All Garrett Wants For Christmas

Garrett lost both of his 2 front teeth on the same day about 2 weeks ago. He lost one at school (not sure if he swallowed it or what b/c it was never found) and I pulled the other one that afternoon. As expected, it changed his appearance significantly. In light of the holiday and his missing teeth, he sang a little song for us. See the video...

Hudson-stein - Walking

Hudson so very into walking now. He is on his feet about 90% of the time. He would be on his feet all the time if he could figure out how to stand up by himself. He is trying, but can't quite do it yet. Anway, when he walks, he always has his hands out in front of him like Frankenstein. Very funny. Here is a little clip of him. Seems that every time I get the camera out to video him, he gets too excited and doesn't walk far. He can actually walk the length of the house now without falling :)

Hudson Taking Steps

Hudson is trying out his walking legs this week. He has been taking a step or 2 between the couch and coffee table for a few weeks, but he is now letting go to attempt going across the room. Here is a little video of him taking about 10 steps (once again, I don't know how to turn it sideways!)

Kristi's Knee Surgery - Update

I decided to once again have surgery on my knees to help with my rheumatoid arthritis. This time, I chose to do both knees at the same time. It has been 10 days now and I am happy I did both. It has been considerably more painful than I expected - mainly b/c the dr. did more cutting on the inside than I expected. He did what was called a synovectomy on them to remove the lining of the knees. This helps b/c their isn't much left for the arthritis to attack (until it eventually grows back.) Additionally, he cleaned up the torn cartilage and the most painful part was the lateral release he did on the left knee. He cut the outer tendon down the middle (I think.) Anyway, I had excessive swelling so my good doc drained them (yes, it hurt very very bad) in the office last Thursday and gave me steroid injections. I am a new person now. I can walk with very little limp! Here is a picture of how I have spent most of my days since getting out of the hospital. Ice, exercise machine and a laptop (Christmas shopping :)

Garrett's Holiday Gig

Garrett got in the holiday spirit by performing for us along with his stuffed elephant's cousin, Spike and a stuffed teddy bear (aka Taffey.) He performed a song he made up himself, then the 12 Days of Christmas (see the sideways video - sorry I don't know how to turn it.) The recording starts toward the end of the song - watch all of it as the end is the best. Jon decided to join him for the 12th day of Christmas. It was hilarious.

Hudson loves Maddie!

This is Hudson with his girlfriend Maddie. They are 1 month apart and get very excited at just hearing the other ones name. They like to play together, share food and sometimes fight over toys.

Hudson was either trying to kiss Maddie or give her a love bite. He has been biting all of us lately...

Halloween 2008

This year, we have Garrett as Star Wars Boba Fete, Karys as a very pink Angel & Hudson is a race car driver. Each costume was important to the kids. Garrett is a Star Wars fanatic, Karys lives and breathes pink and Hudson's favorite thing to do is ride in his car. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time. I love it when Halloween falls on the weekend - no rushing to get to bed for school the next day, etc.

Pumpkin Patch 2008

We made a quick trip to a local pumpkin patch the other night. We usually go during the day, but now that both G & K are in school, we found it easier to go in the evening. Little did I know the pictures would be better w/o the sun in their eyes.

Fall School Pictures

Here are Garrett & Karys's Fall school pictures

Garrett in 2nd Grade

Karys in Kindergarten

Hudson loves to cruise

Hudson is so interactive these days. He is trying to say so much - lots of 'Baaa' sounds - for 'bite' & 'bye-bye' we know for sure. He is not interested in trying to stand or walk on his own, but loves to walk with you holding his hands, cruising around the furniture and pushing toys. Here is a little video clip of him pushing his walker. As you can see & hear, he gets frustrated easily.

Garrett's new obsession

I haven't posted a note about Garrett in a while so here is what our biggest little dude is into now - in 2 words - STAR WARS. After Jon took G to see the Clone Troopers and bought the Star Wars Lego game for the Wii - it is officially the new obsession. We are happy about this for many reasons. Of course, Jon & I were both Star Wars fans as kids (him more than me, so he is in heaven playing with G now.) We are tired of hearing about Transformers and Bionciles and would much rather sit down and play with Star Wars characters. When I told G that I saw Star Wars about 10 times when I was a kid, he couldn't believe it - especially when I pointed out that we had to go to the theater to see it each time. That leads us into the conversation about having no VCR, DVD, TIVO and having only 3 channels on 1 TV, etc.
Anyway, everyday after school, Garrett comes home and plays the Star Wars Lego Wii game. After his time is up, he gets his 'gear' and goes outside to act out the entire Star Wars movie. I have to try to get this on video.
This weekend, Jon and G have a date to watch The Empire Strikes Back. I see an opportunity to bride (yes, bribe) Garrett with some new little characters :)

Hudson's Birthday Invitation

Here is the b/day invite I created for Hudson's 1st Birthday. Amazing to see how he has changed in one year.

Happy 1st Birthday Hudson!!

Our Birthday boy posing for the camera.

Hudson turned 1 on September 17th! We can't believe a year has gone by since he was born. Jon took the day off work so we took Hudson to eat lunch and took several walks. Hudson's favorite thing to do is go for a ride in his little car. He practically begs for it every day by crawling to the car and pointing to the front door.

