Celebrating July 4th all week long!

It's been a fun, crazy and exhausting week since the last post.  The kids are staying busy and summer could not off be off to a better start.  Last week was Spirit Week at school.  Hudson was very proud of his mix-matched attire for Wacky Wednesday...

Another day was "Favorite Team" day so of course Hudson had to wear his Tom Brady jersey.  I got a semi-bad report from his teacher on this particular day.  Apparently when he wears his football attire, he channels his inner Tom Brady and tackles all the kids.  Not maliciously, but "that's what Tom Brady does and he's a good guy" - words from both my son and my husband.  When the kids got home, Lolly had brought them cupcakes.  These two are best buds and never leave each others side in the evenings.  I am always captivated to watch how well they play together... 

Last Friday afternoon, Lolly and I took Hudson and cousins to see Despicable Me 3.  And it was a whirlwind of a day!  Adley was semi-sick with no appetite or energy.  Nothing major, but the teachers thought she needed more rest at home.  Don't we all?!?!  Call me a bad mom, but I ended up keeping her at school till after the movie.  On top of that, Pop injured his hand while doing yard work which resulted with stitches.  All of this occurred within an hour prior to the movie starting.  But we made it on time, ate our popcorn and had a good afternoon.  Afterwards, Hudson said there were too many "bad guys" in the movie.  There was only one...and he was actually pretty funny.  Nonetheless, Hudson ended up sleeping in our bed that night.  The entire day was exhausting and ended with a sleepless night.   I have since vowed not to attend anymore movies with small children for awhile.  Hudson, on the other hand, has already given me a list of movies we can watch that are not as scary as the Minions, geez.  

Saturday was spent at the Cincinnati Zoo.  We had not been since Adley was 2 weeks old.  She still wasn't feeling 100% from the previous day, but we thought she could rally and would be excited to see the animals.  She was not.  She had to be carried and held for 4 hours.  She didn't want the stroller and she didn't enjoy seeing any animal that was indoors or in the dark.  But she did have fun watching Hudson partake in all the exhibits.  And Hudson thought everything was "cool and amazing" so it wasn't a complete bust.  His favorite animal is a cheetah and his favorite part of the trip was getting ice cream afterwards, ha!

All Adley wanted to do was read a book or be held.  And if she didn't have her sunglasses near her, everyone had to suffer.  So the princess got her shades!

Then we had our weekly dose of pool time.  Now this is where Adley excels!  She has grown leaps and bounds since that first visit on Memorial Day.  She likes to splash, she can blow bubbles and she even went into the deep end this time.  Her only demand is that she must wear a bow to the pool.  And is must be pink and there must be two ponytails.  She is starting to become a demanding little diva these days!

Then came July 4th week!  School had a parade where the kids walk around and wave little crafts they had made.  Chris and LollyPop attended and apparently Adley thought the parade was just for her.  She pranced around, waved and said "hi" to every stranger...as if the world revolved around her and her little red/white/blue dress (and pink shoes of course).  Have I mentioned she has discovered her inner-diva?!  But the pics below are just toooo precious!!

       

Hudson and his classmates...

The kids with Ms. Brittany, one of Adley's teachers...

On July 4th, we spent the afternoon at LollyPop's house.  We had Adley open her birthday present early (actual bday is not till August 12th, but who's really keeping track?!).  I found this amazing water inflatable on sale and I wanted the kids to get as much use out of it as possible.  So we found a good excuse to have her open it...and it was a hit!!

Adley is now officially a big girl.  She can flex and mean-mug like the big kids and it is adorable to watch.  She has no problem pushing her bro or cousins out of the way so she can be front and center.  She is going to give cousin Claire a run for her money in a quick short time.  It will be the battle of the divas!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Next Thursday we celebrate our little man turning FOUR!!  Hudson is at such a fun age and we can't wait to celebrate his big day.  Everyday he wakes up and asks: "Is today my birthday mama?  Let's make cupcakes.  I won't eat them till my actual birthday, pleaseeee!"  Hilarious stuff.  He is also getting a big obnoxious, over-the-top present just like his little sis did, so stay tuned for the chaos.  Fortunately, I can blame this present on Chris!

