A peek into our Florida trip :)

We're home! I miss the sun, sand, and long relaxing days already. How is it that a school week can go by so s-l-o-w-l-y, but a week of vacation flies by? I wish I could make time stand still sometimes. We had a wonderful week, even though it rained the last three days we were there. Holden had so much fun, and talked about things we did on our trip all the way home. He mainly remembers the "trucks," (construction) "choo-choo," (a local place with kiddie rides including a train) "swimming," and "shovel." I don't even know where to begin with all my pictures, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, here are some clips from our trip. Holden absolutely loved digging and playing in the sand! I love how concentrated he looks at times. The last clip is on one of our rainy days. Jay, his dad, sister Allison, and her friend Carly decided they were going in the hot tub regardless of the weather. Jay decided it would be cool to jump in the pool first. Keep in mind it was pouring and maybe 60 degrees out. He is a lunatic! He kept us entertained from our perch on the balcony. :)

Hi from Florida!

We are still soakin' up rays in Destin, enjoying every moment of pure white sand, crystal clear ocean water, and plenty of fun things to do. Unfortunately, while we get the Internet, I have not been able to post any pictures/videos since yesterday. Something is wrong with the connection. So I will just have to bombard you with them when we return home at the end of the week! :) Last night we ate at a place called Fudpuckers, and Holden got to feed and pet an alligator. (It was very small and had its mouth taped shut.) He had no fear and talked to it in a high pitched voice, and kept pinching/poking its leg while we got our picture taken with it! I went bungee sailing with Ben, the 13 year old son of our family friends, the Browns. It's where they put you in a harness and suspend you in the air, and when you pull the cord, you sail across the sky like a big swing. I've always wanted to do it, and nobody would go with Ben, so I said, "Let's go before I change my mind!" Jay got some hilarious video footage of me screaming bloody murder! The same place we were at had a "choo choo" train which Holden rode 5 or 6 times in pure delight. He is having so much fun. Last night he slept with Memaw and Pepaw. He woke Memaw up by pulling her hair this morning. :) He adores the pool, beach, and esp. playing in the sand with his giant shovel. We wish you could all be here with us! Sending more sunshine your way...
Love,
The Hobsons

Pool party

We got Holden some floaties since he has no fear in the pool this year. :) He was funny this morning, transferring back and forth from the pool with Jay to the hottub with Pepaw. He thought he was hot stuff because he could float on his own. As you can see, he met a few girls in the hottub...they start young! :)

Got sand?!

WE DO! Just about everywhere! :)

We just got the Internet working at our condo. We are getting ready to head out to the beach for our second day, so just wanted to post a cute picture from yesterday. We drove all night Thursday and arrived Friday morning around 5:30a.m. It is beautiful-sunny and mid 70's, but feels much hotter on the beach. The sun is so strong here. Holden is in heaven. He picked right back up where he left off last year, just running this time around. Sending some rays your way! If Holden could pack up the sand and bring it back with us to share, he would. I LOVE SPRING BREAK!

Holden's 2nd birthday party!

Holden had a BLAST this year celebrating his 2nd birthday at Godfather's Pizza! It is amazing how different it was from last year; he understood what was happening and was so excited about everything. What a fun age! His party wasn't until 5:30pm, so he talked nonstop all day about "cake," "balloons," "balls," (there is a ball pit at Godfather's) and "toys." He kept mentioning his friends' names that he knew would be there. We took him to pick up balloons and I thought he was going to have a heart attack he was so thrilled! He kept saying, "My balloons! My Giggles (for Wiggles) balloons! My party!" He also helped us pick out a number 2 candle for his cake, and he started blowing and saying "cake" immediately, wanting to blow it out. We had a little issue when we got home and he realized he didn't get to do it right then. :) In order to get him to take a nap, I had to sing the "Happy Birthday song" to him in his rocking chair.

