Time with Friends.

Our friend Cori and her daughter Maya flew down from Alaska for a visit so we packed up our truck for a long weekend in the Dallas area. We stayed a couple nights with Dave & Becca and had a great time catching up and watching our little children play together. There is something quite special about a friend to whom you can say "remember when we were teenagers...." while you watch your kiddos play together on the floor. I had a great time just watching Hudson with Maya & Micah. He LOVED them both and would get so excited when they were around. Micah warmed to Hudson fairly quickly and they would play a game where Micah would sit on his walk n' ride toy while Hudson stood behind and pushed him down the hallway. I was so proud of all three kiddos for how well they played together. I have more pictures to put up but for some reason it kept dropping the last two here so I'll do another post tomorrow adding the others.

 

Dinner with Cori & Maya. Cori and I were pregnant together when we lived in Alaska - it was so wonderful to share the pregnant ups and downs with her!

 

Rebecca and Micah go every morning to see the "horsies" just down the street from where they're living. Hudson sure enjoyed them also!

 

Our three little hoodlums. Hudson (9 months) Maya (7 months) and Micah (18 months).
Here's a little bio on their personalities. Hudson liked to pull Maya's hair (I think it was his way of flirting and crawl around chasing Micah. Maya sat perfectly content the entire weekend like a little lady wondering why these boys were so crazy. Micah is the happiest little boy you'll meet and loved sharing his toys with the younger kids.

 

Like I said, he was fascinated with her head. He was continually pulling her hair, poking her ear and kissing her face (so sweet). He knows a great girl when he sees one.


I'll post more tomorrow like I said. I'm sorry this is so late in coming. I was just thinking about how crazy busy last week was but now I can't think of a single thing we did! Isn't that what motherhood is all about? Knowing you haven't a spare second but not knowing why. Gotta love it

Sweet Dreams

I just have to tell someone or I'll end up standing on the roof top shouting my joyous news to the poor unsuspecting neighbors. I slept in my own bed, without getting up for an entire 8 hours last night. Many of you would say, big deal, but ohh, it is. Hudson is not much of a sleeper and for the last 8 months I've been getting up at least twice a night. His schedule has been up at 2 and again at 5. I never intended to be in such a position, but with being on the move since he was 3 months old, we fell into a "keep the baby quite so he doesn't wake the house" survival mode. At the slightest squeak, I'd be up and nursing him right back to sleep.

This week, after a particularly bad night of being up from 2-4 then again at 5:30 and 7:30, I decided it was time for some serious baby boot camp as a matter of maternal sanity. So what did I do? Something I thought I'd never do, I let him "cry it out". Thankfully, being the good child that he is, he didn't really cry for more than a few minutes, and even then it was more fussing than crying. He sleeps so much better now, and is so much happier. Last night he again woke up at 2 and 5, only this time instead of crying he played happily for about 10 minutes before falling back asleep. Part of me now wonders if that's what he had been wanting all along.

So we are both free now, free to sleep through the night! Even now I am excited just thinking about it. If I had even the slightest degree of rhythm I'd be dancing.

A Day in the Life of Hudson

First we wake up and have to walk around the house behind his favorite toy. We spend much of our day touring the house. He has so much fun pushing it around that we had to improvise so that we could simply "guide" him around corners. I hate to admit it, but in order to save my back from hours of bending over, we clipped the dog leash to the front of the toy and are now able to give it a little pull at the right time to keep him walking for as long as his little heart desires - and that is a loooong time. He has fun but gets this look and I just imagine him saying, "I'd love to stay and chat Mom, but I have some important work to do. I've got to walk around the house for a long long time."

 

After breakfast and an outfit change, we're off to the park where we watch the ducks, try to eat some leaves, take a nice long swing on the swing set, then roll around on the blanket. I keep waiting for him to talk back to the ducks like the does to the cat.

 

A couple naps later, & after the loss of his shirt due to lunch, Daddy comes home from work and a great play time ensues. At the present, his favorite game is "try to eat Daddy's nose". It's one we hope he grows out of, but love in the meantime.

 

Then it's off to bed around 8pm after a nice warm bath to degrime the layers of food. This he fights as though his very life depended on it. We've finally eased the pain of falling asleep just a bit by putting his stuffed bear in bed with him. He loves to feel it against his head and sleeps pressed up against it at night. Ahh, finally something to help the little guy relax. Each time I put him to bed I have the song "I'm a Survivor" running though my head due to his strong desire to not go to sleep. In fact, he falls asleep in stages, all the while fussing and groaning like an old car trying to start. The last thing to give in to sleep are his hands. He has to fall asleep fiddling with something. If you couldn't see his hands you'd thing he was asleep, but look down and you'll see him pinching, and turning over either his extra pacifier or running his fingers through the bears "fur". I know when the hands stop he is really out. Last night I guess he needed a little more snuggling than normal however. When I went in to check on him I found him sprawled out on top of the bear, giving it a great big hug. In a Mother's biased opinion, it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen him do (hence the great risk of waking him up with taking a picture).

