Out of the mouth of Chase Part 2

While playing with a toy who's string has been so worn that it's in two pieces now, Chase handed it to Will to retie, but the string was so short on one end it wasn't working.
Chase- Unky Will fix it!
Will- I can't, it won't work.
Chase- It's okay, you try again!

When I don't want Chase to play with something (like flashlights or the water/ice machine on the fridge) I tell him that it's broken and Papa can fix it when he gets home. I figure he'll forget by the time my dad does get home. Yesterday Will went to get Chase some water and when Chase insisted on ice Will told him it was broken. Chase responded with "No, Papa fixed it!" Well played Chase, well played.

Chase: Hudson's a little airplane!
Me: What? A little airplane?
Chase: No, Hudson's a big fat airplane!
Me: Where do you come up with this stuff?
Chase: Oh, poor Hudson!
(This left me confused and laughing. Ben has since clarified that when they are playing he holds Hudson in the air and zooms him around and pretends he's an airplane, which Chase thinks is delightful. Still not sure where "big fat airplane" came from though)

While my mom and sister were discussing who should hold Hudson, Chase reached out his arms and insisted "I hold the little guy."

Me: Chase would you like some more strawberries?
Chase: They are not strawberries Mommy. They fruit. (He knows everything. Also- we had a huge celebration this night because this picky eater ate strawberries, grapes, apples and bananas in the fruit salad! Small victories I tell ya!)

While on a walk
Airplane! Where ARE you?
(I entice him to ride in the stroller by telling him he can look for airplanes.)

While riding in the car and Hudson started fussing a little:
Chase: Put your binky in your mouth and suck. ON. IT! (We are a little bossy these days)

Easter

We had a really wonderful Easter this year. The older I get, the more I love this holiday. The beautiful weather lately just set a perfect scene for this beautiful holiday- rebirth, life, hope and the love of our Savior. I got a new calling this week to teach the 12 year olds in Sunday School and loved the opportunity to study and prepare a lesson about the Savior and the Atonement. It put me in the right mindset for Easter this year. I was trying to talk to Chase on Saturday about what we were celebrating with Easter and he answered, "eggs". I've got some work to do!

My mom and I put together Easter baskets for the boys with spring clothes in them. Chase looked at them and said "I don't want it!" He's usually a little sweeter than that! He loved the Easter egg hunt and wanted to stop to eat the candy after each piece he found. 

 I wanted pictures of my cute boys in their Sunday best, and my kids were so unphotogenic today! However, as their mother I still think they are cute, even if they aren't the charming perfect pictures I had imagined!

 After church we had a beautiful meal and we were so happy to have Heidi here with us! We ended the night up at Newbold's for birthday cake for sweet Katie. The day was full of sunshine, family, good food, new clothes (for the babies), chocolate, and a beautiful, spiritual church meeting- a pretty perfect Easter.

This is a quote from Jeffrey R. Holland that has meant a lot to me over this last year, that brings beautiful meaning to this Easter holiday:

"Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path- the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of the us all said: “I will not leave you comfortless: My Father and I will come to you and abide with you.”

Favorite Things

When Ben and I get a little time together guess what we talk about- our kids! We will lay in bed and talk about all the sweet and cute things we love about them. I wanted to document some of those things that we love about our kids in this stage, right now. 

Our Favorite Things About Hudson:

Hudson is such a calm, sweet baby. We love his patient, mellow personality. We love how sweet and cuddly he is. He has the cutest chubby cheeks with darling dimples. He smiles all the time now and it melts our hearts. We love the way he relaxes when you let him sleep on your chest- it's a little bit of heaven. I love that his hair looks like it's coming in a little red. We love his little coos and the way he furrows his brow when he stares into your eyes, like he knows exactly what he's telling us. We love the way his little hands will curl around your finger. We love his soft skin and his tiny toes. We love the way he's brought so much love and happiness to our home.

Our Favorite Things About Chase:

Chase is the happiest kid I know. He has the sweetest, most contagious smile. He laughs all day long, and makes us laugh all day long. Everything is a game to him. We love how he loves to help with whatever we are doing. We love his funny sense of  humor and how easy it is to make him laugh. We love his attention to his little brother, how he always wants to help burp or change him (ie- just throw a clean diaper on top of him) or put his binky back in. We love watching him splash in the bath. We love the funny things he says and how sweet his little voice sounds. We love the ideas he comes up with and how smart he is. We love watching him learn something new every single day and can't believe the things he takes in. We love his "big hugs" and kisses. We love seeing how excited he gets to see others- grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends- he just makes others feel loved. 

St Patricks Day 2013

My goofy boys on St. Patricks Day

These green jammies are Chase's only green clothes,

so he stayed in them all morning!

(Until it was time for church-

thankfully Nana bought him a green tie)

These pictures crack me up-

Chase makes me laugh at least twelve times a day.

And Hudson is such a good sport.

Heidi's Spring Break!

My sweet little sister Heidi was on Spring Break last week!

