you know you have a big sister when...

...you're three months old and you're sporting a Hello Kitty watch :) "No, not the pink one Hudson - that one's mine. Pink is MY favorite. Pink is for girls, not for you bruder."

Somehow I don't think he minded the purple one - he was pretty fascinated with the whole thing and kept trying to grab it. But that's okay, right Hudson? You don't mind Miss Bossy Pants if it means you get to play with cool squiggly PINK light up bouncy balls she shares from time to time :) Future Soccer Star! Outfit change thanks to MAJOR diaper explosion, just in case you were wondering *wink*

exploring

The little pumpkin loves to explore...almost anything is fair game. Inspired by Nicole of 60 piggies and School with Elle, we've been going on "finding walks" and having such fun! I have a feeling once the weather cools off for good, it'll be even better.

Yesterday morning after running a few errands, we stopped by the duck pond to do a little exploring. Here's what we found

Grace called them "wrinkled up tennis balls" :) and I must say I could see the resemblance! Having seen them before but not knowing what they were, I looked them up when we got home. Here's what we found: they're commonly known as "monkey balls" and they're actually the fruit of the Osage Orange tree.

They're inedible for humans, but squirrels seem to love them. Some people put them in cupboards and around the house (?????) because they say the balls are great natural exterminators as they seem to have some sort of anti-fungicide that deters insects. Bet you always wanted to know that, right? he, he, he How about this little tidbit: in years gone by, kids used these for "street bowling" :)

It was neat learning something new and it gave me a chance to teach the little pumpkin about texture, seasonal fruits, and why we can't eat just anything, even if "it's pretty mama!" (my favorite part of the lesson).

Of course we couldn't leave the park without feeding the ducks, which were HUNGRY this particular morning. I was able to let the little pumpkin get closer to the water this time than in the spring - although I still had to watch her because the inclination to jump in is just too great at times :) Another reminder that she's growing up so fast **sniff, sniff**

And check out this cute giraffe Grace made at school this morning: Isn't it sweet?! She was beaming from ear to ear when I picked her up and she quickly told me "Giraffe is for G" (a little backward, but so sweet) and "it's cute just like Hudson!!!" (halloween costume).

They used little cut pieces of sponge to make the spots, then added "a googly eye, mama!" and a little yarn tail. I love that her school does lots of art projects. So much fun!

to the CIRCUS!!!!!!!

Yesterday was the long anticipated day...we were finally going to the circus! After a yummy breakfast, we were on our way. We got there early and were able to check out the elephants as the trainers were feeding them and getting them ready for the big show. Remember this? Grace had wanted to see an elephant at the farm so bad. We've been talking about elephants and thanks to Carson & Preston, we've been learning about our sponsored elephant Miss Bets who was born in 2007 just like Grace. The little pumpkin was sooooooooo excited to finally see one up close and personal! Once inside I put my dislike of clowns aside and asked Grace if she wanted a picture with them since they were taking photos with all the kiddos. NO WAY was her response so we moved on to classic circus stuff, if you ask me...COTTON CANDY!!!!!! Yea!!! What is this stuff? I've never seen this before. Mmmm...Yummy! Way on our way to a sugar high...but it's the circus so anything goes! We found our seats and headed down to do fun things. First stop? You guessed it - the ELEPHANTS - they really are magnificent up close. Next, pony rides!! Another first :) It was time for the show to begin...Ladies and Gentlemen, Children of all ages...just like I remember it from 25+ years ago. Someone was so excited she couldn't even sit down at first! This is fun! We saw things like this: yup, that tiger walked a tightrope! Someone was mesmerized by all the stunts. We ate more cotton candy... and saw all kinds of fun acrobats too! At intermission, we called it a day. We had already seen 1 1/2 hours of the show and the little pumpkin was growing restless. It was after all, her naptime.

But before we could call it a day, someone spotted these fun inflatable things and was so excited we HAD to take a Dora one home with us :) All in all, a very fun time!

Thanks Noonie for watching Hudson so Lance and I could take Grace to her very first circus!!!

doctor's visit

I've officially lost my brain. As we were scurrying about trying to get out the door this morning, I wondered why when I scheduled Grace's flu shot appt. for 11 am today, I didn't remember I had already scheduled Hudson's 3 mo. check up for 9 am ?????? Only to show up at the doc's office at 9 am this morning and be told Hudson's appt. was not until NEXT Friday!!! Lucky for us, they went ahead and saw both of them at 9am. and we were out of there by 10am. Thank goodness for a flexible medical practice and only minor snickers from the sweet receptionist. Hudson's stats:
Weight: 14 lb. 1 oz. (75%)
Height: 24" (50%)
Head: 16" (75%)

He's a little chub with his round belly and head - he, he, he...my little rollie pollie olie did great. He only cried a little bit with the fingerstick to check his hemoglobin. Overall an A+ check up. Grace was super brave when it was her time to get the flu shot. NOT EVEN A TEAR!! I guess all that talk about a pink band-aid and a pink lollie paid off :) And the shot must have made her tired because she took a 2 hr. 45 min. nap this afternoon. Lucky for me. Hudson was in need of a major cuddle session with mama and since the little pumpkin was snoozing away, the little guy and I took our very own 2 hr. nap!!!!! I'm not a napper, but this felt GREAT!!! Of course when I woke up, I felt guilty over the pile of laundry still waiting to be tackled...but still it was so worth it!

