Photo Wednesday

Just a few randoms on this Wednesday evening.

Hudson got into the cabinet again and this time, it was pasta all over the floor.

In his defense, he did help me pick every single piece up and only said "uh-oh" a thousand times in the process. He knows that he messed up!

That is asparagus in Hudson's mouth. I think I fainted when he picked it up and headed for the mouth. Granted, he didn't end up eating it, but that is some major progress! Usually, he won't touch any of the greens that I put on his plate. Wait, he doesn't touch anything but the fruit. What was I thinking?

And lastly, this is the cute Halloween costume that I got Hudson. He is obsessed with dogs and I thought this was so cute. I knew he would love it!

You can see just how much he likes it! Ha! I realized after I took these pictures that the little feet were attached to the dog ears. Oh well, I'm pretty sure he is never going to wear the hat anyway! He cried every time I showed him the outfit again tonight. I think we are in for a rough Halloween this year.

Game Day!

Game day started bright and early this morning at the Reed's. Hudson took care of cutting the grass while Dad put in a new mailbox! (And Mom just took pictures...ha!)

It was hard, hard work, but somebody had to do it.

Some of it was fun...

Some of it was EXHAUSTING!

He sure did deserve that pat on the back for being such a good helper!

Just gettin' his second wind.

And then it's back to work!

Now that our yard work is done, we're ready to watch our Auburn Tigers go to work and beat the Gamecocks tonight!!!

Waaarrrr Eagle, Hey!!! Or, rather, "Here's my belly button." Oh well, while he doesn't know that it's really game day, he did go grab his hat like he knew it was supposed to go with his outfit. That's progress, right?!?!?

I think the little guy is feeling better, finally!

Applique, Take 2!

The consignment season has just about wrapped up around here. I went to several consignment sales looking for good finds for Hudson's fall wardrobe, and even worked the Whale of a Sale at our church so that I could go in early and shop! Well, I guess that I'm just too picky when it comes to "used" clothes. I didn't find a whole lot except for ratty boy clothes, which I know that these are some people's treasures, but not for me. While I was working my volunteer shift, I got to talking to several friends, both with boys, who got me inspired to try the ole' machine out again and do some appliques. I had told Joel that I was going to sell it on Ebay because I just couldn't do it...didn't have the time and it never worked like I wanted it to! Can you tell I get frustrated easily?!?!

It is hard to find cute boy clothes at a reasonable price, and I also like for him to dress cute to daycare too (although he ruins about half of what I send him in!). I also know that Hudson's days of wearing longalls and jon-jons are quickly coming to a close (I'm hoping I can go at least another year without Joel fussing about it too much!), so I'm hoping that I can get the hang of the applique thing so I can make him some cute shirts to wear. Eventually, I would love to make the matching pants, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves! Seriously, $3.50 for the t-shirt and $2.00 for the applique, and here you go...


I know, it's about the easiest thing to do in the world, but I'm still getting the hang of it (and I do realize it is a little off center too, but hopefully no one will notice!). I would love to monogram a "War Eagle" on it, but I'm afraid I will mess it up so I think I'm just going to leave it as it is. I think I need a monogram software to really do what I want anyway, so that will have to wait.

Thanks girls for inspiring me and I have about 8 more shirts to do in the next few weeks. I'm actually excited about it!

Torture at the Doc

Poor Hudson has croup. One of the nurses at the doctor today said that his was the worst case she had seen all year! Yikes! It is bad...and scary. He barks like a dog and sometimes can't seem to catch his breath. You can hear him breathing from across the room. It is so raspy sounding...like you just want to cough for him, but you can't. This came on all of a sudden too. I noticed yesterday morning that he had a cough, but had no other symptoms and was otherwise acting fine, but daycare called at 2 yesterday afternoon and said he was in bad shape, and he definitely was. I felt so bad for him. This is way worse than any ear infection that he has had. I was worried that he would stop breathing during the night, which we found out that apparently croup is worse in the night than during the day. We went to the doctor today and was immediately told that it was croup once they heard him breathing. I had a feeling that is what it was since it was going around daycare. Oh the joys of daycare!

