Trucks, Cars and Big City Weekends

        

     

Angela here!  We've had a busy couple weeks lately.  Hudson has been enjoying cruising the neighborhood lately in his new cars and trucks.  The blue car seems to be a family favorite!  Huddy has two cup holders, one for veggie straws and one for water.  Then there is a cup holder up top by the handle for the parent.  Genius!  It's the simple things in life that count :)

The yellow Hummer was actually junked and in the trash.  So Chris pulled out his big-city-Chicago-style-dumpster-diving skills and scooped it right up for his son.  Usually I'm appalled when he does this, but all the car needed was a new battery.  And it doesn't go in reverse, but that didn't stop the kiddos from enjoying it.  Cousin Anderson attempted to drive Hudson around, but his steering was a little off and he would just floor the gas pedal.  So I jumped on back took them for a spin....

Hudson also got a new chair from Lolly and Pop.  But instead of sitting in it, he runs full force and plows right into it.  Then he belly laughs because he thinks he is just so funny.  Then he'll run around to the back of the chair and knock it over.  Hilarious stuff people.

 

Below is Hudson's new favorite spot to hang when I'm getting ready in the morning.  Yes, he has his own chair in almost every room, but that is not good enough for my son.  He likes to take over everyone's stuff, even the pets.  He grabbed a toy and just plopped down in the dog bed.  He was so content, I just left him there while I finished getting ready.  Poor Penny Lane had to lay on the floor next to him.

    

 

Chris and I were in Chicago last weekend for a wedding.  Which meant Huddy was in the care of LollyPops.  Which meant Hudson got lots of play dates with Anderson.  We got to see friends and also celebrate a fabulous couple and their wedding day.  Hudson and Anderson and becoming forever best buds.  They now get excited to see one another and always have a smile on their face when they're together.  It's really cute to watch these two boys!

Now the pictures below are not of Huddy but I still had to share.  After the wedding and festivities in Chicago, Chris was a mission to find a particular picture he found on Etsy (yes, Chris knows all about Etsy).  It was a train stop pic, but it was ridiculously expensive and he knew exactly where the stairs were.  So on Sunday, we ran up and down Wabash Avenue snapping shots and I think I got a good one.

We're decorating the dining room in tribute to our old stomping grounds, so I snapped this one too.  For an amateur photographer, I thought these two would look nice as big canvases.

Now this is what happens when you let Chris drive in the big city.  Remember, he always took the train when we lived there, so he was not familiar with big city driving.  While I was out taking photos, Chris drove over some cones and managed to get one stuck in his car.  And somehow, he managed to twist the story to make it my fault...even though I wasn't even in the car!  As he was pulling the cone out,  I snapped some pictures as evidence and proof that he is a terrible driver.

Notice how the cones are on the OTHER side of the street.  I will definitely be teaching my son how to drive when he turns 16.

And that is how we ended our adult-weekend in Chicago!

Drive safe everyone...Chris is out on the road today :)

Hudson is ONE!

Angela here! It was another exciting week at the Kemp household.  Hudson is officially ONE!  We started off the weekend with the Dorothy Lane Market Diaper Dash.  Chris took Hudson to "compete" while Shannon and I got ready for the superhero party.  Kiddos had to race and crawl to the finish line; first one there got a gift card, diapers, a goody bag and bragging rights.  Standing equaled disqualification and Chris was on a mission to make his son crawl to victory.  And according to Chris, LOLLY was the reason Huddy came in second (so close).  Apparently, LOLLY did not pick him up quick enough at the end.  Nothing is ever Hudson's fault.  But we still got a $20 gift card, a goody bag and a cute DLM bib with a bow tie on it.

After nap time Saturday, I had two Superman heroes running around the house before guests arrived.  Cousin Anderson knew his cape was the coolest thing ever, thus Hudson thought it was the coolest thing ever as well.

We had a great turnout of guests and kids.  We grilled out hot dogs, brats and burgers.  We had a roller coaster, a jump-o-lene, a motorized train and a pool of balls...the kids were in heaven!  When it came time to smash the cake, Hudson was not amused at the dinky (ie. ginormous) cupcake in front of him.  He actually looked appalled.  But once he remembered this was his THIRD cake, he dove in like a pro. 

Cake was everywhere...he smeared it all over his outfit, he flung it across the grass and smashed it on the highchair and rubbed it in ever crevasse he could find on his face.  It was really cute to watch! 

After a bath and outfit change from Aunt Shannon, Huddy opened gifts with the help of girlfriend Stella, neighbor Emma and cousin Anderson.  Such good teamwork.

He would examine every gift in a very serious and thoughtful manner before he deemed the gift a successful one.  Each and every gift was a success.

Girlfriend Stella loved Huddy's new blue car! It was a good time for everyone.

Auntie Lauren was the only lap Hudson would sit on to finish his milk.  She's got a good lap; the milk was gone in no time!

Hudson had his one year check up this week too.  And that meant shots and a fussy, sleepless night, but he seemed to bounce back today.  He's 75th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height.  One growing boy!

                    

  

I got a little emotional looking back on all his "stat" pictures.  Crazy how much can change in a year.  We quit our jobs, relocated to Ohio, lived in a basement WAY too long and now are finally settling in to a new home and a new routine.  Our boy is happy and healthy; we can't complain.

                  

Love that last picture...just makes me laugh!

Have a good week everyone!

Cookouts and Pool Parties

Angela here (one day I will make Chris write on this blog again, he's been a total cop out lately).  Anyways, we had a great holiday weekend.  My family came in town and were our first official visitors in our new house!  And we finally have a home that's big enough for everyone to stay at.  Granted, there were air mattresses involved, but it was nice to have everyone under one roof.  We celebrated four birthdays - my dad, my brother, my uncle and Hudson.  The weather was great so we had a cookout and enjoyed the backyard.

The July birthday boys! What a great month to celebrate!

Lucky for Aunt Sam....she's small enough to fit at the kid table.

The kiddos were obsessed with the toy train.  Cousin Hannah had to monitor turn-taking because the boys would try and jump on it at the same time.

Cousin Nate is the cutest baby ever.  He's 18 months old and has perfected his smile for the camera and can even "cheese" on cue.  It made taking pictures much more fun.  And those curls....

Hannah was the perfect cousin.  She helped Hudson open all his gifts....and then played with them first to make sure they were "ok" to use.

Huddy got a shopping cart and "food" for his birthday.  Again, they were obsessed with pushing it around everywhere.  He's going to be a great helper at the grocery when he gets a little older.

               
                







  

On Saturday, we went to our neighborhood pool.  There were free burgers, brats, Jimmy Johns, snow cones, popcorn, a DJ, raffles, bounce-houses...you name it, it was there!  A perfect scenario for the kiddos. 

The Bockelmans even joined in on some fun with us!   Baby Claire out-shined everyone in her fabulous swim gear.  Hudson thought her hat was funny and liked to poke it.  And cousin Anderson was in paradise with the endless amounts of snow cones.

 Hudson even got to experience the "big boy" pool with his new flotation device.  He enjoyed splashing himself with the water that would pool inside the floatie-thing.  He is one lucky boy to have such amazing family and it has been so great to live close to everyone.  We are definitely blessed.

Hope everyone has a sunny, fun-filled week!  

We have one party down and one more to go!!!