Railroad Park

Joel and I decided to forego going to the Auburn game yesterday so that we could relax for a weekend. We woke up yesterday morning to a beautiful day! Knowing that we would be home all afternoon watching the Auburn game, we headed down to check out the new Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham. I had heard great things about it so we wanted to see what the hype was. We looked on the website Friday night and saw that they were having "Get Crunk" in the park at 10. We had no idea what this was, and truth be told, we almost decided not to go because of it! Well, for your information, it is a workout class (we're probably the only ones that doesn't know what it means!), and it was hilarious to watch the people "getting crunk." They definitely had an audience of people! It was a pretty awesome place to work out.

Back to the park itself, it has a great view of downtown.

I think it would be a great place to go relax in the grassy area on a pretty day, and maybe do a little walking, but other than that, I'm not sure that we would go back. The play area for Hudson was pitiful. It was tiny and crowded and we didn't stay there long. I think it is a good thing for downtown Birmingham though. There's not anything really like it and we did feel really safe the entire time. There is also a skate park and a small lake, although you can't fish, and there are streams everywhere. It is all landscaped so well. There were several ice cream trucks parked on the outskirts, and I know that B&A also provides some food carts during the week.

I wasn't too pleased with the guy that we passed while walking that shouted out a Roll Tide to us. Seriously, yes we were all in our Auburn get-up, but that was just not necessary.

It sure was a beautiful day to be outdoors. We were able to successfully keep Hudson awake until around 2:15 that afternoon (not all at the park!) so that we could watch a good part of the Auburn game without any distractions. Whew, what a game! We beat LSU in a close one and it was awesome! We love Cam Newton! I'm finally starting to get on the Auburn bandwagon and believing that we might actually have something this year. I've been a little reserved this year because I just thought it was too good to be true. We still have some very difficult games left though! Hudson got to witness our jumping up and down and screaming at the TV and he got right into it! We had a wild man on our hands for sure and he was definitely doing the "Warrrr, hey!" He doesn't have "eagle" down yet.

Today was church and now nap time. Hudson looked precious this morning! And even better, he slept in until 8:30! Love that boy! Ha!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Hudsonisms

I'm feeling the need to update the blog, but I have been having a hard time coming up with things to blog about. I figured I should update on a few things that Hudson is saying these days because knowing my memory these days, they will be long gone from my mind this time next week!

1. The Golden Arches - Everyone knows what the golden arches are. We would like to keep what they really are a secret for a little while longer! Hudson already eats bad enough...we sure don't need to introduce McDonald's yet! Well, to Hudson, the golden arches are "Nanas." Every time we pass those coveted golden arches, I hear a "nanas" in the back seat and the pointing begins. Some days, there is a little whine that goes along with that, like he's mad that we're not going to climb up there and get him some bananas to eat. That boy loves him some bananas. Don't pass the bananas in the grocery store without being prepared to break one off and give him some!

2. Our next door neighbor has a dog named Louey, aka "Looo-weeeeeee." To say that Hudson is obsessed with Looo-weeeee is an understatement. Every time he goes in the backyard, he has to go see this dog over the fence. There are a lot of days that Louey is inside and so one day, I just decided to tell Hudson that Louey went night night so maybe he wouldn't be so obsessed that day. Wrong! Once was all it took because now, if Louey is not back there, he will tell you no less than 1,000 times that Louey is night night. We also have a little chipmunk that likes to hang out on our front porch and Hudson just loves little "Chip." The other day, I asked Hudson where Chip was and he told me without hesitating that Chip was night night (we had never mentioned this before to him other than about Louey, and that was only once!). He is definitely associating things these days!

3. Whenever Hudson does something good, like put a block on a stack without knocking anything over or something like that, he will say, "Alllllriiiight!!!" It is SO cute! That is my favorite thing right now because he knows when he does something good!

