life lately // november

The month of November brought much reflection and very grateful hearts. Also, lots of time outside in the lovely cool(er) weather. Nothing extraordinary, yet, it all is, is it not? This life is such a blessing. This month I was extra grateful for all the little things that make life so grand. 

1. autumn exploring with little friends
2. quiet time with water colors
3. baking daddy's birthday cake (he turned 38 this month!)
4. sometimes, being three is exhausting ;)
5. out the back window
6. we play until it's dark with this lovely, cooler weather
7. sunlight and swings
8. gallery walk through hope outdoor graffiti gallery
9. live a great story
10. so big
11. best hiking buddies there ever were
12. i could eat him up!
13. such a lovely day on the trail
14. autumn mantle
15. haze, grainy, dreamy morning - love all my boys
16. so grateful
17. sous chef and pie maker ;)
18. happy thanksgiving!

Celebrations // Hudson turns ONE!

Hudson turned one a few weeks ago. It seemed to happen SO fast! Yet, he has done so much this year, and learned so much! He started walking a couple of weeks before his birthday...and he hasn't slowed down since! His actual birthday was really low-key. We had planned to celebrate outdoors, but there was a big tropical storm that rained and flooded us out of that idea...so we celebrated in the coziness of our home, sweet and simple. We gave our little boy a wooden drum and his brothers and sisters gave him a little toy fox and wolf - cozy for him to snuggle with. His Aunt and Uncle gave him a new outfit - and we all gave him lots of squishy hugs and kisses! He was a huge fan of the chocolate cake and ice-cream, too! 

Well, today we finally had some great weather and some time with his brother and sisters (as school is out this week for Thanksgiving Break), so we took advantage and celebrated at the park with some cupcakes and gave Hudson his chance to smash that cup-cake while we took some pictures to document how big our boy is these days. The kids all wore some woodland animal masks that I made recently (except the birthday boy/fox - he doesn't like wearing masks or hats these days!) and we had a grand little celebration at the park. It just so happened to be the park next to the hiking trail where I first started going into labor with my sweet boy. We had gone hiking that afternoon, and when we were headed home, around dinner time, I started having more regular surges or contractions. Eventually we started timing them and after dinner went to the birth center, where he was born that evening! We brought him back to the park to celebrate his first week of life (with cupcakes, of course), so it only seemed fitting to bring him back to celebrate his first birthday. 

We love our Hudson Jude so very very much. He brings SO much joy and peace into our home and our lives. He has a super easy going personality, likes to giggle, has big blue eyes and a smile to match. He loves his brother and sisters. He loves his Daddy and he loves his Mama. He absolutely loves the outdoors and exploring, as well as warm baths with building towers with his little wooden blocks. He loves to dance and his current favorite song is "If You're Happy and You Know It" - his favorite part is to shout "hooray!!!!" We couldn't imagine our lives without our sweet boy - so today, and every day, we celebrate his life and the blessing he is in ours. Happy First Birthday, Hudson! Here's to the many wonderful years ahead that we get to celebrate with you!

life lately // october

October was a little bit crazy. We generally don't do a lot of "extra" stuff - like lessons or anything that takes much commitment. I like to keep things open so we can go exploring, or cozy up and make cookies, or just spend all afternoon outside playing in the yard. This month was pretty full of all of those things, plus some "extra", which honestly kinda threw me off my groove a little bit. I am most definitely not super mom - to keep my sanity I try to keep our schedule very simple - lesson learned by over doing it a bit this month! Sawyer and Aspen finished up their swimming lessons (remind me next time not to sign up for the class that's right at dinner time ;), we did some grand adventuring and exploring as they also earned their Wolf and are now working on their Bobcat Badges through a wonderful program we've been doing called the Wild Explorers Club. We also prepared to celebrate Hudson's first birthday, as well as do all things Halloween. Due to tropical storms that came our way after the Hurricane in Puerto Vallarta, we were rained out of our traditional pumpkin patch fun at Sweet Berry Farm, so we opted instead for a new-to-us cute, local nursery instead. It was a fun, loaded month - started hot and ended, finally, cooling off enough to open the windows in the evening and spend long hours playing outside until dark. Autumn certainly looks different in the South than what we grew up with in the North - we're still crossing our fingers for a little showing of colored leaves next month - but in the meantime, enjoying the perfect hiking and camping weather!

1. best find ever - little wooden boat on a string 
2. boating at bull creek
3. hiking and trail making
4. the boy always has his nose in something
5. these kids love nature journaling their finds
6. this poor frog was just chased out of the bushes by a snake and then I made him stop to take his picture 
7. the elementary school fundraising wet and wacky run-a-thon!
8. she ran a mile and a half in the 20 minutes and earned a medal
9. popsicles for all of the sweaty runners
10. my little housekeeper
11. on location for family photos
12. the group of preschoolers I teach in Nature School
13. my little hippie baby
14. found him waiting for a rainstorm to roll in, wolf suit ready
15. the boy who loves to research, identifying some of his finds
16. little helpers getting the porch ready for trick or treaters
17. first he crawled, then he walked, and now he runs 
18. drove through the valet pick up line at school wearing only my swimming suit and wellies - ready for some puddle jumping after record breaking rainfall and flash flooding
19. warming up in the neighborhood storm drains
20. mud and puddles in the balmy warm, gray afternoon
21. taking our time, enjoying an afternoon at the Red Barn Nursery
22. october is for mums
23. pumpkin picking
24. my four little pumpkins...maybe we need a number five!?!
25. wearing my old sweater my grandmother made for me
26. jack-o-lanterns ready...and...happy halloween!