Highlights of November (thus far...)

I can't even believe we are this close to Thanksgiving! November is going by so fast for us! Before it's over, here is a little update on what we've been up to this month! In no particular order:

• We had a really lovely dinner at my friend Katie's house last Friday night. I failed to take any pictures, but let it be documented that we had a great time. Katie and I were in London together back in 2007 and became fast friends. Now she's married to a Ben as well and we all got together at their beautiful home in Pleasant View. My kids adored Katie and Ben and talked about them for days afterwards! We enjoyed getting out and doing something with friends! Ben's new work schedule is giving us all kinds of freedom!
• Likewise, we had a great date night out with our dear friends Chad and Alyse. We were supposed to meet them at Lucky 13 (a bar in Salt Lake) for what are claimed to be the best burgers ever. Well, it didn't occur to me that they ID at the door there, and of course I didn't have my ID with me. (This shows how often we frequent bars...) We ended up at a BBQ place instead which was excellent- but we still definitely owe the Bennetts a night at Lucky 13!
• My amazing BFSC Jana came down to visit this month! It was basically the best thing ever! I got to meet her new baby- little Carma- who both boys fell in love with instantly! Her visit was 2 1/2 days of wonderful conversation and lots of laughter, late nights and early mornings (thanks to our kids), some yummy food, a little working out, and mostly just chatting about life and motherhood. It was a much needed distraction for me from our normal life! These pictures show a little of how "hands on" my boys were with her. Carma's a fourth baby and seemed extremely unphased by my boys smothering love. 

 On our walks Chase would repeatedly get out of the stroller just to check on Carma- or Cah-ma as he says it. Hudson mostly called her "nora" or "cars".

 Jana and I figured out a most efficient way to get errands run with all three kids- Jana stayed in the car with the kids while I ran in and out of the store and post office. My boys were entertained by the sheer view of baby Carma next to them!

 I love Jana- she's funny and sensitive and charming and so much fun. I can (and basically do) talk to her about anything and everything. TMI doesn't even apply in our relationship. I was so so happy that she came!

•  We tried, not once, but twice, to get a decent family picture for our Christmas cards- and thus ensued the most frustrating 45 minutes of my life. This is why it would just be a better idea to pay someone professional to take our pictures- hopefully next year! We got a few fairly good shots (neither of these made the card). The first try we just tried to get pictures of the kids, which was basically impossible. The second time we brought my dad along to snap the pics. It was going horribly until my dad found a way to keep both boys looking at him and laughing- making farting sounds with his mouth. Of course. Christmas cards are now printed and ready to be sent! 

•  Along the same lines as the Christmas cards, I made a goal this year to get most of the "business" side of Christmas done before Thanksgiving (aka shopping). Ben and I had a fun date night last week and finished up all the shopping we needed to do for the boys! We still have a few things to get for family, but we are mostly done! After Thanksgiving I plan on spending all of December just enjoying the magic of Christmas with the kids- untainted by the stress of Target at Christmas time.
• I snapped this picture of my sweet baby on my phone- I just have to document his curls. Oh my goodness, this kid makes my heart melt for so many reasons, one of which being these sweet little curls! I never want to cut his hair! It's starting to get long, and I know a haircut is imminent, and I'll probably cry when it happens. We are waiting for a certain aunt and uncle to come in to town for Christmas, both of whom have requested we not cut Hudson's hair until they've enjoyed it in person. 

•  Hudson asks to wear his "gersey" every single day. Besides his obvious love for his BYU football jersey, he also just seems like he's already in training to be a football player (ie- tackling Chase several times a day). He's also started tattling- I've now heard "Chase pushed me!" about 8 times this week. He always says it like he's an innocent victim. Lucky for Chase, I know better. 

•  With it getting cold again we are enjoying our Discovery Pass more and more! Oh how we all love that place! There is a darling class every Monday morning (Music and Motion) that we try to go to. The gal who teaches it is darling with the kids and definitely is on a first name basis now with my two boys. Last time it was a fall yoga class which was the cutest thing I've ever seen. The kids were being trees, whales, deer, mice and snakes. Usually even the idea of snakes creeps me out, but Chase sliding all over the floor on his belly was pretty adorable. 

