PARTY ON WITH MY PARENTS

One of the luxuries of spending three months in St. George, with my parents, is that they decided to take us with them on their vacation! They don't do things cheap-style like Thomas and I... they va-ca-TION! It was sure nice to eat delectable dishes, be pampered, and enjoy the fresh vigor of sunny So. Cal. We made our way down to Newport Beach, CA the beginning of March and then we moseyed on over to the beloved world of Walt Disney in Aneheim.

Oh, the sounds, smells and feelings of the beach! What a beautiful place to spend any morning, right?

When telling Hudson about Disneyland (this was his first experience) he thought the Critter Breakfast at the Grand Disneyland Hotel was "Disneyland"...Hudson didn't want to leave after he had met and danced with all the Critters and had been in everyone's photos...(he was really getting the hang of that one). To him, what he was experiencing, was Disneyland. And by George, it was one of my favorite parts of the day to watch Hudson play the hokey pokey, follow the leader and become buddy-buddy with all the fur-balls that were around us.

Can't....get....enough...of...this.....sand....in.....my....mouth!!!! Brielle was doing her best to figure out what the beach is all about. I think the aftermath of her diaper proved to educate her that eating sand isn't all that it's cracked up to be. 

Words cannot express how happy our tummies were after our feast-of-a-breakfast at this amazing hotel/resort. Yes, we just kept going back for over 2 hours. You'd think it was our last meal---EVER. We'd lounge... and then get more goodies...then lounge....then eat again. IT WAS SOOOO GLUTINOUS. AND SOOO FUN!

We took a boat out on the port and it was such a delightful experience. We cranked up the tunes and watched all the hub-bub of the busy comings and goings of yachts, sailboats and crew teams. We had to make sure little Hudson was strapped in tight to his life vest so that just in case he threw himself overboard with excitement (because let me tell you, this little boy looooves his boats!) we would have a happy ending to our jaunt. 

If you ever vacation with my family, you need to know that everything is tailored around the good eats. What we eat for breakfast and lunch...where we will get a tasty dessert... and where we top it all off with dinner. It is all part of creating a successful trip and one of our absolute favorite things to do! This picture is of where we ate for breakfast one morning, down on the beachfront, and then afterwards, where we played on the sand until Hudson was completely tuckered out. 

At the Marriott Resort Villas, we got to enjoy their many beautiful surroundings....including this mini car. Perfect for Hudson's itch to DRIVE BABY! We also went down and played miniature golf, tether ball and found some giant carp in a fountain to gawk at. I swear those things opened their mouths wide enough to swallow us whole! YUCK!

Disneyland!!!! What a treat! So many memories! Who would think that a Monday during the first part of March would lure everyone and their dog to Disneyland. We totally didn't plan to wait in line for the kiddie rides for 45 minutes each. It was tough on Hudson to wait so long, only for a minute blurp of movement and song. I get it buddy. It was hard for me, and I'm an adult! Nevertheless, we had so much fun. I love this place. We got to enjoy experiencing it through Hudson's eyes and that was well-worth the effort. Thank you PAPA and NANA!!!!

This kid could crash cars ALL day. That is what heaven would be like for Hudson. BOOM! CRASH! BOING! OH, NO!!! 

Riding a horse, just like a stud. That's my boy. 

Turns out, we didn't have any luck with the sword. That's okay by me. I didn't want Hudson ruling England anyway. 

Hiking, Triking and Dinos, Oh My!

Hudson got his first pet: a fish. Betta fish aren't the most entertaining of fishes... Hudson was still pretty excited about it though! He got to pick it out and he loves to feed "Chum". Hopefully he makes it home on the airplane with us...

Sorry for the skin, but baby bodies are sooo precious. We did a little shoot of Bri and here is a tame front shot so no one is offended... Brielle is starting to get a mind of her own. She turned 5 months on the 29th and has been really interested in food the past couple weeks, but still hates her rice cereal. I let her gnaw on a banana and she went to town! Nearly lost my fingers! She is also rolling around really well and sitting up for long periods of time. She absolutely adores Hudson. It is dear to watch how much she admires him and gets a kick out of the things he does. Hudson is so sweet to her so it's no wonder she loves him so much:) 

Papa Montague brought out the man tools and let Hudson be his wingman. Hudson is ecstatic---"Being a dude is so cool!" Papa was using his creativity to build up the pedals to help Hudson fit the trike they got for him to play on in this lovely St. George weather. Any excuse for a drill is a good one!

