Hudson - 8/27/2018

Hudson ate cheerios and banana for breakfast.  For lunch he ate half of ground beef, ate whole wheat pita bread, bite of olives, bite of tomatoes, ate most of avocado, and ate cantaloupe.  (If you like cantaloupe those Dixon melons are yummy!!)  So at lunch Hudson said, "I have a TuTu."  Nora and Atley both said they also have tutus!!  Which is true!  Although they were talking about a different kind!  Hudson said, "Well my TuTu is here!"  Haha!  And it all got a little confusing and went downhill from there!  :)

Here are some Bubba-isms from today; well actually this first one is left over from Friday.  Baby Svea was on her tummy with her arms straight out and feet straight back, kind of flailing around. Hudson said, "She's like surfing...on a big wave!"  Haha!  Very true!
Again today he said, "Welcome aboard and have a nice life!"  Haha!
"Can I put my Art work on my cubby?  My muscles make me reach really high!"
This last one is accompanied by the first picture.  He was watching me get my laundry and asked, "Can I carry something?!?"  Sure!  It's all yours!!  :)  He was working hard and made it to the gate.

In the last picture the 3 kids who are here today were doing a "goodbye" banner to Hudson.  Hey, it's nice to do your own goodbye poster!  :)  I'm glad this is only a temporary goodbye until Baby Boyle #2 joins the Daycare Family!!  Is this a good time to throw out a pitch for a Baby Girl!!  Oh, a bit early you say!?!  Hey, it's early, but I like job security!  :)  I will miss having Hudson around everyday!  His language skills are obviously off the chart and dang it's entertaining!!  I also remember the challenges he presented during the first few months here!  Many times I had to reach deep into my infant manual and try every trick in the book!  I love you Bubba and I'm so glad I could be a part of your first three years and I love you and your Family very much!  Love you all!

Hudson - 8/24/2018

Hudson ate bites of brown rice and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch he ate salmon, two servings of whole wheat dinner roll, ate green beans, and mangoes.  At the lunch table Hudson said, "Hey Gary! Reido lives kind of a little bit closer to you."  (I'm assuming he meant closer than himself.)  Then he added, "And his Dad has a police car!"  Correct on both counts Hudson!!

So do you ever wonder how your child perceives you!?!  Well I'm here just to help answer those kind of questions!!  Haha!  We were reading a Dr Seuss book and when we got to these pages Hudson said, "That's Colin and Maddy!"  I love it!  Avi said, "Nooo, they're too little!!"  :)

Avilene and Hudson occasionally took a break from their bickering and had several interesting conversations!  This was my favorite:  Hudson asked, "Where are you going?"  Avi said, "To the doctor."  Hudson; "Why?"  Avi; "Because I'm not feeling very good."  Hudson looked at me and said, "I think she fell down and got a cold!"  Haha!  I didn't realize you could catch a cold that way!!

Then Avi told Hudson, "I'll give you a ride."  So she got on her hands and knees and he straddled her which immediately caused her to pretty much be flat on the floor.  Avi, apparently still optimistic or maybe oblivious, said, "Hang on tight!"  Hahaha!  As she struggled to move forward a fraction of an inch!

Here are a couple pictures from this morning: They enjoyed doing some stickers and covered two pages.  Second picture - Hudson was building with the blocks and Avi asked, "Can I help?"  "Sure." Hudson said, "We're making the place beautiful for people to come....everybody will come. There will be a ton of games."  Moments later He threatened Avi; "If you kick that over I'm gonna call the police!"  Geez!  Maybe they could benefit from some couple's counseling or something!  :)

Hudson - 8/22/2018

Hudson ate half of his breakfast: french toast and strawberries.  For lunch he ate paleo stew with meat, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes.  He ate lots of saltines and ate his tropical fruit as well.

Hudson and Linnea were the only two kids here for 30 minutes and they had fun together.  Linnea was holding her hand out and Hudson was pretending to take something from her hand.  He said, "She was cracking me up!"  Then he added; "I was cracking myself up!"  (I think that's probably more accurate!  Ha!)

