Easter Weekend

Angela here!  Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!  We had 72 hours of nonstop fun, hanging with friends and family.  I took off work last Friday so Hudson could partake in the annual egg hunt at the neighbor's house.  If I counted correctly, there were almost 30 youngsters on a mission to find eggs, which is what I like to call organized chaos!  There was even a bounce house afterwards to exhaust any remaining energy.  Hudson was one of the younger kids and did his best to keep up with the big kids.  And he was most excited to find erasers in some of his eggs.  Who knew?!

Saturday morning we headed to Egg Hunt #2 at the YMCA.  This hunt was divided into age groups, so Hud was able to dominate all those small two year olds. They didn't stand a chance with my little man; his basket was full this time.  He even got more erasers! 

Miss Adley was awake for about 10 minutes, then she slept though the chaos...

 After nap time on Saturday, Mimi and Pop Wilson stopped by for a visit.  Hudson got more goodies to play with...clothes, candy, bubbles, trains and more.  Bubbles are definitely his favorite at the moment (along with erasers).

Then came Easter morning.  Hudson is starting to understand what a "holiday" is and was excited to find a basket waiting for him.  He's getting better at opening gifts as well.  He used to destroy his presents...thrashing open a bag or box in milliseconds and then tossing everything off to the side.  Now he takes out each object one by one and will hold it in the air for all to see.  Great progress.  Adley sported cute bunny ears, the same bunny ears that Hudson has been deathly afraid for the past two years.  She didn't even notice anything was on her head.  And yes, we still call her Perfect Adley (but I do know my days are limited with that nickname).

Next we got gussied up for brunch at Heatherwoode Country Club with the Springboro crew.  My blue-eyed babies were looking ever so cute...

Cousins Claire and Anderson were looking just as adorable.

After brunch, we headed to the Bockelman house for another round of Easter baskets.  Not only does the Easter Bunny stop at our house, but he also drops off baskets at LollyPops house.  The kids got clothes, toys, wayyyy too much candy and even some cool sunglasses.

We ended the afternoon playing outside all day.  The sun was shining, the weather was warm and the kids were on their best behavior...minus the moment Hudson shot Pop with a water gun...but those are minor details.  Adley was in awe with the swing and the wind blowing though her "hair."  It was a great weekend!

 

Have a great week!

YMCA, UK and Pull-ups

Angela here!  Hope everyone had a great week.  The kiddos have been busy the past couple weeks.  The Kemps finally became members of the YMCA and I think I found a new addiction...Zumba!  Who knew?!  But it's fun for everyone and the kids enjoy the playroom.  We signed Hud up for soccer as well.  The starting age is three (which he won't be till July), but I did a little weaseling to get him on the team.  AKA, I volunteered Chris to be a coach and it worked!  We start practice in a couple weeks.  Should be interesting....since Chris himself has never played soccer before.  Good thing these kids are only three years old.

All the cousins playing at the Y

Miss Adley keeps growing and growing.  She's finally sitting up sturdy and the teething is in full-force.  Drool is everywhere!  But she's just too cute, so we overlook all the slobber.  She's a bottomless pit as well.  She will eat lima beans, peas, squash and any fruit you put in front of her.  Making her baby food has become a second job.  And she's sleeping 12 hours straight through the night, which has made my life oh so pleasant.  So no complaints here.

We were ready for the big basketball game last week and it didn't end too well for the Kentucky Wildcats.  But Adley still sported her mama's alma mater.  She would have supported daddy's school, but oh wait...they didn't make it to the playoffs.  Not boasting at all here :)

Hudson has been busy astonishing us with his knowledge.  It seems like everyday he amazes us with something new.  He is currently all about matching games and puzzles.  When he finds a matching set, he'll scream "It fits, it fits!"  And if he's not ready to do something....eat, wake up, play, whatever....his new phrase is: "Not quite mama. Not quite ready."

News flash - our house is in potty-training mode!  The teachers mentioned that Hudson wasn't as "excited" about the potty as the other kids were in school.  Apparently the cloth diapers were holding him back.  So he exonerated himself from all cloth and only wears pull-ups now.  He has gone potty twice (actually ON the potty) and tells us when he has to go now.  Great progress for the first week, which has nothing to do with our parenting process (all credit goes to his teachers).  We could not be more grateful for all the teachers at his school.