We're learning... Hudson has to grow into it a bit. If Hudson isn't on the trike, we are playing baseball and soccer out in the backyard. So much energy to expend in this little guy. 

Our Van Gogh, busy at work.

Here's our little sister sitter! Brielle is doing really well sitting up for several minutes now until she flings backward. Still working on controlling that so for the time we have a protective blanket to pad the fall.

To get some wiggles out and make naptime successful, we have been doing some hikes in the area. Hudson has really taken to hiking and it is really fun for me to watch him do so well climbing the mountain and figuring out how to maneuver around the rocks. It is such a treat to enjoy the sunshine in January and February!

In our area, there is a fantastic dinosaur museum that we checked out with Hudson. It was difficult to get Hudson excited about anything other than wanting to jump off all these ancient dinosaur tracks that were embedded in the large rocks:)

Nana Lisa has been so wonderful to help so much with the kids as Thomas is now at a hospital in Phoenix for this month. She has been the best of friends and the greatest support as I try to do this parenting thing alone while Thomas is away. Thank you Mom! 

Although the concept of not jumping off the ancient rocks was a difficult one to grasp, he really enjoyed the kid area with a sandbox that you could dig for dino tracks. There were some puzzles, and activities to play with as well that were fun.

Library time has been comical. We have made the library storytime our friend. Trying to practice sitting for an extended period of time has been tough for this little guy! It was such an exciting event for Hudson. He misses his friends out in Chicago so getting out and playing with other kids made him so happy. His favorite book series have been Franklin (the turtle) and the Magic School Bus. Yeah for great books!

Rice Princess

This little girl has won our hearts. She is the sweetest of babies...but she needs to sleep more at night! How could this cute little face cause her Mommy so many sleepless nights? She just loves to hangout with Mommy. I guess I'm pretty cool.

So to be hopeful for a better night's sleep, I started Brielle on rice cereal. She hates it! She just screams the whole time. What is that all about Bri? We are optimistic that she'll change her mind and suck it down like it is chocolate cake.

She figured out how to clench her jaw and purse her lips tight so that not even a drop could get in. They are smart little creatures! 

Her mother is obviously more enthusiastic about this experience than Brielle seems to be. She is rigid in a defense pose and screaming with an arched back... can't say I imagined that when I thought this through beforehand. Throw yo Mama a bone baby girl:) 

Comando!

The New Year brought me to make some ambitious goals: 1) Potty train my Hudson.

So we did it! Why not conquer your fears and hang out on the wood floor by a little frog potty for a week? Bribes? Heck yes!

This is what my family calls "killing two birds with one stone". Hudson caught on really quickly and it only took a accident filled first day to get him to figure it all out.

This was our booty camp territory. I'm so funny... We made it fun with stickers, fruit snacks and licorice. It was a total potty par-tay!

Here he is, sporting his Lightning McQueen hunkish underwear. So hot right now:)

He quickly picked up on going in the big potty too so stickers started raining down upon him. He chose his nose for this particular sticker. 

Got to see my Eesh girl and connect our best friend little girls! They were supposed to be born two weeks apart, but Alicia went early and I went late so they are six weeks apart...I love you in every way doc! You're the best of friends for me!

Our cuties were holding hands (totally without any help right;)

Christmas Sunshine Style

Christmas was filled with family and another holiday full of great memories. We spent time up north before Christmas with the Wright side of the family seeing the Lights at Temple Square, enjoying some festive parties, going to a trampoline warehouse (Airborne) and letting the kids (and our husbands...) get all the extra energy out and as Tom always likes... we just spent time together. 

Afterward, we headed south to spend Christmas with the Montague clan. We played a load outside going out on the boat, clay pigeon shooting, playing wallyball and basketball, roasting marshmallows over the fire-chat---all which can only be done properly down in St. George:)

Brielle celebrated her first Christmas and posed as Ms. Clause and Hudson got to enjoy playing with a whole new house full of toys, cousins and family. Christmas this year was the ending of a beautiful year in which we were able to bring another baby into our family, Thomas finished up the classroom setting portion of his schooling and we began preparing for the traveling portion starting January.

Hudson was clearly overjoyed about his new rocket pjs to go with his super cool rocket toy... 

