Purple Bear Picnic

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.

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!

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

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

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?

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

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 storesFriday, 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.