Where are you December?

I am so late doing this and I don't have any pictures to go with it cause they are still on my camera but HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUDSON! Hudson turned 5 on Dec. 4th. He was so excited about his b'day this year. When he woke up that morning he said "Hey mommy, I'm five." Just very matter-of-fact. It was so cute. He thinks he's just a big boy now. We kept going back and forth with what we were going to do for his b'day and we ended up celebrating about 3 times. The Sat before his b'day, Richard's parents, his brother, Russell and Russell's finance, Jill (have I mentioned that before? Congrats Russell and Jill getting married in June) came over to eat dinner and do presents. Sunday we went to church in Bessemer for Kaitlin's blessing. The whole fam was there so we all ate lunch at my mom and dad's house and had a cookie cake and presents there for Hudson. Tuesday on his real b'day, I left work at 2 and took cupcakes (that I made!) to Hudson's school. He was so excited about that. He just thought he was something. I have pictures that I'll have to get up later. Hope you had a great birthday, Hudson. I love you!

This month has flown by! I can't believe it's less than a week until Christmas. I don't want it to get here because I don't want it to be over. I love Christmas. The decorations, music, food, family, everything. It has just come so fast this year. I didn't even get cards mailed out. This is the picture I took of the boys Sunday afternoon with the intentions of doing a card but then I really didn't like the picture and it was Monday afternoon so I just said forget it. Oh well, there's always next year. At least the bulk of my shopping is done! I hope everyone has a great Christmas!

Updates

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Not much really going on these days but so Ashley won't be disappointed next time she pulls up my blog...I'll post.

School is going well for both Chandler and Hudson. Chandler has made all A's both six weeks. I think 6th grade is actually easier than 5th. He's enjoying youth at church and his busy social life. I am very grateful for all the great friends he has. He's playing basketball with his friend's church and several of his friends are on the team. Their first game is this Saturday. I love watching my boys play sports so I'm looking forward to it even if I don't enjoy basketball as much as baseball.

Hudson loves school. He can kinda write his name and he recognizes all the days of the week and most of the months of the year. He can count to 14 in Spanish. He has lots of good friends as well. A few weeks ago, he taught himself to ride his bike without training wheels! They have a bike at school and he had been trying to ride it so one afternoon that Richard picked him up early, he asked Richard to take his training wheels off his bike at home. He practiced and practiced for about 2 hours and can now ride a bike! We were very impressed that he didn't get frustrated when he fell time after time. He looked so cute with his houndstooth Alabama hat turned backwards. He was so proud of himself! His birthday is in a week and I can't believe he'll be 5!

I have to pat myself on the back. Richard and I joined the YMCA a year ago and I have been consistently for a year. There was a week here or there that I didn't get to go at all but for the most part, I averaged going 3-4 times a week. I know you can't really tell it by looking at me:) I do enjoy it though and I'm proud that I stuck to it. I honestly thought it might last 3 months.

Thanksgiving weekend was great. I was off Friday, too so we had a long weekend. There was so much I could have been doing but we really took it easy and it was wonderful! I love this time of year and am excited to start the Christmas season!

Watching the game

These pictures are a little old and I forgot about them until today. I thought they were really cute so I wanted to post them. One day at Chan's baseball game, Hudson just went in the dugout and propped up on somebody's bat bag and just watched the game. He really got more into watching the actual games this year. Maybe it's cause he plays so he's got more of an interest in it. It's really cute.

This is Hudson and one of his friends. They were playing with this little girl's doll house during one of Chan's games. Allen was quick to say he wasn't playing when the camera came out:)

Halloween!

