We Bought a HOUSE!

The biggest (literally) thing going on in our lives over the last two months has been that we bought a house! We started house hunting the first part of February and immediately found out that house hunting is kind of stressful and frustrating, I was feeling kind of drained after only 5 days! We were looking online every night and seeing a few houses each day. I saw one online, a serious fixer-upper, and suggested we look at it. Timing worked out that only Ben was able to go see it, but he came back feeling pretty good about that house- if we could get it at a good price. It was on forclosure, so the online auction closed that night at midnight. An hour before the auction closed we submitted a totally low-ball offer and decided if it was meant to be then it would happen. The next morning while I was running I just daydreamed about the house and all it's potential- I realized I really wanted it (and I hadn't even seen it in person yet). A few hours later they called to say our offer was accepted- we were ecstatic!

The next 2 months were spent going through lots and lots of red tape and submitting more paper work than I ever could have imagined they would need. Since the house is in rough shape (all cosmetic, thankfully) we had to sneak in and fix a few things so that our loan could be approved- and then undo the work we'd done so that HUD (the government agency that owns the home now) wouldn't know we'd been there. So crazy! Every few days they would tell us it was almost ready to close, only to have them need "one more thing" to approve everything that would take a few more days. Each weekend that went by without closing got frustrating- especially since we knew it was going to be SO MUCH WORK, we just wanted to get started so badly. Last Tuesday we finally got the go ahead and had everything ready to close. We were at the title office signing papers when they came in and announced that the party was over and we had to stop! There was a minor discrepancy in our paperwork on the purchase agreement vs the loan documents and HUD would not allow it. So we had to stop and wait 3 more days for HUD to redo the paperwork and send it back. It was so frustrating! Finally this afternoon we signed papers and the house is ours!

We knew going into house hunting that we wouldn't be able to afford everything we wanted- and we were okay with that. Each house we saw we'd talk through the pros and cons of that home, and honestly this house had by far the best of what was most important to us. It is in an excellent school system. It's big enough that we could stay forever if we wanted (5 bedrooms, 4 baths). It seems like it's in a really nice area. The yard is a decent size. We are just so happy with it! The big thing is that it just needs a lot of cosmetic work- we have to paint every surface of the house (walls, baseboards, ceilings, doors, cabinets- everything!) and clean a lot- it is so so dirty! We are recarpetting the whole house (the previous owners had animals) and we have a few spots in the walls that need to be repaired. We have to build a new railing for the open staircase (only a temporary one is there now) and install some of the baseboards/moldings. It's definitely going to be a big project- but one we are so excited to take on!

Here is a picture of the outside of the house- we will wait to show the inside until we get the work done, then you can see the before and after pics!

Out of the mouth of Chase

After telling him he needed to take one more bite of his dinner, he puts his head down and under his breath says, "You have GOT to be kidding me!"

I came downstairs to find Chase trying to play and Hudson sitting on top of the toys Chase was playing with. Chase said, "Mom, a little help here! I'm just having a pwoblem with this baby!"

Heidi: What happened to your chin Chase?
Chase: Well I just built a bridge out of pillows and I tried to walk on it and I just fell. (shocking that the pillows didn't support his weight)
Heidi: Where did you get that idea from?
Chase: Oh I got it from facebook!
Heidi: Facebook?
Chase: Well, obviously I don't have a facebook.

Chase came running out of preschool and in the most excited voice said, "Did Hudson miss me?!" Then threw open the car door and cutely exclaimed "Well hi there Huds!"

Randomly in the car one day (right after he had a lesson in primary about how Heavenly Father made fish)- "Mom did you know that fish is good? It is mom! And so now we can go to Red Lobster! They have fish for little kids and just lobster for adults. Do you want to go to Red Lobster Huds? We can see if they have fish available!"
What the heck! He has their weird obsession with wanting to eat at Red Lobster and he's told many people about it. I am SO not a fish person and I'm not really even sure how he knows about Red Lobster, but he's sure intrigued.

At the museum another Mom came up and asked me if I was Chase's mom. She said she thought he was cute and that he kept asking her little girl to go on a date with him to the farm! In Chase's defense, a "date" in our house is any special little outing, like when Ben takes him to ice cream or something. Then later I overheard him saying to a random child "Hi! Do you want to be my construction friend? We are building something new today!"

While picking up toys Ben said, "Hey buddy, it looks like you are making good progress."
Chase: Yeah, progress is another word for earning back screen time!

