First Time Tubing

Hudson got on the tube for the first time this weekend at the lake. We got the kind that he could sit in because we thought that would be better for him than our other tube that you have to lay down on. He loved it! He kept telling Pops to "go faster faster!" We went a lot faster than I thought he would be able to go. I think I was the one telling Pops to slow down! Ha!

Only once did we get outside the wake and went up pretty high. I grabbed Hudson's arm so hard to keep him from flying out that I think I scared him. He wanted off after that! Oh well, I am SO glad that he is finally old enough to have some fun on the lake!

He flat wore himself out! You should have seen the pool of sweat that developed while he took this little snooze.  It was hot out there!

Taking a dip with Dad. This didn't last too long because it's next to impossible to tell your very active, underwater loving, 3 year old that he can't get his ears in the lake water (due to the tubes--lake water is considered dirty water). It ended up in a big fit.

We got back late last night after a really rough hour and a half ride home! Both kids screamed most of the way. We got Hudson Chick Fil A to eat in the car on the way home because we knew he was exhausted and we were just going to take him straight to bed when we got home, but of course, he ate it so fast that he ended up throwing it up, which resulted in him screaming even more because he wanted his clothes off. Harrison finally fell asleep, but we realized why he was crying when we got home--poop everywhere! :) Joel and I just had to laugh about it all--that was the only way we could get through it!

I taught in the 3 year old Sunday school class today. I am going to miss being in Hudson's class next year. I think I have one more Sunday to do it. It has been so much fun watching all of the kids grow over this past year. They are all SO sweet! I snapped a few pictures this afternoon after nap time.

It SURE was hot today. Miserable really. This was the 5 seconds that we endured the heat to blow some bubbles on the back porch...

It was a great weekend! I can't believe it is already about to be Monday again. Ugh!

Getting Interesting Around Here

I'll let the pictures do the talking! These were all taken within a 5 minute span. These boys are trouble!

Hudson has some evil eyes here! He was playing just a tad too rough. Obviously, Harrison hated it. :)

Ready to GO!!!

Cute little bottom!

Uh oh! Sure didn't take long to find the outlets!


 Not wasting time here--up on his knees watching the puppies outside! 


Hudson, show me your scary face!

Look Mom, one handed!

Happy Friday!

A Prayer by Hudson Reed

Dear God,

Thank you for snakes. God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food. By his hands, we are fed, thank you Lord for daily bread, Amen.

Wait, I'm not done Mommy. God, I love everybody and I'm ready to go to bed. Amen again.

Love, Hudson Reed

Gotta love little boys. Snakes, food, and sleep. What more could a boy be thankful for?!?!

Sick Day!

After yesterday being such a great day, Hudson came down with another stomach bug last night and I was up with him most of the night. He ended up sleeping with me and you would think a king size bed would be plenty of room, but he basically slept on top of me! Make that 3 of the last 4 nights with very little sleep. It was awful, but we survived. He woke up fine this morning, but I did not think he needed to go to school and spread the virus any more. I really thought we were done with it, but I guess not. Maybe now we are! I kept Harrison home too and we actually had a really fun day off together! No more sickness here!

We went to Target and bought a slip n slide and it was a big hit. We spent several hours playing on it. I will even admit that I went head first down the slip n slide to show Hudson what to do and it was pretty funny. I was hoping that none of the neighbors were watching! I'm probably going to be sore tomorrow! Ha!

Harrison started out dry before testing out the water too!

Does he look sick to you??? Me neither!

I guess I should have put Harrison's swimsuit on, but I really wasn't planning on him getting wet. He loved it though!

During naptime, I was able to do some cleaning and get these germs gone from our house and finished reading Catching Fire (and now I can't wait to start Mockingjay!) while laying out on the deck. It was wonderful, even though it was pretty hot! I wish all sick days were like this! It sure did make my Monday a little more bearable by not having to be at work! :)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! I know these two boys sure do LOVE their Daddy!

