Happy Birthday Hudson!

Hudson will be four on Sunday and since we are leaving for CO on friday we had a little party with his friends this weekend. This was his first friend party and he loved every minute (of course). Steve pretty much ran the show with the games and the best was the freeze game. Everyone dances and freezes when the music stops. I just wish I had video of him breakin' it down with the four year olds, it was too funny.



Here are a couple photos and clips from the event...

From L to R. Hudson, Katie, Saber, Zach, Jack, Annie, & Aubrey. (Nick & Sadie not pictured, but in attendance, somewhere.) And no, he's not 8, it's a racetrack.

Watch Everett in the second video, he's dancing too. By the way, this is Amy's house and her daughter (Cady) and friend (Shannon) were a HUGE help. Thanks all, it was fun.

Things I Wish I'd Known Before Becoming a Mom

When I have a lot of housecleaning to do I pass the time by coming up with lists. Here is one I came up with today (as titled above)...

(in no particular order)
1. Wet wipes can be used for more than just bums. Never leave home without 'em.
2. Keep a water bottle by the kids bed to eliminate going to the kitchen to fulfill their last minute drink of water request.
3. If you have to take them shopping bring lots of candy (preferably suckers or anything that takes time to eat) or stop off at the food court and get them fries.
4. Check out library items in moderation.
5. When potty training give them raisin bran or other high fiber foods daily. Constipation and potty training are not friends.
6. You don't have to breastfeed for an hour for them to be full. And on that topic, reposition if painful. Breastfeeding could have its own major really.
7. A double stroller is a must with more than 1 (why I waited until I had three, I do not know).
8. A minivan is a must with more than two (I tried rationalizing this away, but it is so true).
9. Don't tell a child about big events (birthday parties, Santa coming, visits from Grandma and Grandpa) until minutes before the event (unless you can use it for bribery somehow).
10. Read Love and Logic The Early Years before they are two.
11. On picture day do the hair and put the clothes on at the picture place.
12. Give yourself an extra 20 min per child to get ready.
13. Veggies can be hidden (see previous post for more info)
14. Two-year-old tantrums don't compare to three-year-old tantrums (we haven't hit four yet).
15. If all of the sudden they have trouble sleeping and their not sick, they are teething (I forget this and then a tooth pops up)
16. A car organizer (hung on the back of the seat) with books, car toys, drawing board, etc makes car rides much more bearable. For long trips-invest in the portable DVD player.
17. Always check the weather before taking them for a walk/jog (I've been caught in windstorms and rainstorms more than once. I've had to call Steve at work to come pick me up at times).
18. Quality diapers are worth it when they are newborn.
19. The dishes can wait, go play.
20. Use paper plates until there are no dishes in the sink and the dishwasher is empty.

Back to cleaning.

A Few of my Favorite Things

So, this blogging thing is very new to me. I've never posted anything but a few comments here and there...but my lovely wife has done an excellent job in keeping all of you up to speed on the fun side of our lives. For this Thanksgiving I want to let you all know what I am thankful for:

1) Hudson James - Hudson continues to amaze me with the knowledge that he learns every day. He draws letters and smiley faces very well, and his vocabulary grows on a daily basis. He has a beautiful little voice. The other day I had just woken from a nap when Hudson asked, "Daddy, are you awake?" to which I replied, "Yep, what's going on?" He then said, "Listen to this daddy" and started a song that he was listening to on nickjr.com. "Wonder Pets, Wonder Pets we're on our way..." He proceeded to sing the whole song to me with perfect pronunciation with a smile on his face. I was impressed. He's come a long way from last Christmas when he stood on the fireplace hearth and stomped his feet to an incomprehensible song he had just invented. He's a great first child.

2) Sadie Kay - with her puppy dog eyes and "love you too's" and "night dad's" Sadie melts my heart every day. She often runs up to Natalee or me and hugs us around the leg, looks up, and says, "I love you Daddy/Mommy." She has entered the terrible 2's but she does most of it in such an adorable way, it's hard to take her very seriously. We'll keep her around for sure.