Father's Day, Soccer and Tons of Pool Time!

Hope everyone is off to a great summer!  I survived my girls trip and Chris kept the kids alive while I was gone, so all is at ease with the Kemp crew.  My girls and I went to Hocking Hills, Ohio, which has a state park, hiking, rock climbing, boats and even a brewery.  I highly recommend for anyone who needs a quick getaway in the Midwest!

We were then busy celebrating Father's day, aka "Dad's Weekend" as Chris likes to call it.  School had a Dads and Donuts breakfast on Friday, where Pop, Uncle Drew and the cousins had yummy treats.  For some reason Chris left poor Adley in her classroom.  Hopefully next year she can handle the chaos with the big kids.

Then we had the extended crew (Francine and her kiddos) over for pizza and playtime Friday evening.  We got the bounce house out and the kids went nuts.  Chris got extra love because it was "dad's weekend"....

 

Hudson had a soccer game last Saturday morning.  His team keeps losing, but Hudson does fairly well at blocking goals and stealing the ball.  We signed him up for club soccer this fall so only time will tell if he is a natural at the sport.  I'm thinking it's just luck and good timing, but who knows.

  Adley continues to make a dramatic entrance to these soccer games.  She needs sunglasses, accessories, books and tons of snacks.  This is a cute video of her getting ready before we headed out to "Bubba's" last practice.

https://youtu.be/f5y7Gfe58Sk

After the soccer game, we went to Dorothy Lane Market and made a cookie cake for Chris.  Hudson tried ever-so-hard to intricately make a cool 'dad' design, but ended up with glops of icing and scattered sprinkles everywhere.  But he was of proud of his creation so as parents, we were pleased.  And it has been a delicious treat to snack on every evening! 

The new ritual on Saturday afternoons is to bask in the sun at the pool.  Just like his mother, Hudson has perfected this skill.  Adley continues to show "Kemp" traits and can't sit still unless a book or toy is in front of her.  It took her about 2 hours to warm up to the baby pool.  By the time she got excited to get wet, Chris had to take her back home for a nap.  But she had fun with the squirt guns so it wasn't a complete fail.  

Father's Day

 Then came the big day....Father's Day!  All-About-Chris-Day!  We made a special breakfast, skipped church and stayed in our pjs forever.  Chris was doused in gifts which included a fidget spinner and new pillows.  Hudson got Power Ranger pjs, which I dubbed as a Father's Day gift as well.  Both boys are currently obsessed with the Red Ranger.

Father's Day dinner was spent at Aunt Shannon's with the kiddos and the extended fam.  Burgers, beer and a picnic kept every dad at ease. 

These kids are growing up WAYYY too fast!!

Adley even wants to be more like her daddy and brother by trying to use the potty like them, kinda.  Hudson has taught her to stand over the toilet, raise her shirt and scream, "peeeeeee."  She is so proud of herself every time, it's hilarious.  And when nothing comes out, Hudson gently tells her, "It's ok Adley, you don't have a pee pee yet!"  Such a helpful and informative big brother. 

Yesterday was our last YMCA soccer game.  Not sure if his team won amongst the chaos of untamed preschoolers, but everyone received a medal and treats afterwards...

Then we headed up to the pool and brought along Cousin Claire and bestie Caleb.  The pool was much better received by Miss Adley this time.  She jumped right in and never looked back.

Caleb ended up staying all afternoon and evening with us.  These boys may truly be best friends.  They never argued, they shared, they giggled and even snuggled close during quiet time.  Caleb was even nice enough to be the "bad guy" so Tom Brady could win his "football game."

Hope everyone has a great week ahead!!  Only a couple more weeks before our little man turns FOUR!!

Summer Time Fun!

It's been a busy month and we could not be more excited about summer and warm weather!  Hudson is in full swing with soccer.  He wants to practice almost every day.  He is becoming my little sports fanatic and now even showing an interest in hockey.  Even though his soccer skills are starting to excel, his favorite sport is still football.  At school this week, they were discussing their dream vacations.  I asked Hudson where he wanted to go and his response was: "To the beach and to Tom Brady's house.  And I want to stay there!"

