Play Dates and Bottles

I'm backtracking a little to catch up on some things we have been up to.We had a play date on Friday with some of our favorite people and made a new friend too!

Hudson 17 months, Ayden 19 months, Peyton 3 months, Carter 6 months.

Candace did such a good job putting on a play day with yummy snacks, and snack cups and sippy cups for the kiddos. Unfortunately this is the only picture I took, I was too busy holding a sweet baby girl! It's funny to see the boys in their own territory. When we go to Ayden's he is protective of his toys, and the same happens when they come to us. Usually after an hour or two they decide that it's really not so bad sharing their toys, but they sure can be defensive until then. I guess that is the good part of playing with others-they are learning to share and socialize!

We had a really lazy morning because it got dark and looked like we would have a big storm. We layed around and H drank milk from a cup (see below) and watched Mickey Mouse. It didn't rain a drop and finally got sunny outside so we decided to get out for a play date together. 

Of course the best play date spot is CFA! Hudson has only ever been in the play area once before today and he couldn't walk then so it was short lived. It was nice because there were only two other kids in there and H could walk around and explore a bit. He mostly followed an older boy around who was talking his ear off! ha! I think he had fun!

In other's news, we are 4 days without a bottle! I will say that I was SO nervous about doing it, but my goal was to be completely done with the bottle before I went back to work. Some kids have a paci or blanket or something they hold onto and for H it was his bottle. Most people advised to wean him slowly and we started that way. For a few days, we would do our normal bedtime routines then he would sit in the living room with us and drink his bottle and go to bed without one. That was working pretty well, but I knew the daytime would be even harder so we kind of went cold turkey. He was not happy the first nap time when his milk was in a cup and he threw a fit. But when the fit was over and he realized that what he was drinking in his cup was milk, he was much happier. He is still trying to understand that he can still have milk he just can't have it in a bottle. He still asks for a bottle, but he is learning how to ask for milk. It's been his habit to say "baba" for so long that it's a process.

Little Gym

Hudson and I are taking a mommy and me class at the Little Gym this summer. We got a Living Social deal so we decided to try something new. It's a great way for the two of us to spend some time together outside of our normal routines. And H seems to like it and hopefully he is learning a lot!

Our class is for kids 10-19 months and I think Hudson is the oldest at 17 months.

We work on a lot of large motor skills like running and walking. 

We play with parachutes and bounce on the air track. We even throw fits because we don't like the air track. 

We are learning to do a somersault and H is getting really good at it!

We walk on the balance beam,

and Ms. Tammy is teaching them to swing on the bars. Hudson did so great she even let him flip over! 

We bounce the ball and shoot baskets too!

By the way, my kid is the one who stands right in front of the basket and won't move because he loves it so much. Sorry kids! We are still working on that part. 

We pop bubbles and H stands like this the whole time. So hilarious! 

We even sing songs and someone is starting to shake the bells! He was nervous about them at first and now he is at least holding them and will shake them when he thinks no one is watching ;)

Tough Day

Hudson here! I've been 24 hours without a bottle...It's real tough. I don't really love my milk in a cup, it's just not the same. But I guess I'll get used to it because mommy is making me. I love her anyway though. And daddy too. I'll tell mommy to update you real soon. Bye bye!

Our New House-Before

We found the perfect little house for our family of three. We got moved in last week and are in the process of organizing and getting settled. Until then I will leave you with a few pictures of our home before we moved in!

Living room

Kitchen 

Dining 

Master 

Master Bathroom 

Hall bath 

Hudson's room 

Our huge backyard.

We feel so blessed!

Happy Father's Day

I am so thankful for all of the great men in my life-my husband, my dad, my grandpa, and my father-in-law. We have had a great day celebrating them!

We didn't do anything fancy but share lunch with Ryan's family and dinner with mine. I love holidays like these because we get to celebrate the incredible people in our lives and have extra family time.

I found these cute cupcake toppers and the banner on a blog so I thought I would do something fun with them! I love decorating for special occasions so it was fun to put the banner together and these cupcakes just to show Hudson's daddy how much he is appreciated. Hudson and I love him so much and are thankful for all of the ways he shows love to us. I am blessed to have a lot of great men who are influential in my life like my daddy. He is incredible and one of the reasons I am they way that I am. I love all of them very much and am so thankful for Godly men who Hudson can look up to. I hope you have great men in your family to celebrate. Happy Father's Day, dads!



17 Months

Hudson, you are 17 months old!

You are a growing boy! You wear 18 month shirts (so they fit your big belly), 12 month pants, and 18 month jammies.

You wear size 4 in diapers and shoes. We are about ready to move to a size 5 in shoes-you have little feet.

You are still so active. You are walking all over the place! You picked it up so quickly once you were confident and haven't stopped since. You love to walk by yourself now, especially in the grass.

You're favorite thing on TV is Mickey Mouse.

You love to sing-especially in the car. You also love to clap, especially to "If You're Happy and You Know It." 

You are a talking machine. I don't know any other kids your age who talk all day long like you do. I'm not complaining I love listening to your little voice and all that you have to say. I couldn't possibly list all of the things you say but here are a few of your new words: Erin, yay, pillow, blanket, outside, pool, bath. You are starting to learn a few phrases like, "Here ya go" and "I did it". I don't know how many words you know and I'm sure I'm forgetting some. You talk and talk and talk.

