First Day of Preschool

Hudson started preschool today, and boy was he excited! When he woke up this morning, Daddy fed him Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal mixed with raisins- one of his favorites (aside from pancakes or waffles). While he was eating breakfast, I was busy fixing his lunch. I have been finding all sorts of cute bento lunches to make him, so I tried this one first:

I've been printing off cute different lunch notes to send with him every day.  While searching for these online, I ran across the cute idea of taping a picture on his lunch for the first day since he can't read.  Too cute!  But I still put the written notes as well, figuring that the teacher would it to him.  For the next two lunches, I plan to send a picture of brother and a picture of Dad, along with a note from each of them too.  For today, I made some of his favorites: turkey and cheese pencil sandwich, mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries and raspberries), cheddar and parmesean Cheese-Its, and "Kisses from Mommy" for dessert.  He also had a Mickey apple juice.

After eating breakfast and getting dressed, we quickly took some pictures.  Hudson was not cooperating with taking pictures (as is normal for him), so I mentioned, "Don't you want to have nice preschool pictures like Leah's that we saw?".  That comment worked because he was unusually cooperative with pictures the rest of the morning. 

As we were driving up to the school, Hudson said, "Is Leah here yet, Mommy?".  Awww!  He thought Leah was going to be in school with him!  I explained to him that Leah has her own preschool in California, but he will make lots of good friends at his school.  So he was excited to meet him new friends!

 Look at my school!

 Hudson got the first choice of cubby at meet the teacher night last week, since we were the first ones there.  So he was excited to fill it with his new lunch box today!

 As soon as we got there, Hudson wanted to eat his lunch because I told him that I have a surprise for him in his lunchbox.  I explained that he'd have to wait until lunchtime.

 Miss Maureen is looking at Hudson's backpack, and she asked him what it said on the front.  His response was, "H-U-D-S-O-N".  She enjoyed hearing him spell his name!  Way to impress your teacher on the first day, Hudson!

 One of Hudson's teachers, Miss Maureen.  Hudson wanted Luke in the picture too.

Hudson gave me a big hug when we left before running off to play.  I was so proud of him on his first day of preschool!  I held it together when dropping Hudson off, but I have to say that I teared up when I got in the car.  My boy is growing up so fast!  Today, I volunteered for room mom (along with two other moms) and signed up to bring a snack in a couple weeks.

I was very excited to pick him up this afternoon!  I was the first mom in the room, and when I got there the kids were sitting in a circle on the rug.  Hudson ran over and gave me a ginormous hug when he saw me.  Miss Maureen said he did great today, but he asked for me a lot.  She said that she would tell him that when 2:00 came, I would come.  Awww!  I'm sure this will dwindle after a few more days.  Plus, he told me a few hours later that he wanted to go back to school again this week, so I know he had fun!  When I asked Hudson what he did today, he said that he played with blocks and learned how to stand in a line.  They also practiced how to trace on a line and with scissors.  For art today, they made a fruit cup whale.

After school, I carried on a tradition that my mom did for me and my brother- baked chocolate chip cookies!  Every year when we came home on the first day of school, we knew we'd have hot chocolate chip cookies waiting for us.  Even when we went to college, my mom carried this tradition on by sending an overnight package of baked chocolate chip cookies.  I vividly remember receiving this package in my dorm room on my first day my freshman year, and I have to say that was the coolest thing EVER!  So I plan to continue this tradition on with my kids.  Hudson loves cookies, so this surprise was well accepted!

His 1st "First Day of School Cookie"

 Making what he calls his "happy face"

 Of course, we shared the celebration with brother.

 Happy 1st Day of School!

Although I was going to miss Hudson tremendously today, I was excited about my quality time with Luke.  After today, I realized this is going to be so much fun to have him to myself while Hudson's in school.  After dropping Hudson off this morning, Luke and I went to Hobby Lobby to grab a couple things for Hudson's birthday.  Then we went home and played.  We lunch a little earlier than ususal so he could get a decent nap in before time to pick up brother.

Yay for a Mommy and Luke day!

Brothers: 16 Months

Hudson

 Luke



Happy 16 Months!

... Plus one day!  I completely forgot to take pictures of Luke yesterday until he was already asleep for the night.

This month Luke has been seeming so much older to me!  He's very interactive and talkative.  My little boy is growing up!

• Luke is still in size 12-18 months (along with some of his 6-12 month) clothing.  He is wearing size 3 diaper and size 5 shoes.

• New phrases: "all done", "night, night Dada", "right there", "read book", "here you go" and "backpack"

• He doesn't like chocolate milk just plain milk.

• He can use a fork or spoon to feed himself, but sometimes still prefers his hands.

• When he's in the mood, Luke will say cheese for the camera.

• Luke is starting to sing along with songs in the car.  He likes to sing "All through the town" in The Wheels of the Bus.

