (or "Old McDonalds" as Alden calls it) and headed south to Ocean Isle Beach where we were going to spend the next week with my parents and sisters. Luckily, both kids slept most of the way.

"Preschool Bible School"

2010-07-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

The week after the beach was vacation bible school, or as Alden calls it, "preschool Bible school", at our church. Matt had been recruited to help with program, so our kids were able to attend the for-kids-of-volunteers-only-preschool class. The theme of the week was High Sea Adventure and Matt (Wag) and his friend Ed (Scally) were pirates-in-training, trying to steal the treasure map from some sailors.

I have to give props to our church for the great program they do, down to the incredible ship they had built at the front of the sanctuary. The little kids got to go in for the first part of the group session to see the skit and to sing songs. Word is, that Hudson did not like the ship. Alden was not impressed with Matt's starring role, either. I think she said 50 times a day, "I don't want Daddy to be a pirate."

Despite the ups and downs, everyone had a great time. The kids are still singing and dancing to the songs, and are glad that Matt and Ed decided to leave their life of piracy and become virtuous sailors.

From my perspective, VBS was great. Although I worked Tuesday and Wednesday, I had three morning ALL TO MYSELF!!!! I made it to the barn a couple times and enjoyed some Y time. Love it. Just a small taste of the two mornings a week I will be enjoying when the kids are in preschool this fall...

Hudson Swims!

2010-06-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Alden started swim lessons last week. She is doing great, learning to swim without the noodle or the float. Hudson and I have been tagging along, and Tuesday, we bee-bopped around in the baby pool while Alden did her lesson. Now, Hudson will put his face in while he is in the tub, doesn't mind water in his face, blows bubbles, and splashes like a crazy man, but he mostly just walks around the pool...usually clutching as many toys as he can. Especially, the yellow dump truck that lives at the Y. He is easily a head and a half above the water, which is a big change...last summer, he was about right at mouth level. So, Tuesday, he was walking around, and every now and then, he would topple over, and I would pull him up again. The lifeguard was about to have an anxiety attack, and was hopping out of his chair every few minutes, ready to jump in and save Hudson at a moment's notice. I think he thought I was being a little negligent letting him go under.

But, here's what I think about that...if you let your kids go under and cheer and are excited when you pull them back up, they will think it is cool to go under. If you are uptight and freak out, like the lifeguard, you will make them scared. That's just my opinion...and I was a lifeguard for a few years, for what its worth.

So back to Hudson...

Anyways, Wednesday, there was a huge thunderstorm that occurred in the exact window of time as Alden's lesson. Huge disappointment. We went back Thursday, and the kids and I stayed a while since Matt was working. Towards the end of our time, Hudson just decides to put his whole head in. Then, he goes under, holds his breath, and just stays there a second or two before I pull him up. Friday, he started doing it some more, and since Matt was with us, he spent a ton of time going back and forth between us. He figured out how to kick a little bit, but it is more like a frog kick than a flutter kick. Literally, for 15 minutes straight, he would throw himself down, face first and try to make as much forward progress as he could before we would assume he had held his breath long enough and pull him up.

Sunday, we went back and even before I got down the steps behind him, he is face first, crazy man in the pool. He also started jumping in, which he has not wanted to do. He watched Alden a couple times, and tentatively, put his toes on the edge. He had to hold someone's hands at first, but before long, he was tossing his rubber ducks in - the "Mommy" and the "Daddy" - and jumping in after them. He also figured out how to get his feet back underneath him and stand up after his little "swims".

And to think that last week at this time, we weren't sure if he was going to like the water. Whoa.

And because I feel like I just talked about Hudson too much, last week was Alden's last gymnastics for the month. We are taking June off since we will be at the beach, she had swimming, etc. Last Monday, we showed up, and apparently, even though it was May 31st, it actually counted as the first Monday in June. The wonderful gymnastics people, said, no prob, let her stay! It ended up being a really fun time; there were only 3 kids in her class since it was Memorial Day, and they got to do a lot of fun stuff. Hudson even entertained himself better than he ever had before.

We had dinner that night with Bebe and Pop pop, and cooked out burgers for Memorial Day. Matt had to leave early for work, so the kids and I ran some errands afterwards.

2010-06-04T12:27:00.001-07:00

There is also a new post dated April 13th from Matt's birthday weekend extravaganza. I am on a roll.

2010-06-04T11:46:00.001-07:00

There is also a new post date April 13th that summarizes our Easter celebrations. Hey, at least I started it on time :) It only took two months to complete.

2010-06-04T11:00:00.001-07:00

There is a new post date May 20th of Alden's Purple Bear Picnic. Check it out.

The Zoo!

2010-06-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we made a trip to the NC Zoo in Asheboro for Alden's 4th birthday. We had thrown around the idea of having a birthday party, and came to the conclusion that Alden would probably end up in time-out for most the her party. She just cannot handle a lot of kids (more than 1) to play with.

As if there was any question about the kids liking it or not, before we were even in the zoo, Alden saw a picture of a puffin and starts jumping up and down and pointing, "Mommy, Mommy, that's a puffin like in my book, Along the Rocky Shore!"

We started in the North America side...saw the otters The sleepy polar bearThe bald eagleAmber and Hudson explored the polar bear caveThere was a kids' area where the kids tried on tails. Hudson really liked his. Alden was being a veterinarian to the stuffed zebra and giraffe.They have a really fun playground area that we stopped at briefly, but it was pretty busy with elementary school field trip groups. Alden rode the wild praying mantis.Hudson did the leaf slide.Alden saw a giant cargo-net-spider-web that she was dying to go on, and reminded us of that about every 2 minutes after we left the play area. We saw the bison, alligators, and the mountain lions, one of which was sleeping right by the glass. There are only a couple things that I am really scared of, and in the top three are lightning and mountain lions. This one did look really cute and cuddly, and not much bigger than Lily...I guess until it was sneaking up behind you and pouncing you.
I don't really know what to say about this turtle except that at first we thought he was fake. I didn't even know turtles could DO that with their legs. He must do yoga.I don't know what to say about this one either. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and suppose that they are doing a snake impression?Hudson's best friend is now Mr. Reg. Reg even trumped Bebe a couple times during the day, which is completely unheard of. After North America, we had a picnic under the trees in the parking area, let the kids refuel and run around some more, and headed back to the Africa side. It was definitely HOT by that point, and I wasn't sure how the kids would do, but they persevered. Maybe it was the giant bags of cotton candy that they ate...10 minutes after Alden was "so full" and could not possibly eat the rest of her sandwich.Don't get the wrong idea. He's not offering to share it with you. Just try to take some of the cotton candy out of his bag.We saw the giraffes...And the elephants.They weren't really that big...as Matt so kindly demonstrates.And we were starting to melt down a little bit here...but, you can't pass up a photo op on the little bronze elephant baby.Bebe and Pop pop check out the ostriches.And, I have to include this picture of some old helicopter. This was one of Matt's favorite parts, and darn those elementary school kids who were climbing all over it and not letting him have a turn in the cockpit.Sitting in the ostrich egg.We must have watched the baboons for 10 minutes. There is a lot of drama going on with them."Hello, little girl...this is what it looks like to have nursed lots of baby baboons."Finally, we made it to the final destination. The carousel. I think they each rode three times. It is a really cool carousel, with all kinds of animals."Hi, Bebe and Pop pop!"And we took in the Dora and Diego 4D adventure a couple times. I wasn't sure what Hudson would think but he just kicked back with his glasses on and loved it.After that, we stood in line for the bus/tram to take us back to the entrance. Alden HAD to ride the tram (she thought it was a train), so Bebe and I waited an extra few minutes with her, while everyone else piled on the shuttle bus. It was her birthday, after all.

The kids crashed in the car before we were out of the parking lot and slept almost all the way home. Matt had to work that night, and boy, was he lucky he did. I think at one point, both kids were crying for about 30 minutes straight. AHHHH! But, I know they were exhausted. We paid for it on Saturday, too, with a lot more whining and crying. Still, it was worth it. It did make me think that we need a few more years under our belt if we are going to try Disney. One day at the zoo was plenty.

Another Big Step

2010-06-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Not only was today a big day for Alden, with the whole turning 4 and all, but Hudson is now sleeping in a big boy bed! We had taken down my old pencil post bed that was in his room this past weekend, since it would have been too high for him to sleep in, and put the mattresses on a lower frame. I have been a little hesitant about moving him...not knowing if he would sleep, not knowing if I would sleep because of that, and also just because he is our last baby. It is a little bit sad to be packing the crib away...and the crib bedding because I like it so much.

Matt knew about all my reservations and stall tactics, so while I was gone this morning, he snuck and dismantled the crib so at naptime today, we didn't have a choice. ( I think he also knew that he wouldn't be here for nap or bedtime to have to deal with the consequences...very sneaky) Anyways, Hudson hopped up in bed like a pro, and was out at naptime in under 10 minutes.

Bedtime tonight was a little bit more complicated. I had to bring him some water, and then I decided he should have a night light, but after taking care of those little things, he crashed. Yay! I think for both the kids, having passys has helped with the crib-to-bed transition. They would follow their passys off a cliff.

I know, I know, I could have kept him in the crib for another year even...he wasn't climbing out or anything...but, we are going to the beach in a week and a half, and it was either big bed or pack-and-play, and I just can't torture him and make him sleep in the pack-and-play...I mean, I wouldn't want to sleep on one of those mattresses. And, when we go to Ohio later this summer, he was going to be in a big bed then. Listen to me trying to justify this. I am still a little bit sad that my baby girl is 4 and that my baby boy is out of his crib.(This picture is from February...and yes, he is standing on Alden)

Four Years Old!

2010-06-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Alden is 4 years old today. Four seems so grown-up. So much more than three. She is definitely not a toddler anymore. She is so tall and talkative and bright and snarky and fun and wild. I never could have imagined how she would turn out when I was holding this little 6 pound baby.We have seen a lot of changes for our family in the past four years, and her presence was very much a catalyst for all of it to take place. I am so thankful for her and can't believe that God has entrusted us to parent her. Isn't she just precious?Overall our day was pretty chill. Last Friday, we had gone to the zoo, which was the big deal for her birthday. There is a blog post coming on that...Matt had the kids this morning while I had a riding lesson, and then after naps, he and Alden went to her swim lesson, and Hudson and I ran errands and picked up her birthday cake.

From what Matt said, Alden was very enthusiastic about swim lessons, and was telling everyone that she was 4 today. They even moved her up to a different class.

We had a quick dinner with Bebe, Pop pop, and Amber since Amber and Matt had to be at work at seven. Alden ate maybe a chicken nugget and maybe a strawberry. They liked the blowers.

We did birthday cake, and opened presents. Alden made out like a bandit, and was very excited about her "Belle dress- a big one", as she would say, and some other princess-y things. I even broke down and bought her a couple of princess bathing suits...this is a big step for me. I don't believe in cartoon characters on clothes kids were in public. They are fine for pjs...and I guess now for bathing suits. She was thrilled, and I guess that makes it worth it.

By far, the best entertainment of the evening was provided by the cardboard box full of packing peanuts that came with the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. Hudson sat in them and shoveled them for a while, and then the kids were making it "snow"...crumbling up the peanuts all over themselves and all over Bebe and Pop pop's floor.
We painted toenails and fingernails with Alden's new nail polish.

Miscellaneous pics... Bebe and HudsonEven on her birthday, Alden does not want her picture taken.Pop pop helped Alden put together the Play-Doh ice cream shop. (I think he was as interested in it as she was)

Purple Bear Picnic

2010-05-20T09:57:00.000-07:00

Alden had her last week of school the week of May 17th. Their actual last day in the classroom was that Tuesday; they had a Luau-themed day and the kids made fruit kebabs and pictures of the beach. Unfortunately, Luau day was cool and rainy, and I don't think they were even able to go out on the playground.

Luckily, things cleared up for the end of the week for their End of Year Picnic. Everyone met at one of the local parks and the kids played, ate, and celebrated their graduation from the 3-year old class.

Hudson found this gigantic shovel and carried it around for about an hour. The highlight of his day was when the boys from Alden's class were chasing him around because they wanted it.
Ever the grouch, even at her picnic.
What a contrast to this smiley face!
Mrs. Rudd, Alden and Mrs. Johnson. The child will not look at the camera.

One of the mom's from Alden's class had made the kids capes at the beginning of the year to keep for dress-ups. Superwoman!
Hudson made friends with Liam's little brother.
Eating lunch with dad.
Playing on the tire swing with Josh F. and Annabel.

And here she is, the last day of being a Purple Bear.

She has grown up so much! Look at this little peanut that on her first day of school this fall.

2010-05-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

Today was one of the first days in a week that neither Matt nor I had to work! Yay! Wednesday almost feels like a weekend!

We just did the usual...Y, lunch, naps, walk, dinner, but it was so much better to not have work hanging over our heads. Matt just started working at Harris Teeter 3 nights a week from 7-1. He still works at OTB at least once a week, and then I have been working 2 times a week...except last week I picked up 2 extra shifts, so we have not seen much of each other. I realized last Monday that I wouldn't see Matt awake from Monday at 7pm until Wednesday at 7:30 pm. Ugh.

