Snippets of September

September seems like it was a crazy month and I kind of can't believe it's almost over! One highlight of September was that Ben's mom and brother Nathan come out for a super quick visit! We loved seeing them, even if it was only for one night.

 This is just a funny picture I took of my super distraught Hudson, who is mad that his pizza is hot. It is WAY too much to ask a baby to wait three minutes for his food to cool down to an acceptable temperature.

 We spent a lot of time outside. Hudson is so into sunglasses these days. He handed me this pair, and instructed me to wear them. And then he wore his. And we hung out like this on the swing for a little while.

 We had a fun birthday lunch to celebrate Will last Saturday. We met at Settebello's in Farmington and had a great time. My kids were slightly crazy, but did as well as could be expected. When Nate came and tried to hug my kids, Hudson refused while giggling and Chase pretended to be asleep. Hudson loves to talk to Nora, talk about Nora (like point out her eyes and mouth), and then when Nana was paying too much attention to Nora, Hudson tried to stab her with his fork. He's an aggressive one.

 My mom bought these boys these cute BYU jerseys and Hudson has proudly worn his often. I have to bribe Chase to wear his during BYU games.

Last Saturday was cold and super rainy, which foiled our original plans for the day. The morning found us at the indoor playground at the mall, where the boys had a blast. Chase could have stayed all day, but Hudson decided it was a fun game to try to sneak out of the playground and run away from me through the mall- laughing the whole time. So we left after an hour. I love seeing Chase run around a playground with a huge smile on his face and making friends with whatever little kids are around him. 

September was awesome. My only regret is that my little boys are now a month older, but there really isn't anything I can do to stop that. We have so much fun with these cute boys!

Out of the Mouth of Chase

After coming home from a date with his dad:
"Mom! The great pumpkin has arrived! I spotted him! And daddy spotted him too!"

We were outside, Ben and I were sitting on the swing talking and the boys were playing away. I was explaining (calmly, seriously) to Ben why I was stressed about something or another and Chase comes right up to me with a huge smile and his twinkling blue eyes and says,
"Mom, you have a big family! So just be happy and don't fight with daddy. Just be happy okay?"
(I think this may have come from him hearing my dad tell me when I'm stressed about things before to not worry about it because I have a beautiful little family and that's really all that matters in life.)

Chase: Dad, do we have enough money to buy a house yet?
Ben: No, not yet buddy.
Chase: When we do can we get one with a basement?
(This once again confirms to me that Chase listens to everything we say- it's not like we discuss financial/house buying stuff with Chase, but obviously he overhears these discussions, like the one above. Clearly we need to carefully screen what we say around the crazy little guy)

I had made crepes for breakfast and my mom and Chase were eating them.
Nana: These are so yummy! Chase, you are so lucky that your mommy is such a good cook.
Chase: Well.....(insert huge eye roll) she can't make pancakes.
(This is true.)

Chase came into our room the other night while we were watching a show in bed:
I just can't sleep! I need a girl to come snuggle with me in my bed!
I think he was angling for mommy to come snuggle with him, but Ben assured him that he can't cuddle with a girl in his bed until he's married :)

Daddy, did you know that spiders come in all shapes and sizes?
"Did you know?" has become a very common phrase around here these days.

13 Years Later

I'm feeling a little sentimental today on the 13th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on New York City and Washington DC. I remember that day so clearly, the sadness and panic and feeling that the world would never be quite the same again. My sweet neighbor died in one of the planes that hit the towers, so even out in Kaysville, UT, the attack hit home.

I've been thinking about that tragedy a lot today, mostly I think because lately I've had some perfect (and I really mean perfect) moments with my kids the last few days. This September weather has been wonderfully warm and crisp and we've been outside enjoying rich blues skies and just a touch of red in the mountains. Yesterday we went to the park to feed the ducks. My boys giggled and quacked and loved every minute of it. Today we played out in the front yard blowing bubbles. I loved seeing my children run to pop them and squeal with delight. I can't really put into words how much I love experiencing the world through the eyes of these innocent little loves, but my heart just swells with gratitude that they are mine.