While my mom was babysitting:
Nana: Okay Chase, it's time for bed!
Chase: No, my bedtime is at 8:00.
Nana: It's 8:06
Chase: Actually my bedtime is 8:07

March

Chase had pirate day at preschool. It was pretty darn exciting! Chase usually hates costumes, and he really just wanted to wear his firefighter costume from Halloween. I finally convinced him to wear a pirate costume, but then he didn't want to wear one unless it was an exact replica of Jake's (of the Neverland pirates). We ended up here and he looked pretty cute! More importantly, he had a great time at preschool that day. They had a treasure hunt and he brought home his prized treasure!

 It was my wonderful dad's birthday. We celebrated a few days earlier at lunch with the whole family (minus Heidi who is in Boston). The boys were surprisingly good at the restaurant, possibly due to unlimited refills on chocolate milk. We had a great time as a family and loved celebrating my awesome dad!

 We've been doing little science experiments at home lately. This is one I found on pinterest for "dancing milk" and the boys loved it. Milk, food coloring, dish soap, and then eventually some baking soda and vinegar.

 On my dad's actual birthday we ran out and got some donuts for after dinner. Hudson was very insistent from the minute we bought the donuts that Papa get a candle in his, so of course, we did.

 On March 15th it was so beautiful that we had a BBQ and fire outside! It was so fun! Chase wanted to swim too, which of course did not happen, but he warmed up to the idea when he got to roast his own marshmallows. I love this picture because I was trying to get Chase to smile, and he wasn't cooperating, and I caught Hudson sneaking fries off Chase's plate. It was so fun we've done it each Saturday since- it's kind of a Smith Family tradition.

 Hudson wore this little suit to church and it was the cutest thing I've ever seen. The next Sunday we did pictures with both the boys. I wanted to get cute pictures of them, which of course didn't work out very well. I wanted to get new ties for them this year, but instead I ended up making them. I made them these ties out of one of Ben's old mission ties that he doesn't wear anymore.

St Patrick's Day

The winter makes me feel a strong need to up my parenting game. The beautiful weather of the spring, summer and fall gives us hours and hours of outside fun and play and happy kids. The cold weather (and all the sickness we've had) has led to a LOT of time inside and honestly more screen time for the kiddos than I'd like (although they certainly aren't complaining). My solution to this has been to try to involve the kids in extra activities like art projects and simple science experiments. This past week I decided to do St. Patrick's Day themed thing each day we can- and what fun we've had! I've never "celebrated" this holiday so much in my life, but I guess that's life with two little ones at home.

We checked a book out of the library about a leprechaun who is sad that he lost his pot of gold. We talked about how leprechaun's hunt for gold at the end of the rainbow and then we made rainbows out of torn paper. We talked about the order of the colors in every rainbow and talked a little about the process by which we see rainbows. Both boys loved this activity! Chase was very serious about creating an accurate rainbow and Hudson really enjoyed a more abstract approach and sole control over a glue stick.

The next day we made mint chocolate chip cookies- dyed green of course. The boys obviously loved this. I've just recently gotten brave enough to cook with both kids at the same time, and let me tell you, it's no piece of cake! I have to remind myself that we are having fun and learning, but it is chaotic and messy! Not to mention that they are both major cookie dough stealers- with the two year old being more persistent and undeterred than I've ever seen a child before!

One day we made four leaf clovers out of pipe cleaners. My boys LOVE pipe cleaners and I had green ones left over from a Christmas activity. Hudson just played around with his, but Chase was able to follow my instructions and put his together with very little help from me. Then we "searched" for these lucky clovers- we've taken turns hiding them for the others to find.

 On actual St Patrick's Day I made the boys a green breakfast- a green smoothie and green muffins. As you can see from the picture, one kid was more excited about them than the other.

 I made a green lunch as well, green pasta, a green apple and lime yogurt to dip. I can't say that the green pasta was impressive in any way to my kids.

We did a little hunt for leprechaun gold. Nora joined us, and I love these pictures of Hudson explaining the whole deal to her. 

I think you can say St. Patrick's Day was well celebrated in our family this year! Now on to Easter!

A few of my Favorite Things

Once a year I like to write a post about my favorite things about my boys at this stage- here are a few of my favorite things right now:

Chase: Chase is turning into the cutest little person! I love how we can have full conversations now and he understands so much. I love how smart he is and how he has the whole world figured out. I love that he is so friendly, he literally makes friends everywhere we go and is so happy to be around other kids. I love the way he tries to take care of Hudson, the other day I found Hudson's favorite book right inside his door on the floor when I walked in to get him from his nap. Hudson had a hard time going down for a nap that day, so Chase thought he'd like a book. I love reading with this kid, listening to him sing, and my personal favorite- his version of yoga. He's made up his own poses like "armadillo" "whale" and "snake" which are just hilarious. I love watching him ride his bike and see how far he's come in the last few weeks and the joy he gets from it.

