Guess who’s here??

On Tuesday, the boys and I loaded ourselves into the car for a big adventure up to Dulles to get Auntie Katie and that sweet baby Charlie!  We had so much fun, and we are SO glad that they are here!  We are loving every minute of it!  Charlie gave us a big toothless grin as soon as he saw us—it was adorable!  William snoozed in the car, but Hudson was too excited to see his cousin . . . so he stayed awake for 8 hours straight!  whoo!

Hudson had put himself to bed when we took this picture of William sharing his lovey with baby Charlie!

Uncle Hatch got a snuggle with the little ducky before Charlie headed off to bed . . .

We decided to try to grab a photo or two of the three boys!  (please excuse Hudson’s rag-a-muffin look . . . he has a cold!)

William:  “Hmm, is that my sweet baby Charlie beside me??”

Hudson:  “Adios!”

William:  “Yes!  I will grab him!  I love babies!”

This is as good as we get, folks . . .

Our boys continue to be fascinated with their little cousin—it is so cute!

Here he is!

And, we also had some other fun visitors this weekend.  {We were quite busy!}

Our cousin Kelly is getting married to a very handsome {and hilarious} Greg, so we had a shower to celebrate!

Christy, me, Carrie (aka: birthday girl!), Katie, Kelly (THE BRIDE!), Sarah, and Mary

Our sweet A’Monny and Uncle Fred surprised us with two red chairs and a table for the boys!  They are so cute, and we all love them!  This is what our boys have done since we received the chairs:  (more pics to come!)

 

And, this afternoon, cousin Sam came for a visit with his sweet cousin Emily who is just a few weeks older than our rascals!                

Sam with Emily and Charlie, Hatch with {a very serious} William and Hudson

Big Time!

Our babies turned 15 months old this week, and I cannot believe it!  They are growing so quickly and they are learning to communicate very well . . . and fast!  This week, Hudson took his hat and tried to put it on his head, and William picked up his shoe, said “sue” and held it up to his foot.  It is so amazing to see their little brains fast at work!  I love it!

The morning after our wild and crazy pizza party, the babies decided to put {our neighbor’s} folding chairs to use!  These boys are getting so big! {Thank you Jenn and Matt for letting us borrow these AGAIN!  We promise to buy a set if we can ever find them!}

Strong man tried to flip his chair back over . . .

Then, the babies had some side-by-side reading time . . . 

And, per Dr. Caldwell’s recommendation, we are now trying {to remember to} brush our teeth . . .  so far, they think it is quite funny!       And, we have yet to get a picture of it, but the boys’ favorite thing to do post-bath is try to brush their hair . . . well, Hudson loves to brush his hair.  William, however, tries to eat the brush!  And, both boys insist on trying to drink out of mine or Hatch’s cups at meals . . . the love it, but are quite sloppy!  These rascals!

BOYS!

Hatch and I were SO excited to have our friends, The Caldwells, come for a visit over the weekend.  We had four boys (under 2.5 years old) in the house!  It was wild, but such a fun time!

We love our friends, Watson (who was born in the Commonwealth and is genuinely a part of the “richmond family”) and Trib (who is 3 months younger—to the day—than our boys)!

Happy First Birthday to YOU, Mr. Trib!

William and Trib “talking business”

On Monday, we headed to the park to get some wiggles out, and everyone had a blast!

The tunnel was another great hit!

Riding the horse-y!

Watson got to go on the big boy slide, and he LOVED it!

The last time we were together, we looked like this:

 

This time, we tried to re-enact our photo, but it was quite a challenge:

First, William was not happy to be photographed:

Then, Watson decided he would rather sit by himself:

 

Then, Hudson lost it . . .

In the end, I think that this may be the best one of the bunch!

The Caldwells were in town with some other dear friends of ours, the Dixons.  So, before they all hit the road, we had a wild ole pizza party!  Now, looking at this picture is amazing because 1) when we met and started our Home Group Bible Study three years ago, not ONE of us had children, and 2) it is very clear that the Lord has blessed us RICHLY!  (Petersons:  we missed y’all SO!)

Top of the Sofa:  Eve, Harper, and Grayson

Bottom Row:  Sylvie, Landon, William, Trib, Hudson, Mae, Lucille, and Spencer

Rascals who had scooched out of the picture:  Fields and Watson!              

Well, Howdy, Farmer!

After some rain last week, we decided to go to the Children’s Museum on Friday.  The boys LOVED playing in the “crawler’s patch” and baby farm.  {They also loved the water table, but I have zero pictures of that since I was wrangling sopping wet boys! I had to change their clothes when we got home, because they were drenched! . . . but happy!}

Will takes Hudson for a ride

William was interested in steering both wheels at once:

 

Time to pick out our veggies! 

tasty!

We went with one of our best girls, Harper!  She is too cute!

 

On a totally different note, it disgusts me that our boys love to play in the dog’s crate.  Weird.  They have renamed Murphy “Dog Dog,” so, we are doing our best to remind him of his new name.  Let this be a warning to us all:  these boys can change your name in an instant!

 

the sheep says WHAT?

I love being a mama and being able to stay home with my boys, but one of my challenges this winter (with the sickness and snow) has been that many of my days feel the exact same . . . we stay home, we eat, change diapers, play, take naps, and eat, diapers, naps, on and on and on for days.  So, when last weekend hit and the weather warmed up we took advantage and headed to Maymont Park and the petting zoo!  We had been before, but not since the boys’ interest in animals (and their sounds) has developed.  We had a great time, and believe it or not . . . we actually saw one of the black bears!!  Amazing!

The zoo has a very old sheep that has the weirdest “Baa” we have ever heard . . . this poor old “ba ba” has vertigo and walks in circles, too.  Everytime she “baa-ed” our boys jumped—it was hilarious!  They could not figure out that the noise was coming from the animal!

Checking out the sheep and goats outside the barn:

 

Hudson and his goat

The boys made another friend while at the zoo—the donkey.  Mr. Donkey really loved William—it was hilarious.  The Donkey was in a field on our right side and would walk up and down alongside of us as we walked around looking at the other animals.  It was so funny, and the boys LOVED it!  

This Donkey was in need of a toothbrush and a tissue, but the boys were happy to be his friend anyway!

 

I must inform you, too, that when William wakes in the night he often “Baas” and Hudson often “Roars” {there is nothing quite like a lion who is roaring at you from down the hall at 4am,  or a baby who is crying hysterically and then starts to “baa” and giggle in the middle of the night!}  . . . we are doing our best to train them that at night, all animals say “ni-night, ni-night”!