Everyday Life with the Nevilles

Full Weekend!

2012-01-23T10:55:00.000-06:00

This weekend was busy...but lots of fun. Trey and I decided to pack up the boys and spend the night at the lake on Friday night. Hudson loves going out there and it's a good change of scenery for everyone. We cooked dinner and played and relaxed. And John Robert is finally getting used to sleeping out there...yipee!

We came home just in time to meet Fricks at our house. Natalie and Ty had a wedding to go to and couldn't find a sitter, so we happily offered to keep Fricks. He and Hudson get along so great and have so much fun together. They ate dinner, played, took baths, played, ate snacks, played...did I mention they ate and played??? They got a little messy, so Fricks took matters into his own hands and helped us clean. I may fire our housekeeper and just let Fricks clean the house from now on.

After baths, we settled the boys into Hudson's bed to read books. I thought maybe.....just maybe they might fall asleep.....but, it was a no go. After about 45 minutes, I took Fricks downstairs and we watched cartoons until his parents came to get him. I think these boys are still a little young for a sleep over!

We had another busy day on Sunday. Heather and her sweet family came over to meet us and go to the stock show. Colt and Hudson had a blast together! And when I say we went to the stock show, I really mean we went to the Midway to ride the rides. They did ride a horse though!

There's Colt and John in the background. Both Colt and Hudson loved the horses.

John Robert just chilled and looked cute.

Colt and Heather on the merry-go-round

The boys wanted to go down the BIG slide. So Heather and Trey took them while John and I stayed with the babies and played paparazzi.

Next up? the choo-choo train, of course. Don't let this little train fool you...this sucker went pretty fast and whipped around those corners. It made me a little nervous. And I don't think Colt was a big fan. At all. But, he stuck it out for the whole ride!

After the stock show, we headed over to our favorite restaurant....Joe T's! Unfortunately, since it was 75 degrees on January 22nd, there were tons of other people with the same idea. The line for the patio was ridiculous, so we ate inside instead. I think everyone liked it and JR and Sula had a great time people watching. It was a fun day!!!

In other news...........

Today is a big day for Trey and I. We're celebrating 13 YEARS of marriage.

Wowsers.

Can't believe we've gone from this:

To this:

Either he makes me laugh a lot.....or I my mouth is just open all the time. Hmmm.....

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

Cheers to many, many more years!

Weekend Recap

2012-01-16T16:54:00.000-06:00

I've been knee deep in planning my cousin's (Erin) baby shower for the last couple of months. I wanted it to be super dooper cute. I had so many cool ideas and some of them didn't pan out. Who knew it would be so hard to plan a shower with 2 kids under the age of 3 under your feet all the time? Anyway - I did get most of them out there. However.......................I'm a total idiot and forgot to bring my camera to the shower. Who does that???? Apparently, me.

I got a few pics with my phone, but they don't do it justice. I'm so sad.

Table in the entry as people walked in - there were probably around 50-55 people.

Notice the white cloth diaper with Eva's initials. I had 25 of these monogrammed (by my mom..thank you) so that Erin could use them as burp cloths. Some have her initials and some have her name.

Erin LOVES candy, so it was only natural that we would have a candy bar at her shower. Glad she already had that glucose test :) I ordered all of the candy from Candywarehouse.com. Much cheaper than trying to buy it at a candy store. Plus you can pick whatever colors you want.

Obviously, we went with purple, white and lavender.

The bags had stickers with Eva Marie's initials and each guest filled up a bag to take home with them.

Part of the table. I can't believe I didn't get better pictures. This was before I made the executive decision to move the drinks to a different location.

The shower was from 11-1, so we did a brunch theme with quiche, fruit, french toast, bacon, mini cinnamon rolls and banana bread...along with cookies to finish it out.

Because there wasn't enough sweet stuff.

French Toast sticks...

Fruit cups - I did all berries and found little appetizer forks to go in each one.

Lemonade for those who didn't want to partake in wine or mimosas (not me).

I used mason jars, tied a piece of twine around them and found the striped straws on Etsy.

And the onesie cookies. These were assorted colors of purple, white and gray.

The Momma to Be and her Mom

Everyone had a great time. Plus...Erin got some darling things!

Can't believe she only has 6 weeks left. Doesn't she look cute??

Moving on....the rodeo and stock show is in town, so we decided to take the boys to the stock show yesterday. The weather was perfect.

First stop - the Ferris Wheel. We can see it from our deck at the house and Hudson has been obsessed with it ever since it went up. I thought he would chicken out before we got there, but he was determined.

Then he wanted to ride the dragon roller coaster. I let Trey do that one with him.

Next up - drive dat monster truck!!

And finally....he wanted to ride a horse. It was just his speed.

His horse's name was Tango.

I kept thinking in my head - "Maybe the Tango ate your baby" - Seinfeld, anyone?

And yes, I know it's really dingo, not tango.

He was very serious while riding Tango.

John Robert hung out and did what he does best....chilled.

And that was our weekend!

Now.....it's time to start planning Hudson's 3rd birthday (tear).

And....Trey and I are celebrating our 13th Wedding Anniversary!

Just typing that out makes me feel very old.

John Robert has doctors appointments galore coming up.

Update on all that later this week.

Ciao.

Rainy Day Thoughts

2012-01-10T11:14:00.000-06:00

1) I might have the best niece in all of the world. Katie Belle (you love it) came into town on Thursday to see the boys before she had to go back to school. She offered to babysit for us while we had a night out on the town. Thank you, Katie!!

2) Steroids make you hungry. John Robert is on steroids (which I hate) because he still can't breathe. It's been almost a full month of this crud. He's on a 30 day breathing treatment and we just finished a 3 day oral steroid....but I'm getting off subject. He's an EATING MACHINE. The kid can't get enough. He weighed in at almost 18 lbs. the other day. Holy FATTY! (Which leads me into the next thought)

3) I'm starting CrossFit. And I'm scared. I haven't worked out since last October. Yes, you read that right. Pray for me that I can move after my first session. My friend told me they put buckets out in case you puke. What the hell am I getting myself into??

4) I think Hudson asks : What's That? and Why? at least 679 times per day. Just ask Katie.

5) Pinterest really makes you believe you can make anything. After I look at it, I believe I'm superwoman and I can take on all kinds of new projects. Trey hates me.

6) Speaking of Pinterest. I made these enchiladas on Saturday night and I have to say....they were delicious. I even used low fat sour cream and reduced the cheese by 1/2 cup. Still awesome and easy! Try them, I say.

7) I'm hosting a baby shower for my cousin this weekend and I can't wait to show y'all pictures. So many cute ideas. And I would show you a few, but she reads the blog and I want it to be a surprise :) Stay tuned for the update.

8) John Robert is about to be 7 months old. How is that possible????? And how did my 3.5 lb baby get to be this chunky monkey??

8) My family is funny. And strange. And we usually surround ourselves with those same kind of people. This little endeavor took place over Christmas when Hudson brought out his new underwear from Santa. That's just how we roll. And I love that my parents neighbor, Susan went right along with the fun.

9) I'm amazed at how many people still have Christmas decorations up even on January 10th. I saw a few houses this morning that still had their lights up. And I even saw one last night that had their tree still lit up. Come on people!

10) I think that's it.

Christmas Day and a New Year!

2012-01-03T11:40:00.000-06:00

Christmas Day was great this year. Of all the days to sleep in, our kids decided to do it ON Christmas Day. That was a treat in itself! Hudson woke up first and we went ahead and let him open presents. We figured that John Robert wouldn't remember this Christmas anyway, so we let him keep sleeping.

It was so fun to watch Hudson this year. He really got into it and understood for the most part.

Next year will be even better, I'm sure.

He was very excited about his stocking. That was always my favorite part too.

So happy.

Trey's parents came over to give the boys their gifts. We made both of the grandparents a photo book of our year. It turned out good, if I do say so myself. They loved it.

I finally woke up sleeping beauty around 8.30 or so.

He liked his toys from Santa too.....and Hud seemed to like JR's toys too. Whatever.

Big brother helped him out by opening his gifts from Mom and Dad.

While we ate a breakfast casserole, John Robert got to taste sweet potatoes for the first time. I think it's safe to say that he enjoyed them!

The boys were supposed to be in matching pj's, but JR spit up all over his on Christmas Eve so I had to wash them. I changed him back into them and got some pics in front of the tree!

I won't even go into their Christmas Day outfits and how I totally ruined Hudson's adorable Santa shirt by accidently washing it with red pants. Turned it pink. Still makes me mad to think about.

Love this pic.

Later that morning, we went over to my parents house to exchange gifts with them.

Apparently, Santa visited their house too. Hudson was so excited!

(please notice his plain white shirt.

It was supposed to have a super cute Santa on it just like JR's..damn it)

Moving on....... his Vespa from Anthony & Josh!

Austin got an iPhone 4S....complete with Siri. He's in heaven and can now text message. If he has your phone number, I suggest you watch out. He's a texting machine now.

I got the following the other day: I LOG INTO MY MONTANA.

Maybe Siri's not so smart afterall. Or there's a slight possibility that she doesn't understand Austin.

I'm still wondering what he was trying to tell me???

Goodnight iPad???? For real??? Is this how our parents felt when Atari came out?

Hudson got a camera. His photo skillz are incredible.

I never realized how clean my parents hardwood floors are.

Austin got a certificate for Great Wolf Lodge. His favorite.

JR was just happy to be there. He loved his little stackable lamb too.

Hudson got a tricycle too.

Josh, Anthony and John Robert. Such good Uncles.

Austin made his annual Christmas toast. Wouldn't be Christmas without one!

That's his girlfriend, Jessica. They've known each other all their lives.

This is how Hudson spent most of the afternoon after a busy morning. Don't judge. He was quiet.

We don't do much on New Year's Eve anymore. This year, we decided to go out to the lake and spend it there.....relaxing. Change of venue. Hudson was ready for that after being out of school for 2 weeks.

The lake is still so low that we have a huge beachfront in front of our house. Normally, there's no sand at all. Water straight up to the retaining wall. The beach is fun for Hudson though.

We need rain so bad!!!

Lately, Hudson has gotten very in tune with his emotions. And he likes me to take pictures of him doing his different faces.

This is his sad face.

His happy face.

And this is his surprise face in case you couldn't figure it out.

We don't have a lot of toys at the lake, so Trey rigged up a little playpen for John Robert.

Poor, Poor 2nd child.

This is how we brought in the New Year.....at 6pm. :)

And by 6.45.....this little guy was over it and ready for bed.

New Years Day was spent lounging around eating good food, watching football

and visiting with friends.

Hudson and Trey got some fishing in....

Justin and Jane came out for awhile with John Cosby

A little Ring Around the Roses action.....

Perfect way to spend the start of a new year.

Happy New Year! Cheers to a great 2012!!!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-28T04:30:00.001-06:00

I was going to try and fit Christmas Eve and Christmas Day into one post, but there's just too many pictures. We celebrated Christmas Eve by going to church with Trey's parents (it's become a tradition). They also gave Hudson several small gifts and wanted him to open one each day in the days leading up to Christmas. He loved that!

This picture is from the one he opened on Christmas Eve morning.

It was Kevin the Crane from Thomas and Friends.

Chunky monkey in his Christmas pj's.

I don't think I posted any Christmas decoration pictures, so here's our tree.

I got smart this year and bought all shatterproof ornaments for the bottom of the tree.

The mantle

The stairs and the piano

A Christmas Eve tantrum. It wouldn't be Christmas without one of those, right??

After church, we went over to my Aunt and Uncle's house. This year was interesting with a 2.5 year old in their house - it's not "baby or toddler proofed" so Trey and I were playing defense all night to make sure Hudson didn't knock over any trinkets or spill on her new couch. Next year will be even more interesting with Hudson at age 3, John Robert at 18 months and new baby Eva Marie (my cousin is prego) will be 9 months by then. We may need to change venues at some point to a more kid friendly location.

Aunt Erin couldn't wait to give Hudson one of his gifts.

A big Curious George floor puzzle. He loves it!

Hudson's cheese face. Such a ham. Not sure where he gets that.

Ms. Evelyn and the boys. We love her. She kept my grandfather company and was a great friend to him after my grandmother died. We've kept in touch with her even after Papa passed away.

Anthony, Mom and John Robert without his helmet :)

And another one of this sweet boy.

The Guncles. Figure that one out.

John Robert loved his stuffed animal pillow from Evelyn.

Erin opening some goodies for Miss Eva Marie. She won't be spoiled at all.

A Family Pic. JR was donezo.

Eva Marie already has a pink cadillac. It has pedals, so she won't be able to use for 2-3 years, but she's got one! Perry says it's a USED car because Hudson's already driven it.

He didn't seem to mind that it was pink at all.

Hudson and I made cookies for Santa earlier that day. We set them out with a glass of milk (even though Santa prefers red wine and beer) and we left some carrots for the reindeer.

I've never seen Hudson go to bed so quickly. And we really thought he'd be up at the crack of dawn. But..... he didn't wake up til after 7.30 and we had to wake John Robert up at 8.30!

Christmas Day coming up next........

Catch Up

2011-12-27T10:16:00.000-06:00

Wow. I've been a bad blogger lately. And I've been told that I need to catch up. Funny how many people actually read this little blog and I didn't even know it. So.....here goes......

