some "warm" winter days before another snow storm

We finally got a few days this past week where it "warmed" up to 50 degrees. The boys were so excited to be outside. We still  had snow on the ground and the yard was really muddy so they played on the sunporch with their cars for the longest time. We can't wait till Spring!

My new favorite picture of Jack

Jack with a car and a vacuum attachment....his other favorite toy

Even more snow pictures

Yes, I am posting more snow pictures. We had a fun snow playdate with Ainsley and Max a few weeks ago. Thank goodness for good friends that live close. They lived close in our old neighborhood when we had just Hudson and Ainsley and now they live close near our new neighborhood and we are so thankful.

Hudson and Ainsley cleaning off the snow while the little guys stayed inside.

 

Cute as can be now. I am pretty sure these two are going to be TROUBLE together in about 15 years!

 

Snow dogs

Nana came over one day last week to celebrate her birthday and she took the boys outside to make snow"dogs" and for sled rides. The boys had a blast. After dinner, we celebrated Nana's birthday with a red velvet cake. Luckily Nana didn't mind Hudson's numerous attempts at blowing out the candle which involved spit all over the cake. This boy better practice some more before his birthday!

 

 

Snowed in.....

We still have snow on the ground and it has been COLD. We are ready for it to go away! We have tried to make the best of it inside though and have had some fun, lazy days at home building lots of forts, baking and playing lots of games.



Jack is obsessed with the vacuum. He just screams in excitement the whole time it is on and follows it around. He loves it so much he spilled a whole bag of goldfish and an entire box of elbow macaroni just so we could get it out!



Sporting a sweater made by Nana for Hudson.



Hudson riding a bike with my phone.



Trouble Maker. Or "Waffle Maker" as Hudson says.

Tantrum on the floor.

Trying to figure out the remote.

Hugging Tanner.

Making a birthday cake for Nana.

The face he likes to make when the camera comes out.

Here is a little bit of what the boys have been up to lately.

Hudson

- He can write his first name and Toy Story 3. But not his last name. I guess three year olds have different priorities. If you ask him to spell Toy Story he will say “T-O-Y-SPACE-S-T-O-R-Y”.

- He can recognize both capitol and lowercase letters and write most of the capitol letters. Thank you Superwhy (TV show and iphone app). He loves to find letters and make them out of straws, dominos or anything else around. He will still tell you “A” is for “Abby and Ava”…two girls at school we hear lots about!

- He can navigate the internet by himself to get on ToysRUs.com, Target.com and Toy Story 3’s website. He loves the Toy Story games and plays them well. I had to remove $99 dollars of Toy Story items in my cart at Target. Who knew they make Toy Story shower rings.

- He loves UNO and will play for hours. He usually wins too. He loves card games and even pulls out the directions to "read" what they say.

- He can record shows on the DVR. He got a book from a Chick-Fil-A meal on Martha Speaks. I told him it was a TV show so as soon as we got home, he typed it in and recorded it. I have no idea how he figured this out.

- After $15 in pay-per-view charges from Toy Story movies (2 different times), and $10 in Toy Story apps downloaded to my phone, we have now installed parental passwords. I should have just asked Hudson how to do it and maybe it would be faster. If only they would have told me the first time every TV in the house needs programmed! Hudson was pretty excited when he got it to work though.

- He has the iphone all figured out. And if I won’t give it to him, he will say “but I need to put Mickey on for Jack to make him happy!” Jack has already figured out that it is a touch screen and is really good at moving all my icons.

- He doesn’t know how to lie yet. Thank goodness.

- He loves spinach salads. Of course he covers it in Ranch dressing but he devours it. He has become picky for the first time pretty much in his life. This means he sits down for a meal. He tells us he doesn’t like it. Then after about 20 minutes he comes back and clears his plate. Lots of drama at mealtime lately. Actually lots of drama. Period.

- He wants to take his next plane ride to Madagascar to meet Marty and Alex. And go swimming he says. Hmmm…what happened to Disney?

- He started drawing his first "people". They are so cute. The first ones got sent to Aunt Sam. We were going to play with a boy named Sam the other day and when I told him that, he said, "but I want to play with "my" Sam!" She better move back here after CA!

- He went to his first “kids only” birthday party this past week! He was pretty proud.

Jack

- He is obsessed with shoes and wants them on all of the time.

- In addition to the top of the kitchen table, playroom table and bathroom sink (via the stepstool), he also can be found in the front loading washing machine. Along with other various items he brings with him.

- Lil’ guy just ate half a red pepper the other day. He also likes eggplant, spinach, tomatoes, black olives and edamame. But applesauce is still disgusting. He is slowly warming up to fruit though. Eggs are one of his favorites.

- He now throws himself on the floor when he doesn’t get what he wants. Uh, oh…already.

- He shakes his head “no” now. Sometimes so hard he falls over. Yes, he has a big head.

- He is finally walking everywhere at a young 14 months!

- When (unfortunately, not “if”), he wakes up in the middle of the night, he points to our room and then giggles.

- He gives the best hugs, especially when he gets sad. He is still so cuddly.

- He loves to cuddle with the dogs too.

- He says “mama”, and "yeah" and “hot”.



Snow Days!

 We got our first "real" snow of the season this week and Jack wasn't so sure what to think of the cold, wet stuff hitting his face.

But it was all better when Daddy picked him up.

I think he was warm enough.

This is the first year Hudson had enjoyed being outside in the snow. The snow wasn't very packable, so our snowman attempts failed, but he loved playing the ball with Tanner and pulling Jack's sled in the snow. We didn't make it sledding our first day but are hoping it warms up just a bit so we can make it out there before it melts.

The calm before the storm.....

We had a few days last week that were "warm" for January. By warm, I mean 50, but when you have 2 wild little boys that need to be outside, then 50 is warm enough! So we bundled up and headed out to play. We are forecasted to get 5-7 inches tomorrow so maybe the next photos might be of a our first snowman this winter!

Getting greeted off the slide by Sparky. Nana's dogs, Sparky and Rogan, have spent the week with us while she moved Sam to sunny CA.  

Jack has been walking more than crawling this week. 

These boys just crack each other up. 

This child LOVES the swing. If he spots the swingset from inside, he points at it with his "uh" voice. And then if I ask him if he wants to swing, he just giggles. I love the communication at this age!

And he realized he was wearing a hat.

Jack is 14 months!

Jack turned 14 months this week, although he thinks he is 5! He has started walking more and is so proud of his new skill! He loves to point and say "da" for everything he wants. He is putting more and more sounds together and doing well with some signs, but not saying any words yet. He shakes his well "no" well though! He is a huge meat and veggie eater and dislikes fruit which is completely opposite from his brother. He will choose carrots, peas, avocado or edamame over any fruit which just baffles me. He is such a cuddly little guy that still loves to be held and rocked. This week, Hudson fell on a chair and Jack immediatly crawled over to hug and kiss him. We are still working on weaning....maybe someday! He does great with milk and a sippy but loves to nurse especially when going to bed.

He loves books, especially the touch and feel ones.

The boys were very quiet the other day while I was upstairs doing laundry which is usually never good. They surprised me though when I found them in Jack's closet reading books. Here Jack is protecting his book from Hudson. This is usually accompanied by a big scream. Hudson is such a good big brother, most of the time. He hates when Jack gets "in trouble" for climbing up chairs or into trouble and always tries to parent

him. 

 

Every book has something that will bite your finger..."Ow"!