Hudson's 3rd Birthday

Hudson turned 3 on November 9th. His morning started with 3 candles in some french toast; eaten on the "Special" plate...of course.

Later that evening we had a little party for Hudson with some of his cousins. Hudson's party was car themed, as he loves playing with cars, and plays with them everyday.

Makenna and Hudson made this cute car poster, and we played pin the wheel on the car.

The first present the Hudson opened was this construction truck. He was SO excited about it, that he pretty much didn't care about opening any other presents, and he played with this truck for the rest of the night. In fact, John and I didn't even give him the present that we had bought for him (a new bike) until the next morning!  

A few facts about our 3 year old. Hudson is almost always the first person awake, usually before 6:30am. He eats 3 or 4 bowls of cereal every morning (each bowl a different kind of cereal). He loves to play with cars, trucks, and trains. He also loves having Clara sit in his room with him while he plays. He gives her toys to play with, and enjoys having her as his little buddy. Clara loves this too, and is happy to sit and watch/play with Hudson. He has pretty much given up his naps, but will still fall asleep about once a week. Everynight before bed, he wants me to sing him 3 songs: Silent Night (we've been singing it almost every night since Christmas 2011), I've been Working on the Railroad, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Hudson continues to be such a sweet little boy, and we are so blessed to have him in our family!

Halloween

On Halloween, the kids got to go trick or treating twice. First, we drove down to ConAgra, and the kids got to trick or treat around to all of the offices at John's work. Afterwards, we paused outside to take a few pictures of the kids in their cosutmes, before heading home. (Hudson had refused to wear his costume at ConAgra, but luckily we got it on him before trick or treating around the neighborhood.)

My parents came over for dinner, and then went trick or treating with us around the neighborhood. It is fun for us to be able to have them come along. The kids loved, loved, loved trick or treating this year, and were SO excited. They literally sprinted from house to house. We struggled just trying to keep up with them! At one point, Makenna (along with 2 of our neighbors) got a bit ahead of Hudson, and while running after them, he yelled, "Wait for me...I'm a fighter pilot!!" It is so fun as a parent to be able to experience the excitement of Halloween again through the eyes of your children. 

When we got home, Makenna sorted her candy into piles, which is something I always loved doing.

Hudson rolled around in his...

And Clara learned to wave for the first time!! Cute girl!

Trunk or Treat

After spending the afternoon making cookies at my mom's house, we spent the evening at our Ward's dinner and Trunk or Treat. The kids were so excited to wear their costumes, see their friends, and begin collecting candy.

Hudson - the fighter pilot, and Makenna - Dorothy

With some friends

Playing games

Handing out candy

Clara - a butterfly



Pre-Halloween Activities

We have had so much fun celebrating Halloween this year, and the main event isn't even here yet. It all started with a couples party that John and I attended. My younger brother had a gorilla suit that I borrowed, and we went as King Kong, and 'Ann Darrow' (the girl he kidnaps in the movies). Since the gorilla suit was too small for John, I wore it, and John got to be the girl!! HAHA! We had a fun time getting John ready!

Our next Halloween activity was Thursday when Makenna got to dress up for her dance class. Makenna has been planning on being Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz since last Halloween. She even asked for all Wizard of Oz stuff for Christmas last year. My mom and I made her a Dorothy dress, so that it would be just like the real movie version. I literally finished sewing the buttons on an hour before her dance class! I am so happy with how it turned out, and most importantly, Makenna LOVES it!!

Makenna with one of her friends

The next day, my mom had all of the grandkids over to decorate Halloween cookies. First we made roll out cookies, and then while they were baking in the oven the kids got to frost and decorate 3 dozen more cookies that my mom had ordered. They made a huge mess, and had so much fun doing it! We also had a little craft for them to do, and then all stayed to enjoy lunch. I am so grateful that we are able to live near family, and that we can get together on a more regular basis. The kids love hanging out with their cousins.

Testing out the frosting...

Great-Grandma Gloria holding Clara (And no, she doesn't have orange hair...just being festive!)

After the kids decorated all their cookies, and were hyped up on sugar, my mom played a couple of very rambunctious games of ring around the rosie with them. The kids get wild when they are together, and have a blast!!

The Zoo

I have been neglecting my blog lately. September was a crazy month for us, but things have slowed down, so the time has come to catch up on a few posts.

We love the zoo in Omaha, and a yearly membership is a must-have for our family. I remember going to the zoo growing up, and it is so fun to take my kids there now. We made several trips to the zoo this summer, often with cousins or friends. ConAgra also sponsors a day at the zoo every year, where they provide lunch for all of their employees. Here are a few pictures from some of our visits.

 Climbing on the lion.

All of the Omaha cousins (minus the 2 new babies)

On the train



Clara 3 months

Clara is now 3 months and 1 week old.

Here are just a few of my favorite things about her right now (not in any particular order).

1) The little curl she has on the top of her head, that always sticks up.

2) Her SMILE! She will smile at me pretty much anytime I talk or smile at her. She also loves Makenna and Hudson, and smiles at them a ton.

3) She is starting to really enjoy her bouncy chair and play mat. I love watching her kick her legs and move her arms with excitement while looking at the toys and lights.

4) She doesn't spit up! So far I am 3 for 3 on babies who don't spit up very often at all. I think Clara has spit up maybe 4 or 5 times total. I'm not sure why my babies don't spit up much, but I am very grateful! (Maybe that is why they always get so chunky too! None of their food gets spit up, and can therefore go straight to their thighs! Which brings me to my next favorite...)

5) Her chunky baby thighs! I can't help but squeeze her little chunky baby legs!

6) She sleeps like a CHAMP!! She is by far my best sleeper, and usually sleeps from about 9pm - 4 or 5am straight!! She wakes up to eat, and then goes right back to sleep till 7 or 8am. It also isn't unusual for her to go even longer, and sleep 9 or 10 hours straight.

7) She "TALKS" to me!! If I had to pick just one favorite thing about Clara at this 3 months, it might be the "conversations" we have. I love talking to her and having her respond with all of her baby coos, sighs, hums, etc. I love it when she communicates with me in this way!

8) She is such a good, happy baby, and to sum it up, we pretty much just adore her!

Playtime!

Makenna and Hudson have been such great playmates this summer, which has helped tremendously during my transition to having 3 kids. They have a lot of fun together, and although big messes are usually part of the equation, they are happy and entertained so it is worth it!! Here are a few pictures from some of their more memorable playtime moments.

They often find ways to play with typical boy toys in a more girly way, or vice versa. For example, one day Makenna was trying to get Hudson to put on some lip gloss. When he refused, she tried to convince him by telling him that it was 'bad guy' lip gloss, and would make him have super hero powers.

On another day they were playing with cars, and Makenna was orchestrating a wedding between two of the cars. She even designated other cars to be flower girls, the audience, the person marrying them, and a wedding clothes buyer.

Hudson getting a 'check-up'

Another favorite new 'game' is gathering up all of the soft things they can find around the house (i.e. pillows, stuffed animals, blankets, etc) and making big piles of them to play on.

I love that Makenna and Hudson have so much fun playing together, and hope that they will continue to be good friends as they get older!