  All the cousins are on the Purple team, but THREE different teams.  Apparently the YMCA had limited colors to choose from this year.  

Adley has perfected the art of running on the field and making a scene.  But it is cute to watch and we always laugh.  So I have probably been dubbed a bad parent because I let it happen.  But she needs her exercise too!  In the pic below, Anderson was goalie in the adjacent field, so she had two fields to run between and cause mayhem. 

Hudson and his soccer buds, Jenna and Zach, enjoying their after-soccer treat.  Donuts!

This is how Claire "played" most of her game...sitting on Lolly's lap.

After soccer, my girlfriend Abby and her entire crew stopped by and we were introduced to Baby Ava.  She is perfect!  Hudson got to play with his girlfriend Stella and "Baby Adley" is learning that she really isn't a baby anymore.  But Hudson will still introduce her as "This is my baby sister, Baby Adley."

Mother's Day

The holiday was ALLLLLL about this mama!  And I could not have been more thankful for Chris and the kids.  I was able to organize my life and finish little projects that had been set aside.  We even did a mini update in one of our bathrooms with new paint, light fixtures, decor and a faucet.  I can only get Chris to do home renovations once a year and I am 2-for-2 with the past Mother's Days.  It's the only day out of the year that he can't say NO to me.  And I already have the next three projects planned out for him!

We had Mother's Day brunch with the Kemp/Bockelman crew, as well as with Francine and her kiddos, at Heatherwoode Country Club.  Francine's husband is deployed to Afghanistan so we have all adopted their crew to help lighten her load.  All the kids go to school together and they are loving the extra quality playtime together.

Hudson and Claire had to "hide" from the camera, ha!

I thought this pic was adorable!  The kiddos with their Lolly as we were leaving brunch.

Kings Island

Our first trip of the season and it was a hit!  Hudson hit the 42 inch mark so now he has more ride options.  But he still preferred to hang with his buddy Claire; they never stopped smiling.  We were at the park for almost 5 hours before we headed back home.

Adley wanted nothing to do with rides and I don't blame her one bit.  My stomach can't handle roller coasters like it used to.  But she was perfectly content observing all the chaos around her. 

Memorial Day

We had a cookout at our house and the weather was perfect!  Good friends, good food, a ton of outdoor toys and endless energy from this little crew below!  Adley was a trooper and partied hard with the big kids.  It was the first time she skipped a nap, ate a ton of sugar and ice cream and maybe even had her first juice box (even though she has probably had all of this at Lolly's house that I am unaware of).  But she didn't have a breakdown and never needed a time-out.  My baby girl isn't a baby anymore!  I love it and hate it at the same time.  She is definitely a daddy's girl, likely because those baby blue eyes will melt Chris' heart and she can do no wrong in his world...and she knows it!

A chocolate covered pretzel dipped in ice cream = pure happiness for a 21 month old princess!

Pool Time

Now that the neighborhood pool is open, my personal summer goal is to be there every weekend.  Hudson is definitely more excited about the water and could live at the pool like myself.  Adley, on the other hand, is more like her daddy and would rather sit in the shade and read a book or relax.  But she does ALWAYS request her sunglasses.  Sometimes they are over her eyes, other times they are on top of her head, but they must be present.  We were all together poolside on Saturday.  On Sunday, I bought Hudson a water football and we went back to the pool for a mommy/son afternoon.  Adley and Chris read books at home; it was a win-win for all.

 I am headed to my annual girls trip on Thursday with my besties from UK.  I have been prepping Chris all week with a check list of to-dos: school, splash day, soccer, a birthday party, etc.  I am slightly nervous.  But Chris says he can "wing it" so clearly that gives me a higher level of comfort.  Hudson thinks it's cool that "boys aren't allowed on girls trips and girls aren't allowed on boys' trip."  And then he asked who will take care of him and Adley while I'm gone....

My response: hopefully Lolly!  :)