Avi is hanging out with her Grandma "Mimi" today and Atley is still on vacation so it was a bit quieter than usual around here.  Well sort of....Hudson still talked non-stop, he just didn't need to be on full volume to be heard!  Ha!  Here are a couple more pictures from this morning's activities.  Jumping off the igloo and putting passengers on his airplane!  He said he was building an airplane. (Talk to Atley's Dad for tips on building an Airplane Hudson!!)

Last picture: Here's what Svea's life looks like immediately after I put her on the floor after her morning nap.  (The other kids are like vultures hovering and then come swooping in!)  Nora, Hudson, Atley, and Avi all ask; "Can I talk to Svea Gary!?!  Can I talk to Svea!?!"  Of course!  But they seem to think that when I say "yes" that ONLY applies to them!!  Haha!  The life of a celebrity must be difficult Svea!?!

Hudson - 8/21/2018

Hudson ate bites of waffle and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate most of baked chicken, ate whole wheat dinner roll, most of corn on the cob (which I cut off the cob for him - they all wanted it cut off the cob), and ate baked cinnamon apples.  During breakfast I told Hudson that Avi's Grandma "MeMe" is at her house.  Hudson said, "I have a MeMe."  Avi said, "No you don't!"  Hudson answered, "Yes I do.  My MeMe is in Denver.  My MeMe has guinea pigs."  Avi said, "My Grandma doesn't have any guinea pigs."  :)

Hudson sat down at the table for lunch and said, "Welcome aboard and enjoy your life."  LOL!  I said, "Maybe it's enjoy your flight."  He said, "Oh."  Later he said, "Enjoy your life."  Giggle giggle.

This first picture is the same one I posted yesterday, but I wanted to make an observation about it that you may (or may not - ha) find interesting.  (This sort of thing fascinates me!!)  Over the years Lauralea and I have watched and learned how kids basically hold their crayons, pencils, markers, or whatever they are using.  There seems to be a progression of 3 stages.  The first stage - they grip it similar to the way Avi is gripping it, except with their hand turned around and the thumb pointed up.  The second stage - exactly how Avi is doing it with the thumb pointed down.  The third and final stage is the way Hudson is holding it and we call it the "adult" or final stage.  Interestingly, he was actually switching back-n-forth between that way and the way Avi is doing it.  So he is obviously just starting to hold it like that.  Second picture - At Art Time today we just turned this cardboard over and painted on the back side of it.

Last picture - Hudson and Nora were bouncing and jumping all around Linnea and she just kept moving around, never flinching at how close they are jumping.  It's pretty amazing how they watch out for each other on the mattress.  Hudson, Avi, and Nora also played with the food toys and Avi was serving food to Hudson and Nora and also trying to teach them some "manners!"  Haha!  "Say thank you for dinner Bubba!" (Repeat 3 or 4 times!)  "Say thank you for dinner Nora!"  (Repeat 3 or 4 times!)  And they both said, "Thank you."

Hudson - 8/20/2018

Hudson ate half of kix cereal and bites of mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch he ate ground turkey, whole wheat hamburger bun, no tomato, bite of avocado, and ate one cherry.  At breakfast Avi asked Hudson, "Hey Bubba, did you go on airplane?!"  Hudson said, "Yes..to Denver." After more thought he said, "And Flathead lake!"  Haha!

Well everyone is back this week except for Atley.  She left on Friday and will be back next Monday so the Daycare is almost back to normal!  We took our granddaughter home yesterday as well!  She sure loved playing with the Daycare kids, especially the babies!  Hudson asked where Story was at three or four times today!

So speaking of Flathead Lake I may as well mention here what Hudson told us about the lake.  He said, "Hey Gary! Did you know there's a Flathead Lake monster?"  Haha!  Yes, I'm aware of this creature that's roamed the depth of Flathead Lake for many many moons.  Hudson said, "He lives in the water and pops up his head!"  :)

Avi said she saw some buffalo on their trip.  So Hudson piped up and said, "Hey Avi, Did you know my Mom stepped in some buffalo poop?"  Haha.  Avi said, "Yes."  It's the story that won't go away Maddy!!

