Let the Sugar Rush Begin!

Today Camden had his Halloween party at school.  They had a parade in the morning, followed by trick-or-treating at the classrooms.  Then they had a "party" in the classroom for lunch.  Each parent brought something to share.  Hudson and I went to the parade then left to go grocery shopping so we could get back by lunch.  Our HEB is huge and it always takes at least an hour to get through.  I left school just before 10 and had to be back by 11:15 for lunch.  Well, I didn't have to go to lunch but my guilty mom feelings set in that I would be the only mom not there.  I definitely wouldn't have been.  Oh well, Camden enjoyed me coming to see him at school.  I brought him home to nap instead of leaving him there so both boys could get a good nap at home.  On Tuesday Camden didn't nap at school so I didn't want a repeat of that!  Today was the first of the Halloween festivities.  We have a festival to go to on Saturday and trick-or-treating on Sunday.

Here is Camden getting his Montessori shelf work first thing in the morning at school. 

Hudson and his friend Caroline.  She just turned a year old.  Her sister, Madeline who is three, is in Camden's class.  She and Camden are good friends.

This is not from today but he got a stamp the other day and this was the result

Hudson has also been enjoying himself. He started eating baby food and has tried sweet potatoes, bananas, peas, and applesauce in addition to cereal. The doctor said we could do fruit and veggies when he turned 5 months but we started a couple of weeks early. It's funny because with Camden they said 6 months and we waited until almost 6 months to the day. Hudson likes all of his food and I think will try something new tonight. Now, what will it be? He has also learned to roll over from tummy to back and is very close to going from back to tummy. He scoots all around so we are starting to have to become conscious of what is around him. He also has a hard time settling down to go to sleep sometimes because all he wants to do is roll!

First taste of something other than cereal - sweet potatoes!  He loves them!

This is how I found him today after putting away the groceries.  He started out in the middle on his back and somehow scooted over to try to get the toy monkey.  He got stuck on the bar of the playmat.  He's going to be all over the place very soon!

Pumpkins, Festivals, and Walking, Oh My!

We have been busy doing fun fall activities (even if it is still in the upper 80's most days) every weekend lately. Last weekend we all walked in the Making Strides for Breast Cancer 5K. My mom's groups teamed up with 2 other mom's groups in town and I teamed up with Mike and my boys as well. It was great to raise money and support breast cancer research. The boys did pretty well in the stroller for so long. We have a double jogger where they sit next to each other and Camden already gets annoyed with Hudson creeping into his space. Camden will push Hudson's hands or legs away and Hudson just laughs. I usually just take Hudson walking with me but they will have to get used to sharing the stroller! The same day we went to our church's big fall festival, which is always completely FREE! Tons of people from around the city go every year. Camden got to play games, go on a hay ride, and see a puppet show. I guess Hudson got to do all those things too, but he was sleeping the whole time. They have free food, drinks, and lots of fun activities for the kids. There is also a big pumpkin patch at the church that we visited the weekend before the festival. Camden got to pick out a couple of small pumpkins and 2 big ones that we will hopefully get to carve this weekend. One of them is already starting to rot so I don't know how well it will go. :-/ It was Hudson's first visit to a pumpkin patch and it brought back a lot of memories of when my mom and I took Camden around the same age to pose for pictures in the pumpkin patch by her house. In some ways it feels like a really long time ago because life has changed so much but in other ways I can't believe 2 years has gone by so quickly.

Trying to pick up a huge pumpkin!

Look what I have!

It was hard to get pictures of the boys together because Camden doesn't like having his picture taken anymore and Hudson doesn't sit up.  

This was right before Hudson tasted the pumpkin!  Everything is in his mouth these days. 

Mike and Camden waiting for Making Strides to start.  If you can't see it Mike's shirt says, "I love big Tetons."  He got it in Wyoming (because of the Grand Tetons).  A lot of people make funny shirts for the walk.

"Toddlers for Ta-Ta's"

Hudson, me, and my friend Haley.  Hudson's shirt says "I love boobies."  

I Realize It's Been Four Months

I realize it's been 4 whole months since I wrote any kind of updates.  I tell myself I don't have time but actually I do I just use it for other things.  Then when I do get on my blog I spend more time picking out cute backgrounds that sometimes work and playing with templates I have no idea how to do.  By the time I start writing the boys have woken up.  So I apologize to all of you who have asked me about the blog or have told me I need to update. :)

The insane heat of the summer has now subsided into the slightly less hot fall.  We had some great weather for a week or two (high of 80, which is great weather for South Texas) but now it is hot again.  I brought Camden's new pool out yesterday just to enjoy what is hopefully the last heat wave of the year.  I'm really excited about cooler weather that we can be outside in without worrying about sunscreen and water consumption. 

