Boone Family Reunion

Angela here!  We survived a fun and crazy trip to Gatlinburg last week with 22 of Chris' nearest and dearest relatives.  He has family in both Florida and Colorado and this was the second year of the Boone Reunion - with DeeDee being the matriarch of the group.  We had a great start to the vacation with Hudson and Adley leaving us speechless on the car ride down.  Perfect doesn't even describe their behavior.  Adley took a two hour nap followed by a three hour nap.  I even had to do the pinch-her-nose-to-make-sure-she's-breathing technique because she was being so quiet.  Hudson looked out the window and "counted trees" for the first two hours before I gave him the iPad.  I told him the iPad was charging and he actually believed me.  I'm praying his innocence lasts a very long time.

Everyone filtered in last Wednesday and we all stayed under one roof in a beautiful cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains.  There were eight little tikes, all under the age of five, all excited to see their Great Grandma DeeDee.  Hudson is the youngest boy and Adley is the youngest girl of the cousins and Hud was so excited to spend endless amounts of time with the big kids.  He followed them everywhere.  If they laughed, he tried to laugh louder.  If they ran, he tried to run just as fast.  He even skipped naps.  This made for a rough first day of vacation for him, as he tried to adjust to the hectic schedule.  We all went for a hike in the woods on Thursday and he had a meltdown.  He couldn't run or play or pick up sticks for his "treasure bag."  All he wanted was for mommy to hold him.  Poor guy was pitiful.  But pitiful always makes for a good picture! 

Chris kept wanting to "Michael Jackson" my baby girl by holding her near creeks, rocks or bridges.   He always says she "needs a better view," and no injuries have occurred (yet), but I quickly go into mommy-panic mode when he takes Adley on an "adventure."  Luckily, I had a slew of mommas helping me regulate all three of my children.

There were endless activities planned for the kids....water guns, bubbles, bath time finger painting and glow sticks just to name a few.  They loved each and every activity.  And seeing them all congregate together was actually entertaining.  Each child had a unique personality and it was sweet to see them interact with one another.  Except for the meltdowns, crying and whining moments; those were not sweet.  Those moment were loud and happened often, but thankfully they were short-lived.

Aidan, Claire, Anderson, Wesley, Hudson, Aubrey and Emery (Baby Adley was napping)

Squirt gun pic below. The kids loveeeed shooting each other and the adults.  But once they got wet themselves, they cried and fell apart.  It was hilarious to watch (thanks to the glass of wine keeping me company!).

Hudson was a good big brother on the trip.  He was very protective of Adley and always made sure she was happy.  When another cousin got close to her, he would quickly run up and put himself between the two and shout, "That's my Baby Adley!"  He's good at sharing, as long as it's not his little sister.  And notice his gentle technique with holding her....

Bath time is always a fun time...

On Friday we headed to downtown Gatlinburg for putt-putt, mirror mazes and a cable car ride to the top of the mountain.  At the top was a mini amusement park and a playground that the kids got to enjoy.

On Saturday we traveled into Pigeon Forge, which I thought was much more kid-friendly for the age group we were herding around.  The kiddos had a ton of fun on different rides and enjoyed the sites.  We even did a family ride on the Ferris Wheel.

Hudson got a "horsey ride" on the carousel with his daddy.  He loved it so much we had to do it again.  I'm amazed that he's still obsessed with horses.  I'm going to have to put him in riding lessons once he gets older.

Once Adley woke up, she loved all the excitement as well.  She took over an hour nap in the stroller.  I can't help but to say she was again...perfect!  I keep telling Chris she's saving all her non-perfect moments for her pre-teens years.  I'm anticipating a total diva in about a decade, so I'm soaking up all her sweetness now while it lasts.  

The final evening of the trip consisted of a photo shoot.  Surprisingly, the kids did very well (Claire had a few "moments," but again, those make for funny photos).

DeeDee with all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Claire and her "moment".....

The entire crew!

And Hudson ended the day by playing with stamps...

