First Day

Don't you love Emmaline's silly band anklet?

Elijah started First Grade this week, and Hudson began PreK (officially!) at CHLG.

We are doing the Hybrid Academy in 1st Grade again like we did last year for Kindergarten.

They go T/Th/Fri from 9 to 12:45 and I do homeschool with Elijah on M/W.

So far I've definitely learned that 1st Grade is no joke.

It's much harder than K with a significantly larger work load...so we are still getting into a groove.

Elijah's teacher, Mrs. Vanderbilt, is so awesome.

I am so excited to have her at CHLG and she is excellent at curriculum, 

which is just what we need for the Hybrid model.

She's still setting up their new classroom, but here are a few pictures.

They meet in the basement of a church on 9th and Maryland, and the Kindergarten classroom is next door.

Hudson is on the 3rd floor.

(There is now a couch against the wall.)

And Hudson started PreK for real this time!

Last year, he was supposed to be in the 3 year old preschool room, but they were full in January, so the director let him be in PreK just for fun to meet some friends and get used to the school.

So he was really sad for a while because he realized all of his friends were in Kindergarten and he wasn't...but thankfully he has one good friend in there (Shane) and he gets to be the big expert on everything...so he's happy in there now.  I'm just glad their classroom is on the 3rd floor and he doesn't have to see his old friends coming and going all day long.  (They're in the basement.)  I think that could be tricky!  But he's with his age group now, and he's going to be able to teach them a thing or two!

Mrs. Martha is the director of the school; and she's Shane's mom.

There are 6 boys and 3 girls in this class. 

I'll get a picture of Hudson with Mrs. Kellie soon (his teacher).

I do "duty days" in Hudson's class 6 times a semester, where I stay the whole time and help, make snacks, clean up between projects, go with them to the park, help with their lunches, and then vacuum and wipe down tables. So I'll post pics of those days like I did last year.   I also have "duty days" with Elijah's class on field trips and science lab days and such.  There are about 5 of those, I think?

And since I have quite a few "duty days," I needed something for Emmaline to do.  And plus, if we were in Raleigh she'd be in 3 year old preschool b/c she has an August 25 birthday.  Isn't that crazy!?  She's actually #1 on a waiting list for Little Learners, a 2-3 year old play school through another local church here (NCC).  So she will probably get into that sometime in the year, even maybe in January?   Until then, I have her in two play groups; one on Tuesday and one on Friday with 4 other moms in each group.   And that really frees me up to help at the school, run errands, and meet up with other girls or new mommies at our church (who are stuck at home with a morning napping baby).   I'm looking forward to having a few mornings to myself for the first time!

Dentist Visit

I found out just a few days ago that the boys needed a dentist visit before starting their 

Learning Group school in DC, and they also need a few blood tests that aren't standard in NC,

so we have a slew of appointments added to our calendar.

They visited the dentist (well, an orthodontist friend) today, and they did awesome!

Hudson had been earlier this year, before he quit sucking his thumb, so he was the "expert."  

Elijah had x-rays of his teeth and lots of pictures taken, since he is older,

and he was a champ through all of that.  

He actually loved it.

He kept telling Hudson, "This is fun!"

We are so thankful to Dr. B and Dr. H for their care...and for being so kind to our family.

(And for squeezing us in at the last minute!)

Hudson at Four Years

Hudson is such a hoot. He's a really sharp cookie, but he's usually talking to himself, making funny noises, rhyming words and laughing, or doing a goofy dance.  He can fool us intoto thinking he's clueless on his own planet, but he doesn't miss a beat.  He goes 90 miles an hour until he crashes in his bed.  He's the first to wake up and the last to go to sleep.

He's always been very verbal, and he continues to say things that seem much older than his age.  He has learned many sight words along with Elijah, and can write almost all of the letters of the alphabet without much help.  He can count to 100, with a little help from Elijah when he forgets one.   He absolutely loves, loves, loves to color.  On the ride to Chattanooga, he literally colored with markers for 8 hours!  Even if a movie was playing, he still colored while he watched it.   He is in a phase where he colors the entire page in the coloring book the same color -- cracks me up. 

Hudson is pretty easy-going.  He can play with Emmaline and her dolls or he can run and climb trees with Elijah. He's flexible and not head strong.  He is very compassionate and gives compliments generously.   Like most younger siblings, he loves to be praised and always wants us to praise him if we are praising another child.   He was in a very whiney phase earlier (unlike Elijah's physical tantrums), but after persistent discipline, he seems to be coming out of that phase too, by God's grace. I loved Elijah's four year old year, and I can already tell that Hudson's will be a sweet, fun year too.  


He dropped his nap around the summertime, but still has rest time in the afternoon.  Sometimes he goes to sleep, while other times he will read or play with a basket of toys in his bed.  (Elijah would still take a nap every day if he were home!)  He wakes up first in the mornings, and of course wakes up Elijah.  He is also the last to go to sleep, even without a nap.  I am sure part of that is due to not having any soothing mechanism anymore.  He gave up thumb-sucking long ago and hasn't found anything to replace it, so when his little eyes open, his feet hit the floor.  Or actually, I should say that his mouth starts going.  


He is my child who says "MommyMommyMommyMommy" constantly while tapping me the whole time while I'm clearly doing 20 other things.   He is the epitome of this video.   Click here.