1) John Robert caught a "cold" which turned into the dreaded RSV. One day he had a slight cough and within 12 hours his cough sounded so bad it would make you jump out of your skin. It was literally the scariest thing I've gone through as a parent. Even worse than when he was in the NICU. At least I had nurses and doctors around during that time.

After 3 trips to the doctor, 2 trips to the hospital, 2 sets of antibiotics (on day 7) and 10 days later.....he was finally on the mend....just in time for Christmas Eve (shew!) He's still very wheezy and congested, but his breathing is much better and he's eating again. Poor baby lost 4 lbs. over the last 10 days - we're back down around 13 lbs. I know it doesn't look like it from this pic. He's like his mama with those big ole chubby cheeks!

Here's the sweet pea in his swing.....all smiles!

(my pictures are from my phone these days. sorry.)

And another pic. He's such a happy baby.

Even when he's sick, he can still crack a smile.

Poor Hudson was feeling neglected because all my time was being spent taking care of the little peanut. So...we had a day to ourselves and went to the museum. I love our city. This museum is so great. So many cool things for kids to do.

We didn't know it, but Santa just happened to be at the museum while we were there so Hudson jumped at the chance to sit in his lap again. Sidenote - this Santa was awesome. The set up was awesome. And it might just be the best kept secret in our town. There were TWO people in front of us. Took less than 10 minutes to see Santa. Definitely remembering this for next year.

The museum has a couple of new rooms dealing with colors and shadows and glow in the dark stuff.

So cool.

This table was really neat. Not sure how much it costs, but it was for sale in the gift shop.

There are pegs all over the table and you fit the different lego type shapes into the pegs and they light up different colors. Hudson made a robot.

Remember Lite Brite??? I wasn't allowed to have it because it had too many pieces and made a mess. However, my older cousin had one and I loved playing with it when I was at her house. Check out this massive Lite Brite!! I think I may have had more fun with it than Hudson.

In other news - Hudson is a singing machine. He sings all the time. Even makes up his own songs. Here he is in the bathtub (again) singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This kid cracks me up.

On Friday, the 23rd...I picked up Anthony and Josh at the airport. They're here for 10 whole days! My parents had a little get together for those people who couldn't come to the wedding and wanted to support them and wish them well. It was fun and they got to see lots of friends. Good food too! Are y'all ready for this???? We're serious about our spreads here in TX. A good friend named Robin Heim did all of the food. She's fabulous. And her presentation is out of this world. Get ready.......

Her artichoke dip

Fabulous fruit tray

Blue Cheese and Brie

More cheeses and assorted crackers/breads

The kitchen spread.....

Mini twice baked potatoes

There were also several other passed appetizers...like cream cheese/jalepeno baked triangles (to die for!) and lots of venison sausage. She really out did herself. Even Mr. Food Producer, Anthony was impressed with her mad skillz :)

Sadly, I'm finding out that with 2 kids in tow...I don't have many opportunities to take pictures at parties. Those were all taken by Anthony. More to come on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Down. Set. Hut-Hut...

2011-12-06T10:17:00.000-06:00

Our smallest munchkin has decided to be a football player for a few months. Not really.

In all seriousness, we had to get John Robert a helmet this past week. He really favors his right side and constantly lays on that side when he sleeps...therefore, his head has become flat on that side. It's actually pretty severe. The most severe cases start around 11% on the measurement scale and JR was at 19.6%. We have to get that percentage down to 3.5% before the helmet can come off. Seems like a big task to me, but the doctors assure me that it will only take 12 weeks.

Here's a picture of the munchkin with his new helmet.

Don't let him fool you. He's smiling in this picture, but he really doesn't like it much. During the day, he's great about it. When it comes to sleeping in it at night?? Not so much. Last night, he was up 4 times.

So much for my "sleeping thru the night" baby. UGH!

He's supposed to wear it 23 HOURS per day. Yes, you read that right. Poor baby.

I've also set up a physical therapist for him. He'll be 6 months old next week....which means in premie months - he's almost 5 months. But....he's still not doing things that a 5 month old should be doing. We're still having trouble with his head control. If I lay him on his tummy....he HATES it. Won't lift his head up at all. Can't push himself up with his arms. Hasn't rolled over yet. The list goes on and on. So, I'm hoping some physical therapy will help him out. I'm trying not to stress about it.

Say some prayers for us. Thanks.

On to other news.....Jolly made his debut at our house last week.

Jolly has also forgotten to go the the North Pole 3 times already. Why the hell can't I remember to move this thing??? Luckily, the weather was bad this weekend so we blamed it on the weather and said it was too rainy and foggy for Jolly to make it to the North Pole. Hudson believed it.

I'm not entirely sure he's grasping the whole Elf thing just yet. Next year will probably be better.

My mom took Hud to visit Santa at the mall last week. This picture reminds me of one of those awkward family pics for some reason??? Is it just me?

My aunt Berta sent Hudson an advent "garland" this year. She made it and each little stocking is filled with dum-dum lollipops. Hudson is head over heels for lollipops these days.

He especially loves the ones that will turn his tongue blue

My dad had rotator cuff surgery a few weeks back. He's about to start his physical therapy too. Maybe he and John Robert can do it together?? ha!

He's had that brace on his arm for almost 6 weeks now.

I have a few more Christmas presents to buy, but I'm finished for the most part. That feels so good! Now, if I can just keep Hudson from trying to open all the gifts under the tree. The whole "Jolly is watching you" line isn't working so well.

Tonight is our annual "Girls Christmas Party" at my cousin's house. It's always a fun time. And we have several more over the next couple of weeks. Tis the Season!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T10:59:00.000-06:00

We started off Thanksgiving morning by having everyone over to our house for a kolache breakfast. This was really just my mother-in-law's way of getting everyone OUT of her house so she could cook and get things ready for Thanksgiving lunch :)

The kids had fun playing around on scooters and running all over the place.

We have an alley in back of our house, so it's perfect for riding bikes and scooters!

We also have 2 empty lots on either side of us. One has lots of trees to climb.

Look at Hudson - he wants to be one of the big boys so bad.

Zach - he was the birthday boy too.

Miss Grace. She literally posed like this for me all on her own.

All girl.

After awhile, the guys took all of the kiddos to the park so that JR could sleep in peace.

We made our way over to my in-laws house a little later for Thanksgiving lunch.

Uncle Houston and John Robert

Mammee and JR - she loves her baby boy.

It's party pic time!

Austin and Katie Belle (I love it that Hudson calls her Katie Belle now)

A rare pic of the hubby and I.

My brudder and me

The little kids table - Hudson's going to town on those mashed potatoes!

One of the adult tables

There's always some rough housing......

Cousin Sawyer is usually the leader of the pack. The little kids love it!

Uncle kept an eye on John Robert - "he's too yiddle for dat."

Since it was Zach's birthday - my MIL bought this darling turkey cupcake cake.

How cute is that??

Hudson enjoyed his cupcake for sure....the icing at least.

Grace put on a show for us - this girl is hilarious. Love her. Sassy pants.

Trey, Gran-Gran and John Robert

Our little turkey

After lunch - Trey and I dumped off the boys with my parents for their naps and we headed off to watch the Cowboys beat the Dolphins!! We have season tickets, but this was my first game of the season.

So much fun! And they won.

On Friday - we went out to Trey's aunt and uncle's ranch. It's become a Thanksgiving weekend tradition and we love it. Hudson adores hanging out with all of the kiddos and exploring the ranch.

This year, Jeff built a swing in one of the barns for the ~~adults~~ kids.

Even Austin had a go on the swing. Look at everyone coaching him.

I think he was a yiddle nervous. It's higher than it looks.

I did it too and I was nervous!

Ashley and JR - I'm thinking babysitter pretty soon, aren't you???

Sweet Caroline and Sarah with JR

After lunch, we took the Ranger out to look at the property for a bit.

Hudson loves to see the cows and goats.

The kid is totally over the camera. Such a boy.

Family photo! I was sad that it was too cold and windy for JR to join us.

Lots of goats. And this was Austin's 2nd nervous moment of the day. The goats will literally jump up into the Ranger. I thought Austin might have a heart attack after I told him this. The 3rd nervous moment of the day came when a bull started running towards us. Austin was yelling at Trey to "GOOOOOOO!"

And then he decided to take matters into his own hands and drive us all himself.

Stud.

It was a great day and a great Thanksgiving!! Hope you all had a wonderful one as well.

I'm still in the process of decorating for Christmas. The tree is up though.

And Jolly the elf made his debut this year. More on that later.

Have a good week, peeps!

Lately....

2011-11-23T14:30:00.000-06:00

I have a post about Trey and I's weekend getaway, but I'm still waiting on someone to send me a few pictures, so that will have to wait a little longer.

Instead - I'll tell y'all about meeting up with Heather! I "met" Heather through blogging about a year or so ago. She and I connected because we both have boys around the same age. Come to find out, they're only 3 weeks apart! And now, she just welcomed a new baby girl who is 3.5 months younger than John Robert. Anyway - Heather and her family just recently moved to the Dallas area from Nashville, so I wanted to get together and meet her in person and let the boys play. We decided to meet at the Dallas Arboretum last weekend.

This was my first trip to the Arboretum. They have it decorated so cute!

Hudson patiently waiting to meet his new buddy, Colt.

It didn't take very long for them to warm up to each other.

Hay maze

"Look Mommy - dat's dee end of da line"

Pretty pumpkin house. There were several of these.

Tried to get a picture of both boys in front of the frog. Hudson looked at the camera in one pic (sort of)

And Colt looked at the camera in another pic (sort of)

I bet this is gorgeous in the Spring. These are all crepe myrtles.

Playing in the water is always fun.

Lots of castles to play in....still couldn't get them both to look at the camera at the same time.

Colt being goofy

They got along so well - even the rough housing was in good fun.

They hugged it out.

I hesitate to even post this next pic. It was 90% humidity on Saturday and I was having a horrible hair day. Don't judge.

All in all - it was a great outing! The boys got along wonderful and Heather is as sweet as can be. I didn't get a single picture of Miss Sula. She was sleeping the whole time and I didn't want to disturb her. She's as precious as can be! Can't wait to meet up with them again. :)

In other news - check out this chunkin. Would you have EVER believed that he weighed 3.5 lbs???
It's crazy. Does he even have a neck? So funny. Cute, little chunky monkey.

He's gotten very verbal lately and he loved playing with his toys!

More chunky pictures. I just can't get over it.

Hudson had his Thanksgiving program at school last week. It was hilarious. My friend, Suzi and I were laughing so hard that we were crying. Watching 2, 3 and 4 year olds sing songs is really amusing. Especially because there are some kids who really like the spotlight!

Here's Hud and his class with their turkey hats.

And after the program with me

I just love his school. They do so many fun activities and he's learned soooo much. I'm so thankful we decided to send him. He couldn't be happier.

And he loves his teacher - Mrs. Christie.

Have y'all started your Christmas shopping?? I'm happy to say that I'm about 85% complete. Just a few more gifts and I'm finished. Yippee!

Judging from our playroom - I really don't think Santa needs to visit. Seriously??

This is just ridiculous. I cringe to think what it will look like as John Robert gets older.

We had family pics done last weekend and I'm hoping we got some good ones, so that I can start my Christmas cards. I'm ready to decorate. This is my favorite time of the year!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I have so much to be thankful for this year! xoxo

Backseat Driver

2011-11-09T10:12:00.000-06:00

Hudson has become quite the backseat driver these days. I have to really watch my driving because he'll call me out on everything. Some recent conversations:

1) Stopped at a red light and about to turn right. I start to go and H says:

H - "No, Mawmeee...dat light is red. Red means stop."
Me- "Hud, you're allowed to turn right on red after you stop."
H - after thinking about it for a minute. "Red means right. Green means left."

Not exactly, but we've got time to work on that.

2) I went through a yellow light yesterday and I sped up to get through it.

H - "Mawmeee.....dat light was lellow. Cars sposed to go slooow on lellow."

Thanks, Hudson.

3) I guess I have a habit of taking my seat belt off as we turn on to our street. I did that a few days ago and got reprimanded from the backseat.

H- "No, Mawmeee....not take dat off. Buckle up, Mawmeeee."

For real????????

Gotta love this kid.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-07T11:08:00.000-06:00

So, I'm a little late on posting about our Halloween, but I'm the type that says: Better late, than never. Right?

I swear, I felt like we had more going on with Halloween this year than we usually do for Christmas. When did this holiday get so big??? We started off at our annual Halloween party at the country club. It's always fun for the kids because it's the first time they get to show off their costumes.

I let Hudson pick out his costume this year and he chose Buzz Lightyear.

"To Infinity and Beyond.........."

He's loving lollipops these days.

Buzz and Batgirl - cuties!

He's looking at Princess Izzy like - You ain't gettin' my lollipop, princess. Back away....

Some of the younger kids were precious! I didn't dress John Robert up for this party. He slept through the whole thing anyway. I swear, if it's loud .... he's asleep.

These two cracked me up -

Thing 1 and Thing 2 --- what a great idea! They even acted like them.

Madeline the kitty cat wasn't too sure about them.

This is sweet Lila. Hudson developed a major crush on her. And we think it might be mutual.

Best costume of the night.

Disco King Hayes. I love this kid. And I can't believe he wore that wig for as long as he did.

See what I mean??? Major crush. Hudson would run up and kiss Lila. After about 3 times, Lila started kissing him back. Hilarious! I don't think Lila's daddy thought it was too funny though.

Next up was a party at some family friends house. They've been doing this party for 20+ years.

