Family/One Year Pics

We had some family and one year pictures done recently and we got them today! I mostly wanted some pictures of Hudson to display at his party, and for his invitation. While we were at it, I decided to get a few family shots done too. After all, the only other professionally made pictures of the 3 of us were done at the hospital the day after Hudson was born, and when he was about 3 months old at the beach. A lot has changed since then.

So, I won't post all 48 of the pictures here, 'cause that would tick you off, but here are some of my favorites.




















OK, so maybe just like 45 instead of the whole 48 pictures! ;-)

Oh, and a quick weight loss update: I'm down 26 pounds now, putting me just 4 pounds from my original goal. I'm still planning on continuing with the "diet" and losing about 5-10 additonal pounds. It's coming off slower than it was at first, but it's still steadily coming off. I'm hoping to get out and walk/run with Hudson now that the weather is BEAUTIFUL!! I'm so proud to be back to a size 6!!! I can't wait to go shopping for some new Summer clothes once it's all said and done! :-)

I hope you're having a great week!!

You're On Candid Camera!

Someone decided to show off their newly acquired skill long enough for us to get a couple of videos this afternoon.

Please ignore the fact that I look and sound terrible...k, thanks! ;-)

Hudson is getting much more comfortable with the whole walking thing, and is getting to where it's becoming second nature. He'll just be standing somewhere and start walking without even thinking about it. He can make it several feet now without toppling over, but mostly when that happens it's because he tries to go too fast. He's getting good about stopping for a second to regain his balance but sometimes his excitement gets the best of him. ;-) I have a feeling he'll be walking very well by his birthday. I cannot believe we're at this milestone already. Where is my baby????

I hope you've had a great weekend. :)

"My Future's So Bright.....

I gotta wear shades!" (I know, I said I'd try to stop wtih the song lyrics.....I'm an imperfect person.)

We played around a little bit at Party City today. Hudson really liked all the cool things there. ;-)

And this big boy figured out how to use a straw! We ate some Chick-fil-A for lunch and he LOVED it! He had some of the kids' grilled nuggets(which are really good, BTW) and thought they were tasty! He also loved the fruit in the fruit cup, of course. I let him try a sip of my Diet Lemonade and he just kinda held his mouth there like he didn't know what to do with the straw. ('cause he didn't, duh!) I showed him ONE TIME how to do it and he watched intently. Well, that's all it took 'cause he was sipping like a pro every time after that. I've decided to get him one of those Nuby sippy cups with the straw in it and I think he'll like that much better than the traditional sippy cup. He just doesn't get that he has to tilt it up, nor do I think he likes to lean his head back so far. Hopefully that will be the one that works for him and we can start weaning from bottles and be a little more independent in that area! ;-)

He has also taken a LOT of steps on his own today and is now doing it without even thinking about it. He'll just be standing at the couch or a table and let go and just go on with little self and make it several feet before he either holds on somewhere else, sits down, or falls to his bottom. It won't be long, folks.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

11 Months!

My precious Hudson, you are 11 months old today!! Just 31 days away from your 1st birthday! It is just inconceivable that you are almost a year old....almost walking....almost a full-on toddler!! You are becoming more independent, self-sufficient, and you really are turning into a little boy. Thankfully, you're still a huge momma's boy and I hope that never changes! You love that daddy of yours too, though, and get so excited when he comes home from work!

Here's what's going with you this month:

• I'd guess you weigh around 22 lbs.
• You wear a size 3 diaper and 12-18 months clothes. You're bigger on top than on the bottom.
  
• You sleep anywhere from 10-11.5 hours/night. You've been going to bed a little later since the time change, and waking up a little later. Hopefully we'll get back to about 8-7 soon.
  
• You eat 3 meals a day, consisting of table foods(except breakfast sometimes), a morning snack (unless your nap lasts longer than normal) and an afternoon snack.
• You love turkey, cheese, green beans, carrots, chicken (sometimes), Gerber ravioli, FRUIT (esp. watermelon, grapes, mandarin oranges, and peaches), cheerios, puffs, hamburger meat (sometimes).
• You take 3 bottles of 8oz a day. Since the doc ok'd it, we're transitioning to whole milk and you've done absolutely wonderful with it!! I hope to have you on full-time whole milk in the next couple of weeks (or less). I'm hoping once you're on all whole milk, it'll fill you up more and your daily intake will be down to 20 oz...so momma can stop pumping!!! Until then, I'll keep pumping so you can have those few extra oz a day...and since the limit for whole milk is 20 oz/day, it'll need to be breastmilk.
  
• You're getting better at using a sippy cup on your own, but you still like your bottles. You know how to hold your bottle and do it yourself, but won't do it for long...lazy! I'm hoping we can gradually make the switch to the cup soon.
• You LOVE water!! I give you a little water in your sippy cup every now and then and you would drink, and drink, and drink if I let you! If only you'd learn how to use the dang sippy cup on your own! You know how to hold and drink out of it, it's the turning up of the cup to actually get something out of it we're struggling with. :)
  
• You went from having just 2 teeth, to having almost 6!!!(3 all the way in, and 3 more breaking through) Your teeth take FOREVER to come all the way in! When they're all done, you'll have the four front top and two bottom teeth.
  