Here are some pictures from this morning's activities;  First picture - We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend so the kids were busy all morning.  2nd picture: Avi "falling" off the couch.  She kept saying (about 10 times), "Somebody! Can you catch me!?!" It was mostly directed at Hudson who was ignoring her!  Picture 3 - Coloring the piece of cardboard with markers.  Picture 4 - Saying hi to Svea while I was changing her diaper.

Hudson - 8/16/2018

Hudson arrived after breakfast from his visit to S @ P.  For lunch he ate hamburger stew with meat, green beans, carrots, and tomatoes. He ate whole wheat dinner roll and ate a large serving of apricots!

Linnea had crawled under the slide on the little climber outside and she got stuck; or at least she was sure she was stuck!!  And she started yelling of course!  Hudson was immediately yelling for me; "Gary! Gary! Gary!!"  I was only three or four steps away and after I got her out from under there Hudson announced;  "That was an emergency!!"  Hahah!!  Well not quite, but close I guess.  :)  It obviously felt like an emergency to him!!

So this first picture is from yesterday afternoon and Hudson was going up and down the sidewalk with his cap pulled over his eyes like you see in the picture.  Atley, of course, had to give it a go as well.  Let's drive blind!  What could possibly go wrong?!  :)  Hudson ran into some other bikes, but I noticed Atley was doing lots of peeking out from under her hat.  Which was good!  :)  This morning they were right back at the same thing!

Atley and Hudson were doing some "puppet shows" this morning; leftover from Kenzie and Riley's visit yesterday.  If you zoom in on the picture you'll see Hudson has a kangaroo for a puppet.  He said, "Once upon a time there was a big ole kangaroo named Joe and he hopped hopped hopped!" Then in the last picture Hudson and Atley were running in and out of the tent pretending to sleep.  They'd plop down for maybe 3 or 4 seconds and say; "Ok! Now it's morning!"  That was quick!

Hudson - 8/15/2018

Hudson had bites of french toast and ate half of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch he ate two servings of pulled pork, two servings of whole wheat toast, ate peas, and watermelon.  At breakfast Atley said, "Nor Nor not here! Nor Nor Condra!"  Haha!  Well Hudson was trying to set the record straight of course and said, "Atley Condra!  Nora Hansen!"  Atley already knows that and much to his dismay she kept saying, "Nor Nor Condra!"  Silly kids!!

We had a busy fun night last night and it carried over into the morning!!  Kenzie and Riley came after Daycare yesterday and spent the night with us.  So Lauralea and Story slept with them in a tent in the yard.  Me? I had the nice quiet house all to myself!  Cheers!  Hudson was so happy to see Kenzie! It was very cute and sweet!  First picture: Hudson is trying to stand on his head like Kenzie while Atley is happy just to observe.  (She'd actually been trying earlier with Riley.)  Second picture: Atley, Hudson, and Kenzie watching Riley do the puppet show!  Hudson said, "I want a show!!"  Ha!  Personally, I think their Puppet Stage is way more impressive than the show!  :)

I've mentioned this before, but here it comes again; We frequently read an author named "Iza Trapani."  (I love her work with Kid books and illustrations!!)  I'm impressed that Hudson totally remembers her name, can say it perfectly, and said it this morning during Story Time.  So I read the caption under the author's picture.  It said she lives in the Hudson River Valley.  Oh man, Hudson jumped on that and he loved it!  So later I asked him where she lives and he said, "In the Hudson River."  LOL  I said, "Close, but she's not a fish!"

We had a scheduled visit from 2 of the County Health Nurses this morning so that's always interesting how the kids will respond, but I try to prep them by letting them know visitors are coming.  I am glad only 3 kids are here today as that makes those kinds of visits easier!!  Hudson asked why they were here and I told him they were checking shot records!  He said, "I don't want to get a shot!" Ha! We were outside when they came and the kids had fun in the tent which we obviously left set up and I got a picture with all three in there!

Hudson - 8/14/2018

Hudson ate most of whole wheat bagel and ate two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate shrimp, half of brown rice, ate stir fry vegetables, and raspberries.  Just in case anyone is wondering why certain children are missing from the pictures; There are only 3 kids here today and for the rest of the week as Nora, Avilene, and Svea are gone on vacation.  Then Atley leaves on Friday for vacation and will be gone all next week as well.  It's that time of year!!

