Monday, June 23, 2014

Fathers Day

A little late again, sorry sweetheart!

Happy Father's Day to one of the best Daddy's a little boy could ever hope for!
Having never really been around kids, much less babies, Paul has stepped right up to fatherhood, and has become an amazing Daddy! His love and dedication to our little boy is evident in all that he does. Hudson lights up when his Daddy comes home from work, and will follow after him if he leaves the room. They love to laugh and play together, and share many special moments. Paul leads our family with a Godly heart, and I can't wait to watch him and Hudson continue to grow in their relationship.







Happy Fathers Day, Paul! We love you!

God Bless

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Beach Bums

This past week my family enjoyed a week at the beach! It was so much fun!! We haven't all been together since Christmas, so all the little kids have changed so much, and it was great to have them all together!

We had a house walking distance from the beach and a community pool right outside the front door, which was great with two babies and 3 year old!

We would get up early (as babies don't really understand sleeping in while on vacation yet), play while enjoying coffee (aka go-go juice for mommy and daddy) and breakfast, babies take morning naps (mama's enjoy some reading time), go to the beach for a while, come back to the house for lunch and afternoon siestas for everyone, go to the pool for a while, hang out before dinner, enjoy wonderfully cooked dinners around a big table, play time before babies go to bed, bedtime for kiddos, then play fun games before we all turn in!

It was so cute to watch Hudson interact with Henry and Eliza. Henry's 3 and Eliza is 8 months (2 months younger than Hudson), so between the three of them, there wasn't ever a dull (or quiet) moment in the house. Sweet Eliza certainly held her own with these two "all-boy" boys!

I enjoyed getting to know my precious niece and nephew better, as well as spend time quality time with my sisters and parents. We don't really get to spend a lot of time together as a family, and with these kids growing up so fast, it seems like each time we see them, they're completely different little people. We value and hold these times close to our hearts.

Ready for an 8 hour drive!
 We made it! Selfie on the beach!
The first day, Hudson wanted nothing to do with the beach or the pool. Gigi and Papa were glad to sit with him!
 By the second day, he was sitting in the inflatable pool on the beach and playing in the water.
 Cousin Henry shared some fruit loops - only at the beach special treat!

 Playing in the pool with Papa!
 By the third day, he was sitting in his float and enjoying the water! It just took some time getting used to it!

 Playing with Miss Eliza!
 Gigi and crazy Henry - he kept us laughing!
 All smiles!
 Double trouble right here, folks!
 Playing on the porch after a long day at the beach.

I love family time! And beach time!

God Bless

10 months!

Better late than never, I guess!

Hudson was 10 months on June 9th! He continues to grow physically, socially, emotionally, intellectually! It's amazing to watch...which I am LOVING now that I'm home all day with him. We are having a great summer together, and enjoying every moment we get!

So my sweet baby boy...
-is FULL of personality! I've always said he has a strong a personality, and it's fun to watch shine through! He knows what he likes and what he doesn't like. He can be stubborn at times, and strong willed, but it's ok! But the majority of the time, he is a sweet, happy, laughing, fun baby boy!
-loves playing peek-a-boo/hide-and-seek. Whether with blankets, behind walls, or opening and closing doors, he just laughs and laughs
-is in a throwing phase. He likes to throw anything and everything. That's how we know he's done eating - he starts throwing his cup, his food, or his spoons.
-loves pushing toys - trains, tractors, cars, walkers, anything with wheels.
-is pulling up on everything and starting to cruise holding onto tables, couches, etc. He won't walk on his own yet, but he will stand independently for a few seconds
-enjoys walking all over the upstairs with his walkers or holding onto our fingers.
-eats like a champ! I've introduced dairy and eggs, and he's handling both fine! I've been hesitant introducing the "allergy" foods because I have friends and family with kids that have serious food allergies, and it just scares the you know what out of me! He loves fruit and carbs (bread, muffins, pancakes, waffles). I've also started putting homemade hummus on veggies to get him to eat those, and he likes it!
-loves being outside! We go out side every day for a walk in the morning, and just outside play time in the afternoon. And if he starts getting fussy, we just go walk outside for a little bit and he calms down
-loves bath time! He stands at the side of the tub and "dances" while he waits for the water to fill up
-loves "rough housing" - or as much as we can rough house with a 10 month old! He's a tough little guy and likes crawling over us, burying his head in us, being pulled up side down or flipped around. It's a lot of fun playing with him!
-talks, sings, yells, makes all sorts of noises ALL the time! He loves talking! I can't wait till he actually starts learning how to use real words - I'm so curious about what he's thinking!
-is starting to take better naps now that he's home all day. He did not nap well at school, so I'm glad that he's getting more rest










I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. I'm trying to hold on to every moment that I can and make the most of the time that I have with him. These are precious days, and I don't want to take them for granted.