Hudson: The best thing about Hudson right now is the way he's talking- it's so cute! He's sharing his thoughts so well, usually with his head cocked to the side and nodding at you, you know, just to make sure you got his point. He uses "I two" to answer many questions. I love his laugh and how easy it is to make him laugh. And although I don't love the way he hits me when he's mad at me, the "Sowwy Mommy!" I get after is heart melting. I love how he's fiercely independent and wants to "Do it myself" all the time as he figures out the world. I love the way he lays his head on my shoulder when I hold him (sometimes, if he's tired). I love the funny faces he makes just to make us laugh. I love the way he'll sit and cuddle with me through 10 books at a time. I love the way he dotes on his little cousin and loves her so much. I love the way he plays and tries to be big like Chase.

I love these boys so much- they are my world. I feel so lucky to spend every day with them. They are growing up so fast, and even though it makes my heart hurt a little, I love the little people they are growing to be. 

Out of the Mouth of Hudson

Ben went in to get him after a nap and Hudson just looked up at him and insisted "I busy!" So Ben let him stay in bed for another half hour and talk to himself. When we went in to get him he just laid on his bed and said "I tired. I nap."

He randomly holds things up to his ear and says, "Hall-o, name's Hudson. I two." Over and over again.

In the car Ben and I could hear Hudson sitting in the backseat saying to himself, "I have two fat piggies. Two silly little piggies. Two wee little piggies! Sometimes their hot piggies! Sometimes they are COLD little piggies!" (He was reciting one of his favorite books)

Me: Hudson how are you doing today?
Hudson: I TWO (with a sigh and head tilt)
It's a pretty good explanation of how he is.

Whining in the morning for daddy to come get him out of his crib. Ben walks in and Hudson immediately says, "No...I want dad.....Oh, I want MOMMY!" The exact opposite happened when I went in to get him the next morning, "No (in grogginess) I want mommy....I wanted daddy!" Basically he just wants whoever isn't there.

We went to get Donuts for my dad's birthday on Monday and Hudson was so insistent, "We put a can-el in it Mom!" He repeated that over and over for the next few hours and was thrilled/satisfied when I actually put a candle in his donut so we could sing to him.

Out of the Mouth of Chase

Chase: Mom, where does Jesus live?
Me: Where do you think he lives?
Chase: Um, I think he lives in the clouds.
Me: Yeah you are probably right.
Chase: Yeah Mom! But except I have been to the clouds and I didn't see Jesus there!
Me: When were you in the clouds?
Chase: When we went to see Grandma and Papa Ray! (meaning the airplane)

During story time at the library while the cute librarian lady was talking about a book called Round as a pancake:
Chase: Guess what! My daddy makes the best pancakes in the whole world! He does!
(Other adults in the room look at him with smiles of cuteness)
Librarian: He does! And what shape are they? Are they squares?
Chase: Oh! My Nana has a waffle maker that makes square waffles! Square waffles! Can you even believe that!
(And then I told Chase that story time is about listening to the book, not telling the 20 other kids in the room about breakfast at our house)

One morning Chase crawled into bed with me and Ben and was feeling chatty, so we were quietly talking about a bunch of things. It had been a rough night with the kids- nightmares and bedwetting and just general lack of sleep for their parents.
Me (to Ben): How'd you sleep honey?
Chase: Oh I just slept really good!
Me: That's good to hear Chase, but I was talking to your dad.
Chase: Oh. Mom, when can I be "honey"?

Comes inside crying:
Chase: MOM! Dad said I lost my screen time!
Me: Why did he say that? What did you do?
Chase: I was just playing and doing something and dad said he told me to stop a lot of times and that I wasn't listening and then he said that I lost my screen time!
Me: Well did you listen to him?
Chase: (with an expression of incredulousness and determination) NO!

He's been pulling some primary shenanigans lately. He was asked spur of the moment to give the scripture a few weeks ago. My mom is in the primary presidency, so she came and got me so I could watch. Once he finished the scripture and nice lady helping him tried to tell him to sit down and instead he insisted "I'm not done!" and then started singing a song he made up about a firetruck.

A few weeks later he was giving the prayer. He told my mom he was going to say the prayer and sing his firetruck song again.
Nana: No Chase, just give the prayer, otherwise you can't say that prayer at all.
Chase: Okay Nana, but it's going to be a long one!
Then after the (long) prayer she prompted him to go sit down and he said, "But I need to do my dance!"

Then a lady asked them all if they'd completed their challenge of being kind that month. Chase raised his hand and then loudly shared with everyone, "I wasn't kind. I lost my screen time."