Batter Up

For Father's Day Hudson got tickets to a Mariner's game for his daddy and his papa. It was his first MLB game, Mariners vs. Cubs. The Mariner's lost (after 11 innings) and Hudson happily watched the entire game. All 11 innings. Mark my word, this boy is going to play baseball. And he's going to be good.

Ferris Wheel

Today Scott and I took the Hud out for a little special time with just the two of us. At his request we took the bus downtown to ride the ferris wheel. It was pretty awesome, and we could not have picked a more beautiful day. Amazing views.

I have honestly had an exhausting week.

Sigh.

Sigh. Sigh.

Maddie is going through something (your guess is as good as mine) and it is causing major sleep disruption. MAJOR. A tooth, perhaps? Reaching her walking milestone? Change in schedule with Hud home all day? Transitioning to one nap? Who knows? And, if you do, please enlighten me. I'm tired.

Just when I thought we were past the bumpy nap phase, it's back in full effect, and right about the time Hudson was done with school. DOUBLE WHAMMY. YIKES!!!

I. AM. TIRED.

But, alas, it is the end of yet another day and I plan to be asleep before 9PM so that when Maddie wakes me at 5:15AM I am rested and ready for another day. In all honesty, though, despite the challenges, I am grateful for every single exhausting day. I am grateful for two beautiful kids and for the gift of being home with them every day.

Here's a little bit of what we've been up to this week.

 

Fun in the sun.

Our child is OBSESSED with baseball.

OBSESSED, I tell you.
Gee, I wonder who may have had something to do with this obsession?

Little pumpkin has been working on perfecting her walking skills and is now regularly taking 7-10 steps at a time.

This one, NEVER needs a nap. NEVER is tired. NEVER wants to rest...but miraculously when he lays down on our bed...he falls asleep.

More sandbox fun.

It's funny to see them in sweatshirts in June. Oh, Seattle. I love you. I love you so much.

Our little tornado is climbing on EVERYTHING. Literally, EVERYTHING (see exhibit A below).
It's also worth noting that she is tall enough to reach door handles. Smart enough to understand how they work and what they do. Basement door (with very steep steps on the other side of them) handles in particular. Great.

Worth every exhausting moment, the little stinkers.

Seven

On our first date I told Scott I didn't want to ever get married. He didn't believe me. Though we didn't talk about it on our first date,  I also didn't think I wanted kids. I'd like to say I was just young and naive...but I was 31. I think at the time I just didn't believe there was such a thing as "Mr. Right". I mean, we all know that no one's perfect, but perfect for me, well that's a whole other thing. I didnt think perfect for me existed either.

As it turns out, "Mr. Perfect for Me" did exist and I knew that almost immediately with Scott. Now, 8 years later,  with 7 years of marriage and two beautiful children, I have never been more happy. Happy Anniversary, my love!

Sandbox

Ladies and gentlemen...

She's walking. 

We made both morning and afternoon trips to the park yesterday. I'm loving the weather and am still completely in love with our neighborhood and the fact that I can walk so many places here. It's the perfect neighborhood, now if only we actually owned something in Queen Anne...

TWO

I can't tell you how much I love having two kids.

Surprised?

Well, me too.

For a long time I thought I'd never feel that way, because let's be honest, in the beginning, it was TOUGH. For at least the first 4 months or so I wondered what we'd done. Then, month by month things started getting easier as we settled into a routine.

There is this big blurry mess in my head, you know, the time between finding out we were moving to Seattle and then actually physically getting to Seattle. I have no idea what happened in those weeks. No clue. It all went by really, really fast. Then we were here. In Seattle. And suddenly, 5 months have passed. It doesn't seem possible. Where is the time going?

Hudson is much more grown up, even in the last few months. He's practically conversing like an adult and is completely and totally self sufficient. Well, maybe not completely, but darn close.

Maddie is becoming more and more independent, taking bigger and bigger steps away from me...and although there is an urge to grab her and pull her back and just hold her as long as I can, I know she needs to go. She needs to grow and become who she's going to be. It gives me such joy to see that she's doing all of this with the help of her big brother. They are always together, and like any siblings, they do have their moments, but generally they just really love each other.

Hudson is a huge help to me in so many ways, and having him along for the ride of Maddie's first year of life has made it so much more enjoyable. I love them so much and I love that they will always have each other.

Playing Catch Up

My absence from the blog this week has been because our little pumpkin, also known as our "little tornado" (due to her incredibly destructive and dangerous nature) decided that chewing on our laptop charger would be fun. It was instantly destroyed. $79 later we're back in business and we've got lots to catch up on.

First, our little girl, who suddenly, it seems overnight actually is no longer little. For one, she's really tall (>95% in height, 85% in weight). Two, she's taking steps (walking is coming soon) and three, she just seems bigger, more like a toddler and less like a baby. I think both Scott and I sort-of just imagined she would just stay a baby forever and we're both a little sad to see her growing up right in front of us. The next few photos were taken on her first birthday. It is so hard to believe she's one already.

Generally a really good eater, Maddie wasn't super into the cake. 

No surprise here, but neither was Hud.

Last weekend, we stayed busy. On Saturday we made a quick trip to the zoo. It was beautiful outside, and a great opportunity to get out and have some fun. I only managed to a get a few pics from our visit, but I suspect there will be many more zoo visits in our future.

We finished off our day at the park, once we all had a little afternoon snooze.

On Sunday we took the ferry over to Seabeck where we visited my family. I can easily say, although we all had a great time, Hudson had the most fun. You'll see why in the photos below. Even though the  trip to Seabeck is a bit of a lengthy one, especially with two young kiddos, it was well worth it. It is so great to be near family.

Ferry ride.

Our beautiful city. 

On the ferry.

The tornado in action.

Checking out the view.

Cheeeeeeeeesssssssseeeeeeee!

Hudson on uncle Paul's Harley.

Paul and Hudson on the tractor. 

Hud actually drove the tractor!

Possibly the most fun Hudson has ever had.

At Paul's house visiting family.

Daddy and the babes.

My cousin Lori, her daughter, Joelle and Maddie.

Me and my little tornado.