Crawling

Bennett is on the move! He has mastered the army crawl and he is fast! He is so proud of his new found skill. He loves to play with Hudson's toys and crawling allows him to be able to get to Hudson's toys...Hudson is still adjusting to this.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

On Father's day we had dinner at John's parents house and we also celebrated my birthday. Hudson was very excited to sing happy birthday to mommy and bring me cake. He was even more excited to have his own birthday cake pop!

Dedication

Today Hudson and Bennett were dedicated at our Church. We have been attending Gold Creek Community Church since Hudson was a few months old. John and I had been searching for a Church for awhile when we found Gold Creek. We knew right away that it was the perfect fit for us and for our growing family. Hudson will also being going to Kids at the Creek (the preschool at Gold Creek) next year. The dedication was the perfect way to celebrate Father's Day. We had our parents there, Uncle Greg and Kevin (Bennett's godfather). The boys did great up on stage and Bennett even let Pastor Dan hold him for the prayer. We went home for brunch, a nap, then off to John's parents for dinner to celebrate the dedication and Father's Day. It's was a busy, family filled day...loved it.

T Ball Game

This might very well have been the cutest 45 minutes of any sporting event that I have ever seen. All the kids on the team were so proud to be there, have their team shirt on and to hit the ball then run! They all pretty much hit the ball and they all ran...but not many of them actually ran to the bases. On Hudson's first time up he hit the ball and ran to the middle of the field and got the ball (the one he just hit). On his next time up he hit the ball, ran to first, but he still had the bat with him! Like I said, the cutest thing ever!

T Ball Practice

Last week Hudson had his first t-ball practice. He is playing with the Mill Creek YMCA. Yes, that is him on first base with a batting helmet on. It might just be the cutest thing ever. He loved wearing that helmet, even if it wasn't his turn to bat. I can't wait for his first game!

Goodbye Teacher Betsy

Hudson and Sloan

Last Day

Goodbye Hug...and maybe some tears.

Today was Hudson's last day of preschool at the NSCCP. Next year he will be going to the preschool at our church. He has been at NSCCP since he was 18 months old. I remember asking teacher Betsy if he was going to be okay in the class because he had only been walking for a few months and wasn't talking a lot. Now I can't believe that I was ever worried about him starting preschool. Deciding to go to NSCCP was one of the best parenting decisions I made with Hudson. Teacher Betsy, the parents and the children have made a huge positive impact on Hudson and his love of school. I feel so blessed that we were able to have the experience that we did. We are sad to leave, but contributing to a co-op when I have Bennett with me has become a bit hard. Also, I want to be able to have one on one time with Bennett next year while Hudson is at school. We love you teacher Betsy and we will be back with Bennett in 2012.

"New" Car

When Hudson was about 3 months old I must have been very tired. Twice within 3 weeks I left my tailgate open in the garage and John opened it (leaving many scratches)...and I backed in to a mailbox. Ever since then it's been driving me crazy. I never had it fixed because there was always something more important that we needed to pay for. Well, John gave me the best Mother's Day gift. While we were in Portland he had all the scratches on the whole car fixed/repainted and an interior/exterior full detail. My car looks and smells like new! To top it off the sun is shining so it might even stay clean for awhile.

8 Months

My sweet Bennett is 8 months old. I don't know where the time has gone. Honestly, it is going by twice as fast with Bennett as it did with Hudson. I guess it's because our family is twice as busy. There were so many days that I stayed home with Hudson and just enjoyed him. With Bennett those moments are rare, but when they happen they are amazing. For example, on our little trip to Portland John took Hudson out for awhile and Bennett and I took a nap. We both woke up at the same time, he rolled over, cuddled up to me, touched my face and gave me the biggest smile. In my mind he was saying "thank you mommy". Those are the moments that I will remember forever... his sweet smile, big blue eyes and cuddles melt my heart.

Things that Bennett is doing now...

