Hudson is TWO!

Hudson has been a complete joy! He's the cutest little thing and my heart just swells with happiness that he's here in our family! At his two year doctor appointment he was 29.6 pounds (80th percentile) and 35 inches (78th percentile)- he's still our big solid boy!

At two years Hudson loves Elmo, cars and tractors and airplanes, his blankey and monkey that he sleeps with every night without fail, his own crib, playing outside, digging, bathtime, and "chocate".

At two years Hudson dislikes the idea of potty training (when I ask him he insists "I wear DIAPERS!"), anything but milk in his sippy cup (no water- that's a crime apparently), sharing a lap with Chase, and just generally being told no.

Some funny things he's said lately:
After hitting me one day (a common occurence, we are working on it) I told him he had to apologize. He looked at my with tears in his eyes and said, "I NOT SORRY!" and then ran away crying. (Let it be known that my crime which instigated the original hit was offering him a post-nap sippy cup o' milk)

When I ask him how old he is, he responds with "good". Then sometimes he'll say "Chase four. I two."

He repeatedly walks into my dad's room (who just had knee replacement surgery), sits on a chair in there, kicks his little legs and says "Hi Papa! Hi Papa!" over and over again.

He mostly talks about himself in the third person, which we love. It's all "Hudson wants milk" and "Hudson do it".

He asks all the time to go to the "mi-swim" (museum).

All week long he accessorized himself- with the same things- the John Deere hat, always on sideways, and an EFY lanyard of Heidi's he found in her room (then occasionally he added the binoculars as well). He pretty much wore this all week any time he was awake and it was hilarious/adorable.

Hudson has filled our lives with joy and we are just so happy he's part of us! He went from being the sweetest, most easy going baby, to a crazy, funny, anything-but-easy-going toddler (who I still call a baby). He keeps us on our toes and melts our hearts every single day. We love you Hudson James!

Out of the Mouth of Chase

Said in the sweetest, most innocent voice: Sometimes I just get annoyed with you Dad.

I'm going to throw up. But not just right this minute.

Hey Keely- I liked your baby shower! (That I hosted 10 months ago) Hey guess what- now I know where babies come from! They come from BABY SHOWERS!

Heidi: Chase, doesn't it make you sad when Hudson is sick like this?
Chase: Yeah. My mom says we can watch lots of movies today!

Heidi: Chase what is your favorite Christmas movie?
Chase: Cars: Finn's Very Merry Christmas (Disclaimer: not a real movie. I have no idea where he came up with that!)

Me: (upon waking up from his nap) Did you sleep well Chase?
Chase: Yeah Mom! That's kind of the point.

We were talking about the 4th Article of Faith and got to the part about "laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost." Then Chase says, "Yeah, I do that every night. (Then he lays his head down on his hands in a sleeping position) See, I lay on my hands every night!"

Nana: Here Chase, let me blow your nose.
Chase: Nope. I just want to keep it in.

Me: How did you get so cute Chase?
Chase: Oh, Jesus just made me this way.

As we were leaving for a date night Chase followed us out the door, almost in tears. I gave him another hug and kiss and then he said, "Mom I just had to tell you......to.....have a nice date."

Our Virginia Trip

 

One of our new years resolutions this year was to travel more and we are getting to it! We just got back last night from a four day trip to Virginia! This trip has actually been in the plans for a long time. Ray and Diane wanted us to come out to visit and generously paid for our airfare to come. The boys were so excited to fly on an airplane! Although we flew a LOT with Chase when he was younger, this was Hudson's first flight. The flight there went as smooth as it could have- there were lots of extra seats on the plane so we could spread out and the boys stayed fairly happy and entertained the whole way to Baltimore, MD. Ray picked us up there and we had a 3 hour drive to Powhatan, VA where Ben's parents live.

This trip ended up being kind of weird timing, since I came down with a really awful head cold 2 days before we left. I kept thinking I'd feel better by the time we left, but I was still pretty sick the day we flew, which lead to some intense ear and sinus for me, both on the plane and for about 24 hours afterwards. I was worried that maybe Chase was getting it because he had a lot of ear pain on the flight, which has never happened to him before. Between all the sickness and a long long day of traveling, we were all pretty relieved to get to the house! 

