Hudson - 2/28/2017

Hudson ate scrambled eggs and sausage, and ate hash browns for breakfast.  For lunch he ate some hamburger meat pizza, liked the crust with tomato sauce, and ate pineapple.  I asked Hudson what he did last night; "Play with Sula."  I asked him what is your dog's name; "Hudson."  Sophie giggled and kept asking him that question over and over.  And she laughed every time he said, "Hudson."  And of course her laughter was fueling him too!!

Kids thrive with routine and many of our days are essentially the same!  Today was kind of whacky! Reid went to sleep in the chair (again - it's happened 2 or 3 times now) and this first picture shows Sophie doing the "Shhhh" sign with her finger and letting Hudson know Reid is sleeping.  (He slept right there with noisy kids and music from 8:45 - 10:45.)  Then Avi arrived from swim lesson at 10:00 and she needed breakfast.  So I had the highchair in the Play Room.  Right after I took the 2nd picture Hudson was on the couch chanting, "read read read read read.......!"  His inner clock told him it was Story Time!!  Ha!

Sophie was using the cook pans for "skates."  "Look Gary!   I'm skating!!"  Notice how Hudson and Avi are closely watching and then they found their own skates.  (It's much easier if you only use 1 skate!  Haha!)  Avilene was pretty funny.  She thought she was a big-shot and was doing these loud fake laughs!!  :)

Hudson - 2/27/2017

Hudson ate cheerios and two servings of banana for breakfast.  For lunch he ate half of the chicken bake with cabbage, ate tortillas, and most of apple bites.  Hudson has obviously been listening to Reid and Sophie at meal times because at breakfast today he was asking; "What having, what having?"  The older two kids ask that question numerous times every day!  And they frequently ask it when they're standing or sitting there staring at their food!  What the heck is it!?!  Ha!

This first picture is from Friday afternoon, but I thought it would be fun to show everyone what it looks like sometimes when the "after school kids" arrive!  ( They don't usually go to the window first!)  Reid's brother Bode always walks with Kenzie and Riley.  It was hard to get a picture of everyone because there was lots of movement!  This is the only picture that had everyone except Baby Nora in it and Avilene is mostly missing!!  Just the top of her head in the bottom of the picture. She was headed for the window and Reid was headed away from the window!

Sophie was reading books to Hudson on the couch and Avilene wanted to join them.  I like how she positioned herself.  "Ok Sophie, now I'm comfortable so continue with your reading!!"  Ha!  Sophie and Hudson had been playing together doing several different things; spinning (Hudson was saying, "Spin Sophie, spin Sophie"), jumping on the mattress with both of them saying, "my turn, my turn, my turn!" Hudson was saying that when Sophie was on the blue balance beam.  He doesn't get on the balance beam yet, but he still let her know it was his turn!  Ha!  Then he was sitting on the floor taking his boots off.  He was successful with one boot, struggled for a minute with the next boot, and then called for Sophie to help him.  "Sophie, Sophie, Sophie."  And Sophie came to his rescue.  I love it when they help each other!!

Hudson - 2/24/2017

Hudson ate malt-o-meal cereal and a couple of raisins for breakfast.  For lunch he ate ground beef, whole wheat elbow noodles, applesauce, and most of mixed fruit.

Sophie and Hudson had so much fun playing on the mattress together for the longest time!  Sophie kept saying they were doing "butt bombs" and Hudson was chanting that along with her.  They were both laughing so hard!  Then Sophie decided to do "snow angels" as well.  Hmm...butt bombs and snow angels...the perfect combination!!  :)  Hudson is starting to get both feet off the mattress while bouncing/jumping.  That's a great milestone in his large motor development.

This 2nd picture shows the block structure that Kenzie and Riley built yesterday.  They made a nice opening in the front where Avi is crawling through.  You can see Hudson's head just below the mirror. He was sitting there looking at some books.  Shortly after I took this picture Reid decided to create mayhem and chaos by destroying it all (Hudson and Avi had been itching to do it earlier!) and make a big mess.  When the destruction was complete they all packed blocks over to the block shelf while I put them away.  They were listening to my instructions and being good helpers.

Hudson had been saying, "read books, read books" before Lauralea left, but she had to leave early today.  So Sophie read some books to Bubba and that satisfied him until it was Story Time.  We always have Story Time as soon as I get the breakfast table cleared off and food put away.

