Well I have been completely delinquent in updating this blog in...FOREVER! Sorry...you can beat with a wet noodle later. :) The Hughes house has been...BUSY! Imagine that?! Since our sweet Colby went on to heaven, we have had quite a busy spring and summer. Let's give you the cliff notes version and then more details below. :) We have finished out the school year, both girls finished their ISR swimming lessons and both are completely self-sufficient in the water now (with adult supervision of course!), we found out we were pregnant with baby #3 (due Jan 2, 2012), we moved down the street a ways, found out my cousin is pregnant and due the week before us, went to VA for a baby shower for my other cousin, celebrated Miss Caroline's 2nd birthday, Chris bought two new "boy toys" in the form of two 2 1/2 ton Army Trucks (aka the Deuce), we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary...and I think that might be it, but I am sure I am missing something! HA! Now for the details...
Baby Hughes #3
We found out around the first week of May that we were in fact expecting Baby Hughes #3!!! WHOA! I think we are excited, happy, INSANE and slightly frightened at the prospect of three kiddos, but we know that this is such a blessing that we are looking forward to the chaos and love baby #3 will bring. :) Baby #3 is due January 2, 2012, which slightly annoys me since I always swore I didn't want a baby anywhere near Christmas, but God laughed at me and that's exactly what we will have! HA! As of today I am 14 weeks 3 days pregnant, which is just shy of 6 weeks from the mid-way point. Holy moly! Guess we had better start getting ready for the part of 5! :) All is well thus far in the pregnancy, even though it has been totally different from my previous ones. I'm not sure if that means it's a boy, or it if means simply that I'm not over 30...ugh! :) I have had major food aversions and some serious nausea, but other than that, nothing to complain about. I am definitely showing and in full on maternity clothes now. This is much earlier than with either girl, but I guess what they say is true...subsequent babies show MUCH faster!
Caroline:
Caroline is our birthday girl! In fact, she will be officially 2 tomorrow at 1:32pm! How in the world did 2 years go by already?! She is such a character and definitely has her own personality. She is definitely well characterized by the name "Sweet Caroline." She is SO incredibly sweet. She is very quiet and very much a thinker. She is not one to shy away from a challenge, nor will be back down from big sister. She will literally whack the tarnation out of Katherine and then just giggle herself silly. We need to work on the no hitting part, but from our standpoint, it's hilarious to watch the normally quiet Caroline asserting herself. She also LOVES baby dolls, pocketbooks, shoes, and her "bay soup" (aka bathing suit). It is not unusual to find her walking around the house with a pocketbook over her shoulder, a baby in her arms, high heels on her feet and her "bay soup" in her free hand. It is absolutely hysterical. And don't try to take them away from her or you will face the wrath of Caroline. Not pretty! :) She's super sensitive and even saying "NO!" will dissolve her into a puddle of tears. She has quite a prolific vocabulary which astounds Chris and I daily. She talking in full sentences and is fairly good at communicating what she wants. We do have to be careful though, because she's not as vocal as Katherine, and therefore her wants can be easily overlooked since Katherine so loudly asserts her wants. She is the lover, she will climb up into your lap and just cuddle for a very long time and then look up and say "I wuv u." SO sweet! I am also very happy to report that she appears to be LEFTY!! Whoo hoo!! Finally, another trait from me!! :) She has been an absolute job and even though we are in the terrible two's, she is still such a sweet, bright light that her "tantrum moments" don't overshadow her sweetness. Happy Birthday baby girl!!
Katherine:
Katherine, Katherine, Katherine. She is such a ball of energy! I swear some days I am not sure how I will ever keep up with her! She is such a sweetheart, but in a totally different way than Caroline. Her sweetness is more thoughtful and in words. She will playing and all of a sudden look at me and say "Mommy I love you." And she is compassionate. She worries about others and truly cares for them. It is so sweet to watch her personality grow as she does. She is smart as a whip and I swear she's going to be smarter than Mom and Dad more quickly than we would like! :) Her beautiful heart and smile light up the room and she commands the attention of everyone around her. She is comfortable anywhere and is so great at making friends that it's just a little bit scary. Her favorite friends right now are Dagny, Ani, Taylor and Lilly, all little girls from her preschool classes. I swear they sound like a bunch of 30 year olds when you get them together. So cute! She absolutely LOVED Vacation Bible School this year and is already asking when school can start again. We still battle daily with her strong will and defiant attitude, but overall she's growing like a weed and becoming a sweet, smart big girl right before our eyes! She still L-O-V-E-S anything pink, princess or super girly, but she is also becoming quite the little athlete between all the balls that she loves to play with, the roller skates, bicycle and swimming! She is an absolute fish in the pool. Such a change from last year! Hard to believe that she will be starting Kindergarten this time next year...YIKES!
We moved!
Yes, I know, we are insane. :) We moved...AGAIN! After a long process of trying to buy the house we were living in, we finally decided against buying it and moved out! We found the perfect house almost immediately once we decided to move and we love it! We are only 5 minutes from our previous house and therefore only 5 minutes from Grammie and Gray Gray. :) The best part is that we are now only one block away from our favorite park! Katherine and Caroline are both thrilled! One drawback is that we only have three bedrooms, so the girls have to share a room...which has been interesting. The normally quiet Caroline becomes quite the chatterbox as soon as you put them in the bed. It's hilarious! Hopefully the newness of sharing a room will soon wear off and we can get into a routine that does not take 2-3 hours for them to fall asleep! We love the house and feel so blessed to have found it!
Chris and I have remained incredibly busy between the girls, the shop, moving and organizing the new house, but we are hoping to slow down for the next few months and enjoy being a family of four before the holidays make us a Party of 5! :) We cannot wait to see what the next few months have in store!
Here are some pictures from the past few months!
Enjoy!
Katherine and Corey in the back of the "Deuce" during the 4th of July Parade.
The Deuce in the parade...Katherine is peering over the top with Gray Gray standing beside her.
Here they come!
Chris and PaPa driving the Deuce.
Caroline's impression of the parade...she was not impressed...
All dressed up for Independence Day!
Happy Birthday Caroline!
Doesn't she look excited?
Yummy! CAKE!
Katherine helping her sister opens presents.
Katherine ready for her ballet recital.
The girls on Easter.
