Go Bucs!

The soccer season is well underway.  This means that Will leaves the house at 6:15 and usually returns anywhere from 6:30-10:00 each evening.  Here are a few glimpes of this season:

Clara ready to cheer Daddy on for his first game.

Hugs before a game.

Late night hello.

Crazy dinner at a friend's house.  Thankful for friends welcoming us into their chaos, especially since we bring even more.  It makes Will's long nights go by faster.

Afternoons at the field.

Thankful for this season.  I am sure my kiddos will have fun memories of daddy's days as a soccer coach!

Hudson and Clara Update

Hudson is very much into playing doctor with his bottles and herbs at the moment.  It is a mess all the time, but he loves it.

Funny quote from the other day:

Hudson: (Coming from the bathroom) "Mommy, there is no toilet paper in there."
Me: "Well, what did you do when you went potty?"
Hudson: "I just used a bunch of q-tips."

I let him play in the mud last week.  He loved it.  He would climb up his swing set ladder, slide down, and run feet first into it.  

"Mommy, can I have a napkin?"

Clara just turned 18 months.  She is 22 pounds and still short as ever.  She is still obsessed with puppies, art, and wakes at the crack of dawn everyday.  She currently likes to carry her snuggie and naked baby doll everywhere we go.

Playing with snuggie and baby dolls with Huds.

18 months!

Such an artist!  Her food is even a masterpiece.  Love watching her.

Hard at work creating while Huds plays with something with a motor.  Such a good picture of their very different personalities.

March Update

Not too much new around here.  

I went to Atlanta with a few of my best friends.  We spent hours at Ikea and Trader Joe's, ate lunch out of a food truck, had afternoon margaritas, and Thai for dinner.  It was wonderful.

Food truck park in ATL.

Trader Joe's

I also came home with new curtains for our living room and Hudson's room.  

4 panels for $50 bucks.  So pumped.

Will and I took his soccer players to a tournament near Fairhope.  I loved getting around the team, the coaches and their families.  We also ate some yummy food.  I love seeing Will coach.  He is a natural at it.  So proud of him.

Siting on a pier in Fairhope.

It was pretty enough last week for us to visit the zoo and take the kiddos to the soccer field.

Sweet kids love to play on Daddy's soccer field.

Playing hide and seek with Jack at the zoo.

Clara had strep throat this past week.  It was tiring, but thankful the medicine worked.

Snuggled in our bed after a long night.

The balloon at Publix made her feel so much better.

Perhaps the most exciting thing to our kiddos is the free trampoline we found on Craiglist.  That is right, FREE.  It is a high end, Springfree trampoline.  The size below this one is currently selling for $1399.  So thankful!  They love it!

That is about it.  We are using this week to attempt to finish Hudson's and Clara's desk for the playroom, build a top for our sandbox, and do the prep work for our garden.  So thankful Will is home with us all week. 

Because I always want to remember his quotes....

Just two quick little quotes I want to remember:

Hudson, "What makes you happy?"
"Donuts."
What makes you scared?"
"When someone eats all the donuts at church."

During everyone's rest time, I read something that made me tear up a bit. He came over and told me he was here to protect me. Then, he told me I could hold all his gold doubloon. "Will that make you happy Mommy?

Winter Update

We are well into soccer season.  The days can get very long.  I have tried to find ways to keep us busy.  We have continued to attend the library's weekly storytime, along with scheduling play dates with friends, eating at Chick-fil-a and visiting Will during his lunch break.  We also joined the McWane and plan to join the zoo next month.

Storytime at Hoover Library.

Climbing wall at Riverchase.

This girl loves to visit her daddy's gym!

McWane

I am continuing doing "preschool" with Hudson some mornings.  We usually read his Bible story, go over his memory verse, read his book for the week, and then do a page out of a Rod and Staff or Kumon workbook.   I usually plan a couple enrichment activities that  go along with the book, so I throw that in the mix too.  Other than that, we have several learning tools and games, so after our time at the table, we usually grab one of those.

Learning with puzzles.

Preschool time with number puzzle and counting bears.

Learning about the senses.  

We are spending as much time as we can outside.  I don't have any formal nature studies, but I am encouraging exploration with nature walks and seasonal discussions.  I also try to do a little art or sensory activity during the afternoons.  Sweet Clara loves art and sensory time.

Sensory.  We usually use beans, rice, cornstarch and water, or birdseed.

Art outside!

Making bird feeders.

Hudson loves to help in the kitchen, so I am letting him do that with me daily.  It takes longer, but I want to include him as much as I can.

Clara usually stays at my feet most of the day.  She and Hudson are continuing to play together, but she always makes her way back to me after several minutes.  She is aslo quite obsessed with dogs, and she usually screams, "Puppy!" no matter what the animal.

Meeting her Ohio cousin, Gus.

 As the weather continues to get warmer, I am grateful for the kids in our neighborhood.  Hudson usually has no trouble finding a playmate.