North Pole and the Elf

Angela here!  Hope everyone is having a great weekend.  We're keeping it low key as Chris and I have been slammed at work lately.  I feel like we never see each other Monday through Friday.  Nonetheless, Hudson and Adley are in full Christmas mode.  Last weekend we went to visit the North Pole via the LM&M Express in Lebanon, Ohio.  But before we headed off, I had to take a picture of Adley in case she slept through the entire event.  She dazzled the world with a "Santa's Sweetie" pink-sparkled shirt with ruffles everywhere.

Then we jumped on a train with the crew and headed to see Santa!  Hudson was a little timid at first, but quickly warmed up to all the chaos and fun.  Everyone wanted to sit in the best seat on the train, which was apparently Lolly's seat.

The elves stopped by with balloons.  The boys got swords and Claire got a butterfly.  Poor Anderson ended up popping his at the end, which resulted in a flood of tears and screams.  That evening, all Hudson could do was walk around the house with his balloon, saying, "Anderson pop his.  Be careful Mommy, be careful Daddy."

Once we got to the North Pole, there was room to run around outside, grab hot chocolate and cookies and then meet Santa and Mrs. Claus.  There was even a coloring station for the kids to create some art.  Anderson and Adley had no problem meeting Santa.  The other two, well just look at them....I think Claire took it the worst.

 Miss Adley ended up waking from her nap to see all the fun! 

Three happy kiddos....

 The Elf on the Shelf continues to be a big hit in our house.  The Bockelman crew came over one evening for dinner and after bath time, the boys put on their Elf pjs.  Which meant lots of giggles and dancing.

When Hudson woke up that next day, Damien brought him a Star Wars hat and stickers.  Damien has also brought him Tom Brady and Patriots stickers.  Can you guess which parent is supplying Damien with these gifts?  And just a side-note, Hudson did NOT name his elf Damien.  That was Chris and his ridiculous antics last year.  He says he is paying homage to the kid in The Omen.  Yes, the murder/horror movie about the anti-Christ.  Apparently this is funny.  I must have missed the joke, but it is cute when Hud yells out: "Damieeennnn!  There!  Over there!  I found Damien!"

After Damien found out Hudson was a good boy when getting a haircut this week, he brought him bubble bath.  Until recently, Hudson has been deathly afraid of sitting in the barber chair and getting a trim.  But I think Damien has now given him the courage to be a big boy.

 And Miss Adley is finally big enough for the ExerSaucer.  Her feet don't touch the ground, but she loves to swat and play with all the trinkets in front of her.  She has her four month check up next week.  And Hudson continues to be a good big bro and help entertain her.  Whenever she starts to get upset, he'll immediately stop what he's doing and run over to her as he says: "Hold on Addie, I'm comin!  I'm comin."  He then proceeds to shove a toy or paci or blanket in her face which makes everything better. 

 

Cute video of Hudson helping entertain Adley in her new toy.

https://youtu.be/YluMFgc0LO0

And lastly, we're getting ready for the cold Ohio winter (even though it was in the mid 60s this weekend).  Last year Hudson didn't have snow boots.  I pulled the redneck card and put plastic bags over his shoes, which he HATED!  Oh how those plastic bags were loud and scary.  So this year he upgraded to snow boots and could not be more pleased.  He had to wear them all day and point out "My boots, my boots!"  The snow coveralls are currently in transit via Amazon....

Happy holidays everyone!!  Only 13 more days till Santa comes!

Thanksgiving Weekend

 Angela here! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.  We were extremely busy on our end, but it was great to be able to spend time with friends and family over the holiday.  We started off with Thanksgiving dinner at LollyPops house.  Hudson and Adley were all gussied up and were ready to take on the feast and goodies.

You can always get a good smile out of Adley when Pop is around...

Hudson came home from school one day last week after discussing Thanksgiving and learning about the pilgrims and the Indians.  He made this cute little hat and wanted to wear it all evening.

And Miss Adley had to have some outfit changes as well over the holiday (both for cuteness and spit-up purposes).  Shes 3 1/2 months already!  She is now grabbing and shaking rattles and she's smiling all the time.  She's rolled over from belly to back a couple times as well.

Instead of participating in Black Friday, some girlfriends and I decided to get together for the afternoon with our little ones.  We all met up in Cincinnati and had a wonderful afternoon play date.  Hudson couldn't make it because it was during nap time, but Adley got to party hard with some new little friends.

She didn't know what to think of all the chaos...

Miss Adley and Miss Avery...

 Adley and Reid, who is two weeks older than her.

Next up, we had visitors from Texas stop by.  My Uncle Steve, Aunt Kathy and cousins Robert and Patrick Michael came to visit for a bit.  Adley was in shock, can you tell?....

