Emerald Isle 2014

We returned this afternoon from Emerald Isle, the first time we had been to the beach (in NC) in 4 years!  It was an amazing 4 days away.  With all that has gone on around our house lately, we needed a break from everyday "life" so our beach trip was perfect timing.  I can't say Hudson as a huge fan of the beach itself...he definitely didn't like the water and was a bit undecided about the sand.  Thankfully, Chris' aunt and uncle's house where we stay has a pool and a dock out to the sound so that's where we spent most of our time.  We also made 2 trips to the aquarium- they had a dinosaur exhibit outside but the first time we went it was pouring rain so we didn't get to see it...so we went back to see the "roars", as Hudson calls them.  We also walked through Fort Macon and downtown Beaufort. It did rain pretty hard 2 of the days we were there but we didn't mind.  In fact, it was a really good excuse to do pretty much nothing! I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked but I kept my phone away most of the time because I needed to "unplug" and spend some time with my boys.  We cannot wait to get back to the beach and I can guarantee it will not be another 4 years before we do so!

Still deciding whether or not he likes this "beach" thing

 

He's currently obsessed with any kind of "crackers"...this was his favorite beach activity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did a lot of this...just relaxing

The wind-blown beach look ;)

Sometimes you gotta give your kids Oreos to avoid a complete car meltdown.... I was "that" mom today

We are all worn out but it was an awesome getaway!

16 months

New things this month: I cannot believe how quickly Hudson is changing! He is talking up a storm and saying so many new words.  He will mimic most anything that I say but new words that he says on his own are "girl', "all done", "all gone", "Bible", "bath", "apple", "shoe", "water", "please", and "thank you". I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting as it seems that he says new things everyday! He is really good at communicating what he wants even if he can't say the word...he will ask me to pick him "up" and then either point or try to turn my body in the direction he wants to go. On another note, I think we officially have a once a day napper.  This was a hard transition and literally took months of being in that in-between stage.  But, for the past week I have waited until after lunch to put him down and he has done well with it  (although he usually only sleeps about 1.5 hrs so I do wish it was a bit longer!).   He's exhausted for bed by 7pm but has been sleeping later than usual- until about 7:30am.

My favorite things about Hudson this month: I love this sweet boy more every day.  I love that he has adjusted so well to us doing foster care again...in fact, I think he really enjoys having built in playmates.  I love that he will come up to me randomly just to give me kisses.  I love that every time he sees a red truck he yells "Daddy!" I love that he dances every time he hears music.  His personality is really emerging and it's adorable! 

It's hard to believe that in just 2 shorts months, my sweet baby will be 1.5 years old!

This is bound to happen when you have two older "sisters"!

Life lately

I have been pretty slack about blogging lately.  Life's a bit busy around here and it's just not on the top of my priority list.  But, I know that someday I'll want to look back and see what we were doing in the summer of 2014!

Well, let's start with the big news.  We have entered the world of foster care again.  We decided right around the time Hudson turned one that it was something we wanted to pursue again but we dragged our feet getting re-licensed.  We had to get physicals, a fire inspection, and do some other paperwork.  We finally got everything finished and turned in a few weeks ago.  Now, the paperwork is all suppose to be sent to Raleigh to be reviewed before your license is re-instated but, in our case, they were so desperate for foster families that they called us the day after they received our paperwork to take a child.  We had been told previously about these kids and knew that it was a sibling group.  So, when they called us to take just the youngest we told them we would either take both or neither.  As much as we didn't feel prepared to take 2, we always feel it's best to keep siblings together.  So, 2 days later we became a "family" of 5.  Obviously I can't share much here but they are 2 little girls.  It's a different experience than we had with the twins....first of all, they are girls and that's just a whole different ballgame than little boys we are learning.  Probably the hardest thing so far has been the constant whining and crying when they don't get what they want.  We are learning pretty quickly to just ignore.  Second, they have been in foster care before so they are a bit "hardened" to it.  All in all, it's been a good first 2 weeks and we have already seen improvements in both of the girls.  Thankfully, Hudson has adjusted really well and seems to love having playmates around.  All day long, when they are at school/camp, he asks about the "girls".  They are really good with Hudson and always want to give him hugs and kisses before leaving in the morning.

I'm still working from home and have been really busy lately.  So,  I pretty much spend every naptime and sometimes after all 3 kids are in bed at my computer.  I am enjoying my work though and have been really challenged with new things this year.  This grant is up in December and we haven't made any decisions yet about whether I'll go back to work full time or not.  This has been a constant matter of prayer lately and but I know that the right doors will open.

Well, I think that's the major things and pretty much all I have time to type.  Hopefully I'll be better about keeping this blog updated!

15 months

Measurements: Hudson's growing (this is a relief since his length has been a little bit of a concern to us)!!  He is now 30.25" (15th percentile, up from 4th!), and 21 lbs 13 oz (33rd percentile).  He is comfortably in 12-18 month clothes.

Eats:  Hmm, is there anything this boy won't eat?? I'm thankful that he isn't picky.  Some current favorites are chili, crackers (also his favorite word to say), any kind of meat, yogurt, and fruit.  We try to feed him pretty healthy but he probably gets a few too many sweets.  He isn't that interested in milk but is still nursing a few times a day so I'm not concerned. 