I guess it's about time I posted some Halloween pictures. I'm a little behind and these are a little out of order but call me lazy, I didn't feel like starting over, just to get them in order. This was my first Halloween without Chandler. It was a little sad. He was invited to go with some of his friends on a hayride/trick or treating. He and a few of his friends were mobsters/mafia men. Richard and I took Hudson to Caroline's neighborhood to go with Sydney and John Evan. My niece, Shelby was there also. They had a great time and were so cute! Thanks, Caroline and Chris for letting us hang out! John Evan was the cutest thing ever! He was a turtle! I really enjoyed carrying him around! He went up to a couple of houses but he was pretty content as long as he had a sucker in his hand!
This is a back view of his costume! So cute!
This is Hudson with our neighbors, Sam and Max and a friend of theirs. They were so cute, too!

Me and the other 2 girls in my department were pirates. They looked better than me but we had fun dressing up for work.
Chan's mobster costume. All i had to buy was the hat!
Chan and his friend, John Todd.
Hudson with his daycare teacher and one of his friends. Their class is called the "Fantastic Fours" so that's what they did their pumpkin as for the contest they had at school. I thought it was really cool but they didn't even place!
A vampire (hudson), Sleeping Beauty (shelby), and Minnie Mouse (sydney). Hudson was cracking me up with those teeth. He looks mad in all his pictures and he was hardly talking at all trying to keep those teeth in. Every once in a while, he would slurp spit real big. It was funny!

My new niece

My sister Elizabeth had her baby yesterday. Welcome Kaitlyn Nell! She is so pretty and I could have just held her forever. Congrats to Elizabeth, Brad, and Shelby!

Champions X 2

Well, the boys were finally able to play their championship games after a week of rain outs! They both won! Hudson and his team won their game on Monday and then Chan's team won Tuesday night. They were both excited. I think we're ready for a break though. We've been playing ball since March. I'm impressed with how much Hudson improved from the spring to the fall and can't wait to see how much better he gets next spring. Richard tells me that Chandler should hit one over the fence next year. I just want him to get one! :) He's come so close so many times. Sorry these pictures are so dark. I really need a new camera. Hudson's team. The 2007 5 year old Yankees.
Chandler's team. The 2007 11-12 year old Twins.
My baseball boys. Love it!

The Crimson Mafia goes to Oxford!

Last Saturday, we went to the Alabama-Ole Miss game at Ole-Miss. We had a great time! Richard and his dad decided a few weeks back that they wanted to go to an away game this year so they decided on this one and called Richard's uncle in Fayette to see if any of them would be interested in going. Well, we had 22 people to go! There were supposed to be 23 but one of Richard's uncles had gall bladder surgery earlier that week and ended up not being able to go. Richard came up with the idea that we should all have matching shirts so we were the "Crimson Mafia" Our shirts said that on the front and on the back they said, "Beat Bama...? Fa Getta Bout it" We were informed by a man from New Jersey that the phrase on the back was misspelled but Richard told him that was the southern spelling :) We also had matching houndstooth "skid lids". See pictures below. We got lots of attention from it! It was a really long day. We left at 5am and got home about 9pm. We had a great time! These pictures are a little out of order. I had to take a picture of this guy and I wish I could have gotten one of him from the front but we were walking so it was a little hard to do. From the front, it was so much funnier! He had a little belly on him and his shorts were pulled down below his belly. Way too low! It was crazy and of course he was a bama fan!
The boys put their jerseys on when we got in the car on the way home. They got sunburn beards. It was hot and sunny and I didn't even think about sunscreen! It was freezing when we left that morning! I know...call DHR!

Me and Hud waiting patiently in the car in traffic to get off on the exit. Chandler giving us bunny ears in the background. Note: Hudson has an "A" tan line on his cheek from these tattoos!
Richard made us a sign to go in the window of the car. It got us a lot of attention on the way to the game! Richard had fun interacting with the fans on the way to the game. We saw some Tennessee fans headed to Mississippi State and he violently shook his Alabama shaker at them out the window. They thought it was pretty funny.
My fam and Richard's dad before the game. I had to help Hudson keep tabs on DJ Hall the whole game. "Where's #22?"
Chandler looked pretty smooth in his hat.
Some other members of the Mafia after Bama's win. Where are we going next year, Richard? ROLL TIDE!!!!!

