Monthly Archives: April 2021

Happy Vac Week!

This week was exciting as both Nate and I got our second round vaccines against Covid19. Mine was on Monday and I was prepared with my calendar clearned and meals prepped and ready to go into the oven in case I was sick for several days (as I’d read some people were after shot #2). But luckily, I didn’t have any reaction at all- my arm barely even hurt. On Wednesday, Nate got his, and, as many others have, 12 hours later, he was MISERABLE. He suffered for a full 24 hours, and then it went away thankfully. 

Xander got new shoes (his old shoes accidentally stayed in Omaha). 
Both boys were busy in school. 
On Friday, Nate and I picked up Ruthie (the newest addition to our family) (see Ruthie). 

Saturday was a full day of fun for the boys. Augustus went to a birthday party for his friend Marlo and he could not have been more excited. I realized that while Gussie has been to several birthday parties, they have all been family friends or parties that Xander has been invited. Turning 3 during covid means that he missed the full birthday tour that usually happens with kids at this age. This was the first party that he was invited to for HIS buddy. 
It was an excellent 4 year old party! There was an obstacle course, a zipline, games, balloons galore, cupcakes AND cake, and party favor bags with cars in them! Gussie was in heaven and has been talking about it ever since! Better yet, his mom had mimosas for the grown ups and made Albanian food for us to sample (which was AMAZING- I love trying new foods and it was SUCH a fun and delicious surprise!). I forgot how much I’d missed chatting with other moms, comparing notes about potty training, who will eat vegetables, and all the other normal stuff. It helps to be reminded that my kiddo is completely normal, I am normal, my worries are normal- thank goodness for other moms! I think of myself as an awkward introvert but I really really enjoyed our Saturday morning party and keep thinking about how fantastic it was!! 
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While Gussie and I partied away, Xander was at basketball, hooping it up (check out that action shot!). 
As if a party and basketball weren’t enough fun for the day, after lunch, the boys headed to Grandma Debbie’s house for a slumber party. They were SO excited to go spend the night and Nate and I were excited to go to Stella’s Fish Cafe for a delicious (kid free) dinner! 
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The puppies are doing well and getting used to each other. Huddy wants to play pretty much every moment of the day, but he’s adjusting to having Ruthie here and he isn’t bothering her too much. She loves snuggling with him and they are very cute together. It hasn’t been very long, but they are already best friends and I couldn’t be happier to have them together. 

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She took her first walk today (we made it about 4 houses down before she refused to keep going).

Huddy loves her, but has also been a little extra snuggly with me too. I think he’s trying to figure out what exactly is going on and if it’s going to affect him at all. I just keep snuggling with him and reassuring him that life is good. 

Today the boys were at my moms for the morning and afternoon and then they all came home and Danny and Heather came over for birthday dinner. My brother is 37 today! We celebrated with pizza, cake, and video games. The boys were thrilled because Heather and Danny are Nintendo Switch EXPERTS and the BEST people to help them get to the next level in the game. 

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It was a FABULOUS week!!

Ruth Bader Ginsberg King-Whited

…And baby brings our family to 6. Introducing Ruth Bader Ginsberg King-Whited, aka Ruthie. She is 13 weeks old and Hudson’s half sister (they have the same dad). 

On Friday, Nate and I drove down to pick her up and in the 24 hours she’s been home, she’s adjusted quickly and I think our 2 puppies will be best friends. She is tiny- just 11 pounds, but she is feisty and holds her own against Hudson’s roughly 30 pounds. He’s 20 weeks, but I can’t believe how much bigger he is! 
We were a 2 dog family for many years and Olivia and Griffin played together, snuggled together and kept each other company. 2 dogs is a lot (especially for drooling, shedding, 60 pound bulldogs), but so nice for them to have a companion. When we decided to get a puppy, Nate actually suggested, “should we just get 2?” but the internet recommends not getting 2 from the same litter because they can bond to each other instead of you, and training can be tougher. So we got one, knowing we’d get another relatively soon after. 
Huddy plays so nicely on his own- he runs around our backyard and flips his toys around. He has so much energy and he just wants to play. It seems like crazy logic, but I was convinced that a second puppy would reduce the amount of work because Hudson would have someone to keep him busy and wear him out! 
So a few weeks ago, I messaged the breeder to get on a waitlist for the next litter. About 2 weeks ago, the litter was born and she sent me a photo of a baby girl. We were all set to bring her home in July. But a week later she died (she got squished by the mother!). I was horrified, but the breeder assured me that happens sometimes. However, she offered me a 12 week old puppy she had from a past litter that she had planned to keep. She knew we wanted a buddy for Hudson and was willing to give her up. She hadn’t even named her yet! 
Getting a puppy closer to his age and as soon as possible seemed like a great option, so we jumped at the chance. 
When we got home yesterday afternoon, we took our time introducing them. She is tiny compared to Hudson and gets tired pretty quickly. He is INTENSE with his desire to play, and it gets overwhelming to her, so we have to separate them after a while, but they are already playing together so nicely. 
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So now we have 2 boys and 2 puppies and our house is pure chaos. Dog hair, slobber, dog toys, kid toys… this is why we can’t have nice things, but I couldn’t be happier. 