We have had a great day so far. We let Joel sleep in this morning before bombarding him with a homemade card that we drew this morning (complete with fire truck stickers and a ripped in areas where Harrison got his hands on it--it was very special! Ha!) and gifts from each of us. Hudson was so excited about giving Joel some Sperry's just like his; so much so that he spilled the beans a few days ago. For once, Joel's "selective hearing" came in handy as he claims he never heard Hudson say anything about it. I think he's just being nice because Hudson had a whole conversation with him about it! After gifts in bed and some rough housing (why do boys love this soooo much!?!?), we got ready and headed to church. We had a good lunch out and now the babies are napping and you would think that Joel would be relaxed on the couch watching the U.S. Open, but he's outside fixing our fence where our neighbor's tree busted through it (and came down in our yard) during the wind and storms last week. Poor thing, has to sweat on his own Father's Day! Good thing there's a steak dinner tonight!

I love this picture of Joel and Harrison!

We thought history might repeat itself with the stomach bug on Father's Day (I had it on Mother's Day this year), but it has stayed away from Joel and I so far. Hudson was up for several hours Thursday night throwing up. This was the first time that he has vomited multiple times and it was so sad. He was pitiful and was puny Friday and Saturday. Today, he is back to his old self and eating again. Harrison got it Friday night (coming out the other end--sorry, major TMI!). We were up with him all night Friday night, but he seemed ok Saturday when he woke up. I guess it was just a few hour thing--sure would have been nice to happen during the day as opposed to in the middle of the night. Two sleepless nights in a row is no fun! We all slept like a rock last night though and all feel good today.

Happy Father's Day to Big Daddy and Pops too! We celebrated with Big Daddy last Sunday night with a yummy dinner at Carrie's house. Carrie made the best coconut cake I have ever had. I didn't think I really liked coconut cake, but this one, wow. Sooooo good. There was only 7 sticks of butter in it. :) We are headed to celebrate with Pops later on tonight.

 

It has been a fun day celebrating! We are very thankful for all of our daddies in our lives!

Girl's Lake Trip and Harrison Update

Last Friday night (a week ago), Joel graciously kept the kiddos ALL NIGHT and I went down to Lake Martin for some fun with a few of the girls from our Sunday school class. It was so much fun! Of course, I missed our little family, but it was so nice to get away for a little while and spend time with these sweet sweet girls that I have grown to love over these past few years! 

We stayed up way too late Friday night drinking wine and doing what we do best--talking talking talking! I'm pretty sure had we been able to stay up any later, we would have! There was never a quiet moment! Lots of laughs for sure! Everyone was up by 7:30 the next morning. Our one chance to sleep in and none of us took advantage of it! Although, I consider 7 am sleeping in these days so I was feeling pretty good! :)

We layed out all day and burned to a crisp (I did anyway!) and Margaret's dad came over and took us out on a long boat ride. We stopped at Chimney Rock and took in all the sights there. We thought about jumping off the rock and joining in on the redneck party, but decided against it. Ha! Totally kidding, I would have never in a million years jumped off that thing. I'm a scaredy! And, we only saw a few Budweiser bikinis so I guess it wasn't too redneck!

Margaret, thank you so so so much for allowing us to take over your parent's house for the weekend! It was such a fun time and I hope that we get to go back soon! Oh and thanks to our husbands who kept the kids. I'm pretty sure they were glad to have us back home--I know mine was! Joel did take them to Weiss Lake Saturday morning and they spent the day with Joel's family. Hudson was pretty excited about his first boat ride of the season from what I hear!

_________________________________ Just to give a little update on Harrison, he did great getting the tubes on Friday although he was mad as a hornet that he could not have his morning bottle. We were first on the list for that day, but we still had to wait an hour and a half before they took him back. That was pretty awful! He took a morning nap and then has been a new baby ever since. Seriously--he's a different child already. I have never seen him as happy and as talkative. He's even been more mobile! It is hard to believe that his ears caused all of that. I hope he is pain free for good now. I didn't realize until now how awful he really has felt the past few months. Here's to being healthy for a while (I hope!!!).

Have Patience

A few days ago, I was trying to get dinner on the table, holding a screaming 22 pound baby in one arm, with Hudson standing at my feet asking me when dinner would be ready (for the millionth time that night!). I am embarassed to say that I might have lost my cool a bit and raised my voice and said, "Hudson, you need to BE PATIENT!!!" Hey, it could have been worse! :) Little did I know, this would be his response (video taken after the fact, but you get the idea)...



Apparently, the "patience" thing is an issue at school too, so much so that they have a song about it! How can you not smile at that?!?!

Translation of the song is:

Have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry.
When you get impatient, you only start to worry.
Remember, remember, God has patience too,
Think about someone has to wait on you.

Sorry for the duck quacking in the background! Dumb dog toy!