It was a great trip and I feel blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people that love and care for one another.  I'm hoping we can continue the tradition.  And if I get a vote on the location next year...I pick Turks and Caicos!!

My Poor Babies are Finally on the Mend

Angela here!  At last, it is here!!  Ohio has warm weather!  It snowed two weeks ago, but this weekend will be sunny and 70 degrees.  And our crew is ready for some outdoor fun.  Hudson starts soccer practice soon and we are getting him pumped and excited to play.  He now has his very own ball that he carries all around the house with him.  When he eats, the ball has to sit next to his plate of food.  As soon as he wakes up, he'll inquire "Where my soccer ball mama?"  He also got a helmet and we plan on getting out the bike and scooter soon.  He's mildly accident-prone, so I'm hoping those plastic spikes soften his falls.

Hudson had a play date with Miss Stella the other week.  These two are soooo cute together, and completely opposite.  Stella is sweet, quiet, polite and calm.  Hudson is a roaring bulldozer with screaming music in the background.  But they surprisingly play well together.  After Stella left, Hudson was on repeat for days: "Where Stella go?  I looooovee Stella!"

We've also been dealing with rashes, limps, 3 doctor visits and almost 4 days off school between my two children.  If you remember in my last post around Easter, Hudson had these funky bumps around his mouth.  Well the bumps were also on his knees, arms, butt and legs.  He never had a fever or complained, so I diagnosed him with a mild case of hand-foot-mouth disease.  After some Tylenol and a couple days, he was good as new.  Well, speed forward to this week, he woke up one morning with a limp!  He would not bear weight on his right leg.  No trauma, no injury, just a painless limp.  Total freak-out moment for this mama.  All my medical knowledge went out the window and I quickly assumed he had a spinal tumor and would need radiation.  Ha!  But here a pic from Easter when he first had the bumps on his face...

So we took him to the doctor and he was diagnosed with Transient Synovitis.  Apparently this is common in boys; the virus later causes a flare-up in the hip joint that results in a painless limp.  After more doses of Tylenol and Ibuprofen and three days later, Hudson is back to normal.  But I was so fearful and panicky in the beginning.  Here is a video of him limping, it was so sad!  My rough and tough boy never complains...

https://youtu.be/KQJ-vOCNfJw

Then came Miss Adley and another bad rash.  Now her rash started last week around her face and slowly became more red and irritated.  At first we thought it was from her pacifier, but it kept getting more raw and painful.  She looked awful and felt miserable.  It almost began to look like a chemical burn.  And the crazy thing about it, there were FIVE babies in her classroom had the same exact rash!  So we took her into the doctor and she was diagnosed with a contact allergic reaction.  So we assumed it was something in the daycare cleaning products.  BUT, the other babies were all diagnosed with something different...strep, a viral infection, eczema, and one with a combo of impetigo and contact allergic reaction.  Another frustrating moment.  We took her back to the doctor just to confirm her ailment, and they again said it was some type of allergic reaction to something she's chewing on.  So we kept her home for the most of the week and her rash is healing.  These are the "good" pictures of her rash mid-week.  You'll have to scroll through my phone to see the bad ones...they're TERRIBLE!

After an entire week, my baby girl is on the mend, back to her perky self and ready to be exposed to the public again.  Daycare has since changed detergents and is re-sterilizing their cleaning system and dumping the old products.  So fingers crossed we will be rash-free next week.

 The best pictures yet of my little princess today.  Great improvement!

And Adley is finally big enough to take a bath with Hudson, which has made Hudson ever so excited to have more quality time with his little sis.  He is such a good big brother.  He will show her how to play with toys, help bathe her and pick out clothes and diapers for her.

 We're gearing up for Gatlinburg next week for the Boone Family Reunion.  Eighteen adults along with eight children under the age of five!  We should definitely have some interesting (insert: crazy and chaotic) stories for the next blog post.  We've been teaching Hudson all about his extended family.  Here's a cute video of him telling us what he's going to do when he sees Aunt Missy and DeeDee...

https://youtu.be/vzsiOKu0YyI

Hope everyone has a great weekend!