Today . . .

(before I forget . . .)

HUDSON alternately screamed/cried and sang Happy Birthday to himself this morning while in his crib.  When I went in there, he had unzipped his footy pjs just enough to get his left arm out . . . and then he zipped himself back up again.  I think he was stuck!  Meanwhile, William was fast asleep . . . ALSO, this week Hudson started addressing William (formerly and still most commonly known as “Hudsey”) as Wee-Yum.  Hudson was telling Wee-Yum NOT to do something and he was going on and on and on to Wee-yum, Wee-Yum, WEE-YUM!!!

As you can see, the boys are still in cribs.  Hudson has made a few minor attempts to escape, but no luck yet.  I really hope he stays there for a long, long time.  :)

ANNA continues to give us great little grins and smiles.  She loves looking at the black and white wedding pictures above our bed, and her favorite person to grin at continues to be her daddy.  (For the record, my mom think she looks like me!  After two boys who look like their daddy, this is quite exciting!)  I love this baby so much!  (this one was taken with my cell phone . . . )

 

WILLIAM is hilarious and never ceases to amaze us with the things that he says.  Today, he was able to use my mom’s phone to redial and call Bumpa and you would have thought he won a million dollars!  He COULD NOT believe his accomplishment, and he was quite proud of himself!  Poor Bumpa didn’t get to talk to William because W was so thrilled he wasn’t holding the phone to his ear.  It was really cute to see!  At their 2 year old check up today, William thought he was quite hilarious and told the doctor that she was stinky (we had been talking about stinky pigs) . . . what a hoot!  He will also tell you that he just turned 3—you have to watch this one!

W playing peek a boo with his stacking ring in hand!

Giving Thanks!

Before updating y’all on the boys’ big birthday, we have to rewind for a second and talk about Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful first Thanksgiving as a family of five. The week of Thanksgiving we put together a Thankfulness Tree and we talked each night about the things for which we are thankful to Jesus. The first two were “anmals” and “milk” . . . and "Baby Anna" quickly followed. It was so sweet and fun to hear what the boys had to say, and it was a sweet little time together as a family! I am pretty certain that we could have filled up the entire house with tiny hands and the names of things we’re thankful for! Our family, our health, and the freedom and FULLNESS we have in Jesus are some of the top things for which we are grateful this year!

Our littlest Turkey had a lovely Thanksgiving! We started out the celebration at Aunt Mary and Uncle Tommy’s house (of which I have zero pictures . .. whoops)

Then we headed to Staunton for Thanksgiving with the Reppards at Aunt Courtney’s house! She is quite the hostess, and we all had a great time!

Someone was thrilled to NOT be taking a family picture!

And after a day without naps, our big turkeys conked out for the car ride home. So sweet! {And, yes, Hudson has a UVA paci :)}

We started off our long weekend with a slow morning together (we LOVE our weekends together and were thrilled to have an extra day together!) and lots of rest . . .

Daddy and Anna had some sweet snuggle time together . . .

I have no words to describe the mane on this sweet boy . . .

Oh, my love!

My little big boy!

The boys are very into Richard Scarry books right now. Here Daddy and William are trying to find Goldbug! In other news, we are THANKFUL to report that God is healing William’s eye! The hemangioma is reducing in size, and the glasses seem to be helping his vision. He only wears the patch for about an hour a day now! Hoorah!

Sweet love!

After breakfast, we worked on a project in the boys’ room . . . mommy accidentally ripped the shelf off the wall, so Daddy and his assistants put it back where it belongs! There is nothing like a babe wearing a diaper and a toolbelt (please notice the yellow screw in W’s belt!)! These pictures are just so dear to us!

Helpin’ Helpin’!

These may be some of my very favorites!

Putting the shelf to good use!

***after our lovely morning, Mommy (and Aunt Katie) got the stomach bug . . . the boys spent the next day playing with Bumpa, Uncle Judah, Uncle Bretty, and “uncle” Cousin Charlie! So, the weekend fun resumed a few days later***

We bundled up our babe . . .

. . . and, we put on our cow hats and our tractor coats and did what any farmer would do, we headed to Lowes for our Christmas tree! Can you tell that they are thrilled about this?

I am pretty sure people thought we were crazy with three babies at Lowes in the freezing cold, but we didn’t stay long!

I tried my best to train the boys to say “Umm, that one is okay . . . what about that one?” Over and over again! When we left Lowe’s, Hatch said “Boys, I hope you fall in love one day.” HA HA HA! Hilarious. I may have a slight obsession with trying to find a really big, beautiful tree despite the fact that we have 2 toddlers and a newborn in the house . . .

Moo.

Sniff, sniff!

Moo two!

Prized posession!

We left the store right after the boys saw “man workin’!” “Man sawing!” “MOMMY! MAN SAWING TREE!!!! LOOK MOMMY!!!” It was VERY EXCITING! :)

We’ve taken the stance this year that decorating will happen in tiny shifts of time throughout the month (if ever), so stay tuned, count your many blessings, and be thankful. If you need us to send a small cow your way to remind you how to be thankful, you just let us know!

Oh, MY BABIES!

My sweet boys are turning two tomorrow . . .

