Easter

I am sad to say that we did not do a great job for preparing our hearts for Easter.  I know there is grace for all of this.  I know.....yet I struggle with failure.  It is easy to compare--especially with blogs, Facebook  and Pinterest at my fingertips.  I pinned my share of resurrection eggs, empty tomb rolls, Easter trees, and so on and so on.  It just didn't happen this year.  Hudson never even made it to an Easter egg hunt.   I have to remind myself that it is ok.  My children are happy.  They know they are loved.  We talk about Jesus.  There is always next year.

We did have a god Easter weekend.  We spent Saturday with my family.  Will and I hit some flea malls while my parents watched the kiddos.  We grilled steaks in the rain.  It was fun.

I did manage to get Hudson and Clara some Easter baskets.  Though, I still struggle when I see that Hudson doesn't have a cute monogrammed one.  His gifts were piled in a basket I found lying around.  Clara's basket was mine as a child.

Before you think I spend a thousand on books for Clara's basket, remember I am a thrift-er   Those perfect condition books were fifty cents each at a yard sale.

Hudson's basket was full of my typical pre-Easter Target one spot run.  He usually is only interested in the candy and bubbles.

Sweet Hudson is just like his Daddy---not a morning person at all.  Clara takes after me....up and ready to go!

I love that Hudson's eyes are closed in this picture!  He was trying so hard to keep them open!  Ge made Clara's dress.  I was obsessed.  I found Hudson's outfit for 6 bucks at consignment.  I meant to get a bow tie.  I remembered the day before.

After church, we ate lunch at Ge's house.  She decorated the table and we even had poppers and crowns!

And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”--Mark 16:6-7

Kiddo Update

More updates:

Clara:
Clara had her 6 month check up at 6 1/2 months yesterday.  She is a little bit over 17 pounds.  She is in the 70th percentile for weight and the 40th percentile for height.  She is my little short and fat girl.

She likes food now.  We have recently tried carrots and avocados.  I usually just mix a couple of things together for her.  I'm a lazy mom when it comes to feeding babies first foods.

She sleeps nearly 8 hours some nights now.  We usually have a feeding between 4:30-5:30.

She popped her first tooth at the beginning of this week.  She spent the couple of days before not napping well at all!  We were glad when we figured out what was wrong!

Hudson:

Hudson is somewhat potty trained.  He does not have much interest at pooping in the potty, and he won't potty at school.

He is doing so much better interacting with kid's his own age.  In fact, there is a boy at school he loves to play and wrestle with. Here is a note I received in his school bag yesterday:

Hudson was wrestling with another child. The child asked repeatedly for Hudson to stop. He continued and the child bit him on the leg.

I know I should have had a stern face when the teacher explained the note to me.  I didn't.  I laughed.    I have no idea how to raise this little boy.  He is such an adventure for me.


They had their first official bath together last night:

I am slightly obsessed with her smile!

Clara -6 months

Clara is 6 months old!  She is beginning to sleep better.  I still usually feed her once at night.  Last night she went down at 7:30 and slept til 3:30.  I usually feed her at 10, but I just wanted to experiment to see how she did. She actually slept longer than she normally does, but I knew she was hungry.   If I feed her at 10, I know she will be "fine" til morning--even if she wakes up a few times.

She still can't roll from her back to front.  Probably because she never lays that way!

Some milestones:

Rolled front to back-3 months
Sit unassisted- 6 months
Oatmeal-5 1/2 months
1st food at 6 months-peas...Did not like!
2nd food-bananas...She will eat a little.
3rd food-applesauce-She won't eat this either.

She loves to grab and play with toys.  She also loves tv...and I have let her watch some since I never let brother, and now, he has no attention span for it.  She will not nurse if a children's show is on in the background.  She throws her head back and smiles at the tv.

We don't let her nap in the swing when it is in motion anymore.  She still naps in it some, but only when it is still.  We got tired of buying batteries.

This past Sunday was the first time she ever made it through nursery.  The time before that, she screamed and screamed til I came.  I was so excited she stayed the whole time.

She is still such a joy to hold and cuddle.  This time around, I truly want to cherish and freeze this stage.  It is really such an easy age.  She can't crawl and get into things yet!  Love her!

Things I want to tell someone today..

Through yard sales and consignment shopping today I got... a seersucker suit jacket and pants, a polo khaki jacket, a polo shirt, 3 button up polo shirts, linen shorts, 2 swimsuits for Clara--one a boutique brand, 2 dresses with bloomers-tags still on them, a bookshelf, Melissa and Doug wooden food box, a new big pack of perler beads, brown sandals,and artwork.  I spent 39, but I placed a few items in one of the shops and made 112.  Score.

I passed people posing for prom pictures today. I just love to flip through all my old prom albums.....ha!  Waste of time.

I hate the time change.

Ramblings

He sleeps on his floor now.  He hasn't slept in his bed for months.

When he wakes up, he always ask if Daddy is still on his pillow.  Then, he asks for milk in Mommy's bed.  We usually snuggle while I drink my coffee.  I want to remember that.

We are all done with his paci.  He reads himself to sleep now.  We found him reading at 3 am one morning.  I love that he loves to read.

We are still working on potty training.  Some days.

