Another One in the Books!

Joel and I are celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary today. I can't believe it has been four years already! It has absolutely FLOWN by!


These past four years have been wonderful. I think I did a pretty good job in picking out my hubby! :)

Happy Anniversary Joel! I can't wait to spend many more years with you!

We had plans to go out to dinner this weekend to celebrate, but we are ALL sick so we are going to put that on hold. Daycare has done a number on all of us unfortunately.

First Ear Infection

This little pitiful thing...

has a double ear infection! We are going through our first illness. He has been stopped up and congested for about a week now, but he never seemed like he was feeling bad. Joel kept saying that we needed to take him to the doctor, but I just thought it was a cold that he picked up from daycare and there wasn't anything that the doctor was going to be able to do about it. I thought it would just have to run its course. I got him some saline drops for his nose and we elevated his crib. Plus, he has not been fussy, so I didn't think he was feeling bad. I have never been one to rush to the doctor. I despise going to the doctor and I always have the "let's just wait one more day" attitude. It has usually worked! Not this time! Hudson started getting a cough this week and last night was the final straw for us. He was up ALL night, which meant we were up too! Finally, at midnight, I brought him to our bed and propped him up and he was able to sleep for a while. We decided that today was the day that he needed to go to the doctor. Joel took him around lunchtime and got the news that it is a double ear infection. He even had a slight fever. I feel like the WORST mother! I should have known. I guess you live and learn. The doctor did tell Joel that we didn't need to come in for every sniffle because we would be there all the time, and most of the time, you can't tell that they have an ear infection so to not feel bad...but I still feel bad! I just hope he has not been suffering all week with this. Joel took him back to daycare after the doctor appointment. Poor thing. He didn't know that you couldn't take them back if they had a fever, so I ended up leaving work and going to get him. He seems to be doing fine though. He is still all smiles and is talking all the time. You would never know that he is sick...until you hear this horrible cough! Oh well, we are still learning this whole parent thing. Maybe some day we'll get the hang of it!

We're Gettin' Good at This!

Check out our new sitting position...

We love our feet!!!

And Chloe too!

Here is our funny face...

Let's eat Mommy!

Mmmmm...sweet potatoes...yummy!

Sweet potatoes are a bit messy.

As you can see, Hudson has made huge improvements in the sitting up department! He can sit up all by himself as long as he holds one arm down for balance. He sat through the whole photo shoot above without tumping over once! I was so proud!

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We have also started sweet potatoes. His facial expression during his first bite of sweet potatoes was priceless. I wish we had captured it on camera, but we didn't! He started shaking his head no and then kind of shook all over to get it down. We thought he didn't like it, but then he opened his mouth wide and wanted some more! He has now had it for several days now and it is going great. He will eat a whole container in about 2 minutes!

He is turning into my big boy! I am so thankful every day that I am his mom, but so sad that he is growing up so fast! I just don't know where the time is going. Can we make it stop please???

Daycare Fun!

When I pick up Hudson from daycare every afternoon, I look forward to getting his sheet for the day. The sheet tells me when he was diapered during the day (never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever get excited about seeing if he had a BM that day!), if he napped at all and the times he did (this section is usually pretty blank for Hudson--he doesn't nap!), when his feedings were and if he took the whole bottle (check, check--no problems there!), and then there is a comments section on it from the teacher. I love getting the sheet about as much as I love picking him up! Ha!

A while back I was given my first homework assignment. I think I failed it because it took me over a week to complete! Oh well! Anyway, I had to list any concerns I had about daycare, and give 3 objectives that I would like for Hudson to accomplish in the next 3 months. He was only 3 months at the time...I had a hard time coming up with objectives! All he does is eat, sleep, and poop, right??? Well, I came up with my three, which consisted of working with him on rolling over, getting him on some kind of schedule, and working with him on sitting up because that seems to be the thing he is most interested in. My concern that I listed was that I was afraid that he would not get much attention and with him being so young, that really bothered me. I told them that I love to see comments on his sheet every day because I know what all he did that day and if he had a good day, and that gives me comfort. Out of all the things that I put on the form that day, this was the BEST thing! I get comments back most days. Usually they consist of telling me that he went on a buggy ride, played outside in the water, watched the older kids, played with the farm animals, etc. I feel better knowing what all he did during the day and if he had fun, but they are usually really basic comments. Yesterday, I got one that just cracked me up.