4. When I pick Hudson up from daycare every day, we always have the same conversation about Daddy. He has always been very concerned about where Daddy is. I always responded saying that Daddy was at work. Well, now, as soon as I pick him up, he tells me that Daddy is at work. I say, yes, Hudson, Daddy is at work and we repeat this numerous times on the way home! Sometimes, I will ask him who is at home and he will tell me Mommy, Daddy, Chlo-Chlo, and Jack-Jack are at home. I have also been asking him in the mornings if he's excited about school and if he wants to go see Ms. Taylor and Ms. Allison and he proceeds to tell me about "cool" and always mentions Hadley and Caleb (his little friends at school!) and gets really excited. That makes me a happy mom to know that he's excited about seeing his buds.

5. Hudson loves books. He loves to go grab a book and say "read book." He's very demanding. One of his favorite books right now is Baby Bear Baby Bear What Do You See, and he will point out all the animals and tell you what they are. They aren't just your normal ones like cow and pig and horse. These animals include a squirrel, fox, snake, deer, prairie dog, blue heron (which he calls the blue bird) and of course, a bear. I'm definitely impressed! He is also obsessed with Goodnight Moon and loves to point out and talk about the clocks and the socks and the mittens and the kittens. Oh and of course the red bawoon! He always says "the end" when you are done with a book.

I know these pictures have nothing to do with this post, but I feel bad doing a post without any pictures. These were taken tonight after dinner, hence, the dirty mess that Hudson is! We all went outside and chased bubbles. When Hudson would pop one of the bubbles, he would shake his head and say something about bubbles like "take that, bubbles!". We couldn't understand everything, but he was certainly saying something to that poor bubble. We were cracking up. Anyway, that's all for tonight! Here's to a fun, relaxing weekend, and an AUBURN win!

What a Weekend!

This post is going to be REALLY long! We have had a very busy weekend so you will see why the blog has been somewhat neglected of late.

These two took the red-eye from Cali on Thursday and arrived here first thing that morning. We all went up to the cabin in Mentone for the night.

Check out her bling! It is absolutely beautiful. He did such a great job!

We had a few fun corn hole toss games on the back deck--always a fun time!

Hudson loved the little dogs!

We ate at the Wildflower Thursday night and had a wonderful time. They had live music so Hudson was very entertained.

This picture below was taken Friday morning. I thought Hudson looked so funny with his leg crossed holding the remote. Although it looks like we had a dandy time watching cartoons in bed, he was not interested in the least! This laying down lasted about 2 seconds!

Hudson helping Big Daddy out in the yard...

We went down to Desoto National Park for a short stroll that morning before heading back to Birmingham. Hudson loved holding his grandparents' hands! He wanted nothing to do with me, but that's the usual when any of the grandparents are around!

Hudson doesn't look too happy in this picture...that might be because he did a major nose dive into a rock (see his right eye!). Luckily, he was just scratched and the tears didn't last for long. It could have been bad though! Let's just say that hiking was not his thing (I guess that would make him MY child! Ha!).

We headed back to Birmingham around lunchtime and then headed to Davenport's for dinner and then Boo at the Zoo that night with the Kincaid's. It was FUN!!!

This picture just about sums up the night--Hudson going one way and Hunt the other. I felt bad for poor Megan being 7 months pregnant and having to chase Hunt around that zoo. He was wild! So was Hudson, but Hunt is 4 months older than Hudson so I found out that I am really going to be in for it in a few months. I thought Hudson was fast now, but he was nothing compared to little Hunt!

The puppy dog costume actually went over pretty well. He refused to wear the hat, but that was expected.

We went on a train ride and it was a lot of fun! Hudson looks SLEEPY!

We did the backwards carousel and had to ride the TIGER! Hudson couldn't stop talking about the tiger. It was so cute. He had a blast on it.