I'm so glad that she opted to come hang out with us instead of go

cruising with her friends! (Although she mentioned that the cruise sounded super ghetto and like a bad idea, so maybe I shouldn't be quite as flattered?)

We LOVED having her around!

We took lots of walks, played with my kids,

she got in some good babysitting so I could run errands,

made cookies with Chase, and just loved being together!

 Chase teases Heidi all the time-

and Heidi pretty much spoils him and gives him whatever he wants.

He's already asked for her several times since she went back to school!

 Getting the mail-

one of Chase's favorite activities.

For whatever reason, the car needed to be part of the walk to the 

mailbox on this particular day.

 And time with Heidi just wouldn't be complete

without me taking advantage of her beauty skills.

Heid straightened my hair one day, which I haven't done in 6 years-

this was Ben's first time seeing me with straight hair!

But happily, this time around, I was able to reciprocate a little.

I taught her how to do a sock bun (pictured above).

I'm so thankful for a sister!

Basically, it was wonderful having Heidi around.

I wish she could stay all the time,

but you know, she has to finish her degree and everything.

So we let her go back to Utah State.

We miss her now though- Love you Heidi!

Blessed

We blessed our sweet Hudson on Sunday

at my parents home (aka, our current residence).

Hudson, true to Hudson form, was a little angel all day long, 

including during his blessing.

He just sweetly looked around during his blessing,

probably just in awe of all the wonderful men surrounding him.

Ben gave him a beautiful blessing.

(Those who stood in the circle- Ben, both Hudson's grandpas- Reed Smith and Ray Hugo,

his uncles- Will Smith, Nate Smith and Kevin Irick,

and family friends Russell Virgin and Jesse Dunn)

 He wore the same little outfit that Chase wore when he was blessed,

loving made by my wonderful mom. 

He looked adorable in it-

and luckily, it stayed clean all night!

The whole Smith family!

Our last family picture, from Will and Kate's wedding,

was almost immediately outdated when Hudson was born 19 days later.

This was the best shot we got,

which I love even though neither brother is really looking at the camera,

and Will is holding Hudson's burp cloth.

I love all the people in it and I was so happy that they made the time

to come up for Hudson's special day.

and here are the Hugo family members that were there-

 My mom bought Chase this cute suit a few weeks ago,

and it made it's grand debut for blessing day!

Chase was excited to be wearing a suit coat "just like Papa"

(apparently Ben doesn't wear his suit coat often enough-

and sure enough, as soon as Ben took his off at church Chase followed suit).

 We like blessing our babies at home and just having family and close friends there. Ben's dad Ray flew out for the blessing and I was so glad that Hudson got to have both of his grandpa's there in the blessing circle. Ben's sister Jessi, her husband Kevin and their little one year old Wayne Michael also came down from Logan. My Grandma and Grandpa Smith were there, as well as my Aunt Dennette. Most of our friends from our BYU years have since moved out of state, but happily our wonderful friends the Virgin family is still around! Russell, Ashley and their girls Brooklynn and Kynlee came up from Provo to celebrate with us. And we had a little Dominican spirit there since our good friends, the Dunns- Jesse, Jessica, Streator and Savanna came. It was just perfect and we were so happy to spend the day with our family and friends! After the blessing we had Cafe Rio style burritos/salads and other yummy salads and desserts. Thank you so much for everyone who helped me out with the food!

Chase was overjoyed to have other kids around! He spent quite a while running around with Savanna and giving her hugs! Savanna and Streator were his only friends in Florida and we saw them almost every day- they picked up right where they left off. It was pretty darling! I wish I had taken more pictures, but I got busy talking and prepping food and only got this one picture of Chase and Savanna. All the kids played together in the basement and Chase was pretty much vibrating he was so happy!

 I love our little family of four!

As I was getting ready for the day I was reflecting on Hudson and his journey to join our family. I've mentioned it before, but during that first trimester on the island we thought we may have lost him on two separate occasions. Both times I was so sad, I already wanted him so badly. At the time I didn't know if he was a boy or a girl or what his name would be, but I just longed for this little one to be in our family. It's amazing how connected and attached you can feel to a baby that is no bigger than a blueberry. Then, besides the scares to the health of the pregnancy, I was just so sick. Living in a third world country that is blistering hot, having to walk everywhere pushing a stroller, with gross garbage and cows by the sides of the road (lovely smells here) and any taxi ride was just wild and windy, was just hard. I felt overwhelmed by the responsibility to care for Chase when I felt so crummy and nauseous all the time. I couldn't sleep at night because I felt so awful. I was the Relief Society president at the time and felt like a major slacker, knowing I could have done a much better job if I felt a little better. I prayed a lot, for help and comfort and strength. And I felt like I was blessed with it. This winter life at our house has been stressful to say the least with Ben's big tests coming up. I felt like we were crazy to bring a newborn into this!   Why were we adding the stress of another baby during an already crazy time? Hudson has been a joy, a blessing and brought so much peace and love to our home. When I'm feeling stressed about other things in life, I just hold this sweet newborn and cuddle him and feel so much love and peace from my Father in Heaven. I reflected on all the emotions that I felt going through all these things and think that Heavenly Father sent this special little spirit to us at this time for a reason. He's a strong, sweet, loving little boy. Ben and I thank our Father in Heaven for our sweet boys every day and feel so lucky that they are ours!