Thank goodness we were both here today, though. Although both kids napped until almost 5, they were SO grouchy when they woke up. And whiny. Nothing puts me in a worse mood than crying and whining.

I did throw together a special dinner for us...stuffed salmon, asparagus and wilted spinach (the kids had chicken nuggets). And we even cleaned all of Alden's art stuff off the dining room table and ate there instead of the kitchen.

Hudson has been carrying around the Little People horses for the past week or so. The grey one is the dad, one white one is the mom, and the other white one is the baby. There is a little wagon that they attach to that we are having to reconnect to the horse about every 3 minutes. Fun. I think some of his whining today was due to the Daddy horse being lost under the train table until dinner time.

He keeps talking more and more...he says "Hi" and "bye" (ok, I know, 9 month old kids can say that...) and it is really cute to hear his little voice. The other morning Matt was changing his diaper and I walked by his room and he waved and said "hi!"

He has been very much in Mom-mode lately. For a while he would only say "Dad", but now, he only says "Mom" or "mommy" and will only sign "Dad".

Alden has her last day of school tomorrow. Picnic at the park with all the Purple Bears!

VIP Day!

2010-05-18T18:33:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, the 4th, was Alden's VIP Day at school. Since she has a summer birthday, we got to come in and celebrate with her at snack time that day.

We brought in princess stuff, and had chocolate chips cookies, lemonade and cheez-its. Alden's favorites.We also brought in boxes of raisins...to at least look like we had something nutritious to offer.

Alden got to wear a crown.Alden's sweet friend Annabel read a book to Hudson. I think he is in love.

May Birthdays

2010-05-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

I am really falling behind with blogging. I am going to try to catch up on May, at least, and then work backward...I do have the text written for most of April, just no pictures downloaded.

The first weekend of May was Peak Fest in downtown Apex. There are usually a lot of booths, games, food, etc and it is a lot of fun. It was HOT, though, so we only scoped out about half of it before the kids were a little low-blood-sugary (ok, me too) and we had to scoot to Chick-Fil-A. They did have a classic car show in one of the parking lots, so that made Matt happy, and there was a Grand Wagoneer, which made me happy.

Alden got this sweet calendar, which was fun for about 3 days. Now Matt or I have to stick the appropriate velcro pieces on, or we would be stuck on May 6th.That afternoon, I went to a bridal shower for my college friend, Lizzy. It was a fiesta-themed party, and it was really fun to visit with my friends and to celebrate Lizzy and Greg. She got some really fun things, and it made me wish that you could re-register every 5 years or so.

That night, we had a quick pizza dinner at Bebe's house with Amber and Bebe. Pop pop was still in Germany, and Matt had to work, so it was a pretty short and sweet birthday.

I worked the next night, and then, on Monday, we did a big celebration for Bebe's birthday (the 3rd), my birthday, and Pop pop's birthday (the 6th). Alden insisted that since it was a party, she must wear her Cinderella dress.

Amber and Reg came over, and Ashley and Andrew drove up from Charlotte. We had a great big dinner, with ribs and lard cake, and opened up presents. Andrew and Ashley brought dragon towels for the kids, which they really liked.

Here's Hudson being a dinosaur. Aghhhh!
Alden and Hudson were starting to really get used to the birthday cake routine. They both love to lick the icing off the ends of the candles.

Angels and Dr. Dre

2010-05-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hudson has been saying more and more words lately. Last night at Bebe and Pop pop's he kept saying, "map" and cracking up. Obviously, we were watching Dora :) Today he said "car" while looking at Pop pop's pictures from the Porsche museum. By far, he says "mommy" or "ma" the most and "passy" second-most.

Alden's school has a little fundraiser thing at Chick-Fil-A tonight, and as we were leaving, I told Hudson to hold on tight to his balloon. Alden told him that if it flew up in the sky "the angels will get it" but, they "will give it back to you." I thought that was sweet.

We found a CD case that we hadn't really been using lately and it is full of children's CDs. There is one mix CD in there that I made a few years ago, and of course, that is the one Alden zeros in on. Her favorite track is the first one..."California Love" by Dr. Dre and Tupac. We have listened to it 15 times today. Matt got a great video of them dancing to it, and as soon as our S-L-O-W computer uploads it to youtube, I will post it. So much for "If You're Happy and You Know It."

View it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K0ZpdjyNB8

Easter Celebrations/How many nights in a row can we eat at Bebe's house?

2010-04-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

So, I started writing this post right after Easter, and here it is, two months later, and I am getting back to it. I think I got discouraged because when I started downloading pictures, our computer was going through a hard time, and I lost all the text I had written. AHH!

Anyways, our Easter festivities began with the obligatory haircuts. Usually, both kids do great with getting their hair cut, but Hudson would have none of it. I had to hold him, and he still cried through most of it. We had dinner with Bebe and Pop pop Friday night, since Matt was working. This was after having eaten with them on Wednesday, too, since Matt and I worked.

Saturday, my mom kindly offered to watch the kids AGAIN and Matt and I went on a run together around the lake. We were gearing up for a race the following weekend, so it was great to get out together.

We made cupcakes that afternoon, in an attempt to duplicate a recipe from Southern Living. Well, I seem to have overcooked the angel food cupcakes, and plus, they tasted gross anyway. The funfetti ones are much better.That afternoon, after naps, we went to the Y for an egg hunt. They had face painting, snacks and crafts, and had egg areas set up in different areas for the varying age groups. Alden and Hudson's age was on the playground they are at for Cricket Club and Bumblebees, so they felt right at home and were ready to jump in. At first, all the kids were allowed to get 10 eggs, and then it was a free-for-all. Hudson got a ton. Alden didn't gather so many, as her strategy seemed to be: find an egg, shake it, determine if it sounds like it has good stuff in it, keep it or get rid of it. She didn't seem to realize that you should just grab all you can and worry about the quality of your loot later.

We ate dinner that night with Bebe and Pop pop AGAIN, and Bebe and I rushed around trying to finish up Easter outfits. It never fails that I have all year to do them, and I wait until the week of. Maybe because I think I will find the perfect thing in the store. Maybe because I can't make up my mind...maybe because I procrastinate. Anyways, we both stayed up very late.

Saturday night, around 11, we were just getting ready to go to bed and Hudson woke up screaming. He was absolutely inconsolable for almost 30 minutes, was burning up, coughing, and congested. He ended up sleeping with me in our bed, and Matt slept in his bed. I don't know why I am always afraid that Hudson will just stop breathing when he gets sick.

Doesn't he look pathetic?
Easter morning, we got up and did Easter baskets. The kids got bubble stuff, paints, and books. Unfortunately, Hudson was fever-y and puny, so he and I stayed home from church. All of the effort and time my mom and I spent on their outfits was for naught, since Hudson didn't even wear his, and when I put Alden's dress on her, I had smocked the arms too tight. She did have a back up, though, and she and Matt went to church on their own. Matt was super-Sunday-School-man that day, and taught our adult class, and the kindergarten class on his own.

I know it is shocking, but we went to Bebe and Pop pop's AGAIN that night. We did a little Easter egg hunt in the yard for Alden and Hudson and had an early dinner since I had to be at work that night. Amber brought Reg over, and it was great to see him again. Alden and Hudson love him. We did round two of Easter baskets. Alden got another princess doll and some princess books, and Hudson got some fun new Thomas trains.Alden and Pop pop baked this bunny cake, and Alden helped me decorate. She was very generous with her sprinkle application.

Matt's Birthday Weekend

2010-04-13T09:27:00.001-07:00

We had a great long weekend celebrating Matt's 34th birthday. Grandpa came to town on Wednesday night and stopped by the house to visit. Thursday, I worked all day, but Matt, Grandpa, Hudson and Alden met for lunch at the mall, enjoyed some Chick-Fil-A and rode the merry-go-round a couple times. That night, Grandpa treated us and Bebe and Pop pop to a special birthday dinner for Matt at Peak City Grill. Matt had wild boar ribs and I had yummy salmon. The kids didn't last too long, so Bebe and I walked around with them in downtown Apex, climbed on the caboose and looked at the stores Friday, we went to the Y, for my favorite combination of cycle and yoga classes. But, about 20 minutes into yoga, I was pulled out of class. For Hudson. Really? He loves Bumblebees. He must have been having an off day because they said he was just crying and laying around, and then even had to go to time out twice because he was hitting. That is not like him at all.

We had to go to Carrboro that night to pick up our race packs and t-shirts for the race on Saturday. It ended up being a really fun evening. We ate at Armadillo Grill, one of my favorite college spots. Alden ate chips, Hudson ate chips and guac. At least there is corn in chips? Then, we drove over to Southpoint and got Matt a free pair of shoes (thank you REI dividend). Alden loved racing us outside on the sidewalks, and Hudson loved looking out the window of the restaurant at all the people/dogs/bikes.

Saturday, Matt and I were up early to drive to Chapel Hill for the race. The big deal was the Tarheel 10-Miler, but we just ran the 4-Mile. It was such a fun experience. We ran through campus, past my old dorms, through the Gimghoul neighborhood, which was one of my favorite places to run in college, and then we finished in the football stadium. We ran around the outside of the field and they announced us on the loudspeaker and showed the video of us on the Jumbotron. Cool. The 4 miles went by really quickly and there were a lot of folks running. It did feel really good to make the turn for home around 3 miles, while the 10 mile folks had to keep going. But, I give them all big props not only for running the 10, but for training for it in the freezing cold this winter.

Pop pop and Amber watched the kids for us this morning, and they had a great time. We tried to get the kids down for early naps, and headed to a friends house in the afternoon for our Sunday School class potluck. The family that hosted it has a great backyard, with every kind of outdoor toy you can imagine. Hudson and Alden didn't eat a thing because they were so busy playing. I made a special birthday strawberry pizza to take, and Matt was a little disappointed that we didn't bring more home with us.

Sunday, we did church, and I had a baby shower in the afternoon for a church friend. That night, Bebe was back from her women's retreat, so we all ate dinner over there with Amber and Reg.
We had Matt's official birthday cake that night. Alden and Hudson helped put the candles on and blow them out.
It was such a great weekend. I love spring. I love where we live, and that our neighborhood is all pink with azaleas, and that we are able to enjoy such special time with our families. God is good.

Presentation

2010-03-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

Last night, we had dinner at Bebe and Pop pops. As we are getting ready to go, Alden is cutting some paper and working on something. She asks if she can take it with her. "This is for my presentation tomorrow at church." Oh, well, excuse me, miss executive. I don't know where she heard that one. Obviously, neither Matt nor I are doing any kind of presenting.

Hudson said "dump truck" on Saturday when we were at Bebe and Pop pop's again for dinner. We were in the neighbor's backyard, and he just walked over to one and said it.

If you need a laugh

2010-03-22T01:25:00.000-07:00

When things are slow at work, and I should be updating our blog, I tend to procrastinate. One of my favorite sites is awkwardfamilyphotos.com. You must check it out. I have tears in my eyes right now from trying to control my laughter since it is 4:30 am and there are patients sleeping.

Lately

2010-03-10T17:56:00.000-08:00

This past month, the kids have seemed to grow up a lot. Both of them seem so much taller, and Hudson's hair is growing like crazy. He has started trying to talk a lot more. The other night, we were doing baths at my parents' house, and he looked at a picture and I told him that was Mommy and Dancy (a horse I used to ride). He just blurted out "Dancy"! Another night, we were watching TV at Bebe and Pop pop's and he just busted out with "Backyardigans"! What?!?!? Anyways, it seems that he CAN talk if he so chooses, although sometimes I think he just gets lucky and the syllables all come out the right way.

Pop pop traveled a lot last month, and now whenever Hudson sees an airplane, he says, "Pop pop". Matt is going to Philadelphia this weekend and we told Hudson that Daddy was going on a plane. He just shook his head. Obviously, Pop pop is the only one cool enough to fly.

Alden all of a sudden colors in the lines, draws pictures of people (she refers to them as "men"), and can write letters. I don't know how all this came together. We are still working with her on holding her pencil the right way all the time, though. She is starting to sound out words pretty consistently, and we are working our way through the first box of Bob books. Is she really reading?? Or just memorizing?? Maybe a little of both. Tonight, she really did a good job of sounding out new words.

She is out-growing all of her winter pants. We are fortunate that spring has finally come to NC, and hopefully, we can push through the next few weeks with the last couple pairs that are long enough. It is hard to find pants that fit either of the kids well. They have such skinny waists (because they don't drink milk and hardly eat) that nothing except elastic seems to stay up. We have tried some of those pants with the elastic and buttons that help you adjust, but those don't seem to be very comfortable on their bellies.

We have enjoyed the nice weather this week, and have been to the park almost as many times as we did between December and February. The daffodils in our front yard are blooming, and just today I noticed more buds coming out on the trees. I know, I know, we just got snow a week ago, and there is probably more cold to come, but I am relishing the sunshine. I don't think I have ever been so ready for spring!

Toe!