Hudson - 2/23/2017

Hudson ate whole wheat english muffin and most of his blueberries for breakfast.  For lunch he ate chicken, crackers, sweet potatoes, and no cherries.  Avi and Hudson were in their highchairs at breakfast time blowing kisses to Lauralea when she was leaving.  Also at the breakfast table Sophie was quizzing Hudson; "What your Dad's name?"  "Dad."  "What your Mom's name?"  "Mom."  What your dog's name?"  "Dog."  :)

It was very very nice to have Hudson back from Denver and have the entire crew here today!!  He's a great little boy and I love having him at Little Treasures!  Lauralea read and sang with the kids for a few minutes before going to work.  Hudson doesn't like to sit on her lap and do the "action" songs!  (Bouncing on her knee is a little too crazy!)  But he likes to sit and watch!  I love how Avilene is slapping hands with Lauralea!  We read more books later as well and Hudson brought me "Old McDonald's Farm" and said, "E E I,,,E E I."  (Everyone got that right!?!  E I E I O!  Haha!)

Sophie has been EAGERLY anticipating the return of Bubba!!  Yesterday when I told her Bubba will be here tomorrow she said, "Then I can GUIDE him around!"  Ha ha!  (literally translated as "bossing him around!")  And she was true to her word!!  "Bubba get your coat on so we can go!!  Come here Bubba so I can read to you!  Get your socks off Bubba!  Put boot on Bubba!!"  And on and on it goes!  :)  They had lots of fun playing together.  About 11:00 or shortly before when both of them (and everyone) are starting to get tired and hungry it can quickly escalate into something not fun! Hudson starts getting tired of being bossed and Sophie gets irritated with his lack of cooperation!

Hudson - 2/14/2017

Hudson ate cinnamon roll and a bite of canned plums for breakfast.   For lunch he ate scrambled eggs and hash browns, half of his waffle, and a bite of cantaloupe.

I have a note left over from yesterday afternoon.  Kenzie was teaching the kids to do "Ring around the Rosy" and it was very cute when they were all holding hands and going around and around.  When they were done Sophie easily coaxed Hudson into continuing the game; just the two of them.  When they'd get to the "All fall down" part they'd fall onto the mattress.  And of course that was Hudson's favorite part!  He started "falling down" sooner and sooner as they continued to play.  Ha!  Sophie finally yelled at him; "NO BUBBA!!  Wait till I done singing!!"  LOL!  So cute.

The picture from this morning is Sophie reading books to Bubba again!  She has memorized SO many of these books!!  Amazing!  In the picture she is trying to show Hudson how to do the "Pat-a-Cake" motions.  He was passively cooperating, but primarily just amused and watching what she was doing!  Ha!

We read lots of books, sang songs, and did some sign language.  Hudson knows several signs including some of the colors.  He may not identify the colors, but he knows the signs when I say the words.  The language part comes pretty easily for him!!  :)  Have lots of fun in Colorado Hudson!  I love you and I'll see you when you get back!!  :)

Hudson - 2/13/2017

Hudson ate kix cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch he ate two servings of ham sandwich, ate peas, and mandarin oranges.

On Mondays Bode and Reid arrive early and Bode waits here until it's time to walk to school.  Bode is so sweet to the little people here and Hudson loves him.  And the feeling is mutual!  Bode always gets down on Hudson's level and talks to him or plays with him.  When he was leaving Hudson was saying, "Bye bye Bode, bye bye Bode."  So sweet.

Avi and Hudson were squabbling over one of the smallest books.  (And I have LOTS of them!!)  Reid said, "They're fighting over a very short book!"  Haha!  Small books = boring books in Reid's world.  After reading a book at Story Time Reid will sometimes say, "That book boring!"  Why?  "Too short!!" Sophie was trying to be the peacemaker during this conflict.  She was primarily yelling at Bubba; "Buuuubbbbbaaaaaa!!!!"  Ha!

Reid brought some of his little stuffed Star Wars toys and Hudson was playing with one of them; putting it in one of the stacking cups.  Reid was also laughing at Hudson when the static electricity from the couch was once again making Bubba's hair fly!  He said, "Look at Bubba's hair!"  Hudson immediately started looking up, but quickly realized that just wasn't going to work.  (By the time I get him to a mirror his hair is settled back down!)

This next picture cracks me up!  Hudson was wanting Sophie to hurry up and read the book to him.  Sophie, on the other hand, was in the middle of a long-winded story and "I'm not done with the Story Bubba!!"  Ha!!  And in the last picture Hudson was once again strolling around blind with some dress-up clothes draped over his head!