Oh, my heart!

{I came across these two pictures of these bald round faced babes from when the boys were 7 months old! The CHUB! I love it!}

And, these are a few of Old McDonald’s Farm and EI EI O . . . Hudson put the cow in his mouth for added barnyard effect . . .

How is it that my tiny babies are turning two? These past two years have been so amazing . . . it makes me want to cry to think about the many ways in which we have been so very richly and fully blessed. Please, Lord, help us remember these days! And, I never EVER would have imagined that I would be singing Happy Birthday to them on their 2nd birthday with their baby sis in my arms. Oh, what joy!

OH, MY HEART!

Night!

I am so tired, we must go to bed, but first I wanted to give you a teaser picture of things to come, and share a few quick thoughts before they leave my sleepy brain . . .

• Anna Kathryn is now 6 weeks old and 11 pounds!  She is growing so quickly and such a JOY to us.  If you suddenly stop hearing from me, it is because I am holding my baby and staring at her.  OH I LOVE IT!  She is smiling a lot now, and it melts my heart.  The other night, she looked right at Hudson and gave him a big, sweet grin, and he leaned right in and kissed her on the nose!  (despite our only-kiss-toes-rule . . . it was like he could not help himself!)  It was precious!  And, of course, Little Miss has given her father some very sweet smiles . . . she still loves looking his way!

 

• William has started to proclaim that he loves everyone in our family by name:  I love you Daddy.  I love Anna.  I love Hudson.  I love Mommy!  And, the other night, he said “I love Jesus.”  Daddy, “Jesus love Daddy.”  It was such a sweet picture of his heart!

 

• William and Hudson had their first public performance today at our bible study.  Together with the 2, 3 and 4 year olds, they “sang” several songs for the Mommies.  By “sang,” I mean that William went back and forth from the stage to the teacher’s lap, and Hudson sat on the steps (everyone else was standing!) and looked around.  It was hysterical!

 

• The boys are doing a great job of sharing and trading toys with each other.  It is so cute!  They are playing well together and staring to “pretend” and play in different ways than before.  It is so fun to watch Hudson pretend to gobble up fake food or William pretend and imagine things!  Oh, how I love these big boys!  (They turn TWO (2!!!) on Thursday, you know!  AH!)

My baby is crying . . . it’s time for bed.  More to come on Anna’s first Thanksgiving . . .

One More . . .

Sugie snapped this one her cell phone on Anna’s One Month Birthday, so I just had to include it!  I forgot to mention that Miss Anna is in the 75% for her weight (which is so encouraging since she lost so much at the beginning!), she loves to stare at her Daddy, spit out her paci so her adorable, doting, paci-loving brothers come to her immediate rescue, and snuggle her mama.  Anna Kathryn is such a JOY to us all!  We adore her and love her so very much!  What a sweet blessing she is to us!

One Month and Visitors!

Little Miss Anna turned one month old yesterday!  Oh my, it is happening . . . time is flying past us and our babies are growing!  I’ve decided to describe our lives as we know it as joyful chaos.  We are having so much fun and loving this time so much, but it is WILD.  WILD!  Two almost two year olds and a new born make our lives and our days very full, and we sleep hard (even if just in few hour stretches). 

Anna weighed in today at 10lbs, 1 ounce!  And, in honor of her bday, she gave us a good ole stretch of sleep last night.  Horrah!  Her cheeks are quite chubby and perfect for smooching, although her brothers still have to follow orders to kiss her tootsies instead!  We love our little lady so much!  She is a great little eater and learning to love to sleep (like her mama).  In honor of her birthday, Nonna came to town and we dressed little miss up for her big day!

Snuggle time with Nonna! Please excuse her in her slip!

It’s her party . . .  

Miss Anna had some snuggle time with Sugie last week, too!

Sugie is holding Anna in the chair that she rocked me in as a baby! I love these cheeks!Oh, Beauty!

We have had so many fun visitors come to play with Hudson and William and meet Little Miss!  (note:  getting two almost-two year olds to smile at one time is nearly impossible!)  Alison (aka:  Owlie) with the boys!

. . . and Baby Anna!

Sometimes, when we are mixing, things get a little wacky!

Daddy gets all cozy with mama’s moby wrap . . . doing dishes and baby holding all at once!  Yes, we had to have help to figure out how to wrap her up the first time!  

Two weekends ago, Unkie Christopher and Laura (who is now known as LaLa) came for a visit!  We took a family trip to our FAVORITE PLACE . . . to seen An-mals!

Hudson and the “bok boks” . . . chickens!

William peering on . . . 

Mr. Precious (who is ONE, by the way!) joined us, too!

 

BAAA!

 

We LOVE the peacock!

Charlie and his mama

Daddy and his boys

Uncle J and Hudson did some good runnin’

William enjoying the petting zoo . . . 

And, more runnin’ . . .

. . . and picking flowers 

flowers for sissy . . . 

hanging on and keeping watch . . . 

This is one of my new favorites . . . Hud and Unkie Criferfer!

The gang minus mama!  I love that everyone is holding someone else’s baby here (minus Hatch, who has velcro baby with him)

And, with mama . . . 

More fun to come soon!