Better late than never

My new online obsession is Pinterest.  Most of you have probably heard about it and for those of you that haven't it's basically a website that acts as a virtual pinboard.  You can save anything you you find while surfing the web to different boards you categorize or you can browse what others have pinned and "repin" the ideas to your boards.  People pin basically anything, but some of the ones I am loving the most are recipes, craft projects to try, home decor ideas, kids activities, and party planning related things.  I had heard people talking about it for sometime now and feel like the last one on the bandwagon, but it's better late than never.  Let me just say for anyone wanting to check it out, it is OH SO ADDICTIVE.  I should have stayed away, but I am totally hooked now!  Every night I browse what others have pinned and I find myself pinning away.  I'm loving all the ideas.  Last week I tried a new recipe for dinner I'd found on Pinterest and the ideas I have for a new home continue to grow.  This weekend I had the girls try a little art projected I'd pinned earlier this week.

It was so simple.  You just take empty toilet paper rolls, bend them to look like a heart, dip in paint and use them as a stamp.  The girls had so much fun doing this and loved that it made cute little hearts all over their paper.  Today we turned them into Valentine cards for grandparents and teachers.  They turned out super cute.

Last night the girls attended a pajama party and had so much fun.

While they were there Robby and I took Hudson and went to dinner.  Hudson was cracking me up because he had so much to look at and was constantly turning his head in different directions trying to take it all in.

This afternoon we spent several hours outside.  It was nearly 70 degrees, but with the sun shining it felt like summer!!!  It was so beautiful and made me forget that its only February.  Thankfully being outdoors was a nice distraction to Hudson who, if kept indoors, is one big cry-baby right now. He's getting more teeth and they are taking just about forever to finally come in.  Nothing seems to give him any relief.  This evening I was trying to get dinner ready and finally caved and gave him a graham cracker to see if it would keep him happy.  It was his first time trying one, but it was the happiest I had seen him all weekend.  He loved it, to say the least.

And I couldn't blog about this weekend with out mentioning Handley's new interest.  Gigi came over on Friday and brought her a Justen Bieber singing toothbrush.

I think she mentioned it was given to her as a joke and she was passing it along to Handley.

I don't think Handley knew anything about him before the new toothbrush, but that has all changed and  "Bieber fever" has hit our house now.  Better late than never, right?!? Ha!  Really, the girls just like the song, Baby, and they've both been singing and dancing around with the toothbrush all weekend.

 I finally downloaded the song to my phone so Handley would leave the toothbrush in the bathroom.  The funniest thing to me is listening to Harper sing the song.  Instead of the lyrics, "Baby, baby, baby, oh" she sings "Baby, baby, baby doll" and sings it with such conviction that it has us cracking up.

Days at home vs. Days at school for Harper

It's no secret that Harper loves school and wants to be there all the time.  With the pre-school registration approaching I've been debating between the 3-day or 5-day class for her.  I think part of me feels guilty about her going 5 days a week knowing that she will be in school 5 days a week for the rest of her schooling life.  Also, I know that by the fall, she and Hudson will really have fun as playmates.  Hudson won't be napping in the morning and he will be running around by that point.  I'm pretty sure I've made up my mind to do the 3-day class for her.  I have come to the realization, though, that I need to have some fun stuff planned to make the days at home just as much fun as the days she is at school.  Yesterday we came home after dropping Handley at school and Harper helped me clean the bathrooms while Hudson napped.  It's definitely a chore I don't enjoy, but Harper sure did think it was fun. :-)  When Hudson woke up we made our way to the neighborhood playground.  The weather has been SO nice the past week and with temperatures in the mid-60's, it was the perfect day to play outdoors and have a picnic with our friends, Jake and Reece.

Hudson also got to try swinging for the first time.  In true Hudson form, he remained pretty emotionless while swinging and wasn't quite sure what to think of it.

We were looking forward to heading back to the playground this afternoon, but it started raining so we played indoors instead.

After dinner Robby got home from work early enough to play with the kids and all three of them were thrilled to get to see him before bedtime!

Happy Birthday Parker!!!

Today we helped celebrate Parker's first birthday.  His party was at Gymboree and it was lots of fun for all the little ones.

