How did this happen?

My first born is nine today.

I hung a few balloons on his door and he got a little kick out of that this morning.  I was going to take a video of him walking through them, but I was in the middle of making the "birthday cake" pancakes when he walked out.  These pancakes are so cute.

I got the recipe here.  (Well, this isn't the exact recipe, but it's really close - I couldn't find the original I used.) Reed loved them and after Hudson got up, he ate what was leftover and said "I want these for MY birthday too!" :)
Hudson and I took Reed lunch today at school - Chick-Fil-A per his request.  Here are my sweet boys in the cafeteria - you can't tell a lot of the time, but they really do love each other! :)

Hudson and I headed back up right before school ended to take cupcakes to Reed's class.  I didn't take any pictures... Boo.  Yesterday we went to Wal-Mart and GameStop looking for a DS game Reed wanted for his birthday.  It just came out and is evidently pretty popular, so nobody had it.  GameStop said they could order it from their warehouse and have it sent directly to us.  The boys were over looking at stuff, so Reed didn't know, but I got it sent one day shipping for a little extra so he could have it on his birthday.  When we got home from the school, I surprised him with it.  He was very excited, but said "Too bad I can't play it."  (We have a no video games during the week rule and limited games on the weekend.)  I had already talked to Brian about it and we decided birthdays are different so he got to play.  I think Hudson's really enjoying the trickle down effect too... whatever Reed has gotten to do today, he has also (birthday cake pancakes, cupcakes snack, play his DS... it might as well be his birthday too.)

Reed has been such a blessing to our home.  He is so smart and fun and just an all around great kid.  These last couple of days I've had the presence of mind to write down some of the funny things he said:

Sunday night he and I were in my room talking and only a lamp was on.  He said "Did you know that when it's dark, your peep holes get bigger?"  Yes, he meant pupils, but I guess peep holes also work. :)

He had a day off from school yesterday and we decided to go get donuts for breakfast.  On the way we ran into traffic because they were re-paving the road.  It was beautiful outside so we had the windows rolled down and the smell of tar and asphalt was overpowering.  Reed said "Yuck.  These trucks smell like the inside of my shoes."

Not too far down the road, I pulled into McDonalds to get a smoothie for breakfast so I wouldn't be tempted at the donut shop.  Reed asked me why I couldn't eat donuts and I went on to explain that I could, but I was just going to make a better choice and that's what I needed to do at each meal.  I guess he felt sorry for me because he said "I don't know you make it through the day like that."

Happy birthday buddy.  Your dad and I love you more than you know.  Enjoy your last single digit year! :)

The Red Vehicle

This is our newest toy...

Brian bought it from some friends of ours.  They are moving to a new neighborhood and there is just nowhere for their kids to ride it.   The boys love it and Hudson constantly calls it the "red vehicle" when asking Reed if he wants to go ride in it.  I think he'll be in the driver's seat before to long, but as for now, he's at the mercy of his brother. :)

What we're up to...

I don't blog near as much as I used to, but there are things going on here and there, so here's our latest update.

The boys started karate on Monday.  I didn't get any pictures, mostly because I was filling out paperwork and they won't have their karate outfits until Thursday and what's a karate pic without a gi?  As I'm filling out paperwork right before it started, I looked up and I could tell that Reed was having second thoughts.  I asked him what was wrong and he started to cry.  He is quite shy and HATES being put into new situations where he doesn't know anyone and what to expect. When we went into the room,  there was a kid already there. I started talking to him and turns out he had been doing karate for a year.  I started asking him questions about what they do (trying to ease Reed's nerves) and he started showing us all kinds of stuff - punches, kicks, push-ups on his knuckles... seriously.  It was NOT helpful.  I could see the doubt all over Reed's face.  I knew that if he just tried it, he would like it but I didn't want to force him.  (Of course, Hudson is watching intently as all the other kids are running around punching and kicking and I know he can't wait to get in there.  My kids could not be more different!)  The teacher came over to tell me it was time for me to leave and I told her that Reed was having second thoughts.  She bent down and talked to him in a very sweet and re-assuring way.  After I say how she was with him, I stood up and said "You'll do great!" and walked out.   Ugh.  I knew it was for the best - he needs to be able to handle new situations, but I hated to leave him.  I peeked through the back window a couple of times and both of the boys were doing great.  I think Thursday will go a lot smoother.

