Weekend/Monday

The Reed's took Hudson to the lake with them on Saturday. He was SO excited about going that he woke up before 6 on Saturday morning! He was READY to go get on the boat! They graciously kept him all day and brought him back late Saturday night. He was so zonked that he didn't even wake up when I put his pj's on!

He got to do more than just the boat though...he got to ride on a 4 wheeler and apparently, he loved it! He had a blast and Joel and I were thankful for a full day to get things done around the house, and got a couple of kid free meals out too--can't beat that! One of my projects was doing the letters for Harrison's room. I think if we have a third child, he's going to have a four letter name! :) Eight letters was a lot!

Sunday was my first day to help in Hudson's Sunday School class. It really was a lot of fun, but I have a lot of respect for those that do that all day long! Maybe it's because I'm so pregnant, but it was exhausting! All the kids were so sweet though, with the exception of Hudson. I hope to goodness that he doesn't act like that when I'm not around! :) He wasn't terrible, but he would not share a toy to save his life and was just very needy the whole time. And, I couldn't go play with another child without Hudson getting jealous! I do think he was still very tired from Saturday so that didn't help his behavior! I'm looking forward to this year though and watching all these kids grow up. I just LOVE this age! They are just so darn cute!

Hudson's school is randomly closed this week (and two days of next week, but who is counting?!?!), so I'm staying home for most of the week with him. I'm kind of glad that I'm getting some good one on one time with Hudson because I feel like this baby is coming in the next few weeks. I just have this feeling I'm not going to make it to October--maybe because this one is so LOW that it hurts to walk!

We had a really good first day together. Hudson actually slept until 7:30, which is like sleeping in for me! It was great! We started off by going to the grocery store and I learned that I need to start going to Publix on Monday mornings! There was no one there! It was great. Hudson loves "driving" the cart at Publix and of course, has to get a blue balloon every time we go. I had given him the option of going to the zoo or going to the pool (secretly hoping with everything I had that he would choose the pool!), and he picked the pool! :) However, our neighborhood pool was closed today--who knew? And, how do you tell a 2 year old who has been excited about going to the pool all day and you've already gone through the torture of putting sunscreen on him that the pool isn't open?!?! So, we headed to the Birmingham Country Club instead. Not a bad alternative, even though I had to lie and tell them I was my mom because we are definitely NOT members! Good thing I still remember the member number from growing up! Ha! (sorry Dad!)

We had the pool to ourselves and had such a fun time!

After the pool, it was naptime for Hudson and a little work time for me, and then we played outside until Joel got home. It was a fun day, but man, I'm pooped tonight!

Recently...

As you can see, the blog has been suffering! I haven't taken a single picture since last Sunday (a week ago) before church. We've been busy doing things around the house to get ready for this baby...except that we haven't really done anything to get ready for the actual baby if that makes sense! Ha! We did a mini-redo of our master bedroom which stemmed from the fact that we desperately needed new carpet in there. We had to have the painter come anyway to fix a slight water issue that occurred a few weeks ago (that involved water FLOODING through our kitchen ceiling from the washing machine upstairs--Joel had unhooked the water hose without telling me!), so while he was here, we got him to repaint our bedroom. We took the opportunity to get new bedding and redecorate somewhat. The new carpet is coming next week, but it looks a lot better already! Anyway, we also got our den rug cleaned and are having all the carpet in the rest of the house cleaned next week. I guess this is part of nesting??? We've been cleaning out drawers and just doing things that we have been needing to do for a long time. It feels SO good! However, this weekend coming up is going to involve working on the nursery and getting out all the baby stuff that has been collecting dust in the attic. I think I will feel a lot better when that is done.

Here are the pictures I took last Sunday. Hudson started a new Sunday School class last weekend which seems to be really good so far! I'm going to be teaching in his class one Sunday a month, so that should be interesting. I'm excited about it though!

He has started this new thing where I ask him to smile and he gives me the cheesiest smiles!




Since I don't have much else to write about, here are some funny things that Hudson has been saying and doing lately.