There was a ton to do at Boo at the Zoo and we didn't get to all of it. Two hours in, we made it to the carousel and then I started to smell a stinky. It was close to 9 (2 hours past Hudson's normal bedtime!), so we decided to ride the carousel, pet the animals in the petting zoo, and then head out. When we got to the car, I was going to change Hudson's diaper. It smelled so bad by this point that my clothes were starting to smell from holding him. I know, probably TMI! I realized very quickly that this was an explosion so we took Hudson's costume off. It was everywhere! And, to make matters worse, he then peed on himself and the car! I can't remember the last time he has done this! We didn't have enough wipes, so we just had to make do and put Hudson in just a diaper and strapped him in the carseat. Poor buddy, he was so tired, but we had to bathe him when we got home because he stunk so bad. It was not a fun end to the night, but we are still cracking up over it. My, how Friday nights have changed around here! I wouldn't change it for the world though! It was so fun to see Hudson have a blast at the zoo.

Saturday, we dropped Hudson off at my parents house and then headed to Auburn for the game. Wow, what a game we got to go to!!! We put up 65 points against Arkansas...although, it was not like it was a blow out because our defense was so bad. It was exciting though. A big thanks to my parents for keeping Hudson for the whole day so we could go!

I got to see two of my very best friends from college. We stopped at Danielle's tailgate where they were smoking a pig (lost my appetite after seeing a whole pig lying there!). Danielle was on her way back to DC after living in Texas for the last few months, so I'm so glad I got to see her!

We then saw my good friend Meggan and sadly I didn't get a picture of us! She lives in Gulfport so I was SO happy we got to see each other this weekend!

If we look sleepy in the picture below, we ARE! It had been a long day so far and this was towards the end of the game. We were exhausted from all the ups and downs from that game! It was stressful!!! I guess that's typical Auburn fashion though. Thank you Cam Newton. He is AUsome!!!

We got home around 9 last night and watched a little bit of the Bama game before calling it a night. This morning, we headed back over to my parents to visit with Carrie and Andres before they left, and then the whole fam had a celebration lunch for the newly engaged couple! Talk about exhausted...Carrie and Andres went to Tuscaloosa yesterday for the Bama game (yes, she is for the other team), and they left at the end of the third quarter and got home after midnight. I think they were ready to get on the plane so they could get some sleep!

Hudson got into one of my parent's kitchen drawers and found the foil. Before we knew it, he was rolling the kitchen. He and Blaine had a blast playing with it!

After lunch, we said our SAD goodbyes to Carrie and then I headed to Blaine's last baseball game of the season. Blaine did so well at his game! For his first year playing, he was awesome. It was so fun being at the ballpark and I just get giddy thinking about Hudson playing in a few years. I can't wait!!!

I'm exhausted just typing all that we have done over the past few days. I have decided that next weekend is a "no plan" weekend. I might just sit at home ALL weekend and do nothing! Ok, probably not, but right now that sounds so good to me. It was a blast, but I'm TIRED!!!

Old Baker Farm

Joel and I caught the horrible stomach bug last week, at the same.exact.time. It was a doozy. We both got sick at midnight on Tuesday night and it lasted all day on Wednesday, and we were still not feeling 100% until today. It's pretty bad when both parents are so sick that you can't take care of your own child. Joel's dad came over at the crack of dawn Wednesday morning and got Hudson and didn't bring him back until 7 that night, and put him straight to bed. We were so thankful for their help! We were completely unable to care for him. Luckily, he never got it. That is truly amazing.

Yesterday, we were desperately needing some time outside of the house, so we all headed down to Harpersville and went to the pumpkin patch at Old Baker Farm. I was so excited about it! Of course, it had to be 100 degrees yesterday. Poor Hudson burned up in his long sleeved shirt and pants, but he had to wear a pumpkin outfit to go to the pumpkin patch!

Hudson loved these little tractors and threw a fit when we had to leave them! They also had a live band, which was a lot of fun.

They had a little animal area with all of Hudson's favorites...goats, pigs, horses, cows, turkeys, and rabbits! This was definitely his favorite part!

Hudson kissing the calf!

