Walking Girl and Tons of Cousin-Time

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day and weekend!  It's been a busy couple weeks for the Kemp crew.  Adley is walking and on the move!  She is always in motion and knows how to maneuver around the house by pushing chairs or flinging to furniture.  She can take about a dozen steps before needing to grab onto something.  This 10 month old is on a roll!

https://youtu.be/rd__GaSM1j4

Daycare had Dads and Donuts on Friday to celebrate Father's Day.  Uncle Drew was out of town, so Pop gladly stepped in and ate donuts, bagels and fruit with the kiddos.  Baby Adley was already in her classroom and missed all the fun...maybe next year...

After school last week, I picked the kids up and headed to the park with LollyPop.  I snapped this adorable pic of a boy and his dog...

Saturday was jam-packed and Hudson got a lot of mommy-time.  The entire crew first hit up the YMCA for a nice morning sweat.  Then we cheered Hudson and Anderson on at their soccer games.  Hudson scored a goal, woop woop!!  Next up, Hud and I went to Dorothy Lane Market to make a cookie cake for dad.  The grocery store sets up tables and step stools and the kids get endless amounts of icing and sprinkles to decorate a cake.  I carefully instructed Hudson that one can never have too much icing.

Then Hudson and I hit up the neighborhood pool while Adley was sleeping and Chris was working on his podcast (stay tuned for an Italian Renaissance masterpiece).  Hudson is my water guppy and always wants to go swimming.  He starts swim lessons this week and I'm excited to get him properly trained.  When he's not in the shallow end, he just sinks to the bottom.  This kid needs to learn his backstroke quick! 

On Saturday evening we watched cousin Claire, as the Bockelmans had a wedding to attend.  These two are just the cutest.  They are only six months apart and play awesome together when it's just the two of them.  Here is them getting ready for dinner...

Then we had TV night.  Chris introduced them to the old school Mister Rodger's Neighborhood.  They were surprisingly captivated... 

While the older kiddos were watching TV, Adley just couldn't keep those little feet still.  She pushed a chair all through the house and showed off her big-girl skills to everyone.

 Next up, bath time.  After a thorough wash down and playing with water markers, we all snuggled into the "big bed" and watched The Cat in the Hat... 

On Sunday we started off the morning properly with a dose of chocolate chips waffles.  A weekend tradition for Chris and Hudson...

After church and another round of sun-bathing at the pool, we headed to LollyPops house to celebrate Father's Day.  All the water toys were out and Adley played like the big girl she now is.  Whenever she walks, I always tell her; "You think you're soooo big now, don't you?!"  Then she whips her head around, looks me straight in the eye and giggles.  Not being biased at all when I say she is the most adorable baby ever.  She definitely likes being mobile and on the go.  And she still has those baby blue eyes!

Adley even attempted to climb up the water slide after seeing Hudson do so... 

 A delicious dinner and yummy dessert followed and these kids could not have been happier.  They were on their best behavior for what Hudson calls "Dad's Day."

Hope everyone has a great week in store.  Both my children decided they wanted to catch an ailment today/tonight.  Adley stayed home from school and when I picked Hud up this afternoon, he said; "I'm sick.  Call the doctor, a-choo!"  I couldn't help but to laugh out loud.  I'm hoping he just didn't want to feel left out.  And Chris heads off to Pittsburgh soon for work so keep me in your prayers as I fly solo with two youngsters!

Memorial Day Weekend

Angela here!  Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day and weekend!  We stayed busy and spent a ton of time outside.  And my baby girl decided she doesn't want to be a baby any longer.  She is standing, cruising and on the move.  She's 9 1/2 months now and can pull herself up on furniture.  She doesn't like the Exer-Saucer anymore and her favorite trick is clapping.  I fear my days are limited before I have another walker in the house.

Adley moved up to the "big kid" room at school.  She's now with all the infants who are walking and eating solid foods.  Thankfully, she caught on quickly and can smash, chew and destroy any food that you put in front of her.  This mama is excited to no longer have to make baby food in my limited free time!  Daycare even has her taking two longer naps instead of the three cat-naps that she was doing previously. 

On Saturday, we went to the neighborhood pool for a couple hours with the Bockelman crew and my girlfriend Jenny and her daughter, Avery.  The weather held out and the kids exhausted themselves with endless water fun.

Anderson is a great swimmer.  Hudson, well....he needs more practice.  But wherever Anderson swam in the water, Hudson was immediately behind him trying to keep up.  The boys could not be separated.  Even when a bathroom break was needed,  Hudson was promptly there to monitor the situation.  I'm praying Anderson never gets tried of his mini-me trailing right behind him.   