"Do we have to watch baseball again Daddy?" Needless to say, Joel was a little upset by Hudson's unwillingness to love the Braves (even though we have to watch them EVERY night--I think Hudson learned that one from me!).

Joel and Hudson were outside and I heard Hudson crying and he ran inside to me and said, "Mommy, Daddy pushed Hudson and he needs to go to timeout!" Joel's story was that Hudson was disobeying and had to get a spanking on his bottom. Hmmm...

Friday, I had a big presentation at work so I had to be there for half the day (normally my day off). When I got home, Joel had tried unsuccessfully to put Hudson down for a nap before heading back to work for the afternoon. Hudson came downstairs and asked for a "foot knack" (fruit snack--his obsession!) and I asked him if he had already gotten one from Daddy before he left. His answer was no, of course, that he needed a foot knack. So, I promised him a fruit snack if he would take a nap, which he did with no issues. Only later did I find out that he had conned me and Joel HAD given him a fruit snack, so he got two. He's already trying to outsmart us--and it's obviously working!

"Mommy, we NEED the air conditioner!" This is what he says when we get in the hot car every day.

Every day last week when I picked Hudson up from school, I did my usual and aksed him about his day, who he played with and what did they do, what he ate for lunch, and the all important question--did you go to time out? Every day, he said that he did because he hit someone. And, it was a different child every single day so it was very believable! Well, I finally asked his teacher about it and she told me that he was pulling my leg, and that the only reason why Hudson went to time out last week was because he took his shoes off at the playground. :) She said he is definitely NOT a hitter! Now, why did we spend our whole week getting on to him about hitting people?!?! Ha! Oh and by Friday, when Joel picked him up, his teacher said that he was intentionally taking his shoes off on the playground and then putting himself in timeout, all the while smiling about it. It was a game. Oh well, at least he's not hitting!

While Oliver was painting the kitchen ceiling this weekend, Hudson yells, "Mommy, O-wiver is cleaning the ceiling!!!" He was so excited that Oliver was "cleaning."

I was talking to him about when we start to potty train, and he got really excited and said, "Mommy, I want to ride on the potty train! Choo-choo!!!" He clearly does not get the concept yet!

We were passing by the Statue of Liberty in Libery Park and Hudson was talking about how tall HE was. I told him that actually, it was a "she" and not a "he" and he said, "No, Mommy, it's a MAN." We went back and forth about it and I started to tell him that yes, while she does look like a man...then, I thought maybe we should just end that conversation!

His new thing to say is, "Oh my goodness!" It could be for anything and is just SO funny.

And lastly, we have hit the terrible twos I believe. It's been SO easy so far and he's just been so sweet that we thought, why does everyone say two is bad (although I have also heard that 3 is worse!)? Well, we've found it! He loves to tell me "no" and point his finger at me, and his new thing is to do that and then spit at me. Where he learned that, I have no idea, but we're working on nipping that one in the bud! Phew, he has an attitude! But, he's also sweet too so I guess it balances out!

And, as I finish this post, Hudson is now walking around upstairs--way past his bedtime! Duty calls!

Diaper Shower

Last week, our sweet Sunday school class had a wonderful diaper shower for me and another girl in our class that is due a week before me. We had a girl's night out at the new La Paz in Vestavia and it was so much fun!

The other guest of honor and me! Starting to look kind of big (me, that is!)! Ha! It has been so fun going through this with Margaret. Since we're only due a week apart, we have been comparing bellies and everything else that comes along with a new baby the whole time. She has a little boy a couple of months younger than Hudson and is having a girl this time!

ALL of the diapers and wipes! We are set for a while! We are SO grateful for this!

YUM...Ashley Mac's cupcakes. I'm not going to mention how many cupcakes I ate, but let me tell you, they were ALL good!

I'm so thankful for all of these girls and am so glad that we are part of such a fun class! Thank you to all who came and so generously gave us diapers and wipes. We appreciate it more than you will ever know and believe me, they'll be put to very good use! :)

Paci Free!