Anyway, we had a very busy summer, as always. Having a new baby didn't slow us down at all! First we went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for one of my best friend's wedding. It was a very small destination wedding that Camden and I were both a part of. Camden looked adorable in his tux! Hudson was only 6 weeks old when we went on this trip. It was a lot of fun and a beautiful part of the country. We will definitely go back someday when the boys are older so we can do more outdoor activities. Hiking is hard with a 2 year old and a newborn. :) We did get to see Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park, including Old Faithful. It was very cool. We drove a lot scenic drives and stopped at places along the way like Jackson Lake. We also went into the town of Jackson. Camden and the flowergirl were some of the stars of the wedding. Camden of course was very shy, but by the end of the night he found his own little corner to dance in. His true personality came out. Here are a couple of pictures from that trip.

Hudson's first airplane ride!

The scenery was gorgeous.  We were in love.

Camden passed out with his new pillow pet for a couple of the flights.  His schedule was so off that he slept almost everytime we were in  the car or plane and at weird times.

Jackson Lake Dam.  Mike and Camden climbed down and got really close to the water...kind of scary.

Hudson enjoying some sight seeing in downtown Jackson. :)

The flower girl is the daughter of Alex's brother, who I walked with.  We had the kids walk with us.  She was really cute - kept trying to make friends with Camden.  He was still in his "no" phase so it didn't go over so well.

My handsome boy in his tux that was way too big for him!

The beautiful bride and her dad.

Old Faithful

Crashed on the drive through Yellowstone.

The rest of the summer was a lot of fun and flew by!  We spent a week in San Antonio with my mom and got to go to the new JW Marriot resort.  It was a great mini-vacation, only 5 minutes from her house!  We also went to Houston for another best friend's daughter's first birthday party.  Then only one week later we went to Austin for Labor Day Weekend.  Hudson got to meet his great-grandparents on that side of the family and Camden got a lot of playtime with Pops and Grammy.  It was great family time.  We went back to Austin 3 weeks later so Mike and I could go to the Black Crowes final tour (Mike's favorite band for those of you who don't know about his obsession).  Now we are back home for a while - hopefully until Thanksgiving.  It is really nice to travel and see family and friends but it is very exhausting with two children.

We also took the summer to learn about Hudson and his personality.  He's very different than Camden was as a baby so we've had to learn everything all over again.  It's funny how much you forget in just two years!  It's been fun bonding with him now that he is interacting all the time.  He's more predictable now that he was even just a month ago so that is nice.  The poor kid has had to get used to chaos and craziness from the start!  Sometimes when he was very young he'd get a look on his face and we'd think he was thinking, "This is the family I got stuck with?"  Lol.  Now though he loves watching everything that is going on and love looking at his brother.  He smiles really big whenever he sees Camden and Daddy.  He thinks Daddy is the funniest person ever.  It's been fun for Mike to be here for the day to day stuff because he missed a lot of that when Camden was this age.  Mike was in Virginia from the time Camden was 3 1/2-8 1/2 months old, only seeing him once a month.  It's great to see him bond with Hudson at an early age.  Hudson is now 4 1/2 months old.  At his 4 month checkup he was 24 inches long and weighed 16 lbs 3.5 oz.  What a chunk!  He now starting to wear some 9 month clothes. 

Camden has also changed a lot.  From the time he turned two until now has been some big changes.  His language skills have matured so much.  His new thing is asking questions.  Everything is "Can I (fill in the blank)?"  He is generalizing concepts and making connections between things.  He still loves being goofy and getting a laugh out of us.  He has also started potty training.  We did a 3-day boot camp that sort of worked.  He is still learning though.  He's in big boy underwear all the time except for napping and nighttime.  He of course still has accidents but most of the time will tell us when he has to go or will go with a reminder from us.  It will still be a long road to full potty training but he's doing a pretty good job.  Camden is still going to school two times a week.  He moved up a class recently to a 2 1/2-3 1/2 class.  He's not quite 2 1/2 but he does really well with older kids.  When I ask him what he did in school on any given day he'll tell me he played.  But then we'll talk about something a week later and he'll give me all kinds of details about what they did.  He does really well with Hudson.  He'll give him kisses and ask to hold him.  He is my little helper around the house. 

Here are some random pictures from the summer and early October.

2 months old

3 months old

Hudson loves being wrapped in his towel after his bath.

We got to go swimming some this summer when we visited our parents and at the hotel in Houston (that's where this is).

First time eating rice cereal!  9/14/10



First time playing in the jumper - he loves it!

This is how he's happiest - being held and playing with a toy or watching everyone else play.