Soccer!

Camden started soccer this fall.  We asked him several months ago if he'd like to try playing soccer this year so he has been excited about it for a while.  He was excited up until the morning it started and then he started to worry in typical Camden style and told us he didn't want to go.  Once we got there he stayed with us for a little while and then got out on the field to play.  His team is called the BabyHawks and they have a special program where they don't just play games, they learn basic soccer skills and will eventually scrimage.  It is a great introduction to soccer and he really seems to enjoy it. 

Summer Sun

Summer is over...yay!  We love the summer activities but we get very tired of the heat around here.  Luckily the weather has cooled down a little now that fall has come.  We haven't even been to the beach in a few months because it was just so hot!  The boys and are are at their school (in the A/C!) 3 days a week, even through the summer.  Other than that we have been trying some of the indoor activities around here or just playing at home.  We've done some great traveling this summer!

At the beginning of the summer Mike and I went to Italy with my family and the boys stayed with Mike's parents for a whole week!  Camden had the time of his life!  He got to go to the pool and eat snowcones all week.  He was in three year old heaven. :)  Hudson missed us a little more but we knew he was very well taken care of.  We had a wonderful vacation.  We stayed in a small town outside of Florence and got to visit Florence, Rome, and Venice.  We kind of got an overview of a few cities.  We probably could have seen more towns but we also got to enjoy the beautiful property of the house we were staying at.  The landscape was gorgeous, we ate some great food, and saw a ton of historic sights.  It was awesome!

The Villa we stayed at

View of Montespertoli (where we stayed) while walking in

Florence

View of the farmland surrounding the villa

One foot in Rome, one foot in Vatican City

Vatican

Sistine Chapel

Our whole group at the Coliseum

Venice

The other trip we took was up to Fort Worth. Mike had to be in Arlington for a training so we decided to go with him and extend the trip. I hadn't been back in a year and a half! We were able to see some friends and do some of the Fort Worth things we hadn't done before. We took the boys to the Fort Worth Museum. We also took the Trinity Park mini-train ride. The kids both thought that was cool. While the boys were napping in the car, we drove past our old house and all throughout our old neighborhood. I really miss it! I forgot how much I liked it. Another fun thing we did was go to a Rangers game. We took Camden twice when he was a baby and Hudson had never been. They both seemed to really enjoy it. 

We have the same picture from last time we visited TCU, when Camden was one and a half

 Go Rangers!

Other than that we've been having family time and time with friends. Our parents have visited and we've visited them. Camden and Hudson's "Aunt Marcy" and my good friend Heather visited us for a long weekend. It was great to see them! Marcy just moved to Bolivia so it was the last time seeing her for a while. The kids made them both play with them all weekend and thought that Marcy and Heather came to visit only them. haha. Mike had to spend two separate weeks away recently so we are glad he's back. :) He's been Mr. Fix It this summer. Well, sort of. haha. He fixed a plumbing leak we had outside and fixed some things around the house. Our A/C broke earlier this summer and we ended up having to replace the whole outside unit! It runs a lot better (thankfully!) but of course we had to get help with that one. :) Camden started swim lessons this summer and learned how to be a lot braver in the water! Now he loves showing off his skills.

Bayfront Splash Park

Playing with foamy soap

Hmm...

No posts in 3 1/2 months?  Sounds about right.  Sorry guys!  People have probably given up on me. :)  Spring was full of fun activites.  We went to the San Antonio Zoo in March.  The boys loved it!  Well, Camden loved it.  Hudson fell asleep in the stroller.  We stayed with my mom for the weekend but met up with Mike's parents at the zoo for the day.  In April we were back in San Antonio dropping the kids off with my mom for the weekend.  Mike and I went to our friends' wedding in Arizona.  Kendra is one of my best friends from college and she chose me as one of her bridesmaids!  Mike got a lot of relaxing time by the pool and hiking while I spent time with Kendra and her other bridesmaids.  It was a great weekend.  It was really nice to get away without kids.  It was a good length of time because it was almost too short to miss them too much.  Of course I missed them but not as much as I thought I would.  They were in good hands.  The best weather here is in the early Spring (despite the wind) so we spent a lot of time at parks and on walks. 

Then in May we tried to enjoy the beach one day (it was way too chilly and windy the day we picked - kind of miserable).  The boys' birthdays are May 27 and June 2.  We had an early combined party for them at Sonic.  The Sonic here has a playground, moon jump, and sand volleyball court that you can rent out.  Camden loves going to Sonic and he helped choose the location for his "Pirate Birthday Party."  There was even a real pirate there!  Mike told Camden that there would be and guess who the real pirate was?  Mike bought a pirate costume and showed up all decked out.  Camden thought it was great.  He was so cute when he saw Mike.  My mom brought him over and said "Say hi to the pirate!" Camden very shyly said hi.  Then Mike asked for a high-five and Camden did it then looked at his face and said, "That's not a real pirate...that's my Daddy!" It was hilarious.  Camden and his friends had a great time running around the playground and bouncing all afternoon.  Hudson didn't really understand what was going on but he sure did enjoy his cupcake!  For a while he just played in the frosting before he realized he could eat it.  And he got very messy when he did eat it.  A perfect first birthday! :)

