Two Months Old!

This was Hudson at one month old...

And, this is Hudson today! He has changed so much in a month! Look how much he has grown!

We have learned to smile!!! He is so cute when he does it and it just melts my heart every time! I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing this!!! He is my handsome little man!

We had to get a picture on Porter, the stuffed bear. He's not screaming this time. That's a first!

This picture below is so funny to me. It looks like he is devising a plan to do something troublesome! This is probably a sign of things to come!

Look at his big eyes! They are still on the blue side, but are heading in the brown direction like his mommy and daddy!

Wow, I can't believe two months have passed now. Hudson has grown so much over the past month. He is now over 13 pounds! He's a big, big boy. He will definitely double his birth weight in the next couple of weeks! Someone asked me the other day if he was around 4 months old...I was almost embarassed to say he was only 2 months! Oh well...I love that he's a little chunker!

These are some things Hudson has done over the past month:

1. Started smiling!!! Love, love, love to see this kid smile. It brightens my day!

2. Started sleeping in his crib. He's doing great with it. We put him down around 9:30 or so, and he'll sleep until around 4, and then will sleep until around 8 (although he slept until 5:30 last night...he must have known his mommy was tired!). He doesn't have any trouble going to sleep at night. We can put him in his crib wide awake, and he knows it's time to go to sleep. We never hear a peep out of him. He will also wiggle all around in his crib. The other night I put him in his normal spot and woke up to find him on the other end of the crib facing the other direction. I don't know how he did this! We use a sleep positioner and swaddle him up, but obviously it does not work!

3. Started making lots and lots of noise. Joel and I laugh at some of the noises that come out of his mouth. Sometimes he will act like he is having a conversation with us, and it is absoutely hilarious.

4. He loves his swing and bouncy now. After boycotting naps for a few weeks, I have found that he will nap in his swing in the morning and in the afternoon. I know I'm probably starting a bad habit by letting him do this because he won't be able to do it at daycare, but it's terrible when he gets overtired. I would rather him nap then not, so that's that.

It's still up in the air about who Hudson looks like. A lot of people say that he looks like Joel, especially through the eyes, but then I've had other people tell me he looks a lot like my dad. Either way, he's one good looking little boy!

Happy Two Month Birthday, Hudson. We love you!!!

Daycare Blues

How can I possibly send this cute little thing...

to daycare in a month! I have a lump in my throat just thinking about it! We got the packet of information in the mail last week and it just about broke my heart. He will be starting on June 1st when I go back to work. Luckily, I'm only going back part time, but I'm really going to miss being with Hudson every day. He is getting so much more interactive and fun that I feel like I'm going to miss out on so much. I would love to be able to stay home with him, but to be able to live in the neighborhood we live in and live the way that we do without sacrificing anything, I have to go back to work. Now, that may change once we see how it goes with daycare! The first few weeks I was on maternity leave, I couldn't wait to get back to work (my friends at work thought I was crazy!). I guess I was just searching for anything I could get back from my previous life since it changed so much when Hudson was born. The lack of sleep didn't help...looking back, I'm pretty sure I wasn't in my right mind those first few weeks, but that's another story! That feeling has changed now! I do not want to go back at all, and I don't want to send Hudson to daycare! I just want to be able to love on him all day every day like I do now! I know that daycare has a lot of perks to it and will help Hudson learn so much, but I'm so sad about leaving him. June 1st is going to be a terrible day!!!

Here are a few pics from the last couple of weeks. I have slacked a little bit on the picture taking recently, but check back tomorrow. He will be exactly 2 months tomorrow, so I'm going to take a bunch of pictures!

This is one of my favorite pictures. He loves his daddy!

We had to buy him a hat for the summer. We don't want his precious skin to get burned! He looks so cute in the hat! He didn't like it very much though! I've heard conflicting opinions on the use of sunscreen before 6 months of age. I personally think some sunscreen is better than none, but a lot of doctors say none before 6 months. I've got to talk to Hudson's pediatrician before we go to the beach in a few weeks to make sure it's ok!