2010-02-13T23:58:00.000-08:00

Last night before bed, the snow had started falling, and this morning there were a few inches on the ground at our house. Thanks to Lily, we were all awake at 7:15 and enjoyed a fun morning at the house. We took the kids out in the backyard to play in the "toe". Alden immediately laid down and made "toe angels." Hudson was a little nervous about walking in Alden's old boots, as well as walking in the snow, but he warmed up to it pretty quickly. Both of the kids were throwing snowballs, and Alden kept yelling for Matt to throw them at her. She was across the yard, and thought it was the best game for Matt to try to hit her with snowballs. Hudson would pick up some snow, walk a few feet, drop it and yell.

Lily is in heaven. She loves snow more than most anything else in the world and spent most of the day laying in yard eating snow and chewing on sticks.

We made Valentine's Day cookies today, too. Our plan is to take them to the ladies at the Y on Monday, since we ended up eating the Christmas ones we had planned to take in December. I think we all ate our monthly allotment of frosting while icing them.

The Pool at the Doubletree - or Our Trip to Biltmore

2010-02-05T12:56:00.000-08:00

Last week, we went to Charlotte on Wednesday and stayed the night with Nana. It is always so good to spend time with her. Both of the kids were not feeling great, and Hudson was miserable in the car. Usually, he is such a good traveler, but he cried from the Apex side of Jordan Lake to Siler City and there was nothing that would appease him. I think part of his discontent was from leaving the yellow passy at home. My fault. I just had no idea it was so important to him. Anyways, right as we were stopping at the Walgreens in Siler City to buy emergency passys (which, by the way, were pink, because that was the only color left), he fell asleep in the parking lot...for 20 minutes. Thank goodness for Auntie Amber's DVD player.

We had a great dinner with Nana, and as usual, stayed up later than we intended to chatting and visiting. Hudson slept like a champ, but Alden was up almost every hour. Really!?!?!? In her defense, she was coughing a lot, and Hudson was terribly congested, so we made an impromptu trip to Charlotte Pediatrics in the morning. Unfortunately, the doctor just brushed off my hacking, green snot-nosed kids as having the latest virus, so I was a little irritated about that being a waste of time and two co-pays. However, it was not a complete waste, because we walked into the waiting room and our friends Courtney and Tom were there with their son, Cole, for his 2 year visit. Court is the group manager for all the offices, so I was hoping we could stop by and at least see her in her office, but it was a great surprise to see them all.

So, we finally started towards Asheville, Hudson crying again. AHHH! We stopped at Chick-Fil-A in Shelby, and neither child ate anything. Typical. Then, we stopped in Hendersonville to walk around, and mostly to get covered wagons at Mcfarland's Bakery. Alden got a blue dinosaur cookie, Hudson got a sugar cookie, and Matt and I split a delicious covered wagon at Mcfarlands', and bought a few more to bring home to my parents. The kids had a fun time in the toy store, and we walked through Mast General. For those of you unfamiliar with this delicacy, it is devil's food cake, about the size of a hot dog bun paper, with ~3 inches of divinity on top (I don't know what is in divinity, but it is like marshmallow fluff and icing all mixed and delicious), and then a chocolate-y shell on the top. My mom grew up in Brevard, and we used to get them there, so they are a special treat whenever we are in the mountains.

We made it to Asheville around 4:30, checked into the hotel, and went down to the river to walk a little bit, and to let the kids burn off some energy. Matt's parents were running a little bit late, so we just did a quick dinner at Moe's. The Balloon Fairy was there making balloon creatures, so Alden got a balloon magic wand with a heart on the top, which she liked waving around.

We came back and went to the pool, which was Alden's favorite part of the weekend. Forget the splendor and extravagance of Biltmore. The hotel had a pool AND a hot tub. How do you compete with that? Both kids really had a good time. Hudson even stayed in longer than usual, but started getting chilled, so he and I took off and got baths going. Matt and Alden finally straggled up, and we endeavored to put both children down with all of us in the same room. Hudson cried for about 30 minutes in his pack-and-play, and after that, he and Alden slept for the rest of the night. Hallelujah.

We had breakfast the next morning and prepared for the Biltmore. I will say that the kids were MUCH better than I expected through the tour. We tried to do the audio tour, and I think Matt and I heard about 45% of the recordings. Not bad. Hudson lasted 60% of the way around in the backpack, and Alden walked about 50% of the way, before she needed me to carry her. We have no pictures of Biltmore because we were trying to corral two kids.

By the end of the tour, the kids were melting down, so we high-tailed it to Moe's (Alden calls it "Welcome to Moe's") again for lunch. There were 3 tour buses of middle-school kids at McDonalds (Alden calls it "Old McDonalds") so that didn't seem like a good idea. The kids and I took a great nap. I let Hudson sleep on one of the beds, and he crashed in about 30 seconds. Matt met his parents back at the Winery for some sampling. We had hoped to go back after naps to see the barnyard, but we were a little too late, plus the snow was really starting to fall.

We had dinner that night at the TGIFridays attached to the hotel, and Matt and Alden went back to the pool, while I put Hudson down. I let him fall asleep on the big bed again, and he was so tired. Those pack-and-plays have got to be so uncomfortable, even with all the extra padding that I try to add. We all went to bed early again that night.

Our original plans were to head home on Saturday, but the 10 inches of snow and news of jack-knifed tractor trailers on I-40 kept us in Asheville another night. Luckily, the hotel had a huge lobby and a lot of room for the kids to run around. They actually lost power for a while, but the staff did a great job of getting everything going. We spent a good part of the morning/afternoon in the lobby with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma had fortuitously brought Valentine's Day presents for the kids, so their books and toys helped distract them. Hudson liked the Jersey cow in the lobby, and kept saying, "Moo-moo", and pointing in its direction. He and Matt walked a couple laps around the hotel. We all took good naps that afternoon, and let Alden watch some Curious George shows while Hudson finished sleeping.

That night, dinner was a bit of a fiasco. Getting pizza seemed like a good idea, but we didn't think about containment issues for a 3 year old and an 18 month old. We will know better next time.

Matt and I finally got to run on the treadmill that night, taking turns going to the little workout room. We stayed up a little too late watching House Hunters International. I tell you, after not having cable at our house, we really enjoyed watching HGTV and X-Games.

We started our drive home on Sunday after breakfast with Grandma. Alden made friends with the omelet chef, and he gave her her own paper chef hat.

Finally, August

2010-02-05T12:53:00.001-08:00

I just posted my August blog, which is mostly pictures, as I can't quite remember what we did that month...It shows up under November. That's when I started writing it.

2010-01-24T08:08:00.001-08:00

My post from the fair is now available for your reading pleasure. Just look under November. Yes, I know that the fair was in October, and that it has taken me two months to get it published since I started it Nov. 20th. Sorry.

2010-01-24T07:29:00.000-08:00

I was wearing a vintage AXO shirt from our 1998 informal the other day and while we were driving home from my mom's house the other night Alden says "Mommy, what does the back of your shirt say?" I told her I couldn't see it to tell her right that moment. She says, "I think it says 'Galatians 5:13 With love, help each other.' " I told her I didn't think that was it...the Cotton Chair probably wouldn't have put a Bible verse on the shirt.

When I took it off, it did say, in the profound words of Semisonic :

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end".

Not quite the apostle Paul.

The Week Before Christmas

2010-01-12T18:17:00.000-08:00

Matt's parents flew into Raleigh on Friday, the week before Christmas to visit for a couple days before heading north to Philadelphia. Matt had the kids Friday night since I was working and he met his mom and dad at a local Mexican place for dinner. I had to work Saturday night and Sunday night, so my time with them seemed short. Lucky for us, their flight was delayed on Sunday, so we got to spend some extra time with them Sunday night and Monday morning. Sunday.

We spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night at my parent's house. Ashley came into town on Tuesday, so we enjoyed lots of family time together.

Tuesday, we slipped away for a few hours and had lunch with our dear friends Chris and Julie. It was SO, SO good to see them. I hope that God will let us live across the street from them one day.

For Christmas Eve, we went to church with my parents for the children's service. The puppet show at the beginning was a big hit with the kids, but we ended up taking them out about halfway through the service. Maybe in a few more years we will make it through Christmas Eve church. We came back to Bebe and Pop pop's and had dinner. We came home and tucked the kids into bed and enjoyed setting up their presents under the tree.

Alden's Heart for Africa

2010-01-04T18:34:00.000-08:00

Alden was singing a little song the other day

(to the tune of Mary had a Little Lamb)

When I want to go away
Go away, go away
When I want to go away
This is where I go

Me: Where are you going?
A: Africa
Me: what are you going to do in Africa?
A: Tell people about tornadoes
Me: What are you going to tell them?
A: That they suck things up and that when they come you should go hide in a closet or if you are at school go to the hallway and COVER YOUR HEAD!

Latest Obsession

2009-12-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks go out to Amber and Pop pop for Alden's latest obsession. It seems that while Matt and I were doing the Reindeer Romp 5K on the 5th (click here to see our photo) , they were watching Twister on TV...you know, the one with the tornado chasers...the one where the little girl's dad gets sucked up?? Amber drew a little picture of one on a scrap of cardboard, and Alden has been carrying around that, and the VHS tape for the past week. Last Thursday, she even took the cardboard drawing as her show-and-tell. Really. She even told Jessica the other day that she wanted a tornado for Christmas. At first she couldn't remember what it was called and just said, "You know, those things that suck stuff up?"

And we continue to expose our 3 year old to scary movies by letting her watch part of Harry Potter. She calls it "Harry Paw-Bo".

We celebrated Amber's birthday/our anniversary on the 9th with dinner at Bebe and Pop pop's house. We helped decorate their Christmas tree. Alden and Hudson liked the beads a lot. I don't know if they ever were untangled. We had a yummy candy cane ice cream cake from Coldstone, and then everyone came back to our house to watch the new HP movie so that the kids could go to sleep...in theory.

On the 3rd, the Y had a little Jingle and Mingle thing, so we went over after dinner. They had crafts set up for the kids, and Santa was even there. The kids liked seeing Santa, but were not too keen on being close enough to him for a picture, much less to sit on his lap. View the fruit of our effort here - we are photo #'s 65 & 66. We did write letters to him; Alden asked for a princess tea set, and a dinosaur, and said that Hudson would like a reindeer. Matt was playing volleyball that night, so we watched some of his game. Hudson loved watching them play, because he is always interested if there are balls involved, and Alden was a great cheerleader, saying "Go, Daddy!"
What else, what else? We got our tree weekend before last, and it is HUGE. I think Matt thought it looked a little smaller at Ace Hardware. Alden stayed up on Saturday night and helped us/pulled all the ornaments out of the boxes and played with them. She did hang a few on the tree, however, they all seemed to be clustered on the same branch.

Hudson was so excited when he got up on Sunday and saw the tree. He has been a little nervous about the ones around the YMCA. He loves pointing to the ornaments and watching the train going around.

Speaking of the train, last Monday, we had Mom, Dad, and Amber over for dinner. Matt and Dad spent most of the time that they weren't eating dissecting Matt's childhood Lionel train engine and repairing it. Who knew that my dad's first job was at a train store? Who knew that the light on the front of the train ever worked? When my dad heard Matt say that he had two more train sets under the house, you should have seen his face light up at the possibility of more toy train projects.

This past weekend Matt got to teach our couples Sunday school class. We are beginning a study on the Gospel of Mark and Matt was given the task of introducing the book and leading a discussion of the first chapter. I slept through the whole thing, so unfortunately, I missed his debut...not because I was bored, I was home since I had worked the night before, but I heard through the grapevine that he did a great job, and he said that it went really well.

Alden's preschool class talked about reindeer last week. Here she is modeling her antlers.

Angels...in the pumpkin patch

2009-12-15T17:46:00.000-08:00

We picked up Alden after school today and went to Chick-Fil-A with Bebe. She started singing a song that goes:

There was one
There was two
There was three little angels

There was four
There was five
There was six little angels

There was seven
There was eight
There was nine little angels

There were 10 little angels in the pumpkin patch

What?!?!?!

We asked her what they were doing in the pumpkin patch. "Looking for treasure chests," she explains.

Hudson has been enjoying turning the light on and off in the kitchen. When he turns it off, he kind of tenses up his whole body and holds his hands in front of him. This is his sign for "spooky". He just made it up.

In other signing news, he finally signed "thank you" today. Still no mom. I think he may have actually said "Bebe" today in the car.

I worked Saturday and Sunday night and I swear that he looked older after I woke up from my nap on Monday. He runs faster, too. I joke with Matt that Hudson knows how to "drive" us. He will come over and want to be picked up and just lean in the direction he wants to go, pointing, or signing until he gets to where he wants to be and obtains what he wants.

He really likes the horse ornaments on the Christmas tree and turning the radio on and off. Alden has a little tree in her room, and he always pulls off the same little girl ornament, brings it to Matt, and wants to hang it back on the tree in the exact same place.

Not so big yet

2009-12-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

The other night at dinner with Bebe and Pop pop, Alden told us, "Please cut the crust off my bread. I don't eat crust yet." So, when is that, I wonder, when kids start eating crust?

She has a Playmobile pirate playset and we let her play with the big parts. There are about 50 little pieces in plastic bags in the box. She told us the other day, "I can play with the little pieces when I am 5."

We are thankful

2009-12-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

After working 3 out of the 4 nights before Thanksgiving, somehow I managed to get everything packed and we were loaded and ready to head to Aiken by noon on Wednesday. Matt graciously took the kids to the Y in the morning so I could get a little bit of sleep, and expertly loaded the car.