3) Everett Michael - who can deny his one dimpled smile and big round eyes? People always ask us a church if he ever fusses, to which we reply, "only at night." We are lucky to have this precious little surprise in our family and wouldn't have it any other way.

4) Natalee Joye - a friend once said to me, "whoever marries Natalee Downs will just be holding on to her coattails while she's riding to the Celestial Kingdom." Fortunately for me, she chose me and I'm trying to hold on tight. There is no one I would rather be with than Natalee, no one who can make me laugh like Natalee, no one who can build me up like Natalee, no one who I admire on this earth more than Natalee, no better example of a great person than Natalee, and the list goes on and on. I am so privileged to have such a patient, loving, and kind companion. We are a team together and we struggle together to "fight the good fight." We not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but she's the more perfect part and I am just holding on for dear life to make it back to the Lord with her.

5) I could go on and on, but I'll just list a few other things I'm grateful for: Tom & Judy (most loving people in the world), Jim & Janett (best in-laws you could ask for), my siblings, living in the United States, school, good books, the beautiful earth, many friends we have come to admire over the last 28 years...

Finally, I am grateful for the Lord, Jesus Christ. He is my Savior, my patient friend, my guide, and my great example. Through all the mistakes, shortfalls, and sins of omission, the Lord has always help me do a little better the next time. This weekend, when we went to the Mesa Temple to see the Christmas lights we watched a video based off of Luke, chapter 2. The Spirit was so strong as I watched Mary hold the Savior in her arms. I thought, how incredible was the life of Jesus Christ. What an amazing impact he has had on this Earth! What an incredible impact he has had in my life and the life of my family! While I still have a long ways to go, I know that He lives and I love Him. I'm looking forward to this Christmas as my family celebrates His birth.
Sorry for the extra cheese on my first post, I just feel very grateful this Christmas season.

In The Meadow You Cannot Build a Snowman

I have always been one of those people to pull out the Christmas tree at the earliest moment possible and I have also been known to play Christmas music before Thanksgiving. However, this year I have been in denial that it is even the Christmas season. What is wrong with me? I love Christmas! I will tell you what is wrong. It has been 90 degrees until this week it "cooled off" to the 80's. Having never lived in a warm climate during the holidays, it is just weird for me. I turned on the radio this morning to "In the meadow you can build a snowman..." and I changed the channel saying, no actually you cannot build a snowman in the meadow. I tried to think of Christmas songs I could listen to here and other than religious ones there aren't many. . . Sleigh Bells Ring, well no. Let it Snow, no. I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas, no. Frosty the Snowman, Baby it's Cold Outside, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...no.no.no. Do people in warm climates listen to these songs? It just doesn't make sense to me. I'm adjusting.

Deceptively Delicious

Veggies were always eaten and I never had any input when moms would ask "How do you get Hudson to eat his veggies?" "I don't know, he just eats them. He eats everything." I would say. Then Sadie was born. Sadie is my biggest critic in the food department. Even when I would mix peas in with her mac and cheese, she would sort out the peas and eat the mac. If I hid the pea under the noodles when she wasn't looking she would discover it in her mouth and the pea would be found and she would say "uh, uh" and it would be back in the bowl or on her chin. Then one day I found in the back of my cupboard a wedding gift that saved the day. A veggie chopper . So I basically super chopped the veggies and hid them on quesadillas or stirred it in with pasta. That worked. She is getting better at eating veggies but does not even come close to the three a day mark. So even better than the veggie chopper, my mother-in-law (thanks Judy) gave me a cookbook (which is apparently a best seller now, and she was on Oprah, probably the reason it is a best seller) by Jessica Seinfeld called Deceptively Delicious. It is about hiding pureed veggies in healthy kid friendly food. Amazing. So little does Sadie know but in her grilled cheese (above photo) is a full serving of butternut squash. So if you didn't catch that Oprah I thought I would pass it on because every mother with a "Sadie" should know this secret.

The Good Samaritan

FHE tonight was on the Good Samaritan. This is a recap of the dialog after the lesson...

