Rudolph

We had another really good day today! Well, except for the little "uh-oh" that happened.

Check out poor Rudolph's nose...

This is the second time this week that we've drawn blood! He has had a rough go! Sunday he busted his lip. Today, he busted his nose! I guess this is only the beginning of all the bumps and bruises we are going to see. It doesn't really phase him though. Both times, he has gotten upset when it happened, but then a few minutes later he was fine.

Our day started out with a nice long walk, stroller and dogs included! I got some looks pushing a stroller with two dogs on leashes. We managed though! We then headed to the pool, but unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures. Apparently, Waterbabies is doing more than I think because I have a little daredevil! The baby pool was closed (don't even want to know why!) so we played on the steps of the big pool and he kept wanting to take off swimming on me! I have got to get him some floaties or something like that. I thought he would be scared to death, but he definitely was not! Our little quick trip to the pool lasted almost 2 hours! I couldn't leave him for a second to take any pictures so we'll have to take the hubs next time to get some good ones!

We tried on our new lifejacket for the lake this weekend...he wasn't so sure about that.

I cleaned out the fridge while Hudson napped, and then we headed out and ran some errands. The day seemed to fly by again! I have to also mention that Hudson has added "cracker" and "nana" (banana) to his list of new words! It seems like there is one every day now! It is so exciting!

Hudson is really interested in feeding himself. He does get a lot in his mouth, but he keeps turning the spoon over so most of it goes on his bib before he gets it in his mouth. Notice the peas on his tray. I'm still trying my hardest to get him to eat some veggies. He just won't do it. Tonight, he was loving the rice that I gave him, so I got some rice on a spoon and put one pea mixed in. The first bite worked like a charm so I thought, well, this might actually work. Not so much. For every other bite, he ate all of the rice, and then just when you thought the pea had gone down, he spit just the pea out. It was hilarious (but frustrating at the same time!). I will keep trying!

Oh and we had a turkey in our back yard tonight! Exciting! See if you can find it in the picture below!

Water Fun!

We had every intention on going to the real pool today, but somehow the day got away from me, and before I knew it, it was 4 pm and we hadn't been to the pool yet! Good thing Hudson doesn't understand everything quite yet and wasn't too disappointed at our change in plans! We could have gone at that point, but I knew the pool would be crawling with lots of kiddos who had just gotten out of school for the day. We improvised at home instead! Who knew a bucket of water and some toys (and a cute naked baby!) could be so fun!


This turned out to be a little more work than I thought it would be. First of all, the bucket was on top of a bike rack in our basement, so I had to find something to stand on to get it down. Then, I couldn't find the hose, although, even if I had, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have crawled through our bushes to get the hose going! I'm terrified of all things living...bugs, snakes, WORMS, it wasn't going to happen. So, I decided to fill the bucket in the bath tub. Great plan, except that I couldn't lift the bucket when it got full! I almost gave up at this point, but I emptied it out enough to get it outside and then I filled the rest of it up with about 50 trips using a pitcher!

It's a darn good thing Hudson LOVED it!


I couldn't resist posting this picture of the naked bottom! So cute!

I think it's time that we invest in a baby pool. What do you think?

We had an awesome first day of vacation together. He is the sweetest boy in the world and it was so fun to have a full day with just the two of us. The best part of it was that he has been calling me Mama ALL day! Melt my heart! Only took the boy almost 15 months to get that down, but I'll take it. Oh and I checked one closet off my list. Yay!

Saturday Fun

Our church had a 10K on Saturday and our Sunday School class had a water station. Joel and I volunteered to help pass out water...hey, we were going to be up anyway, so why not help?!?! It was such a nice morning and our water station couldn't have been at a better spot! We were right at Vestavia Baptist overlooking the city!

Here is a group shot of the volunteers from our class, minus Joel who is taking the picture, and all of our "little" helpers!

Hudson is in his bathing suit ready for Waterbabies. We had to duck out a little early to go to that. Hudson actually did not cry this time! We are definitely making progress! I went by myself so Joel could finish up with the 10K, but he ended up coming at the end. Bad mistake. Once Hudson saw Joel, he wanted nothing more to do with the pool! Oh well, it was more enjoyable this week!