We ate lunch at home before we left, and were able to make it to Aiken in 4 1/2 hours with no stops. Hudson slept for a long time, and thanks to Auntie Amber's DVD player, Alden sat quietly watching movies and eating Cheezits.

Grandma had a wonderful dinner ready for us when we got to Aiken, and we got to visit a little bit and let the kids play before baths and bed. I can't tell you how good it was to sit on the couch with Matt and watch TV (especially because Glee was on). I cannot remember when we did that last. It was AWESOME.

The morning of Turkey Day, Matt got up with the kids and let me sleep until after 9 and we had a great big breakfast. One of our favorite Aiken traditions is the Blessing of the Hounds on Thanksgiving. We did realize on the way down there that we didn't have the backpack, so Matt ended up carrying/shouldering Hudson on the walk into the woods. Both of the kids were excited to see the horses, and Alden was very vigilant about warning us to avoid the horse poop. We had to wait a little while for the hounds to make their entrance. Alden kept calling them "pounds." One of the "pounds" got loose and ran off into the woods, and she was very interested in pursuing the "lost pound." After the ceremony, we let the kids run around and we tried to take a picture. This seems to be the hardest thing in the world to get both children to smile and look at the camera at the same time. AHHH!

On the way out of the woods, Alden met a little boy named Christian and they chased a car and played the whole way. This made the walk go much faster. Hudson wanted to walk some, too, but couldn't quite keep up with the big kids.

We had a little lunch, and we all took a nap. GLORIOUS. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, although we really missed Leigh Anne, Eric, Rachel, Michael and Baby Jake. Alden ate a lot of turkey. She claimed that she didn't like ham, although 2 nights later, she loved it. Hudson enjoyed the cranberry sauce. Both of the kids chowed on the pumpkin pie that Grandma made. I think between them and Matt, they ate 1/4 of it that night. Once the kids were in bed, Matt and I watched The Right Stuff. Wow, that is a long movie.

Friday, Matt and I got up and went on a run. Then, we all packed up and walked around Laurens Street. We checked out the toy store, of course. We walked in and Alden saw this baby doll playset, and exclaims, "OH, Look! How cute!" Hudson was a trooper riding around in the stroller. Matt got three new bowties to add to his collection.

We got the kids down for nap (although Alden never slept) and Matt and I had a date with Lily to walk around the woods. I know I have said this before, but Hitchcock Woods is one of my favorite places on earth.

Before dinner, we got the kids outside and walked around the neighborhood. Hudson saw the moon and flipped out he was so excited. He was doing this cute little running in place thing, and pointing and making noise. He knows the sign for bird now, and kept doing it when he saw them flying around. He and Alden ran in the woods; Alden was a fox and Hudson was supposed the be the "pound."

The kids played together so well. Alden was generous and kind to her brother, which is a rarity. I think us just being able to spend so much time with them helped, too. It was fun to enjoy our kids without the responsibility of laundry and meals looming.

Alden was in Tinkerbell mode a lot, and kept telling Hudson to be a hawk, and telling Matt to be a thistle...except she would say "fissle."

Saturday, Matt and I drove into town and did a long run around the Historic District. We took the kids to the park after lunch. We almost didn't bring Lily with us, but it ended up being a good idea, because she was a hit at the park. At one point, only Alden and Hudson were on the playground and the other 8 kids were petting Lily. She was in heaven.

We went to the woods again during naps and decorated cookies once the kids were up. Alden helped Grandma cut them out and we all had fun icing them...and eating them.

Saturday night, Matt and I escaped and went out to get ice cream. We had seen a sign for pumpkin milkshakes on Thursday, and it had been on Matt's mind since. We walked around downtown, and went to the new Wal-Mart to look at toys. What a great date!

We went to church on Sunday morning, and had lunch at FATZ. We love Fatz. Love it, love it. After loading all our things back in the car, we got on the road and drove to Charlotte to visit with Nana for the night.

A strange phenomenon occurred during our vacation. Our kids LOVED eating bananas. Have they eaten any since we've been home? No. Have they really ever eaten them at our house? No.

There is something about Nana's house and holidays. They just don't seem right unless we are there. Probably because that's where we went every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it is just so special to be there with her and the rest of the family. Hudson really liked Nana's stuffed turkey ("gobble, gobble") and Alden remembered right where the books were that she likes. We managed to fit even more food in our stomachs at dinner time, got the kids in bed, and stuffed a little dessert in there, too. One of my favorite things is sitting around and talking in Nana's living room at night.

Hudson and Nana fixing their hair.

Nana fixed us an excellent breakfast and we played outside for a little while before going to lunch at Foskoskis. We headed back with two sleepy children...and two sleepy parents...and a tired dog...all of us thankful for a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family.

A few little things...

2009-11-25T01:50:00.001-08:00

Last night, after we put Alden to bed, we heard her singing "Jesus loves me", not once, not twice, but probably close to 30 times...while holding her dinosaur book...and her voice kept cracking on the high notes. Funny.

As usual, she was up a couple times to use the potty, and one of the times, she came out and sat with me while I was sewing. She started her own "project" cutting up some of the fabric scraps and sticking pins in them. I think it was close to 11 by the time she actually went to sleep.

This was after her vocal stylings at lunch time. She sat at the piano and played and sang a couple different dittys. My favorite was "Halloween, Halloween, we give thanks today." Then, there was "Princesses, princesses, Ariel, Ariel".

Hudson has been grabbing one of us by the hand and leading us to where he wants us and letting us know what he wants. This is really sweet, and he did it to Amber and Matt the other day. Sometimes, he just comes over and wants you to pick him up and then he points and leans in the direction he wants to go. A lot of times his destination of choice is the bowl in the kitchen with the lollipops.

He is starting to say some things. He will point to things and say "this", and I swear, the other day, he said "this juice". He loves looking at the Lift the Flap Farm Book, and the mini-Farm Animals book, which is about to disintegrate because Alden loved it and they both like(d) to chew on it.

August..a blur

2009-11-21T06:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from August, at least. Most of this month was a blur. I worked 3 days a week, kept a friend's little boy a couple afternoons a week, and generally felt like things were going crazy. I think Matt did too, since he was the one manning the kids while I was at work.

Alden did another session of swim lessons. She had a different instructor, a girl, this time. I wasn't as thrilled with her class...Alden was doing great and can swim about 10 feet on her own, and can go a little while on her back, too. The hardest thing for her is trying to breathe, as she hasn't quite mastered the turn-your-head-to-the-side breathing. The teacher wants her to be working on blowing her air out underwater, too, and not just holding her breath.

Alden and her display of Little People creatures.

Alden had Meet the Teacher Day at her school. She was so excited to go back and see her new room. Her teachers, Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Rudd seem wonderful. Hudson had a great time, too. Only one more year and he can go to school, too!
She got really excited about the dress-up clothes. What a nice change from her interest in trains!

Watching TV and having snack. Lily is hoping a goldfish might get thrown her way.
Happy.
And grouchy.
Why can't little boys wear bubble suits forever?
Alden likes to go in and get Hudson first in the morning or at nap time. Not because she is happy to see him. She just likes to get a few hits in on the passys.

This is how she fell asleep one night. At least it was just the stuffed Lily and not the real one...although Lily would love to get on Alden's bed.
Hudson has gotten really good at eating with a spoon and fork...almost better than Alden!

Lake trip..from August

2009-11-21T06:05:00.000-08:00

The last weekend of August, we went up to Lake James for the semi-annual AX reunion at Laura's parents' lake house. Originally, we had hoped to go without the kids, but my parents had things going on, so we all packed up and made the 4 hour drive.

Those who follow the blog may remember how the past couple times we have been to the lake, Alden has had some boo-boo issues. She was even talking about it and prepared to "walk" and "be careful"...but, within 15 minutes of arrival, she is running down the driveway, and boom, landing on both knees. Matt and I just look at each other and sigh. Next time we will bring the knee pads.

We got there on Friday mid-afternoon, and got settled in. Laura, Courtney, and I made a grocery run while the guys stayed back with the kids. The kids love the swingset, the putting green with the kid golf-clubs, and the sidewalk chalk. Grandma and Grandpa Wrigglesworth definitely knew what they were doing!

Everybody made it up Friday night and to be honest, we had a pretty early night. I think we are getting a little older and not as rowdy :) (Like I was ever rowdy...hello, 9:30 bed time)

Saturday morning, the kids were excited to get in the lake and in the hot tub. Alden and Avery floated in the inner tubes and "swam" out to the jet ski docks, climbed up and jumped off over and over. Hudson found an old fishing net toy and had a great time playing around in the shallows.

All the kids at lunchtime. Alden, Hudson, Avery, Baby Ben, and Cole. The ranks keep growing!

Saturday night it clouded up and stormed. Alden still talks about how it "thundered and lightninged at the lake".

Sunday morning was beautiful, and we spent some time that morning enjoying the amenities before packing up and going home.

The kids loved the hammock.
And the swing set.

The Fair!

2009-11-20T19:19:00.001-08:00

Hands down, one of our FAVORITE things about fall is the State Fair. We went with Amber, Bebe, and Pop pop this year.

We went to the Dept. of Wildlife display and saw all the animal mounts. Alden was most impressed with the hawk (there is one in the Tinkerbell movie) and liked that it was carrying a squirrel in his talons. Hudson liked petting the pelts. There was a cool display where you could look in these magnifying-float things and see fish in a tank.
We went to the FFA non-petting zoo and got to see the animals. Hudson liked the chickens best, and the sheep. Alden threw a little bit of a fit when we told her we had to go. Typical.

While Matt and Pop pop went to the roasted corn booth, Alden and I went to ride the ponies. Last year, she sat on one for 5 seconds and didn't want to do it, and has said all year that this year "when I'm 3" she wanted to ride one. Here she is on "Peanut". I was just a little bit excited to see her having fun on a pony :)
On the way to see the livestock exhibits, we munched on chocolate covered strawberries, popcorn and cotton candy. Hudson had his first sampling of cotton candy and was hooked.

We got to see the baby pigs and all the different cattle breeds, the giant pumpkins, fruits and veggies, and the honeybees, which are pretty fascinating.

Dinner is always at Bebe and Pop pop's church booth. This may be one of the most stressful aspects of the fair. It is good food, but it is always crowded and not a great place to try to sit with a 3-year old and a 15-month old, who is NOT interested in sitting in anyone's lap...especially, after finally being released from the backpack.

It was starting to get dark, so we hit a couple of rides on our way out. Alden and Matt rode the merry-go-round.
Then, we let Alden pick something. She chose "THE COBRA" rollercoaster. You could tell she was a little apprehensive, and I wasn't quite sure how she would react when it started, but she LOVED it. She was screaming and laughing and saying "again?" each time we went around. She rode it once with me and once with Matt. This was her favorite thing at the fair. The Cobra trumped the ponies.

Amber and Alden did the train ride, which was a little slow for our little speed demon.

She decided to ride another pony, too. This one was named Bee-bop. Cute. Now every time Alden names something it is either "Bee-Bop" or "Peanut".

On our way out, we grabbed another corn, some lemonade, and cotton candy. What a great fair! The countdown 'til next year begins!

Purple Bear Open House

2009-11-20T18:47:00.001-08:00

The 3 3-year old classes performed some of their songs for everyone. Alden was hamming it up.

In October, Alden had an Open House night at her school. Hudson got to stay with Bebe for the evening, so Matt and I were both able to go. They had circle time. Alden was WIRED. She was bouncing all over the place and talking, talking, talking. Her teachers assured me that she was not always so crazy. Thank goodness...for their sakes.

She showed us some of the centers.
We got to see her cubby.

2009-11-20T18:02:00.000-08:00

I am working through the past couple months, and some of the posts I had started before. For some reason, they won't update the date. So, for those who are interested, the blog coverage of the second part of July, not including the beach week, appears in September...the 21st, I think.

Selections from October, Part 1

2009-11-09T15:30:00.000-08:00

Highlights from October...

*Hudson starts signing more. One day he just busts out with "Train" when we hear one outside. He knows:
Help (which is VERY useful)
hat (not so useful)
dog
Daddy (not Mommy)
Sleepy
bath
please
hot
rain
airplane
cookie

His most favorite and most often executed is "juice", although his version looks more like the actual sign for "milk". One morning, I picked him up out of bed, he laid his head on my shoulder so sweetly, and then starts doing "juice." And I thought he was just thinking about loving his mommy.

*I got baptized. Now we are official members of our church. It was a good experience and I am glad I did it. We went out to On the Border with Bebe and Pop pop to celebrate.

*Alden started bringing show-and-tell to school. So far, she has taken Purple Baby, Darth Vader, a Thomas Book, and most recently, a book about Dinosaurs. Her teachers said she was sitting in the front of the room and asking all the kids one-by-one to tell her their favorite dinosaur.

A little photo re-cap...ok, not so little. I am trying to make up for lost blogging time.

*Boxes have been popular at our house lately. Alden and Hudson love getting in the big boxes from Aldi and having someone push them around on the wood floors.

*Matt took the kids to the hardware store one day and the firetruck was parked there. They went to check it out, and the fireman let Alden climb up in the front and gave the kids their own firehats.