Comparisons

I get asked a lot if our kids look alike-

                            Chase at 6 weeks                         Hudson at 6 weeks

(there is an obvious weight difference there!)

Chase- St. Patricks Day 2011 (10 weeks)

Hudson- St. Patricks Day 2013 (7 weeks)

I think they look like brothers, but definitely not like the same baby.
They've got the same head shape, the same beautiful blue eyes (thanks to their dad)
and similar noses.
But, Hudson has a lot less hair than Chase did and it looks darker and redder.
Also- obviously- Hudson is a much bigger kid than our tiny Chase baby was.
It's probably a good thing, Hudson needs to fill out and toughen up
to keep up with his crazy energetic big brother.

What we've been up to...

We haven't had a whole lot of exciting things going lately,

just the same old daily routine.

Except that I swear this baby is bigger and cuter every day!

 I haven't caught a really good smile on camera yet,

but it's the sweetest thing ever. One of my favorite things about 

being a mom is seeing my babies smile!

Speaking of which-

here is another picture of Chase saying "smile" but not actually really doing it...

 We had a fun Sunday this last week!

We had a birthday dinner for my dad,

which means that Heidi, Will and Katie all joined us!

We love having them come home.

Chase was especially thrilled at all the new people here to humor 

him by playing endless hide-and-seek.

Will and Kate, chillin with a very relaxed Hudson

 The family photo Heidi snapped for us-

I haven't gotten a picture of the 4 of us since we brought Hudson home!

 Chase showing off his new BYU jammies-

and hanging out with some of his favorite people.

 And a close up of Will and Hudson snuggling.

 Other than that,

the highlight of our week is that there is finally 

a little sunshine around here!

(The sun is out and it's a little warm-

I love that spring is on the way!)

I've been soaking it up as much as possible

by taking the littles out in the stroller.

Chase looks for airplanes and Hudson snoozes-

I think we are all pretty happy with the arrangement!

Future Aggies?

I know, I know... Ben and I didn't even go to Utah State-

but our children look adorable in their Aggie apparel! 

They have an Aunt Heidi who is a current Aggie

and has kept them well dressed.

We actually don't really care if they follow in our footsteps and go to BYU,

or end up at Utah State, 

or some other school for that matter-

but there is something so endearing about tiny college outfits.

I actually took these pictures for my awesome dad,

it's his birthday today!

He's a darling Grandpa to these boys and they both love him.

He's a USU grad, so I thought this would be cute for his desk at work.

Chase was so excited to give him his present (or help him open it really).

When my dad got home I told Chase to go give him a hug and tell him happy birthday.

As Chase ran down the hall he said quietly "Happy Birthday"

and then upon seeing my dad said, "I have a present!"

Papa let Chase do all the unwrapping- highlight of Chase's day!

While not actually frame worthy,

this last one cracks me up!

So fitting of our every day life-

Hudson is covered in spit up and Chase is being crazy!

Coming soon-

pictures of the boys in their BYU outfits! 

(We are just waiting for Hudson to grow into his-

the way he eats, I don't think it will be long!)

I need to freeze time...

Lately I've felt overwhelmed at how fast my boys are growing! In the last few months Chase's winter clothes (size 2T) have gone from being too big to too small. He's gone from saying mostly two and three word sentences to almost full, complete grown up sentences. He tries to help with Hudson all the time and loves doing "tummy time"- which means he lies down next to Hudson and asks me to take their picture. Hudson has already put on a few pounds since he was born and his 0-3 clothes are starting to get small. He's got an awesome little double chin and darling chubby cheeks. He's holding his little head up so well and is staying awake for longer and longer every day.

 These boys growing up makes me want to slow time down! I almost feel a little anxious at the end of each day thinking that they are one day older. I hope I've spent enough time teaching and nurturing them. I hope I've spent enough time enjoying them. I try to spend as much time as possible snuggling Hudson and laughing at Chase's adorable antics. As exciting as each new milestone is, part of me wants to keep them little and sweet like this forever!

 Now that I'm a mom, I can see how other moms are constantly feeling guilty and like they've come up short. I feel like I can work all day and still feel like it wasn't enough. If I spend my time playing with my kids and enjoying them, I feel stressed that laundry and dishes are going undone. When I clean, I feel like I should be savoring time with my kids. And I feel a little guilty about checking facebook and emails when there are little boys to be soaking up. Hopefully soon I'll figure out how to make peace with it all and balance my time appropriately! Lately I've been trying to just enjoy the moments we have and embracing this stage of life- not that I'm perfect at it- there was definitely a day last week where Chase, Hudson and I were all in tears simultaneously- but mostly I love the sweet little moments I share with these two!