Monday, November 30, 2009

Deck the Halls

We had fun decking out our halls today. Elle particularly enjoyed decorating the Christmas tree over and over and over again. And when that got old, she had the great idea of dressing herself up as a tree. I must say she is very creative.

Happy Birthday to Johnny

Johnny turned 29 today (he is getting so old) and Elle, Hudson, and I all had fun celebrating his big day with him. It is fun having Johnny in school, because we got to spend the entire day with him (except for when he had to study; we left him alone for that). But aside from the studying, Johnny got to do fun things like: sleep in, take Hudson to get shots, decorate the house for Christmas, have a little family party with Bridget and Dakota taking part, and go to a three-hour stats class(that is where he currently is). Other than the stats and shots, I think he had a wonderful birthday.

Johnny is a wonderful husband and father, and we are very grateful for him and all that he does for our little, growing family. Happy 29th Johnny.

Two-Month Stats

Hudson had his two-month well check today, and I have to say that I am a little surprised with what we found out. Hudson, unlike his sister, is a big baby. I have always known that he is heavy and growing well, but when I found out his percentiles, I was a little shocked to find him so high on the charts. We always joke about his chubby cheeks, but little did I know just how chubby he really is.

His growth percentiles for two months were:

Weight 13 lbs 11 oz (97%)
Height 24 ¼” (90%)
Head 15 1/4” (25%)

Johnny and I could hardly believe it when we found out Hudson was in the 97th percentile for weight, and the 90th percentile for height. Neither of us are very big, so having a big baby is shocking to us (Johnny is quite proud though). Elle was a very small baby. She was on the complete opposite spectrum. At two months she weighed 9 pounds 11 ounces. Hudson weighs four pounds more than she did at his age. What a big boy.


Sunday, November 29, 2009

My Two Babies

I love the dynamics of having two children. I was a little worried about having another child, considering how intense Elle has been her entire life. However, I need not have worried, because having the two of them together has been nothing but bliss. Not that they don’t have their moments, but for the most part, these two make my days wonderful. Elle truly loves her brother, and is so sweet and caring to him. She will help me out with just about anything if it involves him. All I have to say is that Hudson needs this or that, and she is right on top of it. And Hudson is quite smitten with his sister—his eyes follow her all around the room. He is entirely captivated by her. I just can't seem get enough of watching and observing my two children together.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Holiday Parade

We attended the Boise Holiday Parade today, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Elle loves parades, and was excited to attend one in December. She got candy, saw Santa, and watched all of the festive floats. It was a pretty good day, considering it rained yesterday. It was cold, but the sun was shinning. This was Hudson’s first parade, but instead of watching it, he slept for the entirety of the parade in my arms. By the time we left, I couldn’t feel my fingers. I think I am building strong muscles lugging him around.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Here Comes Santa Clause

Johnny and I took Elle and Hudson to visit Santa Clause today. It was a very fun visit, and one we look forward to each year. Elle was a little apprehensive at first, exclaiming that I must sit on Santa’s lap, too. But luckily, I convinced her that it would be okay if I just stood by her (I don’t think I nor Santa really wanted me sitting on his lap). However, I didn’t even have to stand by her, because when we walked up to Santa, Elle immediately went and sat on his lap and started chatting with him. She told him all about her brother, and how she wanted a train for Christmas. We put Hudson on his lap, too, and got a great picture to remember the moment by.

Two-Month-Old

It is hard to believe, but Hudson is now a two-month-old baby. He is growing so quickly. Time with the second child truly does seem to go faster than it did with the first. Hudson is such a good baby. He is growing quite quickly, and is now in size two diapers, and wears either 3 month clothes, or 3-6 month clothes. Him and Elle are quite opposites in how they grow. Elle never seems to get any bigger; and every time I hold Hudson, he seems bigger than the last time I held him. He is a very happy baby and loves to talk to us all the time. He has the sweetest little voice. He hardly ever cries, but instead uses a cute little squeal to get our attention (Johnny is not so sure how he feels about this). Hudson does however have a weakness: naps. He is not very good at them. Not only are they not long—often only twenty minutes—but if one lays him down, he is almost instantly up. I have tried every trick I know, but the second I lay him down he is awake. At first this was quite aggravating to me, but I have now grown accustomed to it. And one can get very creative in how he or she gets something done while holding a baby. Plus, Hudson sleeps amazing at night—laying down by himself I might add—so holding him during the day does not seem so bad. As you can tell, we all love Hudson very much, and are truly glad he has joined our family.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Ice Skating

Today we took Elle ice skating, and she absolutely loved it. She has had a huge desire to do so since she saw Disney on Ice last year. Watching Disney on Ice this year only enhanced her yearning. So we took her today, and it ended up being a wonderful experience for everyone. Elle and Johnny had a lot of fun skating around the rink. Elle was all smiles the entire time, and so was Johnny. Elle did find out, however, that ice skating is a lot harder than she originally thought. She initially had the notion that she would ice skate all by herself just like the princesses on Disney on Ice. But it did not take her long to find out that that was just not feasible. Even still, she had a wonderful time; and tonight she told me that she would practice hard so that she could ice skate like a princess.


Friday, November 20, 2009

Thanksgiving Projects

Elle and I have been having a lot of fun lately creating festive Thanksgiving projects. It really gets us into the spirit of the holiday.

My Sleeping Babies

Elle doesn’t normally sleep in my bed, but one night when I was trying to put Hudson to bed, she refused to go back in her room (and of course she has learned to take advantage of me when I am trying to put Hudson to sleep). So, since I couldn’t take her back to her room—and Johnny was at class—I allowed her to lay down by me while I finished feeding Hudson and putting him to sleep. By the time I was done, they were both sleeping in my bed. I just simply had to snap a picture before I moved her back to her room. They looked too cute sleeping there together.

No More Kisses

“Mommy, do you know why I don’t kiss you anymore?” Elle asks.

“Why?” Mommy asks.

“Because Hudson is much more cuter than you are. And Hudson has puffy-o-cheeks,” Elle says matter-of-factly.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Disney on Ice

I think I am crazy. No, scratch that, I know I am crazy. Yesterday, I, along with my mother and sister, took Elle and Hudson to Disney on Ice in Salt Lake City (we really went for Elle; Hudson was just along for the ride). It was an extremely long drive, but definitely well worth it. I had taken Elle to Disney on Ice last year in Oakland, and she absolutely loved it. I wanted to take her again this year, but they were not coming to Boise. I found that they were coming to Salt Lake City, and I thought if I went with my mom and sister it would not be too bad. Luckily, I was right; but before we left, I did have my reservations. I had bought the tickets—second row to be exact—when I was still pregnant with Hudson. I was thinking Hudson would just sleep through most of the drive and the show. I have no idea what I was thinking. One would think I would remember how terrible Elle slept as a baby. Still, dreams are free, and I guess I let myself think that I would have a child who would sleep through anything. Don’t get me wrong, Hudson is a wonderful baby, but he definitely does not sleep through everything. One week before the show, I put the tickets up on ebay, and hoped they would sell. I was thinking the whole idea was quite foolish. However, with encouragement from both Bridget and my mom, I took the tickets off ebay, and we made the trip to Salt Lake City. Crazily, we did it all in one day, but I will be the first to admit that we had a wonderful time. Both kids did great in the car, even though neither of them slept until 6:00 that night. Hudson did take catnaps, but never anything all that long. We also drove through snow the entire time, and Elle got a tummy ache from eating too much sugar (did you see the size of the cotton candy bag?). But, all in all, we had a wonderful time. The show was fun, and the memories were even better.