Slowing Down (for a bit at least)

Our days are moving super fast right now with so many things happening. We are enjoying all the excitement and neat things taking place (getting ready to move, buying a house, anticipating our daughter's arrival, Trent getting ready for his ordination exams, Hudson turning 2 tomorrow...). But, we were able to enjoy some time with friends from Dallas before we head out.

We met at a local park for a picnic

Hudson & Hudson practicing t-ball

At a friend's house last week

While watching all 4 kiddos, my friend, Stephanie, put her daughter's coat on Hudson (since it was the closest) & snapped this pic...total "Blue Steel"

Thanks for all the pics, Stephanie!

Shades

Practicing wearing sunglasses since he's going to be a Florida boy

A Collection of Times

One of my best friends from Vandy, Ashley! She's finishing up her MBA at Baylor & came up to hang-out with us for the day on Saturday. We had a lot of fun together!


Last week I babysat Ashley (age 4 and 6/4 according to her). She has a vivid imagination & as I engaged in pretend play with her, Hudson joined in. It was so fun to see his little imagination fast at work!

We played a fun game of Settlers of Catan with the Tenpenney family last week. Hudson loves this family!


After all this, we woke up Sunday morning to 2-3 inches of snow covering everything! Unbelievable. It's been in the 60s-70s for a few weeks and is forecasted to be back up in those temps this week. I packed 2 boxes last week for our move- one being all our winter stuff (coats, gloves, etc...). We had to unpack the box...talk about 2 steps forward & 1 step back. I'm glad we're moving even farther south. :)

In just 3 weeks...

...we're moving to Naples, Florida!!

 Trent got an official call (church language for job) to be an Assistant Pastor (upon ordination) at Covenant Presbyterian. He'll be the pastor to Family & Men's ministries.

Our plan is to leave Dallas on April 9th & head east and south. He's starting his new position on April 15th. In between now and then, we're going on a brief house-hunting trip next week.

Although we are sad to leave our current church & friends we've made in Dallas, we are thrilled with all that is store for us in Naples.

All Grown up

Nothing like a backpack & haircut to make a little boy look so much older!

wearing his new backpack...he wore it all weekend, even while riding in his stroller :)

the before haircut shot...Yolanda (Hudson's personal stylist :)) gave him the "very important job" of holding a clip & hairbrush...he sat still & held onto those items the whole time!

we think he looks like his cousin Jack here

since he was doing his job so well, they replaced the brush with a balloon to hold

the after picture...he was very proud of the lollipop they gave him!

then in true Casto family fashion, we went to the park to enjoy the beautiful day

hanging out with my big kid

Springtime

Enjoying a snack on a bench in the sunshine

exploring small parts of nature (Hudson can do this for quite a long time!)

His new favorite game- playing football

getting ready for a pass

taking a rest at a local park

spinning in circles

stopping to smell the flowers

we're enjoying every minute of our time outside in the sun

Coming very soon...our plans to move somewhere even sunnier & warmer than Dallas!

Just for Fun

Some other moms and I started a weekly co-op where one of us watches all four kiddos. The thing I love about this is that it is structured time (thanks to Amy for organizing this!). We're using some curriculum from one of the other mom's church. The kids get the same lesson each week (repetition is great for this age), singing, teaching letters, a craft & playing. 

Since we don't have a kids' table, I started out teaching them on the floor.

Later we moved to the table so it wouldn't be as tempting to run around

And these are totally unrelated pics of Hudson trying to walk around in my shoes

Like Father Like Son

We went hiking last weekend and when we got back near the parking lot, we let Hudson "hike" while holding some poles (which shortened to just his size). We both find the hiking poles helpful while toting a child (Trent carrying Hudson in the backpack & me pregnant with #2) and navigating different types of terrain.