Off to the circus tomorrow morning...can't wait!!!

P.S. Grace is excited too :)

Changing Seasons...Falling Leaves

I love Autumn. Everything about it. The leaves, the colors, the sweaters, corduroy, the pumpkins, the apples, the county fairs, the decorations...aahh. Oh, wait - down here in the south, we don't really have Autumn. It's still 70+ degrees and we can still wear sleeveless dresses and sandals. But I can dream right?

So anyhow, the Craft Fairy put together a little project for the little pumpkin to learn about changing seasons and nature...until we can visit some places where we can soak in the real thing. Oh, and you're wondering about the fairy right? Not really you say, but I'll tell you anyway :)

Grace loves projects. Mama loves good naps and steady nighttime sleep. So I **sometimes** tell Grace that the Craft Fairy can't drop off fun projects for us to do unless she (Grace) takes a good long nap/sleeps all night because the fairy likes for the projects to be a surprise. Works like magic, no pun intended.

Checking out the new project which she nicknamed Treetop Project :) Inspecting each leaf one by one.
All the leaves had to be spread out...and don't you love that "cheese" smile too? :O Then each leaf had to be sloooooowly put into its own little stack. Glue! Disappearing glue at that. Let the fun begin! You must select your leaves very carefully. Then talk about placing "the little baby leaves next to the mama leaves so they'll be safe and cozy" (I love hearing her thoughts during our projects). And don't you like our new "crafting spot"? :) We even take fun breaks like this: Then we're back at work, concentrating more than ever. Before finishing up our artwork...at least for the day...because sometimes our little bruder needs a little break too :) But that's okay 'cause we come back the next day and add a little friend** to our Treetop. **Sometimes mama's, I mean the craft fairy's, hand-cut pieces end up looking a little spooky like this devilish owl...but that's okay, we later made cuter owls to send on their way...

And then we finish our project and indulge mama in taking one last picture before hanging up our masterpiece on our 'frigerator gallery. Love it, cheesy smiles and all!

Rock Star

Aunt Jammie - this one's for you!

So I love the tradition my BFF Jammie (I'm feeling cool with that lingo...oh, wait - saying "cool" is not cool anymore :) has started with Grace and Hudson. She celebrates their 1/2 birthdays instead of their year ones. Pretty neat, right? We think so!

Here's the little pumpkin checking out her new purse, which we both love by the way!! And here she is very rock star like, don't you think? And a sweet one of the little pumpkin and my cute little butterball playing nice - I want to seal away moments like this in my mind forever... Thank you for Hudson's book and giraffe onesie too - SO CUTE!

Hugs from all of us to you and Xav in the big apple!

3 months

Time sure is flying by...my little guy is three months old today! He's so much fun. I love how he turns to look for me when he hears my voice and how he can be screaming his little head off and the moment you pick him up all is well with the world once again :) He's doing really well holding his head up like this (and yes, the pic is blurry - he was in the rocker and my cute little assistant who shall remain nameless insisted he liked it better rocking :) What else has he been up to? Well, let's see. This past weekend he slept one night from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.!!! But don't worry, it was just the one night :) Two days ago he rolled from his belly to his back while on his play gym and a few hours ago he gave me the sweetest gift. As I was changing him into his footed jammies (aren't those the cutest??!!) he let out an actual giggle! A sweet, throaty giggle complete with drool out of the corner of his mouth and followed by hiccups. Too much excitement I guess! Hudson, you sure know how to melt your mama's heart! You're a quarter of a year old today. Happy 3 month birthday!! We love you SO MUCH!

Natchez, MS

No signs of it slowing down around here. This past week Lance headed to St. Louis while Grace, Hudson, Noonie & I headed to Natchez, MS. Thank goodness the littles are great travelers! Of course it helps to have lots of breaks for treats like this and fun new toys to play with (thanks Mimi!!) It's a new baking set!!! Natchez has some beautiful plantation homes and even though we didn't tour any (a 2 1/2 year old + a 2 1/2 month old - need I say more? :), we still enjoyed the scenery. Looked and looked and couldn't find a public park for the little pumpkin to burn some energy, so we ended up playing at a park on the grounds of First Baptist Church of Natchez. The see-saw was so much fun! Noonie's turn! We even tried to get the little pumpkin to climb on this tree but it had "bugs" according to her so it was a no go :(
Tired from all the playing it was time to pack it up and head back to the hotel to catch some zzzz's
But not before jumping on the bed and then snuggling with a favorite friend :) Here's to many more memory-making trips!