The 4 Month Check Up

We took Hudsey in for his four month check up yesterday. He's healthy and growing strong physically and developmentally (what a blessing). Every time we go the doctor, his pediatrician makes some comment about how huge he is and how I must be making some good ice cream... and every time there is a weird awkward pause... Yesterday he was up to 17 1/2lbs and 27 inches, that puts him at the very top of the growth charts (I don't remember the exact percentiles). 

Can you even believe how happy he is? Seriously, he is ALWAYS like this. 

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Late Night Sledding

Last night the little monkeys were so excited for Daddy to get home because I told them that as soon as he did, they could go sledding. (I didn't mention this to Mike though:) He was happy to oblige as trudge through the fresh snow while I stayed in with Hudsey and made dinner. We snuck upstairs to watch from the window as they played outside.

Dinner was a little later than usual because I didn't have the heart to tell them to come in. They played out there until there was literally no light left in the sky. Then it was my job to warm up the little fingers and toes with some mommy snuggles.

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Stop Snowing Already!

Let's just start off by saying, I'm a California girl. I love the sun and being warm. I really really really don't like being cold. That being said, I still want to live in Utah, where it wont stop snowing. Ask me why? I don't know. Luckily though, the girls LOVE the snow. Kylie would play outside until her body was frozen solid if we would let her.

It snowed again last night, or rather, it dumped on us last night. This winter just keeps on going, but if it's going to be cold, at least we have a gorgeous scenery to admire. 

This afternoon, during our daily dress-up tea party (yes those really happen) Kylie glanced out the window and was reminded of all of the snow that was out there. She hurriedly asked if she could go out and I told her she had to put a coat on first (not thinking that was all she would put on). She danced in the fresh snow, threw it over her head, and took little bites (and after each one she would giggle quietly to herself as if she was sneakily doing something she wasn't supposed to do). 

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Today According To My Phone

We played, went to preschool, drew all of the tinkerbell fairies, put off bedtime, and a little somebody discovered his toes. 

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Mac & Cheese

I made mac & cheese for dinner tonight (not the blue box kind) while Mike was at a meeting. It was delicious and less than half of it ended up on the floor, so that's a plus. But you know, my favorite part of the whole meal was taking a step back while I was cooking to watch my babies. Each of them completely engulfed in a different activity. Kylie was drawing the entire cast of the Tinkerbell movies. She made me look up pictures of each of the fairies online so that she was sure to color their eyes the correct color. Emily was in the living room quietly making a giant tower of blocks, it eventually grew taller than her. And Hudson, he was just enjoying his new seat and his new view from 3 feet off the ground. 

These simple moments, 

when you wish you could freeze time, 

when you don't think life could get much better, 

when nothing else in the world seems to matter, 

those are the moments that make my heart happy. 

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4 Months

Oh, my Hudsey Boy. He turned 4 months old yesterday. It feels like I was just snuggling him in our hospital room. Lucky for me though, he still loves to snuggle. He falls asleep on me every day, and we always drag out bedtime for some extra snugs too. He's pretty much the coolest guy around.

He has the most infectious laugh. And he is soooo ticklish. Evenings seem to be his most active time, that's when he gets really talkative. He's down to three naps a day (morning, noon, and early eve) and when he's not taking those naps he is playing on the ground or making faces at his sisters while he sits on my lap. Speaking of his sisters, it's a good thing he doesn't know what personal space is yet, because those girls are still always all over him, giving him kisses and cuddles and hugs. I thought all of the baby excitement might have worn off a little by now, but they just can't get enough of that little guy either. 

He goes in on Wednesday for his official 4 month check up but he is somewhere around 16.5 lbs and is already wearing 6-9 month clothes. He's a big boy, and that's how we like him. He sits up on his own for a few seconds at a time - 10 seconds is his record - and we only do it on my big soft bed. It's pretty much the cutest thing to see his cute rolly body sitting up looking at me. It's funny, most of the time when I get to look at him it's either in the mirror or on the floor or just inches from my face. So when I get a new perspective it's like seeing a whole new adorable baby. 

And in case you haven't caught on by now, I'm just a tad obsessed. 