*Alden got a new outfit with a head band. Hudson snagged that puppy and LOVED wearing it around and looking at himself in the mirror.

*We tried out a new park. It has a great playground, and a little board walk over a pond/wetland area. The kids liked watching the turtles.

*And of course, we have been making a lot of trips to the park down the street.*One morning, Alden had been up to use the bathroom early, and when we all woke up a little bit later, we found her asleep on the floor.*Alden modeling her reversible Halloween dress that I made.*Modeling Halloween jammies from Grandma and Grandpa

*And just some random, day-to-day pics*The kids love to eat snack on the fireplace

Tobacco Trail

2009-11-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

The weekend of the 24th, Matt and I ran the Tobacco Trail 10-Miler. Matt might tell you differently, but I thought it was STINKIN' hard and I couldn't have gone any further. Matt actually ran faster than he thought he would. Not me.

The girls started about 10 minutes before the guys, and around mile 6, Matt caught up to me and passed me. There were close to 30 people from our YMCA running group, so there was a lot of company to be had and encouragement.

After the race, we booked it, sweaty and stinky over to Karen's parents for a little birthday party for her son Owen. The kids loved riding in the jeep and swinging on the treehouse ladder.

I worked the next day, and couldn't quite kick the tired feeling. It turns out that I was coming down with something, and had a fever and achiness for most of the week after.

Halloween...and Cigarettes

2009-11-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

Our Halloween festivities began on the Thursday before with Alden's party at school. I was on point to help plan it, and got to go early for the festivities. One of the mom's brought brownies and apple slices for snack, and we had some fun crafts to do. The highlight of Halloween at GFCC is the parade in the parking lot. All the kids walk around in a circle and the parents come and take pictures. Alden and her class looked so cute!After school, we stopped by Bebe and Pop pop's church to get pumpkins.

Matt and Alden carved our pumpkins on Friday. They went with a nautical theme...a shark, of course, which seems to be Alden's subject of choice when it comes to artistic expression, and a really good pirate. Arrrgh.
Hudson watched and ate cake.
I had to work Friday night, and came home and slept a couple hours on Saturday. We wanted to go to the Cary Band Day parade, but it was a little drizzly and gross, so we just planned on going a little late. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, the parade had just ended ( I think they had some cancellations), so we went to the mall.

Alden and Hudson rode the merry-go-round, played with Thomas, and ran around the play place and we ate at Chick-Fil-A...all the typical mall things.

After nap, we headed over to Bebe and Pop pop's for dinner. Matt and Alden carved their pumpkin (a pirate ship). Alden was helping me ice cupcakes, and as soon as she saw Matt get the pumpkin stuff out she says, "Um, I am done helping you, Mommy. I'm gonna help Daddy do the pumpkin." Ouch.

The night was really muggy, but we forged out into the humidity all costumed and ready to go. Alden was Cinderella and Hudson was a cow. Overall, Hudson had a much better time than Alden. He loved going up to the houses and grabbing candy out of the bowls. Alden pooped out after about 8 houses...Amber was carrying her, and Alden says, "I'm tired of trick-or-treating. My bucket's full. Let's go back." And just like that, Halloween was over. We reaped much less candy than we did last year. Probably a good thing, since Matt and I eat most of it anyway.

As an aside, Alden has been a little obsessed with cigarettes lately. She and Bebe walked down the greenway to the park one day, and saw some girls smoking, and later, some cigarettes on the ground. Alden talks about it all the time, and how "they are bad for you...make you cough...make your tummy hurt." Well, the other day, we were going to the park to meet Armen and Lucy and Alden observed that it was starting to get dark..."All the cigarettes are going to go home and eat dinner and go to sleep." What?!?!?!? So we had to have a lesson about how cigarettes aren't alive. "They are just paper with stuff rolled up inside," I told her. Then, she busts out with "Next year, for Halloween, I'm going to be a cigarette." What?!?!?

This past weekend, when we were talking with Amber, Alden was telling her all about the cigarettes on the greenway episode and since she can't say "sm" very well, was saying she and Bebe "pelled the poke." We laughed about that for a while. She then explained to Amber about how they were just rolled up paper. Amber was a little surprised when Alden started talking about rolling papers. And I meant it to be an educational explanation.

Unexpected weekend

2009-11-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we were planning a kid-less getaway to the mountains of NC for my friend Whitney's wedding...However, my mom ended up coming down with the flu and Hudson and Alden ended up coming with us. This was ok...my friend Courtney was bringing her kids, who are close the H and A's ages, and Whitney's parents had reserved a huge mountain cabin for the lot of us at Lake Junaluska.

Oh, but there is more...As soon as we got up there, Hudson started with a fever, and was crabby and clingy. We quickly changed clothes and headed to the rehearsal dinner, where neither of the kids ate much, and ended up going back to the cabin with Matt. Alden got to have a sleep-over with Avery in their own room with twin beds, and I don't think they settled down until after 10. Hudson didn't sleep well at all, partly from being sick and partly from the pack-and-play (which I think are intentionally made to be uncomfortable for the poor little kids that have to sleep in them). We woke up wishing we could have slept more than 3 hours, and spent some time visiting and getting ready for the wedding.

I don't think that we could have had a more perfect day. The weather was lovely and the stone chapel on the lake was beautiful. Whitney looked stunning and she and Chad were SO happy. After the ceremony, we hung out by the lake and Alden found a old shoe that was washing up by the rocks and was poking it with a stick. (This was her favorite part of the weekend, according to what she told Amber when we got home). Hudson loved seeing the ducks and playing with the gravel.

Matt and Hudon pose with Tom and Cole Bogan.

The reception was amazing, overlooking a golf course and the mountains. Alden cheered up drastically after having a giant poop, and danced and chased with Avery and the other kids.

We decided not to press our luck, and drove home Saturday night. As it would figure, Hudson woke up Sunday without any fever. But, it was nice to sleep a little on Sunday morning in our own beds. We took the kids to the park for a picnic, and went to the Tobacco Trail with Amber and the dogs after naps. What a great day to be outside!
So, although it did not turn out like we thought, it was still a great weekend, and we were so excited to celebrate Chad and Whitney...Matt and I will just have to plan another weekend away...

July Lake Trip

2009-09-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

Hey...I posted from our trip to Ohio last night, and am just realizing that it showed up in the July part of the blog since I wrote the text 2 months ago, and finally added the pictures to post.

Just scroll down the page, or click on July on the side to find the new entry...sorry!

Back to work - Mid July

2009-09-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

We got back from Ohio on Sunday, July 12th, and I started orientation on July 13th. That week was a lot of HR/computer/basic skill kind of orientation with all the new employees. There were probably 60 in my group. I met a lot of great people, although it seems most of them were headed to work in the ED, and we haven't had a chance to cross paths yet.That week was difficult. It was hard on all of us for me to be gone all day, and I think it really through the kids for a loop. I mean, I was there every morning when they woke up until then, and all of a sudden, I am MIA for a week. If anything, working has made me so thankful that I am able to stay with them most of the time. It would break my heart for them to be in daycare...there are just times during the day when they need a hug, or need mommy, and I would hate to not be there to do that.The following weekend, we were busy, busy. In the morning on Saturday, we . That afternoon, I took Alden to her friend Caroline's birthday party. Caroline is Alden's friend from preschool, and is luckily in her class again this year. There were all kinds of blow-up spray slides and things and a great playset in their backyard and we enjoyed pizza and cake with Jake, Ethan and Rowan from school, too. That night, after Alden fell asleep in the car, we skedaddled over to Brant and Wendy Mitchell's for dinner. They are in my parent's Sunday school class, and just had their first baby. Wendy and I were possibly going to swap off watching each other's kids, but it ended up not being a great fit when I really thought about our kids and nap schedules, etc. I still ended up keeping Trey a couple days a week through August, which ended up being special time with Alden, my co-babysitter.

We taught Sunday School on Sunday, and I was back at work the next few days. Monday was an orientation day again, and then Tuesday and Wednesday were my first days in the unit. It was very overwhelming the first day, hearing all the abbreviations, and lingo that I wasn't familiar with, and trying to figure out the computer programs. Apparently, those were two crazy days, too, and as I learned, most of the time, they aren't so wild. As luck would have it, the first thing I did on my first day was to prepare a body for the morgue...and that was the first thing we did on the second day, too. Luckily, that doesn't happen very often.

I know that I am in a great place to work. All the staff have been patient and kind, and willing to answer questions and offer explanations. My preceptor, Christina, is fabulous, and one of the most caring people I have ever met. I am thankful that God has provided this opportunity...

On the homefront, Hudson has recently learned how to eat with a spoon and fork and he LOVES it...and he does a really good job...maybe better than Alden does, actually. Here was his first attempt at a bowl of applesauce. Notice that one spoon was not enough.Lily is just the best dog ever...well, besides those couple rock-eating episodes a while back. This is her usual post during meal time.She is SO patient with the kids. Hudson loves her.
And, finally, one of Alden to wrap things up. We were going to bed the other night and glanced in her room. This was how she was sleeping. REALLY?!?!?

September, So Far

2009-09-18T18:04:00.001-07:00

A million apologies. It has been so hard to sit down to do the blog knowing how much I have to fill in. I am going to start with September, and work my way backwards...hopefully covering August, July, and May, since I never got to that.

Alden started school on September 1st. She is in the Purple Bears class and her teachers are Mrs. Rudd and Mrs. Johnson. The Thursday before, we were invited for a "meet the teachers" day, and she got to see her classroom and find her cubbie. She was really excited about the dress-up stuff. When I dropped her off on the first day, she was a little hesitant to go in, but warmed up really quick and had a great time. Last year, I had thought about changing her school, but after seeing familiar faces in the hallway, and for her to be familiar with the school, and to see old friends, it made me happy she is where she is. Greenwood Forest is outstanding. I had just wanted something with a more biblical curriculum.

Hudson was sick the first week of the month with some fever, congestion, cough crud that he had gotten from Alden. It was exacerbated by the 2 bottom molars, and one of his lower front teeth that were coming in, too. He stayed home from the Y all week and laid low.

Labor Day weekend, we ate over at my parent's Saturday night. Hudson got his second haircut to try to trim up the mullety mudflap kind of thing he had going on in the back. The kids both enjoyed a special treat of cupcakes. Alden, true to form, only ate the icing. Matt took the kids over to my parents' on Monday, since I was working. It was kind of rainy and blah, so we didn't end up getting to go to the pool again. Hudson did learn how to drink out of a straw, and is crazy now about straws. He loves juice boxes, and has even figured out how to drink out of our camelback bottles.Last week, we went over to Kristen and Michael Nahkla' s house on Wednesday morning for the kids to play. Kristen is one of Matt's sister Leigh Anne's friends from Ohio and they recently oved to Holly Springs. It was great to visit with them and their son Luke, who is close to Hudson's age. We went to their house on Saturday night, too, for dinner and the Ohio State game. Matt is glad to have some OSU fans to watch games with...especially since we don't have cable!Last Friday after naps, we had Alden's friend Armen, his mom and his little sister over to play. Armen and Alden had a great time playing and we took a walk down to the park, and walked back on the trail. That ended up being a little long for the kids and we all ended up with a lot of mosquito bites, so maybe I didn't use the best judgement in choosing that route. I really like Armen's mom, Rachel, and we were able to repeat our playdate today at their house. Unfortunately, Alden and Armen hadn't napped, and were both a little bossy/not sharing/pushing/etc. However, Hudson and Lucy were perfect and I had a great time visiting with Rachel.

Last Saturday, we went to the Train Expo at the fairgrounds with my parents. Mostly, there were a lot of model trains set up and things for collectors and train enthusiasts, but they did have some Thomas stuff set up for the kids, and a cool hand-crank ride-on train that Alden loved. She got to sit in the front car both times, and would go by us and yell, "I'm the engine, Bebe!" We ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A at the mall and of course, had to visit Black Beauty and play with the Thomas stuff at the mall. I don't think Alden could have asked for a better morning. Hudson rode the merry-go-round all by himself, and really liked it. He had gone on it earlier that week with Matt, and had a death grip on Matt's shirt the whole time.This week, we have been getting a little bit more into the routine of school, Y, etc. I was off all week, but ended up working 7 hours on Wednesday since someone had called out. It was really nice to just work part of the day, and to come home and have the afternoon and evening together.

Amber came over and had dinner with me and the kids on Wednesday night since Matt was working. She stayed and watched a movie with us.

Alden has started calling Hudson "Husson" now instead of "Ha-ha" which we kind of miss. Also, since last week, she is calling me "Mama" instead of "Mommy". She busted out the word "green" yesterday with perfect pronunciation, (usually "gr" sounds are "b"). She loves singing and running, and is always talking about the boys that she chases with on the playground at school and at the Y. She has decided, after much consideration, not to be a shark, jabberwocky, or raptor for Halloween, and has since decided on being Cinderella. Matt and I have been directed to be the mean step-sisters. Hmm.
Hudson is just SO sweet.The ladies at the Y say he is always comforting the babies that are crying and giving hugs to everyone. Yesterday, they had a picture of him leaning over another little boy and giving him a hug. He stopped doing the sign for "all-done", which was his best one, and now just does "more". He still points and "uhs?" to everything, and really watches when I tell him the name and the sign. He can kind of do "boat"...or a least his version of it. He moved out of the Infant 2 room at church last weekend, and is now in the toddler room.He loves reading books, and will grab one to hand to you, and turn around and flop down in your lap. His favorites are probably his two books about Baby Animals and Cowboy Small. He is learning most of his animals and can point them out when you ask where one is in his books. He knows his eyes, nose, mouth and ears, and can actually follow directions...sometimes better than Alden.

