Busy Busy Spring!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post but we have been crazy busy.  With spring arriving and the end of school and activities, we are always on the go!  

We started Spring with soccer season for Hudson and Gymboree for Sullivan.  Both girls are having so much fun - more on that later.  

We also spent a VERY long week in Atlanta to celebrate Easter and because I had a meeting for work.  We had a great Easter with all the Halter's and were even treated to another one of PJ's awesome egg hunts.  The girls always love being with the boys and the boys are so sweet to them.  Unfortunately, the week after Easter while I was in downtown Atlanta for a work meeting for 4 days - Sullivan got a double ear infection, SueSue (who was our babysitter) got the stomach flu and Maysie spent 2 days at the ER vet and regular vet in Atlanta with some stomach issues also.  Luckily by the time Friday rolled around, everyone was on the mend and we were able to sneak in a trip to the GA Aquarium.  Big shout out to Tom for being super dad all week!

When we got home from Atlanta we were thrown back into our regular routine of Soccer practice, dance class, gymboree and soccer games.  May also tends to be the birthday month and we literally had a birthday party every Saturday!  Of course the girls loved going to a playground party for Carter, Star Wars party for a classmate, Karate party for Caleb (Hudson even broke a board with her karate chop) and coming up a pool party for another classmate...and don't forget Sobes 2nd Birthday is only weeks away!!!

Last weekend SueSue came up for a visit and got to watch Hudson play soccer and do her dance recital.  We also spent some time at Musician's Corner (a free music festival in Nashville) and at our favorite spot - petting the Police horses at Ellington Ag Center.

Here are a few updates on the girls:

Hudson:

• She is loving soccer and has scored several goals this season.  Sadly, we only have two games left.
• She enjoyed Dance as well and after a shaky rehearsal (big tears and refusal to go on stage), she nailed her performance and did so awesome.  Big thanks to Macy for helping with Dance (that place is way out of my comfort zone). We were all so proud.  Here is a video of her final performance (she is on the end in the back row - Thanks Aunt Kelly for the video): 

• She is getting so tall and grown up - Almost 43 inches tall these days
• She is so excited for our pool to be open again and is doing great swimming without a life jacket
• She had a great progress report at The Academy and has mastered almost all her letters but we need a little work on her numbers...
• This summer she will be going to Lipscomb Soccer Camp again and also to Princess Dance Camp with her buddy AB - I can already tell that is going to be a big hit!

Sullivan:

• She loved Gymboree and is so sad we stopped going (too much travel and pool time this summer)
• She is also getting very big 
• She still LOVES to eat...I would say and she would tell you that her favorite food is cheese...
• She is a talker...she repeats anything and everything that she hears
• She loves riding Hudson's scooter and honestly doing anything Hudson does
• She is hilarious!!!!!  

We have had a great couple months and here are some pictures of our adventures:

Celebrating her first goal!

Not so sure about the Easter Bunny

Loving the Boys!

Aquarium Fun

So tall!

Hi-Yah!

Funny face painting

So brave!

Proud of our little performer

So excited about her flowers

The Star and her stylist

Loving a Popsicle

Cheese!

 Sorry again it has been forever and also sorry for all the pictures but here are even more of what we have been up to:

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Finally Spring

Spring is finally here...

Well spring has finally sprung (kind of), it wouldn't be Nashville without a few 80 degree days followed by highs in the 40s.  But I think we are finally into spring...thank goodness.  We love being outside and since it has warmed up we spend almost all our time there.  Thanks to Grandpa and Moon, we have an awesome bounce house that is worth its weight in gold!!!!  It has already gotten more use than I could have ever imagined!

I also had the chance to take my first getaway without kids.  I had never left Sobes before so it was a little tough at first - I suffer from bad mommy guilt and hate to leave them - I know...I am crazy!  Any way, I sucked it up and took a long weekend trip back to Tally-Town!  My old stomping grounds for our Soccer Alumni weekend.  It was so fun to see so many of my old teammates.  We had a blast and it is amazing how quickly we all picked up right where we left off.  We had an alumni game also so that was interesting...but I have to say...we still got it!