Me: "Did you know you guys can be good Samaritans too?"

H: "I'm not a Samarian"

Me: "That's true, but you can be a helper just like the good Samaritan helped that man."

H: "I couldn't help him (pointing to the picture) he's too big and I'm little."

Me: "Well, if Sadie was hurt you could help her by kissing her owie and telling her it would be okay."

H: "I guess if Sadie died in the woods, I'd help her."

That's comforting.

Happiest Baby on the Block. . .

. . . Okay, the only baby for that matter, at least on this block. I just had to give Everett some blog time for the grandmas. Also had to document it so when he turns two I can browse back to this page and remember how easy going and happy he was :).
Everett is so funny. Whenever I am driving I feel out of the corner of my eye that someone is staring at me. I turn back and what I see is Everett with a big grin (see above photo) (No worries mom I took this one at a stoplight). It cracks me up everytime I look back.
Profile shot for you Grandma Judy.
I can't mention Everett without mentioning his cousin Jack. If Jack and Everett are in the same house they are together. When Jack sees me without Everett he will either make the sign for baby or go looking for him. They are a cute pair and Jack takes good care of him. (by the way Hudson wanted to hold Nick in this picture, good thing Nick is an easy going kid).
These videos are his mood from morning till' night (during the night is for a different blog). If ever in a bad mood, Rett is the cure.

Two Two

They are all growing up too fast. At least all of their knuckles still have dimples, that makes me feel they are still in babyhood. We celebrated Sadie's big day by going to the famous "Build-A-Bear". I have ( I mean she has) always wanted to check this place out. It sounded fun to make a bear and stuff it and dress it. So off we went.
Tiff, Annie, and Haley met us there to be Sadie's helpers and wonderful helpers they were. Haley and Annie explained each step of the process with ease as they apparently have taken several bears through the birthing process. They could be bear midwives or doulas :).














The kids picked a bear, chose a heart for the bear, stuffed it, bathed it, dressed it, and named it. When we asked Sadie what her bears name was she said "two" (her answer to the question of the day, "How old are you"). Since they both had tutu's on I said "how 'bout tutu?" and Tiffany came up with the spelling Two Two. Cute.



























When we asked Hudson what his bears name was he said Hudson. When asked again he came up with "Bearsy" and has been calling him that, so Bearsy it is. The bears both got birth certificates and a little house. The kids love them.




After the birth of the bears we had cake and ice cream in the backyard where the Seiter family joined us. Sadie loved every minute. She was thrilled with all of the great gifts...paints, books, her "new" (craigs list) trike, and new dress (thanks Tiff and fam, it fits her just right with a little room to grow).




Thanks for the cake lessons mom, I think I am finally starting to get the smoothing process down!

Just the motivation I needed

A few weeks ago my sister-in-law called and asked me if I wanted to participate in a health challenge. Everyone puts in twenty dollars and receives points for following rules everyday. The rules are
1. At least 7 hours of sleep
2. 30 min exercise
3. 30 more min exercise (extra point)
4. Dined out w/good choices/didn't dine out
5. No sweets (2 free days)
6. 64 oz of water
7. 3 Servings of Veggies, 2 Servings of Fruit
8. No eating after dinner/8pm
9. No soda/Unhealthy snacks
Each week point totals are published by email and at the end of 12 weeks whoever has the highest total wins the big money and there is 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes.
This was just what I needed to motivate me to be healthier and get the rest of the baby weight off. I think it is a great idea, so I thought I would share (with the three people who read this blog :) ) because after two weeks of doing it I am already feeling healthier and losing weight. It is amazing what a little competition does to me. I can tell where my weaknesses are however. I am usually chugging water just before bed (trying to spread that out a bit) and when Steve and I finally sit down to watch an episode of Gilmore Girls (Steve is gonna love me for posting that) I am on the floor doing leg lifts, situps, and lifting weights...60 min a day is kind of killing me. If you do end up starting a group of your own call me so I can give you some ideas on changes to make to the rules.