God Bless.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Ten Things We're Loving Right Now

As Hudson grows and changes and develops, his likes, wants, and needs also change, and rightly so! We're trying a lot of new things, whether toys, foods, or activities. Here's just fun, quick list of 10 things we're enjoying right now, in no particular order.

1. These cheese crackers. I've mentioned before that I'm trying to keep Hudson's meals as unprocessed as possible, so I've been pinning a lot of recipes for me to make for him to keep expanding his food palate. He loved these crackers! They aren't hard to make, but I cut them up really small (bite size for Hudson) before baking them, so that was a little time consuming.
2. waffles. These are great because they are "baby friendly" (no allergen ingredients), and they can be made into waffles or pancakes. I'll make a batch on Sunday, and let him eat them throughout the rest of the week for various meals.

3. Homemade hummus. I don't really have a recipe for this, I just kind of throw the ingredients into the blender and whatever I think it needs - we call this a "Bob Ross Recipe" in my family (you want some more lemon juice, add some lemon juice. You want some parmesan cheese, add parmesan cheese). I generally use one can of garbanzo beans, ~1-2tbsp of EVOO, some salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika. I blend it all together for a little bit, taste and adjust, and usually add a little water to make it smoother. Hudson loves it! I put it on some bread and vegetables, and he's good!

4. Zoli gummy sticks. He loves these! They're good for teething, and easy to hold. And since he just cut his two front lower teeth, they've been great! I just keep one with me no matter what, where ever I go!
This is an older picture but it has the Zoli in it (he doesn't sit in his bouncy anymore!)
5. Oball Car. This little car is great! He loves to hold on to the top and drive it around the kitchen, the house, wherever! He can grasp the top easily and move it just as he wants, often times simply back and forth, back and forth, back and forth!
6. These Munchin Sippy Cups. We love these for a number of reasons. One, they are easy for Hudson to hold on to. He can easily grip the handles and hold it himself. Two, they have a soil proof valve (which is good when your baby wants to bang it against his tray or drop it on the floor). Three, the mouth piece is rubber and is good for baby to chew on when he's teething!
7. These Fisher Price Stack and Roll Cups. Hudson loves knocking these over! I can barely get them stacked before he's come over and pulling them down. He just laughs and laughs! I'm sure this little game will get him in trouble at school when he knocks down all the other kids' towers, but oh well! We're enjoying it here at home! :)
8. Water bottles. He's always enjoyed just playing with water bottles for some reason. Still does. Leave a water in it, and he shakes it and watches the water move in the bottle. He's very observant.
9. Splish splash time! He loves being in water! I think we'll have a little fish. Whether it's in the bath tub or in a baby pool at Grammy's house, he loves being in water! We're going to the beach next week with the Manning family, so I'm excited to see how he'll do in a big pool and in the ocean. We bought him a float with a canopy that he can sit in and kick in while in the water.
10. Walking with his walkers. He loves being up and walking, as long as it's with the walker. If we try to stand him up by himself and entice him to walk on his own, he doesn't like it! But I really think once he learns how much quicker he can get around by walking rather than crawling, I'm going to be getting my daily 10,000 steps by lunch time! He's going to be off, and I'll be right behind him!


Needlesstosay, we're having a great summer and playing all the time!

God Bless

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

It's summer!

We're just hanging out and having fun! Hudson has been having a great time cruising around, exploring everything, and even starting to take some steps! He's become such a little boy, even at 9 months, with a sweet/stubborn/strong personality!

We went to Charleston a couple of weekends ago to visit my parents. Hudson loved spending time with Gigi and Papa. You see him eye-balling those steaks?! Definitely Paul's son!


This is Ms. Scottie, Hudson's teacher at school. He's grown so much this year, and he loves going to school! They are wonderful with him, and take very good care of him. He'll still go to school one day a week over the summer just so he can stay familiar with them, and enjoy the socialization. 
This was my first and last day of school. It was a good year, and we had a great little class, but I am so glad it's summer. 
This is what I see when I look in the rearview mirror while driving around town! His feet keep him quite entertained. 
 We have started taking morning walks after Paul leaves for work. He has to have his spoon with him!
 TWO TEETH!! Yah!!
 And those teeth are great for eating homemade cheese crackers! YUM!
 I love this sweet little face. I still can't get over how big he is getting and how much he has changed. I can't wait to see what this summer holds!

God Bless