Hudson - 2/10/2017

Hudson ate brown rice and a few raisins for breakfast.  For lunch he ate meat balls, two servings of flat bread, ate carrots, and apricots.

Sophie was being silly and sitting in the sink AGAIN!  Ha!  She said, "Gary, I'm in potty."  Oh I see. Well you can certainly use the real potty anytime you want!  :)  At the same time Hudson was playing with the legos and saying, "shoot shoot shoot."  Then he pointed it toward Sophie and said, "shoot shoot shoot."  (Sophie, of course, was in "Mommy Mode" prior to this.)  She giggled and said, "shooting Mommy."  :)

Hudson had lots of fun with the play dough this morning and also played with it very appropriately! And by that I primarily mean he did NOT try to put it in his mouth!!  Ha!  Great job Hudson.  I told him he was doing a good job and Reid said, "Bubba getting good cause he's watching me!!"  :)  There certainly is a LOT of truth in that Reid!  You are a good example to the little ones!!

Hudson and Avilene were playing with the blocks; she'd been tossing them and he was laughing.  Hmmm, yes that's all the encouragement she needed!!  I'll do it again!!  Then she copied him standing on the blocks as well.  :)  Here's something I posted in Avi's Blog that was pretty cute: Avi had one of Hudson's toys and took off running.  It was hard not to roar with laughter because she was looking over her shoulder to see if he was coming or gaining on her!  Oh man, that hit my funny bone!!  I wanted to shout, "Run Avi Run!!"  Haha!!

Hudson - 2/9/2017

Hudson ate cinnamon toast and pineapple for breakfast.  For lunch he ate bites of baked chicken, ate dinner roll, hash browns, and no cherries.

Lauralea was reading a few books to Reid, Hudson, and Avilene; although Avi had gotten down by the time I took this picture.  This book Lauralea is reading to them (in the picture) is a counting book.  Reid's "S" usually comes out as an "H" sound.  When they got to "six" in the book Reid said, "Hix."  And of course Hudson mimicked him perfectly; "Hix!!"  Lauralea and I laughed about that one!

Avi was laying on the blanket (see picture) and covering with it.  I laughed and she kept doing it over and over.  Hudson joined her and this is what a Toddle Slumber Party looks like!!  Hudson was laying on the floor looking at the clock on the wall and said, "Good night tick tock."  And then waves at the clock.   :)  Avi can say "Bubba" quite easily.  Here's a post from her Blog today that is kind of cute: After breakfast Avi brought a book to me on the couch, laid it on my lap, and held up her arms.  It's a Sesame Street book; "Bubbles Bubbles."  She was saying bubbles while I was reading it and it sounded like "Bubba bubba bubba."  (And even though Bubba was sitting there as well she was pointing at bubbles!!  Ha!)  She makes the "B" sound quite easily.

I was standing beside the couch and Hudson said, "Hi!" like it was the first time he'd seen me today. Ha!  "Hi Bubba."  He pointed at the couch and said, "Sit."  Ok.  "Woof Woof!!"  Do you want me to roll over and fetch you something too!?  :)  Hudson is starting to switch back-n-forth between "Lor Lor" and "LorLee" now.  He actually says her name very well - lots of kids don't master that name for a long time!!  I'm gonna miss the Lor Lor!!  :)

Hudson - 2/8/2017

Hudson ate two servings of whole wheat bagel and ate peaches for breakfast.  For lunch he ate two slices of ham, ate whole wheat elbow noodles, corn, and applesauce.  I posted this in Avi's Blog: I asked Avi at breakfast; "You want more?" while offering her some more bagel.  She vigorously shakes her head "no" while shoving more food in her mouth!  Ha!  (Very typical of this age group!)   For example, also at breakfast, Hudson said, "I done!" While shoveling more food in his mouth!  (He was primarily just copying what Sophie was saying, except she really was done.)

Here are some pictures from our morning activities; In the first picture Hudson was peeking over the edge of the couch saying, "hey Baby Nora, hey Baby Nora."  :)  In the 2nd picture he is packing two of the pillows around by their "arms" saying, "backpack, backpack."  He got that from Sophie, who got it from Reid, who got it from....  :)  The 3rd picture is the kids playing on the sidewalk we built after we moved the mattress and balance beam.