It said, "Hudson had fun playing with Evan today. They had small talk while chewing on the balls."

It may not be funny to anyone else, but I just can't stop laughing about it. It's the little things that make me happy!

Look what we're working on here!!! Too bad he crashed about 2 seconds after I got this shot! He's doing really well though!

Hudson's first french kiss. Chloe LOVES Hudson. I usually don't let her lick him in the face, but this was just hilarious. He just laughs when she "kisses" him! I can't wait for the day that Hudson does the death grip on Chloe's ear. She won't be wanting to play with him after that!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! We don't have much planned. Joel is re-doing our downstairs room so I'm going to try to get out of the house so he can get a lot done! Being home provides a lot of distractions for him! I will post pictures of the before and after...but it might be a year from now. Joel tends to take a while on these projects! (I'll probably have to delete this comment once Joel reads this!)

Cereal Update

You gotta watch this little booger...

This almost ended up on his head!

Instead, most of it went in his mouth...I think.

Cereal is going great! I can't get it to his mouth fast enough. He whines and fusses until he gets some more. We have made great progress over the past week! It is so fun feeding him, although it is quite the mess. Do they ever eat it without getting it all over them? He has already hit the bowl and hit the spoon out of my hand and cereal has gone everywhere! I fear for the day we start carrots and green beans...I think we will be going back to feeding him in just the diaper!

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We put together the high chair this weekend and decided to start feeding him in that. It is working better, although, Hudson likes to slump over like he is in the picture above. Every time I would straighten him back up, he would go right back to this position. It is funny! I guess he likes being close to the bowl!

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I changed up Hudson's feeding schedule this weekend to 8 ounces every 4 hours instead of 6 ounces every 3 hours. The pediatrician recommended doing that to see if we could stretch it out a bit. I didn't think he would be able to make it the full 4 hours because most of the time it is a struggle making it the 3 hours, but surprisingly, he has made it the full time and I have been able to get him in a better schedule with naps and such by doing this. And, I feel like I have more time to do things between feedings as well, so it has been a great change all around! He is doing the cereal one time a day before bath time at night.

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We had a very low key weekend. We were all exhausted. This was the first weekend in a while that we didn't have anything. I did take Hudson to his first, and last according to Joel, Arbonne party on Thursday night. I didn't want to take him, but the hostesses guilted me into it! He had a lot of fun being the only guy at the party! He flirted with everyone, and stayed up WAY past his bedtime! It was a great time though!

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The weather was amazing this weekend! We went on a long walk Saturday morning and it really felt like a fall day. There was definitely that football feeling in our minds! Only another month until we get to see our Tigers play! I don't know if we will be taking our little man down there this year. We have tickets, but I'm not really sure he would be a whole lot of fun at this age. I definitely don't want to take him down there when it is so hot, so we'll for sure wait until sometime mid-season if we do take him. I can't wait to chase him around down there though. We have a lot of fun years to come! I just wish we didn't have to buy him a ticket! So ridiculous!
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Our other babies got haircuts this weekend. And, they got some new toys. We felt like they never get any attention anymore, so we spoiled them a little bit! They look so cute!

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I don't have much else to report on. I am going to be switching my days at work. Apparently, being gone from Thursday to Tuesday is too long, so I have to figure out something else. I will probably do Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but may do 5 half days. I just don't want the 5 half days to turn into 5 full days! I really like the Tuesday through Thursday schedule now, so I will miss that, but I have to do what works best for everyone.
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Hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the wonderful weather as much as we did!

