Hudson Update-4 years/ 4 Months

Hudson is 4 years and 4 months.  He really loves to play golf, frisbee, soccer, and jump on the trampoline.  He is obsessed with his hammer, and you can often find him nailing things to the wall.  He is also equally obsessed with locks and keys, and I will often find random things in my house under lock and key.

He still loves Curious George and prefers watching it over anything else.  He has a bit of a crush on the cartoon character Betsy, and I will often hear him calling her on the phone.

He loves to ride his bike, 3 wheeler, pink car, and fire truck.  He has asked for his very first dirt bike recently.

We talk about monsters often.  He loves to pretend they are after him and hide with his sissy.

He also talks about poison oak often.  He is always on the hunt for it.

A couple of months ago, I was kidding around and called the police "the law."  It stuck with him.  We talk about "the law" coming all time.

His favorite restaurants are Chinese, Mexican, Chick-fil-a, and Japanese.  He loves to sit on the Hibachi side.

His favorite books are "Where the Wild Things Are," "Ole King Cole," and "A Wocket in my Pocket."  

His best friends are Jack Wolfe and Owen Bell.

He spends many nights on a pallet on our floor.  If he does sleep in his room, he needs to keep the light on. He does not care about snuggie anymore.  He will still sleep with cold blanket, pillow pet, and Curious George, but he doesn't "have" to have them.

He is learning so much.  His interest are unique, but  I know that God made him for a purpose, and my desire is to cultivate those interests for His glory.  Praying that he continues to grow and that he will always love to learn about the world his heavenly Father created.

Clara's Celebrations

On Saturday, we celebrated Clara's birthday with family.  My parents came that morning and took us to eat hibachi.  They gave her a Frozen doll and the Little People farm.  They gave Hudson the movie Frozen, which I am sure Clara will not enjoy one bit. :)

After her nap Will and I surprised her with a Frozen themed balloon and a tee pee for her room.

For dinner, we grilled burgers and had cake and ice cream with Will's parents, Uncle Reed and Aunt Julie, and Uncle Wes. Clara got the movie The Little Mermaid and Care Bears, a stuffed lamb, a Frozen game, and a basketball goal and ball.

Today is her actual birthday  We celebrated breakfast with candles and orange rolls, a family tradition.

After a nature walk with friends, we went to Chick-fil-a with cupcakes to celebrate some more.  I actually went into labor with her after a spicy chicken sandwich.  It seemed fitting to celebrate there for her birthday. 

 I hope this little one feels loved and celebrated!

Preschool Update

Three weeks have passed since I have started very loosely doing preschool with Hudson.  Most of it is very informal play and nature time, but I do try to stay consistent with a daily rhythm and predictable outings. We are meeting with another preschool on Mondays for intentional field trips and nature study time.   On Tuesdays they spend the morning with their Ge while I buy groceries, run errands, and clean the house.  On Wednesdays we are attending story time at Pelham library, which consists of show and tell, songs, stories, crafts, and a snack.  On Fridays we flip flop between MOPS and our church playgroup.  I like that Hudson gets to go to a preschool class during MOPS time.

The great things about our schedule is that it is open to change at any moment.  We don't have to do any of it, and some days it is just best to stay home and relax together.

Our first week of school included going to the McWane Science Center, reading Ask Mr. Bear, studying a cicada, and learning how to fill our bird feeders. We also worked on the letter F and began learning our catechisms and memory verses.

Last week we pulled our all of our Fall books and studied about the changing seasons.  We created our fall bucket list and even jumped in leaves.  We attended our first MOPS meeting and went to the zoo.  We also began learning about the letter b.

This week we went to Buck Creek, the McWane Science Center, made a pretend tool story, continued learning about the letters f and b, and read Angus Lost.We found an orb spider, black widow, slugs, snails and roly polies in our yard.  We had fun throwing things into the orb spider's web and watching him run over to it.   We drew about our finds in our nature journals.

Thankful that I get to be their teacher!  It has been a mostly fun couple of weeks.

Clara's Second Birthday Letter

Clara,

You are two!  Part of me feels like the time has flown by while another part of me can't remember a time without you.  You have brought so much spunk and life into our home.

This time a year ago you were not walking, still nursing, and screamed every time I left you.  Now you attempt to be fully independent and barely even notice when I leave your Sunday school room.  You even potty trained yourself last week.  You just started telling us you had to tee tee and refusing your diaper.  You don't want me to help you do much of anything.  I love watching you learn to do things by yourself, but is always hard to see you declare your independence from me, even if it is just a 2 year old sort of independence.

 You are a lover of all animals, although recently you have developed a hatred of bugs.  You love to draw, color, and paint.  You easily pick up on what your brother is doing and want to do it right along with him, which as turned you into quite a tomboy.  You will dig for worms with him, play sports, and vroom toy cars, but you also love pushing your baby dolls around the house. You  recognize many letters and their sounds, numbers colors, and shapes just from listening in on Hudson's preschool time.  You are using many words and beginning to string short phrases together.

Your favorite movie is Frozen.  Your favorite TV shows are Curious George, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Pound Puppies, and Daniel Tiger.  You love to eat cereal, crackers, yogurt, frozen blueberries, and cheese.   Your favorite restaurants are Mexican, Chinese, and Chick-fil--A  You prefer sweets over salty.

You love your toys and sleep with around 8 or 9 each night.  Your must haves at bedtime are snuggy, blanket, sippy cup, a stuffed dog, a plastic dog, a pig, a lion and yesterday you added a lamp and stuffed cat in with the mix.  You will often line them up and count them by saying, "Mine, mine, mine, and mine."

You love playing with your kitchen, taking baths, and helping me cook.  You always scoot up your stool anytime I bring out the mixing bowls.  You love jumping on the trampoline and jumping in the dirt.

We are praying for you everyday sweet girl, that you know and love our Savior very soon.  We pray that God will use your life for His glory and that you will always know that you are loved.  Loved by us and ultimately loved by Him.   Never doubt that.  Your daddy and I love you so much.

Mommy and Daddy