Hudson hanging out in his swing. He naps in it during the day now so I guess he's starting to like it! He hated it for so long!

I Can't Believe I'm Doing This...

Poor guy...he's probably going to make me pay for this some day.

This pacifier is from his "cool" Aunt Carrie in California (notice how I have cool in quotes!). Thanks Aunt Carrie. I guess this is how you California people roll. Where do you even buy these things anyway??? I don't think we'll be going out in public with this one, but it sure is funny!

All Smiles!

I finally caught him smiling! He's been doing it for about a week now, but he's not very generous with it yet so it was hard to catch him. Isn't he cute?!?!?!

We put him in his crib last night for the first time and he slept until 4:45 this morning, ate, and then went back to sleep until 8:45! So...it was a success!!! I was a little emotional about it, but I survived. I know he has to go up there sooner or later, but I missed having him right there and being able to hear him breathe and make all the little noises that he makes during the night (although they were starting to get a little old!). Thank goodness for the video monitor! I'm pretty sure I was up every hour of the night watching it. I hope we have another good night tonight!

Grandmother's Surprise 90th Birthday!

We had a surprise birthday party for my grandmother on Saturday at Old Overton Country Club. She is turning 90 on April 24th. The surprise went great! We were all worried that Granddaddy would spill the beans ahead of time, but he kept it a secret! My mom invited them to go eat lunch with her and told them she would take them to the Crestline Art Show after lunch. Little did she know that the whole family was there to surprise her at lunch! I don't think they ever made it to the art show! Both my two aunts from out of town came with their families. It was great to see all of them, and it was so good to see Grandmother so happy when she saw them because she doesn't get to see them very much. We had a wonderful lunch and cake for dessert! Aunt Gail had found a paper that Grandmother had written in high school about her family history, and had it laminated and put it in a binder for Grandmother. The paper was brown and torn, but Grandmother had written it in the most beautiful cursive you have ever seen. Gail told a little bit about Grandmother's family history from her paper, and then Granddaddy got up and told some funny stories about the love of his life. It was great. Then, we all gathered for a family picture. I'm so glad that Grandmother and Granddaddy are still with us. Not many people make it to age 90, and I've got two grandparents that have! They are even still driving! Amazing! Here are some pictures from the fun day!

Surprise! Grandmother was so funny. She had her mouth wide open for about 5 minutes when she walked in the door. She was shocked that we were all there!

The Vann family picture. Trey, Shondra, and Morgan had already left, and Carrie wasn't able to make it, but everyone else is in the picture!

And, I couldn't write a blog post without including a picture of our little man. He wasn't awake for too much of the party so this is about all we could get of him picture wise. It is crazy to think that we had age 7 weeks to 90 represented! Oh and I must comment on his beautiful blanket that he is wrapped in. My cousin Molly made this for him! I had no idea that she could do this. Thank you for making this. I can see this blanket being passed down to our great grandchildren one day. It is so special to us.

Sacked out! You can really see how big he is getting in this picture!

Happy Birthday Grandmother! We love you and are so glad that we could share this special day with you!!!

6 Week Doctor Visit and Mommy Mishaps!

Yesterday, Hudson went for his 6 week checkup. He now weighs 11 pounds, 14 ounces, and is 23 inches long. He's in the 75th percentile for both. We knew we would be moving up on that chart! He's a big boy! We also thought his head was getting huge, but it's only in the 50th percentile. I can't remember the measurement exactly, but I think it was around 15. Everything looked great though. He had to get 4 shots, which was terrible for me! I know it was bad for him too, but it was double bad for me! It took him a minute to realize that it hurt, but once he did, man did he let it out!