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Tonight

I just tucked my little 4 month old into his bed. Can it really be that he is already four months old?

Now I'm sitting here, watching him sleep on the baby monitor, just thinking about how wonderful it is to have this little baby in our home. He brings so much brightness and joy. We all just adore him, and well, I just can't get enough of him. 

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Love Letters

Kylie is at such a fun age right now where she is so eager to learn. She LOVES to draw and she especially loves practicing her letters. Every night, while I am getting dinner ready, she politely asks if she can use some paper, she gets out her crayon tower, and she starts to doodle. So far this week she has drawn lots of rainbows, self portraits, her family, the solar system, black Kylie (not sure where that one came from...?),  her house, lots of animals, and I'm sure I could sort through her giant pile of drawings from the past couple days and list off even more.

Tonight she wrote me my first love note. It's my favorite thing she's ever made for me :)


"I love you mommy forever and ever"

"Even when we go up into heaven"

"Love Kylie"

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Princess Cupcakes

If it's small and a toy (or just happens to be within reach) it will probably be turned into some sort of an imaginary feast. We eat princess cupcakes, necklace soup, and drink flower tea all the time. And when we eat it, we have to say words like 'positively delectable' and 'scrumptious' and we always, always drink our tea with our pinkies up. That's just how it is.

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My Baby Boy

He smiles all the time. He plays with his toys on purpose. He drools on everything. He is a big boy but he's my little baby boy too. He loves being swaddled. He kicks when he's excited and sticks his lip out when he's sad. His laugh is infectious and he makes us happy.

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The Girls

It used to be that we referred to our kids as the girls.
"I love you girls,"
"Common girls,"
"Girls, stop talking and go to sleep!"
you get the idea...

Now we have "kids" or "children" or "monkeys" and doesn't that sound so much crazier?

Kylie has been loving being back in preschool again. They had a one month break over the holidays and just got up and going again last week. It's so fun to see her so excited about going to school. She has such cute little friends there and talks about how she rides bikes with them at recess or paints and cooks with them during centers. She is also always so excited about the fun songs that they sing. Her favorites are the Bubble Gum Song, Bear Hunt, and When Cows get up in the Morning. 

Next week they are starting little weekly report cards so that her teacher can share with us which activities she prefers and her strengths and any areas of concern. Kind of crazy that my baby is old enough for a report card. But with how overly-involved I am, I'm excited to know a little bit more about what she's been up to in class. They also started a blog for the class that updates us on all of the fun things that they do in class each day. I don't know what I'm going to do next year when she's in kindergarten and they don't hold my hand the whole way. 

Emily is our little firecracker. She has been obsessed with dressing up lately. When daddy gets home, she tells him that she has a surprise for him and he needs to close his eyes. Then she leads him up the stairs and to her room, opens the closet and says, "surprise!... can you get me a pretty dress?" But it's never complete without a necklace, ring, glass slippers, an a headband. But she always had to put the headband on herself. She is very, very particular about her headbands. 

She is so friendly to everyone. If we are out and someone starts talking to the girls, Kylie will usually get really shy and look to me for approval before she answers back, but Emily will start talking about her pretty hair, or what she ate for breakfast, or how cute her baby brother is. She's just a people person and it's really funny to see it coming out already. 

The poor girls have had the most horrible little coughs for the past couple weeks. It's that darn inversion that's settled over the state and is making the air quality bad, coupled with the dry cold. Ugh, winter, I don't think we should see each other anymore... We've been battling that, especially at night. There have been a number of nights where Kylie has come into our room coughing and Mike jumped up and switched to her bed so she could have some mommy cuddles and we could all hopefully get some sleep. (It took a few sleepless nights before we figured that one out). Luckily, they both seem to be getting better, and Em's ear infection seems to be going away, but it stinks hearing those little coughs through the monitor at night, knowing that you can't really do anything about it aside from the humidifiers we have running 24/7.

We took these pictures back before Christmas when we were getting ready to take our Holiday photos. We were waiting for Daddy to get home and I told the girls to jump up on the couch while I was getting the lights set up. They're pretty cute together. They're best friends... and -not so- best friends sometimes. And together they are the sweetest big sisters too. 