The girls had fun climbing, running around, dancing and singing along to all the music and games.  Hudson had fun taking it all in.  I think it was the first time he really noticed bubbles, and it was pretty in awe of them.

Handley didn't stray far from Hudson and made sure that he had a big selection of colored balls around him to play with at all times.

Parker thought they were pretty fun too and at one point decided to climb in with Hudson.

Of course, Handley was right there with the two boys and we can always count on her to make them smile and laugh.

I didn't get any pictures of the adorable decorations or food that Jen put together, but every detail was perfect and I still can't believe that Parker is one!  Time is flying and before I know it, we'll be celebrating Hudson's first birthday. 

Besides the party we didn't really do much the rest of the weekend.  It was sunny and fairly warm so we went on a nice long walk and spent lots of time outdoors playing and visiting with neighbors.  It was such a nice change to our usually fast paced and packed weekends.  

Harper's turn

Handley continued to feel like her normal self yesterday and while she was bouncing around with tons of energy, Harper started to to fade.  She woke up during the night not feeling well and today she was dragging.  Thankfully she didn't have a high fever like Handley did, but she does have a bad cold and just looking at her I could tell she wasn't her normal happy-go-lucky self.  She took two naps today and I'm hoping after sleeping well tonight she will wake up feeling much better.  

This afternoon Jen and Parker stopped by for a quick visit and we gave him his birthday gift.  That's right, he turned one this week and I can't even believe a year has passed since he was born!  We're excited to celebrate at his party this weekend, but Handley decided she would rather go ahead and let him open his gift today.  

We ended up meeting the guys for dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant.  It was slammed and every other family with kids showed up tonight, too.  It was loud, crazy, and perfect for our wild bunch.  We left little hard of hearing and feeling a little frazzled, but it was fun to get out and fun for me not to have to cook.  

This picture was taken yesterday after Jen and I did our weekly walking at the mall.  We probably cancelled out all the calories we walked off when we ate our Chick-fil-a, but it was still fun and the little boys seemed to pay a lot more attention to each other than they normally do.  It was cute to see them interacting together. 

Handley's short-lived fever

Yesterday afternoon during rest time, Handley fell asleep on the couch (which never happens) and when she woke up she was burning up and seemed really groggy.  I took her temperature and it was really high, but after some Tylenol, two popsicles and a juice box, it came down and she perked up a little bit.  Her fever kept creeping up during the night, but this morning she woke up fever-free.  She stayed home from school today, and was excited to have a day alone with me since Harper was at school.

After Hudson's nap we made a quick stop by the grand opening of a brand new grocery store.  It was SLAMMED!  There were people everywhere, cars were parking on the curb because their were no spots left and I saw two old ladies getting into it over a handicap parking spot.  I should have just kept on driving, but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  It was a gorgeous store and it's really close to the pre-school, so I will definitely be making frequent trips there.  While we were there we came across several characters, which made Handley really excited.

When we left the store we got a quick lunch and then picked up Harper from school.  She's always excited to show me what she makes at school and today she was wearing it! She came home wearing a police hat she made and she was pretty proud of it.

This afternoon we spent a little time playing outside.  After what felt like days and days of clouds and rain, it was nice to see the sun shining.

Me trying to get Hudson to smile

He always has smiles for Handley

Handley seemed a little off today and not totally herself, but this evening she was bouncing off the walls, singing, and dancing around.  She is definitely back to the happy and healthy little girl we love and I am thankful that it was really short-lived!

Heart candy appetizer and Hudson's 6 month stats

On the days Harper isn't at school, she wishes she was.  Today she was under my feet the entire time Handley was at school and nothing I suggested for us to do seemed to interest her.  She helped me clean up a little around the house, did a little painting and had lunch, but the entire time she kept asking me why she couldn't be at school.  She missed her big sister and couldn't wait to go pick her up.  Harper was excited when Hudson finally woke up because it meant she had a playmate.

