Random-ness

My Dad used to (and maybe still does) refer to me as "the Random Child". So, true to form I will post some random pictures and report some random happenings in our lives recently.

Sometimes Kaylee likes to brush teeth just for fun. Fun... brushing teeth? I like how kids open our minds to finding fun in just about anything!

Hudson is counting to 30 while Kaylee and I go hide. Um... okay, just kidding.

Jeff and I have been doing some major outdoor springtime projects. I got the deck and one section of fence power washed and stained. We got dirt for the garden and mulch for the flower beds. Jeff got that all spread out and it's looking really nice.

I got my garden planted. Some things I'm staggering so that I'll sow more seeds in two week increments. I've got strawberries and blueberries, onions, carrots, corn, watermelon, pumpkin, potatoes, brocolli, asparagus, lettuce, sugar snap peas, beans, cucumber, tomatoes and bell peppers! WHEW - I never realized how much could go into one small garden! Now I just need to build the trellises.

Oh yes, I forgot I also have one pot of chives and garlic, and another of sweet peas (the flower, not more peas!)

mmm...Dirt!

A few more quick updates on Hudson. I had the kids outside with me a few days ago while I was pulling weeds. I plopped Hudson down on the grass and he found all sorts of interesting things to put in his mouth: those sticky seeds, dead leaves, etc... Then he found dirt. He got a handful and put it right in his mouth. You'd think he would've made a face, but he didn't. I did as best I could to get most of it out. Then he goes for more. He got so mad at me for swiping the dirt from his hands. I'm pretty sure he learned the meaning of the word "no" because pretty soon I would say "NO" as his hand was going towards his mouth and he'd start to cry. I compare this to when Kaylee was his age and experiencing dirt for the first time. She loved it too, but she just put her hands in and felt it. Only later did she try to put it in her mouth - here's a quote from May 6 2007: "One more thing - Kaylee got her first (and hopefully last) taste of dirt today. She was helping me plant the phlox. I turned my head to ask Jeff to get the camera and when I looked back she had a mouthful of dirt and an unhappy expression on her face. Well, after that, she just stuck to playing with her gardening toys and left the dirt alone. "

It's pretty neat that since our kids were born almost exactly two years apart (within 3 days) I can look back and compare when they first started doing what. So far it seems they're both pretty much the same for developmental stuff.

A while back I mentioned that I'd find Hudson sitting up in his crib. I soon discovered that he was able to sit up by himself regardless if he was in the crib or not. He's pretty much completely mobile now, just not as fast as he'd like to be.

This morning I found him standing up in his crib watching the fish in his fishtank. That was a first (the standing). So I guess the cruising stage is now beginning. Time to get ready for lots of head bumps!

And So it Begins

Today Hudson struck off on his own for the first time. Usually he's crawling towards me, but today he crawled away. "Where do you think you're going?", I asked him. Just like a guy, he heads RIGHT for the electronics!

Progress (Updated*)

We're making good progess at getting our garden set up. This spot along the back of the house gets the most light. I'm anxious to see how well things will grow here. The next step is to get some good soil filled in mixed up with compost. I'm also planning on putting up a nylon trellis supported by metal piping. It's a design I'm copying from my friend Jen who has it in her garden and looks really nice.

Jeff got me some old railroad ties for the border. I just LOVE them - they're so rustic looking and full of character. It looks like they've always been there.

Look at all that character! I love wood. I am so excited to start this garden!

Yesterday I got all my hanging baskets planted. I have two in the front with fuscia (because it's mostly shaded there) and this one in the back. I love small, trailing flowers!

I am also starting some sweet peas from seed. They're from a mixed bag so it'll be a surprise which colors come out.

The black birds have been making progress on their nest as well. Look how well it's coming along!

* Let's just zoom in there...


I see the pair hanging around the neighborhood often these days. It's fun to watch them. I'll have to come up with some names. I've taken some video of the pair up there in the nest, but it's hard to tell what's going on from down here. Maybe if I climb up on the roof...

Springtime

Besides the daffodils and tulips that have already started to bloom around here, there are a few other signs of spring. In the woods behind our house the shrubs and bramble below have already had a blush of green for a few weeks already. Just yesterday it seems the leaves on the big trees just burst out all at once and are already at least an inch long! I can't belive how quickly it happens. Of course for us this means that now our yard and deck are littered with the sticky, yellow-staining "bud covers" from the cottonwood trees and we need to check our shoes anytime we come in or out. Like I said - they're sticky - and they stain!