Anyway, after dinner, we sang Happy Birthday do him and gave him a piece of cake. He wasn't sure at first what to do then eventually dug his hands into it. He only tasted a little bit of it and really didn't like it the whole experience that much. After a few minutes, I took him out of his highchair crying. We went straight to the bath - his 2nd favorite thing to do. His crying stopped immediately when I walked into the bathroom.

A collage of pics from Hudson during his 1st 10 days - from right after birth to NICU days. Hudson after 10 days in the NICU, he was finally off of all machines :)

Hudson and his b/day cake (again - posing for the camera.)

After the bath with new birthday toys.

Standing with his car (which Garrett got for his 1st b/day from Gram & Pop.)

Karys the Kindergarten Stallion Star

Karys was picked by her teacher to receive the 1st weekly award from her class. She received her 'Stallion Star' award on the 1st Friday morning assembly in front of the whole school. She said she got the award for 'following the rules and focusing'. I asked her what 'focusing' meant and she said, 'You know, when you focus a lot!' Garrett was disappointed that he did not get the 1st Stallion Star award from his class, but his teacher does it a little different. I reminded him that he received the 1st award when he was in kindergarten also. Here is a picture of her with her award standing in front of the display case at school where her picture hung.

Hudson Crawling!

Over the last few days, not only has Hudson learned to crawl, but he knows he can do it now. When he wants to get something, he can go for it, though he is still slow and wobbly. His favorite things to get to are anything to pull up on or to his books. He especially loves his 'Where is Baby's Belly Button' lift & flap book. I hope he doesn't try to lift up my shirt & look for my belly button in public like Garrett did when he was little.

Here is a little video of Hudsy crawling and saying 'Bye', some pix of him before going swimming (the sunscreen helped keep his hair in the mohawk) & standing at his toys.

Happy Birthday Karys!

We celebrated Karys's 5th Birthday on August 27th. After having her favorite dinner from Mama Fu's we had pink & purple cupcakes and lots of girly presents. Garrett got the Star Wars Clone light saber as his gift. I'm not sure who liked it more, Jon or Garrett.

Since Karys's b/day fell on a school day, I took cookies to her class and they sang to her. How cool is it to be the 1sts kid in the class to get to celebrate your b/day and have cookies!?

Hudson is starting to move!

I am so excited (& scared) to report that Hudson tried crawling for the 1st time today! I have been working with him for months and he has been very opposed to being on his tummy & knees. Nonetheless, I still try and today when I tried, he moved his little arms and knees. Though he was wobbly and slow, he did it. So, we promptly went baby gate shopping. Buying gates is a bit different this go around. I need some that G & K can open easily and that our aging cats can jump over or squeeze through. I am keeping the camera close so that I can get a little video of him doing it. When I get it, I'll post it.

1st Day of Kindergarten & 2nd Grade

Karys started Kindergarten and Garrett started 2nd Grade this morning!!! We have a brand new school to attend this year - Patsy Sommers Elementary. For the most part, it went smoothly. None of us cried and the kids went happily to their classes. Our teachers & staff are fantastic so I know they will both have a great day.

Karys's 5th Birthday Party

We had Karys's 5th B/day party at Pump It Up last week (though her actual b/day isn't till 8/27). The kids spent an hour or so jumping and sliding. She had a great time with her friends.

Hudson is 11 months old!!

Hudson hit the 11 month mark this weekend! He still can't crawl, but scoots a little on his butt. He LOVES to stand and play. We are thinking he might skip crawling and got straight to walking (though I know it will be many months down the road.) I went to the bathroom the other day and left him playing by the coffee table. When I walked back in the room a few minutes later, he was standing up & leaning on the coffee table. Totally shocked me.

Hudson can now wave 'Hi' and 'Bye' and saying something that resembles the words. If you ask him what a lion says, he growls. He can also make a good monkey sound.

Here are a couple recent photos of the little dude.

Garrett & Robo Monkey

Jon took Garrett to see Star Wars: The Clone War this past weekend. Ever since he got home from the movie, he has been combining his robot world with Star Wars. Here is a picture of The Incredible Garrett & his favorite monkey - aka Robo Monkey. Gotta love his imagination.

Galveston 2008

We took a little vacation to Galveston at the end of July. We spent 3 days there with my sorority sister and very good friend, Missy. She has 2 daughters - Mia is the same age as Karys and Payton is the same age as Hudson. We had a great time visiting and watching our kids play together.

Here is a picture of Karys, Hudson, Garrett & Mia in the beach house.

Hudson is 10 months old!

Wow - I can't believe that our baby boy is 10 months old today!! Time flies. As of today, he can't crawl, but he moves like an inchworm with his head and feet. He is very loud (he likes to yell a lot), and eat people food. If I'm eating something, he must have it - no sensory issues with this kid - the chunkier the food the better. He has 6 teeth, 4 on top (which came in all in 2 days) and 2 on the bottom. He still LOVES Garrett & Karys. He goes crazy for any attention they will give him. Here are pics from his 9 mos. photo shoot (taken just last week.)

Florida Beach Time

As promised, I'm finally putting up some of our pictues from our vacation to Florida. Hudson was 8 1/2 months old during that trip. Karys 4 3/4 and Garrett 7 1/2.

Wii!!!

For my birthday (#37), we got a Wii. The kids are already having a great time and fighting over whose turn it is. Here they are bowling & before opening my presents.