Weekend Recap

Our weekend was filled with lots of fun activities!  We enjoyed getting out in the mid-70s sunshine.  Although the warmer weather was nice for a couple days, I prefer the chilly, snowy weather during wintertime.  I often think it would be fun to live up north where you get a "true" winter each year!

On Saturday night, Larry and Vicki took us to dinner at Tierra Verde Golf Course.  We enjoyed eating dinner while watching Hudson run around. This was a perfect place to take a two year old boy for dinner... not very crowded with lots of room to run and play!

Hudson enjoyed playing on the nearby rock.

What a pair!

Having fun with Mimi and Papa!

Luke loves his Mimi!

After church on Sunday, my parents took us to Babe's Chicken, which is always fantastic! We arrived a couple minutes before it opened, and the boys enjoyed "driving" while we waited.

Hudson enjoyed driving Opa's truck!

Luke enjoyed driving Mommy's car!

On Sunday afternoon, we visited the brand new Kroger Marketplace that just opened right across the street!  We love our new Kroger!  This is a new Kroger concept that even sells furniture and home decor.  The boys had a blast riding in the car attached to the front of the grocery cart.  I've seen these at many grocery stores before, but they haven't been as nice as these!  They even have Mickey ones with lights.  The store also offers tiny shopping carts for the kids to push around with Mommy, but we chose the car this time.  And the boys LOVED it!  They looked adorable in there together, and each of them had their own steering wheel.  They were squealing and having a great time!  Wow, we know we've turned into stereotypical parents when suped up grocery carts and live music at the local supermarket is exciting!

Brothers: 9 Months Old

Hudson

 Luke



Happy 9 Months!

Here's what Luke is up to at 9 months old:

• He is starting to transition to one nap a day now...Yay!  He and Hudson both go down after lunch between 12-1, and Luke will usually sleep for about 3-4 hours. I am happy about this because it gives us more flexibility in the mornings with him not needing his nap.

• He still wears 6-12 month clothing.

• Luke is now completely on table foods.  He will pretty much eat whatever we are eating (with a few exceptions, of course).

• He is now drinking his milk from a sippy cup. No more bottles.  He can also drink from the sippy cup on his own by tipping it back himself.

• He will do the worm crawl some but mostly prefers to roll around everywhere.  He has not started crawling up on all fours yet.  He could do it if he wanted to, but whenever I try to teach him, he is not patient enough and immediatly lunges forward, falling onto his tummy.  He gets frustrated, wanting to go somewhere, and doesn't take the time to figure it out.  Honestly, I am not pushing crawling much this time around, as I know how much busier he will get. I figure that he'll do it on his own time.

• He can go from laying down to sitting up on his own.

• He can pull up to standing, so his crib is now at the lowest level.

• When asked, he can blow kisses, give hugs and throw a ball.

• Luke can say 'dada' and 'baba', and he will try to say 'car'.

• He still just has the two bottom teeth.

• No more infant carrier. Luke is now in the convertible car seat but facing backwards still.

• Hudson now calls him Lukey... Nobody has ever called him that; It's just a nickname Hudson made up for him.

• He still has separation anxiety when he sees Mommy; he's definitely a  Mommy's boy right now.

We were out and about all day, coming home way past Luke's bedtime, so we are in our jammies for these pics.

Poor guy looks dazed and tired in this one... I can't blame him at 10:00 at night!

 All of a sudden, while I was snapping pictures, Luke planted his feet on the ground and stood up!

 Here comes brother!

The Best is Yet to Come

As many of you know, I am turning 30 next week.  This has never really bothered me too much until just recently... It finally hit me that I'm entering another decade.  Well, one of my friends (who's a few years older than me) explained to me that the thirties are the best years of your life.  She said that in your twenties you are still trying to figure out who you are and your body goes through so many changes with having kids.  In your thirties, you already know who you are, and you can have fun just being YOU!  I started thinking about this, and it's so true!  It's amazing how much I've changed from when I was 20 years old.  This also got me thinking about the first 30 years.  In those years, I cultivated so many relationships and, as cliche as it sounds, those relationships and experiences molded me into who I am today.  It's amazing to think about each and every relationship over the past 30 years.  In this order, I've become:

I first was a child of God.
Then at birth, I became a daughter, granddaughter, niece and cousin.
A few years later I became a sister.
Somewhere in there I also became a friend. Then a best friend.
Many years went by before I became a girlfriend. Then fiance.
All in one night, I became a wife, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law and aunt.
And most recently, I became a mother.

I treasure each and every one of these relationships, and it's amazing to me that, at 30 years old, I only have two more relationships to look forward to - becoming a Mother-in-law and a Grandmother.  Although, I've enjoyed the first thirty... just as Tim McGraw sings, "My next thirty years will be the best years of my life!"  I will get to build on the foundation I have with Matthew, watch my boys grow to be men with families of their own, and continue to deepen my relationships with my close friends and family.  Bring on the THIRTIES!

Babysitter

Matthew and I are very excited to have found a fabulous babysitter for the boys!  We have been (and will continue to be over the next couple months) very busy, so it's nice to have someone who can watch the boys rather than having to ask our parents all the time.  Lauren, who was highly recommended by a friend of mine, is such a sweetheart, and Hudson LOVES her!  She babysat for us on both Friday and Saturday this weekend, and both times it went great!  In fact, Hudson was excited Saturday afternoon that she was coming back over to play.  On Friday night, Matthew and I went to the rodeo with some friends, and we had our monthly supper club on Saturday night.  I also have a new friend at work who just graduated college, and she just told me that she loves to babysit too!  So, I'm very excited that we have two fantastic sitters for the boys!  I can foresee many more date nights in our future!

First Snow

Today was our first snow of 2011 and the first snow Luke has ever seen!  He got very excited watching it through the window!  I was surprised how much he liked it.  Of course, at the first sight of big white flakes falling from the sky, Hudson wanted to play in it!  He and Daddy played for a while, and I brought Luke out there for just a couple minutes... The two of us stayed inside most of the time where it was warm and cozy!  I always love the snow, and today it was coming down pretty good for a while, which was pretty to watch.  I'm hoping this won't be our only snow this year!

Daddy & Hudson being goofy!

Luke's first time out in the snow!

Hudson was having a blast, but as always, he gets completely shy when the camera comes out!

Hand in Hand

My friend, Stephanie, sent me a few more pics from last week.  I thought these were so cute!

Mommy loves these two!

Wordless Wednesday

Bubble Time!

The boys having fun during their bubble bath tonight

Peek-a-Boo... I See You!

Hudson was having lots of fun playing in his tent today.

 Ok, Mommy... Enough pictures; let's play!

Also, here's Luke walking his shopping cart today.