While we were there, I had to give him a breathing treatment. I know that several of my friends have had to give their kids breathing treatments for extended periods of time, and now I understand how awful it is! It was absolute torture, and I only had to do it once! I am so glad I don't have to do it again! I had to hold the treatment up to his face for 15 minutes, while holding him and holding his arms down. He got so mad that he threw up on me and him during the treatment. He cried the whole 15 minutes (and kicked and squirmed). It was awful. And then, to make matters worse, he had to get a shot. I'm pretty sure he hated me and everyone else after that doctor's appointment! Poor buddy, it was a rough day.

He is already feeling better though so that is the good news! That stuff worked quickly! I just hope I never have to give him a breathing treatment again. He won't sit in my lap anyway, so having to force him to sit there and hold his arms down was terrible. And, of course I hate having to see him get shots too. I wish I could just have everything done to me instead of him! Hopefully, he is on the mend though and will be all better soon!

Auburn-Clemson Game

The three of us headed down to Auburn yesterday for the Auburn-Clemson game. The plan was to tailgate for most of the day, and then Hudson and I would go back to the condo to watch the game while Joel went to the game. We were just going to play the day by ear depending on how Hudson was doing. I was afraid that we would have to spend most of the afternoon at the condo so that he could nap, but we wanted to at least try to tailgate! We could have left Hudson at home, but I just hate to leave him! I want him to experience everything too! The thought did cross our minds to buy him a ticket, but I just couldn't justify the $65 to get him in when he goes to bed at 7!

Hudson cried for the first hour of the ride to Auburn, so we were really worried that this was a really bad idea! Luckily, he finally took a little snooze and was fine when we got there. He LOVED being out with all the tailgaters!!! He didn't fuss a bit and didn't take a nap either, but he was happy as a clam so it was good. It was 95 degrees and MISERABLE outside. Seriously, I have no idea why we thought being outside all day was a good idea.

Aren't they the cutest two boys you have ever seen?!?!?

After visiting friends at a few tailgates (I didn't take a single picture at the tailgates, and we sadly, we didn't get to see everyone), we had to go to the coliseum to cool off for a few minutes. I thought I was going to pass out from the heat. We were pretty much drenched with sweat. Hudson had not one, but two dirty diapers while we were out and about...not fun when you are out in public and all hot and sweaty! Oh well, we survived. Check out Hudson's sweaty head and red face!

He was so good all day! He always amazes me.

Chillaxin' in the stroller!

We found the band and Hudson was fascinated by them!

After tailgating for a while, we made the hike back to the condo and relaxed for a little while before Joel left for the game. I was really jealous that he was getting to go and not me, but things change when you have a child and somebody had to stay with him! I won't lie though, it was so hot that I was sort of glad I could watch it in the AC (and oh so thankful that Joel's parents have a condo for his brother down there that we could stay in!)! He was so exhausted after no nap that he immediately went to bed at 7. He would have gone to bed earlier, but I didn't want him to wake up too early this morning!

Anyway, so the game was nervewrecking as usual (I'm sure ESPN is loving all these good games that Auburn is giving them this year!), but we pulled it out in overtime! I was happy, but I kind of feel like the wrong team won (and I promise that I am a TRUE Auburn fan!). I'll take the win though! And, I don't have to deal with a cranky husband after a loss, so that is probably the best part about winning! Well, I guess I get a little cranky too when we lose! I hate losing! Ha!

When everyone came back to the condo (I have no idea what time it was, but probably around 10 or 11), we all talked for a while and then I went into the bedroom and Hudson was standing up in his pack n play. I guess everyone woke him up. I thought I would be able to put him right back down as we were all trying to go to bed, but it was apparently playtime. So, from 11 to 1 am, we tried to get him to go to sleep. No luck. Our only options were to stay up all night, or get in the car and head back to Birmingham. We ended up packing the car up and heading home, getting home a little after 3 am! That little turkey went to sleep about 30 minutes into the trip home, and only slept until 8 this morning. Needless to say, we pretty much feel like a truck has hit us today.