21 Months of Hudson

 At 21 months Hudson is so cute, funny, determined and, ahem, contrary. Seriously, every single question you ask him is first answered with "No" and then sometimes followed by the right answer. Every single time I give him his sippy cup of milk he pushes it away, even if he asked for it. Then when I offer it a second time he'll take it. He's started trying to identify colors, and he's usually wrong, but insists he's right. We've had many a discussion lately about the correct colors for things. He doesn't give up easily!

When you ask "Who's the boss around here?" Hudson will get a huge smile on his face and say "Hudson boss!"

He is finally loving story time and just snuggles in so sweetly while we read to him! He's always been a hard kid to put to bed because he's just so dang cute and cuddly at night.

Speaking of nighttime, he already has a clear preference on what jammies he wants to wear at night, and the definite winner is the fire truck jammies (which were also Chase's favorite at this age). He'll ask me during dinner "Firetruck jammies? Dirty?" It's a big deal when they are dirty, which is approximately every other night.

Hudson is a strong little boy! He can hold his own against Chase. He's been known to tackle Chase to the ground and then giggle while he sits on top of him. And it is no easy task to pry a dangerous/breakable object from his chubby little hands.

He is in love with his cousin Nora. He talks about her every day. He loves looking at pictures of her. And then when he actually sees her he starts flapping his arms, gives her hugs and kisses and talks to her about 3 inches from her nose.  Luckily, she's starting to really love him too and giggles when she sees him.

He's a total tease. Lately, he's been rebelling a little on sitting in his high chair. So for breakfast and lunch we let him sit in a booster at the table- in the chair my dad sits in at dinner (it has arm rests so it holds the booster a little better). Hudson knows he's sitting in Papa's chair and they've talked about whose chair it is several times. One morning my dad walked through the kitchen without commenting on where Hudson was sitting. Hudson started timidly saying, "Papa? Chair?"  When my dad realized what Hudson was getting at he said in his deep, tough voice, "Who's sitting in my chair!" Hudson's cute little face split into a huge grin and he said, "Hudson chair!" over and over.

He's talking up a storm these days and is putting together 2-3 word sentences. He's a good little communicator! Of course, he wants to be big just like Chase and still totally looks up to Chase and wants to do everything he is doing (including playing with the exact toy Chase is playing with). We love our Hudson James! He definitely keeps us on our toes, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

Out of the Mouth of Chase and a Chase Update

We love this kid!

Last Sunday night Ben and I settled in to watch the movie "17 Miracles" which is now on Netflix. We've meant to see it since it came out and are just now getting around to it. Our sister-in-law Kate's dad (Bruce) is in the movie, he's the angel that comes every time a miracle happens. We were trying to get Chase to just play, because we knew the movie would be boring for him, and also a little intense for a three year. Alas, he mostly insisted on watching a big part of the movie with us, and his comments during it were hilarious!

"Hey! That's Bruce! When is Lisa going to be in this?" (Lisa is Katie's mom- Kate's parents are both darling with Chase and we see them all the time since they live up the street and Chase adores them.) 

He repeatedly asked for Lisa throughout the movie.

"I like this movie and I'm just a little bit bored."

and then every time a miracle happened Chase would comment, "That was so nice of Heavenly Father!" "Oh, God was nice again!"

Several people have asked lately how old he is, and he responds with "I'm still three." I think he knows that he's getting close to four.

During breakfast he randomly started explaining how football is played to Hudson. All of a sudden I hear, "Then you bend over and throw the football under your bum bum."

Poor Chase got sick this week! He's definitely our iron-immune system kid, he has hardly been sick at all in his little life! The kid doesn't even get mosquito bites or sunburns! It started last Sunday night with a high fever and just general crumminess. Then by Monday night he seemed totally fine, only to have him spend all of that night on our floor moaning/coughing and finally puking everywhere! Then 4 perfectly normal and healthy days went by and all of a sudden he threw up again everywhere on Saturday morning (at 3:00 am, all over his bed, I don't really want to talk about it.) Then he went back to acting fine, and then by that night seemed just lethargic and not quite himself. Basically I don't know what to think and I worry that we infected people when I thought he was over this bug, but I guess he wasn't. One thing about my sweet Chase is that sickness makes him sweeter! He's so polite and calm when he's sick. He also has so much energy that he doesn't show any sign of sickness until he's really sick- like suddenly he's just throwing up with no warning, or all of a sudden he's running a high fever. He just powers through life!

