Prodigal: An Animation

The Crying Prayer

Lately I have been working on being less protective as a parent. I need to let them experience minor pains so they can “learn the hard way” with some things.  This morning as I walked by the boys’ room, I noticed Jayden had pulled out the drawer to his dresser that is also a bed.  It makes a small space they can crawl into. I warned him that it might not be a good idea to play in there and continued to walk downstairs. About 5 minutes later all the boys were crying. My first instinct was to run up and see what happened, but I remembered I wasn’t going to be a “hover parent.” So they were crying and crying and I was getting anxious, but then the crying settled down and eventually stopped. A sighed a sigh of relief, then went up to ask what had happened. Jayden said all of them crawled into the little space and got stuck. Jayden and Nicholas were able to get out but Luke’s head was too big and he couldn’t get back out. Then he told me he prayed and Luke was able to get his head out. He said it was a “crying prayer” but it worked. I guess giving them more freedom is a good way to go.

Hunter Can Grab

Hunter is just now able to grab at things in front of him. It is so cute to watch his hands wail away trying to grasp at objects. He likes this little activity center.

Sweet Jayden

After a nightmare, Jayden says "Mom, I want to be with you because you remind me of Jesus." 

"Why?"

"Because you are nice and beautiful."

He just melts my heart.

NCR Trail Run

 

Today, Hunter ran 10 miles with me on the NCR trail. I am training for a half marathon coming up in TWO weeks.

Isn’t it beautiful here in the Spring?

Hunter Rolls Over

My New Life

Jayden Reading Star Wars

Can you believe he is only in kindergarten? I am so proud of him.
I love watching Nicholas trying to calm Hunter in this video. He is such a good big brother.

My Diaper Bag

Thank you Mom and Serri for my new diaper bag! Here is a picture so you can see what you got me. It is so awesome. It has tons of pockets and hangs on my stroller or I can just carry it on my shoulder. It is just about a perfect bag and it is cute too! Thank you!

ZOOMA

ZOOMA Annapolis Half Marathon & 10K | Annapolis, Maryland 21401 | Sunday, June 06, 2010 @ 7:00 AM

Here it goes. I am going to do the ZOOMA Half Marathon in June. Having a goal to work for will help me get back in shape after having Hunter. If anyone wants to join me, I'd love company!

Jayden is 6

 This year Jayden wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday.  We had pizza and an ice cream cake. We were there for 5 hours having fun and spending tons of tokens on the games. It was very nice that Nanny (my mom) could join us! Happy Birthday Jayden. I love you so much.

 

Sovereign Bank Presents: KidsBank.com!

Lately Don and I have been thinking about the best way to incorporate an allowance into our boys' lives. We want them to learn the value of work and the responsibility of making money.
This is such an awesome website for teaching kids about money.
KidsBank.com

this is a neat site to help parents teach kids about money too:
Practical Money Skills for Life

It's Off to Work They Go

Alright, now I am getting serious. Having all these kids is just not so good on a house. So... I am putting them to work for real this time. Here is the new chore chart I made. They each have one like this with their own name and customized chores. We are going to start an allowance system too. I hope this works.

The Cool New Kid

This is Hunter. He is the cool new kid at our house.

A Comic Just For Me

I think this comic was made just for me.

Record Breaking Snow Storm

A record breaking snow storm especially for my Mom from Cali who is coming to visit us in THREE days. It snowed over 30 inches. Bring your snow hat! =)

It’s is a movie and game day that is for sure:

 

YouTube - Mom 2.0: Defining A Movement

A beautiful photo essay for mothers:

YouTube - Mom 2.0: Defining A Movement

Hunter Samuel Udall

Hunter is here! and we are so in love.

1.21.10

5:57 p.m.

7.5 lbs

20 inches

I will write about the birth and everything later. For now here is a picture cause I know family is eager to see him.

GBMC

If you are curious where the little guy will come into this world, here are pics of the GBMC Birthing Center. Yes, this is assuming all goes as planed and he is not born in the car or home or grocery store or some other strange and unexpected place.

GBMC Birthing Center

I am going to attempt a “natural birth” this time. If anyone has advice about this I definitely want to hear it. I am nervous about it.

Term

Yippy! We made it to TERM (37)  today. If baby comes now he will be fully “cooked”.  He may be ready, but am I? Well, I am not sure if I will ever be ready for a 4th boy/baby so I might need a lot of prayers coming up soon. This morning Jayden and I had to run to the bus stop before the doors closed. On my way home I got quite a painful contraction so I better take it easy and slow down a bit.

This is an illustration of a baby at 37 weeks: