Michigan Trip Update

Smart Hudson Quote

Hudson and Landon were racing trucks up and down the hallways. On one trip, Hudson's truck hit a rug and stopped, but Hudson didn't. He toppled over the top head-first.

Kathryn: "Whoa! I guess that was an example of...hmmmm...velocity, huh?"
Hudson: "No, that was inertia!"

Funny Hudson Quote #1

Hudson: "Landon, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Landon: "Trash truck..."
Hudson: "A trash truck driver?"
Landon: "Yes."
Hudson: "Yea, I want to be a trash truck driver, a semi-truck driver, or a fire-fighter. But you have to go to school first. First you go to kindergarten, then you go to school for a lot of years, and then, when you're pretty old - like about 17 or 18 - you go to college. Then you can get a real job."

Funny Hudson Quote #2

Landon: "My tummy hurts."
Hudson: "Oh, I'm sorry. You should try to poop - have you pooped today?"

Well, we've had an exciting couple of weeks. Rick, Hudson, Landon, and Keaton went to visit the boy's grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts, great uncles, and more. The trip went well overall. The boys were terrific on the plane trips and even put up with three legs to the trip on the way to Michigan (Phoenix to Memphis to Detroit to Saginaw). The hitch came once arrived in Saginaw. None of the three car seats made it, so it took nearly two hours to make it out of the airport with three car seats from the airline. Also, a compartment on Hudson's Hummer suitcase (the hood) had been knocked over during the trip and all of his underwear and his swimsuit had fallen out in some cargo hold along the way. So after driving two hours to Gaylord, everyone stopped at Wal Mart at 2:30 a.m. so Rick could buy underwear and swim trunks for the next day. And once they got to Grandma and Papa's, Rick found that the huge can of powdered infant formula he'd packed in the suitcase had popped open and coated all of the clothes in a thin film of powder.

Once settled in, though, they had a great visit. The Oppers spent the whole week, the Harmons were there for a few days as were Marci and Tori, the Maxons were out most days/nights, and the Southwells were around many of the days too. Hudson and Landon loved playing with their cousins. Callie, Cassandra, and Tori spent a lot of time holding Keaton. Caleb taught Hudson how to shoot a BB rifle. Hudson managed to coerce both Cassandra and Caleb into driving trucks 1/4 mile down a dirt road through mud puddles. They all did a lot of construction projects with Lego's, Lincoln logs, and dominoes. All three boys hung out with Papa and Grandma but, not surprisingly, Hudson managed to sleep between them every night. Landon was addicted to four-wheeler rides on the ranch (often with Callie) and to swinging on the swing with his cousins.

The Oppers also took us to their cottage where Hudson and Landon were able to play on the beach and build sandcastles and were taken on a motorboat ride by Uncle Steve.

And on the last night of the trip, Rick attended his 20th high-school reunion (yes, he's that old). He had a chance to catch up with many high school friends.

The trip back started eventfully as they received notice the flight was cancelled the night before leaving and they were rescheduled on a late flight with a four hour layover, but Rick was able to get them on a flight from a different airport (that was actually a shorter drive) that got them back to Phoenix at the same time originally planned. So in the end, the cancellation allowed an extra hour of sleep and the same arrival time so it was a blessing! Again, the boys all did very well on the trip home.

Kathryn had a busy Mommy repreive week while her boys were in Michigan. She scouted out some decorating stuff for the new house, got some of the necessary hardware ordered, and, oh yea, had a spa day!

As luck (or something) would have it, there was not a single showing of our house the week Kathryn was home alone with house all tidy. As soon as the four boys hit, there were seven showings in the subsequent week. Still no offers, though...

Here are some highlight photos from Michigan:

Picture-less update

We have been waiting to download some new photos to put up an update, but since we're slow to do so, we thought we'd at least start with a written update on what's been going on. We'll add the photos later.

Rick and Kathryn are doing well. Rick has new residents coming in to begin surgery training on July 1st and so has been doing a lot of orientation. Kathryn is masterfully juggling a 5 person household while keeping the house in condition for buyers and real estate agents who drop in on short notice. Continue to pray for God's timing and buyers for our home. It's been on the market for about 10 weeks now. We've had at least 20-25 showings, three second visits, and one offer that was withdrawn. One of our neighbors just sold their home for a reduced offer that we think is about our asking price but their home is about 100 square feet larger than ours, so we are considering a reduction in asking price. Pray for the wisdom to figure out the best approach.

