Hudson - 4/28/2017

Hudson ate oatmeal and maybe a bite or two of dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch he ate tilapia, whole wheat elbow noodles, green beans, and applesauce.

These first 2 pictures are from yesterday afternoon.  Hudson has been pointing at the same poster everyday this week saying, "That Bode. That Bode."  He loves his Bode even those he doesn't get to play with him too much.  But he sees Bode out the window walking home from school everyday with Kenzie and Riley.   In the 2nd picture from yesterday Kenzie was being my big helper and the kids were doing some stickers.

Avilene and Hudson were "hanging" on the side of the changing table several different times this morning.  We sang songs this morning, did some sign language, and Reid asked if we could do some "shapes."  Hudson watches intently and is absorbing it all!  :)  Lauralea taught a class until 8:30 last night so she didn't have to go into work early and was able to hang around and read to the kids.  And we all know how much Hudson loves his books!

Hudson - 4/27/2017

Hudson ate whole wheat bagel and peaches for breakfast.  For lunch he ate pizza: whole wheat crust, meat mix (hamburger, sausage, eggs), olives, mushrooms, peppers, and pineapple.  Plus he had two extra servings of pineapple.  He's been eating everything so well!  And a lot!!

Hudson was the first one here this morning and he asked, "Can you snuggle me?"  Aww...so sweet! You bet I can little fella!!  So we did!  I told Hudson; "Avi will be coming soon."  Hudson said, "Avi Elson, Avi Elson."  Geez!  You're so right Hudson, Avi Nelson!!  He hears, remembers, and repeats everything!!

Here's a picture of Nora sitting in the Library reading with Bubba!  :)  And some more reading in the next picture with Lauralea.  The book they are reading is the "I Spy" book.  I point to an object on one page; rabbit, ball, kite, etc.  And Hudson finds and points to the same object on the opposite page. He does real well with this activity.  Lauralea and I were discussing it this morning and this is essentially a cognitive exercise and probably called something like; "visual discrimination."  Anyhow, he nailed it!  Well done Hudson.

And the last picture; these 2 were working hard to get the rocking chair to cooperate!  :)  And they were fairly successful!  Here are a couple of additional notes about Hudson; This morning he was singing, "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you."  Then he sang it with "Pat."  Then with "Hofie."  Then with "Nora."  So I asked, Baby Nora?  Hudson said, "Sister Nora."  Hahaha!  That's how Sophie distinguishes between the 2 Noras; "Baby Nora" and "Sister Nora."  Hudson had pulled off his socks and was playing with his toes saying, "This piggy have beef, this piggy have beef, this piggy have beef."  :)

Hudson - 4/26/2017

Hudson ate whole wheat toast and grapes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate pork roast, toasted rye bread, bites of potatoes, ate carrots, and two servings of fresh sweet potatoes, and ate mixed fruit.  At breakfast Hudson took his bib to Reid and asked, "Can you help me Reido?"  And Reid helped him; so cute.

This next bit really hit my funny bone:  Hudson and Avilene were sitting on the couch waiting for me to pick out some special books and read to them.  I grabbed a tissue to blow my nose and Bubba immediately puts his hands over both ears!!  Wow!  I guess he was just preparing for what he knew was coming! LOL!!  Oh man, I was laughing so hard!

I've mentioned that I have to change Hudson on the floor.  Well it's quite the challenge; especially when he's poopy!  I move him to a tight spot and set up barricades and Nora yells because she can't get to where he's at.  Yesterday afternoon she managed to reach in and grab a few strands of his hair! He yelled and so I told him I could change him on the changing table!  Nope.  :)

Hudson spotted a squirrel sitting on the very top of a power pole and yelled; "Squirrel Gary, squirrel!!" So we watched the squirrel come down the pole and run across the road.  Reid said, "Get out of town Mr. Squirrel!"  Ha!  Here are some pictures from this morning's activities.  I took the last picture of Avi and Hudson playing so nicely together!!  Ha!!  Just 2 minutes prior to taking this picture Avi had grabbed a plate from Hudson, whirled around, and literally sprinted for the other side of the room.  Hudson was in hot pursuit yelling and crying!  I told her to give the plate back to Hudson and she did, very quickly.  Then she went right back and grabbed a doll he had, whirled and sprinted again!!  Dang!!  So I'm teaching some appropriate social interactions and trying NOT to laugh my head off!!