Hudson is very accident-prone and trips and falls as often as he breathes.  I love how he watches himself run sometimes, and he'll still pump that left arm every now and then like he used to do.   He still loves wearing a cape, and still wears his blanket as a cape on occasion.  He takes 30 hours to walk from the front door to get in his car seat - he comes out and stops to pick up a stick, goes back to hold the door open for me, goes to the car, asks me where some obscure toy is, opens up the console just for fun, picks up a CD and asks if it's scratched, talks and tickles Emmaline who has been waiting in her seat for 15 minutes, picks up his Sunday School papers from last week and tells me the story he learned, sits in Elijah's seat and says "Haha! Just kidding!" and then after the 100th time I've told him to get in his seat, he does.  


He still puts his shoes on the wrong feet.  It's kind of his trademark. 


When I pick him up from school, he's the kind of child who opens up his backpack and pulls out everything to show me as soon as he's buckled in.   His teachers say he is perfectly obedient, but I have a feeling he's going to be the kid who is super smart, but who doesn't keep his hands to himself and doesn't know how to stop talking.  He is probably never going to struggle academically a single day in school...as long as he listens to the directions.  I am really looking forward to the two-days-a-week that I will be homeschooling him in DC.  Never thought I'd say that, but I really think he's going to love it.  


Hudson is the shadow of his brother.  He wants to be with him, copies everything he does, and wants whatever he is eating.  I asked him if he was ready for lunch the other day and he said, "Yes, and I'll have what Elijah has."  But he's the one who keeps Elijah laughing.  He's the one who instigates and then they both crack up.   


He is always ready to go somewhere, and is not a homebody.  We've asked him if he wants to go to a certain place (we will name it), and he gets all excited and ready to go, then when we are in the car, he'll ask, "So where are we going?"  (Remind you of anyone, mom?)  


He still "rides" his big wheel like it's nobody's business.  He "rides" by standing on it, running beside it with one foot, then sitting on it.


His dance moves are absolutely hysterical.  When he wiggles his hips, it's the best thing ever.  


He's a great whistler.  He can whistle 'Jingle Bells' and random theme songs to TV shows.


He loves his college friends, and is always up for a wrestling match with the guys.  He plays so well with William Moore; I'm going to miss that little friendship they have.  

He's still not the best eater.  He's not picky or stubborn at all; he will try new foods and such.   He just doesn't eat much.  In fact, it's probably because he's talking and goofing off the whole time.  He is not a big breakfast fan, but neither is his daddy.


Hudson goes for his well check on Tuesday, and I'm sure we'll get our annual confirmation that we have a string bean!  He's such a joy; he is so perfect for our family.  We are so grateful that God chose to bless our family with Hudson Parker!

Hudson's Hiking Party

We celebrated Hudson's birthday with a hiking party yesterday.

He's not particulalry "into" one thing right now, 

so I thought we'd take advantage of the trees all around us before we move to DC.

I thought about how much they love the "forest" behind our house, 

and that's what they will most likely miss the most.

So my original idea was to have a party in the "forest" 

but with a house on the market, I realized that might not be a great idea.

So we had it at Umstead Park, which is just down the street from our house.

It was such a gorgeous fall day, which made it perfect.

Nick and Hudson picked out walking sticks for the boys from our backyard,

and I made a little "hobo" bag with a magnifying glass,

a scavenger hunt list, a sticker sheet and a nametag.

The theme was so fun and easy to do for a party.

I made a fake fire out of logs and tissue paper for the center, 

and campfire cupcakes out of fondant and tootsie rolls

and nature-themed cookies

and granola bars and trail mix in clear painters cans from Michaels

s'more pops (marshmallows dipped in chocolate with graham cracker crumbs),

and acorns (mini nilla wafers, kisses and peanut butter morsels),

and good ol' fashioned s'mores.

I used pine cones for the card holders and tied tags on the cans with hemp string.

The boys had such a sweet time together.

And it was such an easy party because they entertained themselves the whole time.

They went on a hike with the dads and found the things on their scavenger hunt list.

(red leaf, green leaf, yellow leaf, 2 rocks, 3 acorns, etc.)

Then they used their magnifying glasses to "find things" 

and took turns following a leader (usually the bossy older brothers).

I love this picture of the boys (minus Jonah).

Nolan, Will, Elijah, Hudson, William and Nate

They went on a little hike with the dads.

He had a real campfire on his cupcake with that candle!

The boys roasted s'mores in a little grill.

I was hoping to get a spot with a large fire pit, but they were all taken.

(Have you noticed that my son has a habit of taking really obnoxious eating photos?)

They were having so much fun that we totally forgot to open presents!
So we just waited until we got home.
Thank you, dear friends, for the fun gifts!
I can't believe it was our last party in Raleigh...I've so loved ALL of our parties with y'all.
(And with those of you who have moved away -- I always miss you most on party days.)

And here are the rest of the pics!

Hudson's First Day of Preschool

With two going to school now, this is what our bench looks like the night before!

Hudson wanted Elijah to take pictures with him...of course.

Elijah said, "You know how some people don't smile in their pictures?  

Like some old people?  I want to not smile and do that this time."

Ummm ok?

I had to have one of Hudson by himself!

We dropped off Elijah at his school first, then went to Hudson's.  

He asked me to walk him in on the first day, but we'll try carpool next time.

Excited much?

He knew just what to do and found his name on the wall, hung his backpack and went right in!

I think not having Elijah with us was the trick...

And yes, that's my child who went to school on the first day with a tacky tattoo. 

You might ask...what did I do on my first day in 4 years with only one child...

I took her to the doctor for her well-check up.

So that wasn't too exciting or special, but next time we'll paint our toenails or do something girly!