8 Months!

This little man turned 8 months old today!! He is such a sweet little boy and we really can't imagine our lives without him!

He is still quite the little eater, loves sitting and playing with toys, getting lots of attention from everyone around him, and is just starting to crawl a bit. He also started to make "kissing faces"this last month which we all find adorable. He is sleeping in his own room at night now and does pretty well with it, even sleeping through the night at times but unfortunately that is not every night! 

We sure do love our Hudson boy!

Trip to Philly

We took a last minute to Philadelphia this last weekend in order to go to the temple. Jason and I were able to do a session together on Friday evening and then we spent Saturday morning and early afternoon at the Ben Franklin Institute. 

The kids enjoyed learning about the cardiovascular system...

Working on number puzzles...

Learning about weather...

Doing their own weather reporting...

Pretending to fly an airplane...

Learning about air dynamics...

Testing wing shapes in a wind tunnel...

Imagining taking flight in this early Wright brothers plane...

Testing our strength...

And learning about motion!

After a late lunch at the Reading Terminal Market (our favorite!) we headed back home. It was a nice little summer trip together!

Swimming

We have been doing a lot of swimming at Northwood this summer and I haven't taken any pictures of it except for this one that Abby took of Jason going down the water slide.

We sure do enjoy our family pass to the pool on these hot summer days!

First Cub Scout Activity

Nolan got to go to his very first Cub Scout activity on Saturday, July 20th. It was a Pack Meeting at Cunningham Falls State Park. We hiked the Catoctin Furnace Trail where we learned all about how they made steel in the 1700-1800s. It was fun little hike, but thank goodness it was short since the heat index was over 100 degrees!

 

Afterwards we visited the aviary and saw some turtles, falcons, hawks, owls and the boys favorite...an eagle!!

Here's a closer view...

It was a fun introduction to Cub Scouts for Nolan!

Selfie Star

Going through the pictures on my camera one day I came across these pictures...

I love how she is making different expressions in each of these shots. Maylie's selfie game is pretty strong already!!

Nolan's Baptism

Nolan chose to be baptized on July 12th, 2019. It was my Dad's 79th birthday so we thought it would be  a nice way to honor him too!

We sure do love our Nolan and we were excited about his decision to be baptized!

It was fun to have Jason's parents there!

My sister and her family came as well!

Plus his Aunt Jennifer...

And 3 of his Call cousins!

A little family photo before the baptism!

It was a very small baptism but so sweet to see him choose to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized just as he was. We followed the baptism with Nolan's favorite treats...Pringles, brownies, donut holes and Kool-Aid!

Park Playtime

Jason's parents, his sister Jennifer, and 3 cousins came out to Maryland for a quick visit on July11-12 for Nolan's baptism. We spent that Friday walking around City Park and had a great time feeding all the ducks, geese, and even a few swans!

Hudson loves these parent/baby swings at the park!

They make it especially easy to pull his older sister's hair which he was obviously quite ecstatic about!

They boys all had a great time playing on the swings together too!

Free Chick-Fil-A

We can't pass up an opportunity to get free Chick-Fil-A so we dressed up like cows for "Cow Appreciation Day" on Tuesday, July 9th for our free dinner.

Hudson was definitely the cutest "cow" there!!

Outer Banks 2019

My most favorite week of the week came on June 30th-July 7th. We stayed at Duck of the Irish in Duck on the Outer Banks for the 7th year in a row and loved it!!

All the kids have become much better swimmers this year so playing in the ocean was even more fun than past years. Ben caught this great picture of Nolan riding the waves!!

Jason loves the boogie boards almost as much as the kids!!

These two were little twinners in their matching swimsuits. Willow and Maylie are almost one year apart in age and the very best of friends!

There was lots of playing in the sand...

Including some buried treasure!!

Abby created this fun koala sand sculpture one day too!

On Wednesday morning we took a pontoon boat out into the Sound and enjoyed riding the gentle waves and swimming in the water!

We also spent many afternoons and evenings walking along the Boardwalk too!

The Boardwalk makes for the best views of the sunset each night!

The kids sold water bottles during the Duck Parade on July 4th and sold out of all 180 water bottles that they had brought before the parade even started which they were very pleased about! After the parade, we went swimming in the pool to cool off a bit and then grilled hot dogs and hamburgers in the afternoon. That evening we headed to the beach to enjoy the waves a bit before catching the fireworks that go off up and down the whole beach!

Hudson liked being at the beach when it wasn't quite so hot!!

And these girls loved their time in the sand together!

Hudson's first time at the beach was mostly a success. He thought the waves were pretty fun, at least from a distance. He did try to eat the sand so he spent most of the time in someone's arms!

All of that cousin time really can't be beat!

On our last day at the beach, we were even treated with some dolphin viewing!

All of the Cleveland cousins in order by age...Chloe (21), Paige (16), Abby (13), Tyler (13), Coldon (11), Landon (11), Reygan (8), Nolan (8), Willow (5), Maylie (4) and Hudson (7 months)

And another shot with just the Call kiddos!!

And their OBX-lovin' parents!

Goodbye Outer Banks!!

We are excited to go back to the Outer Banks in just 4 months for Thanksgiving. It made it a little easier to say goodbye this year!