Hudson - 4/25/2017

Hudson ate whole wheat english muffin and oranges for breakfast.  For lunch he ate everything as well; chicken, brown rice, vegetable stir fry, and mandarin oranges.  Right after Sophie arrived I was being silly and asked Sophie if Hudson was her uncle.  Sophie said, "No, Peter is my uncle."  So I asked; "What about Colin?"  She replied; "I love CoCo."  Isn't that the most precious!?  Awww.

Daddy Pat and Gary allowed Sophie to bring her "special bunny" into the play room only if she'd share it with the other kids.  And she certainly did; immediately.  I took this picture after she handed it to Hudson and asked, "You wanna play with my special bunny?"

The Missoula Fire Equipment man was here today recharging the fire extinguishers.  Hudson and Sophie were watching him pack the extinguishers back into the house when I took this picture.  SO, if you hear Hudson chanting "fire fire fire" now you'll know why!!  He kept saying it this morning!  :)

 Hudson was being silly with his words this morning; When Daddy Colin was leaving Hudson said, "Bye Gary, bye Gary."  After Sophie arrived I told him to tell "Uncle Pat" bye.  Hudson said, "Bye Bubba, bye Bubba."  Pat was out the door and I don't think he heard that.  Here's a picture of Hudson taking care of his babies.

Hudson - 4/24/2017

Hudson ate bites of cheerios and banana for breakfast.  For lunch he ate burger from taco salad, ate pita bread, bite or two of tomatoes, ate olives, avocado, and bites of cantaloupe.  Kenzie and Riley are here today (no elementary or middle school) and they were keeping a close eye on Bubba during mealtimes.  Kenzie said, "Bubba, the spoon is not for rubbing your hair."  Riley said, "Bubba, the spoon is not for rubbing your chin."  Ha!  "Geez, I can't get away with anything!!"

I took this first picture during Friday's nap time.  I was laughing because this really didn't look too comfortable to me!!  Ha!  Nothing like using oak hardwood for your nice soft pillow!  And he's got his head up between the legs on the little side table.  But he was having a good nap!

It always amazes me how many of our books and songs these little ones know and remember!!  Besides the regular books in the toy exchanges I also have probably 50 or more "Special books."  This morning I started reading one (probably 3 or more weeks since we've read it, maybe longer) "Down by the (I hesitate so they can fill in the blank)..."  Hudson immediately said, "station" and he continued, "early in the morning."  (singing it)  A couple pages into the book I asked him, "what kind of bird is this?"  "Flamingo."  Nice memory Hudson!!

Here are some pictures from this morning's activities - lots of "chase" with Riley and Kenzie.  "Chase us Bubba, chase us Bubba!"  We also read lots of books, sang silly songs, and Hudson did some stamps with Sophie at Art.  (Avi colored - Riley and Kenzie created some of their own art.)  Kenzie informed me that "it's important for kids to do art."  Why?  "Because if they want to be artists they have to learn to do art."  :)

Hudson - 4/21/2017

Hudson ate bites of brown rice and maybe a raisin or two for breakfast.  For lunch he had bites of salmon, ate dinner roll, corn, and bites of mangoes.

I took this first picture when Hudson arrived and the first order of business for him (after waving bye to Dad at the window) was to dump as many toys as he could find and run to the next shelf.  Lauralea and I always called this the "dump and run" stage!  "Ok, my work is done here!  What's next!?!"  At least Bubba returns and plays with the toys.  Avilene was busy figuring out which shapes and colors to put in her bucket!

I thought this next picture was pretty cute - Hudson was reverting back to the "old" days of piling toys in front of Nora.  Maybe he forgot that she can move all over now and select her own toys!?!  Ha!  No, he's just being sweet to her!!  She was just sitting there sucking her thumb and watching him pile a dozen stuffed animals!!

It really doesn't take too much to get the kids this age excited and engaged!  I swapped places with the igloo and the blue balance beam and Hudson was clapping and cheering like he'd won the lottery! They played like it was all brand new!  :)

Avilene was allowing Bubba to rest his head on her lap.  They were on the couch as I was selecting some special books to read and Bubba had to get comfortable I guess!  Ha!  Look at Avi's body language in the picture...slightly amused and "uhhh, that's ok for a moment, but this better be quick!"  We also did some play dough again and they all loved it.