You are still a good eater. You love to snack. You love to eat in general. You still really love milk and drink TONS of it each day! You also drink water and a little bit of juice.

You have been teething again and I'm not sure how many teeth you got this time, but I  can't imagine that there are very many more that you need. It was a terrible experience for you, worse than it's ever been, so hopefully we are almost through!

We went to your first gym class this week and we are learning a lot-sharing, playing ball, somersaults, and lot of other fun things. I think it's so good for us to do something with other kids and work on great skills that help you grow!

You moved into your new house last week and have had fun there. I think you are still taking it all in, but you have done so good adjusting to your life being different.

You also started sleeping in a big boy bed! We converted your crib to the next setting and you have a railing instead of a full crib. You have done better than I imagined and I am so proud of you! You are taking all of these changes in your life like a champ!

We love you so very much baby boy! You are growing up so fast, but we love watching you! You are such a joy!

LifeStock '11

We moved last week and don't get Internet for a few more days! So if my posts are scattered and random you'll know why. Anyway, Sunday was LifeChurch's annual LifeStock at Big Splash. They rent out the park so that the three Tulsa area campuses could gather for fellowship and fun!

This was Hudson's first trip to a water park and I think he was mesmerized by all of the people and activity. We mostly hung out in the kiddie area with H. It took him a while warm up to the idea, but Nick took him on the slides and he started acting more interested. He kicked around and splashed with his hands most of the time.

Ryan and I snuck off and went down the big slides (not the biggest because I'm a wimp) and that was fun too. It made me miss our summers at White Water as a kid.

The coolest part was that the campus bands played and they used the wave pool to baptize 150 people! Praise the Lord for changed lives! Whoever finds God, finds life!

Haircuts and Summer Days

Hudson was way past due for another haircut and a local salon was having a fundraiser for Joplin. So we thought we would support their efforts and get our hairs cut!

I was worried because last time was quite the horrific experience. But this time we decided to not wear the cape and apparently that did the trick. He sat still the whole time and let her cut his hair. He got a little scared when the trimmers came out but otherwise he just ate his sucker and didn't complain. 

Doesn't he look like such a big boy with his cut? He went to my classroom to finish some things up for the summer and get some things ready for August. I love being home with him, but I do miss my teacher friends. They are incredible women and so encouraging and I am continuing to thank God that he provides me with the best job. He is in control! 

Since I am finished in my classroom we got to have our first pool day! The water is still a little bit cool, but we had fun anyway. 

Hudson hung out with Nick a lot of the time. We have to invest in some new floaties so he can be a little bit more independent.  

Hudson surprises me everyday with things that he knows that I have not yet realized. Yesterday it was bubbles. He picked up the container and said "bubbles" and I didn't even realize he knew what that container had inside. So we poured the bubbles out and he would try to blow on them. His wind isn't quite strong enough yet to actually make the bubbles, but he sure did try. 

I am always amazed about the new things he is learning. I think he is smart, but I am his momma so I'm allowed to think that ;)

I hope your summer days are filled with fun and sweet smiles like mine!

3 Years

This cute guy and I are celebrating three great years of marriage!

He took me on an anniversary date to Osaka!

I'm so thankful for him and an evening to spend some quality time together. He brought me red roses this morning and then took me to eat one of my favorites tonight, Japanese! It was so delish and we were stuffed. He is so good to me!

Dear husband,

I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that you are incredible. We have had a lot of changes in this past year of marriage (a one year old, new jobs, selling/buying a house, living with family) and I am so thankful to have you by my side through it all. Thank you for being there and being my encouragement. I'm so thankful for all of your hard work and dedication to our family. I could go on and on, but the most important thing is that I LOVE YOU! I can't wait for more celebrations in our marriage and continuing to grow, challenge and strengthen each other. Thank you for loving me the way you do!

Love,

Your grateful wife

Outside

Hudson has recently discovered the great outdoors. I guess it's more fun when you can walk?! And it's 90+ degrees outside...

Anyway, it's quite the adventure with him outside. He loves to walk in the grass or around the pool (scary!).

He does NOT want anyone to hold his hand. Mr. INDEPENDENT!

And what happens when he doesn't get to go outside? He just bangs his head on the door. OUCH! We are still working on using our words when we want/need something. That's kind of a hard concept to get through to a one year old though....

Walking

A certain 16 month old boy I know decided to be a walker this week! And by saying that I mean he decided he was brave enough to let go and take off. He has been taking steps between people (Nick and Abby mostly) for a while now, but has never been secure enough in himself to do it all on his own. He now is doing a great job balancing his big belly and tiny bottom throughout the house.

This video isn't super exciting, but for my own sake I wanted to post a video to remember what it was like when he first started walking. Yes, he is considered a "late walker" and that's ok. What is most important is that he is learning and growing each day. I think he looks like such a big boy when he walks! So proud of this sweet boy and how much he is changing; he is so fun to watch. Can you tell I'm excited it's summer and I get to spend it with my sweet boy and his daddy?!