Both boys will be swimming with the seals this summer.  Practice starts at the first of June.  Reed will be moving up to the next age group, so his practice will be 1 hour earlier in the morning.  I don't think he'll be pleased with that at all, but I know he'll regret it if he doesn't swim.  Hudson's will start 45 minutes after Reed's, so it'll work out well.

Reed is doing great in school.  He has had A's again all year (he has never made a B on his report card).  He also has had a perfect year as far as not getting any marks for his behavior - I am so proud of him!  Hudson will start Kindergarten in the fall.  He is super excited about going and talks about it often.  I think he will love school, but will probably have a rough first year as far as being quiet and paying attention... he is VERY social. :)  I will be sad to see my little baby head off to school, but I'm also excited about having time during the day to not only have some time to myself, but to do some volunteer work and other things that I've been planning on.  It will be strange not to have a kiddo at home with me.

Brian is still building houses - he is starting 3 more in a couple of weeks.  He's got it down to a science at this point.  He likes to have everything planned out ahead so when the building starts, all the decisions are made and progress flows along quickly.  He's doing a great job at it and impresses me all the time.

That's about all I can think of now.  Until next time... :)

Overheard...

The boys were in Reed's room this morning and Hudson was acting crazy trying to make Reed laugh. After a couple of minutes I heard Reed say "Hudson, do you want to know the secret to being funny? Don't try too hard.  Try to be funny, but then be yourself." Then they proceeded to go on about their business.  :)

The secret is out...

Reed and Hudson were at my mom's house last week and she said that Reed told her that he didn't believe the Easter Bunny was real.  (He's been mulling over the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Santa, etc., for a while.  Back in late December he asked me if I was the one doing the Elf on the Shelf and I told him yes he said "I knew it.")  I had decided a couple of years ago that whenever the boys asked me flat out, I would be honest with them and tell them.  Last night when I was putting him to bed, the EB came up in conversation and I told him that Mimi told me he said he didn't believe.  He just smiled up at me.  Then today after church, he stood in the kitchen and said "Is Santa real?" He had a look on his face like he was almost scared of the answer.  I said "Do you really want to know about Santa?" and he said "I sort of do and I sort of don't."  I told him that he needed to decide and if he had questions, I would answer them.  Then just now he came in my room, shut the door behind him and said "So I know the Easter Bunny isn't real... Is any of it real?"  He sat down on my bed and we had a sweet conversation about how Dad and I were the ones that put out the gifts for him, just like our parents did for us and how he will for his kids some day.  He didn't seem upset at all, he just mulled it over for a bit.  Then he said "It's kind of neat knowing - like I'm in on a secret."  Sweet boy - how is he already so big?

First Day of Spring

Brian had been planning on shaving his beard on the first day of spring.  Yep, I've giving the beard a blog post - that thing has had a life of it's own.  Back in late September, I told him that I didn't know why he didn't just grow a beard - he's not very diligent about shaving, so he looks scruffy most of the time anyway (which I like).  He wasn't sure how it would grow, but no need to worry!  It grew like crazy!  About mid-February he started to get a little tired of it - people were commenting on it every day and it was starting to get a old.  There's more to him than just a beard, people. :)  Anyway, after dinner last night, he grabbed the razor, so I made sure to get a before picture.

He did some shaving and left a LONG goatee.  He thought about keeping it that way for a few days, but luckily didn't.

Then he tried the weird too long style... I think he seriously would've left it like this if he had cut it symmetrically.  All I can say is yuck.

This is the before and after (with haircut).  

It still shocks me when I look at him. :)  I'm not a fan of the clean shaven - never have been.  I'm sure the normal goatee will be back in a few days.

Spring Break Mini Vacay - Day 3

Today we got up, packed our stuff and headed to our final activity.  We headed to Pioneer Farms just a little outside of Austin.  Today was Spring Break family day, so we got in for $3 each. :) They had 5 little settlements from different times (I can't remember the exact years) - like a German immigrant settlement, a Texian farm, etc.

This tree was in front of one of the houses and I thought it was just beautiful!  I love spring!

The boys watching the blacksmith work...

We walked up on a HUGE tree called the lightening tree  Enlarge the picture below and you can read about it - pretty cool!

The boys in a tee pee....

Taking a break in the outhouse. :)

One of the houses that was from early German immigrants settlers...

Hudson said "Mom, take a picture of this!"  So I did. :)

Checking out the longhorns.. he would get any closer than this. :)

My three boys - I love them so!

Souvenir swords!  I'm sure that if you asked them what their favorite part of today was, this would be it.

 After a quick lunch, we headed home.  What is a road trip with a DQ stop?