He LOVED the calf! Joel had to hold him back or else that poor calf might have been strangled by our little Hudson! Ha!

He also loved the little chicks!

After the animals, we got on a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch.

The pumpkin patch was NOT a hit. It was actually a disaster and we pretty much just had to grab our pumpkins and go! Hudson did not like it at all.

Our child was the only child throwing an all out FIT in the pumpkin patch. Time to go!

In his defense, it was really hot out there and he had a hard time walking. He kept tripping and when his hands hit the dirt, you would have thought it was the end of the world. He hates having anything on his hands!

On our way out, we got to ride the tractors one more time before throwing an all out mega fit, kicking and screaming, all the way out to the car. I think it was naptime!

I will say that we will definitely go back next year! There was a lot for Hudson to see and do. They even had a corn maize and a hay maze that I wanted to do, but our time was limited with little man being so cranky. Even Joel said it was fun, and that's a lot coming from someone would probably have rather been sitting in front of Gameday all morning instead of driving to Harpersville! Ha! It was $10 a person with under 2 free, so we paid $20 and got 2 pumpkins and had a fun morning. It was well worth it! I think next year will be better with Hudson when he might actually be interested in finding that "perfect" pumpkin!

On our way home, I got the phone call that I had been impatiently waiting on all morning long...Carrie is ENGAGED!!! Yay!!! I'm so happy for my little sister I can't hardly stand it! I've had to keep this little secret for a while now and I'm SO glad that she finally got what she wanted and now we can start wedding planning!!! I can't wait! She's coming home next weekend and I just can't wait to see her with that bling on her finger!

Today has been "take back our house" day. After being sick last week and lazy this weekend, our house was out of control to say the least. Our maid didn't get to come last week, so it was cleaning day! I forgot how much I hate cleaning and it reaffirmed that the cost of having a maid is SO worth it (for us!). I will sacrifice in many other ways not to lose that! Ha!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

War Eagle, Hey!

The three of us headed back down to the plains this weekend, and we ALL went to the game! We were fully expecting to be gone by halftime with naptime looming, but Hudson LOVED it! We stayed all the way to the middle of the 4th quarter and only left because Auburn was up 52-3! Hudson would have definitely made it the whole game. We were shocked to say the least at how well he did.

Our attempt at a family picture...not so good!

It got really hot during the game, but Hudson hung in there. We had lots of food, drinks, books, coloring books, stickers, shakers, etc...we were prepared! For a lot of the game, he sat on the ground and played, and even picked up an old peanut shell or two--yuck! We just let him do it though. He was happy and it wasn't going to kill him! Our only issue was keeping him from hitting the people in front of us, and especially taking the shaker and poking the old man's bottom in front of us. It still makes me laugh that he was trying to do that! Luckily, it was just LA-Monroe and not a big game and the people in front of us were SO nice about it. They kept telling us how good he was being! Believe me, we were surprised too! And, Joel and I watched pretty much the whole game, which was awesome!

I'm sure Joel never thought he would be reading "Where Is Baby's Belly Button" during an Auburn football game! Ha! My how times have changed!

Hudson loved the band and when everyone would clap, so would he. He got really excited. When the players were about to run onto the field and the smoke came out of the tunnel, Hudson started yelling "hot, hot." We were laughing so hard at him.

There was just so much to look at and see, he had a ball. He was all about the "feetball" game!

As soon as we got back to the car, Hudson conked out. He was exhausted! It was such a fun day though and we might just be willing to take him to another game! Gotta start him early!

Here is Hudson before church this morning. Time to break out the pumpkins, fall is definitely here!!!

19 Months

Hudson is 19 months old today. He is turning into a little boy right before our very eyes! Don't let this cute smile fool you...he can be SUCH a mess!!!

This month, Hudson has started to say his name! It is so cute. It sounds more like Hudseen, but hey, it's close! He will see himself in the mirror and quickly tell us who he is. We were at Target recently and he saw a sign with a baby on it and said "Hudseen," like it was a picture of him. I guess that's because we tell him who the baby is in all our pictures at home and now he thinks all baby pictures are of him!

