Painting Pumpkins

This morning was so wonderful. It was cool and so pleasant outside. For the first time since fall actually started, it's felt like fall. It's been really hard to get excited about pumpkin patches and long sleeved shirts because quite frankly it's too stinkin hot. This morning we spent a lot of time outside at the park, playing and walking the trails. The boys loved it and I wasn't constantly looking at my watch to see how long we had been there (I used to do that in the summer when it was so hot that 5 minutes felt like 2 hours!) After that, we came home and decided to paint some pumpkins for our front porch. This was a messy little project but we had fun.

Cooper was way more interested in trying to eat the paint then decorating his pumpkin. Let's pray that the word non-toxic really means what it says because he did manage to get a few fingers in his mouth.

Hudson's masterpiece
Cooper's pumpkinMy pumpkin with the help of Cooper...the random white mark around the mouth is proof!

Cooper had paint from head to toe- literally. Needless to say, a bath was in order as soon as we got in. We had a great time and look forward to many more wonderful autumn days!

Books, Books, and more Books

These days, Cooper is all about books! He loves to be read to- it doesn't matter what time of the day it is. Sometimes if he get fussy I can say "want to read some books" and he will run right towards his room. Other times he will get a book from his room and bring it to me, even if I'm in the kitchen cooking dinner. This thrills me because I too have a love for books. My mom once told me that I brought home a Scholast*c book order and she told me to go and circle the ones I wanted. I came back with almost all of them circled! I couldn't get my hands on enough books when I was young. I suppose that love for books is what led me to become a teacher and then on to become a reading specialist. My passion was to help and teach students that were struggling with this and to teach them to LOVE to read. So, there is no sweeter sight then my little monkey walking towards me with a book in hand. Now granted, you better be a wonderful storyteller- with creative voices and all- or this little monk will lose interest and want down.

I was thinking the other day that I needed to make the blog fair by adding a pic of Cooper's toes......mosquito bite and all. He's almost 19 months and it's amazing that he sat still long enough for me to take this shot!

You know you are really old when.........

.......the highlight of your week is your new salad spinner. My mom got one of these a few weeks ago and she kept telling me how great it is. I love salad but I don't like the process of making one. I typically would tear my pieces into a large colander and rinse. Then I would pat it dry with a million paper towels because I can't stand wet lettuce. So, yesterday my mom and I had some time to kill while Hudson was at Nature School. We ran into Bed Bath & B*yond and she bought me one. Hudson bugged me all night about it. He wanted to get it out and play with it. So finally today, after a quick trip to the store for tonight's dinner list we decided to give it a try.


I tore the pieces up and rinsed it and then I let Hudson do the pulling. You just pull the cord and it spins all of the water out into the bowl. It's super cool. Like I said, you know you are old when this gets you excited!

Hudson's highlight this week (other than the salad spinner of course!) has been his new nightlight. He's been eyeing this for a few weeks now at the store inside his Nature School. These are the cutest things. They are made of stained glass and you can switch them out during the year. They have a turkey, a snowman, and many others to go along with the different holidays and seasons. Now that we have the nightlight we can just get a new piece as the months pass. He will look forward to changing them out. Last night, he slept with it in his room but today we had to move it because Cooper kept bothering it. I'm afraid he may break it since it's fragile so we will enjoy it in our kitchen for a while.

Muddy Puddles

Our neighbors had a leak in their sprinkler system so this caused a huge puddle on their sidewalk. Leave it up to my boys to find it. They had a great time splashing around and getting wet.

Hudson and our neighbor, Wyatt

Going back for more
Um, I think we have a problem.......after a while, gravity ended up winning!

Squishy mud!

Peek-a-boo

This boy must be going through a growth spurt. He wants to eat all the time! In fact, many times a day he will walk over to the pantry and just start beating on the doors. His expanding belly proves that he doesn't miss any meals around here!

Nothing New Around Here

Well, I feel the need to post something but I don't really have anything that is post-worthy. We have been really busy but for some reason I have not taken any pictures in the last week so I don't even have those to put up. I'm certainly not winning mother of the year these days!!

I'm happy to report that Hudson is absolutely in Heaven at his new school- or I guess I should say, his old school. He was welcomed with open arms by two wonderful teachers. He was very nervous at first but when I went to pick him up the teacher told me that when they were cleaning up and getting ready to leave, Hudson said, "already???" That was a great sign to me! On the way home he was asking if he gets to go back tomorrow so again, another sign that this is where he needs to be. You would not believe all the wonderful projects and things that already came home. They are so incredibly organized and creative over there.

Jason went hunting this past weekend with his dad. He was so excited since he has not been hunting in a long time. He also doesn't get any one-on-one time with his dad so he was even more excited about that. He purchased some new boots and hunting attire and he really pulled out the chick card when he tried them on multiple times and kept asking me how he looked. Too funny! I'm less than impressed with the 17 dove sitting in my deep freezer but hey, we've got to sacrifice a little for those we love, right?