Another really neat sign of spring is happening just outside the window as I'm typing. I see a pair of blackbirds working together to build a nest up there in the tree. I hope that's what they're doing anyway. They're staying around one particular branch and messing around with a lot of twigs. But maybe they're harvesting twigs for their nest someplace else. It's fun to watch none the less. I hope they build their nest there and I'll have all spring to watch for their little darlings to emerge.

I used to be exclusively a "fall girl", but nowadays I think I'm an 'all-season girl'. I love each change in season for their own reasons, and everytime a new season starts, I tend to think of it as my favorite. So now, Spring is my favorite season!

More Stuff

Have I ever mentioned that I love the way Kaylee emphasises her words with hand gestures? It's so cute. She seems to be a hand talker. Often her hands are palms up and she pumps her arms when she's making a point.

I also love when Kaylee sings the ABC song and gets to the "LMNOP" part. It sounds like "L and M and M and M - O - P"

Hudson has had another development that I forgot to report the other day. As well as starting to crawl a bit and play peek-a-boo, I've also discovered he can sit himself up in his crib. I haven't actually seen him do it, I just peek in on him and see him sitting up in there. I suspect he uses the rails to help himself up. He's never gone from laying down to sitting up anywhere else in the house. But it was a surprising development for me the other day. I peeked in when I thought he was sleeping and saw him sititng up with a pacifier in his mouth, just quietly playing. What a sweet boy!

Peek-a-Boo

Hudson is growing SO fast! Yesterday he started crawling. Actually he hasn't made much more progress along those lines. He crawled a few paces again today, but mostly he cried when I wouldn't come to him and let him "finger walk" instead.

A few days ago I dared to see how he would do eating crackers and cheerios... his first really solid food. Up until now I had been giving him soggy cheerios and putting crackers into one of those net thingys that they suck the food out of. He doesn't seem to have any problems with mashing up that food in his mouth and I believe his drool could mush up even the hardiest solids.

Today he started to play hide and seek with me. When I lay him down in bed we play with his blankie for a bit. Today he would pull the blankie up over his face and I'd say "Where's Hudson?" then he'd pull it down really quick and laugh as I said "Peek a Boo!" He did this over and over every time I laid him down today. I think he could do it ALL DAY LONG if I let him. I just love how easy it is to make babies laugh... how the simplest things are hilarious to them.

I took a little video of Hudson tonight, trying to see if I could capture his Peek-a-boo game. He got distracted by the camera though and started wildly flapping his blankie over his head and down again. I did get a little laugh out of him and even a snort. Yep, sometimes if he laughs hard enough, he'll snort. Just like his Mamma! :) I'll see if Jeff can capture some of the video and I'll post it here later.

Hudson Crawls

We were lucky enough to be filming Hudson as he finally crawled for the first time tonight. I looked back (to my very first blog post actually) and learned that Kaylee started to crawl at the same age. I'll bet before the week is finished he'll be crawling like a pro and chasing after his big sister.

I can't wait!

A Nice Change

Do you know where this is?
Well if you've ever been out to visit us, we've probrably taken you here.

To Larabee.

So here's the scoop. In total answer to prayer, Jeff's hours are scaled back to four 10 hour days, giving him three days off IN A ROW! Now we get to enjoy a lot more family time. On this lovely sunny spring day, we took the kids down to Larabee park where we got to throw rocks in the water and play in the playground...and I got to take LOTS of pictures!

Hiker Kaylee and her signature smile:

Paradise for a "throwing rocks" lover like Kaylee:

A rare moment when I wasn't the one behind the camera:

The sculpted rock makes a great backdrop:

I love this one - currently it's the background for my computer (notice she has "the smile" pose going again):

He's not too sure about all this:

The tunnel that goes under the railway:

Kaylee got more drum practice in today. The playground there has bells and drums and an abundance of sticks on the ground!

Go Jeff!

It won't be long and Hudson will be running along right after his big sister!

The end.

Happy Easter

Due to sick kids (and sick parents) we had to stay home for Easter this year. It's just not the same when you can't go to church. But we had as much fun as a family could possibly TRY to have when your two year old is sick, was up half the night coughing and wouldn't take an afternoon nap. Sound fun?

I managed to get a few smiles out of her.
First we colored some eggs. This was fun for about 3 minutes or until the eggs needed to come out and there was still all this lovely dyed-water that needed to be played with. Of course we also celebrated with our traditional "spill the dye all over the table and onto the floor" routine.

Here's Kaylee's smile face. Whenever I say "Smile for Mommy" this is what I get.

What a goof!

The guys are out doing the manly thing:

After the egg coloring Kaylee tried unsuccessfully to nap for an hour or so. Then we had a small egg hunt when she got up. We had been doing a devotional called "Ressurrection Eggs" for the last few weeks. She was used to finding the eggs and hearing them rattle inside. This time she was surprised to find some candy inside! The little darling ate a couple jelly beans and also doled some of her precious little candy to her Daddy. What a sweetie!