Halloween Hoopla

Chase told me that there are really 3 Halloweens- and I think I know where he got that idea...from all the Halloween celebrating going on around here this last week! The boys have had a blast, and honestly their parents have too! We started last Friday by attending the Halloween carnival at Kaysville Elementary. Chase absolutely loved it, he loved all the games and loved being around all the other kids in costumes. Chase thrives on stuff like that and all the energy in the air just winds him up more! He was super excited about cotton candy- a first for him. 

 Chase enjoyed all the games and Hudson was mostly just there for the ride. We played bingo in one room- it is really hard to get bingo if you are 21 months old and keep eating all your markers as soon as your dad sets them down.

 Then on Saturday night we had our ward trunk-or-treat. Chase loved running around with his little friends and Hudson was mostly very focused on getting candy. Waiting for the potluck dinner to be over so the actual trunk-or-treating could begin was kind of torture for our Huds.

 Then on Monday night for FHE we carved our pumpkins- and by "we" I mean Ben, Chase and I carved pumpkins while Hudson sat in his high chair and cried/whined/threw things on the floor. About half way through I just put Hudson to bed so we could finish in peace! Chase was so proud of the final products.

 October has been my month to host our preschool, which has been really fun and kind of exhausting (mostly due to Hudson's attendance). We had a Halloween preschool party that was adorable and just so much fun! We played glow in the dark bowling and pin the nose on the witch and witch-witch-zombie (like duck, duck, goose), they did a few crafts, had a darling dance party to Monster Mash and we read some Halloween books. This is the cutest group of three year olds!

 Another fun Halloween thing this month has been reading our Halloween books! We already had a few, but then Nana totally spoiled the boys with a package of about 15 new Halloween books this year! And then my grandparents got the boys a few as well. Needless to say, every day this month we've read at least half of them, which has really gotten Chase all excited about Halloween. Chase loves being read to more than just about anything else! So by the time actual Halloween rolled around today Chase was totally prepared and excited about it!

Will and Kate came over this evening so we could see Nora in her costume and get some pictures of the three kids all together (because those type of photo shoot have always gone so well in the past...). We loved seeing our favorite little bumblebee (and her parents, the queen bee and bee keeper). Chase and Hudson are both pretty darn smitten by their baby cousin, a picture really can't document how much they love this girl.

 And then we were off to trick-or-treat! Chase was so so excited and was even more thrilled when we met right up with his best buds Will and Matt Newbold. These boys excitedly ran from house to house and were just darling together. I would love to get a cute picture of all 4 boys together, but I was lucky to get them to hold still long enough to just grab this one!

Ben and I weren't really big Halloween fans until we had our boys! These boys make this holiday magical again! Happy Halloween!

More Fall Fun

Here's a little preview of my boys in their Halloween costumes. Chase proudly chose his out last summer when it was on sale at Costco. He's really in to fire trucks, so it was an easy choice for him. Hudson is wearing the monster costume that Chase wore against his will two years ago. Hudson likes the costume, except that he doesn't want to wear the "hat", which is ironic, because he gets a big kick out of telling other people (ie. Papa) to wear hats on a daily basis. I think they both look so adorable!

 With all these leaves on the ground, we decided we needed to introduce our boys into the wonderful world of jumping in a pile of leaves. We did it yesterday and they were in heaven! They spent two whole hours out there raking and jumping over and over again. It's the simple things...

Out of the Mouth of Chase

We took all the duplos out of Chase's room before bed and told him he couldn't have any in there (mostly we were trying to contain the messiness of all the toys). 30 minutes after we put him to bed he came out to where we were watching TV:
Chase: Mom and Dad! I just need to tell you something! Can you go to bed please! Can you go to bed so I can sneak out here and get some duplos to play with after you go to sleep?