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Holding Hudsey

"Hudsey Boy" is our new favorite name for our little guy. That is the only thing Emily calls him. Mike says he'll grow out of it by the time he's 4 or 5, but I'm thinking, with two older sisters, it's going to stick around for alot longer than that. 

The girls love holding their Hudsey. They love the undivided attention that they get from him, even when he is pulling their hair. 

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Saturday Mornings

Saturday mornings are for building blanket forts, dressing up in princess dresses, and making baby brother can be the baby prince. 

Only, in our house they are not forts, they are castles and the princess dresses go over their jammies because it's too cold otherwise. 

This winter has been especially cold. Last year I kept talking about how much I wish it would have snowed, well this year mother nature has more than made up for it. It's not all that bad except for when we have to go outside, which is every day. Don't get me wrong, I think the snow is gorgeous and fun to play in (sometimes) but I really hate it when my feet are cold. I'd much rather just be a hermit until spring gets here and stay curled up, under my covers, in my warm jammies, snuggling with my babies. But that's just me.

I went and took some pictures tonight and my hand almost fell off. I am not exaggerating. My trigger finger was literally frozen in place and we had to sneak into some nearby shops just so I could regain feeling. It was nuts. Remind me again, why do I want to live in Utah?

Also, is it Spring yet?

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Gymnastics

Fridays are now officially gymnastics day. Kylie has her little class in the mornings and then right after, the gym has free play, where basically you can pay a couple dollars and run around and play on all the equipment. It's perfect for Emily since she so desperately wanted to be in an ar-nas-tics class too but we couldn't find one that fit her age and our schedules.

Today, Kylie did really well in class. She got to try the bars and some somersaults. Her somersaults were more of a head side down the mat, but at least she tried, right? We'll have to work on that... Before Kylie's class was even over, Emily was already stripping down to her leotard and leggings and waiting (not so patiently) by the little gate for me to let her out of the viewing area and into the gymnasium. As soon as I let her, she took off and followed Kylie around, doing everything she saw her big sister doing. And when she started to get the hang of it, she took off on her own and Kylie followed her.

They spent most of their time on the trampolines, doing dances (if that's what you can call it) on the main floor with hoola hoops, and jumping into the foam pit and throwing blocks at each other. 

Hudson and I followed them around, he napped a little (I don't know how he does it with the blaring music and the screaming kids running around), and when he woke up we all played on the mats together. 

And can I just tell you, nap time is bliss on Fridays... 

thank you, gymnastics, for wearing out my two little crazies. 

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My Boys

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Our Favorite Hangout

I'm beginning to notice that we hang out in our kitchen alot. It seems like that is always the place that people (including our little people) seem to congregate. I remember growing up, my mom had a little framed print that said, "no matter where I serve my guests, they seem to like my kitchen the best." I don't know what it is, but there is something so comforting and so homey about being gathered in the kitchen and around the dinner table together, especially after a meal.

Every day, when Daddy gets home, I am in the kitchen getting dinner ready [or sitting on the floor protesting getting dinner ready...whichever...] My monkeys keep me company in that kitchen with coloring or puzzles or making their own dinners in their play kitchen, Hudsey Boy watches from his bouncer, and Daddy tries to stir the pots or add some spices on the stove before sitting down to play with the babies at the table.

We sit together to eat our meals, we stay long after talking and playing. We share the best parts of our days, we laugh, and enjoy each other. I suppose that's why so many of our pictures so far this year have taken place in this room. We like the kitchen, and I guess it's easy to see why. 

Emily had her 2 1/2 year check-up today (hence the stickers on the girls' shirts). She brought her pooh bear with her to get a check up too. Her doctor said that she went through quite the little growth spurt over these last 6 months (what???) She went from the 7th percentile in height to the 14th, and the 21st in weight to the 35th. That is quite the little spurt! She's still our little itty bitty though, even if she is growing :) We also found out that the runny nose and cough she's had for the past couple weeks wasn't because of the dry air alone, poor thing has had a double ear infection (even though she never complained of her ears hurting). But other than that, she is one healthy little girl!