Godfather's was extremely crowded, as there were 2 other parties going on, but everyone had a good time and nobody got killed in the overcrowded ball pit! (Although thank goodness for Aunt Allison and Holden's cousins, Kelsey and Chelsey, who periodically weeded out toddlers who were basically drowning in the balls.) Thanks for the help, girls! The party was a Wiggles theme since Holden is absolutely in love with them right now. I had to order the plates, napkins, hats, (which Holden wouldn't wear; go figure!), his balloon, etc. from their "Wiggly website" and have them shipped from Australia! They don't sell them around here due to copyright issues. Leave it to my kid to be high maintenance without even trying. :) A local bakery did his cake, and the lady did a really cute job with the frosting. There's a picture of it below. My favorite memory of the party is when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He kept looking around at everyone with a huge grin on his face, realizing they were all singing to him. And he blew out his candle all by himself, and fed himself his cake with a fork. He is such a big boy. Sigh.

Here's my little "Party Starter!" I found his shirt at Children's Place.

Family picture before we left the house. I went with an orange color scheme to match his shirt. I know I am a dork to plan that! :)

Here are some shots of Holden enjoying his party, and a few playing with his balloons at home. Remember you can click on the collages to make them bigger.

We are fortunate to have so many special friends and family in our lives. Thanks everyone, for helping us celebrate Holden's big day!

We are leaving tomorrow right after school for Destin, Florida! I took Friday off so that we could caravan with Jay's parents, little sis, and her friend. We will drive through the night and Friday we will be...ON THE BEACH!!!!! Can't wait! Now if I can just get my packing and sub plans done! Tami is bringing her laptop, so if I can, I will blog a few pics while we are down there.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Holden and I wanted to wish everyone a very happy St. Patrick's Day!

(He is dressed for the holiday; I am in my Northpoint shirt since we celebrated the school's 20th anniversary this week by taking a school-wide picture in matching t-shirts!)

My little mischief maker!

Jammin' on his new Wiggles guitar. He loves it!

Hope everyone had a great day! We are Irish on my Dad's side, so had to throw a shout-out in blog world. Plus everyone knows I love a holiday. ;) Birthday party pictures coming soon!

Return of the shrinking chair

Holden's baseball glove chair continues to shrink! Here are the latest comparisons as we approach the 2 year mark. :)

1 week old (March 2007)

1 year old (July 2008)

Just 10 days shy of 2 years old! (March 2009)

From newborn to 1 year definitely has the most striking changes, but I am still amazed to see how much older he looks in the picture taken today. He's lost the baby fat. :( The only way I got him to sit still was to use the camera timer, which is why the shot is at a slightly different angle. He loves the beeping sound it makes. Silly boy!

"Batpats", "Potty Rooms", and "Hot Glasses"

At almost 2 years of age, Holden is quite the little character. His personality is really coming out as he picks up words and starts expressing himself. I am still in shock that my baby will be 2 this month!! His birthday is on the 24th, and we will be celebrating in Florida! We head to Destin over my spring break with Jay's parents, little sis, and one of her friends. We are having a party this Saturday at Godfather's Pizza so we can celebrate with friends and family before we go. It is going to be-what else?-a Wiggles theme, and he is very excited about cake and playing in the balls. I ask him about presents and he gives me a quizzical look. When I say toys, he grins and nods his head and shouts, "TOYS!" =o) It's hard to believe this running, talking, dancing, climbing, somersaulting, singing, questioning, playful ball of energy is the same teeny tiny preemie that we brought home wrapped in his favorite blue "nigh nigh" blankie 2 March's ago. I feel like we blinked and he grew into a little boy. It really does go soooo very fast even though sometimes I wanted to smack people when they said that. (Usually after I'd been up all night with a teething infant!) When I found out I was having a boy, I wondered what I'd do with him? I am such a girlie girl. I have learned how much fun trucks, mud, balls, mowers, choo-choos, and all things boys can be! I think it is safe to say that I'm totally in love. With a 24 pound, blond haired, brown eyed mischief maker. I wouldn't trade him for a million girls! (But if God wants to give him a sister at some point, I won't complain!) =o)

Holden adores any type of ball right now. We are trying to teach him how to CATCH the ball, but he'd rather throw it wildly, kick it wildly, hit it with a bat or golf club wildly...I think you get the picture.

