Hanging with Hudson

Today, after a sleepless night with a sick girl, I got everyone to sleep and thought I would read my book about parenting preschoolers then catch a cat nap. Then I heard little footsteps and Hudson climbed up on my bed next to me and in the sunlight without any background noise like babies or tv we talked:) He told me about a girl that took his seat next to Harrison at school and she was older. She asked him his name and he said ,"I just watched tv and didn't answer her, I was being shy." We talked about routine and how he liked doing things the same everyday. It was such a special sweet moment I got with my baby boy. He played with my hair and told me it was long and he snuggled an said, "I wuv you berry momma" and I know exactly what he means :)

Some buns and apples

I'm blogging from my iPhone and I'm not sure what order the pictures go in but let me explain....

We FINALLY got our farm table from Mr.McCoy and although it was not exactly what we ordered (due to my lack of detail) we are happy with it, just have to find the divine chairs to go with!

One night while staying at my parents, Harrison had told Nanny a secret! He said that he got up in the middle of the night and got a piece of blueberry bread and went to his bathroom and sat under the vanity to eat and then went back to bed...ha! So I asked him and he said, "well i was hungry ... And I ate an apple too and it is still under there." and yep he was right it sure was still under there!! Thank goodness he didn't choke or go back to sleep under there! Funny kid!

Hudson has a hard time sharing camera attention with Susie Q so I've learned to just get a picture of both and then he will let her have the stage ;)

Last, Joel was trying the old Pinterest "cinnamon rolls in the waffle iron" and he had a helper that had some buns of his own, I sat down at the bar to drink my coffee and this was my view :o by the way the buns (cinnamon ones that is) were awesome in the waffle maker and is now my favorite breakfast!

Lunch Count

Harrison and Hudson got to take the lunch count all the way to the office today at extended care. The teacher sent sweet Annie with them which was very smart on her part! Harrison's sweet teacher, Mrs.Mary Ann saw them and made them stop for a pic. This is a big kid job so it was a big deal!

Fearless Four check-ups

The boys went for their 4 year old check-ups this week and you would have thought they were going to a theme-park. They counted down the days and were so excited, I even told them there might be shots involved! They were incredibly brave and didn't shed a tear. Everyone checked out just fine. Harrison's asthma is still an issue but hopefully it is seasonal and he will grow out of it soon. They both got a flu shot and had to give blood, we put off the other 3 shots till after Saylor is done with all her vaccinations. Here are the stats:

Harrison is 40 inches tall, 39 lbs. he wears a size 11 shoe and 4T clothes. Some favorites are Phineas and Ferb (ferv he says), Power Rangers, yogurt, pickles, chocolate mini-wheats, and all time favorite is Gum (spicy gum). He still has a blankie that is barely surviving he sleeps with, and loves to dress up all the time (ninja, transformer, spider man, football player).

Hudson is 40.5 inches tall, 39 lbs. he wears a size 12 shoe and 4T clothes also. Some of his favorites are Americas Funniest Home Videos, Turtle Man (any show on Animal Planet about reptiles or sharks), cheese, cookies, and salads. He loves hunting, rifles, and sports.

They can write their names, know colors of the rainbow (also in Spanish, German, and Chinese) and they are starting to try to spell by sounding out words.

This is much later than their birthday (October 2) but just wanted to document after the doctors visit.

T-shirt memories

I have been trying to tackle a job of cleaning out everyday this week, yesterday my sweet momma came up and it took us ALL day to clean out Saylor's closet, drawers, and shelves. Today I tackled my dresser drawers and I was shocked at the amount of clothes and what-nots I was able to hoard in that thing! I haven't used it in a couple of years because I moved all of my everyday clothes to my closet so it's been dormant. The volume of t-shirts I went through was ridiculous. However, it was so nostaligic. Every shirt has a special person, place or memory associated with it so I guess that's why I've been holding onto them. I have decided to purge myself of all the "fat" this year so I'm not saving them or making a quilt with them or even taking a picture...none of those preserve the memories it just makes more "things" to keep up with. The hardest to put in the bag were my first soccer jersey in HYSA, my first USM shirt, my first fraternity bid day shirt, the ARMY shirt Mr.Rusty Cullinane gave us girls our sophomore year of HS, my old Orange Beach Marina shirts, Phi Mu party shirts, Furniture Liquidation shirts .... Etc, etc! It feels good to have visited those memories again, but even better that I have four empty drawers now and moving forward in life to find more really cool t-shirts to wear out! Three things I put into my keep bag... My sequined American flag string bikini I rocked in Cancun our senior trip (to have that body again...), my wedding garter, the party t-shirt from the night Joel and I met.... and a card with a poem my hard serious Joel wrote me when he was heavily courting me, it's amazing and sweet and made me blush and tear-up... What a softie he was!

A dress

My "aunt" Anne made this smocked dress for Saylor and it is so special to me for many reasons... First, Anne and her family were our neighbors (next door) in Mobile when I was born. So I saw them everyday, swam in their pool, let myself in to get cookies as needed.... They were as close to me In eyes as my immediate family! She made me one when I was a little bit bigger than Saylor that is very similar. It is a dying art and we will always treasure it (and mine that I still have hanging in her closet!). The hands that made it are warm and familiar and made more of an impression on my life than she will ever know!

8 months!

Saylor is 8 months old today! It is freezing outside and the boys started back to school today. She has two shiny teeth on the bottom and talks and squeals all the time. She is on all fours bouncing and will go in reverse so I have a feeling these are our last few days/weeks of immobility 😁

2011....it was a good one!

2011, for us was a great year! We had some big milestones this year. Here are some in photos and some in words.

We started the year expecting a little girl, Joel continued working for South Central and Laurel High School, I taught 8th grade and the boys went to the Children's Academy.

We had a fun Spring and Easter and I finished my Masters in Education.

The boys were boys and I didn't know how I was going to manage 3... :)

Then our sweet girl arrived... May 3, 2011. We never skipped a beat and the boys were smitten!

We had a special Christening for Saylor and our friends and family came!

I had a lot of help!

We had a great day on the creek, the boys still talk about it, we needed a day of fun with them and we all had a blast!

They took swim lessons and learned a lot, they still ask (even when its 30 degrees) if they can go to swim lessons.

This precious gift has brought so much joy to her whole family, we all just watch her every move, we are so thankful and so blessed!

Our big boys started pre-school at St.John's and love going to school, they amaze us with the things they are learning.

We took a trip to the beach for the last time at the beach house and Saylor's first vacation! Great memories ;'(

Joel and I went to a best friends wedding in Memphis and had one of the best weekends of our lives, great food, friends and tons of fun.

We rediscovered a lot of old things and made them new again, a new hobby maybe.

Our Hudson turned 4! So hard to believe, we are so proud of this smart and loving boy!

Our "firstborn" turned four also! This funny and smart boy makes us laugh everyday!

We made a lot of new friends... as well as welcomed a lot of new friends into the world!

We cheered all of our teams on including Daddy's team he works on, the Laurel Tornadoes, who went all the way to State! All of our teams had winning seasons!

This lovely lady, my Granny, turned 90!!

I turned 30.... sigh

Our baby had her First Christmas!

It has been the busiest year of our lives but it also brought the most joy. We are loving life and trying to do the best we can as parents. It's hilarious, exhausting, scary, fun, exciting, sentimental but most of all rewarding ..... however, it is going by WAY too fast! Happy New Year and cheers to 2012!