I finally got the nerve to do it. The paci went to the garbage man. This big boy is getting bigger every day!

We've always been a proponent of the paci, but only in the crib for naptime and bedtime. It was never a problem, and yes, we have known for a while now that it needed to go, but it's just one of those things that we thought we would deal with later and since he never had it out in public, did it really matter? It was security for him and helped him get to sleep, and I hated the thought of the day we had to take it away.

Ever since moving to the big boy bed, it has become a bit more of an issue. Hudson would bring the paci downstairs with him every morning and while we we would make him go put it on the stairs or back in his bed, he started to give us some pushback on it. The worst was in the afternoons though, when we got home from work/school. Hudson started telling me that he was going "night-night" and would go to his big boy bed and get the paci, and taking it away resulted in a fit. On Wednesday, I had had enough! I guess I was in a bad mood, who knows, but I did not want to deal with it anymore!

The middle of a work week was not what I had envisioned when I thought about taking the paci away, but that's the way it happened! I got so mad that afternoon that I just took it away and told him it was gone forever and the garbage men were picking it up on Thursday (we have been saying for months and months that he was going to give the paci's to the garbage men, so he knew what I was talking about). I kind of had a feeling it would make a reappearance that night at bedtime though--I didn't want to lose a night of precious beauty sleep and we were ALL still trying to catch up from the wedding last weekend.

Bedtime came and it was heartbreaking! I told myself that I was not going to back down on it, even though after about an hour, Joel told me to just give him the paci so he could go to sleep. He was NO help! I laid in the other twin bed in the room with him and just sobbed and sobbed. I felt so bad for taking it away. I felt like the worst mother. I think I also started feeling some guilt about Harrison coming along and taking some of the attention away from Hudson, and it just made me sad to think about how Hudson might feel in a couple of months. It was all those things and emotions hitting me at once! Who knew a silly paci could do all that?!?!?

He struggled and cried over it, and was so restless, but I stayed strong! I just kept telling him how much I loved him and what a big boy he was. And finally, he fell asleep. We didn't hear from him all night and he was happy as a clam the next morning. He even told me that his paci had gone to the garbage man and that he was a big boy!

The next night, Joel put him to bed with no problems! It was easy! He didn't even ask for it. Yesterday was my day off with Hudson and in the morning, we were talking about it and Hudson asked me if I was going to take Ra-Ra (his BELOVED dog that he sleeps with every night) away and give him to the garbage man too. Talk about a dagger in the heart! I guess he thought I was going to take it all away--so sad! I reassured him that I was not taking Ra-Ra away and he could sleep with him forever if he wanted to!

Unfortunately, we have had no success in the nap department without the paci, so we've had a rough couple of days. He has taken naps at school without it for months, so I know that he'll soon get adjusted.

I think we learned our lesson with this though. We won't wait until Harrison is 2 1/2 to take the paci away! While it wasn't really as bad as I thought it would be for Hudson, it would have been much easier on ME to do it earlier. :) Now, let's just hope he doesn't regress when Harrison gets here and start stealing Harrison's paci's!

Dalton's Wedding

My first cousin, Dalton, got married in Atlanta this past weekend. Friday, which so happened to be my 30th birthday, we headed over there bright and early for the bridesmaid's luncheon. My sister and I helped my mom with the decorations, which I thought turned out so cute!

The luncheon was at South City Kitchen in Midtown Atlanta and the food was SO good! Here is the Vann crew. The bride is the third one from the left.

Joel and Hudson got there mid afternoon and we had a short birthday celebration at the hotel before the rehearsal dinner that night. Carrie's birthday was the 4th, and mine was the 5th, so we did get to blow out some candles and eat some cake to celebrate our birthdays! I really was totally ok celebrating someone else on this birthday, but it was nice getting a little bit of attention! Ha!

Hudson was quite the wild man at the rehearsal dinner, but overall, he did ok. He didn't disrupt too much!


Hudson and Carrie at the rehearsal dinner...