Sleeps: Hudson is sleeping 12 hours at night most nights.  He's pretty easy to get to bed which I'm thankful for.  Naps are sometimes a struggle as we are transitioning between one nap and two.  So, there are days that he is just not tired for his second nap but falls apart early evening.  So, if he doesn't go down quickly for his morning nap I just keep him up a little longer and he just gets one nap that day. (Ok, so I didn't update this from my 12 month post because it doesn't seem much has changed!)

Milestones: Hudson is growing up way too fast!  He now RUNS everywhere and he's talking up a storm.  New words- cracker, tractor, meat, kitty cat, paci (sounds like babi), up, down, out, night-night, baby.  His favorite words?  Mommy and Daddy.  He knows the following animal sounds- cow, dog, dinosaur, lion (same as dinosaur), sheep, donkey, chicken, and horse.  We also went on another trip to Boston and Hudson visited the beach for the first time...a major milestone in my book!

Likes: I still very have a momma's boy on my hands.  He wants to be held a lot of the time so I have gotten good and doing things with one hand (like applying mascara this morning, ha!). He loves trucks, tractors, balls, and to be outside.  His new "thing" is to throw his toys.  It doesn't matter what it is, he's going to throw it- especially into the pool if he can.  He loves to be chased and caught. And boy does my boy love books!  I am so thankful.  It is important to me that my kids love to read and he is showing all the signs of that! 

Dislikes:  Hudson is generally very happy- except when Mommy leaves the room.  He doesn't like to be told "no" and can throw a good temper tantrum when he doesn't get what he wants. 

I'm loving this age right now.  Hudson is learning new things all the time and it's so sweet to watch!

14 months!

New things this month: Hudson is no longer just walking...he's running!  At first he looked like one of those competitive speed walkers who always had one foot on the ground but now he will break into a jog if he's excited! He is starting to try and imitate words and has added a few to his vocabulary like "baseball" (thanks to his friend Noah!), "baby", and a few others that only Mommy and Daddy can understand.  He consistently points to his belly, hair, and feet and gets nose, mouth, and ears about 50% of the time.  He knows what sound a sheep, dinosaur, lion, cow, and horse make.  He is finally putting himself to sleep for naps.  I actually didn't do any sleep training at nap time (call me lazy but he was so easy to rock to sleep) but in the past month he has become very independent and sometimes even reaches for his crib when he's tired.  I can say "are you ready for night-night?" and he will go and stand at the gate at the bottom of the stairs ready to go.  We finally have two top teeth!  These seemed to take forever to come in but thankfully Hudson hasn't had much trouble with teething.

My favorite things about Hudson this month: Where do I begin? This is such a fun age! I love how he is learning to interact.  He is very social and loves to wave and give hugs and kisses.  He and his bff Noah are starting to learn to play together (instead of just beside each other) and it's so cute.  He is becoming more independent and it's so fun to watch him learn to do things for himself (and then clap for himself too).  I love when he's tired and just wants to snuggle with Momma.  I love chasing him around hearing him laugh hysterically when I catch him.  I love watching him "play" himself to sleep at nap time and his sweet little grin when I go in to get him out of his crib when he wakes up.  I love everything about this little bow and feel so blessed to be his Momma! 

 

Already had his second haircut!

His first time as a ring-bearer...he walked a pretty long way but was carried the last little bit

play date with his bff

my big boy at the pool!

did I mention this boy LOVES to eat??  and he's NOT picky

just like Daddy already

Five years!

 

 

Has it really been 5 years since that day?  That was the first best day of my life...the day I married my best friend.  I'm thankful that I love him even more today, especially since watching him become a daddy.

 

We try to get away for a few days each year for our anniversary.  Last year Hudson was 7 weeks old and honestly the trip was a bit easier than this year, at almost 14 months.  It wasn't exactly a "relaxing" trip but I wasn't ready to leave him quite yet.  Next year...maybe ;)

Anyways, we went to Roanoke and Natural Bridge, VA.  We did some hiking, went to Mill Mountain Zoo, Center in the Square Science Museum, Natural Bridge Park and Caverns, and the Virginia Safari Park.  Did I mention we did this all in 2.5 days?  I love these getaways but honestly I love coming home too!  Enjoy the pictures!

 

Checking out the Mill Mountain Zoo

 

 

He loved this fake tiger...more than the real animals!

View of Roanoke from Mill Mountain Park

The Roanoke Star

 

Hudson wasn't a huge fan on this backpack at first but we finally (at the end of the hike) got him adjusted so he was comfy

Sometimes you just gotta nap!

So sleepy

 

Natural Bridge in the background

 

 

This boy loves rocks!

 

Love these two boys!

Another makeshift nap...poor buddy only got ONE nap in his pack in play the whole trip

Virginia Safari Park...the animals literally come right in your car!

He woke up just in time!

Well hello bison!

Hudson was not a fan on the zebra in the car!  I can't say I loved him being 6 inches from my face either!

 

 

Another great trip in the books!