He is also associating things to people. For instance, he will pick up my cell phone and say Mommy (I guess that means I'm on it way too much!). He also talks all the time about Migi and Pops and the boat. I hear that about 5 times a day! When Joel and I are both in the room, Hudson will always identify us and will also say Chloe and Jack's name (our dogs) to make sure we all know who everyone is! It is cute! He talks about Daddy ALL day long when he's not here. Joel says he does the same when I'm not there (I think he's just trying to make me feel loved too), but it's ALL about Daddy most of the time around here! He loves to open the door to our downstairs where the garage is and look and wait for Daddy to come home.


He HATES to have his teeth brushed. You would think we were torturing him. I have to hold him in a head lock to even get the toothbrush in his mouth, and he screams the entire time. I even let him brush my teeth after we're done and I let him hold another toothbrush the whole time. I've tried singing a song to him during it (I would cry too!) and I've tried doing it in the bath--nothing works.

He loves all things that move--cars, trucks, planes, boats, tractors, motorcycles, golf carts (tons in our neighborhood!) etc. and can identify all of them at the appropriate times. I guess that is a typical boy for you!

He also loves all things with buttons to press. We can't pass an elevator without him wanting to get on it and press the button. He loves to press the garage door button. He is also obsessed with keys, especially ones that have the red panic button. Our neighbors probably think we are crazy because Hudson presses the panic button so many times and the car honks non-stop! On the honking note, Hudson loves to hear the horn honk and says "beep beep" to any honking or beeping noise.

Hudson is a little OCD about having his high chair cleaned off when he's done eating. We know he's done when he rips his bib off. He will then pick up his plate and sippy to hand to you, and will clean up every little crumb that is left on his high chair. It is so funny. He has also started putting up toys when we ask him to. I think daycare is doing wonders with this! The other day, he had tupperware in his hands and I asked him if he wanted to go outside, figuring he would drop the tupperware where he was and come on, but he first went and put the tupperware back in the cabinet before coming outside. I was amazed!

He is repeating almost everything that we say. I can't even list all the words that he knows. He loves the word "open", which is more like "opa" to Hudson. It wins the word of the week. We've heard it no less than 1,000 times this week. Everything has to "opa." He also loves to tell us how big baby Elmo is. I need to get this on video because it's so cute. It's a book we have and whenever you show him the book he says "Melmo sooooo big!" I feel like we understand a lot of what comes out of his mouth, and he understands most of what we say as well.

He loves to toilet paper roll the bathrooms and to flush toilets. Like I said, he's a mess. There is no going to the bathroom in peace around here anymore. Speaking of bathroom talk, he says "poo-poo" when he has a dirty diaper (most of the time--sometimes he just says it when he sees a diaper). Either way, I am liking knowing when the big event has happened!

He is taking one nap a day, usually 2.5-4 hours long. He goes to bed around 7 or 7:30 and sleeps until 7 or 7:30 in the morning (sometimes he gets up before 7, but that is rare and I usually make him stay up there until 7--something about seeing 7 on the clock makes me feel better, especially on my off days!).

Hudson is wearing 2T clothes, but I'm afraid all the clothes that I bought for him this fall aren't going to last very long. He seems to have gone through a growth spurt recently because everything is looking a little short (and all those who know me well know that I don't do short pants--major pet peeve!). Luckily, things to vary by brand and buttons are moveable, so hopefully we can make this stuff last!

This picture below shows a good comparison of how Hudson looked last Christmas as to how he looks now. His Christmas card picture is above him. He is such a little boy now!!! He LOVES climbing up into this chair and getting to the computer (and the bubbles in the cabinet).

And then, here's my crazy child...picture this in motion...

Hudson is SO fun right now. While I do like him going to bed at 7, I have found myself wanting him to stay up later recently because he has been so much fun. I can't wait to see what the next month has in store!