2009-09-10T14:59:00.001-07:00

Thank you, Joe Wilson!

Just so you know

2009-08-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

Things have been a little out-of-synch lately, so I have been slack about the blog. Ok, that is an understatement since I still haven't recapped our trip to Ohio around the 4th of July!

I started a week of orientation for my new job the week of July 13th. It has been quite an adjustment for all of us to have mom gone 36 hours a week. I am enjoying my work, although being away from the kids and from Matt 12 hours a day feels long. It is like the day doesn't even exist. Tuesday was my first night working by myself, and today is my first day without my preceptor. Obviously, things are going well/slowly because I am updating the blog.

Turn the lights on!

2009-07-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Thursday was kind of overcast and when the kids got up from nap, the house was pretty dark. We were playing in the living room when Hudson took off down the hall. He reached the doorway of Alden's room, pointed to the light, and said "unh?" Like he was saying, "Hey! It's dark, please turn the light on, Mom!"

He also learned to do the sign for "please" today and ate bologna and pork chops for the first time. This has been a big pork day at our house.

Swimming and Parties - The last part of June

2009-07-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

The last couple weeks of June flew by. We started with Rowan's birthday party at Pullen Park on the 20th. Hudson spent the morning with Bebe, so Matt and I had the time to spend with Alden. She had such a good time seeing her little buddies from school, riding the merry-go-round (a bunny the first time, a goat the second), doing the train ride, and the boats.
Monday, the 15th, started Alden's two weeks of swim lessons. Her teacher was Mr. Wes, who Alden called Little Miss Wes. She jumped right in and did great. Over the course of the session, she learned to float on her back, to kick on her back, to swim across the pool with her float belt on, to swim with her face down, and to jump off the starting blocks. In true Alden form, she beat all the boys across the pool, and was the most aggressive swimmer in her group.That Friday, we went to the Lake Johnson pool with Ethan, Jake, Caroline and their moms and brothers. The kids had a great time, but it was hard work to keep up with Alden and Hudson by myself.

Alden had her first hair cut at a "salon"! We went to Snip-its, and she did SUCH a good job. The lady gave her animal crackers to eat and let her watch TV while she was working on her hair, and then she got a surprise at the end. Her haircut makes her seem so much older, and maybe just a little sassier...just what we need.
That last weekend of the month, we had Ethan's party at Marbles, which was a blast. We hadn't been to Marbles since almost a year ago when we first moved here, and they had changed their upstairs exhibits to something much more fun. Alden and Hudson played in the peas and carrots ball pit, built block towers, and as expected, Alden spent most of the time at the Thomas the Train table. Hudson liked playing with the food and pulling the carrots and potatoes out of the "ground" and even tried to push the little wheelbarrow. There was a little igloo upstairs, that Hudson enjoyed, too. Mostly because of the tunnel entrance and the giant stuffed husky dogs inside. The ice fishing hole and stuffed fish were also a big hit.
One of Hudson's latest tricks is to stand on his head and look through his legs and laugh. This is hilarious. It is even funny to watch Alden do it with him.
He has been pointing at everything lately, and makes this cute "Unhhh?" sound when he points. We have been doing a lot of dancing, too, and it is fun to watch Hudson bouncing around to the music. Everyday he seems to be getting bigger. It is hard to believe that he will be 1 in a month!

Trip the the Lake

2009-07-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

We left on the 2nd of July to drive up to Lake Mohawk to see Grandma and Grandpa. Alden and Hudson did great on the way up, with many thanks to Amber for letting us borrow the DVD player. It was our savior! I wasn't sure what to expect about potty stops and the road trip, but we only had to stop 3 times on the way up, and one of those was a false alarm.Much to our surprise, it was COLD in Ohio. OK, not like freezing or anything, but definitely you-need-long-sleeves-and-pants cold. And I had only brought 1 long sleeve/pants option for each of us! Friday ended up being a little drizzly, too, but the weather cleared up for the fireworks that night. Leigh Anne, Rachel, Mike, Matt, Grandpa, Alden and I went out on the boat to watch the show, and Alden LOVED it. Hudson stayed back at the house with Grandma and Eric, and eventually went to sleep after fighting it for a couple hours. Gotta love that transition to a new place...and sleeping in a pack and play.Saturday, we had a great time hanging out with Andrew, Lori and Libby, who drove down from Hudson. The kids got in the pool for a little while, but it was still pretty chilly. The guys all went out on the boat, and we enjoyed a campfire that night. Even Alden got to come down and enjoy a s'more with us since the fireworks were keeping her up.

Sunday was family day at the lake, and most of Matt's extended family came over for lunch and hang out time. Sunday was a beautiful day, and perfect for getting in the pool (where Alden was for, oh, about 4 hours), going on the boat and playing corn hole.Monday, we spent time in the pool again, and enjoyed relaxing while the kids took their naps. Tuesday, we made a day trip up to Hudson to visit with Josh Mitchell, Kess and Aimee and the Thomases. Our dinner at Andrew and Lori's was great, but Alden and Hudson were absolutely fried by the end. We tried to get all the kids in the tub, and managed to barely get our screaming pair washed and pajamed and into the car.Wednesday morning, Alden and Grandma went to the library and out to lunch, while Hudson stayed back at the house with Matt and I. Pretty much every afternoon, we sat around the pool while the kids napped and then played in the pool with them until dinner. Alden swam like a champ and jumped off the wall a bunch of times, made a noodle bed, and actually swam about 8 feet by herself. (That is about as far as she can go without breathing) Hudson had fun, too, although he liked wandering around and sticking things in the hole of the skimmer cover more than actually being in the water.

Thursday morning, we went over to Scott and Marilyn's house to see Scott's amazing garden and to visit.Hudson took a ride in the wagon, and Alden got to sit on Uncle Scott's tractor.Alden learned how to pedal a real bike while we were there, and rode around and around their back patio.Thursday afternoon, we went out on the boat for a little while. Hudson was a trooper in the lifejacket. I think at his age, the lifejacket is just not that comfortable, and he couldn't really move his head. It was like he was immobilized.

Alden and Matt rode on the tube. Alden loved it!
Friday, we took the kids to the beach part of the lake. They had such a good time playing in the sand, and Alden even went down the really big slide into the water.

Saturday, we went to the wedding of one of Matt's good friends, and got to do a lot of visiting and catching up. Leigh Anne and Eric graciously watched the kids, and took them to visit Eric's cousin who has two young kids, and more importantly, ponies and a cow. We all met up at a restaurant for dinner with

It was sad to pack up and leave on Sunday. Especially since I knew I had to start orientation for my job Monday morning.

Alden's Fetus

2009-07-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

Last night, Alden was having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple for snack, and she pushed her tummy out and said it was so big. "Look at the baby in my tummy!" Then, she busts out with "I need to go to the hospital to get my fetus out!"

What?!?!?!?!? I don't know where she picked that up. Probably has to do with having an OB professor for a grandma and a Labor and Delivery nurse for an aunt...

Boys

2009-07-01T14:32:00.000-07:00

The other day, Hudson was pushing a car around and going "Vrroom, vrroom". Today he was doing it with Alden's Little People Bus. I think boys are born knowing how to make this sound.

3 year/10 month pictures

2009-06-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

Mom and I took the kids for their pictures at the end of May. I tried to schedule the appointment for early in the morning, but the place was STILL running late and didn't have enough help, plus Alden was AWFUL. Like, I don't think I have ever been more embarrassed. I had to take her to the bathroom twice to have a talk and a spanking. We did make it out with a couple good shots, which is a miracle.

Alden would not hold Hudson or sit with him in a picture without pulling him over, or getting in his face, so I guess I will have to wait until Hudson's 1 year pics to get one of them together...hopefully.

Second Week of June

2009-06-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

This post is starting with Sunday, the 7th...

Matt and I volunteered to teach the kindergarten Sunday School class for this year, and Sunday was our first day. It was a bit of a rocky start, as we hadn't gotten the lesson ahead of time, and we had a little girl throw up twice (yuck), but we are excited to do it. Already, Matt has gone to the Fresh Market to get some samples of the grains that Joseph may have been storing up during the 7 years of plenty in Egypt .

We had our new member class at church, our second one out of four. We are really excited about finally being official, and have enjoyed the class a lot.

That night, the cul-de-sac down from us hosted an ice cream party. We had a good time meeting neighbors, and realized that I went to school with some of our neighbors' kids. Alden ran around with her friends Isabelle and Phoebe, and the kids got to watch some firecrackers and throw those little poppy-things.

The big news from June is that I have a job!!! I will be working as a secretary/tech in the CCU at Rex Hospital. It is just 2 shifts a week, sometimes days and sometimes nights and I will have the chance to learn a lot. I don't start work until July 13th, since I have to go through hospital orientation first, and that is when the next one starts.

Thursday, we drove to Charlotte for the night to go to Alden's friend Connor's 3rd birthday party. She had a fun time running all around the playplace and I got to visit with Katie and Darci, who I miss SO much. We spent the night at Nana's house, and Ashley came over the next day and had breakfast with us before we had to head back to Raleigh.Wearing Nana's shower cap.

We went to the pool Saturday and let Alden do some practicing for her swim lessons. Hudson loved being in the big pool with her, and started jumping off the side of the pool to us.

Hudson with his two favorite things...the dressage whip and the foam sword.

First week of June

2009-06-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

On Alden's real date of birth was pretty uneventful after our party-filled weekend. That morning, I drove Matt to the airport for an impromptu trip up to Ohio. Then, I met Alden and Mom over at her friend Lydia's to take pictures for the preschool that Lydia is starting. She and a couple of her friends have established a Spanish-immersion type preschool program out of Lydia's house, and we went over to take pictures for them to post on their website to advertise. Alden and Hudson had a blast. The favorite of both was the water table. Luckily, I had a change of clothes for Hudson, because he was soaking wet.Wearing her birthday crown that Aunt Leigh sent in the mail.

Alden spent the next couple nights at my parents' house, and Hudson, Lily, and I help down the fort with Matt gone. That Tuesday, Alden had her 3-year check-up, and although I forgot to get her stats, she seems to be growing in spite of not drinking milk. That night I had a finale dinner with the group of women I did a Bible Study with this semester. It was a great group, and I will miss their fellowship.Matt got back from Ohio on Wednesday night with our new car. He had a great time relaxing and getting some time with his parents. He also was able to spend an evening with Andrew and Lori Thomas and see their new baby William. It was the first time since we have been married that Matt has been up there by himself, so it was long overdue!

While Matt was gone, Hudson practiced his walking a lot. Matt was surprised when he got back to see Hudson walking all over the house! He found my dressage whip and especially enjoyed tottering around with that.

Along with the transition to the new car, Alden and Hudson moved up from their old car seats. Alden got a new car seat from Grandma and Grandpa for her birthday, and Hudson moved into Alden's. He is a little embarrassed about the flowery seat cover, but we have assured him that we will be on the lookout for something a little more rugged.

His first trip...His last trip...The new ride...
June 2007, Alden
Alden in her old car seat...she did NOT want her picture taken (shocker).First ride in the new one!

Saturday, we took a family trip to the Tobacco Trail since it wasn't too hot. It was great to have room for the kids, and Lily, AND the jogging stroller in the car! Hudson did a little bit of walking at the end.

Three Years Old!

2009-06-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

On June 1st, Alden turned 3. Wow. Where have the past few years gone??? We started the birthday festivities on the Friday before, since Amber was leaving Saturday for Crooked Creek to be the camp nurse for the week. We had dinner and cupcakes, and Alden opened some fun puzzles and new markers from Auntie Amber. Hudson was honing his walking skills and could just make it across the den from Bebe to me.Saturday, we went to the pool for a while in the afternoon, since both kids took really early naps. It was Hudson's first time in the water since his one visit when the pool was winterized and under the bubble, and he had a great time splashing around the steps. Alden decided she would wear a float, and enjoyed paddling herself around the big pool. As always, snack time was the highlight of the trip.That night, we continued our birthday celebration with another little party with my parents and the LiVecchis. We grilled out at my parents' house, had cake and opened presents. Alden was excited about her Dora bike and helmet (although she has spent more time pulling it than pedaling) and especially about Thomas and Percy and a crane that she got for her train set.

Alden's First Boyfriend

2009-06-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

I went to pick Alden up at the Y today, and the girl asked if I knew about Alden's young love in Cricket Club. There is a little boy named Armen that she met one day when we were leaving and walking out with him, his mom and little sister. Alden and Armen just started chasing each other around the parking lot (hello, danger) and then the next day, we were all signing in at the same time and they took off running around the bottom floor of the Y. We walked into Cricket Club at the same time earlier this week, and they look at each other and smirk, and say "Chase?" and start again. The Cricket Club girl said they were holding hands and chasing all day today. Wow. We weren't ready for this yet! He is really cute though...at least Alden has good taste :)

In other news, Hudson is suffering from what I think is teething-induced fever. The past couple days he been puny and clingy, and is not eating much. Since he screams when we try to give him his Ibuprofen, I could see a little point of his top left molar wanting to break through his gum. Poor Ha-ha.