My friend Laurie sent me a cute link to a very funny song about being a mommy. I will leave you with this. I hope everyone has a wonderful day! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_oc1j5NakY

Boys Boys

These days, Cooper wants to be outside ALL the time. I guess it's good for me that it hasn't been quite so hot lately. Jason is almost finished with the swing set.....the slide requires cement and metal posts so that will take a bit longer. The boys love having the swings and the fort at the top to play around on. Cooper loves to walk, crawl and run through the dirt. This boy could care less if he is messy or not. Dig, Dig, Dig
This face is the one we get when things are not going his way. It's almost a joke now....I will make this face too and this gets Hudson to laugh and forget about what he was wanting. We call it his "max" face (long story) He was in a silly mood today and I asked him to give our readers a sneak peek at this expression.Hudson's stubby toes! I just never know when I may want to look back at his toes from age 4.
Do you think Cooper is ready to come back inside?Many times during the day we have to do a quick clean-up of our hands and feet.......almost like a sponge b*th to get the dirt off. It's not worth my while to give them a full b*th because in a couple of hours they are ready to go back outside and do it all over again.

Again, acting silly and talking to his "friend" in the mirror. He said, "mom, take a picture of me!"

Update: I want to thank everyone that has called or emailed me to tell me that they are thinking of us during this whole preschool ordeal. I appreciate all the prayers and advice that were given to us. The more I thought about the way the teacher acted on Tuesday (and the other times I have seen her) I decided that this is not the place for us. On Wednesday, I called the director from the preschool he attended last year to see if they had an opening in the 4's class. She said yes and I was so relieved! I took Hudson yesterday to look around and meet his teacher. He saw many familiar faces (kids and teachers) and the minute I walked into the building I felt peace and I knew this was his place. Some have asked why we switched- well, this new one was much closer to home and I thought these may be some of the kids that he will go to kindergarten with next year. I was spending almost an hour (about 25-30 min each way) in the car last year. Well, after what we have gone through the last 3 weeks, I have realized that it is WORTH every mile to attend the school from last year. The teachers are so warm and friendly, the director is so awesome and organized, you can hear children laughing and learning, they are great at communicating with you........and these were things that the other place just didn't have. Hudson will start on Tuesday and we are all very excited about this! Thank you again for praying for us. It's so hard to see your child unhappy and to have that gut feeling that things are not right. This is his last year of preschool and this is setting the stage for how he views school. I know we will have an awesome year!

18 Month Check-Up

Today, Cooper had his 18 month check-up with Dr. K. He got 4 shots and was not happy about that one bit! He is 33 3/4 inches long and 27.3 pounds. What a big boy!!

Although Dr. K got him to laugh and giggle, I could not get him to sit still long enough to smile for the camera. He loved spinning around in the swivel chair.

Cooper loves to be chased and he squeals when you catch him. He likes to play peek-a-boo around the island in our kitchen. Nothing better than hearing this boy laugh!

Cooper is not as interested in coloring as he is in eating the crayons!

Just hanging out, watching some Baby Einstein. Good times.

Hudson had another day at preschool today. We've had a rough start.....okay, maybe not rough but I've been less than impressed with where he is going. They are just now getting a monthly calendar out and all communication is up to the individual teacher. That wouldn't be a problem if his teacher had not gone on a cruise last week (yes, during the second week of preschool) so I have not had a chance to really talk with her. The preschool H attended last year was awesome- we loved the teachers, the director, the communication,.....all of it. Hudson's teacher this year is not warm or fuzzy and I firmly believe that sets the tone for him. I pray all the time that Hudson will be placed in a loving classroom with a very patient teacher. He is not the typical kid. He likes very unusual things- things that tend to be more advanced than his years and it takes someone special to embrace that. I know because it's hard for me at times and I'm his mom. I think sometimes adults don't know how to handle or challenge him so they get annoyed instead of taking the time to figure out what will cause him to blossom. I'm so very afraid that his teacher may not be the best match for him. I may be wrong but it's just a gut feeling. Today was the first time I really had a small conversation with her. The first week was crazy and I didn't want to be that parent that wants a conference the first day. I could tell that she was overwhelmed (retired teacher but first year at this preschool) so I just introduced myself and walked out. Pretty much the same on the second day and then I found out that she was going to be gone the next week. When I went to pick him up today, she followed behind him and came over to me and said "I am sending some work home with Hudson that you will need to look at and have him finish." Okay......so I was curious- did he mess around and not finish or did they just run out of time? She said "he didn't finish. He's going to get very far behind with his work if he doesn't learn to follow directions." Okay.....now my heart is sinking. Is he being labeled as that kid? I told her that we would finish it at home and that I would talk to him about paying attention and following directions. Although most of the material that has been sent home so far is not new for him (he learned it about 3 years ago) I do still expect him to obey and follow directions. She never one time followed up by saying something nice about him. So, is he sweet while in class? Is he a good helper? Is he a friend? I walked away wanting to cry because I felt very defensive. One of the first things I learned as a teacher is that when telling a parent about a weakness with their child you MUST also tell them something positive as well. We all know that our kids aren't perfect. But they are still ours and it would be nice if she could have at least told me something good or something that she liked about him. Maybe I'm over analyzing the situation or taking it too personally. I often joke about how Hudson is "different" but I think it's also my way of dealing with the fact that I'm nervous about how others may perceive him. I just want the best for him.