Hudson is doing great. He's a really fun boy. He did Vacation Bible Experience (apparantly they don't call is "school" anymore) last week and really enjoyed it. He continues to amaze us with his sharp memory (see quote below). He has really taken to our neighbor's 8 year-old boy, Josh Swain and they like to hang out with each other. Landon is also doing great. He is hilarious; he always seems to find a way to make the family laugh - often by putting strange items on his head. His speech and language have really taken off and he likes to talk on the phone now. Landon is doing well also. He seems to smile every time someone talks to him (maybe we don't talk to him often enough!). Hudson loves him to death and will spend up to 20 minutes at a time sitting there talking to him and playing with him. He had his 4 month checkup and continues to grow in length (90th percentile) but has slimmed down in weight (20th percentile). He still weighs 2 pounds more than Hudson did at that age, but actually a little less than pudgy-cheeked Landon did. His pediatrician also commented that his head was quite large and asked Kathryn, "Does his father have a big head?" You can insert your own puchlines here.

Hudson Memory Quote:
We had the Swains over for dinner about a month ago. When they came, Hudson and Landon each received a hotwheels car from them. This week, Hudson and Landon broke into an argument about who gave Landon his car: Landon claimed it was Zac and Hudson claimed it was Josh. Josh had given Hudson his car. Rick, not knowing what happened but thinking that it was most logical that the Swain boys had each brought one car to give to them told Hudson that he may not be remembering correctly and that Josh probably have him his car and Zac gave Landon the other one. To which Hudson replied:

"No. The Swains came in and Josh stopped in the entryway with the red Ferrari in his right hand and the yellow Ferrari in his left. He handed the red Ferrari to me and then the yellow Ferrari to Landon. Zac was not carrying any cars, just a pool towel."

Debate Ended

Hudson's Memory

About a year ago, Rick found that someone had keyed his car and had it repaired. Today, Kathryn and the boys were driving past the autobody shop where it was repaired and Hudson spontaneously said the following:

"There's Raintree Autobody where Daddy got the black TL repaired when someone keyed his car. They did it on the passanger side so he wouldn't see it. He found it when he and I were going to Sam's club and he was putting in my car seat on the passanger side. It's Landon's carseat now that we were putting in because I have a new one now. And remember that rental car that Daddy had? I think it was a Lincoln Town Car and it was so big it barely fit in the garage."

As you might expect, in retrospect we now remember that all of that was exactly what happened.

Keaton is Growing

Smart Hudson Quotes:

Kathryn and Hudson were discussing what he did at the gym children's play area. Hudson said:
"My friend Nathan was there. Nathan's name is polysyllabic."

The boys are doing well. Keaton is growing as you can see below. Landon is talking a lot now, though it's pretty tough understanding him sometimes. The uncanny thing is that Hudson always seems to know what he's saying and translates for us. Hudson is really maturing. Today, he and Kathryn put Landon and Keaton down for their nap and decided to watch the "Cars" movie together. Ten minutes into the movie, Kathryn was tired and decided to take a nap. Hudson finished watching the movie, turned off the DVD player and TV, and went to the bathroom. In the process, he dribbled a little on his pants, so he quietly snuck into he and Landon's room without waking Landon, put his dirty pants in the laundry, and changed into the new ones. He then went to the playroom and quietly played until Kathryn woke up.

We have weird conversations

Funny Kathryn Quote

Cassandra's recent birthday prompted Hudson to request that everyone pretend to be a member of the Opper family. Since Cassandra reached legal driving age, Hudson chose to be Cassandra and all the other members were distributed with Keaton being designated as Uncle Steve. After nearly an hour in character, this resulted in the following weird statement by Kathryn:

"OK, Cassandra, wait for a minute, I have to take Uncle Steve back to change his diaper and put on his jammies."

More Gray Boy Chatter

Big brother taking care of little brother

Current status of our new House construction

Overheard after bedtime

Some background: Hudson has a little stuffed animal frog that is only about 3 inches high and so very easily disappears. It drives Rick and Kathryn crazy because about two nights a week it results in late evening searches so Hudson can sleep with it.

"Brother?'

"Yes, Landon."

"Kuk!"

"The house construction video?"

"Yes."

"You can watch that the next time it's your turn to pick a video to watch."

[Silence for a minute]

"Landon?"

"What?"

"Do you want to come up and help me find my frog?"

"Yes!"

[We could just picture Landon climbing the ladder to the top bunk and the two of them rummaging through the sheets and blankets.]

Not much else new. We've had around a dozen showings of our house, one second-time visitor, but no offers yet. Kathryn is in a new Beth Moore Bible study. Rick traveled to Chicago last weekend for a day for a meeting at the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.