So as I've thought about the tragedy that happened 13 years ago contrasted with the love and happiness I've felt lately, I can't help but feel so grateful for this country. I'm grateful for the beautiful life I have here and the chance I have to raise my family here. There's no place I'd rather be.

Chase goes to Preschool!

 My sweet Chaser started preschool this week! As I tried to figure out the right thing to do with preschool a lot of different factors came to my mind: was I ready to send him? Could we really afford it? Would he love it? The answer to the last one is definitely YES. He loves other kids and loves being around them. Academically he is already way ahead of where he needs to be. So while I didn't think he really "needed" preschool academically, I did feel like he would thrive with the social interaction. Ultimately I think we came up with the best option for us right now- a neighborhood co-op preschool. I got several moms together (all of whom are wonderful) and came up with a basic curriculum for the kids to learn. We are switching off months teaching. I'm excited to be able to be part of his preschool experience and this way is easier on our budget.

 Chase was so excited to start his "little school". We let him pick out a backpack a few weeks ago and as soon as he saw this Transformers one he had to have it. Preschool is on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 to 11:00 am, and let me tell you- getting all the way to 9:30 is a long wait for all involved. Chase is ready to go at 8:00.

 Chase loves the kids in his class and loves being there. He's not so much into learning to write the letters, which doesn't surprise me at all. He's never really been that into coloring or writing, but he's so smart I'm sure he'll figure it out when he's ready. He loves story time and playing time! My friend Jodi is teaching this month- the friend he's always telling me he wants me to just "drop him off" to (she babysits for me all the time), so it was an easy transition for him.

 He comes home just delighted and will tell me all about what they did and learned, eagerly emptying his backpack to show me his work. Then if anyone else (Dad, Nana, Papa, etc.) asks him later that day how preschool was he responds with, "It was good. And I don't want to talk about it."

Preschool also means I get three hours a week alone with Hudson! This baby is still just winning my heart over again every single day and I enjoy a little time to just dote on him. He has a hard time when we drive away without Chase, but quickly gets over it when he realizes how fun it is to have mom and dad to yourself! Here are pictures of him playing in the front yard- where we spend hours every single day. Hudson is hard to share with these days- always wanting exactly what Chase has- so I think we'll enjoy this time of peace since he won't have to share.

*Earlier this week, right after being released from time-out, Chase ran over and promptly pulled the basketball out of Hudson's hands and made a basket. As I was hauling him back to time-out and talking to him about why that was wrong he replied with, "Mom! I was just teaching Hudson to share!" 

The Rest of August

August rounded out our amazing summer! It was a lot cooler than usual in August, so we only swam a handful of times. I'm not complaining though, it made it so that everything else we did all month was just refreshingly pleasant! 

We were able to take the boys to see the Ogden Temple open house. Chase has always had a deep love for the temple so I thought he'd be thrilled, but he informed us that he really just wanted to be dropped off at Jodi's (my friend who usually babysits for me when we go to the temple). After talking to him about what a special place the temple is, and what a unique opportunity this was, he was on board again. The boys did amazing as we walked through and were really reverent (for being toddlers). Hudson did occasionally just yell out "temple!" but that was mostly endearing. This temple is absolutely gorgeous and we both loved being able to share it with our boys!

 We did the ice bucket challenge as a family- including Chase. He was excited about it, maybe more so because we gave him a bucket full of lukewarm water instead of ice. After my dad and Ben both did it Chase immediately said, "Did you like that?!"

 We bought both boys (who are obsessed with sunglasses) their own pair at Kohls. They both fell in love with the bright orange "Planes" sunglasses and have been mostly inseparable from them since!

 Grocery shopping with the boys these days is...interesting. It's like running a three ring circus! But the boys do love these carts- especially this one that is a firetruck. On this particular day both boys were starting to lose it as the deli lady slowly prepared my order, so she gave them cookies. They were so sweet and quiet the whole rest of the trip while they munched on their cookies! I tried that again when we went shopping today, but they didn't have the free cookies they usually do, so it was absolute chaos.

 We've done lots of scootering the last few weeks, Chase has gotten really into it! The street we live on is so quiet that it's a great place to play!