We were supposed to go to a birthday party at the Oak Mountain petting zoo at 11 am Saturday morning, but getting up before 6 am and doing all that we did before 9 am wore the poor boy out. He took a really long nap when we got back home (actually, he didn't even make it all the way home before he zonked out!) and I just couldn't wake him up to go to the party. He had been such a trooper all morning and I knew he needed his sleep.

Once Hudson woke up, we ate lunch and then headed to Overton Park for a little while. Man, it was hot! Hudson loved the see-saw and cried when we took him off it. Of course, he loved the swing too, but this was his first taste of a see-saw and it was so fun! I didn't have my camera--well, I did, but we had the dogs with us and two dogs, and a baby in 90 degree temps were about all we could handle! Hudson also loved walking Chloe around the park. He was so good at holding onto her leash! It was cute.

Saturday night we went and ate dinner with Joel's youngest brother before he headed back to Auburn for summer school. Towards the end of dinner, Hudson had had enough of the high chair and so I put him in the booth with me. He somehow got his hands on the water glass and the straw and he went to town with it! He was cracking up every time he flicked the water out of the glass with the straw. He got us all wet, but we didn't care. Let's just say we were cherishing these happy moments at a dinner out! Even the people sitting near us and the waiters thought he was so funny. These pictures were taken with my phone so the quality is not great, but you can see how much fun he was having! Just picture some major belly laughing!

If these pictures don't make you smile, I don't know what will!

It was such a great Saturday!

A Few Tidbits from the Week...

This week has been a long one! I'm working tomorrow to get in a few hours in preparation of being off all next week so maybe that's why it has been so long. It has been a year since I worked 5 days in a week! I'm sorry to all those who have to do it, but I sure don't miss it! Hudson's daycare is closed next week...I think this will end up being our beach week starting next year (can't go this week this year because the condo building is being remodeled--such a bummer and I can't justify paying to go somewhere when we can go for free if we just be patient!), but for this year, I have a list a mile long of things I need to get done at home. Unfortunately, that involves cleaning out closets, cleaning out the fridge, etc...not very exciting things, but stuff that has to get done. We'll probably throw in a few trips to the pool, park, a much needed haircut for Hudson, and shopping to get us out of the house too, and next weekend we're headed to Mentone and to the lake. I'm excited about that! So, say a little prayer that I don't lose my mind next week! I'm looking forward to it, but I also know that if I don't get out of the house some, the days are going to be really long.


This walking thing has become crazy. Hudson has officially been walking for a week and it is amazing how much better he has gotten in such a short amount of time. It is also amazing how many more things he gets into since he started walking, and how quickly he gets places! I thought he was quick with the crawling, but it is nothing compared to walking. He has no use for any of his toys either. Why did we buy all those? All he wants are the cabinets, drawers, doors, etc.

This is a funny story from this week. I was driving to daycare one morning this week and we got stuck in the school traffic by our house. If you follow politics at all, Slade Blackwell is running for something...I obviously don't follow it much because I don't know what he's running for (but I have heard the name!)! Anyway, he and a bunch of young girls with signs were on the corner across from the school, conveniently right where we got stopped on this particular morning. I avoided all eye contact with them. It is awkward...I mean, do you wave? Smile? Not that I don't support them...I just prefer not to look, and I'm not especially cheery in the morning anyway and they were jumping around and screaming and all smiley. While we were sitting there (which seemed like a lifetime!), I hear a belly laugh in the backseat and turn around to see Hudson just cracking up at those people. And, of course, they noticed that he was laughing at them and they got right up to the car window and started dancing and making funny faces to egg him on even more. So then, I had to make eye contact with them, and I just gave the fake smile (and pleaded with the cop making us wait to let us go!). Hudson was still just dying out laughing at them. Thanks buddy! It was funny though.

Another thing this week was that Hudson has apparently earned the messiest eater at school award. They told me that he is hilarious because he puts the food in his hair (on purpose), throws it on the ground when he doesn't like something, and has it all over his face and outfit by the end. He is a messy eater. I should just strip him down before every meal like I do for spaghetti night (see the picture above). It would save a lot of outfits! He has also refused naps several occasions this week and it has not been pretty when I have picked him up. I don't really like this stage and I'm hoping that next week, I can get him back on track! Needless to say, he hasn't made it past 6:30 pm at all this week and has still slept until 7 am. This guy needs his sleep.