Below is Chris' version on how to monitor small children while at the pool.....

 Adley wasn't too fond of the water at first.  But after observing the big kids, she warmed up soon thereafter.  She liked to watch the kiddos run through the mushroom waterfall and scream.  After they ran through it, she would clap for them :)

 Love and hugs from Aunt Shannon....

 On Sunday, Chris took the kids to the Niederman's Farm for an event that our church was having.  There were food trucks, live bands, inflatables and this crazy trampoline that Hudson adored.  LollyPop and their neighbors tagged along as well.  As for myself, I spent six hours mulching the back yard.  It was a beautiful quiet afternoon for this mama!

Hudson with his honorary grandma, K'ma.

We spent Memorial Day at home, in our backyard, with no major agenda, and it was fabulous.  The weather was perfect and the kids had endless toys to keep them busy. 

Lolly brought over popsicles....mainly for Hudson, but everyone reaped the reward.  Hudson has been doing a great job at using the potty the past couple weeks.  He now tells us when he has to go and seems eager about nixing the pull-ups soon.  Every time he "goes," he has to call Lolly and tell her the news.  He has caught on to the fact that Lolly will bring him a "special treat."  Today, it was popsicles.     

 We got out the slip-n-slide that Mimi and Pop Wilson gave Hudson for his birthday last year.  He's finally old enough to use it, kinda.  The boys didn't quite get the concept to run and slide.  Luckily, Uncle Drew stepped in and flailed them down the slippery slide.

 I think Claire found her new best friend.  She was always by Adley's side, making sure she had a toy or a snack.  They play quietly and perfect with each other, unlike two little boys I know.

And another round of popsicles...

Both my children were asleep by 7pm.  It was a great way to end the holiday weekend!  Quiet and calm.  Hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead.

Soccer Season and Cousins

It's soccer season!  And I'm not biased at all when I say Hudson is the most adorable soccer player one has ever seen.  It's a fact; he can rock those cleats and shin guards like no other.  And he's surprisingly coordinated on the field.  We weren't anticipating much after seeing Anderson and his friends pick flowers on the sidelines last year.  But Hud impressed and delivered.  He had two practices and his first game was this weekend.

It rained all last weekend, so we piled all the cousins in the car and headed to the BoonShoft Museum of Discovery.  It's the perfect place to let the kids run around like crazy, while attempting to throw some knowledge their way and pray that it sticks.  There was even a mini zoo.  Before Adley fell asleep, she enjoyed cruising along the small short windows with her brother...

The kids did science experiments and made glow-in-the-dark bubbles.  They "studied" chemical reactants and reagents, all while learning the important lesson of not drinking the vinegar in the test tube.  Their favorite part was the huge slide and cargo net that all three could climb up on their own.  I failed to snap a picture due to their swift climbing skills.  

Adley is getting stronger by the day.  She's on a mission now and is crawling all over the place.  She wants to know what's going on around her at all times.  She's always swinging her head left to right and back again to watch us all.  She is even starting to stay up a tad bit later in order to bathe with the big kids.  She got to take her first bath with the cousins at LollyPops house last week.

And she now gets to bathe with Hudson on most nights... 

Adley also experienced her first dip in the YMCA pool.  It's a heated pool with a water slide.  Against Chris' wishes, she did not experience the slide, but she was able to lounge in her floatie and watch all the big kids play.

Daycare had a cute Mother's Day brunch on Friday.  Thankfully, my surgeries ended early and I was able to meet Lolly and Hudson for ham and cheese sandwiches, pasta salad, veggies and Oreos.  He was so excited to see us.  And he was funny.  When I asked him what he had done so far that day, he replied: "I didn't wrestle anyone."  Proud moment for this mama.  The day before he was wrestling and ended up giving a kid a bloody nose!  But the teachers said it wasn't intentional and they weren't too upset...still not sure if I believe that statement.  

Then came the big soccer game this weekend.  Hudson actually scored a legit goal!  Again, we weren't expecting much.  But he was cute.  Whenever the referee would call a break, Hudson made a point to runnnnn over to the sidelines and give us each a high five.

Hudson and Anderson donning their soccer gear.

Adley was all gussied up for the big soccer game...then she fell asleep for an hour and missed it all....

 By the time she woke up, we were inside the YMCA playing on the jungle gym...  

The evening consisted of everyone coming over for bubbles, Star Wars and pizza.  These kiddos can't get enough of each other.  Can't you tell by Anderson's expression and level of excitement?!?!

 

 Two of my favorite people.  They adore each other.... 

Until next time.  Hope all the mamas out there had a fabulous Mother's Day!