When he is not fever-y and whiny, Hudson has started doing some fun things. He points at everything and wants to know what it is. Favorites of his seem to be lights (which my mom swears he said the other day), fans, trees, and dogs. He surprised us the other day when I told him to go get his cat Beanie Baby he was playing with at Bebe's and he went and got it and brought it to me. I remember when Alden first showed she understood something. You actually feel like you are communicating! We were looking at books the other day, and he could point to the dogs, horses, cats, and roosters. Both of my kids really like roosters.

Alden has been in swim lessons this week, and will continue through next week. Her teacher's name is Wes, and she refers to him as "Little Miss Wes" thanks to the "Little Miss Giggles" and "Little Miss Naughty" books that she is so fond of lately. (We also have Mr. Happy and Mr. Tickle, but she still refers to them as "Little Miss" instead of "Mister") She says her favorite part is going underwater, and she is doing a great job floating, and can swim 4 or 5 feet without her floaty-thing. She does really well taking breaths and doing arms and kicking with the float, so we are making some good progress.

Well, that about catches us up on this week. Now, I only have to back track another 6 or so weeks to get the blog up-t0-date again. It is always harder to do when I know I have to remember so much...

Hudson's First Sign

2009-05-13T18:55:00.001-07:00

Hudson did his first sign yesterday. It was "more", which is appropriate, because he eats all the time. He wanted some of my drink, and was screaming about it, and we just showed him "more" and it clicked!

He has been pushing his little walk-behind thing all over, and is getting good at pivoting it so he can change directions.

Alden had beach day at school today, and got to wear her bathing suit and play in a little pool. If there is water involved, she loves it.

Adam and Eve's Campout...what is missing from the Bible

2009-04-30T03:16:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, all the 2-coming-3 year olds at church got a Bible. It is a younger version of one Alden already has, and she has been reading both of them a lot recently. She likes the one in which got creates Adam and Eve in the garden, but by far, she is most interested in the story about Adam and Eve disobeying God and having to leave the garden. I think it has to do with the disobedience aspect, and we all know how that is Alden's specialty.

Anyways, last night I read those 2 stories to her, and she asked about 15 "Why?" questions. She asked where Adam and Eve were going since they had to leave the garden, and I just told her, "The desert." Alden says, "They are probably having a campout...with marshmallows....maybe they will go to the pool." Betcha hadn't read that in the NIV!

One thing after another

2009-04-28T19:09:00.001-07:00

My post from last week was from Tuesday, which was about one of two days of Hudson being 100% better from the respiratory junk before he started with an ear infection. He was up a LOT Tuesday night, kind of fever-y Wednesday, and we went right to the doctor Thursday morning. Sure enough, he had a double ear infection...probably remnants of the last bug, exacerbated by the latest teeth he is working on. Poor guy. It took a good couple days for him to feel better, and he was pitiful to be around; clingy, sleepy, and lethargic..but cuddly, which is nice.

Friday, we went to the park to meet Alden's friends from school. It was great for both of the kids to be outside, and was definitely the first day I wished I would have remembered to lather them with sunscreen.

So, we bought this house partly because it is in a great older neighborhood, and we have a ton of trees. Well, there are some downsides to the trees. 1 - Our satellite no longer gets reception. 2 - the woodpecker that woke us up Saturday morning at 6:45...or should I say the woodpecker that woke Alden up, who in turn, woke US up. Well, this story did not end at all badly. Matt got up with Alden and let her have breakfast and watch Letter Factory, since he was leaving at 8 to help work on someone's house for church. I got up and fed Hudson, and he went back to sleep. When Matt left, Alden climbed in bed with me, read books for a while, and fell asleep. The next thing I know, it was 10:00! I mean, I don't even know when I have slept that long. The Lord knew I needed it after all the sleepless nights I had with Hudson this past week!

When Matt got back, we went to the pool, intending to leave Hudson in childcare. Well, the childcare people were a little short-staffed, so he watched Alden swim, and got in on the steps for the first time. We had to be really careful to keep his ears dry, but he had a great time playing in the water.

Matt was supposed to work that night, but had asked if anyone could take his shift. Well, 30 minutes before he had to work, someone called to pick up his shift, so he was able to come with me and the kids to our Sunday school class potluck. And, it was a good thing he did. We had our little shindig in the fellowship hall, and Alden ran around like crazy with the "wild boys." She is one of 2 girls in the group, the other only being 16 months old. At one point, the boys were all in a pile punching and wrestling, and Alden just jumped right on, joining in. She is a tough one. Hudson enjoyed crawling around, and meeting some other crumb crunchers.

Sunday, we had church and a quick lunch at home. Bebe and Pop pop came by to see the kids since Pop pop had just gotten back from Germany the night before. Just let him tell you about the beer gardens. I think they made a very favorable impression.

We went on a walk after naps, and last minute, decided to go to South Point to do some returns and try out a new car seat for Alden. On our way to Moe's, I spotted my little sis from AX, with her kids, husband, and parents. We had connected on facebook, but hadn't seen each other in years. It was great to see her boys, and catch up a little bit. After dinner, (which was more of an appetizer), we went to Cold Stone for ice cream (the main course).

All in all, it was a great weekend. The end.

9 Months!

2009-04-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hudson will be 9 months old tomorrow! Hallelujah, we are making it closer to the 1 year mark!

He had his check-up today, which is now the 3rd time we have been to the doctor in 3 weeks. I keep going back and forth about our pediatricians. I like them all, but the past few times we have been, we have been there 2 hours, and have waited close to 50 minutes to be seen...with an appointment! I try to be understanding, but hello???, there is only so long I can be expected to entertain an almost 3 year old and a 9 month old, and THEN be locked up with them in a little exam room for another half an hour! Ahhh!

Enough of that, back to Hudson. He weighed in at 18 lbs 13 oz, and was 26 3/4 inches long, head circ. 44.5 cm. They didn't give me the percentage stats, but when I looked them up at home, he is still around 25% in everything. His ears have cleared up since last week, and the doctor said he is doing great.

He is starting to wave, and can't really point yet, but reaches his hand out to things, especially lights and fans. He "points" to dad and Lily. He has been eating like crazy; tonight he downed a bunch of lima beans, macaroni and cheese, chicken, and banana. He loves Yo Baby yogurt, which is about the only thing I can spoon feed him anymore. We are starting to try to sign more with him, and although he doesn't do them yet, he really understands "milk", "eat", "water" and "light."

Don't say no

2009-04-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight we were at Bebe and Pop pop's for dinner since Matt had to work at OTB. After dinner, Alden just goes right up and starts bath water, announcing "It's bath time!" Then, after bath, Amber and I were sitting in her room and she announces, "I want popcorn for snack," kind of directed to Bebe, who was standing in the hall. As Alden walked out of the room, she stuck her hand out in front of my mouth and said, "Don't say no, Mommy." We were all dying laughing. She is B-O-S-S-Y.

Bababababa

2009-04-21T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day that Hudson is really babbling, and it is so cute. Before, he was making some consonant/vowel sounds, but mostly doing this clearing-his-throat sound when he was trying to communicate. His little voice is so sweet.

This past weekend went by so quickly. Saturday, we met Bebe, my Aunt Murle and Uncle Joe for lunch at Chick-Fil-A, as they were on there way through town from Brevard. Alden and Matt played in the play area for a long time, and Alden was actually helping another little boy who was scared to do the slide. She was really proud of herself for being nice. Wow.

After naps, Matt had to work at On the Border, so I hauled the kids over to my friend Kristen's house for a high-school-friend get-together. Kristen and Kyle have a great fenced in yard, and the weather was perfect to be outside. It was great to visit with everyone, and I think we all ate too many of Mendi's excellent break-and-bake cookies, which were some of the best I have ever had. Alden and Caleb played really well together and the Hudson enjoyed watching the big kids run around.

Sunday, we got up and headed back to Charlotte. We stopped at Nana's for a couple hours, and then went to Bradd and Corinne's daughter's 1st birthday party. We hadn't gotten together with our old Shea friends since the fall, and all the kids had changed so much. On the way out of the neighborhood, we dropped in on the Bogans. Alden thinks Avery is the coolest.

This week is off to a normal start. I rode today and Mom and Amber came over for dinner and to help with kids while Matt was working. I am very thankful that we are all well again!

A few extras

2009-04-17T19:22:00.001-07:00

Wow, it has taken me four posts to get caught up on April so far.

In general, we have had a sick month so far. Alden started with something the first weekend of the month, and we all have it now. I took the kids to the doctor before we left for Aiken, because Hudson had started the day before with a croup-y sounding cough, and was getting really congested, and he just told us to wait it out. Does that ever work for anyone else? Because, Tuesday morning, I was calling him to tell him we needed some medicine no matter what. No one was sleeping much, and that is when things get serious around here. But, we are all on antibiotics now, and on the mend. Hopefully, this is it until fall??

Some of the moms and kids from Alden's class have been meeting on Fridays at one of the local parks, and the first Friday this month we were able to go. It was just Alden, and two little boys, Rowan and Jake, but they had a great time running around and playing with Rowan's cars. They were running around the merry-go-round, making it spin, and Alden kept telling the boys what to do. "Stop boys"..."Alright, ready, set, go"..."No, stop again!" B-O-S-S-Y.

Hudson got his 4 top teeth the beginning of the month, all at one time. I think they are part of what contributed to his March bout of sickness. He has enjoyed trying them out on some table foods. He kind of fluctuates on whether he will eat baby food or not. Sometimes, he just wants to feed himself.

He has been really clingy lately, which has kept us from being productive at all. For example, it took me a day and a half to fold a load of laundry that was in his room because I kept having to pick him up...or intervene with him and Alden.

There is a little book club in the neighborhood, and this month the book we are reading is Clyde Edgertons' Raney (Sorry, I don't know how to underline things with Blogger). I think I read it in middle or high school and didn't like it at all, but I have been cracking up reading it this past week. I would definitely recommend it.

Easter in Aiken

2009-04-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

We continued Matt's birthday celebration in Aiken, heading down there on Friday to spend the weekend. Matt's mom made him a pumpkin pie with "33" on it, and we had a great salmon dinner.Hudson tried some fish, too. Cheerios are still the fave, though.Lily also likes that Hudson enjoys Cheerios. I can't imagine how much time we would spend picking food up off the floor if we didn't have a dog. It always seems like our time in Aiken goes quickly. We made a couple trips to Hitchcock Woods, although one was cut a little short since we tried to take Alden. She was extra whiny.

Starting out in the backpack.That didn't last long. The cat wanted out.Easter morning, we went to church with Matt's dad, leaving Hudson back with Matt's mom since he was sick. Then, we did Easter baskets and went to brunch. Alden and Hudson really liked the Easter bunny. Alden did not like having her picture made, surprise, surprise, so there aren't a whole lot of great pics from Easter. This was especially disappointing for me after working to get their outfits done in time, envisioning the perfect Easter picture in front of the azaleas while I was sewing them. Whatever, Allison.
Alden likes the "wolves" (they are really foxes) in front of the club.Note: No Alden. She was running around trying to figure out how to highjack a golf cart.After naps, Matt and I took Lily to the woods and had a great hike without the kids. Lily LOVES the woods, and it takes us back to our pre-child days when we went out there a couple times a day to walk around.

Alden and Grandma colored eggs that night.On the way home, we stopped in Charlotte to visit with Nana. Hudson loved playing pat-a-cake with Nana, and we all enjoyed getting to visit a little bit since we missed the big family Easter get together on Sunday.

What's next...we think

2009-04-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Matt has been busy working part-time at On the Border, and looking into the possibility of going to seminary. He took a couple classes through Fuller when we lived in CO, and really enjoyed them. He has always said that if he could go back to school just to learn, he would love to go to seminary, but since he never wanted to be a pastor, we just never thought it was practical. However, it has always been in the back of his mind, and every time I am in church (even since Charlotte) I feel like God has been saying "Matt needs to go to seminary." I just kept telling God to be quiet; we weren't interested, thank you very much. So, here we are, completely surrendering and walking down a path we feel like God has been nudging us towards for a while.

It is scary...there is a lot of uncertainty about finances, time management, if he should try to work and do school, what I should try to do, etc. But, we are trusting that it will work out if that is what needs to happen. As far as the pastor thing goes, Matt is trusting that God will show him what he is supposed to do, even if he doesn't know now. There are other possibilities in ministry, and who knows, maybe he is supposed to be in a church in some kind of role. As for me, I don't think I EVER wanted to be a preacher's wife, but I do want to be Matt's wife, so I am believing that my heart will be changed, too, if that is where we are called.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Happy Birthdays

2009-04-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

We had two birthdays to celebrate earlier this month. The 3rd was Auntie Ashley's, so she and Andrew came up from Charlotte for the weekend to celebrate. It had been months since we saw Ash, and Alden and Hudson were glad to have some time with her, although Alden monopolized most of it, whisking Ashley off to play upstairs for a large part of the afternoon.
The 9th was Matt's birthday and we did a party with my parents and Amber to celebrate. We grilled out and did strawberry pizza instead of cake, which was Matt's request. The Easter bunny made an early trip to Bebe and Pop pop's house, too, and Alden got the Tinkerbell tree house that she has been talking about EVERY day. She is really into fairies right now.

