Five and Six

Mr. Joseph woke up with a temp early this morning. As soon as I touched my lips to his forehead I knew he was battling something. He was quiet, hot, and clingy all day long. I spent most of my day with him on my chest or snuggled into my shoulder. Nights have been rough and mostly spent on the couch soothing and hushing. Tylonel isn't helping too much either.

All thanks to these bad boys...



Picnic in the Park

As promised, here is a recap of the family reunion we had on the weekend. We all met at a park in the city and enjoyed a potluck lunch and baked goods. It was so fun to get everyone together again, chatting and hanging out on picnic blankets.

All of the littles enjoyed trying out the games and learning how to toss a frisbee. I especially love how concentrated Camilla was before her big throw.

The weather was beautiful! It was nice to relax on the blanket, watch all of the happenings and play with the babies.

Bubble blowing was a huge hit and the supply was practically unlimited!

The kids especially loved when Aunts and Uncles would blow the bubbles for them.

Hyrum seemed to hang pretty close to Grampa. I especially loved glancing over and seeing my Gramma sitting right on the grass next to them enjoying the sun.

And a Hudkins get together wouldn't be complete without a hilarious game of touch football!

There is seriously so many fun pictures, it's hard to choose. Luckily I can always add more to our blog book later on! We were pretty sad for our get together to come to a close, it's always fun to get together with cousins and family!

Until next time...

Little Boy

Today was pretty full! The morning began with family stopping in for a quick visit. Joe enjoyed some snuggles with his Auntie Emma in the sitting room. They were adorable together!

Our afternoon was spent at a park soaking in some family time with the extended family on my Dad's side. It was so lovely to see everyone and enjoy a potluck lunch and yummy desserts. Since there were a couple real photographers around I sat back and enjoyed. Once I get some copies I will post a full review of the afternoons events! For now, here's a snapshot of my handsome little dude. 

That baby-ness is slowly fading and he's turning into a little boy!



Squeaky Clean

What were you doing at 6:00 PM today?

I was bathing my cute baby boy.

Our Magician

I've had a little magician running around my house all day.

Without further adieu I am proud to introduce

CAMILLA THE MAGNIFICENT!

She's great at making things disappear under a hat,

and then asking you to close your eyes so she can make them "Un-disappear".

She's also great at bowing when applauded.

Love this girl and her imagination!

August Afternoons

There was a chill in the air today. Autumn is definitely on its way. I opened all of the windows and let the cool air blow through our house. It was so refreshing. After lunch I went down stairs with the littles and we built a tent. It was super fun playing together and reading.

I figured I had hit the jackpot this afternoon when I coaxed the older two down for a nap after I had gotten Joe to sleep. I was envisioning a long wonderful chunk of sleep nestled next to my two children under our tent on the basement floor. Camilla wasn't too keen on the idea at first, and then gave up her protest and rolled over. She quickly fell to sleep just like I knew she would. That girl has been super tired lately. I drew on Hyrum's face with my finger and played with his blonde locks of hair until he slowly drifted off. Just before he was gone for good, he twitched so bad I thought the tent would come down on top of us. He apologized with a sleepy voiced, "Sorry mommy", then closed his eyes. The wind raced outside, causing a whole lot of weird clunking upstairs. The dryer was just finishing up it's cycle, and I was trying to ignore it all and get some rest! Joe is cutting teeth and nights have been nothing short of brutal all week. Just as I started dreaming, I heard Joe on the monitor. It had only been like fifteen minutes! I went up and soothed him back to sleep. I caught a few more minutes of sleep until my little teether beckoned me to the side of his crib once more. At least this time he was smiling. So we played, looked out the window, and watched the cars. Then I found myself watching him munch down a ride cracker in his highchair while I tried to wake myself up. The other two were still sound asleep in their little tent. I promised myself I wouldn't be mad if this thing backfired. So I enjoyed the moment and quiet with my baby while he crunched and wiped crumbs off his chunky little cheeks.

A little while later the older two joined us. The mango popsicles we had made this morning were finally frozen and just what we needed. I'll just try and forget about the part where Hyrum wet his pants while sitting on my lap.

Joseph really loved his popsicle. I suppose it felt good on his teeth. I just love that they are homemade and full of healthy goodness. After he had eaten half of it, he started moving around. I may chalk up these sleepless nights to teeth and an upcoming milestone. No wonder he's always shifting around and in his sleep.

I helped him up and he smiled big. He can only stand for a few seconds on his own, and is able to get down carefully. He's quite proud of himself when he does it! He's been pushing the toy car around in the backyard for a few days now. He loves having his feet under him.

Ah! He's growing up way too fast!!

  

Potty Training Days

We've been doing this potty training thing on and off for weeks now. After today, I finally have hope. I am pleased to announce that Hyrum stayed dry ALL DAY today! This kid is a riot. He's sweet, busy, mischievious, curious, loving, loud, soft spoken... I heard him wake up from his nap today on the baby monitor. When I didn't hear the "Mornin' Mommy!" that I get every time he wakes, I thought I'd check things out. Within a few seconds he managed to climb up on the bathroom counter and paint the sink with my mascara. The sweetest little trouble maker you'll ever meet!

Sunday Snuggles

Someone didn't want to have his Sunday afternoon nap.

So we snuggled on the couch instead.

And then finally, he went for his nap!



A Taste of Life

It's been one of those weeks where I feel like time is slipping through my fingers! I pause throughout my day to take note of funny sayings, hilarious habits, sweet moments and new discoveries. Because if I don't write them down immediately they will fade away with time and I will eventually forget about them. I read through some old blog posts today and found a quote which read "we write to taste life twice". So here is all of the little snippets I've taken note of this week mostly so I can look back on them later and smile.