My mom and dad always dress up. Let me preface the next pictures for you.

My parents wanted to be called: Gammie and Pops for their grandparents names.

Hudson could never get it right and he started calling them: Mammee and Box.

So, that's what they dressed up as this year. I always joke with my mom that Mammee sounds like a big ole' overweight grandma, so that's how she dressed...complete with stuffing.

And there's little pumpkin John Robert!

And of course, here's Box.

Hudson had fun riding around on this tricycle. We didn't even know he knew how to pedal, but he hopped right on and went after it. Please notice the lollipop....again.

And last but not least -- we had Hudson's school party!

Complete with cupcakes and juice. Not sure why he's trying to eat like a dog??

Hudson's table of friends. I think they put all the wild boys together :)

I love this picture. Sweet boy.

Hudson with his pumpkin.

He told me: "Look Mommy - dis punkin has blond hair just yike me!"

And that was our Halloween. We didn't even trick or treat this year. A friend of mine decided to invite everyone to the park instead. We set up a big table with food and drinks and let the kids play on the playground with their costumes on. We enjoyed adult beverages and conversation while they ran wild. And they still got cookies and candy. I'm thinking we might need to make that a tradition.

Worked out perfectly.

Hope you all had a good Halloween too!

Next up...our weekend getaway.

Parks and the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-31T11:28:00.000-05:00

I know, I know.....I've been terrible about keeping up with the blog lately. I just can't seem to find the time. And I must confess - I have a new love affair. Pinterest! Totally and completely addicting. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

The weather has been beautiful here, so we've been taking full advantage and spending lots of time at the parks around town. Hudson is a climbing machine. The kid will climb on anything. And his imagination is wild. He's always "climbing over a wobbly bridge" or "whoa......I'm falling into the water." and all kinds of stuff like that. Cracks me up.

This big "rock" is a favorite.

This was one of the pretend wobbly bridges

And a real bridge

No fear - climbed all the way to the top of this thing.

Loves the swing too.

Trey was calling him a little Colorado boy when he wore this.

The vest is from Fatty's (pizza) in Breckenridge, CO - one of our favorites.

John Robert snoozes most of the time while we're out and about. If it's noisy and loud - rest assured, he's sounds asleep. I'm thinking he likes noise because he was a NICU baby and got used to people around him all the time.

He's getting a little more wide eyes these days. And he's getting better about holding his head up, but we're still not there yet. I'm thinking the doctors were correct when they said his true age was around 32-33 weeks (instead of 35.5). I think my due date was wrong all along. He smiles a lot these days!

I took Hudson and his best buddy, Fricks to the pumpkin patch yesterday. This is the best one we've found so far. Lots of stuff to do with the kids and it's all FREE. Gotta love that.

Sweet boys holding hands

First stop - the bounce house slide, of course. Hudson ran straight for it.

Fricks wanted nothing to do with it at all.

On to the pumpkins...

He tried this last year too. Sorry buddy - a little heavy for ya.

They had a blast playing in this little jail.

Then the little choo-choo train went by and they zeroed in on it. It's pulled by a tractor.

So......off we went.

We crammed into one little car. Super comfortable.

And this guy driving the tractor was not a timid driver. He was doing donuts and we were holding on for dear life. Not a pleasant ride, but the boys liked it.

Off to run through the pumpkins

I tried to encourage this the most. It was pretty crowded, so at least I could see them when we were out in the pumpkins. I lost Hudson about 4 times over by the bounce houses and hay maze.

That kid can run FAST. Thank goodness Fricks likes to stay close.

Finally talked them into riding in the wagon for a bit.

They were still infatuated with the train and the hay ride.

Fricks wanted to pull Hudson, but he didn't get very far.

Hudson - will you sit still and say cheese for the camera just one time??

Thanks so much.

Still watching the crazy train driver do donuts.

Silly boy

Still looking at it..............

It started to get super crowded around noon, so we headed back to the car for a little picnic on the tailgate before driving home.

Such a great pumpkin patch! If you're in the D/FW area, I highly recommend it.

Happy Halloween to everyone!!

I'm off to Hudson's school for his Halloween party. Lots of pics to come.

Busy anyone???

2011-10-24T16:17:00.000-05:00

I'm kind of missing the lazy days of summer right now. Not the temperatures though! Fall always brings lots of activities and busy schedules for everyone. And it's no different for us. The weather has been fantastic around here lately so we've been doing lots of outdoor activities. We went to a rather disappointing pumpkin patch a couple of weekends ago. It was closer to our house, so we decided to give it a try. We were not impressed, but I snapped a few pics anyway. We're heading out to our favorite pumpkin patch this weekend with lots of friends, so be prepared for picture overload next week :)

Always a fan of the bounce house

Does he look like a blond carrot top or is it just me??

Tried JR out in the Baby Bjorn facing outwards....he's not quite ready for that yet.

Can we say bobble head??

Fall is my favorite season of the year. I love pumpkins!

Hudson took his pumpkin picking very seriously this year.

We went through about 25 before selecting the perfect one.

And then he insisted on bringing home this "banana pumpkin, Mommy."

I posted about the Texas Rangers being in the World Series. I had to deck both boys out and try to get a couple of pictures. It didn't work out so well. Neither wanted to cooperate.

John Robert is starting to hold that head up a little more. And he's growing like a weed.

He smiles a lot and he laughed for the first time this past weekend.

These two look so different to me.

Keep in mind though - Hudson's hair was straight and brown when he was born too. It didn't start changing colors or getting curly until he was about a year old. Will be interesting to see if John Robert's hair does the same.

I'm amazed at what a good big brother Hudson is. He's so sweet to John Robert. Always looking out for him and always wanting to hold him or "give him sugars"

Trey and I were running errands with them this weekend and JR was crying in the backseat. Hudson immediately said - "It's okay John Robert - we're almost there." I guess he's heard us say that before. Gotta love those toddlers.

Did you know there's a birthday circuit??? HA! We've been making our rounds lately. It's been out of control. Who knew that Hudson and John Robert would have a busier social life than their Mom and Dad?

This is Fricks. Hudson's best bud. It was his 2nd birthday last weekend!

Precious boy.

The kids had so much fun running around. The pinata was a big hit....no pun intended :)

Here are the boys looking on as they hang it from the tree.

Fricks taking a whack at it.....

Hey Hud - it's the other way, buddy!

Hudson picked up 2 pieces of candy and was satisfied. Cracks me up.

And one of these. What are these called anyway??

My friend, Kim spent the entire party holding John Robert. She has 2 boys as well, but they're older now. She was definitely getting her baby fix.

She rocked him right to sleep.

This past weekend was spent potty training. We pretty much stayed close to home besides the 2 birthday parties we attended - with NO accidents, I might add. Yay!! I'm still putting him in a diaper at night - but he's woken us up 2 days in a row around 5.45am to tell us that he needs to potty.

So that's a good sign, right??

Tomorrow is a school day, so I'm nervous about how that will go. Cross your fingers for us!

We're going to a Halloween party tomorrow night.

Hudson decided to be Buzz Lightyear this year. Stay tuned for pictures!

Have a great week!!

TX Rangers!

2011-10-20T14:54:00.000-05:00

So...unless you're living under a rock or you just don't like sports at all, you probably know that the Texas Rangers are in the World Series right now. I'm not a huge baseball fan. I like it and enjoy going to games, but it's not something I can sit on the couch and watch. (I'm a football girl) With that being said - the playoffs and the World Series have been anything but boring. It's been so fun to watch! And we even got to go to one of the playoff games.

Hudson's best bud, Fricks and his mom, Natalie invited us along for an afternoon game. We had the best time and the kids did great! Our friends, Holt and Rachel joined us as well.

The boys before walking into the stadium

Aren't they darling? I love these boys.

Our seats were awesome. 7 rows up behind the dugout. It definitely kept the boys interested.

Tried to get a picture of the whole crew - didn't work out so well. Rachel looks good though! :)

Poor Rachel was a super trooper. She's due in a few weeks, but she was all smiles.....

except when Natalie and I decided to get a beer. hehe

Hudson's 1st Ranger Game!! I'm sure there will be many, many more in his future.

Somehow.....Trey finangled a ticket too. :)

It was such a fun day! Thanks Natalie and Ty for the tickets!! And the Rangers won.

Nelson Cruz hit a Grand Slam to win the game. Woohoo!

Wedding Weekend in Houston

2011-10-11T10:44:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was our first road trip with BOTH boys. And, I'm happy to report that it was a success! The boys did awesome on the 4 hour car ride. Hudson didn't sleep a wink, but he entertained himself and us throughout the drive. We only stopped once and that was at the beginning of the trip to get gas. I think we heard Hud sing his ABC's at least 1,981 times. John Robert fell asleep as soon as we pulled out of the driveway and didn't make a peep until we got him out of the car at the hotel. Yay!!

The reason for the trip?? My cousin, Whitney's wedding. Hudson was the ring bearer. Now, please don't hate me because I didn't get a ton of pictures. I was busy playing defense - keeping Hudson away from the cakes. Trust me. This was a big task. And I definitely didn't want to be "those" people who's kid puts their finger in the brides cake! We all took to calling Hudson "The Tazmanian Neville" for the weekend. He wasn't bad at all. Just WILD. Running and climbing and singing and laughing. I might need to invest in a leash for this kid. Is that allowed??? :)

I only got one picture at the Rehearsal Dinner - and it was on my phone. The staff at the restaurant was so great to Hudson. They made him his own meal of chicken fingers and potato strings while we dined on lobster risotto and lots of other yummy stuff.

On Saturday, we met my long time BFF - Courtney and her newest addition - Cash for a quick lunch.

Courtney and I have known each other since we were in kindergarten.

I can't believe we now have 2 boys that are only a few weeks apart. Wish we lived closer!

Cash is actually a month younger than JR - but obviously much bigger.

JR's catching up quick though! Bad picture quality....sorry.

We had to be at the wedding early for pictures. Which meant that Hudson had a ton of time to run around the club and explore.

Look at this smarty pants face - seriously?? Caroline was the flower girl and she tried her best to keep Hudson in line. She was a big help. Darling little girl too!

Lilliana helped look after the kiddos after the reception started so that we could all enjoy ourselves a little. It was perfect. They had a room reserved upstairs with toys and movies and they brought dinner to the kids.

This is Hudson's serious face. He knows he's getting ready to walk down the aisle.

I guess he's concentrating??

This was the only picture I got of the main room where dinner was served. It was gorgeous!

After dinner, we all moved into another room where the bride and groom (or the brides parents :)) surprised everyone with music from The Spasmatics!! So fun.

They're an 80's cover band and it was awesome.

This picture has a lot of meaning behind it. Wanna know why??? I snapped this right after we found out the judge who was marrying Whitney and John had not shown up yet. This was at 5.45pm. The wedding started at 6pm. Doesn't Whitney look calm?? She must've had a Xanax. ha! Just kidding. She really did remain calm though. That's my Aunt Roberta too. I think that was a nervous laugh.

So, John and his father raced around River Oaks Country Club trying to find someone who was ordained that could conduct the ceremony. They finally found a bartender...yes, a bartender who agreed to do it. They quickly printed off vows from the internet and the wedding started around 6.15pm. It was hilarious. Maybe not to Whitney and John, but the guests all got a good laugh out of it. The bartender was pretty funny and did a great job.....especially with such short notice. The original judge showed up around 6.45pm ----- he thought the wedding started at 7pm!! Holy cow. Whitney and John decided for legal purposes (just to be ABSOLUTELY sure) that they would have the real judge marry them again in a private room. So they did. And all was good. What a story to tell.

This is what Hud looked like while we were waiting on a new "judge"

Daddy and his boys. Don't they all look so handsome??

Apparently, I was the only one taking pictures because I got absolutely none of myself with the bride or my boys. Nice.

My mom and Hud before the ceremony. He looks thrilled, no?

Oh wait.....we DO have another son. His name is John Robert. Have y'all met him? Poor kid gets overshadowed by his older brother quite often. I bet that changes pretty soon.

Sweet chunkin of a boy. He's over 10lbs. now. And he's almost 4 months old!

So sweet.

He's smiling and trying to laugh these days. I love it.

Hudson walked down the aisle perfectly. He was on his best behavior. Then he lasted about 10 minutes into the ceremony and I had to grab him and make a mad dash for the nearest exit because he decided to start acting like a lion. And this is what he looked like afterwards......

And that was our weekend. Shew! We survived the road trip, the wedding and all FOUR of us staying in one hotel room with an infant who still wakes up in the middle of the night.

Congratulations to Whitney and John!!!

Who are now sailing around the Mediterranean on an incredible cruise.

ABC's - This and That

2011-09-29T11:02:00.000-05:00

Goodness gracious - where did September go???? This month flew by. I don't even remember what we've done. I'll try and recap a quick summary with pictures, of course.

First off - Miss Sass came to visit and meet the kiddos. Jenn brought Liam over and they had a good time playing together. Or Hudson had a good time taking away every toy that Liam tried to play with. That's probably a more accurate description. Sass kept calling Hudson 'chunkin' and he was NOT a fan.
"NO- I not chunkin. I, Hudson!" And in true Sass fashion - she argued with a 2.5 year old about it. Gotta love her! Liam was super excited about this picture....can't you tell?

This one is even better.

We also spent some time at the lake - just chilling out with friends. Hudson had a great time with his buddies, Fricks and Logan.