Hudson - 4/20/2017

Hudson ate just a few bites of breakfast: whole wheat english muffin and oranges.  For lunch he ate bites of baked chicken, ate tortilla bites, no cabbage, ate corn on cob, and ate baked apple with cinnamon.

Yesterday afternoon Sophie was saying to Hudson; "Hi Gary."  Hudson, "I'm not Gary."  Sophie, "Are you Bubba?"  Hudson, "Yes."  Sophie, "Hi Gary."  And Sophie had this huge impish grin on her face. They repeated this many many times - I lost count!  Then this morning they resumed a similar game, except it was "Mommy" instead of "Gary."  And I heard Hudson initiate it at least once by going up to Sophie and saying, "I Mommy."

Sophie was working on Puzzles and Hudson was watching her through the big gate.  She was holding a puzzle piece of a bird and he pointed to exactly where it went.  She moved the puzzle, the pieces, and turned her back to block his view!  Ha!  No appreciation for your help Bubba!

I took this picture of Lauralea reading to the kids before she left for work.  Bubba will frequently set up camp on the far arm of the little couch away from where Lauralea's reading.  It always amuses me when he does that.  Then in the last picture - It's not too often I can get a picture of all of them playing so closely together - without trying to stage it!  This was all about the 3 yellow buckets with the 3 different shapes.  As usual one or two were trying to fill the buckets and one or two were emptying the buckets.  And Nora was the amused spectator!

Hudson - 4/19/2017

Hudson ate a bite or two of breakfast: french toast and strawberries.  For lunch he ate bites of Paleo Stew - with burger, and at least 6 vegetables in it - broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, carrots, green beans, and tomatoes. He ate crackers and a couple bites of tropical fruit.

This first picture is obviously NOT Hudson, but I thought it totally depicted the feeling at breakfast the morning after Tax Day!  Sophie ate strawberries and just laid her head on the table.  Boy this tax season has been a long one!!  So cute.  Tax season is hard for the entire family!  Congratulations to the Boyle families for finishing another season.

I took this picture when Avilene was putting shapes in the bucket, Hudson was slinging them out of the bucket almost as fast as Avi would put them in, and Nora was curious about the situation.

It was so pretty outside this morning and we played in the sunshine!  YES!!  While we were still inside Hudson asked, "Do art, do art?"  So I said we'd go outside and do sidewalk chalk and everyone was thrilled.  I think they each made 1 line and the over-achievers made 2 lines.  Ha!  We're done!!  They were off to more fun stuff!  Hudson and Sophie were pushing the ice cream carts down the sidewalk.  I was taking the last picture because I thought it was funny that Sophie was doing the work while the boys (especially Big Reido) sat in the wagon.  Just as I was about to take the picture Reid had a love surge and gave Bubba a big love.  So precious.  And I love Hudson's reaction.

Hudson - 4/18/2017

Hudson ate flat bread and grapes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate hamburger, whole wheat elbow noodles, peas, and applesauce.  I cut the grapes in half and Kenzie started calling them "gum drops" several months ago.  That phrase has stuck of course and at breakfast Reid kept asking for more "gum drops."  He actually said, "I'm gonna eat these until my Mom comes!!"  (That's his default phrase when he's eating something he likes!)  Anyhow, Hudson heard that and said, "More EYE drops."  Haha!  I roared!!  Then at Lunch Reid made an announcement: "I can eat 8 bites of anything in one serving!!"  Haha!  And believe me, when it comes to eating Reid can pretty much stand behind his boasting!!  All morning Hudson kept asking, "outside Gary, outside Gary, outside Gary, outside Gary....???"  I kept saying, "After nap if it doesn't rain Bubba, after nap if it doesn't rain Bubba...."  Reid finally said, "Have you ever looked at the weather?  That will tell you if it rain or not!?!"  :)

Nora was acting pretty tired first thing this morning so I put her in her crib for a nap.  Hudson heard the "sleep sound" through the monitor when he arrived and I told him Nora was sleeping.  He started singing "night night Nora, night night Nora."  Minutes later he had one of the dolls wrapped in a blanket and was singing, "night night baby, night night baby."

