John's Birthday

John turned 31 this month, and I wish I could say that he had a fabulous birthday, but unfortunately, it ended up being pretty miserable! First, I was out of town on a girl's trip to Chicago on his actual birthday, so I wasn't around to celebrate with him. Second, his golf outing with my dad got cancelled due to bad weather. Third, both the kids came down with colds, so his birthday was spent at home taking care of two sick kids. And fourth, the present I had ordered for him hadn't arrived yet, so he didn't have any presents to open...poor guy!

I got home from my trip the day after his birthday, and tried my best to make up for missing it. We had my parents over for cake (I made his favorite) and ice cream.  My parents also brought a really nice gift for him, which was great, becuase the gift I ordered still hadn't come. (Eventually it did come, and thanfully he has loved it.)

Although John didn't get too upset over his anything-but-perfect birthday, I do plan on making sure that next year will be much better!

Easter Activities

We had a really fun time celebrating Easter this year. For Family Home Evening the Monday before Easter, we did the Easter Egg lesson that focuses on the story of Christ's Resurrection. The kids loved opening up the eggs, and seeing the objects that correspond with the story. It is neat as parents to be able to see them begin to understand the true meaning of the holiday.

Afterwards, we made this cute little craft using plastic Easter eggs. (John's is the egg with the facial hair!) 

The activities seemed to continue all week long. We dyed Easter eggs on night, which again the kids loved. It can be a messy tradition (hence the bibs), but is definitely a must-do. 

The kids also had fun finding their Easter baskets and eggs that the Easter bunny had left for them. However, according to Makenna, the Easter bunny needs to hide the eggs in harder to find places all over the house, and not just in the family room. I think the Easter bunny has made a note of this for next year.

After church on Easter Sunday we went out to my parents house, and the kids got to go on one more Easter egg hunt thanks to Grandma and Grandpa. I tried to get a few pictures of the kids in their Sunday clothes, but waiting till after church turned out to be the wrong time. Makenna had already lost her little sweater, and Hudson refused to have his shirt tucked back in. Note for next year: pictures before church!

It was a beautiful afternoon, and the kids loved running around outside gathering eggs. Outside at the lake is a perfect location for an Easter egg hunt, and was a great end to all of our activities!

My curly-haired boy is potty trained!

Hudson's hair has been super curly ever since the weather has been more humid and warm. I love his curls, and I think he agrees, as he says his hair is curly just like Daddy's.


John and I have been talking about potty training Hudson for awhile now, but for some reason I was nervous about it. Makenna had been SO easy, I was worried that I actually didn't learn anything from training her, and was essentially 'starting over'. I was also worried he was going to pee all over our new carpet!

Well I finally decided to give it a go, and started training Hudson last Thursday. Hudson has known how to go potty on the toilet for several months now, since we would often have him go before bath or bedtime, so it wasn't a completely new concept for him, which I think helped a lot. The first day was a little bit harder than it was with Makenna, but overall not too bad. He had a few accidents, but I quickly noticed they only happened when I put pants on him. When I let him run around with just a shirt on (nothing on the bottom) then he would do much better. The best part was that the 3 accidents he did have all happened on hard surfaces (i.e. no accidents on my carpet...yay!).

By Sunday, he was accident-free, and even made it through 3 hours of church wearing underwear, without any problems. He has since continued to do really well. I don't have to worry about being around him all the time while he plays, or watching him too closely. When he needs to go potty he just comes and tells me, and then I help him. During the first couple of days, I would put a diaper on him for his nap, and for night, but he has started waking up from both completely dry!! Yesterday he was 100% diaper-free, and wore underwear for his nap, and overnight. Hudson has had a few accidents this week, so I don't think we are completely out of the woods yet, but we are well on our way.

After 4 1/2 years of diapers, I am happy to have a little break, even if it is only for 4 weeks until the baby comes!