Charts

All of the sudden our kids would not go to bed. I always thought I was the model parent on that one :) Our kids starting flailing on the ground, screaming, ect. Leaving them in the room screaming didn't work because we all live on one floor and they wouldn't stop. Steve suggested making a chart as we did for potty training. Brilliant. Worked like a charm. They get stickers for seven days of going to bed straight and then they pick out a dollar store toy. I have now started doing charts for everything. I'm obsessed. There's the "going to bed chart" and the "getting dressed by yourself chart". I am about to add "wiping yourself chart", "sharing chart" and soon to come "eating your vegetables by yourself" chart. I think by the end of the year my fridge will be full of charts.

I know...I know it's not Halloween yet. . .

Yes, I realize this is a little premature. I do love Halloween however. I took Hudson to pick out his costume the other day and he decided on the muscle spiderman, I really tried to lean him toward a pirate or a knight because we already had some of that gear and would only need a few pieces, but he was determined to have spiderman or shrek. I didn't give him a choice with shrek (I didn't want him to walk around making grose noises, did anyone get that McDonalds toy? hated it.) so spiderman it was. He tried on the costume for Steve and pushing on his chest said "these are my feeders." I said "what did you say?" (thinking he said teeters and wondering where he learned that) but indeed he said "feeders". He then went on , "yeah, I feed the baby with them." We quickly explained those were muscles not the other.
By the way, sorry if I ruined the Halloween fun by revealing the costumes early. And Sadie is dressed up because if he was she had to be too. Of course.

Daddy Long Legs Are My Friends

This is a scorpion. Unfortunately it is something we have become acquainted with here in the desert. I was pulling a bike out of a friends garage and she said "watch out", I moved to the side and she killed a scorpion with her shoe. I was shocked. When Steve or I see a scorpion it takes us about five minutes before we decide how we are going to kill it, "will it go through that shoe?" "don't get to close." "How are we going to dispose of it?". After the sighting I can't sleep for the rest of the night. I couldn't believe she just said "watch out" and killed it. I could tell she was desert bread. The one fortunate thing about these scorpions is they do glow in black light and only come out at night, so for the most part they are easily spotted. Daddy long legs are now my friends. I miss them.

Batman and Robin maybe?

On his own doing Hudson decided to make paper glasses for him and Sadie, however to be wearable they needed a little help. Originally Hudson had tiny holes for the eyes and they were taped to his face. So I helped him make the side pieces and made the holes bigger. Maybe Hudson can make his own costume for Halloween.

Yes We Live in a Basement

Sorry I am not so detail oriented and never did well in English or grammar. If Steve had two minutes to add things to the website you would get stories full of details. So, yes we rent, yes we live in the basement and we are not relatives (directly) to the Seiters. They are our brother-in-law's (Bret) parents. We moved to Tempe for Steve to go to business school at ASU and it is a two year program. Who knows where we'll end up after that, but I must say I am hot (that came out wrong). It is hot here. I went on a jog this morning with a friend and it was 90 degrees, the sun had not even come up! Wow. It was worth it however because I ran into an old man that had jogging pants and a shirt that said, "Who needs hair with a body like this".

First Day of Preschool

Sadie bawled when we dropped him off. She kept saying "Ahmmy go?" For some reason she calls him ahmmy. Anyway, it was cute.

Is that the biggest slide ever?

The funniest thing is that Steve Seiter built the slide to be like his childhood slide and later learned his childhood slide was normal size

Everett just after a bath

Hudson is learning how to use the camera and is enjoying taking many pictures. He does a pretty good job! Sometimes he catches me off guard (like doing laundry or something) and I find I have to put the camera up high now.

The Biggest Sandbox Ever (aka volleyball court)

Some photos from the Seiters backyard...our new living quarters.

Are we on?

Wow. We have finally entered the blogging world, it is great to have an online journal and scrapbook for friends and family to browse. We have sure enjoyed browsing yours. Now that we have made the official move it is critical we update the grandparents on the latest happenings at our house :)I just need to figure out how to make the words bigger and the pictures smaller, I'll work on it.