 These boys are so in love with their cousin Nora. We babysat Nora one afternoon last week and I thought Hudson was going to come unglued with excitement of having her around. He spends 80% of the time being just thrilled that she's here, and the other 20% slightly jealous/insecure when we all fuss over her. We have to make sure we spend lots of time snuggling and loving him so he knows he's still our baby. My boys + a newborn makes for a hectic combo though!

 We spent a fun day in Springville with Ashley and her darling girls. Chase loves those girls and plays really well with them! Hudson did great too, except that he kept trying to ride on Ella (the crawling 9 month old). We took them to a little farm to see the animals- this alpaca was a highlight. We wish they lived closer so we could all play more often!

We had one more crazy thing happen in August. Ben was helping my dad cut down a tree on a Saturday morning before work. Ben was up in the tree, tied in by a rope, when the chainsaw he was using accidentally cut the rope and Ben fell about 20 feet to the ground. He was in a lot of pain initially and we were worried about broken bones. He ended up being taken to the hospital in an ambulance, but after a full-body CT scan found he had no major injuries we were home two hours later with a bunch of prescriptions for pain. He's healed up pretty well and even went back to work that Monday, even though he was still pretty sore all over. We feel so thankful that it wasn't worse- as it easily could have been devastating. He's definitely got some guardian angels up there!

Children's Museums

My boys and I sure love Children's museums. We have LOVED our Discovery pass this year, but haven't used it a ton this summer since it's so crowded. We've been spoiled! We did do another adventure with Nana to the Discovery Gateway last week, complete with riding Frontrunner. The boys love riding the train, it is just as exciting to them as the actual museum! I love having a place where my kids can play, free to explore and discover and learn as much as they want. 

 Two weeks ago we went with my mom to check out the Museum of Natural Curiosity. It did not disappoint and definitely lived up to all the hype! That place was amazing! We got there right as it opened so we enjoyed the first little bit fairly crowd-free, but even as it got crowded the boys had an amazing time. Chase was fascinated by every new thing. His favorites were the plane you had to climb to on rope bridges, the earthquake simulator and the bear cave. I think Hudson liked all the little toddler play areas and water tables the best, but he was just generally happy the whole time. I didn't bring their swimsuits, and Chase just couldn't resist the cool splash pad there, so we just took their shirts off. Once Chase's shorts got wet he thought we should just take those off too- luckily my mom spotted him early on in this process and insisted that he wear shorts. Hudson was getting tired by then and kept trying to get Chase to put his shoes on (hint- time to go home!).

I know I've said it before, but this summer really has been the best, in a huge part thanks to my mom. She has had so many fun ideas for these weekly adventures and the kids have had such a blast with her. She generously pays for everything, and without all her help these would not have been possible. Since Hudson is now so independent, it has been so fun to have two adults there so each child can do what he wants and get that one-on-one attention. My mom just gets kids- and she's teaching me all about it. I'm sad to see these summer adventures come to an end!

Nursery

Our transition to nursery was the smoothest thing ever with Chaser. He started going at 15 months since we were on the island and there was no other place to take him when he wasn't into sitting on our laps (read: all the time) and my friend was the nursery leader so she let us just leave him. It was wonderful and Chase LOVED it. And then we moved three times in three months and still, each new ward he loved the nursery.

But now we've been in this ward for the last 18 months and Chase completely adores his nursery leaders, Brother and Sister Mondfrans. They are great with him, whether he's naughty or sad, they totally know how to help him and make him feel welcome and loved there. When we drop him off he's never really struggled (besides the occasional attention-seeking whines).

Enter Hudson. We started taking him (and staying with him) a few months ago. He loved it. But now he's 18 months and as soon as I walk into the nursery with him he clings to me, cries huge tears, and basically breaks my heart. It's so so sad. But Sister Mondfrans has found something that works. She takes him from me and feeds him mini-marshmellows until he calms down, and then he happily plays for the next two hours!

So on Sunday as I was pulling him out of his carseat after church I said to him, "Hudson, have you come to terms with nursery?"

His serious little face looked at me and said, "Mah-mewwows" (Marshmellows)