Our new place

I have been meaning to post some pictures of our new place, but am just now getting around to it.  We really love it here and so do the boys.  Our ward is really friendly and has tons of kids, and we also have really great neighbors.  There are a lot of fun things to do around here too, so we have been staying busy.  I am still missing my Walnut Creek friends a lot though, but I am hoping to be able to drive down there for some visits this summer.  My friend Jill drove up here with her girls a few weeks ago and it was so fun to see them, I really needed that.  

Here are some pics of the place so far.  Before we moved in I was worried that Jacob would be upset about not getting the princess room (he really wanted it when we first looked at the house).  But we made him a fun train room, and he didn't have any problem.  He was excited about his train room.  It is mostly finished, there are just a few more pics I want to hang up in there.  It gets a ton of light, so the first week we lived here he was waking up at 5:30 in the morning!  We were not ok with that, so we put up some blackout curtains and shades.

This is the upstairs playroom.  Right now it is just a huge open space with toys shoved all along the walls, but I have big plans for this room.  I will post pics when I get done with it:)  

Hudson's room.  Pretty much the same way I had it in Walnut Creek.

The master.  I haven't really thought about how I am going to set up this room yet, but I did put up a few pictures so far.   The "office" area of the room is just a big mess right now.  We haven't fully unpacked everything yet because we are getting new carpet soon and will have to move it all anyways. 

The kitchen, which I absolutely love:)  Down the road I would love to put up white cupboards with a gray granite, but that will be a long ways away.

Our backyard.  It has been so fun having a backyard.  We have big plans for this area too, but they will have to wait a bit also.  For now it is very fun and we even have a little vegetable garden growing on the different levels.  The gazebo is a fun place too.  We sometimes eat lunch there or have otter pops when we get back from the park:)

The dining room/living room.  Its probably going to be empty like this for a few years, but it is a great room for the boys to run in and to do exercises in.  We are replacing the carpet with wood flooring, because, its a dining room and we have two kids.  

The downstairs bedroom.  Right now it serves as a preschool/playroom (you can see the teacher in me got a little carried away..). 

Family room.  Still a work in progress but cozy for now:)

We absolutely love it here and are so grateful to be in such a nice place in a great neighborhood.  Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Moving again and the latest happenings

All aboard the potty train!  Jacob was very reluctant to start potty training.  I tried several times but it never worked out, because he would not wear the underwear.  After his 3rd birthday, I had had enough of diapers with him!  So I decided that I needed a different approach--I needed major incentives.  I found this book at the bookstore, and Jacob was totally into it.  So I started our potty training and it was all about trains. 

He got prizes for everything.  And to get him to wear underwear, I put them on over his diaper one day without him seeing them.  About an hour later, I showed him that he was wearing underwear.  He was surprised, but was ok with it!  The next time he went to the bathroom, I just put those on without the diaper, and he was ok with that too!  Now he was really ready.  And he did great.  I think during the whole week he only had three accidents, and after two weeks he was consistently staying dry through the night!  To reward him for being completely potty trained, we took him to ride the Tilden steam train.  He loved it.   

He is such a big boy:)

Easter

On Easter weekend, I flew to SLC to see one of my best friends get married (and it was a gorgeous wedding and a fun girls weekend!).  I flew back on Sunday morning, and when I got home Kevin had the boys in their matching church clothes.  It was adorable.  But the best thing ever was when Hudson saw me, he ran to me with open arms and gave me a huge hug!  I will hold onto that memory forever:)  We tried to get a few family pics, but this was the best we could get.  

My little Huddy:)  He loves to snuggle with that little bear and read books together:)

And now for our huge news......we bought a house!  After looking in Walnut Creek for a year with not much luck, we decided to expand our search to Roseville.  Its in the Sacramento area, and it is much more affordable than the bay area.  Probably not as awesome though.  Kevin's company was ok with him working from an office there, so we started looking at homes.  The second house we saw was so perfect for us.  We decide to put an offer on it, because it was just too good to pass up.  And, we got it!  I'm still a little in shock that we are homeowners now.  It felt so nice writing that last huge rent check though.  But I am actually kinda sad about it too.  I have been so happy here in Walnut Creek, and have made some amazing friends.  Jacob has such a good group of little friends too.  We are really going to miss them.  But, moving to Roseville just feels right.  I think I will be happy there too, it will just take time to make friends.  Hopefully this will be our last move!! 

One of the rooms in the home is decorated as a princess room.  We want to keep it like that in case we have a girls someday.  The problem is that Jacob is in love with this room and really wants it to be his.  Now, I am ok with Jacob playing with girls toys, and most of his friends are girls.  But I have to draw the line at letting him have a princess room!  I'm trying to get him excited about decorating his own room with trains and stuff, but he is not interested.  He just wants that princess room.  I hope when we finally decorate his room he will want it.  We move in next Saturday so we will see! 

Birthday Fun

Yesterday we had a birthday party for Jacob, and then I realized I hadn't posted Hudson's b-day party yet.  So here it is.....

Grandma and Grandpa Hirst, along with Aunt Tara came over for a special birthday dinner--Lasagna, Hudson's favorite!  This kid really loves lasagna, and can eat a ton of it. 

First we opened presents.  This part was kind of hard for Jacob.  He thought everything should be for him. 

Then we had dinner.  Just look at that excited face!  I told you he loves lasagna:)

Time for cake!  I chose a penguin theme, since he really loves this book called "Your Personal Penguin" by Sandra Boynton.  He gets so excited when we read it.

Hudson is no stranger to the sweet stuff, unlike Jacob when he turned one.  I tried not to give Jacob anything sweet until he turned one, but it was a little harder to do that with Hudson.  

He gobbled it right up!

Can't believe my little baby is one.  He is a little stinker, but so funny too!  He does a cute little booty shake when he hears music, and is really attached to his little bear stuffed animal.  he loves to snuggle with it.  He is also very obsessed with cars.  He will push a dump truck around the kitchen and living room all afternoon!  We love you little Huddy Bud:)

And now onto my big boy.....

As you probably could guess the theme was trains again for Jacob.  He was just as obsessed with them last year as he is now.  

I found a ton of free printables for train parties on Pinterest.  All I had to do was print and tape!

Jacob really wanted to have his cousins over for his party.  Unfortunately most of them were sick that day, but Aunt Tara came and Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Dianne with their kids, and Jacob had a blast playing with them!

Of course Kevin had to pull out the helicopter....I love how Hudson's eyes are glued to it.

Cake time!  He loved his cake.  It actually didn't take that long to make either.  I enjoy making fun birthday cakes.

Time for presents!  He got money, skittles, a Clifford book and plush, and subway trains!  He was one happy boy.

My boy is getting so big.  He is so social and loves to be around people, and is definitely not shy!  He will go up to anyone and start chatting with them.  He says the funniest things to us and unfortunately already loves potty humor.  But I should have expected that:) He is also such a snuggle bug, and I love that he still loves to snuggle and "get cozy".  He loves cats (or rather the idea of a cat) and is still totally obsessed with trains.  He keeps me on my toes but overall is a very good boy.  We love you buddy!

They are growing up too fast.