January extras

With the holidays over, I feel like we have had a little time to let things slow down. Therefore, I have a lot less posts but several random pictures to talk about:

Hadley had a stubborn splinter in her food that we could not get out. We had tried everything and decided to soak her foot while she was at my parents and see if that helped. Hudson decided he wanted a spa treatment as well and quickly rolled up his pants to participate:

The kids all trying to watch the same movie on one iPad:

No front teeth hasn't seemed to stop her ability to eat an apple. 

A couple evening cuddle pictures:

There are times when I make poor choices and this was one of them. Hudson wanted a lollipop. As a reward for being good all day I took him to a new candy shop in town and let him pick this out. He didn't even like it, ate only what is pictured, and managed to rub sticky hands all over my windows and car. But he sure was excited.

Hudson has gotten super attached to me at night. He insists that I put him down and we've even developed a horrible habit of me having to lay beside his crib for about 5-10 minutes before I leave. I always make it a point to try and leave before he falls asleep but this particular night he asked to hold my hand and when I did he immediately shut his eyes, put his thumb in his mouth, and passed out. It was just too sweet and a moment I will definitely miss someday!

Another birthday party (this time for Emme) at Paint Your Art Out. We have quite the collection going on and I need to get them all hung in our playroom. I was not able to make it until the end of the party and when I got there everyone was commenting on how good Hadley's was. She is quite the artist and I was pretty impressed as well.

I love getting pictures from Kristin while I'm at work and this one is one of my favorites. He was on his way to school and pretty happy!

A rare, warm day in the middle of winter called for a short-sleeved shirt and leggings. And for some reason she was even a little bashful when I asked her to smile for me. She looks SO big in the backseat now!

Paint Your Art Out Party #4. This time painting an owl for Story's 7th birthday. She was concentrating so hard on what the instructor was teaching.

Hadley and Mary Beth after Charlottes 6th birthday party. This was a weekend of birthdays!

After all the birthdays we enjoyed some more nice weather. Hadley and Hudson wanted to ride their horse down the sidewalk. We definitely got some interesting looks!

Got all our superhero powers today! Superman underwear, Batman shirt, and Spiderman hat. We are a little obsessed these days...

Love getting ear to ear smiles like these....

After Nana passed away we were able to get one of her pianos for our house. We originally did not have a place to put it but after having it painted a beautiful gray we ended up loving it in our family room. Hopefully, Hadley will be interested in piano lessons soon.

A few more cute pictures of our growing boy...

James' 6th birthday party at Elevation trampoline park. They LOVED jumping on the trampolines and were so sweet to each other the entire time. In fact, there was a little boy that kept hitting Hadley in the face while playing dodgeball. Hudson watched him do it, got so mad, bounced over to the kid, got right in his face, and said, "stop hitting my sissy!!!!" It was so sweet and funny. Then he jumped right in the game and made sure to throw his ball at the kid EVERY single time! Love how protective he is already. 

Another sorry game and you can guess who is winning by her face.

I love going up to school to eat lunch with Hadley and when I do I can't wait to see what the teacher has hung outside her classroom. This was preparing for Valentine's Day and the kids had each written their own response to Mrs. Burshek's questions. I smiled when I saw that Hadley had said she would like to have 100 hearts...

...but then I really giggled when I saw that she didn't want 100 boyfriends!

Went into Hudson's room to check on him before bed. He made sure to get bear covered up before falling asleep. He is just so peaceful and precious when he is sleeping. Makes me want to just sit and stare at him.

Cutest little cheerleader all ready for school.

Kristin sent me this at work today....BEDHEAD!

And to finish with one of my favorites! I hope she always likes being her...because she is absolutely perfect.

iPad night-light

Whew!!! Bedtime has been a major struggle for us lately. It has ended in tears many nights (for me and Hudson) and is literally wearing me out. I truely think we have the MOST strong-willed child on the planet and on top of that he is s.m.a.r.t. Therefore, you can imagine the battle we go through each night with this night owl. And in his defense, its his internal clock that cannot be changed. We raised and scheduled both babies the exact same way. I was annoyingly structured with each and we did not miss a naptime nor an early bedtime. And where it was a breeze with Hadley, poor Hudson just can't wrap his head around going to bed early. Hadley will ask to go to bed at night and occasionally even asks for a nap still....but she is up bright and early and ready to go by 6:30 every morning. On the other hand, Hudson will fight until he can't fight anymore but then sleeps soundly until sometimes 11:00 in the morning. It is crazy just how different they can be!

So back to the post, we have to be creative EVERY SINGLE NIGHT to get him upstairs. Because just "telling him" doesn't work so well. Sometimes we race upstairs, sometimes we take a snack, sometimes we find a special toy, sometimes we give him the choice of being carried or walking, and sometimes we just drag him up there screaming. This particular night we let him finish his tv show upstairs just to get him up there. After planting him on the middle of a pallet and turning off the lights, I laid beside him and stared at his precious face while anticipating the next 30 minutes. I just watched him. Those chubby cheeks, sweet smile, big brown eyes, long eyelashes, and button nose. He is the happiest at night. He loves to be up with us, cuddling and watching tv. He doesn't want to miss out on anything. And though we will probably always struggle with getting him in bed, he won't always want me in there and he won't always ask for "one more kiss, three more books, three more minutes of laying with him." I try to remember that when I get so frustrated that I have been in his room for over an hour. This particular night was easy. I just stared at him and wasn't really in any rush to get him in bed either...

Hadley's birthday blessing

Because of having a summer birthday, Hadley gets to celebrate her 1/2 birthday at school! Crossings makes a really big deal out of birthdays and they love to celebrate the blessings that God has gifted us. Each Thursday in chapel they have Birthday Blessings. The birthday kid gets to stand up in front of all the other kindergarten students and their teachers and principal say something special about them. It was such a special time that brought tears to my eyes. Daddy took off work so that he could be there for her blessing as well!

When we arrived at school Hadley got to color a birthday crown and was able to wear it all day. She had talked about this several times the day before. She was so excited to color a crown instead of doing the class project everyone else had to do...

A little time at centers before going to Chapel.

Hadley with the other birthday blessing kiddos.

Miss Debbie and Hadleys teacher, Mrs. Burshek, had such wonderful things to say. They complimented her in so many ways stating that she was always happy and easy going but their favorite quality was her compassion towards others. They said she always wants to help people and be their friend. She just  wants to be friends with everyone! I can say that of all qualities this is at the top for what I would want for my daughter. I love that I can confidently send her to school knowing that she will be sweet to others and a light in their lives. She has grown so much this past year and we are so blessed by the young girl she is becoming!

Helping lead worship songs...

Hadley was so happy and surprised that Peyton got to come to her birthday blessing as well. Peyton's teacher let her leave class to come celebrate in chapel and then go back to Hadley's classroom for a cookie.

I don't have a picture because we were recording it instead but when we got back to class the kids all formed a circle with Hadley sitting up by her teacher. Mrs. Burshek asked who would like to pray for Hadley and several rose their hands. She picked Clara, Mary Beth, and Charlotte to say a prayer. It was so amazing to hear these sweet little voices praying for God to give Hadley a happy birthday, and to keep her healthy, and to have a great day. And each one thanked Him for giving them a good friend. She has some amazing friends and we are so thankful!

And what all the kids were waiting for....COOKIES! Mama bought some really cute birthday cake cookies from the cookie princess and they were pretty tasty too!

Happy Half Birthday, Hadley! We love you so, so much!