Turkey Run State Park

Rain, Potty Accidents, and Bugs

Those are just a few of the things that I thought might await me when we went camping on Friday night. However, I was really excited about the chance to go with some friends, and figured that since it was just for one night, it would be okay.

Well, I am happy to report that it was more than okay, it was a blast! None of the things that I worried about were even a little bit of a problem. It didn't rain at all while we were there (even though it had been raining all week). There were no mosquitoes to be found, and Makenna did not have a single potty accident. We enjoyed a beautiful day of hiking, playing with friends, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, and telling lots of fun stories around the fire.

Setting up our little tent that barely fit the 4 of us.

Hudson hung out in the back of the car while we worked.

All of the kids getting ready for our hike.

Our hike through the State Park was absolutely beautiful. The majority of it was in water that ran through limestone canyons.

After our hike, we played by the side of the river throwing rocks, and playing in the sand

We were all pretty wiped out by the end of our hike, and actually didn't sleep too bad in our tent. Although at one point during the middle of the night, I thought I heard a raccoon scratching at the outside of our tent. It took me a few minutes to realize that it was Hudson, who having woken up without a peep, was just trying to grab the side of the tent!

Half a Year

Hudson was 6 months on Mother's Day, and although I don't have long to post tonight (...getting ready for a fun adventure tomorrow), I just wanted to post a couple of pictures of this sweet baby boy. He is such a happy, easy-going baby, and we are so lucky and blessed to have him in our family.

These next two pictures were taken tonight. After Hudson's bath, I sat him on the couch next to John and started picking up the house a little bit. One minute Hudson was happily playing with the lotion bottle, and then the next minute he was out.

John's Brand

Can you tell what ConAgra Foods brand John will be working on for his summer internship?

(I've never seen John SO excited to go grocery shopping.)

Success (so far)!!

Today was Makenna's first day of potty training, and she did SO awesome. She went all day without a diaper (with the exception of her nap) and did not have a single accident! I brought her little potty downstairs to the dining room, and she went by herself on her potty all day long. We even went outside and played, and she would come inside to go potty. Why didn't I do this sooner?

If you look closely, you will see 16 stickers on Makenna's Potty Chart. (The Mickey Mouse is a big sticker that was well earned).

Sibling Talk

When talking about Hudson, Makenna usually refers to him as "Baby Hudson", and says things such as:

“Baby Hudson smiled at me!”

“Baby Hudson likes me!”

“Mom, Baby Hudson my friend!”

"Mom, Baby Hudson crying."

“Mommy, I hold Baby Hudson no fall off” (When she wants to hold him)

However, when she talks to him, she usually calls him "Boy" (I guess she picked it up from me saying things like "Hudson, you're such a good boy.") and she usually repeats everyhing at least twice.

Here are some of the things she says to her "Boy":

“No cry Boy, no cry”
“Good boy baby, good boy”
“I got you Boy, I got you Boy” (while holding him)
When trying to calm a fussy Hudson she first asks,

"What's that matter Boy, what's the matter?"

and then in her most sympathetic voice,

“I right here baby Hudson, I right here” or “I know Boy, I know”

and my favorite

“I love you Boy”

John's first Bike Race

According to Wikipedia:

The Little 500 (also known popularly as the "Little Five"), is a bicycle race held annually at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The race was founded in 1951... modelled after the Indianapolis 500.

Apparently The Little 500 is a BIG deal here in Bloomington, and involves LOTS of celebrating. Although John did not participate in this particular race (actually being held today) , he did race yesterday, in what I think was an even better race, the

Kelley Little 500 Trike Race

(aka full-grown adults racing on little tiny bikes complete with training-wheels).

Never one to shy away from a fun opportunity (even one with a high-potential to be embarrassing), John put together a team of 5 of his friends (all first-year LDS MBA Dads that live in our neighborhood) to compete. Being the loving, supportive wives that we are, we made sure that our team was outfitted in the best gear, which in this case included t-shirts with their team name, "Hoosier Daddies" on the front, and an embarrassing photo on the back with all of their faces photo shopped on an old, cheesy N'SYNC photo.

We also brought along all of the younger kids to form a cheering section for their dads.

John started the race off, and was followed by Bryan, Andy, Logan, and Joe. It was SO funny watching all of these "professional" MBAs racing around on such tiny little trikes.
Our Hoosier Daddies pretty much dominated the race, and WON!!!
Here is Joe doing a wheely at the finishline...how can anyone compete with that?
We are very proud of our Hoosier Daddies (5 Daddis with a combined 15 kids!), and are expecting a repeat title next year.

Daddy's a Big Boy!

We have started the process of introducing Makenna to Potty Training, by having her try to go potty every night as part of her bedtime routine. She has been doing really well, and after she goes potty, we always make a big deal about it and give her lots of praise such as,

"Good job Makenna!"

"You are such a big girl!"

"That makes Mommy and Daddy so happy when you go potty in the toilet!"

Well...yesterday while I was away, Makenna walked into the bathroom right when John was finishing (he forgot to lock the door) and said to him,

"Daddy potty big boy; makes Menna SO Happy!"

and then hugged his leg!

Oh how I love my funny little girl.