It seems like we've had a birthday party every single weekend for the last few weeks and more to come in the next month. Last weekend, we celebrated Lucas with a birthday train ride and then lunch at Loveshack.

This is his "Cheeeese" face

Enjoying a cake pop at the train depot. He ate two of them!

Next up....lunch. Tried to get a picture of all the kids. This is the best I got.

We went to the zoo with Hudson's buddy Sheldon last weekend too.

My first attempt at getting them to look at the camera. It worked out well, no?

This is inside the MOLA exhibit. They played on these phones forever. It was hilarious.

And air conditioned....so we didn't hurry them along :)

You're probably wondering where John Robert is in all of this??? Well....he's been along for the ride. His pictures pretty much look like him laying on his back or sleeping. Over the last week though - he's starting to become very aware of things. He loves being under his activity mat and he's smiling a lot more. Now...if I could only catch it on camera! Here's a few pics of that little peanut.

And he's even holding his head up better these days....yay!

This outfit was supposed to be his "coming home" outfit from the hospital.

He's just now wearing it at 3.5 months old. ha!

We go back to the doctor in a couple of weeks for his 4 month appointment. I can't believe it!

Hudson just turned 2.5 on Sept. 8th and has gotten very into singing lately. One of his favorites is his ABC's.... I caught it on video last night as he was taking his bath. I love this kid!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!! Lots of college football on TV and of course, more birthday parties for us.

Wedding Weekend in NYC

2011-09-21T21:33:00.000-05:00

What a fabulous 4 days we had in New York. Anthony and Josh's wedding could not have been more perfect. It was beautiful. It was fun. It was awesome. I wasn't prepared with how emotional I would be during the ceremony. Luckily, a squirrel distracted me and I saved myself from being a blubbering mess. More on the squirrel later. Hang on....here we go..........

Maggie, Coco and I arrived on Thursday afternoon. We wasted no time in getting down to business. Wine and cocktails, of course. Bottle of red. Bottle of white.......sing it with me. Love me some Billy Joel.

Thursday wasn't about Anthony and Josh. It was about this special lady - my MOM!! We celebrated her 60th birthday on Thursday evening with a cocktail party at Anthony and Josh's apartment building. Lots of friends, lots of booze and lots of fun! This gift from one her best friends is so appropriate. She knows us well. I love it.

After cocktail hour(s), we all split up and went to dinner at various places. Several of us headed straight to Kefi - one of our favorites. Mediterranean food. Delicious. Laid back. Coco's favorite. No pictures of the meal. Sorry.
After a great dinner, we met up with Anthony and Josh and his friends. They picked the bar and of course, we had a blast. It was so much fun! Awesome music. And then they started a drag show with some crazy, funny entertainment. I'm probably not using the correct terminology (drag???). That's Tina Turner up there on stage, I think. Or maybe it was Pat Benetar. I can't remember. All I know is that it was hilarious. And fun. So fun that we stayed out til 3am. WHAAT??

The next morning, we weren't feeling so hot. But we bucked up, ate lunch and went down to see the 9/11 Memorial. Or tried to. The actual Memorial tour is sold out until mid-November. So....just in case you're thinking about going to NYC to see that - book ahead and plan. We did not. Therefore, we saw lots of construction. Just being down there is pretty surreal. There are lots of plaques and memorials all over the streets. It's sad. Ten years later and it still made me cry.

The new tower going up - it's going to be bigger and better.

See that church in the background? As the towers were crumbling, people were running for cover into that church. This cemetery withstood it all. And so did the church. Some of these tombstones date back to the early 1800's. Pretty cool. And if you know Coco....you know she's fascinated by cemeteries. Maggie likes this kind of stuff too. They're two peas in a pod, I tell ya.

One of the many memorials....

Okay -- on to brighter things. The "rehearsal dinner" was on Friday night. We would've missed it had my aunt not informed us that it started at 5pm. For some reason, I thought it was 7.30. Don't ask. We made it and enjoyed some margaritas and mexican food!

The 3 siblings....

Josh, Shannon and Anthony - Shannon and Anthony used to live together until she flew the coop to move across country to L.A. - she's responsible for all of my Chan Luu jewelry. I love her.

Josh's dad giving his toast. Both of Josh's parents gave very moving toasts. Sweet and funny.

Erin, me and Courtney - not sure where Mags was??? Taking the picture, I bet.

We planned to go home and go to bed early on this night, but we ended up drinking wine at the apartment until 2am. We solved the world's problems for sure. I think we covered every subject out there. No joke. And then we had the BEST turkey sandwiches EVER....according to Maggie and Courtney. Maybe I wasn't drunk enough???

On Wedding Day, I had to be in hair & make-up at 3pm. That sounds super fancy, doesn't it?? Well, it was. Anthony arranged for the hair and make-up guru's at Good Morning America to make us beautiful.

See?? Here was our room. Right next door to Robin Roberts dressing room.

Patrick doing Mom's hair

Handsome boy.

The grooms bellying up to the bar before the ceremony - cold feet?? I don't think so. These two were the happiest I think I've ever seen them.

Anthony and I

The grooms and me!

The ceremony was in Madison Square Park. It's hard to put into words how awesome it actually was. Austin and I stood up with Anthony, so I don't have any pictures of the actual ceremony, but I hope to get some once the professional pics come in. There were probably around 150-175 people. There were also strangers standing outside the park by the fence - taking pictures and videos. People were crying. People were cheering. It was just incredible. Anthony and Josh's previous roommate and friend, Carrie officiated the ceremony and did a wonderful job.

She was funny and she made it personal. That's the best kind of wedding!

As we left the park, Anthony and Josh had baskets of noise makers for everyone. We all grabbed one and did a "Wedding March" to the reception place. Try and picture 150+ people walking along the streets of Manhatten with nosie makers - let me help you - People were honking and screaming Congratulations!!! out their windows. People were high fiving Anthony and Josh as they walked. It was like nothing I've ever experienced. It was so nice to see people ACCEPTING this MARRIAGE.

And being genuinely happy for them as a couple.

We arrived at the reception site and the real party began. They wanted it to be casual and lots of fun. They chose one of their favorite spots in NYC and reserved the downstairs room. Good food. Great music. Lots of booze (again) and wonderful friends and family!

Mason jars filled with flowers and tied with twine

The cake - they also served mini pumpkin pies (Josh's favorite) and several other bite sized desserts.

That's my bouquet over to the left - Gorgeous and modern.

Anthony and Josh making their entrance --- love the TEXAS flag behind them. You couldn't wipe the grins off their faces.

The party began with a country music band - they were great...though I don't think these New Yorkers really appreciate country music :)

Austin wasted no time in grabbing a pretty girl to dance. The kid's got game!

Lots of dancing - and this was before the DJ even started.

Steve and my Dad wanted a picture with some pretty ladies - this was after several Scotch's :)

And of course, Austin had to jump in. Pretty ladies?? Austin is always right there.

Look at him with his thumb up. We're trying to get him to break out of his shell. It's difficult.

Goofiness

Family pic!

Josh and Anthony got up on stage to thank everyone - Still smiling.

And then the real toasts began. Austin.....of course. You know how he loves to make toasts.

The funniest part was - my mom told Austin to make it short and sweet. Only 2 sentences.

He did his 2 sentences and got a huge round of applause, so that opened the gates for more talking. About 5 minutes later....he decided he was finally finished.

And then Miss Lara gave the greatest toast of all times. Everyone was crying because they were laughing so hard. She has such a way with words. I wish I could remember some of the one liners she threw out because they were great! I know someone has to have the whole thing on video. If I get my hands on that, I'll post it......fo sho!

I guess Maggie and I both forgot to pick up the camera for the rest of the night and the trip because that's where the photos end. Let me assure you - we danced the night away. I've never seen my dad dance so much. I don't think any of us left the dance floor until the DJ quit. So much fun!!

We were all sore the next day. I seriously had shin splints.

I was looking forward to the trip to NYC, but I don't think I realized how much fun it would be and how much I would enjoy watching Anthony and Josh start this new phase of their lives together. I'm so happy to welcome Josh into our family....I just hope he can handle it :)

CONGRATS Anthony and Josh - I love y'all so much!!!

Thank you for including me in such a special time in your lives.

2.5

2011-09-08T14:09:00.000-05:00

We interrupt our regularly planned sweet post to bring you some news about the terrible 2's.

This little guy is 2.5 today.

And we're feeling it, people. Boy, are we ever feeling it. There are really, really good days. And then there's those days when there's not enough red wine in the world. Yesterday was one of those days. (And let me add that I'm doing a cleanse right now, so I can't have red wine. Ugh!)

Hudson started off the day with a few "time out" sessions for not doing what he was told to do. You know...like not getting dressed, not picking up his toys, hitting John Robert, etc....etc... He finally straightened up and I dropped him off at school for the day. He's usually very good at school. In fact, he's had all smiley faces since school started and we're almost through the 2nd full week. He's also been the "Snack Helper" and the "Line Leader" a couple of times, so I had no doubt that he would be on his best behavior. I mean, kids are always worse for their parents....right??? Wrong.

When I picked up Hudson from school later that day, his teacher met me at the door and asked if I'd heard about their day yet. Um....no. And I'm thinking to myself - oh shit, this can't be good. She proceeds to tell me that he was sent to "time out" FOUR times for not sharing the toys in the classroom. Her words exactly - "He was very territorial today." And then...............he tried to bite another little boy for playing with one of the toys that he was hoarding. WHAT????

Now, I have to say that I wasn't too terribly surprised because we had a biting incident at our house the other night. Hudson bit Trey on his arm. Hard. Enough to break the skin and leave an ugly blue and yellow bruise on Trey. We handled it though and I thought he understood that biting was a big, fat NO-NO. His teacher went on to tell me that he didn't actually bite the little boy, but he came close. Shew! After that incident, he was sent to the director. Miss J tried to talk to him and let him know how wrong biting was and disciplined him again. He was then told to go downstairs and apologize to the little boy and his teacher for acting out. Needless to say, there was no smiley face on his calendar yesterday.

On the car ride home, we talked a lot about how sad I was about the way he acted at school. Hudson's response: "Be Happy, Mommy." We talked about what the consequences would be if he acted badly at school again. "Mommy - be happy!" Looking back, I should've immediately told him that I was taking the iPad away for the afternoon/evening and not given him a 2nd chance. Oh well....live and learn. And that's what parenthood is all about, right?

I know he's testing his limits. I know that his world has been completely uprooted because of John Robert. And I know he's 2.5. But....it doesn't make it any easier. He can be so sweet and wonderful one minute and a complete terror the next.

Humor me for a bit and let me post some things about Hudson at this age - so I don't forget.

--Weight: Around 32 lbs. Height: Around 36"
--Sleeping in his big bed and has been since he was 25 months.
--Uses the potty every once in awhile, but mostly lost interest when JR was born. It's picking back up a little, so that's a good thing.
--Eats just about anything. Loves french fries, chicken nuggets (which are really veggie), broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, peas, carrots, any kind of fruit except pineapple, sausage, eggs, peanut butter, fish, and lots and lots of snacks.
--Sleeps from about 8.45 - 6.30am. Sometimes later, sometimes earlier.
--Naps from 2-4pm each day.
--Favorite toys: Matchbox Cars, Thomas the Train and everything that goes with it, Sandbox, Scooter
--Has mastered the iPad better than me or Trey.
--Still loves Curious George and continues to watch episode after episode - over and over.
--Quit watching Mickey Mouse and has now become a PBS kid. Loves Dinosaur Train, Super Why, Martha Speaks, and Sesame Street.
--Speaks in full sentences all the time.
--Knows his way around our city. For real.
--Learning his left and right. He's getting good at this.
--Knows his alphabet
--Knows all of his colors
--Can recognize his name and spell the first 3 letters.
--Counts to 20...skips a few numbers here and there, but he knows most of them.
--Knows all of his animals and what sounds they make and what they eat.

That's all I can think of right now. I can't believe he's 2.5 years old! This age really is fun. I love to hear him talk and use his imagination. I love that he asks me 5,000,000 questions in the car about every single thing we pass by. I love that when I tell him: Sweet Dreams - Sleep Tight at the end of each night, he repeats it back to me.

These are the things I have to remind myself of on days like yesterday :)

Mega Post Update

2011-08-29T16:38:00.000-05:00

I've been really bad at updating the blog, so this will be a big post with lots and lots of pictures. Most are from my phone, so the quality's not great. We've been busy-busy. JR is growing like a weed and Hudson is making us laugh to no end. The kid really is hilarious and he doesn't even try to be. This age (almost 2.5) is awesome - minus the temper tantrums, of course.

Being goofy in my shoes

Riding in "Mac" at the grocery store - Mac is the red truck from the Cars movie - FYI.

Hudson started school again last week and he's loving his new classroom and teacher. He got smiley faces all last week and even got to be the "Snack Helper" on Friday. Good boy!

Of course, I had to get the obligatory first day of school pictures -

you can see below how well they worked out.

Look at me....please!!! Uh. no.

Hudson - one time. Look at me and smile. Nope - not gonna do it.

Let's try over by the car.

How about if Daddy holds you?? Nah, not so much.

Fine - then I'll just grab you and force you to take one with me!

I wasn't hurting him, I promise :)

When we got to his school, he marched right downstairs and found his new classroom. One quick picture by the bulletin board - still refused to look at the camera - although he was saying cheese.