Hudson is so so excited to be a "big boy" now with his pull-up.  He even has a little dance to prove it....

https://youtu.be/vqqQtYoANvw

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend.  We already kicked off the holiday fun with one egg hunt today.  The neighbors had a huge hunt and Hudson did his best to keep up with the big kids.  Another egg hunt is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by family gatherings and celebrating the holiday.  Next post will be Easter overload!

Rolling over, Fundraisers and Politics

Angela here!  Hope everyone is having a great week thus far.  Ohio has had some warm weather lately so we are playing outside as much as possible.

Chris and I had a wonderful time in Florida the other week.  We spent time in Tampa and Clearwater before we headed to St. Petersburg, where Chris was recognized as one of the top recruiters in his division.  He received a plaque along with a hefty gift card, so I reaped some benefits as well!  We ate fabulous seafood every evening, relaxed on the beach and soaked up plenty of sun.  So much so that Chris had a fierce sunburn for about a week after we returned home.  He called it a "tan," but when your skin is flaking off, I call it a burn.

Miss Adley continues to get bigger and bigger by the day.  She's just shy of 7 months old and can almost sit up on her own.  Her new "trick" is rolling; she LOVES to roll!  She will end up across the room if you don't watch her closely.  She has even gotten herself stuck under the chairs a few times from all her log-rolling (yup, call us the best parents ever).   Her drool is starting to pick back up as well, so we're expecting some teeth to start cutting soon.

This past weekend we went to a fundraiser for one of my coworkers.  Her oldest son was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had to have surgery.  He has recovered nicely, but will need extensive testing in the upcoming months and possibly another surgery.  The benefit raised almost $10,000 for the family to take care of medical bills!  It was a lovely event for the kids.  Cousin Anderson and their friend Jack joined in on the fun.

Anderson, Jack and Hudson

There was a bounce house, raffles, yummy food and loud music for everyone to dance to.  Even the Ninja Turtle Donatello stopped by to do the Nae Nae and "whip it" with all the kids.  Consequently, I learned that I need to put my boy in dance lessons so he can stay hip with the kids these days.  Hudson tried his best to lay down the dance moves, but fell short when standing next to Jack, who basically performed a routine out on the dance floor by himself.  They were cute to watch.

Hudson continues to rock out in the big brother department.  He is always concerned about Adley and what she is doing.  He wants to help change her diapers and always brings her toys to keep her happy.  He will thoroughly explain how to play with each toy and what sound they make when you press a particular button.  And Adley loves every bit of attention she can get from her brother.  Sometimes I think she would rather hang with him than myself.  But it does make the evenings easier when the two of them can entertain each other.

Lastly, with all the crazy political ranting lately, it behooved Chris and I to teach Hudson about the candidates and their platforms.  We're not brainwashing him by any means, we are simply encouraging him not to vote for anyone in the GOP at the moment, especially for a man named Trump.  This is completely different than brainwashing.  Now I know you're not supposed to discuss religion and politics, but this video makes us laugh.  And even if you're a Trump supporter, you must admit that the guy's had his crazy moments!  So we've been talking a lot about the Democratic Party in our household.  And yes, I am fully aware that my son is 2.5 years old and cannot vote, but it's never too early to start the learning process.  And until the Republicans can get their act together, this is what Hudson has to say about it.  He is allowed to pick Bernie or Hillary (again, not brainwashing), and this is what he decided....

https://youtu.be/bsox12cPRmo

Hope everyone has a great weekend in store!!

Snowfalls, Rashes and Valentine's Day

Angela here!  We finally had some good snow to play in this past weekend.  And about time!  I was starting to get antsy because I invested in snow gear and boots for my boy and he had only worn it once this winter.  Hudson could not have been more thrilled for those 20 minutes that he played outside.  He attempted to make snow angels, "cooked" food for us in his play house and even went sledding a couple times.  But once the snow got into his gloves, it was all over. 

And off they go...into the woods and up to the hill with Penny Lane and the sled.  

 My princess had a rough week last week.  She started developing this scaly, itchy rash on her arms, knees and head.  Then she got an out-of-control diaper rash that wasn't getting better after five days.  Daycare called and thought it was a food allergy since she's eating solids now.  So we took her to the doctor and kept her home for a day.  Turns out it was a contact allergic reaction.  Luckily nothing food related.  So I let daycare know and apparently they just changed cleaning products after renovating the building and getting new hardwood floors.  And come to find out, they were sending kids home all week due to rashes!  Crazy.  Just glad we figured out the source.

This was the mild version...

Passed out after a dose on Benadryl.