Most of you probably remember a photo of Sophie I posted a few weeks ago with the static electricity making her hair go wild!  Hudson's hair is getting long enough now to see the effects of it too!  He probably wondered what the heck I was doing, but he totally cooperated with me to take this picture! Thank you Bubba!  You're a sweetie!!  (There's a reason the static electricity is stronger in the winter; low humidity, etc.  It's kind of interesting to Google it if you're so inclined!  Ha!  Now you know what I do when I have some spare time!!)

Hudson - 2/7/2017

Hudson ate waffles and pears for breakfast.  For lunch he ate everything as well: tuna & crackers, large serving of sweet potatoes, and ate his mandarin oranges.

First thing this morning right after Hudson arrived I asked him what he did last night;  "Play Sula." Haha!  Made me laugh.  Silly boy.  (Just in case that makes no sense to someone - read yesterday's Blog to get the "inside" humor!)

In the first picture below Hudson was putting Woody Woodpecker on the igloo and after one or two attempts to reach it Avi realized she could reach it enough to knock it off of there!  Ha!  They made a game out of it and Hudson put it up there at least 2 or 3 more times and she knocked it off.  I like how he's just standing back giving her room to see if she can reach it.   :)

Here's what happens when Lauralea teaches at night and goes to work later in the day!!  Ponytails and Story Time and I get to take pictures.  Sweet!  If you look at the last picture you can see Sophie has 2 ponytails and Avilene has her first pony at Little Treasures!  You may have to look close at Avi's pony because it's just a sliver sticking up in the air.  Haha!  So cute!  Hudson watched it all and when Lauralea was done he said, "My turn."  So she combed his hair very nicely.  In the last picture Hudson sat for ALL the stories and there were lots!  It was really cute when Hudson was crawling up on the couch for Story Time; he was struggling slightly and Sophie asked, "You got it Bubba?"  That was very sweet Sophie.  She was watching out for her sweet Bubba cousin!!

Hudson - 2/6/2017

Hudson ate chex cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch he ate pulled pork sandwich, drank tomato soup, and ate pickled beets.  At breakfast every morning I ask the same question; "What did you do last night?"  or "this past weekend?"  It's hilarious to hear some of the answers; Cooper and Reid both got tired of the question and started doing a standard answer and would repeat it everyday for weeks.  Sophie quickly learned that too and now has said the same thing every day for at least 6 weeks; "Play with Sula."  This morning after Sophie answered, Hudson said, "my Sula."  A little disagreement ensued!!  Haha!  Later I was changing Hudson's diaper and I asked him the same question.  He said, "play Sula."  Sophie yelled from inside the igloo; "Sula my dog."

We had a bit of sunshine, snow, and hard rain this morning!  It was raining super hard and I said, "Whoa Baby!  Look at the rain!"  Hudson kept saying, "Whoa Baby, whoa baby," as he was standing on the window step looking out.  :)

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and the kids were super busy all morning checking out everything.  We rarely do anything besides explore toys on the Monday after Toy Exchange.  I had the books for Story Time ready to go (Sophie had requested stories), but I was momentarily interrupted and the kids didn't even notice or want to continue.  And that is really unusual for Story Book Sophie!!  It's a rare day that she lets Story Time slip by!  In the first picture I'd made a tower with the stacking cups while Hudson watched and then he was adding more cups to the top of it.

Several times this morning Sophie tried to talk Hudson into putting on some dress-up clothes and she was using every angle she could think of.  But Bubba stayed strong and never did put on clothes or shoes!  Ha!  She was saying things like; "Well I ask you ONE time Bubba!...I save them here and Momma will help you soon!...."  :)

Isn't this last picture adorable!?  Avilene and Hudson were playing one of their favorite games again. He was sitting on the chair and Avi would get behind the chair and then come running out - first on one side and then the other side.  Both of the kids were laughing hard - especially in anticipation of what was going to happen!!  Love the sound of children laughing!!  That's the absolute best!

Hudson - 2/3/2017

Hudson ate oatmeal and had a taste of canned prune for breakfast.  He was kind of 'zoning out' when I offered him the prune and he opened his mouth.  It came out pretty fast!  Ha!  For lunch he ate hash brown casserole, biscuit, and a few mandarin oranges.  Also at the breakfast table he was tipping his head sideways and kind of laying it on the highchair tray.  Then saying, "night night, night night." Reid yelled, "WAKE UP!!"  Hudson thought that was funny and giggled.