He's doing great and is always asking about his friends. I love how well he's adapted to school and he's learning so much. The things he says amaze me everyday and I know a lot of that comes from going to school. Good job, buddy!

Hud's also being a great big brother. We've been so relieved at how well he's done with John Robert. Don't get me wrong - there's always an extra squeeze or a pat that's a little too hard, but he's really pretty sweet to his baby brother. We've been doing bath time with both of them in the tub at the recommendation of a friend - thanks, Carrie! Great idea. They both love it.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeese.

We went to the lake this past weekend with some friends - it's still very low, but it was nice to just hang out. The boys got in and swam for a little bit and Hudson and Fricks had a blast! All of us were amazed at how well they played together.

Natalie and I didn't plan it - but the boys ended up wearing the same swimsuits. Gotta love Target!

Fricks needs to give Hudson some lessons on looking at the camera

On Saturday, I went over to Dallas to meet Carrie, Allison and Sass for lunch. I had never met Carrie or Sass and they didn't disappoint! :) So fun to meet up with them. We email each other all the time, but had never actually met. We took one picture on my phone and I don't like it, so I'm not posting it. Deal with it.
That night, Trey and I went to our friend, Teddy's 40th birthday party. Yes...you read that right. 40!!! How is that possible? I can still remember when my parents turned 40. I can't believe we're attending 40th bday celebrations now. And for the record - I still have over 4 years before I hit 40, so don't be thinking I'm in that category yet :) Trey and I had a great time catching up with friends.

We decided to use a babysitter for the first time and the boys did absolutely awesome. She had Hudson in bed, teeth brushed and even got him to use the potty by 8.30pm. That's impressive, people. Very impressive. I asked her if she would come back every night.

John Robert is growing and doing great. He's starting to smile now whenever I go to pick him up and I love seeing that.

He'll be 11 weeks old on WED, but we're still going by his adjusted age...which is 6 weeks. I think the doctors will go by his adjusted age until he's 2 years old. Supposedly, that's when he'll be completely "caught up" developmentally. Right now, he's definitely doing things that a 6 week old would be doing. And I have to keep reminding myself of that each day. He's sleeping pretty well. We're not on a set schedule yet, but he goes about 4-5 hours at night.

I just decided to give up nursing and I feel super guilty about it, but I think it's for the best. I've been stressed out about it and a stressed out Mama is not a good Mama. So.....he'll be a formula baby from here on out. I feel pretty good about the fact that I did it for 3 months though...or almost. Hopefully the little munchkin got all of those good nutrients and antibodies to fight off infection from me in those 11 weeks.

Sleepy boy

He's finally growing out of his premie clothes too. But...we're kind of in between sizes. The premie's are too small (length wise) and the newborn stuff is still too big. Hmmm. This little outfit is darling though. Thanks, Brenda!!

I've completely rambled through this post and I've been working on it since Sunday morning. Nice. I'll leave you with this sweet picture of Trey and Hudson walking to church. Hudson looks like such a big boy with his backpack holding Dad's hand. Love those boys.

Hope everyone has a good week!!

Ciao.

Big Brother

2011-08-20T14:16:00.000-05:00

Every morning, Hudson wakes up and tells us that John Robert's gotten bigger. Then he proceeds to tell us that JR can walk now and play now. I think big brother is ready for a playmate.

Just wait, little man - I'll remind you of this time when you're fighting with him over that Thomas train.

Conversations with Hudson

2011-08-17T15:38:00.000-05:00

This kid makes us laugh like no other. Some examples of recent conversations with Hudson at 28 months old.

Trey: Hudson, you can play with your trains for 5 more minutes and then it's time to go to bed.
Hud: *** silence ***
Trey: Hudson, Did you hear me?
Hud: ***silence *** (he's mastered this selective hearing thing already)
Trey: Hud, 5 more minutes and then bed time, got it?
Hud: Hudson hears you Daddy. (he speaks about himself in 3rd person. Seinfeld anyone??)
Trey: Do we have a deal?
Hud: Deal.

15 minutes later - (we lost track of time. Don't judge)

Trey: Okay Hudson, time to go upstairs. Put your trains away and let's go read books.
Hud: No, Daddy. I want to play for 1 more minute.
Trey: Nooo....we had a deal. Remember??
Hud: (After thinking for several seconds) - I want a new deal, Daddy.

He's a talking machine when we get in the car. What's that? What's that? What's that? And he argues with me sometimes about what it is. If I say it's a restaurant, he might say - no, mommy - that's a car store. Oh okay. The other day, this took place:

H: What's that Mommy?
S: That's a building.
H: What's that Mommy?
S: That's McDonalds.
H: No, Mommy. That's the pancake store.
S: You're right, Hud. It's the pancake store.
H: And the french fry store.
S: Good memory.

And this also happened the other day. John Robert was in his swing sleeping soundly while Hudson ran around the house like a wild Indian on speed. He runs up to JR and grabs his hand.

S: Hudson - please leave him alone. You have to be gentle. He's a baby.
H: No, mommy - Hudson wants to say a prayer for John Robert.
S: Oh....okay.
H: Dear Jesus - thank you for John Robert. Maymen.
S: Hudson - that was very sweet. Thank you.

And then he dropped JR's hand and slapped him on the head. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Stuff

2011-08-05T15:59:00.000-05:00

Not a whole lot to report these days. Just living life and trying to adjust. Two kids is a BIG change. I'm gonna be honest - some days I think I'm losing my mind. Other days, it's easy. I'm sure it will be like this for the rest of my life. Overall, we're doing good and Hudson has really changed over the last couple of weeks. He's taken a lot more interest in John Robert and his attitude is much better. We're not having 5,000 temper tantrums a day anymore. Thank you, Baby Jesus.

We've had lots and lots of visitors and tons of great friends who have brought meals to us over the last couple of months. I'm so grateful for that because there are times that I just forget to start dinner altogether. Hudson loves to have "his friends" come over. He's always asking us, "Where's my friends go?"

He and Logan had a blast playing in this tunnel. I wish we could've gotten them on video!

And Miss Ella can definitely hold her own. She let Hudson have it after he tried to grab a toy from her....hence the big scratch across Hudson's chest. That'll teach him!

The heat in Texas right now is horrendous. It puts me in such a foul mood. Why I live in Texas is beyond me because I can't stand the heat. We're melting down here. In an attempt to stay cool AND keep Hudson entertained, we've been making lots of trips to the museum....

And the pools....

My dad is a great swim coach -

Kick those feet

And my mom has come up with a new exercise plan for herself - the bicycle with Hudson!

Hudson's also been entertaining us. This hat was one that my mom made last Halloween when she dressed up as "The Man with the Yellow Hat" from Curious George. Hudson loves to put it on......

even though it covers his entire head.

Meanwhile.....John Robert is still doing a lot of this

And this

Hey....he's awake!

Hudson has become very interested in John Robert...as I mentioned above. He's always asking us if he can hold him or tickle him or feed him. Here's a few pictures of Hudson with his baby brother.

A few things...

** Hudson's last day of school is today. They're out for the next 2 weeks until the Fall semester begins. This should be interesting trying to juggle these 2 munchkins and a work schedule! Wish me luck.

**Anthony and Josh's wedding is coming up fast. I can't wait!! I'm making the trip to New York alone. Trey is staying home with both boys. Wish him luck.

**My new workout schedule begins this weekend. I haven't lifted a weight or done cardio since last October. Holy Out of Shape! Wish me luck.

**Our next doctor's appointment with JR is coming up and I can't wait to see how much he weighs. It's still amazing to me that he's not even the size of a "normal" baby yet. We're having some reflux issues, but everything else is good to go.

And that's a wrap!

Life

2011-07-24T11:49:00.000-05:00

Things are good. Even the lack of sleep isn't bothering me too much. I hate to even type this out for fear of jinxing myself, but John Robert is quite the sleeper so far. (Please Lord, don't let that change!) In fact, last night he slept from 12.30am until I woke him up at 6am this morning. And he's not even 6 weeks old yet. Let's hope that we've been blessed with a sleeper this go round because we all know that Hudson certainly is not!

Our little peanut.....who, by the way, hit the 5lb. mark on Thursday. Yay!

We have lots of cuddle time.

Big Brother Hudson wants to try out all the new baby gadgets for us.

He was also a big help with John Robert's first bath!

Trey brought home a "surprise" for Hudson the other day and they built their first Lego project together.

Such concentration....

John Robert wanted in on the action too. Look at that spiked hair...cracks me up.

The finished project.... "Cars - Big Bentley"

JR is growing like a weed. Hudson's shoulder is much better - almost completely healed. It's amazing how fast kids heal! He's still not using his right arm very much, but he's starting to test it out here and there. Let me assure you - it didn't slow him down one bit!

Trey and I are juggling work, kids and life in general and loving every minute of it.

Well...maybe not every minute :)

Keeping Busy

2011-07-16T16:27:00.000-05:00

Things have been so hectic around our house lately. I can honestly say that I was not prepared for 2 children. Wow!! How do you people with multiple kids do it??? I'm exhausted. And it's not the baby that's wearing me out. It's the 2 year old. Holy cow. We've had some issues adjusting. And then we had an accident - but more on that later.

I've been trying to spend some one-on-one time with Hudson each day so that he doesn't think the baby is monopolizing all of my time. I'm also really trying to get him involved in helping with John Robert. Bringing me a burp cloth, helping me hold the bottle while I feed him, etc...

He seems to be doing pretty well with JR overall. But, he's developed a major attitude with Trey and I. Could be because of the baby, but I'm thinking it's more just a 2 year old thing. I'll tell him that it's time for bed and he'll say, "No, mommy - I not getting in my bed." And I'll insist that he is getting in his bed and then a full-on temper tantrum will follow. It's fun stuff people. It's hard to imagine a big tantrum from someone who can look as sweet as this:

It's been so hot here. Ridiculous hot. Hudson is always wanting to go outside, so he's been spending time in his blow-up pool when we're at home.

Cheese.

He loves popsicles

Not sure why, but he wanted to lay under the table outside and eat his popsicle. Okay....

And then he decided that the pool was a better option

In JR news, we went back to the doctor last Friday for his first appointment with our pediatrician. He weighed 4 lbs. 4.5 oz! He had gained 2 oz. just since we brought him home. Yay!

Fully awake as I was talking to Dr. M.

We go back again this Thursday to make sure he's still gaining. I'm pretty sure he is! I'm hoping he'll hit that 5 lb. mark pretty soon. He's mostly sleeping these days, but he's definitely found his voice. He lets us know when he's hungry. Especially at night.

Speaking of night time, Hudson is having a horrible time going to sleep and staying asleep. It takes us over an hour to get him down each night and then he wakes up at least 2-3 times during the night. One night, Trey decided to sleep with him in our guest bed (it doesn't have rails). He surrounded Hudson with pillows in case he rolled around. Well....wouldn't you know, he rolled right thru the pillow barrier - right off the bed at about 1.30am the other night. I heard it downstairs and immediately ran up to the guest room. He was hysterical. I was worried he had a concussion because he wouldn't stop crying. He stayed up the rest of the night - never went back to sleep. Around 7am the next morning, I was playing cars with him and he went to reach for one and started crying and holding his shoulder. I called the doctor and got an appointment. They looked at his shoulder and sent us to the hospital for X-rays. Sure enough......poor kid broke his collarbone. There's nothing they can do for it either. It just has to heal on it's own. He was such a brave boy though! He's been really good about it. He just doesn't use his right arm at all.

Our niece, Katie came down from Oklahoma to help me with the boys for a few days because Trey had some things going on. She's been a huge help!! Thank you Katie Belle!!

Some snuggle time with John Robert

Some pool time with Hudson

John Robert was ONE month old yesterday. It's hard to believe it's already been a month. He's grown so much and he even has some little cheeks now. Things are good.

Home Sweet Home

2011-07-07T14:42:00.000-05:00

We're home - all FOUR of us! We brought John Robert home from the hospital yesterday around lunch time. Excited doesn't even cover the emotions we were feeling!

Last picture in his hospital crib.

The nurse is taking off all his monitors...for the last time! I have to admit that I was very nervous to take him home. I'm used to being able to watch his heart rate, oxygen level, resting heart rate, etc.... It's been sort of a babysitter. Especially when he's eating. I can look at his heart rate and make sure he's swallowing and breathing good. But I was so happy to hold him for the first time

without all those wires in the way!

Daddy was a happy camper.

Loaded into the car seat. I've never seen anything look so tiny! I was a nervous wreck.

And yes, I sat in the backseat with him.

Hudson couldn't wait to meet his "yiddle brudder"

He was so good with John Robert. He immediately looked at me and said,

"Mommy- I want to tickle John Robert." ha!

Everything went great last night. Trey gave JR his 8.30pm bottle and I got to put Hudson to bed...which I haven't done in the last 3 weeks because I was always at the hospital. I think Hudson really appreciated that and I've missed our time at the end of each night. John Robert did good too. I have to wake him up every 3 hours to eat. The doctors don't want him missing any feedings yet, so this will continue for quite awhile. Until he's at least 7-8 lbs. We brought him home yesterday at 4 lbs. 2 oz.

Hudson couldn't wait to wake up his brother this morning.

I know everyone tells you that the older sibling will regress when the baby is brought home. Um...yep, we're definitely experiencing that. Hud keeps requesting a pacifier (which he's never used) and

today he decided he should ride in the infant seat.

Uncle Austin came over to visit and got to hold JR for the first time. He was thrilled!

Sorry to bore you, Hudson....