We are still loving our neighborhood and have been taking advantage of being so close to Ellington Ag Center.  It's where they keep the Metro Police horses and we love going to see and pet them.  We also spend time at Radnor Lake and playing with all our awesome neighborhood friends!

We also recently did our first ever Color Run.  Hudson was very excited about and it was going to be Tom's FIRST ever road race and wouldn't you know it, we wake up and it is 40 and rainy.  Well there was no stopping us so we dressed warm, layered the girls, covered them in the stroller with towels and hit the road.  Needless to say...it was freezing and wet but we loved every minute.

Pre Color Run

Post Color Run

A little catch up on the girls...

Sobes is crazy as ever.  She is still doing Gymboree every Friday and loves it.  She is getting very opinionated about what she wears, well really just her shoes.  She is a total parrot and repeats everything she hears.  It is really funny.  She is loving school and has boyfriends in both of her schools...good luck Tom!

She loves her pockets

Hudson is just growing and growing.  She is still taking dance and best I can tell she likes it.  She got her recital outfit and just about lost her mind over it.  Soccer also started a few weeks ago and we had our first game.  As most of you know she played last fall and for 6 weeks, never touched the ball in a game.  We bribed her with a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese should she ever score a goal.  We felt pretty good about that bet...until our FIRST game of the season...wouldn't you know it...GOAL!!!  So we spent a lovely Saturday night at Chuck-E-Cheese.

Celebrating her First Goal

I like to think she is rubbing it in our faces here!  Anyway, soccer is going well and she is still loving school also.  She is getting pretty good with her letters, etc so that is fun to watch.

Soccer Season!

We also celebrated Tom's Birthday recently.  He claims we went to the GertHaus for dinner to celebrate but we conveniently ended up at Chuck-E-Cheese on his actual birthday...so you decide!

That is about all for now.  I will keep you posted on how soccer season goes and also our big Dance recital in May.  

We are headed to Atlanta next week for Easter and a work meeting for me so that will mean quality cousin time which the girls love of course!

Here are the rest of the pictures from our past month or so:

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January and Valentine's

2014 is off to a great start!  We have had a jam packed first month or so.

My Rock Star

January has been full of lots of outings...indoor outings of course...due to the polar vortex that has had Nashville in the negative temperatures for way too long.  

For the second year in a row, we went to see Ringling Brothers Circus.  The pre-show is great b/c you get to go down on the floor and meet clowns and see some of the acts up close.  The girls especially loved the elephant who could paint and play basketball.  Sobes was just excited to get her very own clown nose! 

Appropriate!

 We typically try to avoid buying ridiculously overpriced food at these events but after the security people threw away the entire lunch I had packed for everyone, the girls were hungry.  Thanks to Sullivan helping herself to a handful of popcorn as she walked by, Tom had to buy the whole bag!  Needless to say, it was gone before the show even started!

Circus fun!

 We have had a few random days of really nice weather (typically followed the next day by negative degrees again) so we have had a few really fun neighborhood play dates.  The new bounce house and Jeep have been a huge hit and we are so thankful to live in a neighborhood surrounded by such awesome friends to play with all the time!

But due to the weather, we have spent most of our time finding indoor activities.  Like the Science Center.  They just opened a new exhibit called the Tinkering Garage and the girls loved it.  It is a giant kid friendly workshop with real tools and supplies.  Luckily, I talked them away from the saws and hammers into the toddler corner where we worked with some cardboard and pipe cleaners!

Tinkering Garage

 After a long cold January, it was hard to believe February was already here for many reasons!  Mostly being that it means Tom and I have been married for FIVE years!  Hard to believe it has been so long b/c the time has flown by!  We typically try not to celebrate on Valentine's day (which is our actual anniversary) so we have postponed until tomorrow night but I do love getting the girls some fun little treats.  Thanks to SueSue sending a big fun package also, they got quite the haul this year!