Hudson had a pretty good morning - kind of testy at times and was grabbing toys and keeping them from the other kids.  Primarily Avilene.  These first 2 pictures illustrate what I'm talking about.  He has 3 cars and is guarding them carefully.  Same with the dolls.  At least he's playing with one doll, but guarding 2 more!  :)

But overall, especially considering this is TAX DAY finally, I think Hudson has survived another tax season just fine.  Here's a picture of him relaxing on a couple of pillows and it's just about Lunch Time!  He seemed more tired than anything this morning!  Earlier, he'd been looking at the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" book and started singing it.  And doing a great job! His language always impresses me and it's so much fun to listen as he learns.  He looked at the picture on the last page and asked, "Why rest in sun?"  .....  Here's what it says, "And when the web was done the itsy bitsy spider rested in the sun."  There's a picture of the spider resting in it's web wearing sun glasses.

Hudson - 4/17/2017

Hudson ate kix cereal and mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch he ate turkey burger, whole wheat bun, tomato, avocado, and a few cherries.  He wanted more bun and he asked for more "flat bread." (Which we frequently have.)  Except it sounds like he's saying, "fat bread."  Ha.  He burped and said, "I burp." Sophie immediately reminded him to "say excuse me."  Thank you Sophie.

Sophie may frequently be bossy with Hudson, but she is also super sweet and protective of him!!  If anything happens she is right there to defend him!  This morning he fell (I saw it happen and it was basically nothing and he didn't even whimper) and Sophie immediately asked, "Ate you alright Bubba!?"  He gets up and goes to her and she hugs him.  It was so cute and sweet.

I took this first picture less than 5 minutes after Avi arrived.  These three kids got on the couch and were ready for story time.  Sophie was more than happy to read to them.  She started singing "Twinkle Twinkle" and it was so cute.  We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and the kids were ready to check out the different books.

Hudson had this shape sorter bucket full of shapes and Nora scrambled over to have a look at it.  He quickly grabbed a lid and covered it.  Ha!  It was basically more of the same in the last picture.  He had some little people in the airplane and she wanted to have a look.  She isn't aggressive about grabbing someone's toys (not yet - ha).  You can see another airplane in the picture, but she was only interested in seeing what Hudson was doing with his toy.

Hudson - 4/14/2017

Hudson ate oatmeal and baked apples with cinnamon for breakfast.  (Reid and Sophie were raving about how tasty the apples were and that helped Hudson take a bite and he liked them.)  He had bites of stew with hamburger, green beans, carrots, and red potatoes.  He ate biscuit and apricots.

There are only 3 kids here this morning - Sophie, Hudson, and Reid.  We had fun reading, singing, doing some art, and they did lots of jumping on the mattress and being rowdy!  These first 2 pictures are of the "hideout" that Riley and Kenzie built yesterday and the kids were enjoying it this morning.  Hudson was tossing all the stuffed animals in there.  (Sophie has her eyes closed and you can see an animal in midair.)  In the 2nd picture Reid got out the big bears and the kids were pretending to sleep.  (Hudson's "nap" was much shorter than the other two!  Ha!)

I know the kids are having fun and burning off some energy when they ask for a water break!  That's a good morning!!

We did some taping with decorative duct tape.  I probably have 15 different kinds and the kids like picking which one to do.  The "bacon tape" seemed to be a favorite!  Ha!  I took this picture when Sophie and Hudson were studying the poster.  (Which we'll put on the wall.)  Just an FYI (which I'm sure you already know).  The sound of tape peeling off a roll, especially packing tape which is quite loud, is a sound that Hudson reacts to.  So this wasn't an activity that he particularly enjoyed, but he stayed and helped with probably 4 of 5 of these and then he headed for the Play Room.