I'm not sure Hudson's going to like sharing his uncle's attention very much!

So...all is well here. Just trying to get into a routine. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so that our pediatrician can meet JR for the first time.

Hope y'all are having a great week. And thank you again for all of the sweet comments and gifts! I'm overwhelmed by all of the gifts we've received. So sweet!

Ciao.

Update on JR & Stuff

2011-07-04T17:47:00.000-05:00

First of all - Happy 4th of July to everyone!! And thank you to all of the military men and women - past and present who help protect my freedom each and everyday. You have no idea how thankful I am.

I have to tell you that these past few weeks have really made me think about how blessed we are in the United States. This morning as I was driving to the hospital to feed John Robert, they were playing 'God Bless the USA' on the radio - you know...the one: "And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died and gave that right to me. And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend Her still today. Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land - God Bless the USA" It brought tears to my eyes because I started to think that if I'd lived in a different country and had John Robert weighing 3.5 lbs., he may not have lived. We're so incredibly lucky to have the technology and expertise of awesome doctors and nurses in this country. Thank God for that!

One of the nurses made this for JR's bed to celebrate 4th of July.

So cute! Love the handprint fireworks!

So, JR is a rockstar! He's doing awesome. One of my favorite nurses told me during our first few days in the NICU that once a baby hits the 38 week mark, something just clicks and they start to "get it". That's exactly what's happened with John Robert. I would've been 38 weeks on Saturday and all of a sudden, he's decided that he's hungry and wants to eat. A lot! Trey swears that it's because he gave JR a pep talk though.

Still has the feeding tube in this pic.

We had some visitors this weekend and they met John Robert for the first time.

Aunt Sheila and JR

Cousin Katie and JR

And remember how I talked about how lucky we are to have that technology here in the U.S.?

Check out this pic. JR had a yeast infection on his bottom from the growth fortifier that they give him, so they did some oxygen treatments on his booty. Yes, that's a styrofoam cup!

And here he is without his feeding tube. Yippee!!

Precious boy is doing so good. He hit 4 lbs. today!! 4 lbs on the 4th of July. Awesome.

He's also eating all 8 feedings by nursing or bottle.

That's why they were able to take the feeding tube out.

This is huge people. He was only doing 4 feedings on his own (and 4 by tube) 3 days ago.

They gave us great news last night. He'll do his car seat test tomorrow and may be ready to come home by Wednesday. We're beyond thrilled!! Please pray that he passes his car seat test. They put him in his car seat for an hour and a half to make sure he can handle it. Premature babies have a tendency to slump down in their car seat and when they do that, sometimes they stop breathing. This test is to find out if he can recover on his own or not do it at all. Scary stuff, but I think he'll do great! Of course, I'll be a nervous wreck every time I put him in the car. We may just stay home for the next 2 months. :)

So - that's the JR update. Thank you again for all of your sweet comments and prayers. It means so much to us. These past 3 weeks have been really hard. Emotionally and physically. Just knowing that we have such an incredible support system has been such a comfort to us. So, thank you!

And just so y'all don't think we've forgotten about our first born - let me reassure you. He's still keeping us on our toes and letting us know exactly what he wants and when he wants it. We've had lots of pool time and cook outs with friends in between hospital visits. Here's a few pics of Studson.

Week 2 in the NICU

2011-06-28T12:53:00.000-05:00

Time is flying by so fast, but not fast enough. I'm ready to bring John Robert home! He's doing good, but he's not gaining weight as quickly as everyone hoped he would. He's just now up to 3 lbs. 10 oz. The good news is....he's gaining consistently. It's just small amounts at this point. He still has the feeding tube, but we've increased his bottle feeds to 4 times per day. They tried to do 6 times on Monday and he wasn't having any of that! I think the poor little guy was exhausted. On a brighter note, he's nursing at least once a day....which is a huge step for a baby this size.

My new hat

I think I was about to find a surprise in his diaper after this big smile!

They let us dress him for the first time on Monday. It's hard to find premie clothes! And some of them are still too big for him. He's still in the incubator right now, but we're hoping he can be moved to a crib bed in the next few days. That's one of the first steps in getting released from the NICU. He has to be able to regulate his own body temperature. They've already changed the incubator over to air mode instead of heated, so he's doing a good job of regulating himself already.

You can tell how big this outfit is on him - I had to roll the sleeves twice!

He always has his mouth open like this when he sleeps. :)

The more I look at JR - the more I think he and Hudson look alike as babies.

Here's a picture of Hudson at this age:

Pretty similar, huh??? Hudson is definitely fuller in the face - but that's a given.

He weighed twice as much!

Hudson had dark hair like JR too. I wonder if that means John Robert will have a head full of blond curls by the time he's one?

I took this photo yesterday. My thumb and JR's teeny-tiny arm:

Thank you again for all of your sweet comments, gifts, cards, prayers, etc...

We are truly blessed with wonderful friends and family!

The story and an update - John Robert

2011-06-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

It's been a whirlwind of a week and I'm exhausted, but I'll try to focus and give a detailed update on John Robert's progress over the last week. He's doing absolutely awesome! I continue to be amazed at how these little babies thrive and push through difficult situations. Let me start at the beginning so that when my family and I look back at this blog we'll remember exactly how things went. Hope I don't bore y'all.

It started last Tuesday (6/14/11) when I went to my doctor for my routine 36 week sonogram. I was actually around 35 1/2 weeks at that point. As we began looking at the sonogram, the technician commented that I had low amniotic fluid. I didn't think much about it, I just figured I needed to drink more water. Then Trey asked how much the baby weighed. The tech got silent for a minute and then said that the baby was very small - around 3 lb.s 3 oz. Trey gave me an alarmed look and I asked the tech if that was normal. She said no (Hudson weighed 5 lbs. 3oz at this point). Next, we went in to Dr. K. She told me that she didn't want to scare me, but she wanted to send me down to Maternal Fetal Medicine to have a specialist look at me and the baby. Okay. Now I was starting to freak out.
The specialist did another sonogram that took forever - I swear he studied that baby for what seemed like 5 hours. He was really wonderful and had a great way of explaining things to us. Basically, he explained that my placenta had stopped working as it should and it was very small. The baby wasn't getting the blood flow, nutrients and oxygen that he needed. He also said that it had probably been this way for about 2 weeks.....which means that the baby's true size was really like a 33 or 34 week baby. He told us that he was going to put the baby on a heart rate monitor for about 30 minutes and then make a decision as to whether he would send me straight to Labor and Delivery or if he would allow me to wait and have the baby the next day. HOLY BABY!!! I lost it at this point. Seriously??? I was going to have this baby by tomorrow???

After monitoring the baby, the doctor decided we could wait until the next day if we wanted but he thought we should get the baby out as soon as possible. My mom and Trey really wanted me to go ahead and check in immediately, but I wasn't ready. I put my foot down and told them that I was waiting until the next day and I needed to go get things done NOW!!! We left the hospital and I went to the office to finish up some work that needed to be done (I know...I'm crazy), sent Trey to the grocery store to get stuff for Hudson's lunch for the week, packed my bag, did laundry, laid out clothes for Hudson to wear for the rest of the week, etc...etc...etc..... I was in full-on robot mode. I think that was my way of dealing with the stress of what was happening. Trey seriously thought I'd lost it. He was very emotional that day and I just couldn't let it enter my mind at that point. I had to do what I needed to do to get ready.

Fast forward to Wednesday the 15th. I slept on and off and then woke up to take Hudson to school. It finally hit me as I drove to drop him off. As I walked inside, some of the girls asked how I was doing and I completely broke down. Poor Hudson just looked at me and kept saying: "Mommy, hold you. Mommy, hold you." I was a wreck. I think everything hit me at once - that I was having a baby that day, that this would be the last time I took him to school as an only child, that this baby was going to have to go straight to the NICU, that Hudson wouldn't understand why he couldn't see his baby brother, and all kinds of other things. I finally pulled it together and told Hudson good-bye.

We checked into the hospital at 11.00am. My c-section was scheduled for 1.30pm. We waited and waited and waited. There were complications with another surgery, so mine kept getting pushed back. They finally took me back at 5.30pm!

Trey went out to tell the family that we had another baby BOY!

Everything went great and John Robert was born weighing 3 lbs 7 oz. They immediately took him to the NICU where they started oxygen and looked at his lungs. His lungs weren't developed all the way, so they started him on a "bubble machine" (bubble c-pap) to expand them. They also started an IV of fluids and antibiotics in case of infection. Poor little guy had more tubes coming out of him than I've ever seen. I felt so bad for him!! He's been stuck and poked more in the last week than I have been in my whole life.

We got great news on Friday morning. John Robert was doing so good that they were taking him off oxygen and the bubble c-pap machine because he was breathing on his own. I was so relieved! We could actually see our baby boy now without all those tubes on him. One of my favorite nurses let me hold him for the very first time. Ahhhhhhh......sweet boy! I've never held anything so small in my life. His little head is about the size of the palm of my hand. The pictures really don't show how tiny he is. People keep telling me that he doesn't look very small, but then they see him and are absolutely amazed at his size.

Hudson came to visit in the hospital and kept himself busy by enjoying some cookies that my "girls" sent me and playing peek-a-boo in the curtains.

We were still battling John Robert's blood sugar level. It was very high which led the doctors to believe that he may have an infection somewhere...most likely his lungs. Most premature babies have blood sugar levels between 30 and 150. JR's was around 197 and even hit 215 at one point. They monitored this several times a day until Sunday. It finally went down into the "normal" range, so they were able to take him off the antibiotics and rule out any infection. Shew! They also decided to take out his IV. I was nervous about taking him off the IV fluids because I knew he would lose weight as soon as we did that. The only tube he had as of Sunday was his feeding tube. Trey had some good Father's Day time with him.

Our main goal now is to fatten him up! He took his first bottle yesterday and did pretty good with it. The doctor warned me that premie's have trouble swallowing and breathing at the same time causing their heart rates to drop way down. John Robert definitely has this issue, but we're working on it. As of today, he's doing much better! He drank his entire bottle today without his heart rate going down at all. Now if I can just get him to stay awake and drink the whole bottle!!

So........that's where we are right now. My due date wasn't until July 15th, so the doctors say that's when he can come home, but we're hoping he'll get so fat that he can come home earlier. :)

Thank you all so much for your support, thoughts and prayers! It means so much to us and we're so thankful to have such wonderful friends and family. We couldn't do this without y'all. And I have to give a big shout out to Miss Maggie who has been there day and night when I needed her...spending the night with me in the hospital so that Trey could be at home with Hudson, driving me back and forth to the hospital, coming to the NICU to visit JR, listening to my worries and reassuring me that everything would be okay. You're the best!

Surprise!

2011-06-16T16:52:00.000-05:00

John Robert (named after his 2 great grandfathers) made his way into the world yesterday at 6.20pm. It wasn't quite planned and we weren't quite prepared, but everything seems to be falling into place. He's doing great, but will be in the NICU for several weeks as he continues to grow and develop. JR weighed in at 3lbs. 7oz. and 17" long.

Please pray for us as we continue on this journey!

My hand on his little tummy

Lake Days!

2011-06-13T09:15:00.000-05:00

Oh how I've missed being out on a lake all summer! And although the lake we're on is extremely low right now, we're hoping that will change in the next few weeks. They're supposed to be pumping some water into it because it's a water supply lake, but that hasn't happened yet. It makes for a difficult boating experience, but we're managing. Here's what it usually looks like:

Look at the docks and notice the water level in this pic.

Right now, it looks like this. We can walk underneath the docks. So sad. We need rain!!

Anywho- Hudson and I spent the night out there on Friday night while Trey went to the 1st night of his high school reunion. Uncle Austin bought Hudson a new boat that he couldn't wait to try out.

He talked Box into taking him on a big boat ride instead

He told me when he got off the boat - "Mommy, dat boat go reallly fast."

My mom has done a great job with the house. She's just about finished.

Here's a few shots. This is a view from the front door to the kitchen. Everything is very open.

This is from upstairs looking down

I'll have to get a pic of the ceiling. Trey did an awesome job. You can see a little of it in this pic.

It's one of my favorite things. And the white washed-wide plank flooring. Love it!

I didn't take any pics of the bedrooms or bathrooms. I'll have to get those next time.

Hudson woke up really early on Saturday morning, so we enjoyed the morning on the deck.

On Saturday evening, Trey and I headed back into town to go to dinner and the reunion. Dinner was fun. There were about 16 of us altogether and it was good to catch up with people. The reunion itself was pretty much a let down. Not the people. But the venue. Not a good place to have a reunion. Music was loud, no where to sit, etc.... Or maybe it just wasn't good for a pregnant girl?? haha! I made it til about 10.45pm and then left Trey on his own. :) We didn't take a single picture! So bad. I know.

The best thing about the weekend? I slept in on Sunday until 9.15am!! I haven't done that in 2 years. It was so nice. We went back out to the lake later to pick up the munchkin. He talked Trey into fishing for a little bit. We need to get him a small fishing pole for sure. He loved it.

Another look at how low the lake is. You normally can't walk down here.

It's kind of nice for Hudson though.

And that was our weekend in a nut shell.

Tomorrow is our last sonogram with Baby Neville. I'm excited because we haven't had one since I was 20 weeks. I'm anxious to see how much they think he/she weighs, if this baby has hair, etc... And I promise we won't peek and find out the sex of the baby. We've gone this long!