Four Month Appointment and Fourth of July Pics

Hudson had his four month check up on Friday. He weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds, 15 ounces, was 26.5 inches in length, and had a head circumfrence of 17.75. He was in the 90th percentile for weight and height, and sadly to say, his head circumfrence was off the chart. Ha! We just think he's got extra brains in there! He is a big boy! It is so funny because neither Joel nor I was a big baby. We don't know where it is coming from! I told Joel that I am glad that he is at least proportional. It is not like he is tall and thin, or short and fat...he's just right! Anyway, we got the go ahead to start the cereal and we tried that last night (see previous post!). It did not go so well, but we probably shouldn't have started it last night. Yesterday was a big day for Hudson and I think he was just exhausted. We are going to try again tonight to see if we have some better results! He was trying to eat it so I do think he is ready for it, but I may change my mind after we try it again tonight. It sure was messy though. The doctor said everything looked great with him and he will see him again in a month and a half right before he has a little surgery procedure at six months old. :(

We had a great time over the Fourth of July weekend. We started out in Mentone at my parent's cabin and spent a couple of nights there before heading over to Weiss Lake to spend the rest of the weekend with Joel's family. It was a lot of fun! Below are some pictures from the weekend.

Mom with Hudson at Desoto Falls. This was about as far as she would go with him! The ground was a little uneven so I'm glad she didn't take him too close to the edge!

Mom showed some of her jewelry at the art show in Mentone on Saturday morning. Her jewelry is really pretty! We had a fun time hanging out at the art show while all the boys were playing golf.

Here is Hudson looking cute in his Daddy's hat! Maybe a future golfer???

We put Hudson in the lake for the first time. I think he liked it...although he was in the lake maybe 5 minutes!

Hudson in his funny hat! Migi gave him this. I thought this picture was so cute!

One of my clients gave me a huge box of fireworks last year, so we shot those on Saturday night. Hudson had already gone to bed so he missed out. Although, if he is anything like his mommy, he will hate fireworks! I can remember being at the beach every fourth of July sitting in my granddaddy's lap on the 6th floor of the condo building as far away from the fireworks as I could get because I was scared to death! I am really just now overcoming the fear! Don't ever ask me to hold a sparkler because I will have no part in that!

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Hope everyone had a great 4th!

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* New post below!

Hudson's Baptism

We have had such a wonderful day today. Hudson was baptized this morning before a church full of family and friends. It was so special and a day we will never forget! We thank everyone for coming to be with us and celebrating this joyous occasion with us!

When Hudson woke up this morning at 8 am, the first thought that went through mine and Joel's minds was that oh no, he will be hungry right at the 11 am service! This is going to be a nightmare! As we were all getting ready, Hudson didn't nap at all, so again, we were so worried that he was going to be fussy during the baptism. Never in our wildest dreams did we think he would be as good as he was! He was in the best mood and stayed awake for the entire baptism, and even smiled to the congregation as he was walked up and down the aisle by the minister! As soon as we sat back down, Hudson closed his eyes and was out. He slept through the sermon and woke up right as the music was ending at the conclusion of the service. It was an absolute dream! I think we had some help from above today!

He looked so cute in his gown. My mom made the gown for my brother Vann, and he would have been 32 years old in October, so it has been in the family for a long time! I wore it, my sister wore it, and Vann's son Blaine wore it as well! I am so glad that Hudson was able to wear it too. It means so much! And, it is beautiful to say the least!

Funny story about Blaine...he is raised Baptist, so he was dedicated when he was a baby, and the actual baptism comes later. So, he knows virtually nothing about baptisms...or so we all thought! He told Ashley on the way to the church today that baby Hudson was getting "flicked" with water today. She asked him what he meant by "flicked", and he said, "You know, flicked", and he acted like he flicked some water. Apparently, kids know way more than we think!

Here is Hudson waiting to get his gown on!

Joel, Hudson, and me with the preacher. He did so well with Hudson. When Hudson wasn't giving smiles to the congregation, he was staring at Dr. Styes! It was so cute!

The next few pictures were taken once we got home. The gown is a little wrinkley, but Hudson was all smiles, so we decided to take a few more pictures. These turned out great!