• Luke also likes to talk along with Mickey on TV, such as when Mickey says "Super Cheers".

• He likes to dance to The Wiggles.  This show has become much more popular in our house over the last month.

• He can run, walk backwards and turn around in circles.  He tries to jump, but his feet never make it off the ground.

• I figured this time would come one day... Luke is becoming a little picky.  He's not too bad, but he does turn his head during dinner if he isn't "hungry" or doesn't want what we are eating.

 Peek-a-Boo!

Quote of the Day

When we walked in the house this afternoon, Hudson was confused after seeing Daddy's car in the driveway:

Hudson:  "Where's Daddy?"
Mommy:  "He's on a vacation.  He's in San Diego."
Hudson:  "Diego!  He gets to see Diego?"
Mommy:  "No, Daddy isn't 'Seeing Deigo'.  He's in 'San Diego' playing golf with Papa."

Will's 1st Birthday

As promised, pics from Will's 1st birthday party:

See, I told you that I have the cutest nephew ever!

 Will loved his cake and cried when Kitty took it away!

 Proud Mommy & Daddy

 Memee with her birthday boy

 Proud cousins

 This picture wasn't very successful but good enough!

 Will is staring at his Auntie Kara as if saying, "What do you think you're doing?"



Meet the Teacher

Hudson met his preschool teachers today, Ms. Maureen and her assistant Ms. Shelley.  Hudson will be spending two days each week in his new classroom with 9 other students, who he already calls "his friends".  Because the way his birthday falls, Hudson is on the border of the 2s and 3s classrooms.  We chose to try the 3s at first becuase we think it will be a better fit for him, and after today I think it will be perfect!  They had to double check if he was potty trained because this is a qualification for the 3s, but I assured them that he's been completely trained since May.  Also, the 3s classroom has no naps, which will be perfectly fine since he doesn't take them often at home now either.

When we first walked in, Hudson wanted us to hold him because he was a little skeptical of the whole situation, but he warmed up after a few minutes. By the time we were ready to leave, he was running around playing and laughing. Ms. Maureen even got a big hug from Hudson when he said good-bye. I enjoyed seeing the adorable room where Hudson will be spending his time learning, socializing, playing and developing.  Throughout each day, his curriculum will consist of developing skills such as computers, music/creative movements, Spanish, handwriting, spelling, numbers, letters, shapes, crafts, sports, chapel as well as many social skills such as taking turns, sharing, working in groups and following step-by-step directions.  Besides the fact the school came highly recommended, we were particularly fond of the Biblical teaching that Hudson will also get.

Today, Hudson received his folder and picked out his cubby, which will house his backpack and lunch box for the rest of the year.  They had a sign up sheet for the moms to switch off providing snacks... how fun!  Each day you provide a snack, your child is line leader for the day.  I also plan to volunteer for room mom to help with holiday parties and such!  This is going to be a fun year!

The Arnold Weekly

Read the latest in entertainment, sports, relationships, education, travel, family, reviews and the occasional toddler meltdowns in

The Arnold Weekly

Issue Date 8/20/11

All in all, nothing much has changed in the Arnold household this week... As usual, we've been insanely busy but are having LOTS of fun!

BREAKING NEWS:  After suffering through 40 days of 100+ degree weather, this streak was broken on Sunday with a day in the 80s.  Although this comfortable weather was definitely welcomed, we missed the record number of most consecutive days over 100 degrees by 2 days.  Are you kidding me?  2 DAYS!  I'm not going to lose any sleep over this, but it would have been nice to at least make 1st place instead of the measly 2nd, especially after the miserable summer we've had.  However, now that the temps have rebounded back up into the 100s, we are still in the running for the most days in a year of 100 or more.  The record is 69 days, and as of today we are at 54.  At this point, I'm not wishing to beat this record.  Bring on the autumn weather!

This week in ENTERTAINMENT
Sunday, August 14th- We took advantage of the 80 degree weather and went to our new favorite park!  The boys had a blast playing on the playground.

Rolling his tractor down the slide

 Since this was a tall slide, Luke felt more comfortable going down on his tummy the first few times.

 Then he worked up the courage to go down like his big brother!

 Luke LOVES to swing!

 

 Hudson was just like this at Luke's age- It's much more fun to climb UP the slide!

Tuesday, August 16th- Our friends, the Carlsons, came over for a super fun playdate!  They stayed most of the day giving the boys lots of play time with Kelsey and Trevor while us Mommys chattered away.