Trey keeps saying: "I can't believe we're about to have another baby next month." Uh....believe it, buddy. Why is this just hitting him now after 9 months of me being pregnant?

Everyone seems to think it's another boy (including me). Except for Coco. She's the only girl believer.

What do y'all think? Boy or Girl??????

House Changes

2011-06-10T15:26:00.000-05:00

~~We've~~ I've been making lots of changes around the house lately. And by using the word, I've, I mean I buy the stuff and then Trey actually makes the changes. That's how it works, right?? Yes. I thought so. Here are a few projects I've been working on over the last few months.

Hudson's new room - It's turning out to be really cute. And he's actually liking his "big boy" bed now. Can I get a Hallelujah???? I still need to find a few more things to hang over his bed and it will be complete. I also need a lamp for his bedside table, but I'm afraid he'll knock it off because he keeps 5,000,000,000 cars on his nightstand each night too.

Trey had some guys make his bed out of an old pallet we had in the garage and then we painted it blue. I really wanted 2 pallets side by side, but the wall in his room isn't big enough, so we had to make due with one.

His dresser is from IKEA. Such a steal. The drawers are even lined with cute yellow striped paper. I switched out the pulls and used some from Anthropologie instead. I also moved the framed books from his nursery into his new room.

Next......our "mud room". This was empty space that served no purpose. I stuck this bench in there for awhile just to take up the space. But then we had the idea to build in lockers instead. Perfect for hanging coats, swimsuits, storing shoes, backpacks, etc....
BEFORE

AFTER - I love how it turned out. And it keeps us much more organized.

Last but not least - my new kitchen table and chairs. I'm in love! I'm having a cushion made for the bench out of the same fabric that the cording and bows are made from on the chair slipcovers. Can't wait to get that because it will tie everything together.
This is a picture of the old table and chairs that used to be there. This pic is also from our old house, but you get the picture. Big change in the table department. And colors!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Isn't the bench awesome?? I adore it. Some family friends were getting rid of it and I immediately told them I'd love to have it. We painted it to match the table. It used to be an old church pew and it was painted green. Wish I had a before picture, but I didn't think about that til after it was painted.

Next up? The master bedroom. And of course, the nursery!! And speaking of nursery.....I now have the obligatory "going home" outfits purchased for both girl and boy. Look how cute:

This weekend is Trey's 20 year high school reunion. It's a 2 night deal, but I opted out for tonight's big shindig and will only be attending tomorrow evening's festivities. While Trey is catching up and trying to remember people's names, Hudson and I will be enjoying ourselves on the lake!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Ciao.

Court's Bebe Shower!

2011-06-06T09:58:00.000-05:00

I hosted a baby shower for my long time BFF at my house on Saturday along with my mom, Allison and her mom. Courtney and I have known each other since we were in kindergarten in Mrs. Baird's class. We sat at a little triangle table at the front of the class together and became quick friends. From dance class to cross country (ha!) to drunk escapades, we've been through it all together. Our parents can actually laugh about the stories now. And we can actually tell them the truth without getting into trouble :)

Courtney lives in Houston now, but hopefully we'll get to see each other and get our sweet babies together fairly often. Our due dates are only 4 days apart!! Okay, on with the shower pics. I didn't get to take a whole lot because I was busy.

Beverages

Yummy petit fors

I didn't even get pictures of the main course - we had chicken spaghetti, salad, rolls and an appetizer of parmesan jalepeno turnovers (soooo good and definitely a favorite!). My old next door neighbor catered the shower for us and she did an incredible job! Not to mention, the food was delicious.

The hostesses gave Courtney her BOB stroller. She loved it and was so excited!! We put the shower favors in the stroller by the door, so that people could grab one as they left. That was my Aunt's idea (Thanks Berta!)...who also helped my mom stuff the bags, make the labels and tie the bows.

They turned out so cute. I found this idea on some blog. I ordered the "mini" cinnamon rolls from a local kolache shop.

And then we printed this message on the inside of each label. Darling!

Courtney doesn't know what she's having either so this was perfect.

More pretty flower arrangements

Lots of goodies to open.... her summer Baby Bjorn. This one has material that breathes. Good idea because the one we have gets really hot. Especially in Texas.

Have y'all ever heard of this?? I had not. Victoria Beckham has one. It moves like a mom does with her child. There's a bounce, a sway, etc.... Pretty neat. Check it out here.

The hostesses: Mom, me, Court, Allison & Martha

Her cute invitation - front and back. Luckily, Courtney's last name starts with an 'N' also, so I could keep my moss N up and use it as decoration :)

Courtney and the diaper wreath....made by Allison. So cute!

And that was the shower on SAT morning. After cleaning up, I went out to the lake to meet my mom, aunt, Austin and Hudson. Austin and Hudson had a ball swimming around in his blow up pool. He's turning into quite the little fish.

We had a big day on Sunday too. First of all - let me say that Hudson blessed us by sleeping in until almost 8am!!! For those of you who read my blog all the time, you know this is a BIG deal. I finally got wise and put dark shades in his room and it seems to be working. Woohoo!

We went to the pool around noon and ate lunch and let Hudson play for awhile. It's so crazy how much of a difference a year makes. He has no problem going under or hopping right into the water. I forgot my camera, so no pics....but there will be plenty over the next few months. When he could barely keep his eyes open, we went home for family nap time (yes!).

Later that day, we drove out to the lake to eat dinner with my parents and a bunch of other people since my aunt was in town from Houston. Hudson and Trey immediately got into the lake.

He wasn't so sure about the life jacket, but he's getting used to it.

Playtime with Daddy in the lake!

And that's it. Hope you all had a great weekend too!

We've got a busy week - meetings, sip n' sees, and Trey's 20 year high school reunion this weekend!!

Life Lately

2011-05-31T15:13:00.000-05:00

I can't believe today is the last day of May. This month flew by. And there were so many things that I wanted to accomplish that have still not been accomplished. I hate it when that happens. Anywho - we've been busy bees, as usual. I'm in total nesting mode right now. Except I'm nesting every single room in the house except for the nursery. Does that make any sense at all?!?!??! Seriously - I've done nothing to the nursery. I've decided to wait until we know if it's a boy or girl. He/she won't know what's around him for the first few weeks anyway, right?? That's my philosophy anyway.

Lots of other changes have been going on though and I can't wait to show pics of all that. Hopefully it will all be completed by this weekend.......for the most part. My money tree is the backyard needs to start blooming again. I fear it may be dead though. :)

So....on with life lately. Hudson is keeping us on our toes. The kid doesn't stop. Ever. He loves to help me clean these days. Whether it's with the vacuum cleaner or the broom - he wants to be involved fo sho.

We've spent some time in our blow up pool in the backyard, but even that got too hot

So we upgraded to my parents backyard pool instead. He's loving the water this year....which makes me so happy! I'm going to sign him up for swim lessons in the next few weeks. I don't really care so much that he learns to swim (he still seems a little young, although my mom assures me that I was swimming and jumping off the dock at the lake at the age of 19 months. I'm a badass like that though.), I just want him to get comfortable with going under water and maybe learning to blow bubbles or hold his breath or whatever..... that's the goal this year. And if he does learn to swim - all the better! We'll know for sure who he takes after if that happens :)

He loves to walk all the way around the pool...right on the edge, of course.

Daddy blowing bubbles

Hudson trying to blow bubbles.....it didn't work out so well.

He's not enjoying himself at all, is he?

You know what my favorite thing about summer is?? The kid is POOPED after playing in the water for a few hours. Therefore, he ends up like this for a couple of hours:

Memorial Day just happened to be Austin's birthday as well this year. We had a little celebration at my parents house. Hudson loved the flags my parents had displayed in their front yard.

This picture makes me laugh. Hudson's like: Get on with the show people. I want some cake!

What's with the tongue??

I went to the doctor again this morning. Heart rate is still holding steady at 132. It's either a boy or a reeeealllllyy laid back girl. Next appointment is my last sonogram. The time is going by fast now. I'm starting to panic a little. But I have to remind myself that we've got everything we need if the baby was born tomorrow. And by everything we need, I mean...it's all in big storage tubs that need to be brought out of the closet!

And that's all I got today. Hope you all had a great weekend!!

Ciao.

Saturday Morning Fun & the Zoo

2011-05-23T11:57:00.000-05:00

These are what our Saturday mornings usually look like:

Hudson and I ventured out to the Zoo on Sunday. Note to self: When it's 90 degrees and 100% humidity and you're 8 months pregnant, come up with Plan B. We were hot, sweaty and exhausted by the time we left. Or maybe that was just me?? :)

He wasn't a big fan of sitting on this turtle. He's saying: HOOOLD You, Mommy.

The dinosaur exhibit is going on right now and it's really neat. They have these mechanical dinosaurs scattered throughout the Zoo. They move and makes noises as you get up close to them. I'm not gonna lie...it's a little freaky. Hudson loved this one. I forget the name. Anthony?? I know you know.

This one was really loud and lunged at you a little bit. Scared the crap out of Hudson and another little girl who was standing close by. They both ended up in tears. Oops!

Checking out the giraffes and the big fish in the pond.

The aquarium is his favorite these days. He loves watching the fish, turtles and...

the crocodiles!!

And that was our weekend in a nut shell. The new lake house is ready for move-in, so that's on the agenda for this weekend. And hopefully some fun in the sun out there!! Austin's birthday is also this weekend, so you can expect lots of pictures. He likes to celebrate his birthday all week long.

Ciao-Ciao!

Stuff

2011-05-16T11:30:00.000-05:00

This weekend was one of the many annual golf tournament's that Trey plays in each year. This one has been going on for about 10-12 years and it's a lot of fun. The guys have a calcutta on Friday night, so all of the girls get together somewhere for dinner and cocktails. This year was no different. I think there were 25-30 of us that got together this year. I was too busy visiting and forgot to take pics. So this is the only one. Fun times!

Trey was up at the crack of dawn the next day and got a great sunrise picture from our backyard.

Hudson and I ran some errands and then went to the park for a picnic since the weather was so gorgeous. It's been abnormally cool here for May. We're talking mid-70's. I'm loving it!!!

Someone loves watermelon.....

Making sure the bird doesn't get his watermelon.

He's a very neat eater, right?

After 4 pieces of watermelon. Yes, 4. It was time to do his favorite thing at the park. Walk along the ledge that goes around the playground. He insists on doing it "by self, Mommy" - "Go away, mommy." We hear these 2 phrases quite a bit these days.

In other news - this was my Mother's Day gift this year. Hubby did GOOD!! And I was very surprised. This has been on my wish list for a couple of years now. I needed a new wallet really bad. Love it!

Hudson recently opened a side table drawer and found an old paci in it. He now refers to it as: "my faborite paci" and says things like: "Mommy- I neeeeeeed my faborite paci. My blue paci." Mind you, this kid has never taken a pacifier. We tried and tried and tried to get him to take one when he was a baby and he refused. Now at the age of 2, he's decided to take up a pacifier??? Great.

I hate to tell him, but that pacifier mysteriously disappeared yesterday.

What else? I go back to the doctor tomorrow for my 32 week appointment. I'm scheduled every 2 weeks now. It's getting so close!! My mom bought two baby girl outfits this past week that are absolutely darling. I told her that I'll for sure have a BOY now.

That's all I got for ya today. Have a good week!

Weekend Happenings

2011-05-09T12:15:00.001-05:00

The weather has been great around here lately, so we've been going-going-going. It was 92 yesterday and I can tell you that I'm NOT ready for the heat just yet. I wish it would stay in the 80's for just a wee bit longer. Nevertheless, we've been spending lots of time outside.

I forgot to post about last weekend. We went to a Crawfish Boil at some friends ranch. They've done this party for the last 10-12 years and it's always a lot of fun. Funny how things have changed. I think the kids out numbered the adults this year. Hudson had a ton of fun running around with everyone and testing out new toys.....like this John Deere tractor. He loved it.

But he was still a little young to do it by himself. He couldn't get the hang of pushing the pedal down to make it go, so this guy graciously offered to help him out.

But Hudson kept saying: Self. Self. Hudson do it.

Then I think he finally realized he needed help. Look of defeat.

We moved on to some yard work after that....

And sandbox time

Crawfish! I have to be honest - the smell of them almost made me want to puke this year. Crawfish + Pregnancy = No-No.

Emery and Hudson like to play together. Emery doesn't let Hudson get away with much. She had just finished telling him to "Share, Hudson!" I love it.

And here they are on the hayride - she's telling him to look at the camera in this one. So funny.

Next on the list - Mother's Day. It was good, but it was hot! Trey and Hudson went to Target while I relaxed for a bit and grocery shopped by myself - it's the little things, people. They came home with this. As Trey said: "Honey - I splurged and got us a pool this summer!" Awesome. Our backyard is starting to look more and more like total white trash.

And to stick with that theme, we decided to let Hudson swim in a swim diaper - who needs a swimsuit anyway??? Don't judge.

Apparently, my Mothers Day gift was delivered on Friday, but required a signature for delivery and we weren't home. So.......it's supposed to come today. I'll let y'all know what I get :)

Later that day, I had to volunteer at Mayfest. It's an annual festival that's gone on in our town for the last 39 years. I went as a kid and loved it and now I get to take Hudson to enjoy it too. And....enjoy it he did!

Confetti eggs are a big tradition here. People buy trays of these and start wars with each other. Fun stuff.

Hudson with his first confetti egg of the day

I told him to go crack it on his daddy's head

Success!!

