3 months

London is 3 months old now, and for the last 2 nights, she has been sleeping through the night! Woohoo! She is really smiling a lot now and starting to laugh and coo. And have I mentioned how in LOVE her daddy is with her? Obviously we both are, but she definitely has a special place in her daddy's heart... he's so smitten with her. It's adorable.

Back to Reality...

This week my maternity leave ended and I returned to work. I had mixed emotions about it. On one hand, it was so nice being home with my little ones for 3 months, and I knew was going to be weird not being with London 24-hours a day. On the other hand, being home with 2 kids is hard work!! London is pretty easy, but having a 3-year-old who wants to GO-GO-GO made it challenging at times. During the last couple weeks I was home, I was feeling so exhausted by the end of the day and my patience was wearing thin. I feel like going to work is somewhat of a break (since I can sit at my desk the majority of the day). And I feel like getting away from the kids for a little while makes me a better parent, as it restores my patience and allows me to feel that excitement about seeing them again.

So I started back on Monday, bright and early. Luckily, London got to stay home with her daddy that day so that calmed my nerves about leaving her. They did really well together and since Hudson was at school, Brandon said he had a pretty relaxing day with his little girl. I am fortunate that London can be at home with family 5 days a week, and only go to daycare 2 days a week. We found a wonderful woman to watch her, and she lives very close to Hudson's school, which makes it convenient. So far so good... it's a little hectic in the mornings for Brandon when he has to drop off both kids, and for me when I have to pick them up, but we'll adjust. And Gramma Joan came by over the weekend and stocked us up with meals, so that is definitely helping too. :)

Our Wooden Anniversary

Today Brandon & I are celebrating 5 years of marriage! We had a very eventful wedding day: 111° in Temecula, thunderstorms, broken air-conditioner, con-artist photographers (one left prior to the ceremony due to "health problems")... but we still had a wonderful, fun (and HOT) wedding day. On that day, I didn't realize what a fantastic husband and father Brandon would be. I really lucked out, and I am so grateful for that night in July 2004, at Belmont Brewing Company, when our lives together began.

Celebrating Hudson... Southern-Style

Yesterday we had Hudson's 3rd birthday party! We did a Southern Backyard BBQ. We set up 3 kiddie pools and a slip-n-slide, as well as cornhole and ladderball. Since Brandon and I are all about the food, we had fun with the menu:

Deviled Eggs

Mississippi Caviar

Watermelon

Fried Chicken

Louisiana Hot Links

Mac & Cheese

Potato Salad

Baked Beans

Corn on the Cob

Southern Banana Pudding

Strawberry Shortcake

For drinks, we offered:

RC Cola

Orange Soda

Sweet Tea

Strawberry Lemonade

Spiked Strawberry Lemonade

Pabst Blue Ribbon

Instead of party favor bags, we handed out a bottle of hot sauce to each guest. We had a great turnout and had a blast celebrating with family and friends.

Hudson is 3!

I can't believe my little boy is 3 years old already! It's amazing to see how much he's grown up in one year. Last year he was just starting to talk, and now he has a full vocabulary! His latest thing is the art of negotiation when it comes to nap and bedtime- "just 4 more books..." or suddenly he has to go potty 10 times. The process has been taking about an hour lately. Good thing we start it at 7:30!

Today Brandon had to work, so since I am home alone with both kids and my options are limited in terms of venturing out, we drove through McDonald's to get him a happy meal and a McFlurry. Then we came home and had our "picnic lunch" in the living room and went outside to play on his slip-n-slide during London's nap. Tomorrow we'll have Hudson's party to celebrate "Southern-style" with family and friends.

Summertime Fun

Since it's been so hot, Hudson and I have been playing outside in the kiddie pool during London's naps. Hudson LOVES playing in the water but will NOT go in a regular pool. Great for us, since we don't have a pool... and of course, he prefers to swim in the nude.

Happy 4th -- Happy Sleep!

happy girl (and happy mom) after sleeping through the night

Yesterday we went to my sister's to celebrate the 4th. We had fun spending the day with family. After that we stopped by our friends Doug & Monica's house for another party. Hudson was thrilled that he got to see his 2 best friends (Brody & Tyson) in one day! London was a little trooper and was well-behaved all day. I think she enjoyed being held all day by the grandmas and aunties!

We got home around 7:30 and got the kids into bed by 8:00. I gave London her dream feed at 10:00 and the girl slept until 6:45 this morning! I couldn't believe it. Almost 9 hours! The longest stretch she has gone so far is 7 hours, so she must have been tuckered out after a long day! Of course, I was up around 5:15, thinking "Is she really still sleeping?!?" and decided just to start my day and enjoy my cup of coffee in peace. I hope she keeps this up!