Today, I had a class all day at the Wynfrey. It was a Women's Summit class and it was actually really good. It was much better than the other education courses we have to take to get our required hours in! It was basically all about what challenges women face in the accounting field and what we can do in response to the challenges. It was interesting. There was even a fashion show at lunch! Anyway, there were door prizes all throughout the day and on the very last one, I won! I was so surprised. I won a facial at a spa--awesome, right? Here's the kicker though...it is in Montgomery! Seriously, why would I go to Montgomery just to get a facial?!?!? I usually never win anything, but the one time I do, it is for something in a different city! Well, I paid it forward and gave it to my friend Kelli to give to her mom who lives in Montgomery. She will definitely put it to use! I'm glad I could do that (but I'm still a little irked as to why they would give out prizes for things in a different city!).

After the CPE class, I picked up Hudson and headed to the Lili Pad to hit the 50% off sale. I was so mad that it was on a day that I had something all day, and had to take Hudson with me since I couldn't go during the day. You have to get there early to get the good stuff, and by the time I got there, there wasn't much left. Hudson was in a serious mood, and would not be held while we were there. So, I was that mom. I let him run all over that store. He pulled clothes off racks, and got into a box full of coat hangers and dumped them out one by one. He even tried to exit the store once. Every time I had to go get him, I picked him up and he would start screaming to get down. It was a disaster. Oh and did I mention that at some point, he made the biggest stinky! I could smell him from all the way across the store! Ha! Oh well, we got out of there with only spending $60, so Joel is probably glad that Hudson prevented me from staying any longer!

We have a busy weekend coming up. It is starting bright and early on Saturday morning with helping out with a 10K at our church, and then of course, Waterbabies. We are also headed to the Oak Mountain petting zoo for a birthday party! This is all before noon on Saturday...we are going to be one tired bunch! Ok, this post has officially gone on too long! It was really only supposed to be a "few" things from the week!

Waterbabies Part 2 and Cookout

The weekend started out with another fun Friday. I just love my Fridays off with Hudson. We started off the day with a really long walk around the neighborhood. I'm thankful that Hudson still likes being pushed around in the stroller. I know these days are probably numbered. We had a few errands to run, but mostly, we just played and played!

He is loving his alphabet train now!


I didn't have the heart to tell him the book was upside down. He was having so much fun "reading" it and turning all the pages!

We had our second Waterbabies class on Saturday and it started out much like the first class...

BUT...it did get better much more quickly this time. Thankfully, we didn't have to dunk him this week. Hudson was taught how to climb out of the pool and of course, that was right up his alley because 1) he loves to climb things, but 2) he wanted the heck of dodge from that pool! Ha! He did enjoy jumping back in the water though. Overall, it was a much better experience than the first week and maybe, just maybe, we are making progress!

This picture below cracks me up. Notice all the other kids are laying in the water doing what they are supposed to and Hudson is pointing to the lights. He is really getting a lot out of Waterbabies! Ha!

He was trying to dunk ME in this picture below! So funny!

Joel smoked a boston butt all afternoon on Saturday on his new green egg that he got for Christmas (yes, he just took it out of the box on Saturday--sad). It was worth the wait though. It tasted so good! Migi and Pops came over and had dinner with us, and so kindly brought Hudson a cupcake. He loved it! I didn't mind the mess one bit. I think he should be spoiled every once in a while! :) Let's just say bathtime occurred about 5 seconds after this picture was taken!

Hudson slept in until 8:30 this morning and we took the opportunity to sleep in as well and skipped out on church. It was so nice to be lazy and with the weather so dreary, it was very relaxing! This afternoon, our Sunday School class had a cookout at a nearby park. It rained most of the afternoon and Joel and I figured that it would be canceled, but never heard anything so we headed out there anyway. It rained for a while, but that didn't stop the kids from getting wet and dirty! Hudson had dirt all over him and was soaking, but enjoyed every second of it.

This picture makes me laugh. He has dirt all over his face, but he didn't care a bit! His hair is crazy from all the rain too! He is the only person I know that humidity does wonders on his hair. It makes the cutest little ringlets!

