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.