And this last video is for my mother in law, who has been asking for it for weeks now. This is Shug, Joel's brother's dog, and Harrison. Shug is an American bulldog and LOVES babies. Harrison loves him too! :)



We have to be at Children's Hospital tomorrow morning at 6:15 am for Harrison's tubes. Big brother is staying with Migi and Pops for the night, so it feels like we have a night off since Harrison has been in bed since 7! Praying everything goes smoothly tomorrow. This isn't our first rodeo, but it is a bit scary with him having to go under. I am excited for some relief for my sweet baby boy though!

8 Months

Little buddy turned 8 months old yesterday! I attempted to take some pictures on the chair this morning before church, but I was not very successful and you will see at the end that the photo shoot got hijacked by a certain 3 year old who couldn't understand why I wasn't taking his picture. Oh the drama around here. :)

Harrison is struggling big time with his ears this month. I had to take him back to the doctor last week to be told yet again that the ear infection is still there, after a round of the stronger antibiotics AND a shot the week before. I knew it was still there going in, but still. I was just hoping that maybe it was something else. Our doctor was able to get us into the ENT tomorrow. I'm pretty sure this newest antibiotic is not doing anything either so the sooner we can get the tubes, the better. I can't wait to have our happy baby back and not have to change his outfit 6 times a day because he has poop up to his ears. Sorry for the TMI, but it's life around here right now! But really, I hate it for him. I know he's been in pain for a long time now. You can't even change a diaper without him screaming from laying down. It's horrible and it just hurts my heart.

At 8 months, Harrison is really trying to get moving. He's finally rolling around on the floor and when you put him in one spot, he usually doesn't stay there for very long. He's not crawling yet, but he's got the army crawl backwards down pat. He's even trying to pull up on things already, which is crazy. He loves standing up. I keep trying to tell him that he's got to crawl first, but he doesn't understand that! I'm still not ready for crawling, much less pulling up on things! Slow down buddy!

He's says "ba ba ba" all the time and I think a few times he has said "Dada" at Joel, but I'm not positive about that. I know that when we say Dada, he knows who we're talking about and will look at Joel. That's pretty exciting. Of course, I've been trying with "mama" for months, but I know he probably won't say that first. He definitely knows who Mama is and that's all that matters! :) Hudson can't stand that we are trying to get him to say dada and mama. He corrects us every time by saying, "It's Mommy and Daddy!"

He is still clapping up a storm and tonight he even started opening and closing his hand like he was waving. When I would do it, he would do it. Another thing that he's copying is when we shake our head no at him. Also, when I sing a song to him or he hears music, he starts dancing and moving his head all around. It's so cute. I think he's going to like music like his big brother does! I love that we're finally getting this interaction with him!

He has not been loving the jumperoo anymore, which is sad. He does not like to be constrained in there. Hudson loved that thing for so long, but Harrison just isn't as crazy about it. Harrison hates it when I leave the room, and when I put him in the jumperoo, it's usually so I can get some things done and it just doesn't work out so well. Speaking of not liking me leave the room, he also cries when I drop him off at daycare. I really don't like this separation anxiety stage! It makes me feel awful!

His schedule is pretty  predictable these days. He's still taking four 8 ounce bottles and baby food twice a day. I'm about to add a third meal in there as well. I have started giving him some bites of real food and he's taking them like a champ. Never once has he gagged on anything. It still stresses me out big time for him to eat real food because I'm terrified of him choking on something, but he has shown that he's ready to start some things and I guess it's just part of it! He is taking two pretty good naps a day and sleeps the best on his tummy. He's still sleeping through the night, thank goodness! It he is asleep on his back, he likes to sleep with a blanket over his head and holds a stuffed animal. I know, it's a little scary, but he puts it there! He loves his paci too and can put it in and take it by himself for the most part--sometimes it's upside down, but he doesn't care!

And here is where the photo shoot ended! Ha!

Poor Harrison!

Harrison is like, "This is MY photo shoot! What are you doing???"

Close-up!

This is a common face right now for Harrison! I always wonder if he is teething, but there is nothing there! 

Happy 8 months little guy!

Professional Pics

About a month ago, we had some professional pictures done by Kristin Mathis. I love how they turned out, especially since I think we got only a couple of smiles out of Harrison the entire time. He was not loving the late in the day pictures, and it was pretty hot and sticky too. Here are some of my favorites!