Alden's Easter Party

2009-04-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

Alden's class had their Easter party on April 1st, before spring break. They had a great time, even with the egg hunt moved indoors because of the rain.

Look a' My Face

2009-04-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

"Look a' my face!" Alden must say this almost every time she eats something and thinks she has it around her mouth. Amber brought over cupcakes for dessert tonight and Alden had pink frosting all over (she actually looked a lot like the Joker...and she does have kind of an evil, cackly laugh when she gets going). We heard "look at my face" quite a few times, and then Alden would just crack up.

Another one of her latest exclamations is "Awesome!" (except it sounds more like Aw-Hum!) We hadn't ever heard her say it before, but when she unwrapped the train set that the Easter bunny brought her, she just busts out with "Awe-hum! Cool Choo-choo train! Awe-hum!" Whenever she talk about the train to anyone it is referred to as the "Awe-hum choo-choo train!" Good job Easter bunny.

Tonight, Alden was having her snack and talking about ghosts. Matt told her that the only ghost was the holy ghost, and explained that the holy ghost was Jesus and God here on earth with us. Alden just says matter-of-factly, "I don't know about that."

NOTE:

2009-03-31T06:10:00.000-07:00

For some reason, my latest post which I put up today has ended up before the last two. Please read it and imagine that it is under March 31st, instead of the 29th.

Trip to Aiken

2009-03-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about being unemployed is that we don't have any constraints on our travel time! We were so thankful to tack on 3 extra days to our Aiken trip to visit Matt's parents! We had a great time and enjoyed Matt's mom's delicious cooking and time with Grandma and Grandpa.On the way down there, we debated about the pull-up/panty situation, and decided that pull-ups would be better for the drive, especially if Alden fell asleep. Here she is trying her potty at one of our stops.One of the pluses about going down early, was that I was hoping to catch some of the US Equestrian Team's training sessions. They were supposed to be in Aiken Wed-Fri, but when I showed up at the farm on Thursday, they had moved to Southern Pines since there was a big horse trials at the Carolina Horse Park that weekend. Definitely a bummer, since Southern Pines is only 1 1/2 from Cary, but we love coming to Aiken, so it was still a win-win!Thursday we went to the library for Alden and Grandma to get some books, and then to the park for a while. Alden enjoyed reading her "Animal Books" with Grandpa.
Friday, we went to the Odell Weeks park for a while, and that night, we ate at a great Italian Restaurant. The kids were great...it is always a gamble taking them out. It definitely helped that we were outside.

Saturday, we all went to the Steeplechase. When we moved three years ago (wow, 3 years!), it was right around this time of year, and the steeplechase was one of the first things we went to. We started the day with Matt's parents and their Sunday school class, who hosted a great tailgate. They had a spot right on the inside rail, so we got to see the horses really close as they sped by. We also got to visit with the Bagby's, who were the YL staff in Aiken when we lived there. They have since moved to Tennessee, but were back for the weekend, so it was a treat to see them.

Alden and Hudson both got new hats for the occasion.
Family pic minus Alden, who was not interested in having her picture made. Shocker.
Hudson getting some time with Grandma and meeting some new friends.Alden and her baby watching the horses getting ready to race.Potty break at the steeplechase.
We also went to feed carrots to the horses near the house. Alden ate most of the horses' carrot in the car on the way there. The brown horse was pretty bossy, and you could tell they both had gotten a lot of treats before!Our pleasant, camera-loving daughter.
And Hudson, who is just the opposite. He smiles as soon as he sees you take the camera out.

March Catch Up*

2009-03-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I spent my March posts so far covering February, so here is my attempt to get caught up before April, when I am going to be more consistent. My excuse is that Matt and I have been using the computer for job-search-type activities, and haven't had much screen time for blogging.

The first week of March, I had the opportunity to work a few days at Country Sunshine, our family friends daycare/preschool while their college helpers were on spring break. I got to help in the 4's and transition rooms, and it was a lot of fun. The kids were great and it was fun to have some grown-ups to talk to! It did make me thankful that Alden and Hudson are not in daycare, but also made me realize that the folks at Jan's really genuinely love the kids they take care of, and that it is a great place, which may not be the case everywhere.

The first weekend of March, Alden stayed with Auntie Amber for the afternoon and Matt, Hudson and I went to the wedding of Jarred and Shelley Jung. It was one of the most beautiful, spirit-filled ceremonies. The Jungs were in East Asia with Campus Crusade for 2 years and are getting ready to re-up for at least 3 more. Just yesterday, we had the opportunity to hear more about what they are doing to spread God's word. They are still trying to raise support, so if you read this, and would be interested in partnering with them in ministry, let me know, and I will be happy to get you their information. They would love to share their experiences!After church the next day, we took advantage of the lovely weather and went hiking at Hemlock Bluffs. It was Hudson's first time in the backpack, and he loved it!One of the highlights of this month was the Open House at Alden's school. Matt and I got to go with her in the evening, and go through a mini school day with her. We had circle time, art, music, snack and got to play outside (since it was 70 something degrees out that night!). Alden has such a great class and we love Mrs. Leonard, Mrs. Gregory and Mrs. Stay-ha (Stapleton). Alden showed us the toys she plays with and we enjoyed hearing her songs at music time.

Matt started a new part-time job this month at On the Border. He started mid-month, and is getting all his training sessions out of the way. Soon, he will be a full-fledged server! We are grateful for this opportunity that God has provided for Matt to be doing something while he is job-searching.

What else...

Eating breakfast on the potty; most likely "tiger cereal" or "tiger-shark cereal" if it is the Aldi brand of Frosted Flakes
Drinking lemonade on the potty.
Family time with Lily. Hudson loves her and Lily enjoys all the extra attention.
Hudson loves playing with his musical table......or playing in the dishwasher...only when it is clean, though!
Trying lots of new food...Yogurt...

...A biter biscuit......drinking out of a big boy cup...
...and avocado. This was mostly mushed around. I don't know if much made it into his mouth. Watching the clothes in the washer.
Fascinating.* There are not very many pictures of Alden. She has been very anti-camera lately.

And most recently

2009-03-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

Some of the memories of the past couple weeks...

Alden has been repeating our names when she talks to us lately...like "Mommy-mommy, can we read a book?" or "Here you go, Daddy-daddy." The funniest is when she refers to Hudson as "Ha-ha-Ha-ha".

We had given Alden a nightlight that was left in the new house when we moved in. It stopped working the other day, so she has been going to sleep with her door open. Last night, she had a giant poop around the time we were ready for bed, so she was up, changed, and back in bed, and I was turning out the lights. I turned off the hall light, no problem, I turned out our room light, nothing, then when we turned off Matt's bedside table lamp, a couple seconds later we hear this little voice, "It's dark. I can't see." I told her we were all going to sleep even Mom and Dad and she just goes, "Oh-KAY."Hudson was 8 months old on Sunday! Unbelievable! One of the biggest things for him now (and for Mom and Dad) is that he can now stay up to 2 hours at the Y instead of just 1. He is still crawling and pulling up and getting into everything. He can walk behind his little push toys, and just tried his first graham crackers, Cheerios, and bread at Bebe and Pop pop's Sunday night. We decided we would try to be more consistent with his bedtimes, too, because our whole house was thrown off from daylight savings time. Last night, he slept from 8:30 until 5:45! Then, he ate and was back down until 8:00. AWESOME. If we can keep this up, Matt and I may start to feel more like real people instead of shells of our former selves.
Last night, Alden had on a nightgown for bed, but had asked to wear pants, too. I put some on her, and a few minutes after we turn off the light, we hear, "Doesn't match. Doesn't match." I didn't realize she was so concerned about fashion already...and in the dark, nonetheless.

Alden and I making cookies the other day.
Hudson wanted to get in on the action, too.
Park pics.Alden having a tea party with Hudson.
I think he felt a little tricked that there wasn't real food on the spoon.Alden has taken to hanging her clean panties on the knobs of her dresser where they wait their turn to be worn. She says it looks like a rainbow.

That is not what I created you for

2009-03-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

The end of last month, we were shocked when Matt lost his job. It was totally out-of-the-blue. Wasn't it just 11 months ago that we were going through this? At least this time we aren't pregnant:)

We have had an enormous amount of peace, knowing how faithful God has been in the past, and realizing that He will not forsake us, and that He will provide for us. It is an opportunity to pursue Him even more, and to grow in our relationships with Him.

I am doing the Beth Moore Esther study right now. It is a funny group, mostly women in their 50's and early 60's and me. One of the ladies I am in an exercise class with at the Y invited me. She is on Crusade staff and we had started talking one day and got to know each other. Anyways, a couple weeks ago, Beth used an example about her bird dog that loves to point squirrels. That dog will freeze in his point when he sees one, and her husband will literally have to pick him up, turn him, and set him back down in another direction. A bird dog is not created to point squirrels, after all!

That has been such a good analogy for me to remember in the midst of this. Obviously, what Matt was doing is not what God has created him for right now. He has stopped us and is redirecting us. We are committing our family to Him, and are confident that His plans and purpose for our lives is perfect.

I look forward to sharing how Christ is moving in our lives and growing us through this latest transition. Thanks for your prayers!

February - What a Month

2009-03-13T18:11:00.001-07:00

February was a very eventful month for the Wyatts as we got settled into the new house.

Some highlights:

*Alden was wandering around in the office room, which was our staging area for boxes, and comes running out one day saying, "Mommy, Mommy! I found a whole box of horsies!" She had discovered my old Breyer horses, and really enjoys playing with them. She has one for Mommy, Daddy, Hudson and Alden, and the others are pretty much all named "Alex" if you ask her.

*Around Valentine's Day, Hudson was doing a lot of plank kind of positions where he would push up on his toes while supporting himself on his hands. On the 15th, he made his first couple crawl steps. On the 17th, we had been out running errands all day, and when I let him out at my mom's house, he was full-out crawling. By the 19th, he was pulling up on things, and we had to lower his crib mattress. Now nothing is safe.*Alden has some interesting leanings. Her favorite color to paint with is black. Her favorite animals on the Jungle Book (which we watched about 1000 times before we got our TV hooked up at the end of the month) are the vultures. Hmmm.*The 21st Hudson and I went to Charlotte for the day for my friend Katie's baby shower. It was SO good to see my old friends, and to visit with Nana, Ashley and the Peters.*We have been letting Hudson try some water out of the sippy cup, and by the end of the month, he is very good at drinking by himself...and very good at playing drop-the-cup-from-the-highchair.

* On the 26th, Hudson let go of the couch and stood for a couple seconds by himself. He moves himself along the furniture and fireplace pretty well.

* We rented "Mamma Mia" one night, and the next day were watching some of the scenes while Alden was up. She LOVED it and was very sad that we had just "borrowed" the movie and had to take it back. She wants to listen to the Abba CD a lot, which isn't bad at all!

* We have gotten to spend a lot of time at the park right down the street. Alden calls it the "octopus park" because a couple times there has been this plastic octopus there that she put on the swings and down the slide. *Hudson got to swing for the first time. Overall, he liked it, although he was a little skeptical at first. Mostly, he likes watching Alden.*We had a playdate with Karen and Miles while they were in town, and dinner with the whole Hancock family before they flew back to Florida.

*The circus was in town, and although we didn't go to see the show, we went to see the animals walk from the train to the RBC center. It wasn't as big a deal as we thought...only 6 elephants and 10 or 12 horses, but hey, when do you get to see elephants?
*Alden had a UTI, which meant a couple trips to the doctor and a couple catheters. The second time we went, they gave her a chance to pee in a little bag, but a hour later, she couldn't do it. Of course, right when the nurse went to insert the catheter, Alden peed all over the place. I think the nurse was able to collect a mL of urine in her little vial-thingy. One of the positives is that Alden was now willing to try to pee on the potty.

*Hudson has enjoyed rocking on the horse, and "riding"the scooter.*He has tried all of the Gerber baby foods and likes them all. It is such a difference from Alden who wouldn't and still doesn't eat much.
*Hudson found the tube to my pump one day and was chewing on it. We thought it looked like he was smoking a hookah.

End of January

2009-03-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our moving weekend. Ashley, Andrew and Nana came up to help entertain the kids, which was priceless!

Hudson in the Jumperoo. He loves it.Hudson and Nana getting some QT in the rocking chair.

Alden's entourage. She carried them around for a week or so.

The mermaid bathing suit was a fave for a while. She wore it over her clothes and stuck all her animals in it.Our house on closing day. Our first meal in the new house. Fajitas.Hudson in the saucer. Unfortunately, the saucer has lost most of its charm.Alden found a box of my old horses. She still carries them around all over the house and gives them baths.Grandma and Grandpa came down for a brief visit our second weekend in the house.We did a lot of raking. There is still about 2/3 of the backyard to do. Hudson ended up "helping" one day when he refused to take a nap.Here is Alden and one of her favorite past-times. Giving things baths.