I still feel like we spend days deep in the trenches.  He is still so jealous of sister, and he acts out because of this.  Clara prefers to be either held or smiled at all day, so this adds to the jealousy. Also,  Huds recently had a severe reaction to his pull ups.  This kept him in the er til 3 am..only to find out that in addition to this, he had an upper respiratory infection and an ear infection.  So, we've all been tired and cranky attempting to recover from his very scary "tee tee" issues.

Clara still wakes several times a night.  I've started giving her oatmeal, but it doesn't help.  I am beginning to wonder if she will ever actually make it through the night.  We've tried letting her cry....this baby will literally cry all night.  She is one strong willed girl! I haven't slept longer than a three hour stretch in six months.  I am not sure I remember what it is like to not feel tired.  I hope I remember one day soon.

I'm grateful for where we are, but I am not pretending it isn't tiring--physically and emotionally.  Raising up these little babies is no small, meaningless task, and if I want to give it my everything, it isn't going to be easy. Some days it is hard to keep perspective on what we are working towards.  Other days it is easier...especially, when I see all of these updates on Facebook where families of little ones are suffering from terrible illnesses and unforseen tragedy.  Heart-wrenching stuff that makes me cry and hold them tightly and repent of my terrible attitude and ungratefulness.

I am rambling.  These are thoughts I want to remember...especially, when these little ones are older and we don't have the same daily trials and struggles.  Oh, how I will miss these faces then:

A Much Needed Update

This much needed update is really much needed for me.  As I've stated before, I use this blog as a family journal and print it each year from the blog to print website.  I wish I updated more, but my brain stays in a constant haze lately.

How are we?  Well, life is pretty routine.  I am home more than I have ever been.  Hudson and I would get out everyday when it was just the two of us at home, but now, we spend whole days never leaving the house.  That isn't to say that our days aren't filled with much adventure...just a different kind.

Hudson is now 2 years and 8 months old.  He is in Mother's Day Out for 2 mornings a week and is beginning to really enjoy it.  He went through a stage this year where he was very fearful of his peers and very clingy to me.  I see this beginning to fade.  He is also beginning to show more of an interest in playing with other children and appreciating toys.  He still is not great at playing alone, and he prefers adult type gadgets over toys most of the time.

He really beats to his own drum.  He still loves cars, motorcycles, keys, doorbells, buttons, garage doors, cell phones, and cameras.  He watches garage door repair shows on youtube.  Like I said, he beats to his own drum.

He loves the Wheels on the Bus song, and he actually will watch a television show based on the song.  We only have 3 episodes of it, but I am thrilled he will sit through "some" of it.

He has really developed a love for books.  He has even memorized some of his favorites.  I find him reading to himself during much of his inconsistent room time.

He talks NONSTOP.  He is making longer sentences and asking good questions.  He loves to ask me who people are.  I have become really good at making up names on the spot.

We finally had to give up his paci because he kept biting through them.  Sadly, this has caused him to stop taking a nap.  I pray that this is short lived and he begins napping again soon.  It is terribly tiring to go nonstop with him all day long, and I really thing I would be a much better mom if I had a break midday.

We are in the midst of potty training.  He is doing great when we are home.  It is a slow process. We will get there.

He is beginning to love on his sissy much more.  He still likes to let her know that I am "his mommy" but he will snuggle with her too.

Clara is 5 months old.  She loves to sit in her bumbo seat and watch Hudson.  She is grabbing toys and loves to talk to us.  She still doesn't sleep well at night.  I usually nurse her once, but she wakes at least twice most nights.  She started rolling from tummy to back at 3 months.  She has found her feet and has also started to scratch everything around her.  I truly love watching little babies slowly begin to take in more of the world around them.  I find that this time around is just as exciting and more pleasant...since I'm not constantly worried.

Will is not coaching soccer this year.  He really misses it, but it frees him up to spend more time with us.  He has launched a lawn care business called Action Lawn Care.  He really plans to invest more time in it in the upcoming Spring and Summer.

As for me, I have really had a season where my mind has been at rest.  I honestly have watched lots of Netflix and zoned out.  I am beginning to transition back into reality, but I really think it was good for me.  I am still battling tiredness.  I know that this is a season, but I really would love longer than a 4 hour stretch of sleep at night.

I have been working on lots of little home projects, and I hope to blog about those soon too!


This is Clara after church today.  It was her first time to go to the nursery.

Our recent "snow" day.  He said, "Look at all this icing."

He likes icing.

Clara's Baptism

Sweet Clara was baptized today at Christ Community Church in Helena, Alabama.

She wore the beautiful dress her brother wore--made by their talented Ge.

I realized my sim card was at full capacity...thanks to Huds and his love for taking pictures.  So, I was not able to get tons of pictures.


Both of my kiddos adore their Maw Maw and Ge:

Big brother was very anxious after sitting in big church for 30 minutes:

Notice Clara only has one sock on in this picture:

It was a sweet service.  We were reminded of God's love for us and for our children.  We were charged to the roll of shepherding sweet Clara's heart, and we were encouraged by the promise that our church family would aide us in our journey.

Afterwards, we had lunch at our house.

Will's verse for Clara is Numbers 6:24-26.



"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."

Her name means bright, and our desire is that she would be a bright light for Jesus into the dark world.  We are so very grateful to God and His promises!