Hudson - 4/13/2017

Hudson ate whole grain flat bread and peaches for breakfast.  For lunch he ate most of pulled pork sandwich, drank three servings of tomato soup ("more apple juice, more apple juice"), and ate bite of cantaloupe.  After Lunch I was changing Hudson's diaper getting ready for nap and he started saying/chanting/singing, "shake shake out, shake shake out."  Earlier we'd read the book; "Shake Shake Shake My Sillies Out."  :)

After Hudson waved bye to Daddy Colin we were looking out the window and he said, "There's Susan."  Ha!  Sure enough, there's neighbor Susan.  I didn't even know he knew her name!  Good job listening Hudson!!  He knows who Joel is as well - Susan's youngest boy who is in the 2nd grade.  They always walk by when the kids are watching for Riley and Kenzie after school.

Hudson was chanting, "Can you, can you, can you...???"  I had no idea what he wanted, but I assumed it was reading books.  (That's his default plea!  Ha!)  Reid said, "Not today Bubba!"  That cracked me up.  So I asked Reid, "What's Bubba talking about?"  Reid said, "I don't know."  Haha! Speaking of Reid, Hudson raced for "Reid's Chair" and got in it first.  However, as Reid approached Bubba got nervous, started giggling and scrambled out of the chair.  Unlike Avi who'll just sit there and wait to see how Reid will respond.  This has been an ongoing game for several weeks now!

Sophie is not here today and Avilene didn't come in until Noon so it was just Hudson, Nora, and Reid this morning.  Reid was sitting in his chair so I guess Bubba was hiding from Baby Nora in the clothes rack!  He was pretty proud of himself regardless and was sure he was well hidden!  :)

Hudson - 4/12/2017

Hudson ate whole wheat toast and no mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate hamburger with spaghetti sauce, spaghetti noodles, no squash, and ate fruit salad.  At lunch Reid said, "This kind of like spaghetti!!"  LOL!  Good!  We'll take that as a sideways compliment!

Hudson was playing with this toy you see in the picture that has a car ramp on it for the little cars.  He wanted some help and Sophie is always willing and eager to help him.  Thank you Sophie.  "Help me, help me."  Sophie said, "I will help you."  I consider that an important part of their social development - asking for help, receiving help, and giving help - and it pleases me to observe that when it happens!  It's also fun to watch Hudson joining Sophie on her make-believe camping trips and other adventures.  He understands language so well that he kind of gets what she's doing and he makes contributions as well.  :)

Before Lauralea left for work Sophie yelled at her; "Hey Lauralea!  You wanna come play with us!?!"  So Lauralea read a few books to the kids before she left.  (Notice that Avilene is reading her own books.)

I took this last picture right after I got the play dough all laid out for the kids.  This is homemade play dough and it's over 2 years old!  It's still in great shape, but it's about time for a new batch!  The kids use little rollers, plastic cookie cutters, pizza cutters, and knives, forks and spoons.  Hudson had lots of fun with it and worked with it for probably 20 minutes.  (Notice Avi sitting on Hudson's left.  This was her first time with play dough.)

Hudson - 4/11/2017

Hudson ate whole wheat bagel and grapes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate shrimp, flat bread, most of stir fry vegetables, and ate mixed berries.

Hudson was in the cutest mood when he arrived this morning.  He was the first one here and I took this picture when he was playing at the sink.  He was grabbing the faucet with his right hand and tugging on it a bit and then watching my reaction.  I think this is such a cute picture of him.

Hudson was making a "pile" with the stuffed animals and saying, "Make pile Gary, make pile."  Avi grabbed an animal off the pile and tossed it onto the mattress.  In the picture below you can see Hudson looking at it.  He wasn't too thrill and was saying, "don't don't."  She was totally doing this to watch his reaction and believe me she was totally focused on his reaction!!  (Notice she has another animal in her left hand ready to toss as well.  Ha.)  I didn't intervene because Hudson wasn't that upset and in a matter of seconds after I took this picture Hudson decided to join her and started tossing animals off the pile too!!

Hudson and Sophie were running back-n-forth across the room.  Sophie was getting down in a stance like a runner beginning a race and saying, "ready set go!!"  Then she said, "We're running away!!"  Haha!!  And off they'd go!!  Hudson said, "Knees and toes, knees and toes."  Haha!  We sing a song (and do the actions)  "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes...."  So him saying that may have come from the song.