Once we got to their home the boys were introduced to Andy and Chelie- the Hugos cute little dogs. The boys loved them! Chelie is still a puppy, and pretty hyper, but still so sweet with the kids. Hudson quickly learned to boss her around and from then on we were constantly hearing, "No Chelie! No Chelie!" and then immediately "Chelie- come here!" Every single time Chelie barked Hudson stretched his arm out and yelled at her "too loud Chelie!" It was all pretty darling. 

We had plans to go on some fun little adventures while we were there- and only one actually happened. We did go visit a little bakery that some of their friends own for the boys to pick out donuts, which they loved. The rest of the day was spent mostly just taking it easy, since we had gotten to bed so late the night before and we were all still pretty tired.

Saturday our plans for fun were quickly dashed when Chase woke up at 2:00 am sick! My kid who NEVER gets sick has now been sick three times this winter- and his timing has been terrible (Christmas morning and now vacation!). Unfortunately, Chase never really got over the sickness while we were there. He was coughing a lot and had a fever on and off and was really tired and lethargic. It was so sad! Chase's sickness ended up being worse at nights, which meant that Ben and I were up with him for a big portion of each night while we were there. Once again reminding us that traveling with the kids is not a vacation, it's an adventure.

Saturday night Ben and I left the kiddos with his parents and had a little date night to meet up with our dear friends, Andrew and Chana Alder! We got to go be good friends with them when they were our neighbors for two years down in Provo and it was so so fun to see them again! They live in DC so we met in Fredericksburg, VA, which is about half way at a Korean restaurant (Ben picked, obviously). We had a wonderful night with the Alders and their cute daughter Grace. We met the best people at BYU and it's been so fun to stay in touch with these wonderful friends! Meanwhile, our boys enjoyed a night in being spoiled by their grandparents, who made them pizza for dinner and then let them have Oreos (a treat that they pretty much only associate with their Papa Ray). 

Sunday night we did a little BBQ and birthday party for the boys and they got to open their birthday gifts from Grandma and Papa Ray, which they loved. We did presents in Ben's grandma's suite (attached to Ray and Diane's home) so she could be part of it. She's getting so frail now we didn't do a lot of visiting with her (especially with all our sickness we brought with us), but it was still so great to be able to see her and introduce her to Hudson.

So overall, even though the trip didn't go as planned due to a crazy amount of sickness on our part, we still had a wonderful time. The boys enjoyed spending time bonding with their grandparents, which was really the point in us going anyway. Ben and I love seeing people love and dote on our sweet boys! 

The flight home was, well, probably the worst flight ever. I think Hudson will be put on the no-fly list. Basically, during our drive back to Balitmore on Monday morning Hudson was super cranky and his nose was running, so we assumed he was coming down with whatever was already plaguing Chase. We dosed both boys with medicine before the flight, hoping to eliminate fevers and ear pain. Shortly after taking off Hudson started screaming and would not stop! Ben finally got him to sleep for about 45 minutes, when the captain came on the loud speaker to talk and woke him up! And the screaming continued...for at least an hour. We are talking about screaming, crying, thrashing his little body around, and no matter what we did he would not be consoled. We were trying everything- the iPad, chocolate, juice, cuddling, bouncing, singing, you name it- we tried it. It was stressful and frustrating for us- I can't imagine how much more frustrating it was for Hudson. He was so tired, and we are assuming his ears were probably killing him! We finally got him to sleep again and he slept for another hour and then woke up fairly pleasant for that last hour into Salt Lake. It was crazy and exhausting and we were so happy to just get home! Oh Hudson, we may never fly with you ever again. Chase was a champ. Chase is invited to travel with us anytime. 

So it was fun to getaway, show our kids another part of the country and spend time with family that we rarely get to see. Even though it was hard and exhausting, I'm still glad we were able to go. Thanks to Ray and Diane for flying us in and being such wonderful, understanding hosts!

Chase at 4 Years Old

How can it be that my baby is 4? I feel like it was just yesterday he was a tiny baby in my arms. I love this kid- and I'm clearly not the only one. In fact, Chase steals people's hearts everywhere we go. A few members of our ward have told me how much they love him and that he's their favorite kid. He just loves people! Here are some little facts about our little boy:

• He still loves all things that go- tractors, trucks, construction equipment, trains, planes, etc. He can play with these toys for hours.
• Has a serious love for dirt and digging. This winter he's enjoying digging in snow too.
• Loves books. He'll sit in your lap forever while you read to him. This past year he amazed us and learned to read. He can read whole books by himself now and is constantly reading billboards, street signs, random flyers to me. Between this and his excellent hearing and memory, we've realized we have to be very careful about what we say/see around him.