Saturday, Joel and I took Hudson to the Georgia Aquarium. It was so fun!

I think his favorite thing there was the penguins (he kept saying, "they're so cute!" over and over again), but he did love the sharks too. They have some pretty huge whale sharks there and said that they can get up to 40 feet long. He was not a fan of the beluga whales and I have no idea why! They were so neat to look at!

We got there right at the time they opened and we were so glad that we did. It was already packed when we got there, but by the time we left, it was insane. Someone said that it was an hour and a half just to get in! Crazy! I promised myself that if I ever did go to the Georgia Aquarium that I would definitely not go on a Saturday, and definitely not a Saturday in the summer! Oh well, that's just how it worked out! I'm glad we were able to squeeze it in.

Hudson kept talking all morning about the dolphins and I did notice that there was a dolphin show, but thought there would also be an exhibit with dolphins so we did not purchase the extra amount to go to the show. Well, that's where they get you! You apparently could not see the dolphins unless you went to the show, so once we realized that (and Hudson was STILL asking where the dolphins were--he has the most remarkable memory), we had to poney up and purchase the tickets for the show. It was a huge hit though and a great ending to our time at the aquarium!

Here is Hudson enthralled with the dolphin show! He would not sit on our laps or anything. We were late purchasing the show tickets so we got there about 10 minutes before it started and had to sit in the nosebleeds. We thought he would want to stand up to see better, but he was Mr. Independent and sat in his seat the whole time. He loved it.

After lunch with my parents and a very good, long nap, for all of us, we headed to the wedding. Unfortunately, a terrible thunderstorm hit right at the time that we left for the wedding. My parents had found the church and reception site earlier in the day and found a place to park that was right in between. Both places were only about a mile from our hotel. Anyway, we left at 5:20 (wedding started at 6) and got caught in the thunderstorm. We decided to wait in the car and hope that it would die down because the lightning was quite scary! Well, 5 minutes before 6, we decided that Dad and Joel would drop all the girls off at the door and they would just meet us at the reception. We drive up to the church and lo and behold, it's the wrong church! Ha! I thought my mom was going to kill my dad! So, we rushed to find the right church and of course, they had a great parking lot and people with umbrellas escorting everyone to the door. We were very late, but luckily, they held the wedding for 15 minutes because of the weather. The side door that we went in led us straight to the front of the church, so our whole family had to walk in the front of the church and definitely made a scene! It was so embarassing! But, we made it! Ha!

Hudson was the PERFECT angel at the wedding. He didn't make a peep the whole time and we were sitting at the front and in the middle, right in on the action, which made both Joel and I very nervous--the plan was to sit in the back in case we had to duck out. I was shocked. We had suckers, toys, books, food, and didn't have to use any of it! I will say that we did give him a paci (I know, terrible), but it worked like a charm! He was very interested in the wedding!

Once we were at the reception, we finally got to relax! It was so much fun! Here is our only family picture from the weekend. Hudson looks mad and exhausted, but I can promise you he was far from that! There was an hour long cocktail hour before we were able to go in the reception room, and Hudson kept asking when he could go dance. When he finally got the chance, he was a dancing machine!

Finally, the happy couple! Dalton looked so beautiful!

Dalton and her Daddy!

Here she is dancing with her step dad...she's so lucky to have two great men that have raised her!

And, here are some pictures of Hudson dancing. My camera had trouble all night, so the pictures aren't the best, but you get the point.

Dancing with his Aunt Carrie!

It was time to go at this point! Sleeping on the dirty floor! I think he made it until 11 something, so he was exhausted!

We had so much fun at the wedding. You know it's a good wedding when EVERYONE, including this pregnant girl, was out on the dance floor. At one point, my Dad even laid himself out on the floor dancing...talk about HILARIOUS.

We came back yesterday morning, and then took Mama Jean out for her 86th birthday last night. I'm pretty sure my whole family dreads August as all of our birthdays are in the same week! We had a great dinner and had fun celebrating Mama Jean! It's going to take a few days to recover though--we are all completely exhausted!