Obsessions

We have been dealing with some obsessions at our house lately. So, I thought I would share a few. At the moment, Hudson's is this sticker eye black. One morning he asked if his game that night was in the dark. When I told him no, he said he needed some eye black. So, I bought him some. Richard suggested I get the sticker kind so it wouldn't be so messy. Well, he loved it and wore it day and night. To shower, to sleep, to school. I made him take it off before church that Sunday but it was back on that afternoon. It's so cute!
Chandler's is his cell phone that he got for his birthday. Texting and talking all the time. This really gets on my nerves sometimes but I'm trying to be cool about it.
Richard and I share the same obsession at the moment. SCRABBLE! He's always loved the game but I suck and we didn't have it so we never played. I got him the game for his birthday and we have played just about everyday since. Sometimes more than once a day. That's been about a month. Although I am getting a little better and have managed to win a time or 2, I get my butt seriously kicked and swear I'm never playing again. It's great quality time for us and we really enjoy it. I enjoy it more when I win but like I said, that rarely happens.

Welcome to Young Men's!

Chandler attended his first activity as a youth on Wednesday. It was a joint activity with the Young Women and they went to Sokal Park to play soccer. Sounds innocent enough, right? Well, Hudson and I dropped Chandler off at the church and went to the gym. Then we ran home for me to get a shower before we went back to pick Chan up. While I was in the shower, the phone rang. So when I got out, I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Kelley Wyatt (the bishop's wife) calling. I called her back and she starts the conversation with, Valoree, don't panic, he's fine but...(As a mother, these are the calls you dread!) She then went on to explain that Chandler had busted his head open and that the bishop was on his way to the emergency room with him and that I needed to meet them there. I was fine and very calm until I got off the phone with her and then I started shaking a little bit. So, off to the hospital we went. I called Richard and he met us there. Come to find out, Chandler and another boy, Taylor Miller, both went to head butt the ball at the same time and hit heads. I think Taylor has a bump on his forehead and probably a bad headache. Deena Ennis was at the activity and works at the hospital so she followed the bishop and Chandler there and hooked us up by getting us back quicker. Otherwise, who knows how long we would have sat there. They were busy! Very appreciative of her for that. She also stayed in the room with us while Chan got his stitches. Thanks Deena! I expected that Chandler would have a little blood on his shirt or something but nothing like what I saw. Aubrey Martin took off his shirt and gave it to Chan to help control the bleeding. He was covered in blood, grass, and dirt. I only looked at the wound once and that was enough. Chandler did great though. He was very calm. He turned down pain medicine. The ER doctor, Dr. Pepper (yes, seriously!) suggested that a plastic surgeon sew him up. We know the plastic surgeon that was on call so that was great! Thanks Dr. Menard! He did a great job. The only time Chandler showed any emotion was when they numbed it up for the stitches. That hurt him pretty bad but he was still tough about it. I think I squeezed his hand harder than he was squeezing mine. We're not sure how many stitches it ended up being. He didn't count but it's a pretty big cut. The bishop stayed in the waiting room with Richard and Hudson the whole time. Thanks Bishop Wyatt! Waiting to get a room. This is the dressing they put on the cut in the waiting room.
I actually got the blood out of Chan's shorts. I didn't even try the shirt. I said we should just throw it out but he and Richard both think we should keep it. It accents the skull design nicely don't you think?
After stitches with his face cleaned up a little bit.
This is the next day and after a good shower. If his eye weren't so black and blue and swollen shut, with his hair down, you wouldn't even know he was hurt. Thanks for all the calls of concern and great support we received from friends and family!

A look into the future...

There is this guy on Richard's softball team that looks like what Hudson might look like in 15 years. He plays catcher and at one of the first games, Hudson was standing behind the fence kinda beside him and I was just like, "Oh my gosh...that's what Hudson's going to look like!" They have the same crazy hair. Seth is a little sweaty in his picture and Hudson wouldn't stand beside him for me to take his picture so I had to find one to show for comparison.
A really nice guy. By the way...Richard's softball team is undefeated for the regular season. Tournaments start next week. They'll probably get moved up to a different league but I hope they do well.

