December

We've been busy! You can tell by my lack of blogging. Here's the month of December in a nut shell. Santa...of course! Christmas jammies, Aliyah's dance recital, a night in Salt Lake at a Hotel (kael thinks the robe is his star wars robe), and Kohen's first Christmas. Here's a few pictures to get you started.

Halloween '09

A Witch, Captain Rex (star wars guy), a Sumo, and a Geisha. Pictures of the turtle coming soon!

Finally...San Francisco

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We went to the bay area in August. We finally got around to visiting Akoni and Kim! It was lots of fun. We took the kids to Santa Cruz, Great America, the boys went to an A's game, and Marc and Akoni caught up on A LOT of NBA live. We also took the kids back to Dublin, where Marc grew up. All I can say is hi Johnny's donuts!!!! We then ventured to San Francisco in true tourist style. We rode BART, caught a trolly ride, and walked, and walked, and walked. Not such a great idea with 3 small children. The trip was complete with a fun night stay at Circus Circus. No more carni trips for the Hodson's. If I buy one more bag of cotton candy, see another spongebob ride (seriously almost puked), or wait in any more lines, I will SCREAM!! We do it all for the kids, right? :)

Our little ballerina

We put Aliyah in a ballet/jazz class and she is starting to love it. Notice that I said, "starting". I think it's the fact that it's a morning class, and we all know my kids aren't morning people. :) It still takes the first 15 minutes of class for her shyness to fade, but any little girl would snap out of being shy when pink butterfly wings and fairy wands are involved. I need to take a video camera one of these days...it is SO cute. And her leg warmers definitely add to the cuteness. :)

Kohen can count to 6

The kids get a kick out of this picture. I didn't even realize he was doing it. I just found the picture and started laughing. The kids ran over to see what picture I was laughing at, and I told them Kohen was counting to 6. They giggle every time I show them this picture.

First day of school!!

He is officially a Kindergartner. And yes, I really did let him wear a star wars shirt on his first day :). I was one of those parents who followed him in his classroom and snuck a picture of him sitting at his desk. For those of you that can't tell, that is totally his nervous smile. So cute!

Two come out...two come in

I forgot to mention that the same exact week Kael lost his first two teeth, Kohen GOT his first two teeth. So fun! I tried to get a picture of them together, but babies are not cooperative when it comes to showing their two bottom teeth. I randomly noticed his teeth showing in this picture, so this will have to do.

Many Milestones to Mention

In just a few short weeks, he lost his first tooth (the second one was punched out by a cousin :)), celebrated his SIXTH birthday, and in less than a week, he will officially be in Kindergarten. Man how time flies. We celebrated his birthday a little Star Wars style. Jedi robes and an appearance by darth vader was the highlight of the party. Besides needing some advil after the party, I can't resist going over the top for my kids' birthdays. It's all worth seeing how happy it makes them. Happy Birthday Kael!!

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary...

Meet our surprise zucchini that grew by the foot in the middle of the night! I also had to take a picture of the lettuce because it was so pretty. Yes, I just called lettuce pretty. It made a yummy summer salad too.

Summer Fun!

Swimming at the pool (every day if we could), karate moves in the lazy river, banana water tubes on the lake, cousins that come to visit, cute little tans...we love summer!

Where to begin?

He's accomplished so much in just a few weeks. He eats...he sits up...he crawls...and now it looks like he wants to stand!! Seriously, what are we going to do with this little guy? He is so busy, that he even falls asleep in his high chair. He's still as happy as can be, considering he's cutting his first two teeth. Just don't take a piece of paper from him, or he'll really show you who's boss. But really, who could resist those little sausage fingers?

So much to BLOG about

Time to catch up! We've had a busy couple of months. We took the kids to Lagoon yesterday. It was a perfect day, and we really lucked out. Considering it's been raining here all week. My parents came for a visit last week. They recently returned from their mission to the Philippines. It was so good to see them, and of course I put them to work. The kids had so much fun helping papa in the yard and getting our garden ready. I got a picture of them just watching him work in the garage. So cute! My mom and I have been busy with the kids rooms. She added her special touch by painting flowers in Aliyah's room. The skateboarder, however, is a decal. Kael loves it. We hung shelves, refinished a bench, and I spent the whole week picking her brain for ideas. We're still not done, so hopefully they'll be back for a visit soon.

Kael graduated from preschool and is more ready than ever for Kindergarten. (me too!) He also just finished swimming lessons, and has become a good little swimmer. As for the last picture, my cute friend surprised me with this banner as I drove home from doing my first triathlon. The triathlon was fun, but a lot different from a marathon. I'm just glad I didn't drown. :)

What can make your 3 year old this happy?

I've been meaning to post this picture for a while. I found it the other day, and couldn't resist. Now, why in the world would my 3 year old daughter be this happy? Was it Christmas morning?...no. Was she being chased by a dog?...no. Were we bribing her with candy?...no. Disneyland?...not even close. I just so happened to snap a shot of her as she was running to the slide at McDonalds. Gross, nasty, germ infested McDonalds. I guess that's what you get when your mom only let's you go there on your birthday.

Why do babies grow up so fast?

This post makes me so sad. First, he found his feet. Then, he holds his head up and reaches for toys. Now, he's rolling over!! He doesn't give me enough time to just enjoy him before he's off learning a new trick. He's such a happy baby. A pleasant surprise since his early days were pure grouchiness.

Cool tricks

Of course my daughter would like the weirdest cartoon on TV called Yo Gabba Gabba. They have a section called cool tricks that she gets these ideas from, and this is one of the tricks she learned. I was literally holding my camera when she said, "Look what I can do Mommy!"

Cabbage patch head

First of all, yes, he really is THAT white. Our little babe needs a tan. Please disregard the fact that he is 1/4 Filipino. Anyway, I was cutting up some cabbage for dinner one night, and I couldn't resist.

An inside joke

We have a little inside joke with the kids. Kael and Aliyah are obsessed with mustaches. Ever since they saw the Grinch where Jim Carey has a mustache as a baby, they have hoped ever since that Kohen would have one too. Well, daddy made their dream come true. He brought home fake mustaches for all to enjoy. Too funny. I had to post this picture of Kohen.

A Blast from the Past!

What do you get when all 5 siblings meet up for a weekend getaway? Way too much fun. We all met up in Portland to attend a cousin's wedding in Washington. All 5 of us + Kohen, piled in Aaron's SUV and headed north. It was a 4 hour drive, so you can imagine the conversation that went on. So many memories, and lots of "Remember when...?". In addition to the constant laughter, we enjoyed yummy food, and catching up with relatives we haven't seen in years. Especially an uncle that reminds me so much of my own dad, it's scary! It was a trip to remember, but it was good to come home to my cute little family anxious to see me and the babe. After all these years, we all have separate crazy lives. It was fun to go back and be reminded of where I came from. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for the example of my 4 older siblings. Love you guys!