Hud's Big Boy Bed

Tonight was Hudson's first night to sleep in his big boy bed.
He has never tried to climb out of his baby bed,
so we had not been in any hurry to get him into a different bed.
But recently, he asked Rob for a "bed without walls",
so we decided it was time.
He is doing really well with staying in bed!
He has surprised us!

Just look how happy it makes him!

Thanksgiving 2009 - Part 2

We headed to Little Rock today to spend the weekend with Rob's family.
We had a great time eating some wonderful food and enjoying the fantastic weather!

1-2-3-GO!!!

The kids wanted to lay in the same bed one night.
They were SO tired from playing outside all day that I thought it would probably work out.
I came in to check on them and found this.
How SWEET are they?!
I could hardly stand it!

Hudson has gotten really good at riding his tricycle.
He must have ridden around the cul-de-sac 100 times over the 2 days he was there.

Lawson could "book it" on her cousin's big wheel!
She LOVED riding this!

Taking an important phone call!

Cruisin' in the Jeep!

Love Hud in his retro converse shoes on this retro radio flyer trike!

Thanksgiving 2009

My mom put together the most wonderful meal...yet again!
It's really just SO good!
I look SO forward to it every year!
And I'm sad after we eat it,
because it will be a year before I get to eat it again!

What a fun day with family!
We have SO much to be thankful for!
Thank you, God, for Your goodness to us.
Help us to remember all You have blessed us with.

Lawson and Reese stylin' in the turkey headbands they made!

Lawson oversaw Doo Dad carving the turkey

Steph, Eddie & Brooklyn

Our family

Landry, Ashley, Reese, Cannon, Griffin & Palmer

Brady, Lawson and (Griffin - I think!)

Lawson spending some one-on-one time with Cannon

A room full!
We have 16 in the Gibbs Family now!

Peek-a-boo Palmer!

The kids cooperate for photo opps
MUCH better for each other than they do for the grown-ups!

Sweet cousin kisses!
Hud's not so sure!

Everyone wasn't FEELING the group shot this year!

Feats of strength with Uncle Brady!

The Kids trip to Mimi & Doo Dads

Can you tell the cupcakes make a butterfly?
So cute!

They got to go swimming with their cousin (Reese)
in an indoor pool!
They have been begging to swim since summer...
so this was an awesome treat!

Mr. Motorcycle Man
(notice his helmet and gloves)

Doo Dad put them to work!
They assembled business mugs with candies and pens.

Coloring at Chick-Fil-A night

Hudson sporting Doo Dads soccer referee shirt!

Playing at cousin Reese's

Rob isn't too happy about this picture!
:)

Road Trip

The kiddos are spending the next 3 days parent-free
at Mimi and Doo Dad's house!
They have been anxiously awaiting this little road trip!
Lawson has gone to stay with them several times before by herself, but this is really the first time Hudson has.
In fact, I have only spent one night away from him in his entire life (best I can remember)!
Crazy!
So what are Rob and I doing while we are childless?
It may not sound exciting to you...
but it is MOST exciting to me!
(I know it sounds a bit odd! But it is true!)
We are cleaning out our garage and attic!
Much overdue projects!
We are also setting up our Christmas trees so they will be ready to decorate when we get back
in town from Thanksgiving.
I'm happy to get a little jump start on the holiday season!

Progress Report

So...
after potty training for 6 months (whew!)...

I think Hudson may have finally caught on!
(If not, his mom may be moving out! Ha!)
After working with him, rewarding him, bribing him, sending toys to timeout, you-name-it-we-have-probably-done-it....
I finally broke down last Monday and just put him in underwear and vowed that no matter how many times he wet himself, I was sticking with underwear. No more pull ups!
(For the second time now I have come to the realization that Pull-Ups are a HUGE crutch for the child...but yet, they make me feel so much more secure about taking my child out in public while potty training. Dilemma!)

Anyway, here we are 6 days later...
and he has done crazy great!
Only 1 accident!
I'm SO proud of him!
It's been really frustrating because it wasn't that he didn't know what to do or how to do it....
he was just plain lazy.
I'm not sure what to chalk it up to...
but, hey, I think we are there!
Go Hud!
(PS...are these tiny boxer briefs
not the cutest things you have ever seen?! )

La's School Thanksgiving Feast Costume

So, today was the long awaited
Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast!
All the kids brought the Feast food (turkey, grapes, cheese, apples, etc.) and they got to eat in their classroom (she couldn't believe they got to eat lunch in their classroom.)
Lawson has been telling me all about her costume that she has been working on for the last few weeks! It was really cute! She came home wearing it, and was super proud!

Hudson wanted to try it on too!

And here is another costume he came riding in wearing.
He kept saying "And now the time has come....."
(I'm not sure where he got that....
but it kinda scares me when he says it!)

New Things

So here are some new things the kids
started doing last week....

The kids were out playing on the back porch,
and I was inside cooking.
I heard Lawson say, "Hudson, go get Mom!"
Which didn't sound good.
So, I headed out....
and there was Lawson swinging super high by herself!
Now she is 5....
and I'm sure most 5 year olds can swing themselves;
but whenever we have suggested to Lawson that she learn to swing herself, she would just say, "No, you swing me." And if you know her, when she has her mind set, you will pretty much be wasting your time to try to convince her otherwise. Besides, I don't mind swinging my children. It's fun (for the first 20 minutes!), and we always sing silly songs while we do it.

So I asked her how she learned to swing...
she said she had just been watching other kids at school and started doing what they do.
And there you have her motivation....
she doesn't like to be left behind!

AND Hudson has started writing his name...
anytime he has a crayon and paper.
I noticed him putting his own name on
his art projects at SS Noah this week.
He has been able to write an "H" since he was about 2 1/2, but all of a sudden he is trying the rest of the letters and doing a great job! So cute!