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Today is Hudson’s half-birthday; and we celebrated with all of the half-birthday essentials—half of a cake, party hats, candles, singing and lots of playing. Hudson thoroughly enjoyed himself, even though he had no idea what Elle and I were so excited about. He just liked all of the attention.

But the highlight for him was definitely the cake. He ate and ate his half of a cake and loved it. It was nice to see him enjoy it, since he gagged and puked on his one-year birthday cake—he did not like that cake at all. But today he couldn’t get enough of his cake; and in between bites he repeatedly smacked his lips and said, “Mmmm!”

I can hardly believe that he is so big and old. I just love the kid to pieces. He is so fun, silly, content and just plain wonderful. He makes my everyday extraordinary. I love him so much.

And as a side note, I’d like to say that the golf club pictured with Hudson above is his most favorite toy. But to him it is not just a toy. He takes it everywhere with him—the library, the doctor, the store, the post office, the car. It sits with him while he eats. It sits with him while he watches movies. And he cries every night when I refuse to let him take it to bed. The kid will not even put it down to play. He holds it in his right hand and rests it upon his shoulder. It really is so cute; I find it very endearing. Some kids have blankets or stuffed animals for comfort; but not Hudson, he has a green golf club.

Rained Out at the Zoo

We had a great day at the zoo until we got rained out. One minute we were playing and having fun, and the next it poured. The kids and I were soaked within minutes. But we didn’t care, because we still had fun. No amount of rain can ruin our day.

Hudson the Troublemaker

Hudson has a knack for causing and creating trouble. He can get into things quicker than I can believe. Every time I turn around, he is into something new. And nothing fazes him. He is never deterred, and if I actually get him away from one troubling situation, he immediately moves on to another one. And the really frustrating part is that he knows EXACTLY what he is doing. For instance, he knows he is not supposed to touch Daddy’s nice, pleas-don’t-ever-touch TV, but he actually waits to get my attention before he touches it. And I also love how he purposely puts the little blocks in his mouth and then shows me so that I hold out my hand and say, “Spit.” This one is his favorite. For it’s not any fun unless he gets a reaction out of someone—especially his sister.

I have most of my kitchen chairs in the garage or along my wall due to the fact of Hudson climbing up them and getting on the counter or playing on the nice, please-don’t-ever-touch laptop. But the chairs are no longer working, because he has figured out how to move the heavy things around the room. He also loves to ruin, hit or throw whatever Elle is playing with, just to see her get upset. I am making his sign sorry to the poor girl ALL DAY. Thankfully Elle is a sweetheart, and handles it all pretty well (but there are times when he truly deserves her wrath—he asks for it).

I am constantly amazed at what and how Hudson manages to get into things. I am never sure what he will get into next. I think I am doubly amazed, because Elle never got into anything. She was so good and listened. We never baby proofed anything with her. But Hudson, he loves—thrives—on not listening. He thinks it’s funny. I say one thing, and he does the other. He is very determined.

Just yesterday, I was busy cooking, and only had my back turned for a minute; and this is the disaster awaiting me.




He dropped the entire carton—minus the three eggs that I just put in the mixer—onto the floor. None—thankfully—landed on him. But he did this right after he dumped the entire bag of pretzels on the kitchen floor (I had just finished cleaning that mess up). I could not believe how long it took me to make one batch of muffins. I had to stop every two seconds to clean or stop something from Hudson. He loves trouble.

But even though my little boy gets into so many things, I love him to pieces. He is so sweet, smiley, happy, kind, loving, cuddly, funny, silly, playful, rough, smart, giggly, determined, easygoing and just plain wonderful. I love, love, love my little boy.



And eventually he sleeps, which FINALLY gives me a break from the never-ending trouble.

St. Patrick's Day

We had a fun filled day of green. Johnny even remembered to wear green, much to Elle's disappointment. But that was all forgiven when her friend Koen came over and was wearing red but no green. Elle was more than happy to bestow a kiss on her green-less friend.

Homes for Horses

Not only does Elle love horses, but she also loves to create homes for each and every one (and believe me she has a lot of horses). I often find myself, for a good chunk of the day, making and creating homes—out of garbage—for Elle’s beloved horses. They must all have a place to call their own—according to Elle.

And often after Elle falls asleep, this is how I find her: sleeping in her bed with her horses in their newly made homes. She is so sweet and imaginative. I just love her.

What's for Dinner?

Monkey Bizness

Elle worked very hard to earn each and every popcorn kernel in this jar. And how did she earn them? By being good of course. Every time Elle did anything good or positive, Johnny and I would put kernels in her jar. Elle loved earning popcorn kernels; but she especially loved it when her reward for filling the jar was going to Monkey Bizness.

Monkey Bizness is a place any kid would love—especially our two little monkeys. It is filled with jump houses, slides, obstacle courses, a jungle gym, and a rock climbing wall. Elle LOVED this place. She ran, jumped, climbed, slid and played to her heart’s content. She had so much fun. Hudson, too, loved spending time here (except for the instance when his too helpful sister tried to put him on one of the jump houses, and he fell flat on his head with a smack—that was not so fun). But even with the unfortunate fall, Hudson giggled and smiled and loved every minute of it. The two of them didn’t want to leave the place. Thank goodness they have a closing time.



Johnny and I were both equally glad that Elle earned this reward (the two of us even had so much fun, that we cannot wait for her to fill up her jar again). Being good really does have its good rewards.

And I know for a fact that her popcorn jar works, because the other day when my mom asked Elle how she had learned to be so good, Elle replied: “The popcorn taught me.”