You can't tell in this picture below, but it is pouring. All the kids wanted to be at the top of the slide. It was so funny because each kid that went down the slide started crying when they got to the bottom of the slide because their back sides were soaking wet! Hudson did not make it down this slide, but he did one on a smaller scale and had a ball!

And my personal favorite from the cookout...

Have a good week!

It's Official

Now that she has told Facebook the news (isn't that like telling the whole world?), the flight is booked, the car is set to be shipped...


I think it is safe to assume that I can spread the word on the blog.

CARRIE IS COMING HOME!!!!!

Obviously, we couldn't be more thrilled about it. I know her time in LA was awesome, but we have missed her so much over these last 3 years. June 4th can't get here soon enough!

Walking!

We finally have a walker on our hands! It only took 14 months, 11 days. Ha! It finally clicked yesterday and he's walking all over the house now! He's a little wobbly, and still takes a spill every now and then (like in the first video below), but it's SO cute!





Last night at bed time, I was reading him a book and rocking him and he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with either. He wiggled his way down and walked over to the crib and pointed up at it to tell us that he was READY to go to sleep. It was adorable (oh and it was only 6:30!). He was one sleepy boy!

Mother's Day Weekend

Have I mentioned how blessed I am to be this little boy's mama?!?!?! He is the best thing in the world! I know I might complain from time to time (motherhood is hard and there's no other mother out there that won't agree with me on that!), but believe me, I love this kid more than life itself! Seriously, he is awesome and my second Mother's Day was just as fulfilling as the first! Oh and not to mention, he's pretty good at getting his mama Mother's Day gifts! Shopping here I come! Boy, do I need it!

We had a busy weekend! It was one of those weekends where Joel and I had to make a list to make sure we got everything done! We started out with dinner Friday night with the Reed's to celebrate Jordan's (Joel's brother) graduation from UAB (he got his Master's). Congrats Jordan! Hudson did so well at dinner that we actually thought we might could do restaurants again! With a graduation and a wedding to attend, and not to mention Waterbabies at 8 am, it was a busy Saturday! Yesterday, we went to church and then had lunch at La Paz (of course, my choice!). Unfortunately, lunch was not as glorious as dinner on Friday night. Hudson was terrible and I ate most of my meal by myself while Joel took Hudson outside. I guess two restaurants in one weekend was enough for the little guy! After a quick 45 minute nap, we headed to my parent's to give my mom a little Mother's Day gift. My parents decided they wanted to take Hudson to see my grandparents so Joel and I got a few hours of freedom! It was fabulous--don't get me wrong, we missed the little guy, but a few hours of peace and quiet was much appreciated! We then cooked out last night to end the weekend. It was a wonderful weekend. I'm starting to think Mother's Day might be my new favorite holiday! Ha!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, including both of ours! Hope it was a special day for you all and that you were pampered as you deserve to be!!!

Waterbabies

Hudson and I had our first Waterbabies class on Saturday. I thought it would be so fun for Hudson since he loves the bath so much.

Well, I was so wrong!

He spent the first 25 minutes (of the 40 minute class) screaming! It was like I was torturing him. All the other babies were loving it, but mine was about as afraid of the water as he was of the yellow duck tub!

It was almost embarassing because his screaming made it hard for everyone to hear the teacher!

We started out with the kicking, and then the arms. There was some singing and splashing. Nothing seemed to work! Finally, Hudson's mood started to change when they introduced a ball to this whole swimming thing. It wasn't so bad after all! Hudson loved chasing after the ball in the pool. Joel and I were laughing at Hudson because he was the only kid who crushed his ball. See the picture below. He was really stressed out with the whole situation!

We blew bubbles and Hudson jumped off the side of the pool into my arms. He didn't love going into the water, but he didn't hate it either. Next week we have to dunk them all the way under the water! Scary! I can't imagine how that's going to go over! Ha!

I think there may be a smile in there somewhere!

I hope next week's session goes better! I am hoping that he remembers the last part of the class as opposed to the first part!

14 Months

Hudson hit the 14 month mark on May 1st. I'm still coming to the realization that I have a toddler now! Every morning when I go wake him up, I feel like he is looking more and more like a little boy and less and less like a baby. It's bittersweet. I told Joel tonight that I just love this age and he reminded me that I said that last month, and the month before, and the month before that! Oh well, it's true!

