4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! The kiddos sporting their red, white and blue pride!

On the morning of the 4th of July, we packed up the car and headed upstate to our cabin in the Adirondacks. We had fun with Uncle Colin, Doreen, Uncle Tim, Molly and Riley.

We went to the beach. Took a ride on the boat. Enjoyed the campfire. Ate hot dogs. Roasted marshmallows.

But....we headed home after 24 hours. It was just too much with the kids this year. The mosquitoes were terrible and the kids were itching like crazy. Even Annabel was covered in bites. Liam and Dylan were very excited to sleep in a tent. So excited that they barely slept. Annabel was only three months old so she was not sleeping either. The first night left Neil and I exhausted and since we were still worrying about all the tasks waiting for us back at our new home, we decided it would be best to just go back home and spend the rest of the weekend enjoying our new backyard.

And, we did enjoy ourselves! Popsicles!

Slip and Slide!

We're looking forward to vacationing at the cabin next year when each of the kids are a year older!

Happy 40th Birthday to Neil!

At the end of June, Neil celebrated his 40th birthday! It was not the best timing since we were so overwhelmed with the new baby and the move, but with the help of Neil's sister, Annie, we were able to put together a fun party to make sure Neil was properly roasted on his momentous birthday.

Through the years, Neil has been known by about 50 different nicknames. We asked his friends and family to tell us the names they know him by and we used them to create this logo (designed by Annie). The photo is from a Halloween party we attended in 2008 and it always makes me laugh!

Coasters - a little giveaway for guests!

The party was held on the patio at The Captain's Table, a bar/restaurant with a private party area under a tent. The best part of the place was the huge sand pit! It was the perfect place to hold the party since so many people brought kids and they had a blast digging in the sand.

We even had t-shirts made!

Here's a picture of the backs of the shirts! Liam's said, "Bones, Jr. since 2009", and Dylan's shirt said, "Carcass Crusher, Jr. since 2010." These were two of Neil's wrestling nicknames.

Neil's shirt included ALL of his nicknames!

It was so much fun to see so many of our friends and family at the party. It was the first time we'd met some of the kids of our friends and we were happy to introduce Annabel to everyone. Happy Birthday to Neil! Or, is it Pete, or Peeler, or Spider, or ....? You're just as amazing at 40 as you were at 31 when we first met!

Moving Day!

The Hudson Valley Ruddens are back!

I know it's been awhile but I'm really hoping to catch up. With the new baby and the move, I've been exhausted and the further I got behind on blogging, the harder it was to have a desire to catch up. I guess now that Annabel is six months and has a predictable schedule, and since we've been in our new home for three months and I feel mostly moved in, I finally feel energized enough to continue blogging.

The last post was from May when we closed on the new house. We spent a month having the inside of our home painted and a few other projects completed. In mid-June, we were finally able to move in.

 Moving day! One last snack of edamame at our old place.

Yes, it was raining on the morning of the move. Isn't that good luck? Although Liam is wearing his raincoat (he insisted), the rain didn't last long and it eventually stopped. It was a beautiful day to move!

Annabel helped tremendously during the move by taking a snooze!

The boys couldn't have been more excited by their new room. They were so excited, Dylan didn't nap for several weeks and it took several hours to get the two of them to go to bed at night. They were giggling, running around, opening the door and calling down to us.

I'm happy to say that the sleeplessness really didn't last that long. They are very happy as roommates and good sleepers!

It took much longer to unpack than I had anticipated. It's pretty difficult to do anything with a baby in your arms all the time, two toddlers climbing on everything (up the banister, into the bay window, into the boxes) and the c-section didn't help either. Also, since it was summertime, we had lots of other fun things to do like going to the beach, pool and playground. And of course with our fabulous new deck and backyard, we had lots of fun entertaining! We still have a few boxes left to unpack. I like to think that we're saving a few things for winter when we're stuck inside!

Our New Home!