Omaha!

We spent the weekend in Omaha! Nate’s cousin Lucas got married and asked the boys to be ring bearers in his wedding. We road tripped the 6 hours to Omaha and it was a great weekend! I was very nervous about being in the car that long- I hate being in the car and I wasn’t sure how the boys would do. I had approximately 1million snacks with me. I had new DVDs. I had coloring books and other surprises to entertain them. I had motion sickness medication. 

On the way there, we stopped in Des Moines and had lunch and played at a park. The whole trip only took us 6.5 hours and they did great. 
We got to meet baby Nell for the first time! Having a cousin is very exciting and she is a cute cousin! 

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On Friday, we went to the Omaha Zoo and got to see lots of cool things. 
 

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Nate and I were trying to pace ourselves since we had several evening things in a row. So we were only at the zoo until lunch and then we came back to the hotel to rest a while. The boys still had a lot of energy and resting wasn’t very successful, so we went to the pool instead. Even Baby Nell got to swim! 

 

On Friday night, we had the rehearsal dinner. The restaurant was SO nice and it was one of the fancier meals I’ve had. Yes, our 3 year old ate a very expensive Wagu Beef tenderloin. Nate and I had cocktails that came with limes on the outside of the glass and Xander was very passionate he wanted the same. The waiter was wonderful and brought out extra lemons for Xander’s lemonade and he as very happy. We had the best creme brulee I’ve ever had, but the next morning, Xander said, “is the wedding going to have better treats than last night?” so it’s possible the fanciness was lost on him. 

 

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Saturday went headed back to the pool and also tried to pace ourselves since we’d been up so late the night before (dessert was served at 9, which is a solid 2 hours later than normal bedtime, but the boys did well!).

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After some rest time, it was time to get ready for the wedding. On Friday morning, we had gone to the store to have their pants fitted, and I knew they were going to be an issue because both boys are pretty particular about their clothes. Xander didn’t have any issues (which I was surprised about) but Augustus was in full 3 year old mode. He was NOT interested in fancy pants, a dress shirt and a vest. I had expected a meltdown, but still hadn’t managed to get us ready with enough time. So Nate and Xander left (luckily the venue was right next door to the hotel) and once they left, Augustus snapped out of it (like only a 3 year old can) and said, “I’m ready to put on my suit” and that was that. 

We got him dressed and made it over in time for pictures. 

 

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They were nervous to walk down the aisle, but they did a great job. After the ceremony, they drank kiddie cocktails and ate dinner nicely. 

They got their dinners when the salads came out for everyone else, so they were done quickly and then a small kid gang formed in the back. The twirled and ran and goofed around, but did so quietly enough so that speeches weren’t interrupted. 

Xander danced for a little while, and at 8:30, Augustus said, “I am tired and ready to go back to the room now” so that was that. I missed the photo booth (which is my favorite thing in the world) but was happy that Augustus had made it through the day and done so well. 

 

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On Sunday, we went to Nate’s aunt and uncle’s house for brunch. It was the same caterer as the wedding and it was LOVELY. 

Then we got back in the van for the long ride home. We actually made it home in 5.5 hours, but it felt WAY longer. 
While we were gone, Hudson went to the daycare for boarding. He made lots of friends and had a very fun time. They said he got tired quickly and so the staff spent a lot of time snuggling him too. I think he was a little confused, but he was very happy to be home with us last night. 

 

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A Fun Weekend!

It was a great week! The weather was nice and we spent several evenings outside. On Wednesday, we walked to the park after dinner. Hudson enjoyed the playground and tried to climb the slide like the boys- his shoes are also rubber bottom, so he made a little progress. 

