Logan's 2nd Birthday Party

We celebrated Logan's birthday yesterday, October 30th, with a pumpkin painting birthday party at home. The weather was gorgeous and absolutely perfect for an outdoor birthday party.

This was the first year that I made the birthday cake/cupcakes for my kids. (I'm almost embarressed to admit that, but I have always opted for professionally decorated cakes because I didn't think I could make the cake taste as good, or look as cute.) But!, I am proud to say that Logan's cupcakes turned out really cute! Maybe I will try this for Ben's birthday in December too... ;-) Logan's cute cupcakes! (I found the cute cupcake toppers on Etsy; they were personalized for him; and very reasonably priced! I am a new-found Etsy lover!)

Logan's party was over lunch; so we set up a nacho bar! Everyone seemed to love the idea and there weren't many left-overs!

The pumpkin painting tables...

A cute bat balloon...

The pumpkin painting was a hit! The kids really had fun decorating their pumpkins to take home.

The littlest of the party, Logan and his friend Piper, getting some assistance from their Daddies with their painting.

Logan, working really hard at making a "masterpiece".

Ben was very proud of his painted pumpkin!

The kids had lots of playtime...on the trampoline...

...and on the swings.

The Moake boys their pretty mama, Tiffany.

Ben and Logan, searching for fossils...

Me, with Carly Reed. Carly is the daughter of my very good friend Jaime. She was decked out in her Halloween outfit with matching bow---adorable!

We all sang "Happy Birthday" to Logan and he loved blowing out his candle!

After eating cake and ice cream, we all went back outside so Logan could open his presents. He didn't need much help opening them this year! He knew what to do!

We appreciate everyone coming out and helping us celebrate Logan's 2nd birthday! It is always so nice to have good friends and family join around us for special celebrations. Randy and I can hardly believe our "baby" is 2 years old! I never truly understood or appreciated the old saying that "time flies when you're having fun", until I had children. And now sometimes, I wish time would just slow down a little bit, because our babies are growing up so fast...

It's Official!

Well, it's official! I am a Northeast ISD employee! I sat through employee orientation today---wow, was that boring; haven't had to sit through an orientation for nearly 6 years! And boy, do they waste a LOT of paper for that orientation! I report to work on Monday, November 1st---Logan's 2nd birthday. I'll let you know how it goes. :-)

Smores in a Jar

I found this simple, cute, and cheap Halloween gift idea for the boys preschool teachers and decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity! In total, each jar cost less than $4.00 to make and they turned out really cute! If you'd would like to know just how easy these "Smores in a Jar" are to make---let me know! I'd love to pass on the recipe. :-)

Sunday Funday

The boys are really into hunting for dinosaurs in the backyard. They will perch themselves in trees, their playhouse and run around to find the perfect hunting spot. In this particular photo, I think they were hunting a pack of Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Fishing with Daddy

Recently when I was in Colorado, Randy took the kids to the coast for a weekend of fun and fishing. Both of the boys are really enjoying fishing and get very excited about going to Port O'Connor!

Here is Logan: he's got his fishing hat on, snacks in both arms(Pringles)---he's ready to fish!
Ben and his Daddy with one of his catches of the day.

Upon returning home, Mimi had lunch ready and the boys enjoyed a picnic lunch on the porch.

A cheesy picture of the boys, just hanging out on the porch.

Pumpkin Patch Kids

A couple of weekends ago, the Hoods and the Crippens traveled out to Medina, Texas to visit the Love Creek Orchards Pumpkin Patch. It was a very fun place for all the kids, with a lot of activities. There was a hay maze....can you see Ben? :-)

Bean bag toss games...

Cut-out picture opportunities...

Horseback riding... (Yes, Ben's horse decided to stop and take a whiz! He thought that was sooo funny!)

Logan was a natural, and really enjoyed his ride.

My cute cowboy.

We took a hayride around the orchard...

Fed and pet some animals at the petting zoo...

And then we stuffed all of our (very big) children into one barrel on the tractor train ride---we were all kind of shocked they all fit together!

...and they loved the ride!

We hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!

Yes, I have been a bad blogger...

...but have some good excuses!



The last 1/2 of September and the entire month of October has flown by at record speed for the Hood family. We have been very busy! Here are some of the things we have been up to:

1. I traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado for 8 days for a nursing lactation certification conference at the end of September. While there, I was lucky enough to stay with my beautiful cousin Kelley and her husband Ross, and their most adorable 6-month old, Emerson. It was so nice to stay in their beautiful and comfortable home and spend some quality time with them. I fell in love with Emerson instantly---he is a very happy and fun baby. Spending time with him, made the distance between my own very beautiful children much more bearable. Here is a link to my cousins blog, and a few pictures while I was visiting. For the last couple of days while in Colorado, I traveled down to Littleton to visit one of my best friends from college, Meagan. We spent Saturday at a lovely outdoor craft and antique sale. I loved seeing her sweet little girl, Lauren. Lauren and Logan are about 6 weeks apart and it was so fun to play with her---and notice the differences between boys and girls. :-) Here is a link to Meagan's blog, so you catch how cute Lauren is.