We had a really fun mini-trip.  Fun family time and lots of memories made.  I asked what the favorite part of the trip was and Reed and I said the caverns, Brian said Pioneer Farms and Hudson said mini-golf. :)  This is our last "stay up late" night until school starts on Monday, so I think we have a fun night ahead of the Wii, pizza and various other end of vacation fun. :)  

Spring Break Mini Vacay Day 2

Today started off with us sleeping in a bit - I woke up to Hudson's "trying to whisper" voice.  It is NOT a whisper. :)  We all got ready and since we didn't have to be anywhere at a certain time, we were able to have a leisurely breakfast at the boys fave spot - IHOP.  They no longer have the Nutella crepes that Reed so dearly loved, so they both decided on a funny face pancake.  Eating breakfast at 11:30... ah, vacation. :)

Our destination today was the Inner Space Cavern. We had a great time.  Having been to Carlsbad Caverns, Inner Space was no where near the enormity of Carlsbad, but it was still really cool. We had a guided tour and our guide was a retired engineer.  You could tell that he was doing it because he loved to and it was a lot of fun.  He was funny and showed us a lot of neat things. Some shots from the cavern-

Flow Rock - it was taller than we were

Tons of soda straws on the ceiling

It's like pulling teeth to get Hudson to look at the camera in a picture...

Speaking of which, it may be too small of a picture to tell, but everybody is looking at the camera but me... I guess Hudson comes by it honest. :)

After we returned to the surface, we got the boys a drink and some ice cream.  Hudson enjoyed his... evidently all the way up to his nostril. :)

The gift shop had bags of sand that contained gems and they had a sluice outside you could use to "find" the gems.  The boys LOVED this - especially Reed - it's right up his alley (he's his daddy's son for sure).

They also gave you a sheet that had all the rocks on it so you could identify the ones you "found".

We came away with quite a few - they were very pleased.

They also had a playground that we used to get some of the crazy energy out. :)

All in all, a great place to visit.  We didn't spend as long there as I thought, but it was still worth going.  We headed back to try to get another afternoon swim in the pool.  I let them stay in a little longer today, but not much - it's just too chilly.  After a shower to warm-up, we played Uno and rested until dinner.  We saw a Joe's Crab Shack and since we don't have those close to where we live anymore, we thought we'd give it a shot.  Brian and Reed ordered crab and with that, got their bibs (Brian's said "King Crab" but he chose not to wear it)...

Reed loved cracking his crab legs and getting the meat out.   :)

We came back to the hotel and are just going to spend the rest of the evening playing games, watching TV and generally doing nothing.  Good times.

Spring Break Mini Vacation - Day 1

I waited too long to book anything for Spring Break, so we decided to do a mini vacation and see some sights within driving distance from home. I chose Austin because there's lots to do. (I had no idea that the giant music festival was here this week... Super.). We left Granbury, but not before this happened-

Hudson left his bike out in the driveway RIGHT in front of the garage door. I had backed my car in the day before to unload groceries so I was facing out. I opened the door and the bike was so close to the front of my car, that I couldn't see it. If I was parked the other way, it would've shown up in my back-up camera... no harm though- Brian pulled it right out. I was quite perturbed for a bit- Brian told me that he asked Hudson to move it a couple of times already. Ugh.
We arrived at our hotel last night about 11:00.  I think everybody slept pretty hard. Here are the boys this morning about 8:30.

A funny story from this morning... after the boys got out of bed, we were getting ready to go and they were playing.  I tried to explain hotel etiquette and that we need to be considerate of others if they were still sleeping, etc.  They were throwing their stuffed bears around and after repeatedly asking them to stop, I took the bears away.  After a few minutes, Hudson asked "When can we have our animals back?"   Still perturbed, I told him that I didn't know.  He said "But a mother always knows!"  I couldn't help but laugh - where the heck did he hear that?

We got in the car for our short drive into Austin.  (I chose a hotel a few minutes out of Austin for 2 reasons - 1. downtown was unbelievably pricey and 2. Brian hates "the big city"and by big city, I mean any city that has any sort of traffic or multitudes of people.   Come to find out, the SXSW music festival was in Austin this week, so there was even more people than usual and a good explanation for why downtown was SO expensive).  Anyway, we got there about 10:00, so it wasn't bad at all yet.  Our first activity of the day - a duck boat tour!  As we boarded our amphibious vehicle for our duck boat tour,  our driver and guide, Captain Jim, gave each of us a duck call type thing in the shape of a duck bill.