I'm not sure we'll be making that trip down to Auburn again this year with an 18 month old (I hope we do, but maybe not try spend the night next time!), but it sure was nice to be down on the plains and be a part of the action. We miss having our tickets this year, but it would be hard to figure out what to do with Hudson every weekend, and I just feel so bad leaving him. I know we have many fun years at Auburn games to come and that this stage with Hudson will pass more quickly than we want it to, so for now I am enjoying being with him on Saturdays and trying to teach him to say "War Eagle" and "touchdown"! I will say that I think he's going to LOVE going to games in a few years and I can't wait!!!

Toilet Trouble and Fallderall

Well, it took 18 months to get interested in toilets around here and now he is addicted.

Notice the toy in the toilet...

Uh oh! Don't flush Hudson! No!!!!

Now that he can open all the doors in the house, he can get to the toilets with ease and they are flushed about 1,000 times a day! I guess it's time to see what is out there for babyproofing toilets!

*******************************************************************************************

We have had a great weekend! It was filled with a lot of football, and oh by the way, how about that win for Auburn!?!? It about gave me a heart attack, but a win is a win.

This afternoon, our church and the city of Vestavia held a fall festival. They had a band, jumpy things, a "pony" ride (see below about the "pony"), and several booths set up with clowns, games, and other fun stuff. We had a really fun time! Hudson wore himself out running around that park!

Here he is going down the slide...oh and check out his new shoes! We got him some New Balances this weekend (5 1/2 EXTRA WIDE!!!). I wanted to get him some cute Ked's too, but unfortunately, we couldn't get his foot into them. It was a sad day for Mama. Dad wasn't too sad about Hudson not wearing Ked's!

And here is the "pony." Does this look like a pony to you??? The horse was huge!!! The guide told us we could put Hudson on it and hold him while the horse went around in a circle, but the minute we put him on it, he didn't like it at all! It didn't last long! He did like to pet it though and was talking about the "hore" all day! That's just one of those words that cracks us up all the time...he'll laugh at it some day too! :)

His favorite thing was the band. He threw a fit when we made him leave the area that the band was playing!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

18 Month Stats and Meet the Teacher Day

We had Hudson's 18 month checkup this morning. Here are his stats:

Weight: 26.2 pounds (50th percentile)
Height: 33 inches (between 50-75th percentile)
HC: 18.75 inches (never know where that falls)

Hudson's growth has really slowed down! He has only gained .2 pounds since his 15 month checkup, but he has grown 2 inches in height. I was not surprised by the weight at all, and neither was Dr. C! He said it is normal for them not to eat much so to just keep doing what we're doing. Hudson got 2 shots and we were done! Everything looks great! So glad to have a healthy little boy!

After his checkup, we had meet the teacher day at school. Hudson is a Bunny this year and is in a class full of other 1-2 year olds. We were very excited with his teachers and think this is going to be a great year! Hudson is back to taking naps on the floor with his nap mat, so this will be interesting. He did this for a short while at the previous daycare, but he's a little more active these days! I hope they can make him stay there! After we met Mrs. Alison and Mrs. Taylor, Hudson and I ran an few errands and then headed back home and he's now taking a nap. I could get used to days like this! This morning flew by. I'm hoping he will wake up in time to do something fun like the zoo this afternoon! Too bad it's back to work tomorrow. :(

Beach Trip, Finally!

We have waited all summer long to get down to the beach. My parent's condo building was being renovated, and was supposed to be ready by the beginning of the summer, but you know how construction goes! I looked into paying to stay somewhere several times during the summer, but I just couldn't justify it! So, we waited and waited, and finally, got to go! And, it was everything we had hoped it would be! Well, except for the fact that Hudson HATED the sand, but we made do.