Hudson is so much more interactive now and he does not sit still at all! He's always on the go. He is starting to understand what I say to him from what I can tell, and slowly but surely, I think I'm starting to understand some of the Chinese that comes out of his mouth! Ha! Seriously, I think he speaks a foreign language. He speaks with such inflection too that I know he is carrying on a real conversation. I just wish I knew what it was about! Every day when we pull into the garage, he starts saying "car, car," meaning he wants to ride in his little car. He gets SO upset when we opt to not do that! Most days, he gets his wish though. It is such fun to ride in the car to the mailbox (which he also is obsessed with opening and closing) and back to the garage! He is also pointing and saying "dog" to all dogs that we pass, even when we're in the car. For the past few days, he's been getting really good at shaking his head "no" and saying it too! Something tells me I'm not going to like that one as much! He also wants to be outside all of the time. I think he says "outside", but it doesn't really sound like that. He says it the same way every time so I know that's what he means, but no one else would probably understand him just yet!

As I have stated before, the new daycare has allowed me to have more time with Hudson every day and I am loving it! All of these pictures were taken this week once we have gotten home for the day, so excuse Hudson's crazy hair and dirty outfits! He's a mess for sure by the end of the day! He has been in a great mood when we have gotten home so we've had a lot of good play time. I think he's over his preference for everyone except for mommy. I am feeling a little more loved these days! :) No more tears over feeling unloved! Ha!

Hudson is dancing in the picture below (Check out the "fro" too! It's time for a haircut!) I wish I had the video camera out because whenever he makes the barn play music, he dances. Actually, whenever he hears music nowadays, he starts bouncing. It is so funny! He can now do the motions to "Wheels on the Bus," which is oh so cute!

This past weekend in Mentone, I forgot to take a bottle and formula with me (I know, way to go!). Good thing he's 14 months and is not supposed to be taking those anymore because that gave us a good opportunity to drop that last bottle and we haven't looked back since! I have found that our bedtime routine has had to change a bit though because we used to bring him downstairs after his bath and we would give him his bottle before taking him back up to bed. Well, he has associated coming downstairs to getting his bottle and once we realized that, when we go up for a bath now, he doesn't come back down! He goes straight to bed and it has worked every night so far! I didn't think we would ever be able to drop that last one, but it was easy.

Mealtime is still a bit stressful. He's obviously a picky eater. It frustrates me because he won't try things. When he does, he usually ends up liking it, but getting it into his mouth is so difficult. I've tried to force it in there and boy, that's not a good idea. Talk about a major fit! He also goes in spurts with things. One day he'll like something and the next day, he refuses to eat it. Basically, I never know from day to day what he's going to like and what he doesn't. The one consistent thing is bananas. I feel like he's going to turn into one with all the bananas that he eats!

Hudson has also added another tooth this month! That brings the total up to a whopping 5 teeth, 3 on the top, 2 on the bottom. There are 8 month olds with more teeth than Hudson! Poor buddy.

Of course, Hudson is still not walking. He does great holding a hand, even better than ever before, but he just won't let go. We're so ready for him to walk. I know people keep saying that we don't need to wish that too quickly, but I'm over it! He's a load if you haven't noticed!

Hudson is loving this piece of furniture that we have downstairs. He is obsessed with getting in it and closing the door behind him and playing peek a boo. It was my great aunt's so needless to say, it is very old. We are so afraid that every time he gets in it, the bottom is going to fall out, but so far, so good!

Peek a boo!!!

He's mad that I am not shutting the door. He likes for it to be completely closed!

We are starting a Waterbabies class this Saturday so I will have to update about how that goes. It should be interesting! It's going to be early though...we have to be there by 8 am every Saturday for the next 6 weeks! I'm hoping it's going to be something fun that Hudson and I get to do together!

Happy 14 months to our buddy! Maybe we'll have a walker by the 15 month post!

Sometimes Your Wishes Do Come True!

This week has gotten off to a GREAT start! Who knew that a Monday could be so exciting. I am not sure that I have permission to blog about the MOST exciting news, but I am one happy girl right now. I will share the news when I get the ok!

He's pretty happy too!


