Hudson's Big Day!

Hudson's kind of getting the shaft this year on his birthday. Thankfully, he does not read calendars and only knows his birthday to be the day that we say it is...so no harm done right? His daddy is out of town and had to extend his trip another day, so we'll be celebrating Friday with some fun outings, good food (CHILI'S!), and of course, Chocolate Cake (which is the love of his life...second to mommy of course). But he did get the most awesome gift, of a new baby cousin, Evan, last night!

I can't believe our 'baby' is 3 today! (April 24th) Man how time flies. He is such a joy to our family and we can't imagine life without him. He is a Mamma's boy through and through! He gives me about 30 kisses and hugs a day and tells me he loves me just as many times (esp. when he's been naughty). He is simultaneously running for president of the 'Picky Eater's Club' and the 'Chocoholics And Proud of It' Club. He LOVES to run, hunt for rocks, play with trains, fly on planes, and be tickled. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he always answers "um...a fire truck! or...an airplane!" He is in a hurry to grow up and 'go to college' like Steve from Blue's Clues. He is a tv junky and iphone snitcher for getting his preschool games on.

Happy birthday to our precious, one of kind guy, Hudson Joseph!

Learning to hold up 3 fingers. We need to practice.

Turning 3 but keeps telling everyone he's 6!

Not sure what this expression means..gas?

Confused why mommy isn't kissing back

crazy eyed fish kiss

I love his many faces

Handsome Hudson

This boy LOVES rocks

Looking really thrilled to be my model

While Daddy Is Away

Daddy has been traveling a lot lately and we have been trying to be creative with how to beat the heat in the afternoons while we miss him.

I'm so thankful we have a really good british chain store of kid's clothes and toy store. It's a little pricey going from pounds to rupees, but they sell great quality stuff and have frequent sales. So recently, we stocked up on paint and I've been letting the boys have at it a lot lately. They are getting good use out of the easel that Grandpa (Cranky Pampy as Hudson calls him) hauled over last August. Their art work is slowly transforming from a giant blob of brown swirl into some creative, if not, "modern" artwork.


Hudson's style is a little Picasa and a little bit of Elephant Camp art. (If you don't know what I mean by that, I'll post a video to further explain)

He was trying to spell "I love Jesus"

Jackson is very jazzed about learning to read and write. I'm glad because we've decided to start him in Kindergarten a little early. Since he's already trying to spell out words on his own and can correctly spell some 3 letter words, we think he's ready. We'll officially start in August but we have preschool homeschool already.

We've also been doing a lot of cooking together, as daddy's not here to distract while mommy tries to conjure up something editable and half way healthy. Jackson took a break to make something of his own creation via play dough. What would we do without play dough? I know daddy would sure like to find out as he hates the stuff. (The mess it always seems to make when Hudson is in the room)

Grandpa Visit #2

Leaving the hotel in Mumbai where G-pa made friends with all the workers! 

After Mumbai, we hung out in our city for a few days while daddy had a work trip to the capital. The boys spent a lot of time playing with Grampy Pampy and their newest train set he brought from the US. One of the trains even had Hudson's name on it!

For the last part of Grandpa's trip, we headed to Goa. We needed to go down for some work meetings the following week anyways, so Grandpa decided to treat us all to a legit beach vacation. It was an a very restful and fun week! We slept in, swam all day at the pool and beach, and enjoyed good food and entertainment in the evenings. 

Finally got Hudson into the floaties and unglued to mom's neck. He's much less afraid of the water  now.

A Rajastani performer at dinner.

To beat the afternoon heat and rest some of crew's sunburns from the harsh sun, we hung out in a pavilion to have some ping pong battles and the kids play room to make some crafts.

Playing in the shady sand.

Brotherly love display

Saying Goodbye to Grandpa. Goodbyes are no fun, but we are grateful for the time we had with him.

Little Fish

On our trip this past month to Goa, Jackson got lots of pool time and practice. Before we left the States, when he was nearly 3, he was swimming quite well and almost on his own. He's loved the water since he first got in as a 3 month old! We were given a little life jacket last year, which we have loved, because it made him so independent as a swimmer and really helped him build up confidence and strength. He easily transferred to no jacket this  month and is really doing well for a not quite 4 1/2 year old! Here is our Little Fish's video of his first day with no jacket.

Blowing bubbles with Grampy Pampy

It's hard work learning to swim

Now, if we can only get our Land Lover so interested! He on the other hand has hated the water from first exposure, but has made a whole lot of progress this summer (it's summer from March to May here) and is now wearing floaties and only holding onto mommy's hand for dear life, rather than her neck. That's progress! Unfortunately, our pool will not be opened this summer, so we're hoping to check a nice public pool out later this week.

Get me outa here! 

This is how he prefers to "swim" 

Still having fun, even if he's dry.