Valentine's Day

Two weeks ago, Tom was in Atlanta for meetings only to arrive in the middle of SnowJam 2014.  It took him 16 hours to get there and he never actually got there (shout out to Cousin Matt for letting him crash for 2 days).  So this past week he headed back to Atlanta to have those rescheduled meetings, only to arrive a day before IceJam 2014.  At least this time he got there on time but was then stuck with SueSue and BooBoo for three days during the ice storm.  He did get to have his meetings but it meant he was gone for 5 days!  Luckily he made it home on Valentine's day and he came bearing gifts!

A Rose from Daddy

Sobes was not so sure about the rose...I think she thought it was edible!  But Hudson Loved hers! 

So sweet

Today we had what I hope is the first of many Girl's Days.  My wonderful group of friends and I all have girls almost the same age.  So we decided to have a Big Girl Date to Disney Junior Live.  It was the Pirates and Princesses show...need I say more??

Off to see Disney Junior Live

 They were so cute and SOO excited.

All of our Princesses

 I guess that about wraps up our happenings over the past moth or so.  Here is a quick update on the girls:

Hudson:

• She officially started her dance class and loves it.  She goes every Wednesday and really loves the tap part...she calls them her 'tappin' shoes and gets so excited to put them on
• She has been to several big kid birthday parties - bowling, bouncy place, and pottery painting
• She is eating like a teenager, growing like a weed and sleeping like a real person (finally)
• We start Spring Soccer in a few weeks and we can't wait to have some of our old teammates and friends on our team again
• She loves riding her scooter and will finally drive the jeep they got for Christmas
• Tom gave her her very first haircut (it only took 3.5 years to grow long enough)

Sullivan:

• She went to her very first Gymboree class today and loved it
• She is still eating and sleeping like a teenager and I think finally growing some
• She talks up a storm and will repeat anything and everything she hears
• She loves playing with her babies and must at all times have 3 or 4 babies and at least two blankets in her arms

The girls have finally starting playing really well together and it is so fun to watch.  Sobes misses Hudson so much when they are apart it is really cute!

Special Treat!

Click on the link below to see more pictures from our adventures:

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Christmas!!

Hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone!  We had a great Christmas Celebration that lasted for about 2 weeks!

 

We started out with a trip to see Santa and to pick out our tree!  The girls were excited about Santa and loved seeing him...from AFAR!  Once we got inside the gate to sit on his lap...it all went south.  Sullivan screamed like no other and Hudson buried her face in my shoulder.  Neither would sit in his lap without Tom and I.  Hence the family photo with Santa.

 

Picking a tree was much easier.  Hudson picked it out and did a great job!

Ready to see the real Santa

All decked out!

Family picture this year...

Our perfect tree

After decorating the tree, Tom read Elf on the Shelf so that "Baby Elfie" could make her appearance.  Hudson was really into it this year and Sullivan loved finding her every morning.

Reading about Baby Elfie

We had our first Celebration with the Frericks.  We had a great day with Grandpa and Moon.  We even attempted to go see the lights at Opryland but too much traffic combined with a sick Sullivan just sent us back home.  We did have a great dinner out and opened all our presents.  Needless to say the girls were VERY into opening gifts this year.

 

That Monday we left for Atlanta.  Tom and I both had to work in Atlanta that week so we made a long trip out of it.  One night we went to the Botanical Gardens with Pace, Eileen and the boys and it was awesome.  

Botanical Garden Lights

We got to spend the week with SueSue, BooBoo and MamMam and of course the boys! We made gingerbread houses, sugar cookies and even homemade dog treats.  We did an early Christmas celebration with them and had a big dinner and opened presents.  Let's just say opening presents with five kids under the age of 10 was a bit CRAZY!  But so much fun!