(So he's sneaky and honest.)

Ben came downstairs with a tray of Rice Krispie treats and Chase jumped in the air and in the most enthusiastic voice you can imagine said,
"Those are JUST what I NEEDED!"

Nana: It's not quite time for lunch yet, I'll bet you guys aren't that hungry.
Chase: Nana! Don't you know! We are always hungry!

Passing a church down the street
Chase: Look Dad! It's the temple!
Ben: No, Chase. That's a church.
Chase: No, it's a temple.
Ben: Do you mean chapel? It is a chapel.
Chase: No Dad! God said that little boys like me can call it a temple!

While grocery shopping I showed him that I was buying cream of wheat, which I had never bought before, but Chase had tried my mom's a few times and liked it.
Chase: Thanks Mom! Can I snuggle with it?
Me: Sure (and I hand it to him in the cart, thinking he just meant he wanted to hold it)
Later that night when I went to put him to bed I found the box of cream of wheat IN HIS BED! When I asked him why it was in his bed he said, "Mom! You said I could snuggle with it! I need to snuggle with it because I LOVE it!"

Earlier this week I had parked in the circle (I'm supposed to park over to the side of it so people who come by can drive freely through, but oftentimes I park in the circle when I have to unload a bunch of stuff). Ben and Hudson were mowing the lawn and I was inside working on something. Chase came in and loudly yelled out, "Mom! Can you move your car! Dadddy can't turn around with the lawn mower. You need to move it TO WHERE IT BELONGS MOM! It doesn't belong in the circle."
(Ben later clarified that he asked Chase to come politely ask me to move my car, and stressed the politely part a few times before sending him in. Apparently Chase thought that was polite.)

My parents babysat the boys while Ben and I had a night away in Park City. My dad braved going to Sams Club with both kids and upon returning home, parked my car in their front circle so he could more easily unload the heavy water softener salt they had bought. Chase was right on it saying, "Papa! You know you don't like it when we park in the circle!"

During church today he was full of little gems:
During the sacrament prayer he looked up at me and whispered really loud: MOM! I can hear Jesus talking!

Nana: How was nursery today?
Chase: Oh, it was a little wild.
Nana: Oh, why was it so wild?
Chase: Well, it was just me.

As Chase was running around like crazy my mom said she wished she had as much energy as him and he said, "It's just what I do."

Golden

This last week of October has been GOLDEN. I mean, seriously, the mountains are 5 different colors right now and I could just sit on my porch forever, basking in their beauty and my boys play happily with their trucks. It's been warm and absolutely perfect!

October is my month to teach our little co-op preschool and it has been a blast! Last Wednesday we had our October field trip. It was "F" week so we went to a FARM! My dad took the little ones on a tour of his friend's farm- showing them all the cows (including the cute little babies) and the tractors and finished at the pumpkin patch where they each picked their own pumpkin. The kids loved it! They are all pretty high energy kids- so an outdoor field trip where they could run and explore a little is perfect for this group. This is such a fun group of kids, I love having them all at my house a few times a week. When asked about the field trip and if he liked it Chase replied, "Yes! All my little friends were there!"

 After the field trip officially ended, Chase and Hudson got their own little extended experience compliments of their Papa. Chase has had a lifelong dream of riding in a combine- he loves combines. That's what he asked for (and got) for Christmas last year. His little dream came true and I think it was just as magical as Chase expected. Hudson got a turn too and was equally thrilled.

 We picked some apples from a neighbor's trees and the boys had a great time. I had to smile to myself at how idyllic apple picking in October is. Hudson, quickly squashed the idyllic pleasantness by assuming the job of promptly and repeatedly turning over the boxes of picked apples, sending them rolling away. Everything is a little more exciting with Hudson around! Chase was excited about picking apples as well and loved when I'd lift him up to pick a few off the tree, other than that he loved just playing in the dirt. Applesauce here we come!

 I took this picture this morning of Hudson playing peek-a-boo with me from the cozy coupe- or the "poop" as Hudson calls it. I love sitting on the porch swing and watch the boys play!

Dear October,

You're the best!

Love,

The Hugos