2. Upon returning back from Colorado, I was busy from day 1. I served as a Community Helper to Ben and Logan's preschool. I visited with about 130 children, ages 2-4, and spoke to them on the role of a nurse, importance of hand-washing, what germs are and how they spread, and how to keep their bodies healthy through various means of nutrition, cleanliness, and exercise. I had SO much fun talking to the kids and really felt a passion for a young child's health education in the little time I spent with them. Wish I could do that for a profession...hmmm, maybe I can? Keep reading...


3. Also, in the last 2 1/2 weeks I have spent over 30 hours in continuing education and certification classes. Last week, I spent 2 days in a Childbirth Educator certification course. I have been teaching childbirth classes for over a year, but never was certified. I am so glad I took the course, because I really feel I learned new things and can contribute new and exciting information, activities, games, etc to the classes that we offer at Westover Hills (the hospital that I teach at). So hopefully, in a couple of weeks I can say I am a certified Advanced Nurse in Lactation and Childbirth Education. Really cool. :-)


4. Ben has really been loving preschool. He has been really focused learning his letters, numbers and starting to read. He is constantly asking how to spell certain words and when he is coloring, he is trying to spell words by himself, phonetically. Randy and I have been amazed at how intelligent and smart he is. Of course, we expect nothing less...but have been amazed at how quickly he picks up on things. We feel very blessed how smart and how much he loves learning. He is at a great age and we are loving every minute of it.


5. Logan has continued his speech therapy in the home. While I was gone in Colorado, he experienced the most progression in his speech in the 6 months we have been recieving therapy. The therapist said this was great, and almost expected because I was not at home with him, anticipating his every need and want. Therefore, he was forced to try harder at talking. He has about 7 words in his vocabulary now. The therapist said I really shouldn't get anything for Logan and to stop anticipating his needs unless he verbally tries asking for something (how can a mother do this???)---so that he has to try to speak more often. I find this to be very hard and almost impossible to do as a mother. We know what they want even before they ever ask for anything... Since Logan is turning 2 in a mere 8 days (!!!), and he has not progressed very well in his speech, we have started the transition for more services that would eventually lead to him going to a preschool program within the school district when he turns 3. He still has one year to "catch up", but we have to start the transition now to ensure the documentation is in place when he turns 3. Until then, we are adding another appointment with a speech therapist every week. So, he will have 2, 1-hour sessions every week for speech therapy in the home. Hopefully this will help him even more. I'll keep you posted.


6. And finally, have I told you that I love health education and working with children? Well, recently, with the down-turned economy, and living through hard-times for EE Hood & Sons, I started to look for a job to supplement our family's income and provide a stress relief to Randy. I absolutely LOVE staying at home with my boys, but the older they get the more comfortable I get with the idea of returning to work. SO, even before I went to Colorado, I had applied for a school nursing position at an elementary school that was less than a mile from our home. (It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.) And while, I did not recieve that job, I was called for a job intervew at another near-by elementary school. And in a matter of days, I sat through 2 interviews and was offered the job! I will be the new school nurse for Thousand Oaks Elementary school for Northeast ISD---starting Nov. 1st! The pay is really good and I will be able to carry my entire family on their provided healthcare insurance, for over 1/2 the cost that Randy pays now for our family. I am excited about the opportunity---however it is very bittersweet at the thought that I will be leaving my boys for work everyday. The boys will remain in their Tues/Thurs preschool program and my mom has graciously volunteered to help me with them every Tues/Thurs. She will take them and pick them up from school. (Thank you Mimi!) And I have found a wonderful nanny to come into our home Mon/Wed/Fri to care for the boys. She came very highly recommended and after interviewing her and seeing her and the boys interact with each other, it seems like a great fit. My work hours are from 7:30am-3:30pm, so by the time Logan is waking up from his nap, I will be getting home from work. I think the work schedule, location of the school, quality of the school, and the great child care I have been able to find for my kids is perfect. Randy and I are continuously amazed that no matter how hard things become, there is always a silver lining, and our Lord continues to provide. AND I get to continue my passion for public health, health education, and young children! (And having the summers, holidays, and weekends off with my kids is a major perk too!)

So, I am incredibly sorry for being such a BAD blogger lately---I know I have disappointed one of my loyal followers (my Uncle Dick!)---and I promise to try to keep up better. :-)

I will keep you posted on our new adventures---seems to be a lot of change in the air!