7 Months!

Hudson, you are 7 MONTHS OLD today!! I'm pretty sure you just came home from the hospital, so I'm not sure how that's possible. You continue to grow physically and developmentally every day. You also get more handsome every day!! Here's what you're up to this month.....

I'd guess you weigh around 18.5-19 lbs.

You wear a size 3 diaper.

A lot of your 6-9 month clothes are too short so you're wearing 6-12 months and 9 month clothes.

You eat about 5 ounces of pumped breastmilk 5-6 times a day. I'm trying really hard to keep it going. I'd like to make it to 11 months or so, but I really don't know if that'll happen. Seems like my supply may have decreased slightly and keeping up with the pumping is a task while juggling you too. :-) (Plus, some nights Mommy really wants to go to sleep right after you do but if I pumped for the last time at like 9 or so, I'd have to be up to do again around 5 and that's just not cool!)

You are eating a fruit and/or veggie for lunch and dinner. We've done breakfast a few times and you're doing well with that also. You also LOVE apple juice, but I only give you 1-2 ounces every other day or so in your cup. You don't care for the sippy part, so I just let you drink it out of the cup and you do pretty well with that.

You usually sleep from 8 or 8:30 - 6 or 6:30 Some days you'll sleep until about 7.

You usually take 3 naps a day. Two are usually about 1.5 hours and the third is a 30 minute catnap.

You've got 2 (at least) teeth coming through! One is ahead of the other and should be done cutting any day now.

You say "mama" ALL the time, and I think you're starting to understand that I am "mama"! ;-) You babble other things, such as "baba" and "papa". No "dada" yet...I'm sure that's coming soon!

You grunt at your toys a lot. It's quite entertaining.

You get lots of great exercise in your jumperoo. You love it! You also love playing independently in your pack 'n play or on the floor with your toys.

You can control your paci all by yourself now...needless to say, it's been spending more time in your mouth now that you can put it in. ;)

You are well on your way to crawling! You are getting more confident and I think you'll be keeping me chasing you any day now. You take a few small steps at a time and this is helping to build your confidence.

You sit up like a pro!

You love shopping with mommy and holding my list for me. Sometimes you get upset when I have to take it back. Uh oh! ;-)

You're starting to do better with strangers and warm up to them better.

You are such a silly boy and laugh all the time. You've learned how to do things to make us laugh and you'll do them over and over again.

You love the dogs so much! You'll do this roar sound to get their attention until they come over to you.

We love you so much and you amaze us every day. We feel so blessed to be your parents. We are so excited about your first Thanksgiving and Christmas and can't wait to make sweet memories with you!!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Seems like there have been a lot of birthdays lately! The last few months of the year include a lot of birthdays of my friends and family...and there are still several left! :-)

Today just so happens to be my sweet mother's birthday.

I am incredibly blessed to call you my mother, my mom, my momma!

I admire and look up to you so much. You are a true example of what a mother is. You are giving, compassionate, loving, nurturing, sacrificing, encouraging, and everything else that a mother should be. I strive to be the kind of mother to Hudson that you have been to me.

I am also thankful that I can call you my friend...my very best friend (aside from Joseph). You've always known how to balance mother and friend with me and I cherish our close relationship more than you know!

Hudson is so lucky to have you in his life and I know he will grow to love you just as much as I do...he's already pretty crazy about you! :-)

You are the most amazing woman I know. You are beautiful...inside and out. You have such a huge heart and would do anything for anyone. I hope every woman has the type of relationship with their mother that you and I share. I am so appreciative for all you've done for me over the years....the piano lessons, dance lessons, driving me to event after event, working hard as an RN but never missing ANY of my recitals, concerts, performances, all the advice, talks, hugs, kisses, bedtime stories and songs.....all of the shopping trips (but it's not about the material things we buy...it's the time spent with you that I enjoy more than anything else!)
I could go on forever, but I will just say this: I am so proud to call you my mother and I love you with all of my heart! If I can be half the woman and mother you are, I will count myself successful. I love you more than you know.
Happy Birthday!!
(and I promise my goal is not to make you guys cry all the time...just speakin' the truth!)
;-)

(I'm Just Not Good At) Wordless Wednesday

Slowly, but surely.......the lighting is awful so it's not the best picture, but that's his two bottom teeth cutting through....the one on the right is slightly further along, and hurts when he chomps when you're applying Orajel! ;) I think he might even have a third one coming in. Yikes!

Happy Hump Day! :-)

Corn & Potato Chowder

So, I'm on this addictive thing called Pinterest....heard of it?? Yeah...if you're not on there, you seriously should be! It's awesome! I am constantly surfing the web for things....recipes, decorating and entertaining ideas, fashion, stuff for Hudson, etc. and this site is the best place to keep all those ideas...and find new ones!! This is the second or third recipe I've tried from it and it was a hit. In true Lauren fashion (and because I can't ever just let things be), I changed a couple things so I'll put my recipe up for it.


Corn & Potato Chowder

Ingredients:

• Appr. 8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled. You could, of course, add more...you can always have more bacon! ;-)
  
• 2 lbs frozen corn
• Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced into small chunks (or any kind you like, these worked well and I ended up using about 4 shy of a whole bag)
• A few shakes of celery salt (you can use chopped celery if you'd like, I didn't have any)
  
• Minced garlic - I used about 4 little squeezes of the pre-minced kind
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 32 oz carton chicken stock (veggie stock could easily be substituted)
• Appr. 10 oz evaporated milk - I didn't have any half & half or heavy cream and this worked just fine...didn't need quite the whole 12 oz can though, which saved some calories. :)
  
• s&p

Directions:

1. Literally, toss EVERYTHING in the crock-pot, aside from the milk you decide to use. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or you could do it on high in about half the time....low and slow is always better in my opinion though.
2. My favorite part, besides eating it, is next....blend about half of the soup using an immersion blender. (which is the best invention EVER and I LOVE mine!) You can also just put it in an upright blender, then toss it back in the pot.
3. Add your milk, cream, whatever you use, and continue cooking for about 15 more minutes, uncovered.
4. Season with s&p as needed and I also added a little ground red pepper and this was a great addition. I'm not a fan of spicy things, but this added a little, subtle heat to it. If you have any bacon saved, crumble a little bit on top and serve! It's great with grilled cheese, cornbread, crackers, or alone! Enjoy!!
   

P.S. I think I'll try it with crab next time. It would be so good in this chowder!! :)

A Little Backyard Photoshoot.....

I decided yesterday was a good day for a little photoshoot in our (huge) backyard. It lends itself well to a little picture-takin'. Hudson wasn't really diggin' the grass...I mean, our grass is completely dead and crunchy so it's not the most comfortable thing to sit on. He's so observant that it's hard to get him to pay attention to the camera and smile anymore...he's all about what's going on around him. Guess I better get used to that, huh?! ;-) I just let him do his thing and snapped some pics. Candids are always the best anyway! I love the ones of him standing with his daddy's help. :) One(or more) of these may end up on our Christmas card this year, unless I can get someone to lend a helping hand and snap some of the three of us during Thanksgiving or sometime soon. I'd like to include the dogs but I don't think I'm crazy enough to try that. ;-)

I hope your Monday was a pleasant one. Have a wonderful week!!