In mid-May, we bought a new house! Our family has quickly outgrown the one bedroom condo we bought four and half years ago when Neil and I were a newly married, childless couple. Three kids later, we are preparing to move into a four bedroom home in a beautiful neighborhood just a few minutes from our current home. Here's a picture I took a few months ago before it was ours. Notice the real estate sign in the yard and the deer standing in front of the bush.

The interior of the house is being painted so we can't move in yet but we are very excited to be there just in time for summer. We enjoyed dinner on the deck the first evening we bought the house. We love dining on the deck and we've fired up the grill and entertained friends already. We couldn't have a grill at our condo so we can't wait to spend all summer grilling with friends and family. Below are two photos from closing day:

Welcome to our new home!

Our new backyard is amazing! We've been spending weekends at the new house and the kids have already had a blast playing basketball, baseball and soccer. We foresee a lot of sporting events held in our yard in the future. Here they are relaxing in their new Adirondack chairs:

Meet our new babysitter!

Our friends dropped off this water table housewarming gift. They said it was to entertain the boys while we work on the move. It was the best gift ever! The boys had so much fun splashing each other and using the hose to fill up the table. Another gift we received was a sprinkler and I'm sure the kids will love this new toy as well.

More pictures to come once the house is painted and we're fully moved in!

A Happy Mother's Day!

It was a beautiful, warm Mother's Day! We had a late lunch at a restaurant near our home with Neil's mom, sisters and brother Tim. After lunch, we went to a park on the Hudson River to enjoy the beautiful day.

A happy mommy with her three little angels on Mother's Day!

My little munchkins trying to get away. Pictures are not their idea of fun!

Now this is more like it! Fun in the jungle tree!

Exploring the rocks with Uncle Timmy.

Teeter totter partners at the playground!

Annabel and Nana enjoying the beautiful view!

Although it was very difficult to get everyone to look at the camera and to smile at the same time, we managed to get an okay picture of our family of five. 

I'm so lucky to be the mother of three beautiful children and the daughter of a wonderful mother! Mother's Day was a nice day to reflect on this honor and good fortune.

Welcome to the World - Annabel Claire!

We are so excited to announce the arrival of our precious baby girl - Annabel Claire! She was born on April 2nd and weighed in at 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 20 inches long. She's perfectly beautiful in every way!

Miss Annabel was due March 27th but seemed quite comfortable right where she was and an inducement was set for April 2nd. We went to the hospital at 7am very excited for our little darling to make an appearance.

We thought we'd have a baby by noon but when nothing was really happening by noontime, we realized it was going to be a long day. I was hooked up to the monitors so I couldn't even walk around. And, unfortunately we couldn't find much on TV. Neil read the paper to me, even the horoscopes. Waiting...

At 10pm, we finally agreed with the doctor that it was time for a c-section. And, by 10:30pm, our baby was born. It's a GIRL!

Such a sweet baby girl.

First photo of our family of five!

Thank goodness Grandma Hunter had made it to New York in time for Annabel's arrival. The boys were in good hands and we didn't have to worry about transporting them between our neighbors/friends/family or calling anyone at 2am. Here's Grandma and Liam meeting Annabel for the first time. They are inspecting her tiny hands.

"Yea, yea, we love our baby sister. She's so cute. But, what did you bring us for snacktime, Grandma?"

This little lady attracted quite a crowd of admirers at the hospital. Nana Rudden and Aunt Annie came to visit!

Uncle Colin and Doreen also came to meet Annabel. And, they brought her an entire wardrobe of dresses and cute girly outfits. She's all set for her first year!

My friend Ayana lives near the hospital so she came by after work to meet Annabel. She delivered her son at the same hospital two years ago. Two other friends, Ana and Katherine, also came by one evening. They brought desserts and wine! They also stayed an hour and a half past visiting hours. It was one of the rare times we could get together without one our 9 kids combined interrupting the gossip.

I'm so excited to have a girl. I believe there will be lots of bows and pink in the future. One morning at the hospital they brought her in wearing her first bow!

And, she tried on her second bow. Uh, oh. Maybe she doesn't like bows.

Daddy's little girl already. Neil bought three containers of hand sanitizer to have around the house. He doesn't want any germs near his precious girl.