Hudson - 4/10/2017

Hudson had bites of breakfast: bran cereal and raisins.  For lunch he ate chicken, flat bread, and from the chicken salad: ate some olives, couple bites of red peppers, no tomato, bite of cucumbers, ate avocados, and two servings of pears.  I must have been having a flashback moment because at lunch I was singing, "Come on people now smile on your brother..."  (from the late 1960's)  Sophie said, "I don't have a brother!!"  Haha!  Oh man I laughed so hard!

Sophie was giving Hudson some instructions on how to do "jumping jacks."  "Here's how you do a jumping jack Bubba!"  So Hudson watched how it was done and then gave it a shot.  I thought he did pretty well, but Sophie said, "Not like that Bubba!!"  Here's a picture of Hudson jumping under the watchful eye of Cousin Sophie!!

Here are a couple more pictures from this morning.  Sophie was reading books to Hudson and Reid joined them.  Then Sophie, Hudson, and Avi were spinning in circles with the doll blankets over their heads.  Avi actually started this activity and then the other 2 joined her.

Hudson - 4/7/2017

Hudson ate malt-o-meal cereal and a couple bites of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch he ate some of everything:  beef steak, brown rice, vegetables (zucchini, mushrooms, red peppers), and pineapple.

I have a couple notes from yesterday afternoon.  First is the picture below.  I'm starting to introduce Hudson to the table at Snack time.  Snack is usually less items so it's a good start for the transition from highchair to the table.  He did awesome.  Good job Bubba!!  There are basically 2 things I look for that determine their readiness for the table; being able to sit in one place and NOT eating food off their neighbor's plate.  Hudson is a great listener at Little Treasures.  (Except when he's angry - and that is totally age appropriate and we're working on it.)  Reid was trying to mess with me when I took this picture and block my view.  :)  The 2nd note about yesterday; whenever we go outside Hudson has to clear all the toys off the patio onto the lawn.  He gets totally focused on it and works HARD to get them all off.

I showed Hudson the video of himself that TuTu sent and he watched it over and over.  I also showed him a picture from yesterday of Riley with Baby Nora.  It wasn't a great picture and he was concerned about how Nora looked!  He asked, "Nora crying?"  No, she's happy.  I took the next 2 pictures of book reading activities.  I like the first one because Hudson was perched precariously close to the edge of the couch and seemed oblivious to how close his butt was to going over the edge.  When I took this last picture of Lauralea reading to the kids this morning I was trying to get all four of these kids with a finger in their mouth.  So I got 3 out of 4!  :)

 

Hudson - 4/6/2017

Hudson ate bites of breakfast: waffle and fruit salad.  For lunch he ate "Shepard's Pie" (with mashed potatoes, corn, peas, hamburger), flat bread, and no cherry fruit mix.

I haven't mentioned Hudson's language development for several days, but it's so impressive.  I love his sentence development.  Yesterday afternoon we were playing outside and he was in a wagon by himself and he couldn't get the little door open.  He did not panic or yell, but simply asked for help; "Help me get out."  Very well done Hudson!  I'm so impressed.

Also from yesterday afternoon - Sophie and Hudson were arguing about who had first dibs on Baby Nora!!  Ha!  "My Baby Nora!"  "My Baby Nora!"  Back-n-forth.  Avi was sleeping or she would have probably joined them - if she could talk!  :)

Well I hope Daddy Colin doesn't catch heck about these pictures, but hey, I have to post pictures!  Hee hee.  Sorry Colin!  I couldn't resist.  Did anyone figure out what I'm making reference to!?  Ha! (Hint: In the last picture you can see the Nike symbol on Bubba's butt.)  Anyhow, I took this first picture when one of the food toys with velcro attached itself to Hudson's socks.  Avi is looking at it - she was intentionally attaching them to her socks.

I took this next picture because I liked how Hudson was curled up on the couch reading his book.  He's really focused on it.  The last picture looks menacing, but I can assure you it's not!!  :)  Here's the story:  Sometimes when Baby Nora starts fussing in the afternoon Kenzie and Riley will use a pillow to "fan" her and it usually distracts her.  Of course Hudson and Avilene have observed this and they've both used the technique.  None of them have ever actually hit Nora with the pillow.  In the picture Nora is laughing and she had not been fussing either; Hudson just decided to fan her.  I like how Avi is keeping a close eye on everything!