Family Reunion and Peaceful Goodbyes

Angela here!  Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter with friends and family!  We enjoyed a long holiday weekend in the mountains of Chattanooga with 20 of our closest loved ones.  It was a weekend of child chaos nonetheless, but the best chaos one could ask for.  There was always a child laughing (or crying), smiling (or whining) or being super cute (or somewhat of a terror). With seven children age four and under, there was never a dull moment.  But honestly, everyone had a blast, which is what it's all about.  I do believe, however, that the adults (at least the mama's) will be recuperating this week.  

Half of Chris' family lives in Florida so we all traveled to this gorgeous cabin...

And I had to lock my baby indoors a couple times because I feared he would throw himself off a balcony or a cliff.  He's used to running into walls, and this place had minimal wall space for him to crash in to.  He was not happy about that.

The weekend was spent with a beautiful group of people.  I feel honored to be a part of their family and I am blessed that Hudson is surrounded by so many people who care about him.

The whole crew!

DeeDee with her seven great-grand-babies!  And yes, these are the best pictures I could get.

 One day we went to the park and let the kids run around.  DeeDee got to spend some quality time with her Ohio great-grand-babies, which was super sweet to watch.

Hudson enjoyed meeting and playing with all of his cousins.  But I think cousin Anderson remains his favorite.  They were inseparable the entire time.

 Aunt Linda brought a bounce house for all the kiddos and it was a smash hit.  Everyday they demanded to bounce.  Which was great for the adults.  It was a device that contained small children and then wore them out for nap time.  Genius.

 I asked Hudson to give me a funny face.  He never disappoints.

 Enjoying some quality horse time...

Each kid received six Easter baskets throughout the weekend!!  The Easter Bunny literally came twice a day.  These children are by no means spoiled rotten.

One gift contained head lights and flash lights.  Best. Present. Ever.

Hudson loved all his toys, trinkets and candy.  Minus the bunny ears.  Hudson does not like bunny ears.

There was even fun bath time...

  Can you tell which children are from Florida and which ones are from Ohio?

And I think Hudson switched his favorite sport from football to lacrosse.  He was obsessed with the stick and ball all weekend.  And he was surprisingly decent for a 20 month old.  He would hold the stick, put the ball in, and then run around screaming.  That's how you play the game, right?

And on a sad note, we recently lost an exquisite, wonderful person.  My Memaw peacefully passed away after 81 years of a beautiful life, full of love and laughter.  We were able to stop in Louisville on our way back and pay our respects to the best grandmother one could have.  My last conversation with her was letting her know she was having a great-grand-daughter.  She always put family first and I truly believe she was holding on to hear the news.  She will be dearly missed.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!  Remember to hug the ones you love!

Baby News and More Injuries

Angela here!  Hudson has been an entertaining kid the past few days.  It's nice to have a little comedian in the house (no Chris - you are not funny).  Hudson's humor reminds me not to take life too seriously and enjoy the small things.  He is still obsessed with the selfie-pic.  I have even gotten him to mimic my expressions!  He dazzled me with how well he did....

And below is my new favorite shirt of Hudson's.  He is still rocking the cloth diapers and I give major props to Chris for being so diligent about cleaning them every week.  It has saved us a ton of money and we're helping keep the Earth a little greener along the way.  My only fear is having two babies in cloth...we may need to start the potty-training process early!

I Wear Cloth to Save the World

Last week made the third week in a row for signing incident reports at daycare.  Another self-inflicted injury so it looks like the biting has stopped.  And he didn't hit the wall this time, so progress?!  He was pushing a truck and then slipped and fell on it.  After this injury, I saved the contact info to Children's Hospital in my phone.  An ER visit may be in my near future.  NOTE: I did NOT put make-up on him to cover his booboo.  He just likes to play with it when I get ready.    

And the latest news.....

Baby #2 is a GIRL!