Next up - he saw this HUGE shark slide and wanted to try it out. This thing was massive. I think it took him 10 minutes to climb up the stairs.

But it was well worth it!

Vintage Mayfest sign from way back in the day. This is one of the original logos. Takes me back....

A sampling of the food - Texas Fried Frito Pie - Wow. That gives me heartburn just saying it.

Please also notice that it's called a CORNY dog. Not a corn dog. One of my pet peeves.

Hudson is happiest these days when he's playing in the dirt. Seriously.

Love this face. He had just noticed the band playing on one of the stages. Off we went...

Lots of running and "dancing"

Can't wait to take him again next year! Fun times.

Hope all you Mommas out there had a fabulous Mother's Day!!

Ciao.

Current Events

2011-05-04T05:00:00.001-05:00

I feel the need to update the blog about some current events so that when/if my kids ever read this, they'll know what was going on in their early lives. Here it goes:

1) Texas Wildfires - there were/are a lot burning across our state. Some of them very close to home. The fires that made a real impact on me were the ones in Palo Pinto county at Possum Kingdom lake. We have several friends and family who own homes on this lake and one of them lost their home completely. All that's left is the chimney. For those of you who don't know the area....it's one of the most beautiful in North Texas. Tons of trees, cliffs, wildlife, etc.... these fires have burned 100's of thousands of acres. People were evacuated and were only able to grab a change of clothes before being rushed out of their homes. So sad. You know what the worst part is?? They think that most of these fires were set intentionally by someone. Pathetic.

Found this photo here.

You can see just how bad the fires were. The sky was orange and gray. We live about 100 miles east of PK and all you could smell was fire.

Photo credit

2) Tornado Tragedy in the South - Where to even start?? The pictures and videos from this tornado are absolutely devastating. It's hard to imagine Mother Nature acting out like this. I have to wonder to myself - how do these people get up and start all over again? I would assume that many are just thankful to be alive. This was one of the worst tornadoes in our history and it spanned over several states - Alabama being one of the worst hit. And specifically - Tuscaloosa, AL. Lots of prayers to all of those people involved! Here are a couple of pics:

Photo credit

Look at how massive this thing is.........

Photo credit

3) Osama Bin Laden - is DEAD. I can remember exactly where I was the moment I heard about the 9/11 attacks back in 2001. My husband called me at work as he was watching Good Morning America. He said that some sort of missle had hit one of the World Trade Center buildings in New York City. As I continued talking to him on the phone, the 2nd plane hit and he realized that it was an actual airplane flying into the buildings. A little while later, he called back to tell me about the plane hitting the Pentagon. He told me to get in my car and come home. I worked at a military defense company (on an air force base) at the time and we had no idea if more attacks were planned. Everyone was freaked out. I can remember seeing those videos for the first time. I cried. I still get tears in my eyes when I see pictures. I cried the first time I visited Ground Zero too.

So to hear that Bin Laden.....the most evil man on the face of this earth...was killed by our AMERICAN military after 10 years of searching for him....well, I have to say that it gave me great satisfaction. Is that appropriate? To be happy about someone's death? Whether it is or it isn't...that was my feeling. And I felt it even more so after seeing news clips about Bin Laden's sons who were already training to become these horrible terrorists at an early age. It's a vicious cycle, people. And although his death won't cure the mindset of these crazy people who hate us, I can rest easy knowing that one less evil person is out there.

Photo credit

Most of my feelings were set on those that lost loved ones on 9/11. I'm so happy for them. I just hope that it gives them some sort of closure. Finally. And to say that I'm proud of our military seems so trivial. Their efforts and dedication are absolutely beyond words. Navy Seals??? Complete badasses. That's all I can say.

So......those are the current events right now. It's hard to believe that this tornado and OBL being killed will be written into history books for our children to study in school one day. It's weird to think about sitting at the kitchen table with Hudson and explaining to him the events of 9/11. I guess that's how our parents felt when we were studying the riots at Kent State or the Vietnam War.

Even with these horrific events, I still feel truly blessed to live in America. God Bless the USA!!!

29 weeks & random stuff (Updated)

2011-04-28T11:53:00.001-05:00

Yep - I'm 29 weeks tomorrow. This pregnancy has gone by really slow for me. It's always great when you see someone you haven't seen in awhile and they ask how far along you are and then say: Wow...that went fast! Sometimes I want to slap 'em. I tease, but seriously.....I still have about 10 weeks to go.

Went to the doctor today for my glucose test. Let's hope I don't hear from them. No news is good news. I also had to get my Rhogam shot because my blood type is negative.
Stats:
   Heartrate: 134 (significantly lower than last time. It was 141) I'm thinking BOY for sure.
   Weight Gain: 2.5 lbs.
   Total Weight Gain: 12.5 lbs.

I'm supposed to go back every 2 weeks now, but the nurse had mercy on me and said she would stretch it to 3 weeks. I'm grateful for that.

29 week belly pic - almost forgot this.

Hudson went with me to the doctor because Trey had a meeting this morning. He did great. He had a "Jack-like" moment in the doctor's office though. Those of you who read Casey's blog will know what I mean. Hudson saw this picture and immediately said: CHOO-CHOO TRACKS!!! Um...okay.

Austin and I had lunch with my friend, Marcia and Baby Bales yesterday. Austin was in heaven. He loved holding Baby Bales and insisted on pictures.

I'm hosting a baby shower at my house at the first of June for one of my oldest (yes, she is older than me!) BFF's, so I'm trying to get a lot of projects finished around the house. One of them is my kitchen table chairs. My cousin suggested slipcovering them like this and I LOVE IT!! I think I found some fabric and I'm hoping to get those underway asap.

Lots of other projects are in work as well. I'll have to take pics (and finish them) and do a complete post soon.

My brother's over in London right now covering the Royal Wedding. He better be taking lots of pictures (do you hear me????). Honestly though, I've barely been following the wedding prep. It doesn't interest me too terribly much. What about you?? Will you wake up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to watch Prince William and Kate get hitched?

Have a great weekend, peeps!!

Easter Weekend 2011

2011-04-25T12:08:00.001-05:00

I took an obscene amount of pictures this past weekend. So get ready. I think I took 182 pics, but don't worry....I won't subject you to them all. There are so many cute ones though. Let's begin......

Saturday morning, we headed up to our country club for the big Easter Egg Hunt. And when I say it's big...I mean BIG. There were hundreds of people there. I have to give it to the club. They really know how to do it. The hunt itself could use a little improvement. It was pure chaos with all the kids, but everything else was perfect.

Before the big hunt - What you talkin' about Willis??

Trey tried to get some pics of Hudson picking up eggs, but there were just too many people all over the place. Here we are after finding several eggs. At first, Hudson only wanted blue eggs, but he quickly changed his mind when he saw the other kids snatching up all colors of eggs!

He wanted them opened immediately

So that he could enjoy the candy inside

Uncle Austin happily obliged his nephew by helping him open eggs

Hudson and Box

They had all sorts of craft tables set up - stickers, coloring, decorating cookies, etc... And of course, tons of food. Hudson's enjoying some popcorn now while he plays with stickers.

What that in his hand you ask??? Oh, it's a cookie. This kid can eat, I tell ya.

Cousin Grace and Hudson riding the choo-choo "train". I think they were both in a sugar coma already.

Petting Zoo. Hudson loved these little piggies.

And the baby chicks. Please disregard the bunnies over there on the right.

We won't talk about what they're doing.

Quacking at the goose

After the petting zoo, we decided to call it a day. We met Trey's family at Kincaid's for a burger and then headed home for a long nap. Hudson was exhausted. And so was I.

Apparently, my son doesn't know what a long nap is though. I was hoping for at least 2.5 hours. Ha!

He barely slept an hour. Must've been all that sugar.

Since he was awake and ready for more, Trey invited some buddies over to watch the Mavericks game. We hung out on the deck and let the kiddos play.

Lucas and Hudson sharing a chair. He looks like a giant next to baby Lucas.

John Cosby had fun playing on Hudson's fire engine. Until Hudson noticed he was playing on his fire engine and quickly put a stop to that.

We had some major storms here in the Fort on SAT night. So bad that we woke up at 1am to our electricity going out. No power doesn't make for a very fun Easter morning! Luckily, I wasn't hosting Easter lunch.

The Easter Bunny was able to make it to our house without lights anyway.

Hudson's stash from EB

No, he doesn't have on cute Easter pajamas. He has on his Disney cruise t-shirt that Uncle Austin brought him back. He's very into picking out his own clothes these days. Lord help me.

Luckily, I prevailed on the Easter outfit for Sunday morning church. And yes, he has on the same shirt from Saturday. Don't worry - we washed it before the power went out. Too bad I couldn't iron it.

Chasing bubbles before church

After church - where Hudson ~~sat quietly like a good, little boy~~ ran around like a wild Indian throughout the service, we met family at the park for an Easter picnic.

Trey's really just one big kid.

See-saw time

Gran-Gran brought bubbles for all of the kids to play with. Grace loved them!

Zach's on top of this thing - not sure what you call these???

You can definitely tell that Grace has two older brothers. The girl has no fear! She's 6 weeks younger than Hudson and she gave him a run for his money. Here's she is zipping across with Houston.

Sweet girl

These two had a blast together.

Climbing.....

Crawling through tunnels....

Sliding...........and crashing.

Miss Grace lost the hem of her dress at one point, so we tied it up for her. She didn't seem to mind.

We also celebrated Grace's 2nd birthday. Gran-Gran brought these adorable cupcakes and these made for the best pictures of all.

We stripped the younger kids down. Very good decision.

They dug right in

I love these last 2 pictures

Happy Easter to everyone! Hope you all had a great one.

Did I mention that our power went out? It did.

Is it back on?? Well, no...it's not but thank you for asking. It's been 36 hours now. We've called 1,000,000,0000,0000 times to ask what the deal is. No one can give us an answer. To say that I'm mildly annoyed is an understatement. Hope your week is starting out better than ours!

Spring has Sprung

2011-04-20T09:20:00.000-05:00

I think I've mentioned before that Spring and I have a love/hate relationship. I love seeing all of the trees and flowers blooming, but my allergies make it very difficult to enjoy being outside. Especially when the mosquitos start up their biting as well. And let me tell you - they've already begun. I got my first mosquito bite yesterday and I think the same guy attacked Hudson as well. He had about 15 4 or 5 bites on him. They might be the most annoying creatures on earth. Seriously. Hate. Them. I've heard about all kinds of remedies to keep them away. Vanilla extract, Downey Dryer Sheets, OFF, etc.... What are your favorite ways to keep those pesky skeeters away??

On another note - Spring time means lots of play time with friends. We joined several friends on Saturday afternoon to enjoy the perfect weather - 75 degrees and sunny. Gorgeous! And, best of all...NO wind.

Hudson and his buddies entertained themselves by throwing ice for at least 30 minutes. Hope the guys didn't mind warm beer :)

Ice is fun.

See that dog bowl on the left? Yeah. Hudson decided to pick it up and throw it. It's ceramic. It broke. I'm pretty sure we won't be asked to come back. He also threw ice at their dog several times until I saw him doing it and put a stop to it. Then he did it "one more time" and the dog took matters into her own hands and barked at Hudson. Scared him to death. But I think he learned his lesson.

I'm guessing he can't decide which ball he wants to play with - or he's trying to decide if he can get them both so the dog doesn't.

There were 8 kids total and Hudson had a blast playing with everyone. I didn't get permission to post pics of the other kids, so I'll refrain from doing that.

Next up? My sweet husband brought me home flowers for no reason. Gerber daisies are one of my fave.

And I'm not sure what these are?? But I like them!

Sitting outside watching Hudson play every evening is hard to do without a glass of wine in my hand. I'll admit it though - I've indulged in a small glass here and there. Coco gave me these little Italian wine glasses and they're perfect for the prego lady. :) I've learned to make this little glass last a long time.

Speaking of outside - H is loving his sandbox. Thank you, Gran Gran and Grandaddy!

This video cracks me up. He's pretending to go "night-night". Love the fake snoring.

Saturday mornings usually mean pancakes, waffles or french toast in our house - occasionally donuts. Hud's request this past weekend was Mickey Mouse pancakes. Um...okay. Here was my best effort. I think it turned out pretty good!

And he seemed to enjoy them too.

We're still battling the big boy bed. He's liking it more and more, but he's still waking up in the middle of the night and crying for one of us. We finally got tough this past week and let him "cry it out". Broke my heart to pieces, but it seems to have worked. I bought a gate for his bedroom door too, so that he can't get out and wander around. He's upstairs and we're downstairs, so it makes me nervous to give him free reign up there without anyone awake to monitor his whereabouts. Don't worry - we have a gate on the stairs too, but it still makes me nervous.

The infamous bedroom door gate

Last night, he woke up at 2.30am, cried for us for about 10 minutes and then climbed back into his bed and slept until 6.45am. YAY!! Let's hope that he's not waking up at all by the end of the week.

I went to Target yesterday to pick up a few necessities ~~things I didn't really need~~ and saw this woman walking in front of me. I tried to get a good pic, but I didn't want to get knocked out in the process. It's not a good pic. Can you make out what it says across her bottom? Let me help you - it says: SOUTH POLE. Huh?? Why would you want that splattered across your ass?? I was baffled.

That's all I got folks. Hope your week is going good. Big weekend ahead with Easter egg hunts and family in town. Lots of pics to come.