I asked Hudson if he wanted to come wave at Daddy and Reid said, "Uncle Colin."  Haha!  Here are a couple of Bubba-ism's from this morning:  He was walking around saying, "name...Hudson, name....Hudson."  Impressive!  I said, "Hi Honey" to  Baby Nora.  Hudson walked around saying, "honey, honey, honey."  When Lauralea was leaving we were trying to get Avi to say "bye to Lauralea."  Hudson started saying, "Bye bye Lor Lorlee, bye bye Lor Lorlee, bye bye Lor Lorlee."

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon when Reid just woke up from his nap.  Kenzie was being sweet to Reid and snuggling with him and of course Hudson didn't want to miss out on that.  The Bubba boy likes to snuggle.  I think this is so cute and sweet.  :)

Also from yesterday afternoon:  Riley and Reid were in the igloo after they built this block wall across the front - under Kenzie's supervision of course!!  :)  She had them put holes in it so they could peek in, or stick their arm in like Hudson and Kenzie are doing.  They said they were reaching in and searching for "treasures."  The people in the igloo were in charge of distributing the treasures.  And they were taking turns being in the igloo and being the treasure hunter!

Not much to say about this last picture except; "dental floss anyone!?"  Haha!  He did this for a long time and the elastic on the mask was soaked.  Then he was rubbing it under his chin.  gross!

Hudson - 2/2/2017

Hudson ate flat bread and tropical fruit for breakfast.  For lunch he ate turkey slices, dinner roll, green beans, and mangoes.  At breakfast he was showing everyone his "dinosaur socks, dinosaur socks," dinosaur socks."  :)  Good job Hudson!!

He noticed me taking Baby Nora to her morning nap.  He said, "Bye bye Baby Nora, bye bye Baby Nora."  Oh, that was sweet Hudson.  Later, he could hear her starting to wake up (monitor) and asked, "Baby Nora wake up?  Baby Nora wake up?"  I LOVE how much he can express himself!!  I've always enjoyed it when kids are able to express themselves early.  I've learned so much from that and it helps me be a better caregiver! They see the world so much different than adults do!!  :)

I took this first picture before breakfast and Reid had actually gone to sleep - for maybe 20 minutes. (His Mom said she had to wake him this morning - I think he's growing - been having growing pains and has been really tired.)  Anyhow, Hudson and Avilene love to rock this chair and they started it rocking after he'd been there for 15 minutes.  I found it quite entertaining!!  And Reid didn't seem to care at all!

Hudson had tried to wrest control of a couple of toys that Avilene had in her hand and was playing with.  Ha!  Good luck with that!  Plus, they are her favorites in this toy exchange!  I was ready to intervene, but that was totally NOT necessary this time!  She had the situation firmly under control; held on tightly to the toys and took off running!  LOL!  Good luck with getting those toys Buuba!!  :)  Then I took the next two pictures when they playing calmly and nicely side-by-side!  Ha!  In the first picture they are standing on the same toy looking in the mirror.  In the last picture I'd gotten down one of the toys with the magnetic handle and showed Hudson how to move the buttons around and he was actually getting the process while Avi kept a close eye on his progress!

Hudson - 2/1/2017

Hudson had a dental appointment this morning and arrived here mid-morning.  So his journal might be a bit short.  For lunch he ate everything; chicken, whole wheat elbow noodles, applesauce, and strawberries.

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon.  Kenzie, Riley (her face is mostly hidden), Baby Nora, and Hudson were all playing on the couch.  Actually Kenzie and Riley were playing up there with Baby Nora when Hudson and Avi joined them.  The Cline girls said they were making a "corral" around Baby Nora.  Riley had laid her legs across Kenzie, so Bubba also laid his legs on Kenzie.

Momma Maddy - when you dropped off Hudson you saw him sit down to do some "dot painting." Well that lasted -at the most - maybe 30 seconds!  Ha!  "I done, I done!"  (Just in case you might wonder -when you pick him up - where the dot painting masterpiece is at!!  Ha!)

In this next picture Sophie and Hudson were playing with the slide - yelling, "my turn! my turn!" regardless of who's "turn" it was!  Ha!  Sophie knows that Bubba likes the slide so she flipped the green piece over (steps on the other side) and immediately laid on the blue part yelling, "my turn, my turn!"  (By the way, Bubba's hand is NOT raised because he wanted to ask a question!!  Ha!)  They know how to push each other's buttons big time!!  :)  (Cousins, but more like Daycare Siblings!  Ha!)