This was pretty funny, but the kids obviously didn't get the humor, or even notice, so I'll share it here!! We were outside and Hudson was barreling down the sidewalk on the bike pedaling as fast as his legs could go, looking down the entire way.  Linnea was playing in the middle of the road of course and I said, "Watch where you're going Hudson!"  Just as the words were coming out of my mouth I went stumbling through the ice cream carts!  Haha!  Watch where you're going Gary!  :)

Speaking of riding the bikes Hudson frequently says, "I'm a police officer!"  He was playing that game again this morning and said, "I have parking tickets right here!  And if people park in the wrong spot I give them a ticket!!"  Hmmm...one of those annoying parking tickets!!  :)

Atley has began showing empathy/sympathy on her own initiative when another child gets hurt. Today Hudson hurt his toe and she immediately wanted to give him a love.  A short time later, after we'd went outside, she hurt her foot (kind of - ha) and wanted him to reciprocate.  That didn't happen and a few seconds later she told him; "My foot is ok Bubba."  :)

Here are a couple of pictures from this morning!  First picture - just relaxing with the big bears.  Atley said they were "nice cozy bears."  In the 2nd picture Hudson and Atley were doing some free-drawing before breakfast.

Hudson - 8/13/2018

Hudson ate several bites of bran cereal and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch he ate chicken, whole wheat pita bread, peppers, cucumbers, olives, no tomatoes, and ate pears.

So my oldest Granddaughter (she's 8 and her name is Story) is here this week and the kids were excited to have a visitor this morning and someone who paid attention to them.  My Granddaughter is short for her age with a 5 foot Asian Momma and my son is also short!  (His biological Dad is Puerto Rican.)  Story stood beside Atley and said, "I'm taller than her!"  Haha!  Well good, she's a 2 year old!  Story is an excellent reader and Story was in charge of Story Time!  :)  First picture is Hudson and Linnea getting acquainted with Story!

The second picture - Story Time.  Atley sneezed and Story looked at her and then at the wetness on her arm and looked back at Atley like; "What the heck!?!"  LOL!  Yup!  That's one of the dangers of Child Care!  Come back when they all have colds and runny noses!  :)  Third picture; Story had moved the three kids into the igloo (probably for safety purposes such as danger of sneezing) for some additional story time.  However, there was immediately laughing and silliness going on in there so that didn't work real well!

Hudson of course was trying to attach himself firmly to Story and she looked at me and said, "They're crowding me!"  Haha!  Yup!  They do that alright!  So the last picture - we were outside playing and Hudson was taking a rare free ride in the wagon!  (Meaning - I watch all the kids and rarely give rides to the older kids!  They pull each other.)  Story announced; "Next stop!  The sand box!"  But Atley and Avilene were busy at the sand table and no riders got on and no riders got off!  :)

Hudson - 8/10/2018

Hudson ate cream of wheat cereal and half of dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch he ate a large serving of baked beef kabobs with meat, zucchini, pineapple, and peppers.  He ate bites of brown rice and a large serving of pineapple on the side.

This first picture is from Yesterday and that's Hudson in one of the lion suits, Nora is the Froggy  and Atley is in the background with a leopard jacket.  Also yesterday afternoon we were getting ready to read books and Hudson said, "I want to read the Cline books."  What?!?  Then I remembered some books the Cline Family gave me several months ago.  Ha!  Also, the phone rang and I saw it was a local call so I answered it and Hudson asked; "Was that Jamie?"  Haha!  Well she did call pretty regularly when her kids were here didn't she Hudson!?!  :)

Atley was here for over an hour this morning before any other children arrived!  (Outdoor concert last night!  Something about the "Night Sweats" according to Daddy Colin.  Ha!)  When Hudson arrived I told him that Atley had been here for over an hour already and he said, "That's not true!"  Haha!  Oh really, so how long has she been here?  He said, "7, 8, 9."  Right Bubba; anything you say.  :)

Next picture: Nora heard Hudson and Avilene inside the igloo, or as they call it; "our tent" and she sat and just listened to them while sucking her thumb and grinning.  She couldn't see them, she was just listening.  Someone may think she's sad or whatever because she's outside looking in, but that isn't the case.  She is SO NOT interested in being on the inside.  Especially with the doorway of the tent blocked shut.  :)  "Get me out of here!!"