Rick plays pickup basketball at the church gym on Monday nights and Kathryn has been bringing all three boys there to watch on those nights lately. That's prompted Landon, whose vocabulary continues to grow, to put together his longest sentence to date when he told Kathryn what he thought was going to happen that Monday night: "Daddy play ball church."

Landon's other parent

Those of you who've done "Growing Kids God's Way" will appreciate this one.

Funny Hudson Quote #1:

Hudson was telling Rick and Kathryn about his day (very exciting as he spent the afternoon and evening at his friends' house) when Landon came up repeatedly trying to get Hudson's attention with his typical, "Brother?...BROTHER?...BROTHER!!?..."

Hudson: "Landon, I'm talking right now. Here, [pulled Landon's hand onto his forearm] put your hand on my arm to let me know you want to talk and as soon as I finish my story I'll talk to you."

Funny Hudson Quote #2:

After putting Hudson and Landon to bed, Rick crawled up onto the top bunk with Hudson to lay with him for a few minutes, as he sometimes does with both older boys. After a minute or two, the silence was broken...

Landon: "Brother?"

[silence]

Landon: "BROTHER?"

[silence]
Landon: "BROTHER!!!!?"

Hudson: "What, Landon?"

Landon: "Hi."

Hudson: "Hi, Landon. [turning to Rick] Do you see why he drives me crazy sometimes at night?"

May is here already?

Photographic Deja vu:

Hudson and Landon June 2005

Hudson and Keaton April 2007

The time seems to be flying by again this year. Here are some of the happenings in AZ:

Keaton is doing well. He had his 2 month checkup and is healthy. He's also our biggest so far (he'll have to be to defend himself!). He weighed 11 lbs. 12 oz. and was in the 95th percentile for length. He received four shots and didn't seem to like them at all.

Landon remains the showman. He never hesitates to put a bowl on his head or whatever else might draw attention and laughs. His language has really exploded and it's fun to watch Hudson teach him to say various words.

Hudson is still type A and a great big brother. He and Landon seem to have bonded much more since sharing bunkbeds. They play together a lot and Hudson really looks out for him. Hudson also smothers Keaton in kisses and hugs. We've noticed that Hudson generates more smiles from Keaton than anyone else - but we think he also generates more crying from Keaton than anyone else.

Kathryn has been a real trooper. We've had about 5 or 6 showings of our house and she calls to the boys to "activate the Gray team." They clean everything up and head out of the house. You'd think it would be hard enough to juggle three boys under the age of four without that stuff.

Our new house is still being framed. We found that the windows, ductwork, and fireplaces (yes, fireplaces in Arizona) had been installed when we visited last weekend. It's a good pick-me-up to go see it when we get tired of showing our house and fixing everything up.

Funny Landon Quote:
For this funny quote to have it's effect, it's helpful to actually say the words out loud as you read the quotes. Trust us, it will have more of an effect this way.

Hudson has been teaching Landon a lot of words and, of course, car and truck were among the first. This past week, he decided to add to Landon's vehicular vocabulary...
Hudson: "Landon, let's teach you to say SUV."
Lanson: "Oh."
Hudson: "Say 'S'"
Landon: "S..."
Hudson: "U..."
Landon: "Me"

Funny Hudson Quote:
Hudson poked Rick with his butter knife at dinner. Kathryn, ever the prosecutor, told him that could be considered assault. Hudson asked for an explanation of assult, and it included that it's not assult if you're defending yourself.
Hudson: "Yes - what if someone was attacking you with a sword, then you could use a knife to defend yourself."
Kathryn: "Yes, Hudson, you could."
Hudson: "But I'd want a cutting knife, not a spreading knife!"

A link to our house tour and a quote

Thought those of you who haven't ever been to our home might like to see it in the virtual tour they made for putting our house on the market. Here's the temporary link (still needs some editing). To see the various area of the house you just click on the tabs above the photos: http://www.tourfactory.com/337032

Smart Hudson Quote (and cute)

"Hey Landon, want to learn how to count in Spanish?"

"Ba!"

"O.K. Say uno.....good, now say dos....good..." And on it went with Landon trying to repeat after him through diez.

There's a "For Sale" sign in our front yard

At our neighbor's 4th birthday party. Hudson is front row far right, Landon is second row far right with the hat on.