Camilla just keeps growing and expanding her vocabulary. People comment all the time on how well she speaks and the big words she uses like "fabulous" and "amazing" and "your majesty". This week I fell in love with the sweet way she pretends not to see Hyrum when they play hide n' seek. She looks all over the house before finally giving in and finding him. She also has an endless imagination and is constantly playing pretend and bringing her teddies to life. The other day she was pretending to put bike helmets on her favorite stuffies before bringing them along for her bike ride. At times I get annoyed with her constant need to bring a million stuffed animals along with us on all of our outings. It adds about an extra ten minutes to our leave time as she has to buckle everyone in and then take everyone out when we get there. But as I type this, I smile, because it's so her. Despite her love for torturing her brothers she really is a tender heart. The other day she and Hyrum were playing downstairs and she accidently hurt him. Hyrum was crying and then she started crying. I came down and asked what was wrong to which she wailed, "I did something baaaaaaad". The poor girl just felt bad for hurting her brother. It made me realize that maybe I'm a little too hard on her sometimes and that she really has a strong desire to do right. I love her desire to be a minni mommy, even though it leads to a lot of bossy play with her brother. She is one special kid, and I love her!

Hyrum is by far our busiest child. Always thinking, planning, scheming...He rambles in full sentences now, and may have a bit of a lisp. His little voice is the most adorable thing to hear. When he's frustrated he's not so good at using his words. He has a good set of lungs on him and can scream louder than anyone I know. So loud infact that it makes your ears ring and blood boil. We're working on it. We have entered a world of boyish sound effects. Just the other night I was standing outside his door for a few minutes while he was going to sleep and I saw his hand fly through the air to awesome airplane sound effects. I coudln't help but smile. He frequently mixes up his opposites and says things like, "I'm sitting far away" when he's close, or "You're so heavy mom" when I pick him up. He's become very observant lately and states his findings well. A few days ago at lunch after sitting in his chair for a good five minutes checking out his surroundings he said, "This chair is big to climb up". At dinner tonight he kept hopping off his chair and asking us to feel his belly (thanks Grampa). The only way we could get him to eat his dinner was by feeling his belly upon request and assuring him that there was still more room for his pizza. Throughout the day he will frequently pause and say things like, "I just love you Mom" or "I wike you Mommy" and then tell me he likes Camilla and Hyrum and Joe and Daddy too. He's got a good sense of family and the love that should abide there. He doesn't like to get into trouble, especially from Daddy, and will pout or hide his face when he's caught. He keeps me on my toes fishing things out of the toilet, and cleaning up messes. Despite his curiosity, I love him to pieces!

Joseph has reached a super fun age. He is completely goofy and curious and wants to be in on all of the action all the time. One thing that makes me laugh is the way he constantly pulls and bites my tee when he's propped on my hip. Sometimes his two little teeth hurt! He has entered a whole new world of discovery now that he's mobile. His favorite thing to do is climb the stairs and he gets mad when I peel him off them. He grabs at the carpet with his chubby little fingers to help pull himself up. He loves to stand on two feet and has discovered how to open my cupboard doors. It's made me grateful to the previous owners for already installing awesome child locks. Joseph's scrunchy nosed smiles are my favorite. He has recently figured out that he can play the piano keys when it's open and grins from ear to ear when he hears the music. Putting him to sleep is always fun when he hums himself to sleep. Lately he's been up all night needing some extra loves. He just cut his top eye teeth and may be cutting a couple of more. I just hope it's soon, because nine months of very little sleep is starting to get to me. Despite his sleepless nights he always wakes up in the morning with a smile on his face, ready to take on the day. I love the joy he brings to our little family! 



Fort Edmonton

This past weekend we used our awesome city passes and took the kids to Fort Edmonton Park. I thought it would be busy on a Saturday, but it actually wasn't too bad!

The first stop was the train! Camilla and Hyrum were pretty excited. It pulled up just as we entered the gates so we quickly folded up the stroller and boarded. I will never get tired of old train rides.

Hyrum was pretty pumped about it, although you can't tell by the picture. He was pretty focused. His little arm rested on the window sill the entire ride except when he would lift it to point out stuff as we went. He was adorable.

Joseph had fun too! 

We rode the train until it's first stop at the Fort. We got off and took our time walking over to check things out. Hyrum and Camilla loved the ride and the rest of the day kept asking when we could ride the train again. I may just take them back a few more times just for the train ride.

I love it!

While we were at the Fort the kids loved popping in and out of the different rooms. Hyrum kept exclaiming, "Let's check this one out!". It was fun to just let them explore and run.

We also hung out at the table in the courtyard while the kids drew with sticks of charcoal.

There was just so much for the kids to find and explore. We hit up Capitol Theater for the 1:00PM showing. It was definitely an awesome experience and not what I was expecting. Camilla chatted our ears off the entire day. She was most excited for the carousel ride and kept asking when it was time to go to the midway. So we grabbed a cone and walked over to finish off our day. Hyrum's cone dripped as we walked. He has that blonde mop of hair that I can't help but ruffle whenever he walks beside me.  

We arrived just in time for a puppet show. They did Jack and the Bean Stalk. At the end the guy asked what the moral of the story was and Camilla shot up her hand to answer. When he picked her she said, "Um, don't talk to strangers?". Daddy was a good sport and took the littles on their ride. Camilla was so excited! When the ride first started she looked a little scared to be all by herself, but then started to enjoy it. That was our last stop for the day. The whole back seat fell asleep as we drove the city streets home with the windows down low, trying to soak up as much of this Summer air before it goes.