We are so so excited to know that a little princess is headed our way!  According to the ultrasound, she is already perfect.  All organs, blood flow and measurements were right on track with 20 weeks.  I was so delighted to come home and tell Hudson and then take pictures of him and his new sister.  You know how Pinterest has those fabulous photos of the older sibling holding the ultrasound of baby #2.  Yeahhhhh, those are all photo-shopped.  All lies people!  My child wanted nothing to do with the picture.  This is a classic Pinterest-fail and I just had to share. You can't not laugh at him.  

 He's going to be a great big brother, I promise.

 I think I see a smile....maybe.... 

We are off to Chattanooga this week for a big family reunion with the Kemps.  There will be 16 adults and 7 children under the age of four.  Excited for the crazy chaos we are about to embark on!!  Hope everyone has a wonderful week!  

The post of selfies and new favorites

Angela here!  It's been a low-key couple weeks for the Kemps.  Being pregnant and working full-time can really be exhausting.  Luckily, I have a cute little boy who keeps me laughing.  Hudson has discovered his three favorite foods....bananas, raspberries and pizza.  He wants to eat them everyday.  I am worried for high potassium levels, but Chris says I am being ridiculous.  Below is Huddy showing off his new shoes and green gear for St. Patty's Day.  Oh, and a banana.  Seriously, he eats two a day!

Notice how most of these pictures are in selfie-mode.  Hudson refuses to "cheese" for the camera unless he can gaze at himself first.  He has to screen every photo and even demands watching any video I take.  He is very proud of himself.

And what kid doesn't love a good slice of pizza.  It makes him soooo happy.

And let's not forget his raspberries.  He started this weird thing where he enjoys smearing food on his forehead.  Not sure where he picked up on this, but it makes us laugh.  And he enjoys it as well, until he realizes it's stuck to his head.  Funny kid.

 I picked Hudson up from daycare this week and discovered my child ran into a wall.  Yes, a wall!  Those daycare walls are apparently difficult to see sometimes.  I had to fill out an incident report since his right eye was swollen.  Last week, I was also filling out incident reports, but it was because he was biting other children.  At least he is only inflicting pain on himself this week.  This is what I call progress.

When we got home, only Elmo could make his booboo better.  And anytime Huddy injures himself, or makes a mess, or catches one of the pets doing something bad, he'll give us an "ohhh mann" and let us know something is wrong.  Again, he's a funny guy...

https://youtu.be/08Yo3GQYqH4

  

 As for bedtime, he must now go to bed with his favorite book, Moo, Bah, La, La, La - one of the many Sandra Boynton books.  And we must read it a minimum of four times and he must physically take it to bed with him.  He will literally cuddle with it every night.  My little bookworm....with a swollen eye.

Happy Thursday everyone!!

Boys and the Boonshoft Museum

Angela here!  Hudson had a fun weekend filled with lots of rambunctious kiddos and activities.  We went to the Boonshoft Museum again, but this time with a different crew.  LolliPops neighbors (K'ma and Bo'Pa) were watching their grandchildren and Hudson could not have been more excited to hang out with the big boys.  I keep saying I birthed my son out of order.  He loves being the little man and tagging along trying to keep up with the chaos of anyone older than him.  It was cute to watch.  The boys had fun with the water toys....

      

 Then they went grocery shopping....

Hudson even "taste tested" some of the plastic fruit.  Have I mentioned yet that boys are gross?

 Then they rode trucks and even ended up in jail...

Hudson was having so much fun he did NOT want to stop and take a pic with daddy :)

Saturday afternoon, we headed over to the Bockelman's for more play time.  And as always,  Hudson and Anderson were slimy and gross and needed a good wash-down by the end of the day.  

Best. Buds.

And then came Sunday and more snow.  Hudson still loves to "help" dad shovel.  But he loves the neighbor's snow blower even more.  We always get a "whoaaa" when he sees snow fly through the air.  He's a funny kid.

Hope everyone has a great week!