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Our Day in Pictures

We did it, we finally stepped into the 21st century and got iPhones. Wah-freaking-hoo! Why didn't anyone tell me what we were missing out on this whole time? We are especially loving the cameras (go figure) and being able to send each other photos and videos that we don't have to squint to see. I think it's especially nice for Mike since he's away from his little monkeys all day and now he gets to at least see them and little more often. 

So, this is what we did today...

Daddy took Kylie to preschool while the Littles (little sister, little brother) and I stayed home and snuggled in our jammies. Hudson had some tummy time, and was joined by Emily, but really she was just watching tv. We had some lunch, took some naps (well, the Littles at least), met daddy at the mall, and had in-n-out for dinner. We got our jammies on while we played in mommy and daddy's room and I avoided folding the laundry that covers our bed (I'm still avoiding it...) We read stories, said prayers and tucked everyone snug in their beds. (And one little girl got tucked in 6 or 7 times...)

It was another great day. 

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The Dress

For a few months we have been bribing enticing little Emily with a Rupunzel princess dress. If she started wearing her big girl panties one hundred percent of the time she would get this coveted dress that has been waiting for her at the top of our closet. Well... I totally caved and gave it to her early... I'm horrible, but she's just so cute and I wanted to see her in it! (and she's really so close anyway)

She has lived in it since I put it one her last night before bed. She slept in it, went to run errands and work out with me in it, she ate, napped and played in it, and the whole time, demanded we all call her Princess Tangled. The only reason I was able to get it off of her tonight was because she needed to shower and it needed to be washed. Before she would let me take it off her though, she made me promise her that she could wear it again tomorrow. 

Oh, that sweet, bossy little Princess Emily...

In other news, Hudson is starting to like daddy (but not as much as he likes me). Mike jokes that for the first few months our babies just don't like him, there's really not that much Daddy can do for them. Haha, it's kind of true. But once they start smiling and playing, they start to figure out how fun Daddy can be. 

He and Daddy played for a while during dinner tonight when he refused to sit in his bouncer on the floor. I don't blame him though, I wouldn't want to be down there when there is so much more going on up at the table. 

He usually sits on our laps at the dinner table and Mike and I take turns eating one handed (which is difficult with tacos, by the way). We are thinking it's about time we pull out the high chair. Not so he can start eating solids (that's still months away) but so that he can feel like he's part of the action (and we can have our laps back). 

It's crazy to think that just weeks ago he was sleeping most of the day, and now he's up and playing with the rest of us, almost trying to keep up with his crazy sisters. This is such a fun stage. I just love it. And him. Every squishy little bit of him. 

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A Little About Our Little Girl

This is the face of a little girl who didn't eat her dinner but insists she still needs a cookie... and then she gives her daddy a little smile, strokes his cheeks with her tiny hand, and get's her cookie... 

Emily: "Mommy, say 'let me go!'"

Me: "let me go..."

Emily: "Nev-ahhhhhhh!!! Muah ah ah!"

Emily is the sweetest little girl. She loves to stroke our faces and whisper the sweetest little things before she gives us kisses. But she is very particular about those kisses too. You have to have her permission before you give her one. When she gives you a kiss, it will probably be on your forehead. She'll move your hair back and then count to three and give a sweet soft little pucker. And if she wants to give you another one she will whisper, "I give you one more right there..." and point to another place on your face.

She has recently discovered a love of jumping. She jumps and jumps with no real reason other than just to jump. And she is always so proud and eager to hear our praises when she finishes her little jumping spells. When she jumps she does a huge squat, pushes off as hard as she can, holds her breath, and barely gets 2 inches off the ground. When she comes back down she lands with straight legs on the heals of her flat feet and lets out a big sigh of relief. It's pretty much the cutest.

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He Wears Bibs

He wears bibs now because he drools, and drools, and drools, and drools. All of our babies get teeth super early so it wasn't too much of a surprise when the drooling flood gates were opened. He is the happiest little teething baby though. Well, he's just a happy baby, period. 