Both Hudson and B got spoiled and spent the day doing whatever the heck tickled their fancy

Papa Montague and little Ms. Clause

It was a treat to have uncle Steve back for Christmas this year! He just returned from his mission to Brazil and we got to enjoy him along with his fantastic baby skills, witty humor and tasty Brazilian cooking:)

I promise we're happy:) Christmas brings out the best in little kids...too many sweets and not enough sleep= happy holidays

Best gift idea for Hudson ever! A flashlight!

Bri nearly fit into her stocking, but those lovable thighs weren't going to allow the tight squeeze

Brielle didn't care much for the present aspect of Christmas, but she was all about the presentation

Blessings

We have really been enjoying our baby girl. I keep waiting to get sick of doing the baby stuff, day in and day out, but that day still hasn't come. Just when I'm about fed up for the day and tired out, Bri and Hudson will do something so adorable that I can't stay frustrated too long. I think Heavenly Father designed children with that sort of charm so we keep em' around instead of dropping them off at the Goodwill. 

Wow, how the months continue to fly by... Bri turned 3 months old on November 29th and seems to get cuter by the minute. We were driving home from D.C. after spending Thanksgiving with family and both Hudson and Brielle were amazing to sit for 12 hours in a confined carseat and survive the long journey. It was only the last hour that she even started to get upset and that made two of us by that point! Hudson was a champ to eat crackers, look through books, color, sleep and play with Mom's phone. It was nice to get home, get out of that squished car and have some space again.

Before church, Hudson was busy trying to be a big boy by getting his shoes on all by himself... He thought his Dad's nice Sunday shoes would be perfect for his baby sister's blessing day.

On December 1st, Brielle was blessed by her Daddy in our BG2 ward out here in Chicago. Although we weren't able to have our family in attendance, our amazing friends, the Tranter's, drove an hour to come support us and be our family. Shout out for our best friends the Tranters!!!!:) We love you guys!

Her pretty dress was a gift from Grandma Lisa. She was all pufffs and fabric and seemed to nearly be lost in her dress! My friends little girl saw Brielle come into the Sacrament room and her eyes seemed to fill with sparkles as she eyed Bri's dress and said, "Wow Mommy, I want a princess dress like that..." the same little girl is also into drawing high heels on stick figures=)

A picture from D.C. during Thanksgiving. Turns out we brought the chill from Chicago with us....BRRRRRRR it was cold! We stayed with Auntie Ash in her basement and got to enjoy some really fun times by her fireplace:) Bri was great to sleep in a storage bin (minus the newspaper)---I'm not proud to say it, but it worked out really great since she is used to sleeping in a bassinet at home. This also means we can possibly have an excuse (other than her crazy parents) if Bri ends up a little nutty as an adult.
Hudson's favorite part of the trip was getting a spaceship at the Air and Space Smithsonian. He brought that thing with him everywhere. While at Ash's, Hudson slept on the couch and I woke up many times to find him standing asleep with his feet on the ground and head propped up on the couch. I would have taken a picture if I wasn't rolling on the ground in laughter. That kid can sleep anywhere~ love my boy;)

We are happy to report that it is only a matter of days now before we head back to Utah and escape the cold Chicago winter that is quickly approaching. We have had some very sweet times with Tom's schedule being a little lighter the past few months since Bri's birth, but things will soon get busy as he begins to travel starting in January 2014. It's hard to believe we will be without Dad for the first several months of the year. Nevertheless, we are going to let the St. George sunshine do what it does best and cheer our sad hearts as we miss him every minute!

To Become the Favorite

So far, SOOO good! Brielle is nearly three months old and it feels as if she has been apart of our family for a lifetime. Funny how someone that doesn't talk, walk or eat anything but milk can make their way right into the very dearest parts of your heart. You see what I mean right? That smile is precious.

Brielle has awoken from newborn-dom! She is so alert and no longer enjoys lounging on her back staring at a mindless ceiling. She has made it clear that she prefers to see up and out just like the big kids. She totally gets it.

Uncle Spencer has officially made it into the hearts of these two chillens. Hudson doesn't let just anyone in. Not only did he pose for this picture nestled in Spencer's arm, but he also initiated a hand hold, sitting by him and ultimately giving him a hug goodbye. Wow. Spence has had to spend thousands of dollars to come out multiple times (I believe we counted 5 times in the last 2 years), in which the last two times he was getting his hip injected by a local physiatrist. Was it worth it Spence??? Heck YES!