TWO! TWO!! TWO!!!

{Note:  Take a seat.  This one is LONG.}

Somehow, our little babies, Hudson and William, have turned TWO!  Hatch and I reminisced about where we were two years ago (I only cried about them turning 2 once . . . until I wrote this!) . . . waiting to hear if the doctor was going to send me down to Labor and Delivery (he did!); hearing our boys’ first, hearty cries; and, being able to hold them close after praying for them and anticipating their sweet arrival for so long! 

Watching our babies grow into little boys over the last year has been such a fun, joyful time for us as parents.  We’ve seen them learn to walk . . . and run; start to really talk . . . and talk, and talk, and talk; learn to share, learn to say they are sorry; learn to sing songs . . . sometimes to each other, sometimes to Jesus, sometimes to themselves; learn to eat . . . and refuse food, and throw food, and clean up food; learn to do things on their own . . . like climb in their chairs, getting out their coats, throw things in the trash, help mommy bake and help daddy build;  we’ve seen them get excited about what they love . . . animals, trucks, digging, helpin’ daddy, and snow; and, we have seen them do a great job a loving each other, becoming Big Brothers, and celebrating the people who love them.  Hudson and William are truly wonderful little men, and we are so thankful to call them our sweet boys (and sons)!  It cannot go without mentioning that we have seen Jesus heal William’s eye as well . . . we are so thankful!

Celebrating their second birthday was a blast!  We loved seeing the boys as they grasped the idea that it was, in fact, their birthday!  We wanted them to feel special and well loved, and I think we succeeded!  We are still working on teaching them that they are two.  When you ask them, they normally say “one” . . . and then, “three,” and then they laugh hysterically!  

We began the celebrating at breakfast with Birthday Blueberry Muffins!  Candles, Party Hats, and All!

Some elves came and did some little decorating!

Our sweet, caring, big boy, Hudson!

Our sweet, talkative, hilarious William!

Sugie was my helper on their big day, so she tried to encourage William to get into the Bday spirit!

Little Miss was happy to snooze through the breakfast fiesta!

That night, we had a pizza dinner for the boys!  Uncle Bretty showed up with stickers, a TON of balloons, and dinosaurs!  It was SO FUN!

Cousin Char-dee and Auntie Katie were there too!

The boys are not huge fans of cake, but they LOVE cookies!  So, we made them these cookie “cakes”!  

Unkie Cris-fer-fer and La La joined us via video chat!

Hudson was thrilled to see them on the computer!

Cookie time!

 

Enjoying their sweets . . . 

And, enjoying their treats!  What cute firemen!  ha ha!

These boys really got the hang of opening presents!  They were spoiled rotten!  :)

Hudsey got one last snuggle with Auntie Katie before bed!

 

We had a little “cousin’s party” for the boys, too!  It was so sweet watching them as everyone sang to them . . . I don’t think they realized it was their birthday until we sang their names!  Precious!

  

Miss Anna Kate got all dressed up for the occasion, of course!

And, we served the boys’ favorite foods . . . hot dogs, chips, and cake! (Uncle Bretty was the grill master!)

Cousins Shawn Thomas and Jack were deep in discussion about birthdays . . . 

Sweet Birthday boy!   

The Birthday Boy enjoying his cake . . . and, of course, his Daddy’s lap!

Cheeser!  (He will say cheese and smile, but still not look at the camera!)

Mommy and Anna served the cake . . . 

The big cousins had a blast too . . .  

Mr. P loved to celebrate his big cousins!

Aunt Katie snagged a few more snuggles . . .

And, Mommy and Anna cheered on the boys as they unwrapped their gifts!

We are so grateful for everyone’s generosity to our little men!

Nana got some snuggles from Miss Anna . . . 

Before heading home for naps, we tried to get a few group shots . . . it was wild!

Please look at Hudson’s face in these next few . . . so dear!

We even tried a few with Uncle J . . .  

The boys headed home for naps with Daddy, so Mommy and Anna had some sweet time together! 

I love this one!

Baby Charlie came to Anna’s rescue before we headed home . . .

All in all, it was a very special time of celebrating for two sweet, sweet boys!

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!