All of the kids LOVE our Story Times and so do I!!  (Which I believe helps them to love books all the more!)  One of our "special" books is Dr Seuss book of "Terrible Tongue Twisters."  All the kids remember an amazing amount of the stories and can finish so many lines even if we haven't read the books for a few weeks!  So this morning I was ready to start the 2nd page and Atley said, "I like fresh fish!!"  LOL!  I roared!  That was so cute and funny!!  It starts like this; "Do you like fresh fish?"  She obviously knew what was coming next!!  It ends like this; "At Finney's, if you're wise, you'll say, Fetch me the finest french-fried freshest fish that Finney fries!!"  :)  And all the kids giggle and laugh.  Last picture; We played outside again this morning and the kids again spent a LOT of time at the sand table.

Hudson - 8/9/2018

Hudson ate waffle and half of fruit salad for breakfast.  For lunch he ate half of shepherd's pie with hamburger, green beans, carrots, and potatoes.  He ate whole wheat tortilla and ate cherries.

Atley and Hudson played together almost 45 minutes before anyone else arrived!  They had the toys piled high in the corner and Avi immediately joined them when she arrived!  (See picture below.)  I like how tight they're squeezed together!!  They were on an airplane ride and were saying things like; "buckle up!"  "We're buckling up!"  Hudson, being a frequent flyer, said, "I got my tablet!"  :)  Second picture: Atley and Avi were on the couch (Atley at the bottom of the picture and you can see Avi's knee in the middle right of the picture.) when Hudson came over and said, "I'm a monster!"  I'm sure Mommy's don't necessarily like to see their kid's shirt all stretched out, but this was too cute!

Next picture: Hudson in a self-built lockdown kind of contraption!!  Wasn't my idea, but I kind of like it!  That's beautiful Bubba; just stay in there for awhile!!  Haha!  Settle down Tutu!  That's just a joke!  I love your Grandson!  :)

We did a lot of outside time this morning while the temperature was mild and wonderful!  They played in the sand box for the longest time!  We also chased bubbles and judging by the squealing and yelling I think it's correct to assume they had fun outside!!  Last picture:  The kids love to go with me to fetch the babies after naps and they usually knock ("banging" would describe it better) on the door, but lately they've been trying to peek (see picture) under the door!  Haha!  Not sure what they expect to see; especially considering it's dark in there!  :)  When I opened the door they charged in being kind of rowdy, but it doesn't faze Svea!  She has a huge grin on her face happy to see some of her fans!!

Hudson - 8/8/2018

Hudson ate two servings of french toast and ate strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch he ate "Whole 30" chili with hamburger, tomato sauce, peppers, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes.  He ate two servings of whole wheat dinner roll and ate a large serving of tropical fruit.

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon when the kids asked to play in the sand table.  They had lots of fun scooping sand into the funnels which makes the wheels spin around.  By the way, I'm doing something different with the sand area in the next few weeks to make it more practical; plus I think they'll like it much better.  :)

Hudson was on the floor playing with Svea! She really does like Hudson because he spends LOTS of time with her!  Sometimes when the babies are sleeping or whatever, Bubba will say, "I want a baby to talk to Gary!"  Ok, well there's one on the way!  Ha!  (So Daddy Colin!  Is this a good enough picture of Hudson's "favorite" shirt!?!)  Haha!!

I have a couple of short videos of the kids and I singing three or four songs.  The kids LOVE to watch those and they'll sing along, laugh, and giggle as they watch themselves!  Sometime this year we'll try to put together a little DVD for all the families.  (I'll shoot for getting it done by Christmas!)  This morning they were asking, "Can we look at the video!?!"  (By the way, Lauralea was the one taking it!)  Then in the last picture Hudson was reading to Avi and this lasted for several seconds before conflict arose!  :)

Hudson - 8/7/2018

Hudson ate toasted whole wheat english muffin and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate pork chop meat, whole wheat toast, bites of beets, ate sweet potatoes, and two servings of applesauce.