Happy Birthday, Chandler!

Last Friday, the 21st was Chandler's 12th b'day! We were a little late throwing together a party but we pulled it off and he had about 10 boys come to the park for some football and food. I think they had a good time. Taking a break from football to enjoy some cupcakes.
Caroline, Chris, Chris' brother Chad, Sydney, and John Evan stopped by. Most of the kids were dressed in Alabama stuff since it was a game day.
Of course John Evan enjoyed the food :)

The boys thought they were too cool for me to take their picture so they did silly poses.

Most of the extended family was at church Sunday for the primary program and Chandler's receiving the priesthood. They came over for lunch after church and it was a great day. I am very proud of Chandler and the person he is and his accomplishments. Happy Birthday, Chandler!

Hudson's t-ball game

Hudson is having fun playing t-ball. It's better to me now than it was in the spring. It doesn't seem quite as chaotic. Richard is wore out after every game from trying to make sure kids are where they are supposed to be and that they are paying attention. I think they've won all their games. Does this lady in the blue shirt not look just like my sister, Elizabeth? It is crazy how much they resemble one another. Even their mannerisms are alike. I'll try to get a better picture. Chandler saw her from a distance and said to himself, Oh Elizabeth came to the game, where's Shelby?
Hudson giving Troy's Daddy five before he hits the ball.
Richard and the umpire looking on as Hudson gets ready to hit.

$4.75

Who knew that $4.75 could bring so much happiness? That's right...I got this pool at BigLots for $4.75! Hudson was so excited when I brought this home. We haven't been able to use it much cause we're never home but Sam came over one afternoon and they had a good time. Too bad summer's about gone!

Baseball, school, and job

Fall season at the ballpark has started. Well, practice anyway. Games start on Labor Day. Richard is coaching Hudson this time. He wasn't going to coach either one of them but the park called and asked him to coach in Hudson's age group because they needed one more. He's excited about it but hopes that his and Chan's games aren't always at the same time. The season is short, only 4 weeks and they don't play any games on Saturdays. I'm glad they are both playing.
Richard is playing softball for my bank's team. They had their first game Monday night and won 17-2. The other team was pretty sad. Richard hit the ball good. He didn't get anything hit to him in the outfield but he had a good time. He is the oldest on the team by about 10 years. It's pretty funny but as he says, "I may be the oldest but that doesn't mean I'm the most mature." So between him and the boys playing, we will be at some ball park 4 nights a week sometimes. Gotta love it!
School is going great for Chandler and Hudson. Chandler's school had open house last week and I met all his teachers. They all seem really nice and fun and they are all pretty young. I don't remember having teachers like that when I was in middle school. Hudson's doing well, also. He has a new best friend at school and talks about him all the time. His teacher writes notes in their folders everyday and that is my favorite thing to read. They are always positive and she shares a little bit of what his day was like.
For those of you who don't know, Richard is now full-time in the t-shirt business. He quit his other job in late June. Things have been going really well so far and he's been getting new business everyday. So...if anyone needs any t-shirts, uniforms, signs, or things like that, please let him know and feel free to spread the word along:)

P.S. Richard's b'day it tomorrow so Happy Birthday! I love you!
P.S.S. ROLL TIDE!