 
 
The wonderful thing about bulldogs is a few blocks of walking and he’s out! 
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On Saturday, we were BUSY! 
Our neighborhood is filled with fun friendly people who have welcomed us and I am so grateful to live here. It’s one thing to pick out a house- you can make a wishlist of how many bedrooms you want or where you want to be. “Filled with friendly people” is MUCH tougher to find, so I think we got really lucky. On Fridays, everyone gathers in one of the neighbor’s front yard for “happy hour”. The kids ride bikes and run around. Everyone has their dogs out. It’s so lovely. On Saturday, the neighborhood held a bags tournament. Xander had basketball at the same time, so I didn’t get to play, but Nate came in second! The only photo we got from the morning, was Augustus hanging out and watching the action. 

Xander and I got to watch the tournament for a few minutes, but then we headed to the Y for basketball. He’s getting so good and it was fun to watch both him and Leo practicing. 
 
After basketball, we got to catch the end of the bags tournament and hang out for a while. Then it was inside for some rest time for the boys, while Nate and I got the house ready for an afternoon party! My cousin Jason and his son Jackson were in town from Texas. Jason has 2 boys, and his oldest son will be heading off to college next year, while my oldest is starting kindergarten. He is touring colleges while I am touring elementary schools. It was very fun to catch up with him, see my aunts and uncle and cousins. The only photo I took was of Hudson, who really enjoyed the amount of attention he got throughout the party. 
After everyone else left, Danny, Heather, Nate, the boys and I had a fire and hung out for a while. The boys climbed into a giant cardboard box and yelled for Danny to tip them over about 20 times in a row. They ran around, the puppy ran around, everyone climbed into my lap at one point. Danny said, “whenever I leave your house, I have to open a meditation app.” I told him that is why my face looks tired all the time. 
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Double Holiday Week!

 

We’ve had a busy week, including 2 holidays! The weather was gorgeous on Monday, so we started our week walking to the ice cream shop.  

On Tuesday, I got to read a book to Xander’s class over zoom. I also got to show off Hudson to everyone by holding him up to the camera. 
 
On Wednesday, Hudson went to puppy class for the first time. There were 8 other dogs, including 2 other bulldogs! Of all the dogs, Huddy was, BY FAR, the craziest. He was SO excited. He couldn’t focus, never once even got close to sitting, and just wanted to play with his new friends. He is smart but he might be TOO social for class. We’ll see how next week goes. 
 

Xander did some homework- he had to ask everyone in our family our favorite color and then write them out. He wrote the words in the color we chose and did a great job! 

Thursday April 1, AKA April Fool’s Day. I’m not a huge fan of pranks. I don’t enjoy videos where parents tell kids they ate all their candy or anything that makes kids cry. But Xander has been talking about April Fool’s Day for MONTHS. Randomly, he will come up with an idea and say, “that would be a good prank, wouldn’t it?” (they are never good ideas). On Wednesday night, when I told him the next day was April Fools, he rubbed his little hands together and was SO excited. I decided that I would pull a little prank, so I made cake pops for a treat after dinner. But ONE of the pops wasn’t cake… it was a brussel sprout! 

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Xander was a good sport. He was a little outraged that he got pranked, but once he had a real cake pop, he recovered quickly. 

  
On Friday, the boys went to 2 parks- one with me and one with Nate. It was another lovely weather day. 
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Saturday was basketball for Xander. Xander’s best buddy Leo is also in basketball, but he had to miss the first 2 classes because he was on vacation. Xander was SO excited to have Leo in class this week. They got to be partners for a drill and it was a good day! 

Augustus was my assistant at the grocery store while Nate and Xander were at basketball. 
 
On Saturday night, Nate went golfing, so the boys and I had movie night dinner. We rarely eat in front of the tv, so it was an exciting night. 

Today was Easter!! The Easter bunny found our new house and left the boys (including Hudson) Easter baskets, and he hid a bunch of eggs around our house. The boys were up by 6:30am and very excited to find all of the eggs. 
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We had bunny butt pancakes for breakfast.

 

After breakfast, Nate and the boys assembled our new patio furniture (which I didn’t actually take a photo of). The most exciting part was that ALL of the furniture came in one GIANT box, which quickly turned into a fort (I cut some windows for light)

My mom, Danny and Heather came over and hung out all afternoon. I forgot to take any photos, but it was a fun day hanging out outside, playing Nintendo Switch (Danny and Heather were teaching the boys some tips and tricks) and ended with Danny and the boys doing sprints on the front sidewalk. Xander really wanted to race and fun Uncle Danny was a good sport (especially considering he was wearing Birkenstocks).


It was a very busy week for us and now it is April!!