Well I guess I have Hudson convinced!  Talking about Svea he said, "She's just a cutie!! I can't believe it!!"  Haha!  I think he's heard me say that once or twice!  This first picture epitomizes how Hudson, Avi, and Nora frequently like to interact with the babies!!  Their relationship with Linnea is quickly changing as Linnea is now very mobile and rarely stops moving!  So Svea is the sole recipient of a mauling like this!!  It won't be too long and Svea will be able to get away as well!  In the 2nd picture Hudson was crawling beside Linnea and she was loving that too and giggling!!

Hudson, Nora (in the middle), and Atley each had a doll, stuffed animal, and a doll blanket and were taking "naps."  I like how Nora laid out her babies and then just used the doll blanket to cover her own head!  She makes me laugh!  What a goof!  Haha!  As usual Atley has a big grin on her face.  Hudson doesn't usually join them in this kind of play, but he did this morning.

We had a good morning reading books, doing play dough at Art Time, and we also spent a little time outside.  The kids loved the play dough and stayed engaged with it for at least 30 minutes.  Hudson was using the cookie cutters a lot and I counted 9 heart shapes in his play dough.

Hudson - 8/6/2018

Hudson ate whole wheat chex cereal and two servings of peaches for breakfast.  For lunch he ate half of ground beef, ate whole wheat hamburger bun, bite of tomatoes, bites of avocados and ate his oranges.

Hudson saw me putting milk away and said, "Mom said chocolate milk comes from happy cow." Really?  Interesting.  Well let's not tell her anything different so she can continue to enjoy that myth! Ok?  Bye the way, what Medical school did you say your Mom went to Hudson!?!  :)

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and the kids enjoyed the microphones.  In the first picture Hudson has a microphone and was singing "Happy Birthday...."  and Linnea pretty much ignored him while playing with an old flip phone.  Atley is also singing in the background. She must have gotten tired of saying, "It's not my birthday, it's not my birthday, it's NOT my birthday!!"

Hudson and Atley were enjoy watching two or three crows as they were just outside the window.  In picture number three Avi and Hudson were putting on some cat suits - a leopard and a lion.  Even with the toy exchange Hudson asked Avi immediately after waving at the window to Momma Molly, "Hey! You wanna make a tent!?!"  They love that game.  Avi said, "Sure!"  I noticed they abandoned it fairly quickly though and went back to exploring the new stuff that's out.  We also played outside and Hudson yelled, "There's golden grass over here."  Well actually that's silver and Lauralea spray- painted that spot silver so we'd know where to put the sprinkler!  Haha!!

 

This last picture made me laugh!  During Story Time the kids spotted our neighbor "Big Willy" working on some weeds.  They immediately sprinted to the window to wave at him.  They bang hard on the window to get his attention.  (You can see him standing on the side walk.)  Now you know they like him when they're willing to stop in the middle of Story Time!  About the time I was taking the picture Atley spotted an airplane.  Haha!  That cracked me up!  So much for Big Willy as now Atley is loudly hollering "Airplane, airplane, airplane."  Avi is looking at the airplane too.  :)  Hudson and Nora are still focused on Big Willy.

Hudson - 8/3/2018

Hudson ate some oatmeal and a few dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch he ate half of tilapia, ate whole wheat elbow noodles, large serving of green beans, and ate applesauce.

Hudson made a random announcement that's slightly on the gross side, but I still have to share it!  He said, "Gary! I get boogies from my nose every year!!"  Every year!?  Wow, that's impressive!  I certainly hope I can miss that special occasion!!  :)

He loves building with these blocks and he's been using them a lot this week.  I asked him what he was working on this morning and he said, "We're fixing up our house."  As you can see in the picture he gets them stacked pretty high and he also got a bit upset when Linnea tipped them over.  Linnea, you may fall out of favor if you keep doing that!

Hudson and Avi were playing in their "tent" again.  And Atley was yanking pillows away from the entrance again!

Last picture; the kids still love going to get the babies after their naps.  I tell them which baby we're getting and they run down the hall, pound on the door until I get there, and then make a grand and noisy entrance.  And the babies love it.  Nora is not here today so obviously she's not in the line-up and Svea is the baby that you can't see.  :)