hudson the soccer player

Hudson had been telling people for over a year that he played soccer.  When the time finally came for him to actually play, he was thrilled.  I took him to get new cleats and new soccer clothes and you would have thought the boy had just seen Santa he was so excited.  After spending multiple seasons on the sidelines watching Boston play his sports, he was finally getting a turn...and Boston got a taste of what it was like to hang out at practice after practice and watch game after game on the sidelines (it was good for them both). 

Hudson was totally confident and ready to go at his first practice with team SEATTLE.

Thanks to a TON of rain in Houston in April/May, we had a TON of rain out practices AND games. This meant the season went longer than expected.

Hudson scored 2 goals this season. 

One at his FIRST game and one at his LAST (the only two games we played where there wasn't a professional little Pedro who dominated the whole game on the other team).

Hudson is my rough and tough boy so I didn't doubt that he wouldn't get in there and go after the ball. 

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 Team Seattle only won 3 of 10 games BUT showed improvement throughout the season.  I'm so proud of Hudson and he was SUPER proud of himself.  It was nice to see him in the spotlight for a change. 

His favorite part was receiving his medal at the end.  I think he wore that thing for a week straight afterwards. 

And I'm SO bummed about my picture taking.  Kent was rarely around for practices and games because of his busy schedule so I NEVER got any good shots since Nolan demanded so much attention on the sidelines (I forgot how much I hate taking a baby to this kind of stuff) and when Kent was there, I forgot to take pictures. 

 #momfail

boston turns 8

Boston has been looking forward to his birthday for a long time! Turning 8 is a pretty big deal around here.

Since it's an even year, Boston got to have a "friend" party.  He requested a laser tag birthday party.  Simple enough (especially in the midst of the move).

 The friend list went from 10 to 18.  Since we were moving, I didn't fight it and just went with it.  Thankfully, not all 18 showed up and it was more like 15 (I know still not much of a difference). 

After a couple rounds of laser tag, some pizza, some video gaming, cake and ice cream and opening gifts, I would call it a successful birthday party.  This boy is lucky to have such good buddies.

 Sunday was his actually birthday.  More celebrating!  He really wanted to open a couple of presents before church and since the birthday boy gets what he wants on his birthday, we let him open a couple.

 He's officially 8!  I can't even believe it.

 Seriously, this picture is for the books.

 After church, we opened the rest of his presents

 Boston is not a "toy" boy.  As he's getting older, he's liking them less and less which makes it harder and harder to shop for him.  You can't just go to Toys-R-Us any more.  Christmas is really going to be a challenge. 

 Since it was Sunday, we didn't go out for the usual birthday meal.  Instead, we stayed in and Boston choose frozen Costco pizza.  Easy enough for me.

 I got smart this year and didn't worry about a second cake.  Instead, there was still plenty of birthday cake from his party left over.  He didn't seem to mind.

 We finished his birthday going to celebrate Brooke!  She left on a mission to Spain so we went to say our finally farewells to one of our FAVORITE babysitters.  We sure do love her and are SO proud of her!  Can't wait to see her when she gets home in 18 months.  Spain is lucky to have her.

Boston said his birthday weekend was the greatest which means we did it right. 

 I'm so proud of that kid and the little guy he has turned into so far. 

 8 years FLEW by just like that!

2nd grade play

This play seemed like it was MONTHS in the making.  In March, Boston got his lines for the play.  He was a camp blogger and had them all memorized in a day.  That kid has an amazing memory.  As the play got closer, he would come home singing the songs, repeating his lines and even came home a few other times with more lines Mrs. Stelly (music teacher) decided to give him. 

I wasn't quite clear on what the play was all about besides summer camp, blogging and spider costumes that I had helped make (basically I just helped stuff spider arms).  So after a few months of this I was beyond ready to see what this final production was going to turn out like.

 It was adorable.  These 2nd grade kids were SO excited to present this play and it was quite entertaining (especially when certain kids got WAY into it).

 Boston nailed his lines and as a bias mom, he was the best blogger. 

I must say, I did get a tad emotional thinking that Boston's days at Birkes were numbered at this point.  All the friends, parents, and teachers we had made over the years were ones we wouldn't be seeing anymore.  I'm not one who always loves change.  But I really am just grateful for all these people we met while at Birkes.  Love that school.

date night

Mid week date nights don't occur very often in our house but with our weekends in May COMPLETELY booked, this was the only night we could make it work.

I was THRILLED when I found out that Newsies was coming to Houston.  Not only do I LOVE the movie but I also LOVED the play when I saw it in NYC.  Kent didn't grow up going to Broadway plays (his first was last year when we went to NYC) so I love sharing this love of mine with him and really wanted to take him to one of my favorites. 

 

I couldn't help but dance in my seat and sing along to the songs.  Kent may or may not have been laughing out of embarrassment to be with me.  Our good friends the Buchanan's came along with us which always makes for a fun date night.

The play of  course didn't disappoint for the 2nd time around and I would DEFINITELY see it again. 

9 months

At 9 months he's ALL about calling for "mmmma mmma!" and waving and I LOVE it. 

 

9 month stats:

Weight: 21 lbs

Height: 28 inches

Remember last month when he just started to climb the first step....

 We are definitely in trouble now.  The stairs are his favorite place to sneak off to whenever I'm busy cooking in the kitchen.  He thinks he's big boy status for sure.  He still prefers to army crawl everywhere although he does get up on all fours and then after about 2 or 3 little moves, he plops himself and belly on the floor to make it the rest of the way.  That stinker.

 

He doesn't seem to mind the water thankfully.  Life would be pretty miserable this summer if he didn't want to be near it.  He thoroughly likes to just sit and splash and chew on pool toys.

 Nolan is LOVING his food.  I've slowly started to let him suck on and eat a few little table foods.  So far he's been a fan of everything I've let him try.  He LOVES to hold a carrot and just chew on it.  He gets pretty upset when you take it away.  We also tried out some pineapple and the boys found it pretty hilarious to watch his reaction and then keep going back for more and more.  I'm really hoping Nolan turns out to be a food lover like Boston.  Hudson hands down gives us a run for our money in the food department. 

 We pulled out the walking toy and he's attempted it a few times with little success.  He prefers to just sit and play with the wheels than stand and walk behind it.  It's a work in progress but something new and fun for him to explore. 

 

I'm so thankful Hudson has taken a strong liking to his little bro.  He takes his roll as a big brother very seriously and probably is on the lookout more than I am sometimes.

  "Mom, Nolan is by the plant!"

"Mom, Nolan is by the stairs."

 "No, no Nolan you can't have that!"

It's quite adorable and impressive since Hudson isn't my most cautious child when it comes to his own life.