I love this little guy!

After the service, we headed to my mom's house for some punch and then across the street to Mama Jean's house for lunch. Mama Jean has moved to assisted living, but she still has her house. My parent's put several tables in her living room and dining room and it worked great for the occasion!

Here is my grandmother and granddaddy with Hudson.

Here are Trey and Morgan with Hudson.

The food was great! I ordered a couple of casseroles from Ashley Mac's in Cahaba Heights. They were delicious! My mom made a basket out of a watermelon and we had fruit salad, a green salad, and rolls. I didn't get a picture of the desserts, but they were the big hit of the day! My mom had made key lime pie, hershey bar pie, and strawberry shortcake, and put them all into individual martini glasses. It was so creative and they were delicious! I wish I had taken pictures.

Migi and Pops with Hudson.

And, if today was not enough alone for Hudson, we TRIED rice cereal. (key word is tried!).

4 Months

This was Hudson one month ago at three months old...

And, here he is today at 4 months old! He is even telling you how old he is by his fingers! Ha!

You can tell how animated he has gotten over the past month. It was actually a little bit difficult to get his picture next to the stuffed animal this time. He was moving all over the place and kept wanting to grab the stuffed animal! He used to just sit there! I think we are in big trouble when this little boy starts moving.

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Over the past month he has really developed a personality! He loves to squeal and laugh, especially at Pops! No one can make Hudson laugh like his granddaddy! It is hilarious.

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He is really starting to follow Joel and me. He wants to keep his eyes on me at all times and when Joel is around, he is all about his daddy! He just loves to look at Joel and smile. It is so cute. He isn't really getting upset when we aren't around just yet, but he wants to keep an eye on us at all times!

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He is rolling over from back to front and has gone from front to back once. He isn't too crazy about tummy time at all. They are working on it with him at daycare. It is funny because he will roll over onto his tummy and then can't get back over and he gets so mad!

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He loves his jumperoo now and really likes to be in a sitting up position wherever he is. He is starting to not like the playmat as much these days which is terrible because that is my go to thing! He used to just love it! The jumperoo is going to quickly become my go to though. He loves you to sit with him on the floor and pull on his arms so he can sit up. I think he is going to be sitting up early. We will see though.

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Hudson is grabbing things like crazy. Anything that he can get his hands on is good with him! He will even play his his burp cloth if there is nothing else around! Oh and hair is always a good thing too! He loves toys though and he takes them straight to his mouth every time. I guess they taste good!

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He is still sleeping great at night, although he has been waking up a few times a week crying. Luckily, he will cry himself right back to sleep and Joel and I don't usually have to go check on him. It still wakes us up though! I have been reading that 4 months is a time where babies start to become more aware of their surroundings and this can sometimes cause them to get off their sleep schedule at night because they would rather be playing! We haven't had it too bad yet though thank goodness!

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Hudson is still wearing 6 month clothes, but I went and bought a bunch of 9 month outfits this weekend because he is quickly growing out of the 6 month clothes! It is so sad!
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Daycare seems to be going good so far. We are a month into it now. His teachers tell me that he is a very happy and content baby, and is just the sweetest thing in the world. I already knew that though! He gets to have water play on Wednesdays and they say he just loves that. He still doesn't nap at daycare very well, so we have a very sleepy baby on our hands at night. It is all we can do to keep him up until 7:30 or so.
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We have Hudson's 4 month doctor's appointment this Friday so I'm hoping we will be getting the go ahead to do cereal. He is so interested in what we are eating so I think he is ready. We will see what the doctor says though. He is also getting a bunch of shots. I am dreading that!

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He is getting baptized next Sunday so we are all looking forward to that! Joel can't wait to see his little man in a dress! He will be wearing the same gown that I wore, along with my brother and sister, and my nephew Blaine all wore. It will be really sweet.

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Joel and I are loving this age that Hudson is in. I think we have said that every month, but I just love seeing his little personality come out. Happy 4 months little buddy! We love you!