Hudson is Three!

We had a great time celebrating Hudson's third birthday today! The highlight was definitely our family trip to the fire station. Hudson loved sitting in the big ladder truck.

His outfit wouldn't have been complete without his fireman's boots

Just after we left, we watched the truck Hudson sat in drive away

This evening we enjoyed chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles (the birthday boy's request). Blowing out the candles here

so proud that he finally got the candles blown out

We got him a little Thomas drum with drum sticks. This boy loves to drum and uses anything to drum, mostly he's used 2 toy golf clubs since last July. Every night when we sing a hymn before bed, he gets his "drumsticks" to drum along while we sing.

He was ecstatic! The bummer is that he opened it just before bedtime and we're hopping on a plane in the morning to head to a friend's wedding. So, he'll have to wait and drum when we return.

Happy Birthday sweet boy! We love you so much!!

Pool Days

Last Friday was our first day all getting in the pool this year. It's still a little chilly, but felt refreshing (especially since we jumped in after a run).

This little sweet girl has a double ear infection. This is my first time with a child having an ear infection!

The Kiddos

Anna Kate is a super fast crawler and loves to be standing. She pulls up on everything (for about a month now) and enjoys getting into things. :)

She has 2 bottom teeth and enjoys using them to chomp food (& anything else she can get into her mouth).

Here's Hudson after he wrote his first letter, an "H". I wrote the orange one and he wrote all the others. He also learned to spell his name aloud and has been marching through the house spelling it all day. :) It looks like he's right handed.

We visited a couple preschools for Hudson to possibly attend a couple mornings a week starting in the fall. He's so excited to go to school!

notthewayitwassupposedtobe

The day finally arrived for Erica & I to run our first marathon together. We got ready, made it to the starting line on time (although we cut it close), weather was perfect for a long run and we were excited. We were fighting the crowds at the beginning of the race as we passed by a man on a bullhorn repeatedly warning "Watch your step, uneven surface ahead." A couple steps after him, Erica tripped and fell. Her whole front of her body skidded along the pavement. I gasped, runners pushed their way around. She attempted to stand, only to have her leg buckle from under her. Blood was pouring from her knee, their were sizable scrapes on her hand and on other spots on her leg. She was hunched over, grasping the side of the bridge we were on, lamaze-style breathing through the pain. We were motionless in a blur of activity. After a couple minutes, she exclaimed "Go on without me" to which I replied through tears "I won't leave you." It was a classic battle scene drama.

She was stable and it wasn't looking like she would be able to continue running. So, I went ahead. I ran, lamenting on the fact that we were supposed to be enduring this together. The whole race I was wondering what she was doing (getting a MRI, did an aid cart come pick her up,...). At mile 22, she was by the course cheering for me with a bandaged knee and a big smile. "Go Emmy go. I got stitches but am ok." It gave me renewed energy. I pushed harder and finished in 3:55.

Erica ended up running again until an aid station at mile 11! Her knee was still bleeding heavily and she asked for a bandaid so she could keep running. They told her she had to get stitches and couldn't keep running. They stitched her up there and she went to wait and cheer for me.

Since we didn't accomplish our goal of running a whole marathon together, this just means we get to keep training and choose another race. :)

Tidbits

We're doing really well, just busy busy busy.

*Anna Kate is a very efficient crawler, pulling up on everything & has her 2 bottom teeth. I love this stage! She loves to eat, babbles "mamamama" & smiles often.

*Hudson continues to ride his bike everywhere. He rode over a mile recently and would've happily kept going, but it was time to go inside. We've let him ride in the house and he insists on riding to his room, to the potty, to the kitchen table, etc... He loves playing ball (of any kind) more and continues to be drawn to music.

*Naples has 2 seasons- "in season" and "not in season". Season runs from Jan - April and the population doubles during this time. So, we are currently in the middle of our first season in Naples. It's busy- lots of traffic, lines in grocery stores and the church population also doubles. There are lots of extra events offered in the city and at church during this time as well. The weather really is beautiful though, so we see why people flock to southern Florida. Although the summer brings heat, it will also bring a down time.

*I'm planning to run my 2nd marathon next weekend with my sister, Erica. It's been 5 years and 2 babies since my 1st. I'm hoping for an improved time, but honestly my sister and I have not consulted or followed a training plan at all. We've both just been running and each did a couple "long runs" (~20 miles) and decided to try a marathon. We'll see how it goes...

Hopefully some pics and more updates soon...