I cannot believe how old my little baby is looking these days. He loves to talk and exerts so much stinking cute energy trying to get out those first few coos, kicking and flapping his chubby arms, but once he does, he goes on and on. He's super ticklish too (he gets that from his daddy). He even giggles when I am getting him dressed or undressed and pull his shirt over his head. His little eyes squint, he tucks his chin to his neck, and he grunts a cute little nasally laugh.  

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Tiny Gymnast

Kylie calls it Gyn-mass-kits. 

She started a new gymnastics program today and it was soooo fun! 

It's in a real, legit gym, with awesome teachers, and she had a blast. 

She has a tendency to clam up a little when we walk into an unfamiliar place with people she doesn't know but I could barely hold her back when we came around the corner and she saw the mats. She ran straight for the class and started stretching like she'd done it a hundred times before. She was so excited. And I'm sure part of her excitement was because she got to pick it all by herself. 

 

She was such a good little listener (a stark contrast from her dance class last year). She's definitely more of an active listener, if there's such a thing... Like if someone says go run as fast as you can and jump into that big pit of foam, she's much more likely to listen then if someone tells her to stand still and put her arms and feet in this perfect position. Yeah, she's not really one to stand still for very long. 

Oh, it was so fun watching her. 

Between each station she literally skipped with joy and I didn't see the smile leave her face even once. 

After she completed each little trick - like walking or jumping across the balance beams - she would shout out, "I DID IT!!" and jump up and down. A couple times I even saw her whisper to herself, "Yessssss!"

She said her favorite part was running up onto the thingy [foam wedge] and jumping onto the big red thingy [mat] - think little kid vaulting. She would run as fast as her little legs would go, pause when she got to the top, and then jump as hard, as far, and as high and she could. She would usually end with an accidental somersault too. In a very close second were the foam pit and the balance beams. 

When she was all finished she got smiley faces stamps (on her hands and feet) and she skipped over to me (and Emily & Hudson) to tell us all about how great it was, as if we hadn't been watching the entire time. 

Emily was really excited for Kylie too. She watched Kylie (well when she wasn't taking care of her "brand new baby" doll) and kept telling me she was the one with the black shirt, just in case I forgot. She tells me that Kylie goes to gymnastics and when she gets bigger and bigger (with her hands high over her head) she gets to go after her birthday, when she's three.

And Hudson, he sat on my lap and drooled all over me. You know, the usual.

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The Games They Play

I made the mistake of laughing once when Emily bopped Kylie on the head (and then another mistake this afternoon when I took pictures of them bopping each other). Now they think it's a fun game and it always ends in one of them tattle-taling on the other and usually one of them (fake) crying, but for the first few minutes they have the time of their lives. 

When Daddy got home from school they started playing this "game" again, and naturally Daddy tried to break up the "fighting" but they were quick to tell him, "No, Dad, it's a new game that we play!" Oy vey, mom of the year award goes right here! 

P.S. Kylie starts gymnastics tomorrow and she is SO excited. She picked it all by herself and has been practicing all her fancy moves for weeks. I'm excited for her :)

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Good Morning

First of all, has anyone noticed that I have now blogged every day in 2013? Sure, it's only 9 days but it's a big stinkin' deal. And just so you know, it's going to keep going, I'm kind of on a roll and really loving taking pictures everyday, so sorry to flood your readers...

The girls spent the morning drawing pictures to stick on the fridge. It seems that whenever one of them starts coloring, the other has to too and then they race to see who can get the most pictures stuck up on the refrigerator. Kylie is usually a magnet hog (let's just be honest) which means by default she wins. Emily doesn't seem to mind too much though... usually.

Kylie drew a sweet picture of our whole little family with a single brown crayon (she added red flowers to the bottom after she noticed it was lacking in color). It's the first time she's really drawn all five of us (aside from all the pictures when Hudson was in my tummy. I'm not really a fan of fridges plastered with magnets, notes and artwork, but this picture I love. I don't mind the fridge clutter if it's as cute as this.

Speaking of cute, Emily drew her first picture today that actually resembled real people (you know, if you squint and tilt your head to the side a little). She drew mommy and daddy and she was so proud of it. When I realized what it was and looked up to see her big happy smile, it made me melt. I'm definitely keeping that one :)

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