He started wailing the minute we put him into the sand, and then we tried putting his feet in the water and that was no good either. The mere mention of the word "sand" or "ocean" made him start crying. But, he was totally satisfied sitting on a towel or sitting in a beach chair. He just didn't want any part of the sand touching him and the few pieces that did get on him, he would freak out (it must be a stage because he hates anything on his hands these days!). He loved looking at all the people, and there were tons and tons of birds and planes for him to point at. He just chilled out! It was great. Joel and I were not expecting to be able to sit and enjoy the beach. We thought we would be chasing him around everywhere, but instead, he was completely immobile and it was awesome!

Oh yeah, and I had this cute little floppy hat that covered his ears, but he was obsessed with his Auburn hat and would not take it off! He does look pretty cute in it though!

Everything was good in Daddy's arms!

He LOVED the pool. He was a little fish and threw fits when we made him get out. It was so much fun.

Friday, we spent the morning at the beach and the pool and then Hudson took a 3 hour nap so I took full advantage and got some time to lay out and read my book too! It was fabulous! We then headed to the outlets to get a few things and had dinner at one of our favorites, the Red Bar! Child friendly and the food never disappoints!

Saturday was GAME DAY!!! War Eagle!!! We're working on teaching Hudson to say War Eagle, Hey. He has the "Hey" part down, and thinks the rest of it is so funny, but he won't say it yet. He'll have it in a few weeks. It's pretty much said once an hour around here and I'm pretty sure that's how we got him to smile in the picture below!

Hudson sporting his new Auburn t-shirt from Big Daddy. The landscaping in the courtyard around the pool wasn't finished yet, so it looks a little bad, but we still spent a lot of time out here throwing the football and chasing Hudson up to the gate to the pool and back!

This picture below just makes me laugh. I think Hudson is thinking, "Daddy, why are you wearing that crazy shirt? You look ridiculous!" Or, maybe that's what I was thinking. I swear he got a million looks at our walk that morning to Alys Beach and Rosemary!

We had another awesome day at the beach and the pool on Saturday. Hudson took a really long nap again and Joel was more than willing to stay inside and watch football while he napped so I could lay out again! The weather all weekend was incredible. We couldn't have asked for better weather at all!

Here we are blowing bubbles on the bluff waiting on game time. Hudson is sporting his jersey, which he looked so cute in!

Unfortunately, right before game time, Hudson started acting a little bit pitiful and fussy. We felt his head and of course, he was burning up. We didn't have our thermometer, but it was clear that he had a fever so I gave him some tylenol and we put him to bed early. I was so sad because we were having the best time at the beach and I didn't want him to be sick!

Joel and I cooked out steaks and enjoyed watching our Auburn Tigers! It was a little bittersweet not being there (we didn't get tickets this year for the first time), but at least we were at the beach! The game was great and we can't wait to see more of our new quarterback!

He looks like he doesn't feel good! You can see in the picture above though what his fever was all about. MOLARS. I hate those things and they have really caused havoc for Hudson. Thankfully, that appears to be all it was because the fever was gone the next day and he was good as new!

The water on Sunday was absolutely gorgeous so I thought Hudson might like to sit near the water in the hard sand. Wrong!!!

Joel took him out into the water, but it still was not fun for Hudson. Maybe next year!

He was really doing good with his swimming! He was kicking and using his arms. I was very impressed because at Waterbabies at the beginning of the summer, he had no interest in doing either.

He loved jumping off the side of the pool. We would say "1, 2, 3, jump" and he would do it. Most times, he would say "2" and then "jump." He thought it was so fun jumping and splashing!

We just love this boy so much!

He loved being thrown in the air too! He smiled every second that he was in that pool.

This was the sunset on Sunday night. It was beautiful!

Hudson in his pjs messing with his new teeth...poor buddy!

Bedtime at this point...

I promise I was there too, but pictures of me with no makeup and in a bathing suit will NEVER be on the blog! Ha!

We really had the absolute best time this weekend and were all pretty depressed to have to leave the beach today. The weekend went by way too fast. I hate that we only got one beach trip this summer, but we'll make up for it next summer! Hopefully, Hudson won't be so scared of the sand and the ocean. We can't wait to build sandcastles and dig holes to China!