He is also really into pretending to shave like Daddy now. When I get ready in the morning, he sits on the counter with his feet in the sink, warm water running, and I put some sensitive skin shaving cream on our soap dish. He slathers it all over his face and laughs at himself in the mirror, saying, "SILLY!" Then he wipes it off with a washcloth. Luckily he is afraid of razors since I told him they make "ouchies!" When he sees one he will yell, "OUCH!"

The middle shot is from last night. We were at Shoe Carnival getting new shoes for Jay and myself. Holden has been very into purses lately because a) he associates them with going "bye bye," and b) he loves phones, and he knows cell phones can usually be found in purses. Jay is NOT a fan of this current obsession, and is constantly telling him "boys wear backpacks!" Holden and I were at the mall the other night, and we walked by a rack of purses at Bergner's. He looked at them with big eyes and I thought, "uh oh!" But he very proudly said, "No touch!" and smiled at me. I praised him for remembering and then he said, "Yeah...no touch batpats!" Apparently he thinks purses are still backpacks....boys just call them that! So at Shoe Carnival, he spotted this cute little Nike backpack just his size at the back of the store, put it on, and posed for me, grinning and saying, "CHEESE! Batpat! My batpat! I get batpat?" I told him to ask Daddy. Jay said, "Will you wear it instead of a purse?" And Holden said, "YES! BATPAT!" So he wore it out of the store. He is very excited to put things in it. Note his new little Cardinals crocs, too. Aren't they cute?! He has insisted on wearing them everyday since we got them, so we put socks on and out he goes into the 35 degree weather in them.

Playing in boxes is another big thing right now. Doesn't matter how cool the thing that came in the box is, he goes for the box. The one in the picture held a little truck shaped potty seat that Memaw brought him. When you go potty, it makes construction noises! Holden is starting to experiment with going on the potty, and we are not pushing it at this point, but we do encourage him when he wants to try. I think he's still a ways off from truly doing hardcore training, which is fine. He is very strong-willed, and I know if I push him and he's not ready, it will completely turn him off to it. Jay has had better luck with him than I have so far; although that has also meant some clean-up on Jay's part...he called me at work the other day to say, "Well, the good news is Holden peed on the potty! The bad news is you didn't tell me I had to teach him how to point it DOWN!!" I had a good laugh about that one. Apparently Jay had to change his entire outfit. His own, not Holden's. Anyway, Holden has gone on the big toilet using a little Elmo potty seat, but has yet to use the adorable truck Memaw got him. He likes to sit on it and play with the bucket that goes in it, but won't actually go. He sure enjoyed the box though....

The fire truck shot is also at Shoe Carnival. I included it because that "Oh!" expression is his new thing to do when he is excited. It cracks me up!


Holden has been Daddy's buddy lately. He cries if Jay is not there when we get home, wants Daddy to rock him at night before bed instead of Mommy (sniff sniff!), and absolutely loves visiting him while he is working. We made another trip to the airport the other night when Jay had security detail. I had bought him some new sunglasses right before that. He is really into asking, "WHY?" about everything right now. The conversation went something like this:
Holden-"Glasses! Me on!"
Mommy-"Yes, Holden, you can wear your new sunglasses and show them to Daddy."
Holden-"WHY?"
Mommy-"Because you like them and they will protect your eyes."
Holden-"WHY?"
Mommy-"Because the sun is very bright when you are looking up at the planes."
Holden-"Sun HOT! HOT HOT HOT! WHY?"
Mommy-"It IS hot, you are right. It's like fire." (What a scientist! LOL!)
Holden-"WHY?"
Mommy-"Because God made it that way." (running out of answers.)
Holden-"WHY?"
Mommy-"Oh look, Holden! We're here! Let's go see Daddy!"
Holden-"Otay!"
We go inside and he spots Daddy and yells, "JAY! My HOT GLASSES!!!" (I think Jay thought he meant he looked hot in them, but he was referring to the sun.) He wore them the first half hour we were in the airport and only took them off after he ran into a wall. =o)

I love these shots of him looking down at Daddy!