By the way, this picture was taken by my brother at Easter and never made the blog. Hudson still loves the jumperoo at my parent's house. He's way too big for it, but hey, it kept him happy (and most importantly, immobile) for a little while so it was awesome!

The other happy news yesterday had to do with Hudson starting at his new daycare! I was so nervous about it, but wow, it went great!!! It was better than we could have ever imagined. Hudson didn't cry when I left for the first time in about 6 months. He got right down and started playing. And, he did it again today. No tears. They told me that the only time he got upset yesterday was when this little girl left that he had been playing with all day. Other than that, they said it was like he had been going there forever. He didn't miss a beat and they said he was such an easy baby. I am such at ease with my decision and so thankful that everything is going so well so far! I hope today is just as good! I am getting used to having to pack lunches in the morning and feeding Hudson before we leave. I know it sounds like such an easy task, but I never had to do that before. I just woke Hudson up, changed him and we were out the door! I'm glad I don't have to be at work until 8:30 because it takes every bit of that time to get everything done and Hudson dropped off!

All in all, yesterday was a fabulous Monday! I can't say that about most Mondays!

Weekend With Sis

These two came into town this weekend. It was a whirlwind trip and was over before we could all blink! They took the red eye from Los Angeles and got here Friday morning. I picked them up, we had an awesome lunch at Olexa's (YUM!) and then headed up to Mentone for the night.

We had cocktails by the fire pit and watched the sunset. It was beautiful and we all had such a fun time being together. Hudson was fascinated by the fire pit! My poor mom is restraining him!

He was also obsessed with going up and down the stairs. It's never a dull moment.

Saturday we went down to the town and walked around the art show for a while. The weather was not very good, so we didn't stay too long. We ate lunch at the Wildflower of course before heading back to Birmingham.

Hudson loved this little gazebo in downtown Mentone. We had to get some pictures!

Oh and as a side note, I made that shirt! I'm very proud!

We had to come back Saturday so that Carrie and Andres could go to the Derby for Duchenne party Saturday night. They looked so cute! For a split second, Joel and I almost decided to go. Then we realized we didn't have a babysitter and I didn't have a hat! I had to have a hat! Oh well, they probably didn't want to hang out with us old folks anyway and we most certainly couldn't have lasted until 1:30 am like they did! Ha!

Hudson was obsessed with his Aunt Carrie. He just loved her and was constantly asking her to pick him up. I just wish we could see her more often! He doesn't look excited in this picture below, but he was so upset that they were leaving. He cried when they left for the night! He was flat worn out by this point though. It was a big weekend for Mr. H.

This morning Carrie and Andres slept in and then we all headed to lunch at Brio with Mama Jean. When we got to Brio, they told us that it was going to be a 45 minute wait. There were tables available ALL over that place so we were so mad. Mama Jean did her thing and talked to the manager. She told him that she lived in a nursing home and wasn't able to get out much and all she wanted to do was to eat at Brio (so not true, but funny nonetheless!). I told the manager that we had a baby that wasn't going to make it that long and that my sister had a plane to catch (all very true!). Next thing we know, we have a table! I was very irritated with them though. It is not often that I throw a little mini fit over a table (well I never have), but this was ridiculous!

Anyway, we had fun at lunch and before we knew it, it was time to take CJ to the airport. I know I had a few tears in my eyes as we said goodbye. It is hard when we only get to see each other a few times a year. I have GOT to get out there! I have to take a week off work in a few weeks because daycare is closed and I asked Joel and my mom tonight if they thought if it would be crazy if Hudson and I went out there for a few days that week, and they both told me it would be a disaster. I just want to go so bad! I miss her so much! It is a good thing that we like Andres so much. He is so good for Carrie and I feel like I don't have to worry as much about her with him around! That said, he is SUCH a city boy and it is hilarious. He didn't know what to say about Mentone. He even said when we drove up that he heard dueling banjos and had Deliverance on his mind! Anyway, we had a good time getting to know him more and hope that some day (sooner rather than later) he will be a part of our family (and maybe be willing to move a little closer to Alabama!). There you go, Carrie...I was so good all weekend and didn't mention anything about you getting married or moving back to Alabama, but believe me, they were BOTH on my mind! Ha!