Still trying to crawl

Clapping his hands

Loving baths with his brother

Swimming lessons at Waterbabies

Sleeping 7 hours, waking to nurse then sleeping 5 more

Napping twice a day 2-3 hours each time

Eating food that he can pick up himself

Smiling and laughing daily

All Aboard!

Hudson waiting for the train to leave Seattle

Bennett and Daddy

Naps in the big bed are Bennetts favorite

My Sweet Boys

We went to Portland to visit Grammy (John's grandma) for her birthday. Hudson loves trains, so we decided to take the train down. It was a great decision...he loved it! He sat looking out the window the whole time and Benentt slept. In Portland we had a fun birthday picnic and cake to celebrate Grammys birthday. We found an amazing Italian restaurant for dinner and both boys did a wonderful job at dinner. This means that I was able to enjoy my dinner and wine. This is rare when we eat out with both boys. Usually one does well and the other needs to get up walk around, sleep, nurse... so needless to say it was a nice night. The boys loved staying in the hotel. We got a suite so we had a separate bedroom. This is the first time we have done that I will do it from now on. It makes it so much easier with naps and babies that wake to nurse during the night. On a side note there was a Starbucks across the street so everyone was happy since mommy was well caffeinated. It was a nice little vacation.

Forget Baby Food

Bennett doesn't mind baby food, but he prefers food that he can pick up and eat by himself. His favorites right now are avocado, banana, tofu, pinto beans and green beans. He loves food and thinks life is good now that he can join in on our family meals.

Puzzles with Charlotte

Hudson loves Charlotte and Charlotte loves puzzles...so now Hudson loves puzzles too!

Children's Museum

Today we headed to the Children's Museum in Bellevue. We had a blast and Bennett even got in on the action!

Mother's Day

This year was my best Mother's Day yet. My morning began by waking up to an empty (quiet) house. John got up early and took the boys out so I was able to sleep in, sad but sleeping until 8:30 is sleeping in for me. They came home with Starbucks and flowers. Then I was able to take a shower alone and have time to get ready (again alone) while he got them ready for brunch. It's amazing how having one hour alone in my bathroom/room in the morning can make my day. I think it's because it never happens. We headed to Overlake Counrty Club for brunch with John's parents and Greg. After brunch the boys and I took and nap. When I woke up from my nap I headed to In Spa for a much needed massage. When I got home John had the house clean and dinner was ready. To me that is the perfect Mother's Day.

My Second Swimmer

Bennett started Waterbabies this session. We started him in the PT (parent tot) level 2. The ages for this class range from 6 - 18 months. Bennett is by far the biggest one in the class. I love that he is 7 months old and wearing a 18 month swim diaper (the same size as his big or not so big brother Hudson). Bennett loved his first class, just like he loves everything. I look forward to swimming with both of my boys this summer...if the sun ever comes out.

Sunnny in Seattle

It was a beautiful sunny day in Seattle today. We packed up and headed to the neighborhood park with Gwen and her girls Charlotte and Zoe for some vitamin D and a picnic. We had a nice relaxing lunch, Zoe slept, Bennett played with Sophie (the giraffe in case you haven't met her) and Charlotte and Hudson ran around and wore themselves out (just as planned). Our goal today was vitamin D and then big naps. I'm happy to say our planned worked. I love days like this.

* There aren't any pictures of Hudson. He was playing too hard to stop for a picture.

7 Months

You don't want to hold still to have your picture taken. You would much rather chew on the backing to your 7 month sticker.

You are seven months old and so amazing.

Here are a few things that are new in your world...

• You are trying to crawl, but it looks more like you are swimming


• You are eating solids and love avocado, banana, beans, and sweet potatoes


• Your face continues to light up when you see your brother


• You have found your voice and try to "talk" to us a lot


• You wave bye bye


• You blow kisses


• You are so amazing that it makes it hard to imagine that you are our last baby