One last funny story in what has turned into an incredibly long post: When Holden and I were shopping the other night, I found some skirts I really liked and decided to try them on. He has never been in a dressing room before, as Jay is usually with us. He had been so good about walking with me (first time I ventured alone with him without the stroller!) and listening that I thought we'd give it a whirl. We walked in and there were several people in the rooms around us. He was dancing in the mirror and I thought, "how easy!" as I started taking my pants off. He looks at me and says VERY loudly, "MOMMY? You go POTTY??" Snickers from the other stalls. "No Holden," I explain with a laugh, "This looks like a bathroom but it is a place to try on clothes." Not to be deterred he says a little LOUDER, "MOMMY? You go POOPY in here????" More snickers. "No, Holden, nobody is going potty. Let me just get this off and we will go. At full yelling volume: "MOMMY? I go POOPY in here???" as he pulls his pants off and tries to take his diaper off. Laughter rather than snickers. Full-blown panic. "NO, Holden! Here! Let Mommy just finish changing and we'll go." Sound of door creaking open and sickening realization that I picked a door with a broken lock...."MOMMY! BYE BYE!" SLAMMING sound of door as I pull on my pants with one hand and hold the door shut with my foot, while at the same time also pulling up Holden's pants. Note to self: don't take a 2 year old boy in the dressing room with you.

A Day with Daddy: Tour Guide Holden

"Hey everyone! Wanna see something really cool? I'm about to take you behind the scenes at the McLean County Sheriff's Department. Consider yourself privileged!"

"Follow me!"

"Daddy is working the desk today. I like to climb back here and hang out with him. Let's go say hi!"

"Hey, Daddy! Watcha doin'? "

"Oh, DADDY...I'm trying to give a tour here! Can you get off the phone please?"

"That's more like it! This is the desk Daddy sits at. (I wonder if I could swipe that white-out without anyone noticing?)"

"These are all the files at the police station. I hope there aren't any in here about YOU! Let's take a look....nope, you're good!"

"Peek a boo, Daddy! You can look through this little window in the break room and see what's going on."

"Sometimes I climb into Daddy's lap and help him make phone calls. This day, we were trying to find some deputies willing to work overtime. Think I could persuade them? If I said "PLEASE" in my really nice voice?"

"Daddy is a busy guy today. We better let him get back to work."

"I just love visiting my Daddy! Thanks for taking the tour with me! I take tips, by the way."

"Bye bye!"

It's Friday!!!

Hi everyone! I'm heading into another busy weekend (we have had something going on every weekend for the past 3 weeks and will continue to the next two weekends...then we leave for Florida!!!) so thought I'd post a few random shots from the past week. It is currently hovering around 70 degrees and sunny, so I am ready to pick up Holden from the sitter's and enjoy the fresh air! Hope you all have a great weekend. Don't forget to set the clocks ahead on Sat! Woohoo! Spring is finally coming!


Holden and Jay came into my classroom for a visit...as you can see, we were very productive and educational. Hey, I taught them how a camera timer works. Technology is important, right?!

Holden discovered my bra drawer the other night.

Jay is very worried...

I went to Kara's family baby shower. I'm not sure what Bridget is looking at?! We are all eagerly anticipating the arrival of "Baby Girl Thompson" in April! Kara, remember my strict orders NOT to go into labor while I am in Florida!! You'll just have to hold her in.