Rugrat Update

My oh my, I can't believe how time is flying! I haven't posted much about my boys as of late and thought I would play a little catch-up!

N I C K
2.5 years old
37 pounds (97%)
36 inches (95%)
Favorite activites: Doing ANYTHING outside, especially digging in dirt and playing with sticks. He also loves to "cook," do puzzles, tickle and cuddle with Chase, play with cars, trucks, airplanes, helicopters, trains, and balls.
Favorite books: "Ten Apples Up on Top" and "I'm a Big Brother."
Favorite foods : turkey dogs, wheat pancakes, anything with marinara sauce, spinach with ranch dressing, fruit and yogurt smoothies, and, of course, c h o c o l a t e (I have no idea where he got this from!).
Our favorite stories of him as of late: Brad was putting Nick to bed the other night. As they laid there in the dark, Brad told Nick that he was going to leave the room and asked him for a kiss good-night. Nick rolled over, grabbed his foot, put it on Brad's lips and said "Kiss my foot, Daddy!" Silly boy. When we were in Utah, Nick was watching "The Little Mermaid." During the part where Ariel is crying because Eric is going to marry someone else, Nick said "She's crying. She needs a nap!" Also in Utah, on our way out of the Childrens Museum my nice mom bought Nick a helicopter. The whole way out of the store Nick kept exclaiming over and over "We buyed it?!?! We buyed it?!?" Like he couldn't believe it (poor kid...you can tell how often we buy him the stuff he asks for.....ahhhh, life on a student-budget!:) ).

C H A S E
4 months and 2 days old
16 pounds (74%)
27 inches long (99%)
Favorite Activities: Rolling over, sucking on his hands and feet, smiling, laughing, "talking," watching Nick, drooling, eating, spitting up, going through at least 3 outfits per day, and sleeping.
Favorite Books (he told me): "Goodnight Moon" and "To Think that I saw it on Mulberry Street."
What he doesn't like: Getting dressed, having lotion put on, and tummy time!

Thanks for indulging me! I have to use my blog as a journal every once in a while so I can remember all these phases!

We are H O M E

After 2 weeks, 2 flights with 2 lay overs with 2 kids by myself, a trip to the zoo, the childrens museum, Wheeler Farm, the park, Cowboy Grub, Cafe Rio, Litza's Pizza, time spent with Mom, Dad, Daniel, Mara, Gram, Jen, Amy, Em and Audrie, Heidi, Dave, and Anna, Becky, Lindsey, Kerrah and boys, Dan Denice and boys, Brian and fam, Roger & Jane, Lynny, Mo, Nora, Joe, Rick and Retta, lots of games of Settlers and Euchre, trips to Philly tacked on to the beginning and the end, WE ARE HOME! Thanks to all of those who made the trip a success and who went out of their way to see us!!!!!!!!! We can't wait to do it all again in A U G U S T!

Best of all was coming home to my BRAD, who had the house spotless (I'm talking bathrooms and vacuuming, and dusting, the whole nine yards) and who gave me the night off tonight (minus the feeding of Chase, which I certainly would relinquish if at all possible for one night). Single parenting is definitely not for me. I missed seeing you, talking with you, laughing at and with you, cuddling with you, and watching you with our boys. Here's to the fun summer ahead of us!

Random Happiness

I've always considered myelf a happy person. I usually realize what an impact a positive attitude can have on life, and I think I usually have one. But I think I fell into a bit of a funk over the very long, very cold, very lonely winter I just experienced in State College, PA. And I've turned into something I usually despise.....a whiner. It's too cold, I can't leave my house, I never sleep, there's not enough time, stupid baby weight, when we're done with school I'll be happy, my house isn't clean, my house is too small, I miss my yard, I miss my garage, etc., etc., etc., (aren't you grateful for that extra special glimpse into my mind). Since having this realization (took me long enough), I have been trying to notice the positive things in my life, things besides my wonderful husband and sons, to give me the pick-me-up that I needed. And as cliche and cheesy as it sounds, there really is happiness to be found in everything and everywhere! Here are four very random things that have made me happy this week:

1) I started violin lessons! This is something I have always wanted to learn, and it's been really refreshing and fun to actually do it! Plus the time spent with my amazing friends Melba (my teacher) and Melissa (fellow student) has been awesome! I admire these two so much!