The boys have grown so much!  Camden is 33 lbs and 38 inches tall.  Hudson is almost 24 lbs and 32 inches tall (I think - I can't remember the exact number).  He's heavy!  He's wearing mostly 18 month and some 24 month clothes.  Hudson is starting to walk.  His first steps were a week before his birthday.  He can take several steps now but still prefers to crawl.  I think he knows its faster to get what he wants by crawling.  He is a bull-in-a-china-shop.  He tackled Camden to the ground the other day.  Watch out when he does start walking!  I can't believe my baby Camden is three already.  He is so talkative and imaginative.  He creates games and scenarios in his head.  It's also led to some fears that weren't there before.  Nothing too extreme though so I'm happy about that.  He amazes me with how smart he is.  He is learning his colors in Spanish from school and knows a lot of them.  Yesterday he shocked my by "reading" a book pretty much word for word that he had apparently memorized last week.  He's also doing much better with Hudson and his behavior (tempter tantrums).  I think his reasoning skills are improving and he is thinking past the moment to longer term situations.  It makes it a little less challenging for me. 

Hudson decided to take a nap halfway through the zoo.

Camden helped us plant flowers this year.  He loved it so much that we got him his own garden cart for his birthday.

One of the three Easter egg hunts the kids participated in.

Hudson's first beach trip.  He didn't like the water that day but the next time we went he loved it!

Another Easter egg hunt.  This one was at a friends' house on Easter Sunday.

Kendra and I at her rehearsal dinner



Camden singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" at his school's end of year program.  Hudson was in it too but he just sat there, of course. :)

Hudson is 9 Months!

It feels like yesterday that I was posting that Camden was 9 months on our old baby website.  We had just moved to Corpus and settled into our house.  Life changes so much in such a short period of time.  I can barely remember the day-to-day of Camden's babyhood.  It's kind of sad, especially after tonight reading the blog of a woman whose baby just died 2 weeks ago from what looks to be SIDS.  A friend shared the link of Facebook and I have read the blog since then.  I can't imagine.  It makes me very thankful for two healthy babies and also makes me appreciate every moment with them.  Here is the blog in case you want to look at it.  Just be forewarned...if you read it you will need a box of tissues. http://kandjstaats.blogspot.com/

On a happier note Hudson's 9 month checkup was on Monday.  He weighs 21.5 lbs and is 28.5 inches long!  He's above the 50th percentile for both!  He is into everything and is very independent (when he wants to be).  We'll all be playing in one room and he'll crawl off into another room to find something more interesting.  His favorite thing to do is crawl through our end table "tunnel" in the living room.  He's trying different finger foods and loves making a mess with whatever he is eating.  He's at a really fun stage!

Winter

We actually got some cold weather this winter and an ice day!  I never thought it would happen.  Camden got to play in the closest to snow that we'll probably get while we live here.  He loved it.  We were stuck inside for a couple days, first because of the ice, then because we all got a stomach bug.  Hudson started it (there were 4 babies in his class that ended up with it all on the same day) then Camden and I got it two days later.  Mike got it a day after that.  We were basically inside for 4 days straight.  Signs of sickness showed up a little here and there throughout the next week and weekend.  I'd think the kids were better then something would happen again.  Even now, 2 weeks later, I think their stomachs are still not feeling great occasionally.  I'm so ready for it all to be completely over!  Hudson is starting with a stuffy nose (which we've all been free from for a good 3 weeks now) but I think its just allergies.  The windy season has started and allergies get really bad here during that time.  Maybe we will all be healthy for a while! 

The kids are growing before our eyes.  Every day they seem older.  Hudson learned to crawl and is now into everything!  Of course he loves electrical cords, the dog bowls, and anything else he can get his hands on.  He's only been crawling for a week but he's a pro.  He has four teeth already and two more are about to break through.  Camden is curious about everything, also, and always asks "what time is it?" and other constant questions.  I love that he wants to learn about everything in sight, but it is exhausting having to answer constant questions! :) He also tells us now "I was talking to myself!" when we answer something that he didn't want answered.  He's too funny.  The other day we were playing outside and he was being told not to do something (who knows what).  He quickly changed the subject by saying "So, can I have a peanut?" (I was eating honey-roasted peanuts).  This kid talks like he's 7. 

The was the pre-crawling, scooting and rolling stage.  He routinely got himself caught under the futon.

Sleeping with his feet crossed.

Camden's version of putting his arm around Hudson. 

Chunkalicious!

There are moments where they actually play together.

Mike's birthday was the day after Valentine's Day and we actually got to have a date night!  We traded off babysitting with some friends of ours down the street.  They went out for V-Day and we went out for Mike's birthday.  We ate at a sushi place downtown and it was delicious!  We haven't been out to dinner just the two of us in...well, I can't even remember.  I really want to do that more often.