Easter

Coloring Easter Eggs

Hi everyone. All is well in Scottsdale. Today they delivered and installed the "For Sale" sign in our front yard. It's really weird to see that. Kathryn spent a couple of afternoons with our realtor snooping in area homes for sale to help set the asking price. She had fun checking out the houses and decor and also being a bit of a voyeur.



The kids are doing well. Keaton really seems to be growing fast. He actually smiles on demand (Rick didn't believe it either). Hudson and Landon still mall him all day long with kisses. Hudson's pretty good at replacing his pacifier.



Funny Landon Quote:

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Landon."

(Makes motion with hand hitting his other hand)

"The birdie, Landon?"

"Ba" (His word for 'yes')

"Yes, the poor birdie" (see story from the last post)

Throwing his head back and closing his eyes: "Died!"

April is here

I mostly sleep and eat...

My brothers mostly ignore me...

My eyes are open sometimes.

My Mom likes to put me in these ridiculous outfits.

The "car show"

Hudson at our house construction site.

It's amazing that 2007 is already 25% done. What's more amazing is that we recently realized that Hudson has completed 25% of his life under our legal authority!

All is well in Scottsdale. Keaton is growing as he should and sleeping OK. Hudson is getting into the weather and wanting to swim a lot. Landon remains our showman and has been wanting to wear his sunglasses inside and out like a rock star.

We had an interesting experience this week. Hudson, Landon, and Rick were on the patio when a bird flew into the window, flopped onto the patio floor right at their feet, and died a not-too-pretty death. After properly disposing of the body, the boys ran in to Kathryn to tell her what happened. Before Hudson could tell the story, Landon got her attention and communicated enough to let her know that he was talking about a bird and proceeded to act out the event complete with sound effects, flopping onto the floor and closing his eyes! It was a hoot.

Hudson theology for the week:

When the subject of golf came up -

"You know that golfer, Tiger? He doesn't know God so he'd go to hell."
(We're pretty sure that came from Grandma...)

Hudson Sweet Quote of the Week:
"Keaton, of all the babies in the whole world, I'd choose you."

More Gray Family News

Hi all. Sorry about the time between posts, but things seem to be busier at our house these days! Today's installment will be the Gray family FAQs:
1. How is Keaton doing?
Keaton is doing great. He had a check-up with his pediatrician today and he's put on 1 lb. since birth and 1lb 11oz since leaving the hospital. He's really sweet and doesn't fuss hardly at all. We've learned that he really doesn't cry unless he has a legitimate complaint. We're really enjoying him.


2. How are Hudson and Landon accepting the new addition?
They really seem to love him. Hudson wants to hold him all the time and keeps telling him, "You are the sweetest baby in the whole wide world!" and "Of all the babies in the world, I would choose you." Landon is a little less effusive but likes to say "Hi baby," and kiss him. One day when Keaton was on the floor and Kathryn was in the Kitchen, Keaton started to cry and when Kathryn looked over, Landon was standing next to him trying (too hard) to look innocent. But overall, they've been very loving.


3. How is Kathryn doing juggling three boys?
Extremely well. She's got a working schedule that seems to be working well. She's been able to get them out to the library, the store, and the doctor's office already. Not much down time left during the day, though!


4. Are you getting any sleep?
Some. Keaton's doing well. Rick feeds him at 11 p.m. and then we see what happens. Kathryn trys to get to bed by about Most nights 9 p.m. so she can get a few hours sleep before the night feeds. Most nights he wakes up to eat at about 2:30 a.m. or so and again at 5:30 a.m. or so. Some nights he only gets up once about 3:30 a.m. All in all it works pretty well.


5. What's happening with the new house?
The foundation and plumbing are in and framing begins this week. They are still projecting an October or November move-in.


6. When are you selling your current house?
Because of the current slow market and the fact that April is the busiest month for home sales int he Phoenix area, we plan to list our house for sale within the next few weeks. We're not sure if we want to pray that it sells quickly or not! Pray for wisdom for us as we try to figure out the right real estate agent, the right price, and the right strategy for timing.

D.D. visiting at the hospital

Ducky visiting at the hospital

Our friend Ann Chitwood visiting at the hospital

Our friends Paul and Stacey Dickerson with Ethan (who is only about 2 weeks older than Keaton) visiting at the hospital

Hudson visiting at the hospital

Aunt Kerry visiting at the hospital

Papa visiting at the hospital

Grandma visiting at the hospital

Hudson doing his usual snuggling with Keaton

Cool Dudes

Aunt Karen visited

Hudson spent about 45 minutes washing his Mustang in the driveway

Landon thinks chocolate ice cream is pretty great

Landon with Mommy in the hospital bed