Overall it was a good holiday weekend.  Now it's time to get ready for Santa!  The Elf on the Self (aka Damien), has already made his first appearance and brought Hud Christmas pajamas.  Hudson was terrified at first, at which I really don't blame him.  I wouldn't want someone spying on me 24/7 either.  But he eventually warmed up and got excited about being a good boy so Santa would get good reports every evening.  I think it will be a fun holiday season for us all.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Waffles, Three Months and Football Video

 Angela here!  Hope everyone is having a good week and getting ready for a great upcoming Thanksgiving.  We are anxiously awaiting a fabulous meal at LolliPops house.  Then hopefully we can see some extended family and friends over the long holiday weekend.  In the meantime, I think Chris created a tradition at our household.  Every Saturday morning, Hudson helps his daddy make chocolate chip waffles.  And he has become very vocal about what he wants to do and what Chris is allowed to do.  No one but Hudson is allowed to stir the mix.  And only he can flip and lock the waffle maker.  He does not like his syrup heated and mommy must always sit to his right, daddy to his left.  He needs two cups of milk and Adley must be watching at all times. Oh, and plastic plates are fine, but plastic forks are a no-no.  If he's not given a stainless steel fork, hell freezes over.  Chris seems to have a difficult time meeting all of Hudson's demands and requests.  As for myself, I will happily sit to his right and not heat up his syrup if it prevents a meltdown.  

 

Notice Adley in the background....she doesn't know what to think of her big brother.

My baby girl hit the THREE MONTH mark and she is looking ever so big!  She can sit up in the Bumbo seat, but is not quite ready for the Exer-saucer yet.  She likes to "stand" if you hold her arms and she's smiling all the time.  She still sleeps almost 6 hours through the night and I've even gotten some longer stretches as well!

I only added the picture below to show that there is one Kemp trait that remains strong in my little girl.  Notice Adley sticking out her tongue.  Her tongue rarely remains in her mouth.  Only three other people I know do this...Pop, Anderson and Claire.  So my girl may look like me, but the Kemp genes are slowly revealing themselves.  I just hope she doesn't get all their bad genes :)

With winter approaching, we're getting out all our warm gear.  Adley has been sporting some cool furry boots.....

And with football season in full swing, my house has the two biggest New England Patriot fans that ever existed.  Chris has brainwashed Hudson into becoming obsessed with Tom Brady.  They both yell at the TV and throw a football near every breakable item I own.  I got Hudson an old school helmet at a yard sale and he has become obsessed with that as well.  Only problem is, he always wears it backwards!  He'll put it on, then run around the house like a mad man, which is hilarious to watch.  

He ended up running into the table after I took the photo below.  Again, hilarious.  Just one of the perks of having children...they can be extremely entertaining!

  And the video below is Hudson getting ready for a football game last weekend.  I'm not exaggerating when I say my child has been brainwashed.  

https://youtu.be/WwcZjMRJHGI

Hope everyone has a great weekend and holiday next week!  There is lots to be thankful for!

Halloween

Angela here!  Hope everyone had a great Halloween.  The weather held out here and the kids had a successful night of candy-collecting.  Our house was full of superheros with endless amounts of energy.  Not being biased at all, but I had the most adorable Super Girl and Superman ever.  Hudson is finally at that cute age where he wants to pretend to fly and beat down bad guys.  And sweet Adley gave us some pretty smiles and then went off into dreamland and slept most of the evening.

Anderson and Claire, I mean Batman and Robin, joined in on the fun as well.  The entire crew was ready to protect and save...

After dinner, Lolly, Adley and I stayed back to pass out candy.  Before the kids went out, they were very intrigued about passing out candy.  They happily helped Pop at the door.  Those first trick-or-treaters got A LOT of candy from us.

The evening was definitely a success.  The rain held out, the weather wasn't terribly cold and the kiddos were out for almost 2 hours.

Once back at the house, the energy remained at 100%.  These 3 cuties could not be separated.

And Adley woke up just in time for the chaos to return home.  She is becoming good buddies with Claire.  Claire likes to hold her like a baby doll and Adley doesn't seem to mind.  Which is interesting because when Hudson tries to hold her, she cries.  Those girls gotta stick together.

Sifting through all their goodies.

And the adults had to reload with more pizza and beverages after two hours of running around the neighborhood.

Miss Adley continues to grow and get cuter by the day (again, not being biased.  It's a fact).  She's 12 weeks old now and starting to build her strength by sitting up more and wanting to watch the world.   She's mesmerized by her big bro, who is always in her face showing her some toy or some piece of food.  And she's rolled over a couple times, but I can't decide if it was a purposeful roll or just because her bulky cloth diaper was positioned weird.  I took pictures of her in the same outfit at 1 week old and 12 weeks old.  She's slow and steady when it comes to growth, but I'm confiident her brain is growing at an exceptional rate.  When I took these photos of Hudson at these ages, he had already outgrown his 3 month onesie.  It's crazy how different little ones can develop.

1 week old

Almost 12 weeks old

I don't think that flower on her head is big enough :)

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week and weekend!