At four days old, we welcomed Annabel home. She slept the entire ride from the hospital and then slept for a few hours after we arrived. It was such a blessing that she eased us slowly into our new life with three little ones.

We are so in love with our three wonderful children and look forward to another busy year. Hopefully I can keep up on the blog. Let the chaos begin!

Winter Fun Ends, Ready for Spring!

This post is a random assortment of the fun we've been having this winter since they didn't really fit into another post. The combination of cold winter temperatures and exhaustion from pregnancy have kept us home much more than usual during the past few months. We've managed to find some creative ways to pass the time. And, since Spring is around the corner, we're now thrilled to be coming out of hibernation!

Play Doh is a fun way to keep busy!

Although Dylan enjoys playing with the PlayDoh, at some point in the activity he tries eating it and then it becomes a game to see if he can eat it before I notice. The activity just doesn't entertain him as long as Liam.

This is a much better way for Dylan to play with PlayDoh. It's safely in the container!

Mr. Potato Head is lots of fun but what's even more fun is when the boys pretend they are the potatoes.

It only snowed twice this winter (and once in October) so we rushed to get the kids outside to enjoy it each time!

Dylan seems to dislike hats and gloves. He would rather put his bare hands in the snow.

Liam loved the snow mountain! Even when it had almost completely melted, he asked if we could go outside and climb on the snow mountain.

Dylan's first day of school! Both boys now go to Happy Hearts two days a week for six hours. Neither of them wanted to pose for the photo. They just wanted to go to school! They have fun doing art projects, playing at the playground, circle time, learning numbers/letters/colors, storytime and making new friends. It also gives mom a break to get some things done around the house, to run errands and to prepare for the new baby. Once the baby arrives, I will have two days a week to bond with the new little one.

The boys visited the dentist! This was Liam's second check-up. No cavities! Dylan also had his first visit. His teeth are looking good and the pacifier at night isn't causing his front teeth to buck out. Yea! I don't have a photo because Dylan sat on my lap.

Whatever entertains them is fine by me. Playing with laundry dumped out of the hamper is definitely a fun activity. It kept them busy for quite awhile. Now I just need to teach them to help me fold the clothes!

The boys like to find hidden places to play. We have a tent that they love and we sometimes make forts out of blankets and the couch. On this day, they decided to move the chairs against the wall and dumped out some toys to make a small playspace. They were so cute giggling while playing together.

Lots of snuggle time. Daddy and his boys!

What's a house with two boys without some wrestling!

The boys enjoy visiting Nana Rudden!

Here's Dylan admiring one of Grandpa Rudden's paintings.

We still attend our weekly Playgroup at the church. With the baby coming, my duties as co-facilitator are about to come to an end for awhile but I'm sure we will catch a few more groups before the summer break.

This winter we've spent lots and lots of time reading books. The kids often bring books to us first thing in the morning, especially if we get new ones at the library. And, all day it seems that if I sit down, a book is brought over to me. Dylan now calls a number of books by name. Of course, the bedtime routine includes books too!

The weather in March has been really mild so the winter hibernation seems to be coming to an end. We try to get outside as often as I can muster up the energy. We had a picnic on this beautiful day and the kids ruled the playground since no one else was even there. We came back the next day with our sand toys since the sand was such a huge hit! They will have so much fun at the beach this summer.

With the nice weather rolling in, we've headed out to the farm twice now. Liam loves running around and is fearless around the animals. Dylan was so thrilled to see the animals live. He knows all his animals and animal sounds from the books we read so he ran around the farm pointing out animals and naming them. My favorite animal to hear him shout about was, "Chicken!"

Since it's not exactly a petting zoo, they couldn't touch the animals. However, Neil found some animals for them to pet. Our little pig wrangler!

Yee Haw!

Since we've been cooped up so much this winter, the boys can find fun as long as we're outside. They don't need any toys. They had a blast sitting on the manhole cover in our condo complex parking lot.

Winter seems to be officially over! We really can't complain because it hasn't been a snowy winter. Nonetheless, we are so happy that warm weather is finally here and that our new baby will be arriving soon to enjoy it with us!