Our Gingerbread house

Ready for the Cousins to arrive

We got back from Atlanta the Sunday before Christmas.  So we had just enough time to get ready for Santa's visit.  We had a great Christmas for sure.  Although sadly, Sullivan had an allergic reaction to her ear infection medicine and spent all of Christmas week with Hives!  Porr thing was so pitiful but still loved everything!

So excited about new blankets

Just riding her new scooter with her new Unicorn

We hope that everyone had as great a Holiday as we did.  I love this video clip from Christmas day below.  Santa brought the girls a new Jeep.  I love this b/c Hudson had no idea and didn't even ask for it but her reaction is priceless!

Happy Holidays to everyone and have a very Happy New Year!

 

Here are the rest of the pictures from our long Christmas celebration:



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Thankful

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you are as excited about Christmas as we are!

If you are getting this blog, then you know how much you mean to us and we want you and your family to know how THANKFUL we are to have you in our lives!  We are beyond blessed!

Here are a few pictures of our Thanksgiving in Atlanta!

So much to be Thankful for!

Sweet Cousins!

Crazy 3 Year Old 

More cousin fun!

Here are a few more pictures from the past month.  Big thanks to Eileen Halter for the pictures since I forgot to take my camera to Atlanta!
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Halloween 2013

Halloween!

Halloween was so much fun this year.  Hudson got into it for the first time and we had a blast.  Tuesday night we decorated pumpkins for the neighborhood competition.  The girls got to do their very own pumpkins all by themselves.  They went crazy with the markers, googly eyes and glitter.  Pretty sure Sobes ate more glitter than she decorated with!

Pumpkins for the Neighborhood competition

 I went with the classic pumpkin eating a pumpkin but used the seeds as teeth.  It turned out pretty good.  I am happy to report that I came home with Second place for my age group and the girls got honorable mention!  Luckily they can't read so all they know is they got an award!

Ashley's creation

Hudson and Sobe's Twin Pumpkins

 Wednesday at Mother's Day Out the girls got to dress like a storybook character.  Hudson went as Minnie Mouse and Sobes went as Angelina Ballerina.  She wouldn't wear the ears but she was super cute in her tutu.  Wednesday night we went to Trunk or Treat with our sweet neighbors the Bell's.  The kids had a big time and Sobes got to show off her tutu to a few more people!  They got a ton of candy and Hudson was able to practice her trick-or-treating skills.  She was a bit shy at first but certainly got the hang of it in a hurry.

These two love each other

Tina and Minnie

As you can see, the girls LOVE the Bell Kids!

On Halloween, the girls had their class parties and costume parade at The Academy.   Our theme for Halloween was Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  Hudson was "Izzy" and Sobes was "Scully" (the parrot).  Hudson looked super cute as you can see and Sobes...well she was hilarious!  

Unfortunately, it rained all day Thursday and they had to do the parade through school as opposed to across the street but the kids had a blast anyway.

Izzy 

Scully

 Because of the horrible weather, our neighborhood postponed the annual parade and trick-or-treating to Friday.  It was a beautiful day and there were a ton of people! It was so fun!  We all got decked in our pirate gear and Makers even got to take part in the parade while revealing her secret identity...Super Dog.

The Pirate Crew

Super Dog

 We had our fun new neighbors, The Booth's, and the Kopfs over for trick-or-treating and dinner.  The kids had a blast.  Hudson became fast friends with our neighbor, Braxton.  Although she couldn't remember his name so she lovingly referred to him as "my minion" all night!  But they loved being "big kids" and handing out candy.  After over an hour of trick-or-treating, they both stood outside by themselves and handed out candy to everyone for several hours!  It was super cute!

Halloween Crew

 After a full week of Halloween fun, Hudson had her very first Dance class.  She loved the outfit and liked the class.  She was a bit shy but she went back to the studio without me and made a new friend.  She didn't do everything in the class but she said she liked it.  We are giving it a try for the Month of November before we commit to a semester!

First Dance Class

 That is about all for now.  Here are the rest of our Halloween Week fun pictures:

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