Friday, August 19th- Emily and her mommy, Jennifer, invited us to a playdate yesterday at the new Sea Life aquarium in Grapevine.  We've never been to an aquarium, so this was a fun new experience for the boys.  My favorite part was the tunnel through the aquarium where the fish and sharks swam above and underneath us.  Hudson and Emily were a little tenative to walk out on the glass, so Jennifer went first to show them everything was ok.  Hudson's favorite part was the toddler area where he was able to touch the starfish and shrimp.  That was pretty neat!  There was one rule- You can touch anything you want but "No picking anything up".  Well, I turned my head for a second to pick Luke up, so he could look inside, and when I turned back around Hudson was holding the starfish!  "Look at this Mommy!"  We were those rule breakers picking up the fish!  The toddler area also had a playground where we watched the kids played for a little while.  After the aquarium, we ate lunch at Rainforest Cafe.  We were seated at a table right next to the angry looking gorilla who hollared every 10 minutes or so.  Hudson was not a fan of this, so he wanted to share a seat with me to stay close for protection.  Emily and Luke loved the gorillas though!  What a fun day with the Baxters!

We weren't allowed to use our flash inside the aquarium, so a lot of the pictures turned out pretty dark.

 Look at that big sting ray!

 Watching the sharks inside the tunnel

 Emily and Hudson

 Hudson and Luke

 Pointing at the fish

 Touching the fish

 This shrimp feels slimy!

 Touching the starfish that he later picks up!

 This picture cracks me up!  Emily is looking at Luke's night-night as if saying "Really, Luke?  Why do you carry that thing around?"

This week in SPORTS
Sunday, August 14th- We brought Hudson's soccer ball out to the park on Sunday to touch up on some soccer skills.  Hudson did fabulous! I didn't realize how comfortable he was with dribbling and kicking the ball. He is going to have so much fun playing soccer next month!

I captured the cutest video of Hudson playing soccer and his "celebration" grunt, but I'm having trouble uploading it to my computer. I will share once I do.

Luke enjoyed playing goalie!

 I made a goal, Mommy!

 Goalie Luke

 This goalie may need a little more practice

 This would make his Uncle Derek very proud!

 Goal!

 Fives from Daddy

 His victory dance (we might have to teach him some etiquette to take this down a notch!)

This week in RELATIONSHIPS
Sunday, August 14th- On Sunday, I met up with two of my besties, Jennifer and Courtney, for brunch to celebrate Jennifer's 30th birthday.  Cheesecake factory was outstanding as always, and we had a fabulous time with just the girls.  After brunch, we saw The Change-Up, which was a refreshing and hilarious movie (see review below).


This week in EDUCATION
Wednesday, August 17th- Hudson's new school backpack arrived this week.  After trying this on and reading a post with Mommy about his friend, Leah, who started preschool this week, he is very excited to start school!  We go on Monday to meet his new teacher.


This week in TRAVEL
Saturday, August 20th- Today we traveled out of town for a very special birthday.  I was a little nervous about our trip because this was the furthest we've traveled with both boys.  Feeding off each other, they can be an handful on a long car ride even just across the metroplex, so I knew we needed some additional entertainment for the 3 hour trip to Oklahoma.  Therefore, I ventured over to Target this week to make a purchase that, in my opinion, is long overdue - DVD for the car.  This was well worth the money!  The boys did wonderfully the whole 6 hours.  They chose The Wiggles for their first DVD.  Then we watched Finding Nemo, Barney, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Cookie Monster's Best Bites.

 The Wiggles

This week in FAMILY
Saturday, August 20th- We enjoyed visiting my brother's family today for Will's 1st birthday.  I have to say that I have the cutest nephew ever! He's walking around now, so it was fun to watch him interact with Luke.  They are only 3 months apart.  We were also looking forward to seeing my parents as they have been in Colorado for the past six weeks.  Opa and Meme were very excited to see the boys as were the boys happy to see them!  Kitty took some pictures on her camera of all the boys together, so I will share when I get them.


This week in TODDLER MELTDOWNS
I never imagined how difficult sibling rivarly could be!  On a daily basis, I am diffusing arguements between two frustrated boys.  This week's issue:  this dang phone...

Hudson has grown attached to this phone taking it wherever he goes.  When it rings, he answers it and carries on a conversation with whomever he decided is on the other end of the line at that time.  On occasion, you can even hear him talking on that phone while he's sitting on the toilet.  Well, Luke has also become particularly interested in this phone and screams when he doesn't get his way.  Although this is a good lesson for him with sharing, I don't particularly want to teach it constantly, so I weighed my options.  My solution:  I will be making a trip to Target to buy another dang phone sometime tomorrow.

This week in REVIEWS
The Change-Up:  This is a super cute and hilarious flick!  As is expected of a comedy such as this, the movie was predictable in parts, but I found that the humor overshadowed this.  Being able to relate to so much of the humor, this movie was a comic relief to everyday issues of my life that I can sometimes find stressful.

Heaven is for Real:  I have been looking forward to reading this book since I've heard about it from at least 5 different people in the past few weeks.  So I was excited when my mom gave it to me today.  I was able to read some of it in the car on the way home from Oklahoma, and so far it's a great book!