Thankful on Paper : week four

This week I wrote to the people I spent Thanksgiving with: my mother-in-law, my husband and my son. (Sorry London, you are a little young so I skipped you.) This year we spent Thanksgiving at our house with just our family and my mother-in-law, Joan. It was a nice, relaxing day. After dinner I gave everyone their cards, just listing a few things that I was thankful for:

Brandon- Always looking for ways to lighten my load- cooking dinner, giving the kids baths, reading stories; Always being my #1 fan and encouraging me to dream big and go out of my comfort zone; Being a wonderful dad and partner in life.

Joan- Being so generous with her time and resources; Being supportive of us no matter what we are doing; Loving our kids so much.

Hudson- Always having so much energy and enthusiasm; Being sweet and loving to everyone around him.

Obviously it is good to let others know that you are thankful for them and why, but I also found that it was good for me to stop and think about all the qualities I appreciate in the people I send cards to this year. It's so easy to get busy and take for granted all the people in your life. Taking the time to write cards reminded me just how lucky I am to have these people.

Thankful on Paper : week three

I met Monica about two years ago at Kiddie Gym at Saddleback Church. Actually, I met her son (Tyson) and her mom first... Monica was pregnant with triplets at the time and on bedrest. Hudson and Tyson became buddies, and I always enjoyed chatting with her mom. One day, after the babies were born, Monica came to Kiddie Gym and we instantly hit it off. We started meeting at the park with the kids, and then Monica invited us to her birthday party. Brandon and I decided to go, even though we didn't know anyone... but Brandon instantly hit it off with Monica and her husband too. Since then, we have had lots of family days together and a couple double dates without the kids (not an easy feat with 6 kids, collectively!) Monica is an amazing woman. She is so thoughtful and always has a great attitude. She has 4 young kids and works full-time, yet never seems frazzled or stressed out. (If she is, she certainly hides it well!) I really admire her, and even though we've only been friends for 2 years, I consider her one of my very best friends and couldn't imagine her not in my life.

Thankful on Paper : week two

This week I wrote to my Aunt Thelma, who is my dad's sister.  Growing up, it used to be such a treat to spend the night at her house. My cousin, Amber, and I would go together and we'd have girl time and play at the park, swim in the neighborhood pool, etc. Over the last few years, I have become close to my aunt, and she's always been there to lend an ear or offer advice and wisdom. She is extremely thoughtful and sweet. During each of my pregnancies, she threw me a wonderful baby shower and went all out to make it special for me. She is also a godly woman, and will be going on her first ever mission trip to Honduras in a few months! I have so much love and respect for my Aunt Thelma and wanted to write her a note this week to let her know!

Thankful on Paper : week one

Taken last year at the Pumpkin Patch

I decided to start by writing to my older sister, Danielle.  Danielle is the type of person who will bring you dinner after you've had a baby, then do the dishes and clean up your kid's toys. Oh, and bring you dessert to go with that dinner! She is one of the most thoughtful and generous people I know, especially with her time, which she doesn't have much of to begin with (with 3 kids in school and sports, working part-time and starting up her new cookie business!) She truly is a super-mom... she makes me tired just thinking about all she does! We've had our ups and downs- as I'm sure most sisters have- but I am so grateful for the relationship we have today. I love you, Danielle! :)

Sweet Boy

To say the threes have been a challenge with Hudson would be an understatement. It's funny how people refer to the twos as terrible... the threes have been much worse! He likes to challenge authority, negotiate everything, and it seems that "no" is his automatic response to anything we ask. Lately he has had a couple biting incidents at school, which has us puzzled since we've never seen him do that before.

However, in the midst of that, there are moments when Hudson is the most sweet and loving boy. He is so gentle with London, always excited to see her, and talks to her in a high-pitched voice (that I'm afraid he learned from me). Recently Hudson's teacher shared a story with me. Last week during the Harvest Festival, all the kids were sitting outside on the benches, waiting to take a photo on the hay bales. One of the kids was complaining that there was nowhere for him to sit, and no one was moving for him. Hudson got up and said "Here, you can have my seat!" and moved somewhere else so that friend could have a seat. All on his own.

It's stories like this that warm my heart and remind me that underneath the meltdowns, tantrums and defiance, there is a really sweet and caring boy. We may not do everything right as parents, but at least we're doing something right.

Hudson loves to cuddle with London in the morning.

Happy Halloween

This year I decided to make the kids' costumes. Yes, me- the mom who works 40 hours a week and can hardly keep up with the laundry, grocery shopping and cleaning at home. Hudson's favorite movie right now is Gnomeo & Juliet, and I have always been partial to garden gnome costumes, so it seemed like the perfect idea! I figured the costumes would be pretty simple to make. So I hit up the fabric store, dusted off my sewing machine, and started cutting and stitching shapes without a pattern, hoping for the best! All in all, I am happy with the way they came out, and Hudson loves his costume so it was a success. But it was a bit more work than I expected. Next year, remind me to buy costumes.

6 months

It's hard to believe London is already 6 months old... halfway to a year old!

Here's what she's up to these days:

-wearing 9-12 month clothes

-sleeping 12 straight hours most nights 

-eating solids twice a day (about 6 oz each feeding)

-rolls over both ways

-starting to scoot

-has her two bottom teeth

-her hair is starting to grow back (poor girl lost some of that hair she was born with!)

-LOVES her brother

And just as expected...

...tooth #2 made its debut today! London now has her two bottom teeth and is back to sleeping her usual 12-13 hours at night (since Monday, when her first one broke through). We should hopefully have about 3 months before the next teeth show up.

First Tooth

Ladies and gentlemen... we have our first tooth! 

Luckily with baby #2, you have a better idea of what to expect... so over the last 3 weeks, when London was waking up anywhere from 2-5 times a night, I knew it was probably because of a tooth. Hudson went through the same thing at this age, and once his teeth popped through (within 2 days of each other) he started sleeping through the night again. London's tooth poked through yesterday, and last night she resumed her normal 13 hour sleep schedule (yay!). I'm hoping she is back on track now, but I am expecting that second tooth to come through any day.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

This was Hudson's 3rd year going to the Pumpkin Patch, and London's 1st time! The first year, Hudson just wanted to run around and look at everything.  Last year, Hudson was hesitant to go on the rides, but loved the bouncy house. This year he immediately went to the HUGE inflatable slide. We were shocked, but went with it... and after one time down the slide, I think he realized how tall that thing was and he was done.  Then he moved on to the little John Deere tractor ride... and after halfway around the track, he was also done. But then we moved on to the smaller inflatable slides, and he was in heaven. And of course, he has asked every day to go back to the Pumpkin Patch.

London was nice and comfy in the Ergo and took a little nap while her brother was busy jumping and sliding.  (Last year, she was nice and comfy in my belly, as I was 2 months pregnant!)