We drove around Austin for about 20 minutes and then headed towards the lake.  Reed had figured out that we were going in the water, but I think Hudson had no idea.  We drove off into the water, made a fun splash and both boys had huge smiles. We tootled around on the lake for about 20 minutes.  It was a little cooler out on the water - I'm glad we brought jackets!

The tour was pretty interesting and informative.  Lots of info about Austin and Texas history. A fun little tidbit - Captain Jim was talking about the handful of celebrities that live in or near Austin.  His wife is a teacher and she actually had Matthew McConaughey's son in her class and had a parent/teacher conference with him.  :)
After the duck boat tour, we were all pretty hungry.  We stopped at a pizzeria... a pretty fancy pizzeria. The boys and I shared a 4 cheese pizza.  It was ricotta, mozzarella and I can't remember the other two.  I thought it was good, but they both said it tasted funny and didn't eat much.What can I say?  They have cheap taste.   After our lunch, we headed to the capital building.  Here I am with the boys - Hudson was still clutching his duck bill pretty tightly.

We only stayed in the capital about 30-45 minutes.  We probably should have taken a tour, but we decided to do a self-guided one instead.  I think Hudson would've given out on us for sure if we'd have stayed any longer.  Here the boys are on our way out, sitting on a cannon...

We started the walk back to the car and you could tell that it was way more crowded than it had been that morning.  There were a LOT more people and we were fairly close to the Convention Center and all the SXSW stuff.  I had planned on us going on an evening boat cruise to see the bats fly out from under the bridge, but after seeing how many people there were at 2:30, who knows what 8:00 would have been like.  We decided to forgo the bat thing and figure out something else to do for the evening.  Brian made a few comments about how he was fine that we were leaving the city, he dislikes one way streets with a passion and he didn't care if we came back to Austin. Ever.  He cracks me up.
We decided to come back to the room and rest.  I tried to sleep (Reed and I took a Dramamine for the duck boat tour and it made me pretty tired), but both boys were just too loud.  I told them to throw on their swimsuits and that we would try out the hotel pool.  It was and outdoor pool and by the time we got out there, it was all in the shade and a little chilly.  They headed for the hot tub and it wasn't even warm.  I let the play around for about 20 minutes.  Hudson's little chin was shivering a mile a minute, so we came back up to the room to shower and change for dinner.

We ate at Pei Wei (yummy!!!) and the went over to Austin's Park.  They have all sorts of things - mini golf, go-karts, climbing walls, bumper boats, an arcade, etc.  We decided to do the mini golf.  Reed was pretty good at it.  Me?  Well, I remember being MUCH better. Brian of course was pretty good and Hudson... oh dear.  That child is a spaz.  Brian was very patient (as always) and showed him how to hold the putter, how to swing, etc.  Here he is showing the boys how it's done. :)

After our mini golf game (Reed made 2 holes in one!), we went in the arcade and gave each kid $10.  They had a blast.

They traded in their tickets and got their prizes.  For $20, they got about a dollars worth of toys.  Super deal.

We have had a really fun and full day.  I'm looking forward to a good nights sleep. :)

Shining Star

Every six weeks, Reed's school does something called Shining Star.  Shining Star is where the teacher chooses of of their students that has really stood out to them with their behavior, work, etc.  Reed's teacher chose him this six weeks and I got the SWEETEST note about him:

He is such a great kid - he makes us so proud!

Blessed

Today will always hold a special place in my heart.  Seventeen years ago, Brian and I went out on our first date.  (I really wanted Hudson to be born on the 6th, but he just couldn't wait another day. :) )  On February 6, 1996, I drove to Fort Worth to meet a guy that had finally asked me out - I had had a huge crush on him for years.  He was 19, living in Denton and going to college at UNT and I was 16 and a junior in high school. We saw a movie and ate dinner at Chili's.   Little did I know that six and a half years later, we would stand in the front of our church filled with family and friends and promise to love, honor and cherish each other.   I have literally spent half of my life with this man and he is like no other person I have ever met. Don't get me wrong, he's not perfect, but he's perfect for me.   In honor of seventeen years together, I'm going to brag on my valentine a little bit. :)

He is an AWESOME husband. I'm not always easy to live with and he has NEVER raised his voice, talked down to me or spoken to me in a harsh way.  He has always treated me with love and respect and I feel protected when I'm with him.  He's absolutely and whole-heartedly committed to our marriage.   He still can make me laugh really hard and does it often.  He leads our home with kindness, patience and love.  He takes me and the boys into account anytime he wants to do something that will interfere with our normal "schedule".  He is home each night and has NEVER complained about what I made for dinner and even says "Thanks for cooking"... even if it's a frozen pizza. :)

He is an AWESOME dad. He was always willing to help me with the boys- even as babies - changing diapers, feeding, whatever.  He wants the best for our boys.  He spends time teaching them things with patience, humor and love.  He looks forward to coming home to them each day and it shows.  He helps with bedtime each night and he takes Reed to school each morning (and will take Hudson next year too).  He takes the boys outside or to the shop with him and they come back with all kinds of great stories. He is showing them by example daily how to be an invested and loving father and husband.

