(This post is an attempt to catch everyone up on what we’ve been doing this week. It’s really just a picture dump. Apologies in advance… )

I told y’all that posting would be a little lighter than usual this week. Truthfully, the less frequent blogging was nice this week. I didn’t spend any time on the computer in the evenings, and we were so busy during nap time this week that I just didn’t even think to get to the computer.

My brother has been here this week. Half the time he has been visiting with friends that live here and the other half he has just been making us laugh and playing with the boys. We love having Uncle Walker around! We get to see him only 2-3 times per year that we really cherish the visits.

Hudson had swim lessons this week. We chose an 8:00 a.m. lesson time because I thought it would be easier on him to just get up and go swimming rather than having to wedge it into his day and interrupt whatever fun he was having. He cried a little bit on the first day when Coach Zia was reminding him how to hold his breath and blow out with his mouth. He did not like being dunked.

But he started having fun really quickly and every morning on the way to his lesson he’d say, “I’m going to swim with Zia!!!” He loved it.  And he did really well. I’m hopeful that when we go to the beach next week he’ll be even more comfortable swimming unassisted. (With supervision, of course!) The most important thing he learned this week was how to get to the wall and pull up out of the water.

On Friday morning, Walker and I took the boys to the zoo. We had a lot of fun and Hudson got his first blue ICEE. Yum! Hudson loves the animals and Hayes just liked looking at everyone and smiling.

We have already gotten our money’s worth out of our zoo membership. It’s such a great deal and we will probably go once per week this summer. On Friday night, we went back to the zoo with Todd’s parents because it was Family Night. There are a few times per year that the zoo stays open late and has fun activities for the family. They keep the animals out later and it’s great because they normally close at 5:00. So we saw a lot of the zoo on Friday! (Are flamingos the stinkiest animals ever, or what?)

Today, we loaded everyone up and drove to Charleston for the day to go to the South Carolina Aquarium. We stopped and ate lunch on the way there. Hudson was really excited to see all the fish.

And we made a new friend! (Hey, Tiffany!) I love this picture of Hayes with his face for the octopus face. He’s so happy.

Some of the fish and animals were outside, so we loved being out and looking at the water. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun with our family.

My boys are loving each other more and more every day. Hudson absolutely loves to get in Hayes’s crib when Hayes wakes up from a nap. So they both get in there together. Hudson was actually willing to give Hayes a hug the other day!

But then I took this picture and realized that his smile looked a little bit scary. Maybe he’s hugging a little too tight? Ha!

Happy Memorial Day weekend to all of you!

P.S. I am so happy that Phillip Phillips won American Idol. He is just a class act and so humble. I loved his final song, “Home” and will be buying that one on iTunes. Y’all should read Emily Freeman’s post that she wrote the day after Phillip won. I love it!

Eep! I love it when someone I know wins one of the giveaways!

I’m super excited to announce that Rhi is the winner of the $50 gift card to Bridier Baubles.

You can all still shop on Bridier Baubles– and keep checking every day to see what new things they have in stock!

For my Huggies post today, I’m going to be talking about schedules.

When I was pregnant with Hudson, I really didn’t make any plans for what I was going to actually do when he arrived. I didn’t read any books about babies. I didn’t read anything about scheduling methods or feeding methods. I read plenty of pregnancy books and I sure as heck read a lot of baby name books.

So when Hudson arrived, I really relied on the nurses to help me know when to feed him and what exactly to do with him. I chose to let him stay in the nursery during the night, but he was with us all day during the day. The nurses would bring him to me every three hours to eat–or more often if he was cranky and seemed ready to eat.

Their involvement helped me establish a schedule with Hudson where he was eating every three hours. He was sleeping constantly, so I wasn’t really sure yet how often he should sleep. I’m pretty sure he slept 21 hours a day.

When we got home from the hospital, I created a little form so I could keep track of his feedings. I know there are plenty of phone apps now, but I am still a pen-and-paper kind of girl and I loved my form. I printed off a sheet for every day and kept them in a little three-ring notebook. The benefit there was that I could look back on the previous day and try to recreate the schedule.

We were tracking the number of dirty and wet diapers, number of ounces per feeding, and number of minutes he was asleep. I know a lot of new moms don’t really want to do a schedule, but it was important to me. I wanted to be able to have an idea of what to expect, and I wanted a bit of routine for my day, as well as my baby’s day.

With Hudson, we ended up following the BabyWise method and their “eat-wake-sleep” plan. It worked out great, and by 12 weeks he was sleeping through the night. The BabyWise method didn’t work out as well for Hayes, so we used the Moms on Call method for him and it was a lifesaver. I’m thankful that both of my boys are great sleepers and that I could plan my day and our outings around their feeding and napping times.

With both boys, it was important for me to have an idea of what their routine was for that day. If I had to run an errand or had an appointment and needed a babysitter, I’d ask the sitter to fill out the form as well. Our family members helped us with this, too.

If it was a Sunday and we were out at church, I usually just let the schedule go. I didn’t expect the nursery workers to maintain his schedule. If we were on vacation, I knew we’d have to be flexible and just plan to adapt. And thankfully, we have two very adaptable children who will nap on the go.

Did you establish a schedule for your baby? What did you find that works best for you? What challenges did you run into?

Check out the Huggies Mommy Answers Facebook app and find more posts from bloggers sharing their experiences of motherhood on the Huggies page on BlogHer.com.

We drove up to Greenville this weekend to celebrate the precious miracle of Anne’s daughter, Mary Brooks’s life. It was so much fun to see so many good friends and so sweet to meet little Miss Mary Brooks. And all of our kids are finally noticing each other, so they just ran and played. We love any excuse to go to Greenville, but we love Anne’s family and loved being there for such a special celebration.

Anne, Lyndsey, Megan and me

Posting will be a little light this week. My brother is here visiting and Hudson and Hayes are absolutely loving having their Uncle Walker here. Walker has been so great to have here. When Todd is at work he has been so great about playing with the boys. And I just enjoy his company.

We’re just enjoying a lazy week with nothing on the calendar except fun play dates in the backyard with friends and swim lessons early in the morning.

We went to my friend Anna’s house today. Her girls are the same age as Hudson and Hayes, so we always have a  great time with them. Hayes did a lot of toddling around the yard.

The kids enjoyed popsicles. This was actually Hayes’s first popsicle to feed himself and it’s safe to say he loved it! We were able to get all the kids to sit on their bottoms to eat the popsicles, so I got a rare photo of Hudson and Hayes together.

Hudson and Gracie hopped in the Jeep Power Wheels and it looked like a flash forward to their first date in 15 years. So cute! We just can’t show this picture to Gracie’s dad!

We’re enjoying the lazy days and the slower pace. This is exactly what I hoped for this summer. We’re only a few days in, but I’ve loved the extra cuddles and the fun, creative ways we’re finding to pass the time and be lazy.

I even went so far as to let my huge frizzy hair air dry today because I just didn’t really care and didn’t want to spend an extra thirty minutes drying my hair. Hudson and I cuddled up in his bed tonight and read more books than we normally do.

We had a long dance party in the living room to Moves Like Jagger and some Disney tunes. We ate sandwiches for lunch and leftovers for supper. I keep remembering that the days are long, but the years are short. And this summer may seem long at times. I may be Googling “preschool activities” some days to look for ways to keep Hudson challenged and happy.

But right now I’m loving the low key days. The mornings spent in the sunshine and the afternoons spent cuddled up on the couch. I hope your summers are off to a great start!