Erin Akin Carroll

The last time I took monkey pictures of Hudson, he was 24 months old. Yikes. And the last time I took one of Hayes, he was 12 months old.

I wanted to do a little update on what they’ve each been up to, so I thought I’d plop them down next to their favorite monkeys for the update.

Hayes is 16 months old. He started “school” this month. He’s going three mornings a week and he has had no trouble adjusting already. He walks right into his class and smiles and just goes on about his business. I’m really excited for him to have some time with other kids, but away from Hudson.

Hayes still isn’t saying a whole lot. He actually had his first real word last week when he whispered “hush” while we were reading Goodnight Moon. I thought my heart would explode. It was the sweetest little sound.

He is a hilarious instigator. He grabs Hudson’s toy and takes off running around the house, just begging Hudson to chase him. It’s so funny to watch them chase each other!

He loves to eat, but has gotten a little bit picky. His favorite books are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Goodnight Moon, and Birthday Monsters.

He likes to dance and loves to sing “e-i-e-i-o” when we sing Old MacDonald. He’s an adaptable, happy kid and we’re just so thankful for him!

Hudson started five mornings a week of preschool this year. He has always been a fan of school, but I think this year he’s more aware of everything. He understands more about the process of making friends and people becoming buddies. So we’ll see where that takes us. He’s a sensitive soul and can be very shy. He’s super independent and smart, so I’m excited to see how he adapts and grows this year with other children.

He is still off the charts tall! His little belly is pretty much gone, and that’s about the last sign of “baby” that he had. He potty trained like a champ, and we’re so glad to be done with diapers.

He is just hilarious, as most three-year-olds are. Hudson is a true thinker and makes us laugh on a daily basis with the sweet and hilarious things he says. I keep notes in my iPhone of what he said that day just so I won’t forget.

Just a few Hudsonisms….

“Where’s Boudreaux? Oh, he must be around he somewhere.”

“Mommy, I’m never going to do that. Never!” (That one didn’t turn out so well for him.)

“Whatcha doing over there?”

When Hudson back-talked me, Todd said, “Hudson, what do you say to Mommy?” Hudson replied, “Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy!” (I think Todd wanted him to say he was sorry.)

I asked him to pick up his toys in the next five minutes. He got to work and finished and said, “I did it! Wow, that was a close one!”

“Here we are, guys! We made it!” (He says this when we drive anywhere- grandparents house, the zoo, church, home. He always announces that we made it.)

“Oh, Hayesy-boy.” (Says this to Hayes regularly.)

He likes to ask which is left and which is right, kind of like he’s quizzing us. We play the “left, right” game when we’re driving and Hudson tells us which way to go to get home.

He also likes to ask us if we’re boys or girls. “Mommy, are you a boy or a girl?” After I say that I’m a girl, he says, “That’s right, Mommy! I’m so proud of you!”

Whenever we do anything “right,” Hudson tells us he’s proud of us.

On the way to school this morning, Hudson was looking at a picture of all of us that he was bringing to show his class. He said, “This is my family!”

When he gets in trouble and I tell him not to talk back to me, he says, “Mommy! Stop talking to Hudson that way.”

(He still speaks in the third person sometimes.)

When we watched Fievel on An American Tail, Hudson looked at me and said, “Mommy, I fink I’m gonna cry.” It was very sweet, but very sad. We won’t be watching Fievel again for a while.

He recognizes a handful of sight words from the Meet the Sight Words DVDs and he knows all of his phonics after learning them on the Starfall ABCs app.

So there’s an update on my boys at 3 years and 16 months. They challenge us and make us laugh. We’re so proud of who they’re becoming, and I pray each day for the wisdom to know what in the world I’m doing each day. These spirited youngsters light up my life!