I also had set up the colored water outside on the deck with a drop cloth underneath, thinking she could play around with mixing colors. I didn't see any reason to throw that stuff down the drain without getting more use out of it. Well that lasted a whole 30 seconds before we had a dark brown bowl of water. It was wet and cold outside so we came in and she warmed up in the bath. Later on we made some popcorn and watched an episode of Planet Earth.

A nice day.

p.s. You see Hudson drinking from a bottle? It's great. We could never get Kaylee to do that. Now Jeff can watch the kids and I don't need to rush back to feed him when the time comes. Plus it gives them a chance to have some quiet time together.

Ressurection Story from a Two Year Old's Perspective

Looking at a picture of Jesus praying in the garden, Kaylee says "It's dark"

Looking at a picture of Jesus carrying His cross, Kaylee says "Heavy"

Looking at a picture of Jesus on the cross, Kaylee says "Jesus has owies"

Looking at a picture of the stone rolled away, Kaylee says "Empty"

I say "Yeah! Jesus is alive!"

Happy Ressurection Day, everyone!

Fish Funeral

One of our older angel fish died today. Jeff thought it would be a good opportunity to teach Kaylee about life and death stuff. So she watched as he scooped out the dead fish and let her see it before he put it in the toilet and let her flush it away.

What did she learn?

Flushing fish is FUN! (say that 10 times really fast)

"Again?", she says.

Kaylee wanted Daddy to scoop out some more fish that she could flush them. We told her that we only flush fish that have died and all the other ones are alive.

"Again, smaller fish?" (As if the smaller fish don't really matter.)

Yeah, not the lesson Jeff had in mind!

Rock Star **UPDATED**

We were watching a video (also from my neice) called Rolie Polie Olie. In it, the mom loves to play the drums. I looked over at Kaylee and thought - wouldn't it be cool if she took up playing the drums? She liked the idea, so we set up her first drum set.

It was ear-piercingly loud, but it was a lot of fun. I made the mistake of giving her wooden spoons - thinking they might be quieter??? - but she managed to break those guys within a couple minutes. Oops, sorry honey! Now I know.

And now I also know to find padded drumsticks or else encourage her to play something much, much quieter!!! :)

**I convinced her that it was very cool to play with her hands - like bongo drums. (and there was much rejoicing!) **

Fun in the Sun

My daffodils were wilting already and it was such a nice sunny day, I had to go back.

I tried to take some good pictures, but it's hard when one kid has hair in her eyes all the time and the other is way past a nap time.

But I thought I'd include a bunch anyway. I am indecisive.

Kaylee was having the time of her life there.

I think she had just as much, if not more fun here than at the park!

I noticed Kaylee was doing some gardening of her own.

She would find a leaf...

and a fresh mound of dirt (aka mole hill)...

and plant that leaf in the ground!

I believe she could do this for hours!

And I would've let her if Hudson wasn't hours past his naptime.

Sorry, I took a LOT of pictures.

Here's my little boy in blue:

Below I think Kaylee is saying "The hills are alive...with the sound of music!"

I like this shot:

Well what's new with the kids?

Hudson is very close to crawling (still). He gets up on his hands and knees but gets really mad when he goes backwards instead of forwards. He's always reaching for my fingers so he can stand up and do some walking instead. He just assumes my fingers will be there for him! :) And he's right, they usually are.

I like to refer to him as my little whale. His "talking" is mostly high pitched squeals. I squeal to him and he squeals back. We have long conversations. It's the cutest sound and he seems to think I'm pretty funny.

Kaylee has learned some songs and sings quite regularly. She sings the ABC song, Twinkle Twinkle, Baa Baa Black Sheep, the Itsy Bitsy Spider... what else? I just think she has the sweetest little voice. There's nothing quite as adorable as listening to your little girl sing her first songs - especially the parts she doesn't know - or thinks she knows - and says funny things in place of the right words. I love that! The best part is I can say "again" and she'll keep going and going. As soon as I get the video camera out though, she clams up. I need to get that recorded somehow. That's one memory I don't want to fade.

Kaylee has a best friend, Matthew. He comes over for play dates once a week and they also see each other at church. She used to be very shy in nursery and would sometimes just sit by herself. Now she rushes in and looks for her friend. They run to each other and she cries "Hey Matthew!" When they walk around, she always holds his hand. Oh, it's so cute!!!

Alright, that's all for now. It seems we all came down with a nasty cold. I feel dreadful and hope to get a nap in while the kids are both sleeping.