• You usually nap 1.5-2 hours in the morning and afternoon.
• You crawl just about as fast as I walk, pull up everywhere, stand on your own a lot, take several steps at a time occasionally, get into cabinets, drawers, my jewelry armoire, and anything else you can get into! HA! You just took your first steps a few days ago and have been taking more since. You're getting more confident so maybe you'll be walking by your birthday! You'd still rather crawl at this point.
• You had your first fever a couple weeks ago. It got up to 102.1 one night, but was gone the next morning. I think it had a lot to do with a few teeth breaking through at the same time, and then I think I discovered you may have an allergy to spinach. You got a rash on your neck and head but nothing else. It went away very quickly. I'm planning on trying some plain spinach at some point to make sure.
• You love the dogs, especially Bryant. He puts up with your torture...Marley, not so much. ;-)
• You call me "mama", can identify me in a picture, try to say "dada" but aren't quite there yet, say "oh" and "woah", and "baba" when you see your bottle. You're making more vowel and consonant sounds.
  
• You still love to dance...all the time. "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Push It" are your faves.
• You're a pretty good little problem solver for an 11 month old.
  
• Bath time is one of your favorites times. You love playing with your toys...and the faucet! You love water! This Summer should be fun! :)
  
• You are a very adaptable baby, but if you go too long without a nap you get in a foul mood!
• Your favorite toys are your Zebra bike and your move & crawl ball. You've also taken a liking to your musical octopus that also teaches you colors.

You are the light of our lives and we're so proud to be your parents! You continue to bless us each day. You are such a happy boy...pleasant, sweet, and funny! Your laugh is the best sound in the world! We love watching you grow...although we wish it went by a little slower! You are an absolute joy in our lives, Hudson! Momma and Daddy love you with all of our hearts!!

Today, we.....

.....hogged Mommy's lap and took pictures of ourselves on her phone.....

tortured Bryant a little bit....ya know, the usual.....

enjoyed the beautiful weather while eating our snack and playing with our toys....

took more pictures of ourselves....

and recharged our batteries so we could do it all again!

We hope you all had a fantastic day!!

Wordless Wednesday - Party Planning Sneak Peak

**(And yes, I'm starting this early...mostly b/c that's just the way I am, and also b/c I'm throwing my brother-in-law and his fiance a shower the week before, so I'm trying to get as much done ahead of time as possible since I've got 2 parties on my plate so close together.)**

Oh yeah...it's supposed to be wordless. Yeah, that never really works out for me, does it?!?! ;-)

You Are What You Eat....

If that's true, then my child is going to turn into chicken, turkey, green beans, corn, fruit (mainly grapes, watermelon, and oranges), cheese, carrots, and Cheerios. He can eat his weight in fruit and will choose it over anything else right now...mostly because it's sweet, I'm sure. He also really loves veggies, which is great! He can do without the meat, but will eat some and his favorites are turkey and chicken.

I hope he always enjoys eating his fruits and veggies, just like I did (do)!!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes....

Have you noticed I like to use song lyrics as titles? Yes, I realize it's a little annoying...I'll try to stop.

Anyhow....I've done a little revamping to some of our decor since we moved into the new house. I'd grown tired of some things and some rooms needed a fresh new look.

We'll start with the dining room...which I like better in this house because it's open to the living room. Great for entertaining and holidays!


Before: The rug was in our living room (coming up next) but I got a new one for it so I transferred it here until the new one came in....which was yesterday! It was too dark and heavy, and was not the look I wanted.


After: Much more light, neutral, and modern. I went with the 5x8 because I didn't want to cover up all of the wood floor, but an 8x10 probably would have looked better. I still love the way it updates the room, though! If we weren't renting, I'd be changing up that light fixture, too. :/
Oh, I also ordered a matching runner for the entryway but it's on back-order. I got them from Ballard Designs.

And by the way, we still haven't put things up on the walls....I haven't really had time to decide what I want to go where, let alone to actually put things up. Maybe soon that'll happen. I hate bare walls!


Now, for the living room......I wanted a more simple rug, but something that would be more cushioned for Hudson as he's crawling around. I decided on this shag rug from Target....

(Bryant enjoys the rug, too!)


And the pillows, I love! I'm obsessed with geometric prints right now! (if you can't tell from my blog layout) I got them from Cushions Direct and am very pleased with them. They came in pairs so I got four total. I might end up putting one in our bedroom, but for now I put them all out on the couches. We want to get a leather sofa/loveseat set in the next few months so they'll pop more against the dark leather. (The walls are a light blue, but that's hard to see in these pictures.)

And, Bryant says hey! :-)

We also updated our headboard, as you might have seen here. It's amazing the difference a little piece of furniture, or a rug or pillow makes in a room. I love decorating, and if I had the money I'd redecorate a lot more in our house. Take a little at a time, I keep telling myself. One day, when we build our dream home, I'll have the time of my life deciding the floor plan, the fixtures, floors, paint colors, decor, etc. Until then, I'll keep doing a little accessory here and there to get a little closer to how I envision my dream home to look. :-)

Happy Hump Day!!