2) Those of you who know me know how much I LOVE to cook! Ha, ha! I wish I liked it, but no matter how hard I try, I just don't. But these zip and steam bags have been rocking my cooking world lately. I'm practically a walking commercial for them. They do asparagus (our family favorite) perfectly, and you can even cook frozen chicken in them and it turns out so yummy! It cuts my cooking time in half, happiness indeed!

3) I'M COMING TO SALT LAKE! I haven't been home since August 4th, and to say that I'm homesick would be an understatement. I'm just excited to see my family and to be in a place where everything is familiar. I will just be chillin' at my parents house starting on May 7th, so stop on by and meet Chase (I doubt I'll be getting out much...my fam already shares one car between the 4 of them, so I'm not about it borrow it).

4) The SUN!!!!! After going way too many days without seeing it, I love to bask (yes, I said bask) in it as much as possible. Nick loves loves loves to be outside, and the past few weeks we've finally been able to go to the park and on walks everyday. Hurray for spring and hurray for H A P P I N E S S!!!

Hurray for Kate!

A lot of you know my amazing sister-in-law, Katie Dudley. I wanted to give her a big shout out today because she just published her photography website and it is AWESOME! Check it out at

http://www.kdphotography.org/ She's worked so hard and it really looks incredible!

I feel so lucky and blessed that my brother married this beautiful girl. I don't know too many people who can call their sister-in-law their best friend, but I sure can! I don't know how I would get through life without our weekly (at least!) phone calls and monthly visits. She is my go-to person for everything -- kids, style, cooking, etc. She is an amazing person, mother, photographer, wife, and friend. I admire her in every way. Way to go, Kate! I love you and am so proud of you!

Brute #2

Chase recently had his 2 month appointment, and it looks like we have another huge kid on our hands! Just like Nick always was (and is), Chase's weight (14 lbs, 4 oz) is in the 90% and his height (26 in) is the 95%. And let's not forget that big old Goldie/Dudley head! 90% for that one too (my poor kids don't have a prayer at having a normal sized head!).

Chase is such a great baby! He started smiling at three weeks old, and hasn't stopped since. He's discovered his hands this week and will lay there and stare at them as he opens and closes his fist over and over again. He's also starting to notice Nick more and more and will smile whenever he sees him. I love watching these two brothers interact with and love each other!

He did it!

Here is a picture of Nick on his first night in his BIG BOY BED! We finally made the switch a week ago, and I have to admit it was easier than I thought it would be! Even though he's two and a half, Nick still doesn't climb out of his crib (he did once, took a hard fall, and hasn't tried since), so we wanted to keep him in one for as long as possible. But our poor little Chase was waking up with big red marks on his head where he had rubbed against the top of the bassinet all night, so we knew it was time. We debated forever over getting another crib, but finally decided we would give this a shot. He doesn't always go down on the first try, but he's only gotten up in the middle of the night twice, so I think the adjustment and transition is going okay. The only bad thing about posting this picture is that I now have to admit to my entire blogging world that, yes, my two and half year old does still sleep with a binky! That challenge is up next!

M.I.A.

Hello all...I know I haven't posted anything for a long time, and here are the reasons why:

1- My wonderful family all came to State College for Easter and for Chase's baby blessing. One whole week of Dudley fun, with Brad's parents making a special appearance for a couple of days, too! For details, go to Katie's blog, her pictures are always way better!
2- In denial that my fam was all leaving and not wanting to go back to my same old routine, I packed up my boys and headed to Philly for a few days. I don't even want to think about my life without Tim, Kate, Jack, and Cal.
3- On my way home from Philly, Brad called to inform me that Mindy (his sister) was blessing her baby on Sunday (well Phil was blessing him, you know what I meant), and didn't I want to drive to Ohio that day so we could be there for it? Of course I said YES! How can anyone deny a weekend of games, great food, cousin fun, and a newborn baby? We love the Goldie's! We just got home Monday night.

Here's why I'm blogging right now:

I've found that unless I adopt a "I don't go to bed until everything is done" philosophy, nothing that I want to get done ever gets done. That being said, I still need to clean my house, fold the laundry, read my scriptures, exercise, count how many calories I've eaten today, order some things for activity days, and work on girls camp...and it's 11:00pm! So of course I'm blogging instead of doing anything productive! Lest you think I'm complaining, let me assure you that I love my life! Having two kids is definitely an adjustment, but I LOVE IT! Now here I go to knock off that to-do list...ya, right.