He never whines. Never.

He works hard and has always had a job.  When Reed was a baby, things were pretty tight, but he always provided for our financial needs as a family and made sure that I was able to stay home with Reed.  He continues to work hard so that I am able to be with our boys as they grow and be involved with their lives in ways that I wouldn't be able to if I went to work.  

I trust his judgement implicitly.  His decisions are always based on what would be best for our family. It may not always seem that way to me at the time, but everything has always worked out that way in the end.  

He loves to get his hands dirty.  He can fix ANYTHING.  I can mess with something for hours and he can fix it within a couple of minutes.  On one hand, it's annoying, but on the other, it's super helpful. :)

He doesn't cuss. 

His patience level is UH-mazing.  I've never seen anything like it.  He always keeps perspective on a situation and never gets riled up.

He treats the people that work for him with kindness and respect.

He is just as attractive to me now as he was 17 years ago.  Actually, even more. :)

He loves me the way that I am and most days that involves no makeup and hair in a bun. :)

He would lay down his life for his family in a second.

He's very creative.  It has really come out since he started building houses.  He does a beatiful job and I am in awe by his ideas that he makes into reality.

He has a good heart and is very generous to others.

Brian,
Happy First Date Anniversary. Thanks for picking me. I'm one lucky girl and I love you more than you know.

My baby is FIVE...

Today my precious baby boy turned 5.  He has had a great day so far - sugar cookies for breakfast, his choice of restaurant for lunch, one hours worth of free DS playing time (all video game playing time is usually reserved for the weekends), a Wal-mart trip to pick out his birthday gift, a Sonic drink after school (which is also reserved for the weekends) and a birthday dinner tonight with the family.  This little boy has changes our lives - he is hilarious, fun and an all around mess. :)  I don't know what we'd do with out him. Happy Birthday sweet Hudson - we love you buddy!

Another one bites the dust...

On Thursday night, Brian pulled another one of Hudson's teeth. It was so loose, it was migrating over to the middle of the giant gap left from the first tooth. I can't believe he's lost 2 so close together. This kid is killing me.

How Hudson feels about Mom

I did this same post with Reed right around the time he was the same age as Hudson is now.  You can see his answers here.  It's so funny to me to see the difference in them.  Reed really thought about the questions and tried to give a good answer.  Hudson would shrug his shoulders, throw out a "I don't know" or very random answer. This kid is a riot. Anyway, here are his answers-

1. What is something I always say to you?  Goodnight
2. What makes me happy?  When I'm happy
3. What makes me sad?  When I'm sad
4. How do I make you laugh?  By tickling me
5. What do you think I was like as a child? You had big teeth
6. How old am I? Thirty-three
7. How tall am I? Ten inches
8. What is my favorite thing to do? Sleep
9. What do I do when you aren't around? Watch TV for 2 hours
10. If I became famous, what would it be for? Crafts
11. What am I really good at? Biking
12. What am I not really good at? Looking behind the couch
13. What is my job?  To keep us safe
14. What is my favorite food? Salad
15. What makes you proud of me? I don't know... 'cause you play with me
16. If I were a cartoon character, who would I be?  The pink Sonic the Hedgehog
17. What do you and I do together? Play games
18. How are we the same? Because we love each other
19. How are we different?  You have a bigger room than me
20. How do you know I love you? Because I'm your kid
21. Where is my favorite place to go? Chick-Fil-A

Hudson's First "Lost" Tooth

Hudson has had a really loose bottom tooth and last night he let Brian pull it. (Brian is the resident tooth puller at our house because he does an AWESOME job of it. When Reed started to lose teeth, it only took Brian a couple of times to perfect his method and now he's a pro!). Anyway, last night Reed, Hudson and I were talking before bed and I think Reed and I inadvertently talked Hudson into it because he went and asked Brian to do it.

This morning he came in the living room with a huge smile on his face carrying his "loot".



My baby is growing up.