I had my first bad mommy experience a couple of days ago. Hudson was sleeping in his bouncy seat in the den, and I was working in the kitchen. Yes, working...so much for maternity leave! Anyway, I never would really strap him in the bouncy seat because he always looked so uncomfortable, and I thought that was maybe why he hated it so much. He didn't ever move very much in it either, so we didn't think it was a problem. Anyway, I heard him starting to stir, but nothing too loud so I just kept on working. Next thing I know, I hear a crash, and then he starts screaming. He had bounced himself right on out of the bouncy seat! I'm not sure how he landed, but he was on his side when I got to him. The minute I picked him up, he was fine, although I was not...I cried! I felt so terrible. I checked him up and down to make sure everything was alright and thank goodness, it was. He never really liked the bouncy seat before, and I'm pretty sure now he absolutely hates it! I have had him in it since the incident though, and he was fine...and nicely strapped in.

My other mommy mishap happened yesterday. It's not really a mommy mishap like the bouncy seat incident...it's more of an embarassing, insert foot into mouth, incident. After the doctor's appointment yesterday, I went to Macy's at the Galleria since it was close to the doctor's. I wanted to go look at the children's clothes, which was on the third floor. Why they put the children's clothes on the third floor is beyond me, but oh well. I had Hudson in the stroller so we had to find the elevator to go up to the third floor. There was a lady with a stroller there waiting on the elevator as well. She was an interesting looking lady to say the least, and she had about an 8 year old son, and then another baby boy in an infant carrier. He looked like he was born last week, so me, desperately needing some adult interaction, decided to initiate some conversation. I asked her how old he was, and she thought for a few minutes, and then she said, "Well, I guess...I guess he's around 5 weeks now." Now, there was some doubt that this was not her child (as I said above, she was interesting and the kids didn't really look like her...won't go into detail, but you get my point), but she acted like she was their mom, but yet she had to think about how old her child was?!?! That was strange enough. Anyway, so I said, "Oh, well mine is 6 weeks." Then, instead of saying how cute he looked, or just ending the conversation there, I said, "Well, mine is bigger than yours." I mean really, why did I say that? Mine is bigger than yours??? Like it was some competition! She just stood there and didn't say anything back. Thank goodness the elevator doors opened and I made my merry little way in the opposite direction. I really need some more adult interaction! I'm losing my ability to communicate to the outside world!!!

And lastly, I can't do a blog without posting a picture, so here was my attempt at taking Hudson's picture in an Easter basket! I don't know what I was thinking...I guess it is appropriate to include it in the mommy mishap post! He didn't like it too much. I'm not sure who would like being stuffed in an Easter basket! Oh well! He still looks cute. :)

Easter Fun

We had a wonderful first Easter with Hudson! We made our first trip back to church since he has been born, and it couldn't have been a better Sunday for Hudson to make his debut. We decided to go to the 8:30 service. I woke up at 5:30 that morning, and we barely made the 8:30 service! It takes forever to get ready now! Anyway, we were driving to church and Joel just kept saying how nervous he was about taking Hudson. I didn't want to put him in the nursery yet, and we were both afraid that we would be standing in the narthex holding him the whole time because he was screaming! But, Hudson did great and did not make a peep the whole service. We are thinking about getting the tape of the service because he has never slept so well! After church, we took a few pictures at the cross and then headed onto the next stop. We had lunch at my parent's house, which included a huge Easter egg hunt for Blaine and Morgan. There were eggs all over the place, inside the house and outside! It was so much fun. I can't wait until Hudson gets old enough to participate. We had a such a good time and ate way too much! Mom definitely outdid herself! After lunch, we headed over to Joel's parent's house to visit with them and ended up staying for dinner. Again...ate way too much! We had a such a great day, but were all exhausted at the end of it!

Birthday Party Weekend

This weekend was filled with birthday parties! My nephew Blaine's was on Saturday at Pump it Up. This was the third year in a row for him to have it there. I think he really likes it! His real birthday is on April 6th (today), and he's turning 5 years old. I can't believe he is already 5. We had a great time taking Hudson to his first birthday party. He got passed around to everyone. It was a break for Joel and me! Blaine had a blast at his party. You can see in the pictures below how sweaty he is! I have to say that I did participate at Pump it Up and went down the slides a few time. That place is fun for all ages!