And even though she was itchy, flaky and looked like she contracted some crazy disease, she was the happiest little girl!  We still call her Perfect Adley.  And so does Hudson.

Hudson had a birthday party to attend to over the weekend and it was NUTS!  There were about ten boys (mostly age 4) at Scene 75, which is a ginormous indoor area with bounce houses, bowling, go-karts, mini golf and games.  I have never seen so many little boys with so much energy.  They played mini bowling nonstop for two hours.  And by "play," I mean they slammed and threw bowling balls down the lanes over and over and over again.  Then they would fight over the balls, resulting in every single kid having at least two meltdowns.  It was exhausting and hilarious to watch, and wine was definitely necessary once we got home.  But the boys had a blast and that's all that mattered.  Cousin Anderson was there as well and we were in charge of getting him to Lolly's house since the Bockelmans had a dinner date.   As we loaded up the crew (Adley was being perfect and sleeping), those two boys were soooo excited to be in the car together.  Anderson kept saying: "Angie, I'm really far back!  Can you see me?"  And then Hudson would let out this belly giggle.  Then they had screaming matches on who could be the loudest (another reason why I needed a beverage).  But I thought this pic was cute.

Miss Adley has hit the sixth month mark!  After having a doctor visit last week for the rash, we went back again this week for a well-visit and shots.  She's finally starting to chunk up and get some good rolls.  She 50th percentile weight and 25th percentile in height (16 lbs and 24.5 inches long).  These are by far my favorite "month" pictures...

If I could caption the pic below she would be saying: "What?  Just turning 6 months.  Ain't no thang."

The kids enjoyed a fun Valentine's Day as well; they got spoiled.  They first got to open a couple presents that the Nally's sent them in the mail.  Hudson had to show Adley how to use each and every toy or book or cup.  And all day long he screamed "Happy Valentine's Day" as he danced around the house waving his arms like a madman.  Which in turn made Adley giggle all day long and be just as excited.

Hope everyone has a great weekend in store.  Chris and I are headed to Tampa tomorrow sans children for a long weekend, woohoo!  SUN!  SAND!  Warm weather!  Chris is being recognized as being one of 2015's top 5 reps at Nielsen in all of North America!  So they're flying us down for a couple days.  Perfect timing after having all this freezing weather and snow.  And I know I said earlier that I wanted it to snow, but now that it's here, it can melt away and Spring can come.  The kids are staying at LollyPop's.  Hudson has already promised that he would be on his best behavior.  He said: "I try my best.  I be perfect, like Adley!"  You can't help but laugh at the boy :)

Favorite football teams and favorite foods

Angela here!  Hope everyone had a great time celebrating Super Bowl.  It was a bitter evening in the Kemp household, as Chris had no interest in the game and sulked all day.  He was devastated.  Torn.  Inconsolable.  And if I had an adjective, I'd said embarrassed...that his sweet sweet Patriots were not playing that night.  Luckily, church had a Super Bowl party and we were able to pay our respects to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.  I think this is our first family selfie.

Miss Adley has had to flaunt her Patriots attire all week.  This family was not allowed to cheer for the Broncos or the Panthers (even though I'm secretly glad Denver won the big game!).  Adley has seven onesies that display her NFL spirit and Chris has no problem making her wear them on a daily basis.  I'm sure the daycare teachers are not judging us one bit.  And I can't figure out why she looks so surprised in these pics.  Maybe it's because she feels like it's Groundhog Day and her outfits keep repeating themselves....

 

Once we got back from church, football had to continue.  I'm hoping my little linebacker will be big enough to play sports this summer. 

And my princess has had a big couple weeks lately.  She continues to eat and eat and eat.  Her appetite is on par with her brother's; they are bottomless pits.  She's added carrots and green beans to her diet and eats at least three "meals" a day.  And she can crush a Baby Mum Mum rice rusk like she's been doing it for years.

  

Happy little girl after eating carrots and blueberries...

Adley hits the six-month mark this week as well!  Where did the time go?!?  Her little personality has blossomed and it's so cute to watch.  When she's not sleeping, she's bug-eyed and observing the world or giggling at Hudson.  No one can make Adley laugh like her brother can.  I have a cute video to prove how much she loves her big bro...

https://youtu.be/UYPgePxsJGA

And no one believes me but I promise the girl has crawled.  Only twice; once at school and once at the house.  The teachers can attest, I swear.  But ever since I started bragging about her new trick, she has failed to demonstrate it to anyone else.  Hopefully I'll get a video of it soon.  Hope everyone has a great week!