• Still says hilarious things every single day. He's so smart and makes the funniest/cutest observations about the world around him. 
• Loves to be with friends. His best friends are Will and Matt Newbold and Paisley Stucker. Matt and Paisley are in his preschool class which he has loved. 
• He loves screens- iPads, computers and TV. We work hard to limit his screen time, which he's pretty good about. His favorite shows lately are still Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Wild Kratts.

• He really is a great big brother to Hudson. He's getting so good at sharing with him, looking out for him and helping him with things, and standing up for him (which is not good when he's standing up for him against ME "It's okay Mom, sometimes babies don't want to eat their vegetables so we just don't make them. Okay mom? He's just a baby")
• He normally says that red is his favorite color, but sometimes he says it's white or brown. 
• His favorite foods are cold cereal (especially chocolate chex), bananas, tortillas, and basically all things with sugar- donuts, ice cream, cookies and cake. 

Ben and I love this kid so much! He's the happiest, sweetest boy. Not that some days aren't challenging and we of course get frustrated from time to time, but really he's made all our lives so much sweeter. Right as I am typing this the clock is turning to 7:50 pm- the exact time he was born- easily the best moment of my life up to that point. Love you Chase! 

Chase's 4th Birthday Party

We had our sweet Chase's birthday party on Saturday, January 3rd- the day before his actual birthday. He was so excited for his birthday party and so excited to give the invitations out to his little friends. He's been talking about his own birthday party since last fall, and originally it was always a train themed party. Then during December he started wanting to have the theme be any old thing he came across that he liked- sand, candy canes, combines, etc. Last week I finally sat him down and gave him some options for party themes- doable options of things that I know he likes (Lightning McQueen, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Mickey Mouse, and Planes) and obviously he picked Planes- and was excited about it!

I made his cake the night before, and despite his original skepticism due to it's lack of featuring Ripslinger, I think he ultimately decided he liked it.  He got to pick out the cake mix, and he of course chose chocolate (4 years in a row now). Chase really loves chocolate cake and I'm glad he's easy to please. 

When he watched me making this birthday banner earlier in the week he got so hyper and ran around the house singing happy birthday to himself. I got a few balloons the morning of the party, which just increased Chase's excitement. Both of my boys love balloons and have been playing with them all day. Chase was equally impressed with the dusty plates, cups and napkins I got for the party. I love how easy it is to impress an almost 4 year old!

A funny little story: Chase was so hyper the morning of his party (it was at 11:00 am). He was running around the house when he noticed that my mom was wearing new slippers. When he asked her about them she told him that her old slippers got a hole in them. Chase immediately burst into tears crying that he just loved her old slippers and had a mini meltdown over it- I'm sure due to his pent up excitement and not so much that he had a strong emotional attachment to my mom's house slippers. Luckily his little friends showed up right after that and snapped him right out of that bad mood!

Chase had five little guests at his party: Will and Matt Newbold, Paisley Stucker, Edyn Edgmon and Addy Palmer and it was the cutest little group of kids! I really do love his little friends. The first thing we did was read the story of Dusty Crophopper, in case all the other kids aren't as big of fans as mine are. Then we played pin the propeller on Dusty.

After that Ben held a little flight school for the kids, which was adorable. Then we had them fly through their own "Wings Around the Globe Rally" aka, an obstacle course that included a little slide, flying through a storm (a fan and bubbles), under a table, through a blanket tunnel and around the couch. They loved it! Especially the little boys who did the course again and again and again.

Chase loved opening his gifts. All his friends were so thoughtful and cute and Chase gave them each a hug and said thank you. Nora was so excited to sit on the floor with the kids and kept waving her little arms and squealing- such a party girl!

We finished off with lunch (pizza and some cut up veggies) and then cake and ice cream. I loved my little Chase watching everyone sing to him with a huge smile on his face. It was such a fun little party, pretty simple and easy and Chase had a great time, which was the goal. We love our little Chase so much and loved celebrating his special day with him!