Friday, June 24, 2011

seven

I mean really....how does it happen so fast?
I know every mom thinks that, most of us say at least once each time one of our littles has a birthday....but really. Where does the time go?

Hud was just two days shy of 3 months old in this photo.
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Seriously...look at those rolls. He was the squishiest baby ever. :)
When I would carry him (which I spent much of his first two-ish+ years doing, he was somehow able to mold his little body to mine. Not sure how...the squishiness, I guess. Those eyes, the hangy-down cheeks....yummy.
And now, today....he's SeVeN. Seven...really?
Long gone are the rubberband arms, the hang-y down cheeks. I'm happy to report that he is still a little squishy. :) Super soft skin, I guess.
And he is really growing up.
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Today....this one is smart. Sweet. Incredibly intuitive. Very much a gentleman. He is spiritually-minded...noticing things that the rest of us might overlook. He's a Mama's boy...and at the same time a huge fan of his Daddy. And speaking of his Daddy....he looks so much like him, mixed with a little of my Dandy. Definitely got his dimples, a few of his mannerisms, and the furrowed eyebrows when he's being serious or skeptical (although his Dad has a similar expression, so I can't say for sure who he got it from). ;)
He loves to swim and play on the computer. He's the one I ask for help when I can't figure out how to do something on the computer, my phone, etc. He has a heart for animals. He loves comics and Legos, and he's a pro at building them, unabashedly calling himself the Lego Master.
He's funny, and has some crazy-mad dance skills. Not kidding...this one has some moves.
On the flip side...he also has a temper. He's persistent. Stubborn.
But really...he's related to me and his dad...and a long line of other stubborn people,
so who can blame him? ;)
About 95% of the time he's our sweet, laid back, easy-to-please middle child.
I'm so thankful for this kiddo, and on his 7th birthday I want him to know how very important he is to this family. How proud I am for how incredibly well is he is carrying the name of his great-grandpa (Hud knows how important his middle name, Henry, is), and how much fun we are having watching him grow up.
Happy birthday, Hud-Man! We love you to the moon and back one million times. :)

Monday, June 20, 2011

Our "Vacation"

Well, we finally made it to the castle. :) This was the trip of all trips that I had dreamed about taking the boys on since before they were all even born. I couldn't wait to introduce them to the magic that you can only find at that place. And now that we're in a stage of life that is past required naps and diaper changes, we decided it was time to go. :)
Thankfully, it didn't disappoint.
So, why is the title word, "vacation" in quotes, you ask?
Because now that we're back home, I'm more exhausted than I've been in a very long time.
To quote a sweet friend, I'm "happily exhausted." Yes indeed. So while it wasn't the restful, relaxing kind of vacation a person would usually ask for, it was happy and wonderful just the same. But it looks like I'll be taking naps and going to bed early for awhile until I recover. ;)

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The official family in front of the castle picture. ;) No, I have no idea what Hunter was doing. But this is the best we could get. ;)
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Our first day at Magic Kingdom, in matching Mickey shirts. ;) I promised them I would only do that to them one day. And no, Brian and I didn't wear them. Just these 3. I do have my limits. ;)

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Why is Hud hugging that giant Coke bottle? Pretty sure that it was because it was SO HOT, and this bottle was actually a cooling station, and quickly became Hud's new best friend.
Have I mentioned how insanely hot it was? Still not over that yet. ;)
But rest assured...we didn't let it ruin our fun.
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Ice cream and popscicle treats helped us beat the heat as well. Yummo. :)
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We happened to schedule our trip the same time that Disney had scheduled a Star Wars weekend at Hollywood Studios. The boys were in heaven...esp. Hunter, who is in a major Star Wars phase right now. He couldn't believe he got to meet a REAL Storm Trooper. ;)

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And of course, our trip wouldn't be complete without some time with the Mouse. :)
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This is one of my favorite photos from the whole trip. If only Hunter had been in it too, it would have been perfect. :) But no worries.....
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...he was right here in the stroller. :)
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Not your traditional Mickey ears...we went with the R2D2, Pirate Mickey, and Pirate Goofy variety instead.
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Character breakfast at our hotel....including Mickey-shaped waffles and everything.
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It was so much fun having some friends there with us that week too. We got to celebrate LeeAnn's birthday, and spend some time getting to know that sweet baby boy too. So fun!
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Riding on the carousel....
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Date night with the hubs...looking smokin' hot in his Star Tours 3D glasses. ;)
(another benefit to having friends with you on vacation~ childcare sharing!)
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We loved Star Tours so much that we brought the boys back to try it too. Again and again. This was definitely one of their favorites.

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Even the sprinkles were Mickey Mouse! Crazy. And fun. :)
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Harrison makes a pretty good photographer. :)
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So happy we were able to do this....we've made lots of memories, had lots of fun.
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See? ;) I love these 4 so very much.

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We wised up pretty quickly and learned that spending time at the parks in the morning, then spending lunch and the afternoon at the hotel to rest and swim, then going back to the parks in the evenings after it cooled off and the crowds thinned out was the way to go. The boys LoVeD the pool....B and I did too. :)

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I think this was taken the day before we headed back home. This one was having a rough morning. ;) Awesome bedhead.
So...there's our trip in a very tiny nutshell. I think I took about 400 photos total. So yes...it's a very tiny shell. ;) I'm excited about getting to scrapbook this trip...we were so busy and on the go pretty much the entire week~ afraid we were going to miss something, I suppose. Makes me extra thankful that I took as many photos as I did.
The boys' favorite part of the week?
Harrison: "riding the Aerosmith Rockin' Rollercoaster!" (It was amazing)
Hud:" Star Tours....and the pool." ;)
Hunter: "Toy Story Mania (my favorite too!) and all the Star Wars things."