 

It's an active life, a good life, and a life that I am not in a hurry to out grow.

To the Pond

First he noticed the ducks....


Then he wondered what they were and why they were so noisy...


Finally he decided they were quite funny and worth a good ole' nose wrinkle!



I love our daily trips to the little island at the pond. We stroll down to watch the ducks and swing on the swing set. He is so happy and content when we are outside, so am I for that matter.

Boys

Today was one of those days. It wasn't a bad day, just one of those days. As I sit here writing I stop periodically to massage my hurting left hand. It hurts because I gave it to Hudson to use as a chew toy while I tried to complete a task with my right hand. This is now a dangerous, and much to painful way to occupy him temporarily. I should have known better. I have already received three hickys from him - one of which was on my chin (very embarrassing), yelped during my Father-in-law's prayer when he chomped down on my finger, and gave him a very stern "no no" just today when he bit my shoulder. I never knew how hard it would be to keep a straight face while simultaneously having my heart break. I am amazed that someone who has never been in trouble before can know the second when they are. I gave him a slow, stern "no no" then tried my hardest to stand strong as he first laughed, seeing if I was serious, then stuck his bottom lip out and cried the most pitiful cry I've ever heard. I came to the horrible realization that I'd hurt his feelings, and went through the "new parent" emotions of wondering if he'd ever come to me for comfort again or laugh for me again. Thankfully my fears were eased when moments later he was happy again - phew! Boy, this disciplining thing is going to be harder than I expected. I've always prided myself as being a good disciplinarian and "redirector", but it's a killer to look into your own child's eyes and see they've had their feelings hurt by you, their protector and playmate! Oh boy, here comes the roller coaster ride of loving while disciplining.

On a lighter note, the other reason today was one of those days was that I took Hudson out for a little lunch date to Panera Bread. Most everyone there was on their lunch break and the room was filled with serious faced men and women. I thought it my duty to bring a little happiness and joy into their lives, if only briefly, and show them how much fun it was to have a kiddo. Unfortunately I failed in making them smile, but I sure laughed out loud, a lot. You see, while I sat there eating my sandwich, I also tried to feed Hudson. Things went great at first and I was quite proud of myself and my little happy fella. That is, until I felt something wet and warm running down my skirt. Comedy of errors, begin. What are the odds of having a diaper leak on you in public? I'd say fairly good when you are trying to look your best. Not to be dismayed, I laughed it off, acting like he spilled water on me. So we kept on, trying to convince the working world to be happy that I was now mismatched, Hudson thought he would do me a favor by knocking the sweet potato filled spoon out of my hand, all over both of us. He must not have wanted me to have something on my skirt without something on my nice white shirt also. At that point I gave up on the whole "look like you have it together" bit, and had a nice big, audible laugh. I couldn't help myself, we looked pretty ridiculous together all wet and covered in sweet potato. But we were happy, happier than anyone else in the room by all appearances.

I'm being rushed out the door by Daniel so I'll have to finish by saying children are a great way to keep you humble and keep you laughing!

Laughter

When I was in 7th grade one of my friend's mothers told us "Be sure to marry someone who makes you laugh". I never forgot that advice and have to agree with it. Laughter is medicine. It can rejuvenate a tired body, ease the pain of hard times, and even smooth over frustrations. Just the other night while laying in bed I kept interrupting Dan while he was reading to relax, trying to enjoy those precious moments of quite. Somewhat frustrated he said "I'm trying to read", then with a slight smile said "shut your mouth". When you're tired you can find things funnier than they are so I replied in the most serious voice I could muster while trying to contain a laugh, "Shut your face". From there it was all over and we went to bed giggling like little kids. I can't imagine life without my wonderful husband who ensures I'll have laugh lines all over my face when I'm older! Even in the hospital hours after Hudsy was born, Dan and my brother Daniel had me laughing so hard our poor newborn was bouncing in my arms as I shook trying to keep the laugher in so as not to wake him. Who knew recaps of your labor could be so hilarious!
Given such, I should have known our little boy would be jolly. My favorite time of day, or night, is when Hudson gets giddy. You never know what will tickle his funny bone either. Every day it is something different, so each day is a game to see who can make the baby giggle. Last week I had a little bit of a cough and each time I would cough or clear my throat Hudson just lost it. This week it seems that spitting causes him to double over in laughter.

The video is from last month, when he heard a dog bark and decided it was just about the funniest thing he'd ever heard. Of course we had to join in the fun... It's amazing what grownups will do to make a baby laugh!