She was also thrilled to check the mail and find something addressed just to her.  Her excitement continued when she learned that Mimi had sent her some cute socks and her very own pack of conversation hearts (or heart candy as she calls it).  That girl can put down some heart candy.  I remember that last Valentine's she liked them a lot, too.  This morning when I was cooking her breakfast she asked me if she could have an appetizer before her waffle.  I suggested she munch on some cereal while she was waiting on her waffle, but she had something else in mind.  She tilted her head, smiled real sweetly, and asked if she could have some heart candy for her appetizer.  For the record, I let her have just one. :-)

This afternoon the girls loaded up for a sleepover with Gigi and Papa.  They couldn't wait for Gigi to arrive and I know they are having a blast with them. 

It sure was quiet around here this afternoon and I realized just how much Handley and Harper entertain Hudson when they are here.  Hudson took a long nap though, so I spent time cleaning out closets and organizing around the house.  When he woke up the two of us had some fun one-on-one playtime.  Robby picked up Stoney River take-out on his way home so we had a nice dinner date at home after Hudson went to bed.  It was the perfect way to end the day!

For my memory, I wanted to blog about Hudson's 6 month appointment on Wednesday.  He was such a flirt and showed off all his tricks for the doctor.  He had to get a few shots, but cried for just a second until I could pick him up.  Then, he was totally fine.  After his 4 month shots he was pretty pitiful for the rest of the day, but this time he was totally fine.  She did mention that his gums were really swollen, meaning that he will probably be getting more teeth soon.  He hasn't been eating much the past few days and I think that, and his night waking, is a result of him teething.  

Here are his 6 month stats: 

weight- 17 lb. 13 oz. (60th percentile)

length-  27 inches (70th percentile)

head- 17.25 inches (50th percentile)

Hudson - 6 months

Hudson is 6 months old today!  I've always said that 6-12 months is my favorite age and it is definitely proving to be true with Hudson.  I could just tell we were approaching the 6 month mark when he started becoming increasingly social and expressive.  Don't get me wrong, I love that I can now have detailed conversations with Handley and I think it's a hoot to watch Harper at her age, but there is just something about a sweet baby learning and discovering all sorts of new things each day that has me enamored.  The girls love chatting with him, singing to him, making him laugh, and loving on him every chance they get.

I take him for his 6 month check-up in a couple of days, so I'll post about his height and weight then, but I'm thinking he is still going to be on the bigger side.  He is solid and has some awesome chunky thighs.

At 6 months Hudson:

• takes 3 naps a day.  The first two are usually on the go and the third is a good long one in the crib.  However, on days I can be home for his morning nap, that one is usually a long, 2 hour nap. 
• totally stinks at his nighttime sleep. * see note below
• takes a paci when he is tired.
• nurses 5 times a day (and some at night)
• is eating baby food (fruits and veggies) 3 times a day and seems to like everything I feed him. 
• eats Cheerios and can pick them up by himself, but most of them end up on the floor.  We still help him to actually get one in his mouth.
• loves his feet and trying to get his toes into his mouth.
• can give big slobbery kisses and likes to give them to all of us, all the time. 
• is a snuggler.  
• can sit unassisted for 30 seconds to a minute at a time, but still falls over to the side or back, so when he is on the floor playing I still put a boppy around him to cushion his fall or help him get back on balance. 
• is still really laid back and happy most of the time. 
• laughs, babbles, coos and makes all sorts of fun faces and expressions now. 
• has 2 bottom teeth and thinks is funny when I brush them. 
• discovered tags and now finds them on every toy or blanket he has.  He likes grabbing on to them and trying to put them in his mouth. 

He found the tag

*Nighttime sleep - So my good little sleeper is not doing so good any more.  I think part of it was when he was teething he was absolutely miserable and waking several times a night because of that so now he is just used to waking.  I know if I did some sleep training with him he would sleep better, but I just haven't had it in me, yet.  I have had success with two different methods for the girls, but with Hudson, there always seems to be something waking him up (leaked through his diaper, frequent gas pains, he poops sometimes at night, etc.) so I've been trying to work through those things first.  I'm sure when I decide to take action I'll do a whole post about it, so stay tuned for that...  Until then, I'm going to just soak up those middle of the night snuggle times because I know that this too shall pass and I'll be wishing for these days back again. 

Giving me big kisses - photo courtesy of Handley

Handley's turn for a kiss