A sweet little voice on the phone

Last Friday I got a call at work. There was this sweet little voice on the other end asking, "Valoree, can Hudson come spend the night with me?" It was my niece Sydney and it was the sweetest thing ever. After talking to Caroline and making sure she was up for it, of course I said SURE! Richard and I decided it would be a great opportunity for us to have a much needed date night. We were going to a 5:20 movie so we were just going to leave Chandler at home but just as we were about to leave, one of his friends called and invited him to spend the night. So...it all worked out great and we were able to have a date without getting a babysitter. We went to see the Bourne Ultimatum which was great by the way! After the movie we grabbed something to eat at Zaxby's and were home by 8:15. How sad is that? We had a great time and it was good to just spend some time with each other. It was just nice to go to bed when I wanted to and sleep late. We got up and ate IHOP the next morning.
I was able to partially repay the favor by watching Caroline's kids for a couple of hours the next day so she could go shopping. I still think I owe her though! Not quite an even trade :)
Chandler really does have some great friends and I hope it remains that way as he gets older. He started middle school last week and is liking it so far. I can't believe he's so grown. I think back to when I was in the 6th grade and what I knew and how old I thought I was and it's really scary. I guess that's what prayers are for, right? Anyway...I am so thankful for the great family and friends that we are blessed to have! I can't imagine life without them.

A much needed vacation

We have been back from vacation for a little over a week now. It was wonderful. 10 days of no work and no responsibility. We went to the 11 year old Dizzy Dean World Series held in Rossville, Georgia. We actually stayed in Chattanooga, Tn. The park was about 20 miles away from the hotel. Some people say that it's a lot to take a week of vacation for a baseball tournament and that's not how they would want to spend it but we love it. How often do kids get to go on vacation with 11 of their friends and hang out at a hotel and swim with them everyday? Okay so maybe a few of those 11 you don't want to be with a whole week but you get the idea. We left on Thursday the 19th at about 3pm. Chandler went up earlier with a friend so he could be there for the opening ceremonies which consisted of a parade and a picnic at the park with a rock climbing wall, home run contest, bunting contest, and other activities. We met them at the hotel at about 8pm and the kids of course went swimming. Later that night, we made a family trip to Wal-Mart to get some groceries and lots of candy and junk food. We stayed at Country Inn & Suites so our rooms had a small kitchen area with a sink, fridge and a microwave. Note: vacation is the only time Richard goes to the grocery store with me. Richard's brother Russell stayed the weekend with us and his dad stayed the rest of the week. The games started that next morning at 9am and of course that's what game time we got. It was actually raining that morning so the games got pushed back until 11 so we got up at 6am for nothing. Oh well. We won this game and played again at 5:30 that night. We won that game also.

This is Chan playing 1st during our first game.

Anyway...we won Saturday's game and didn't play again until Monday night. We ended up losing Monday to Tallahassee (the team that beat us last year in the championship game) and Tuesday we lost so that put us out of the tournament. They ended up tying for 5th out of about 30 something teams so I guess that's not too bad but they should have done better. Let's just say we'll blame the coaching and I won't go into any details:) Chandler played great and had a great tournament. We are very proud of him and his talent and attitude!

Between game times we were able to do some fun things. One night we went to a place that had putt-putt, go-carts, batting cages and so forth. Hudson thinks you have to ride the go-carts every time you are on vacation no matter where that might be so luckily we found a place to do this.


This is Hudson with wind blown hair after the go-carts!


Richard had to get in the batting cages!



One day we went to a Children's Discovery Museum. It was okay. Not near as cool as the one we went to in New Orleans last year.

Here are the boys digging for dinosaur bones.




Hudson had a great time at the hotel and the games with the other "SOB's" (I'm not cussing, see earlier post for explanation) We were able to go swimming every morning and pretty much have the pool to ourselves since the bigger boys couldn't swim until after their games. The hotel had an indoor and outdoor pool. Hudson amazed the other parents by his swimming abilities. While other kids his age and older were wearing life jackets, he was doing flips off the side and swimming in the deep end by himself! He wanted to be a big boy and hang out in the lobby and walk around the hotel by himself but we couldn't let him do that just yet. The park where the games were played had a really nice playground so I took him to play on that everyday before Chandler's games.




All in all we had a great week and it was fun to spend so much time together. In the weeks leading up to this, Richard had been working like crazy so we hadn't been able to see him much. We ate a bunch of good food and at a couple of different places. It was a much needed break!