Blaine in his king's chair.
Blaine and Morgan took a break from the fun to hang out with their new cousin.

Morgan's birthday party was on Sunday at Sports Blast. It looked really fun! They played a bunch of fun games and everyone had a great time. Her real birthday is April 8th and she'll be 6 years old!

Morgan holding her new cousin.

The birthday girl!!!

Needless to say, we, all three of us, were exhausted after the weekend. We're not used to that many activities, but it was so fun to get out of the house. Hudson did really well too! We took a few pictures on Saturday afternoon as well. It was a beautiful day so we spent most of the day outside, except for the party. We went on a really long walk, and that was a lot of fun!

Also, we have been on a great sleeping streak! We were hoping that our every 2 to 3 hour stretches at night would be coming to an end soon, and we are now on day 5 of getting 6 hour stretches at night! We could not be happier about this. We are going to give this a week or two to see if it keeps up, but if it does, Joel and I are going to try to get Hudson to start sleeping in his crib. I'm so nervous about it because he will be upstairs and is so far away from us, but thank goodness we have a video monitor...and I may sleep up there for a little while too! It will be strange to not have him in our room anymore, but it is time to get our sleeping arrangements back to normal and that means having him upstairs and Joel back downstairs (Joel has been sleeping in the guest bedroom since he has to go to work). Anyway, I'll keep everyone updated on the status of that. Like I said though, we'll probably wait another week or two to start that just to make sure this sleep trend continues!

One Month Old

Hudson is one month old today! Wow, I can't believe it! I took a bunch of pictures of him this morning, but he was not cooperating too well. I don't think he likes the sound of the camera. I think he was a bit hungry too, but that's no surprise. He eats all the time! He also didn't like his momma playing dress up with him. I wanted him to look good for his one month pictures though!

In the 4 week post below, I mentioned some of the things that Hudson is doing these days. His main thing is that he is really starting to grab onto things. I think he almost pulled my necklace off my neck yesterday! He has such a strong grip! He's also making a lot more noise these days...whenever he is awake, it is constant noise coming from him. And, he's starting to discover his hands, which is so cute!!! I love snuggling with my little boy. It is the best thing in the world having him be close to me and hearing him breathing and smelling his sweet little breath. It is awesome! I wish he would stay this small forever (except that I wish he would sleep a little longer at night)! Joel weighed him the other night and he was up to 10 pounds 8 ounces. I've started getting out a little bit more with him. He loves to go on stroller rides, and loves riding in the car! He has also stayed with his Big Daddy a couple of times and he loves that too...although, Big Daddy says he's the most boring baby in the world because he slept the whole time both times! I told him to consider himself lucky that he was so good and quiet!

I've learned a lot over this past month as well! Here's a few things:

1. When people tell you over and over again before you have the baby that your life is about to change forever, they are so right! We laughed at how many people said this to us, and we thought, oh one child is not going to change our life...ha! We were so wrong! It is a great change though and we couldn't be happier!

2. Life is no longer about Joel and me...it is completely revolved around Hudson (as it should be!). We live in 3 hour increments and plan our outings around these 3 hour increments. We try to maintain a schedule, but that constantly changes based on his needs and we've learned to adapt to that.

3. It is truly amazing what you can do on such little sleep! I am thankful for my wonderful husband who gives me a night off every now and then so I can catch up.

4. I have become a professional bottle washer and laundry doer...and that's ok!

5. We call burp cloths spit rags...because that's what they really are! And, you can never have enough of them and bibs!

Here are some pictures from our photo shoot on his one month birthday!

Joel and I are so thankful to have Hudson in our lives. He is our little blessing and we love him so much. We can't wait to see what the next month has in store for us!