Weekend Recap II

As I've mentioned previously, Hudson is really wanting to walk these days. He's been taking a few steps by himself but he still wants to hold our hand (or finger) so that he feels secure. Well....now the little munchkin has decided that he wants to climb stairs...on his feet. Not his knees anymore. This boy is quite the climber! Saturday morning, this is what we did. Over and over and over. Until the squeaky shoes came out (see previous post with video).

I've been wanting to take Hudson on the Trinity train for months now, but it's been so cold here that we haven't had a chance to do it. I decided that Saturday was the day! Of course, I picked a day that we were having 35-40 mph winds. Nice. It was fun though and definitely something that we'll be doing often now that the weather is getting warmer. My mom, Austin and his friend, Todd joined us on this little venture (Trey played golf...tis the season).

Munchkin gets so serious when he experiences new things. No smiles throughout the entire ride! But he really did like it. I think....

About to get blown away...

Juice break

Todd & Austin - Todd is Austin's roommate and best friend!

Hudson, me and Gammie - literally getting blown away. Thank goodness we went early b/c the wind picked up even more later that afternoon.

After the train ride, we went to have a petite super-fattening  lunch at Pappa's Burger. The picture below is pretty much what we see all the time now. Pointing, grabbing, reaching...always wanting something. I'm not sure what he was reaching for in this picture. Most likely, food. Hey - he IS my child. 

Uncle Austin tries to get H to wear his ballcap.

It doesn't quite fit him yet though. 

After having a nice, healthy salad big fat juicy burger with fries, we went home to take a nap. At least that's what I was hoping we would do. Oh no...munchkin decided he wasn't tired. Of course. 

Look at me - I can walk along all of the walls. And maybe just maybe I'll get into that laundry room.

Nope. No chance. So I'll just sit outside and imitate the sound of the vacuum cleaner

And I love banging on this bench

And finally - he got tired and napped. For exactly one hour. Not even enough time for me to catch up on my Real Housewives of NYC. 

Weekend Recap I

We had a great weekend! Friday evening, we met Erin, Perry and Ashley at Joe T's (where else?) for an early dinner on the patio. We sat by the pool and Hudson had a great time looking at the water and ooohing and aahhing. 

After he finished his dinner, he made his rounds with everyone at the table. Here he is with Aunt Erin.

And Uncle Perry....who looks a little unsure?? 

Then we had to sit in a big chair. Because someone thinks he's a big boy already.

And then some girls next to us smiled at him and the show began. He's such a little ham! He was flirting it up with these 2 girls next to us. I can't imagine where he gets that??? (trey)  

Hi there....you think I'm cute? 

Watch me!

On Saturday, we got dressed and put on our new shoes that Aunt Berta gave us. He looked so cute! Here's a little video we took. Afterwards, we went and rode the train around the Trinity. Pics on that to come tomorrow.

Easter Prep

I don't know about y'all, but I love Easter! It's one of my fondest memories growing up. My two favorite flowers are gerber daisies and tulips. I always gave my grandmothers tulips on Easter. They just signify Spring to me. And Easter.

My grandmother, Maw would always make us these elaborate Easter baskets filled with all kinds of goodies. She spent so much time on those and it's something we looked forward to each year. I'll definitely be buying Hudson a basket or maybe a cute bucket like these:

Maw and Pop would also hide eggs all over their enormous backyard! There were small eggs with candy and money in them. And then you had to look real hard to find that one large egg with your name painted on it. That one usually included money and some treats especially for you. So much fun! And don't think this stopped as we got older. I can remember doing these Easter egg hunts when I was in high school. That's how much we all loved it. Trey was a little surprised the first time he came to my family's Easter lunch only to find a bunch of teenagers racing through the yard hunting eggs. Don't worry though....he caught on quick and joined in the fun. How awesome are these eggs??? Wow...that's some serious art.

After the big egg hunt, we would all take our baskets inside, sit on the living room floor and open our eggs. I would separate my candy into different piles so I could see just how much I got. Austin always seemed to be the one with the most. Go figure. My grandmother would always give us 2 plastic bags. One for the candy and one for the money. We would leave their house sick to our stomachs from eating so much. But it was all worth it!

This year, we'll go to one of our church morning services and then head off to a few Easter egg hunts around town. I'm hoping that Hudson will be walking by Easter this year so that he can join in. He's been taking a few steps by himself, but he still prefers to crawl because it's the fastest method right now. Time will tell.

What do y'all do for Easter?? Do y'all have Easter baskets? Egg hunts? Easter lunch or dinner? Fill me in.

Rockstar Austin

Austin just got back from a Disney cruise with his friend, Jessica and her family. He and Jessica have known each other all of their lives and always do lots of things together. In fact, Jessica's family spends Christmas Day with us too! When they asked Austin to go on this cruise, he was beside himself with excitement. Jessica's sister, Eden also went and this is a little video of Eden and Austin singing karoke one night on the ship.  A few things before you watch this:

1) Austin can't read. (which makes it hard to karoke unless you know the words)

2) Austin can't hold a tune to save his life

3) Austin LOVES an audience

4) Austin LOVES a microphone

5) If Austin doesn't know the words to the song, he just mumbles or says the word after it's already been sung. You'll see what I mean.

Enjoy!! I don't blame you for fast forwarding :)

Busy Weekend

We kicked off our weekend by meeting Coco, Jen and Susan for a late lunch on Friday. Unfortunately, I had to go back to work so I didn't get to stick around for too long. It was fun while it lasted. And I did indulge in one margarita! I got a few pics.

Bram tried to sit as far away as possible from the girls! 

Sweet girl....

Bram wanted his turn holding Liam. Coco told him that he could just "pat" him...to which Tessie Mayes spoke up and said she wanted to PET him also. We all got a good laugh out of that one.

Jen and Liam 

Are you wondering if Hudson was really there??? He was. He was much too busy stuffing his face though. This picture cracks me up because it looks like he's smoking or something.

On Saturday, Hudson and I headed over to Southlake to meet my friend, Nikki for lunch. It was FREEZING! Poor Hudson hates wearing hats and having to get bundled up. 

It was so good to catch up with Nikki. Although catching up with a 1 year old in tow is a little difficult. Nikki is pregnant with her first and we can't wait to meet that baby!  

I dropped H off back at the house, changed clothes and headed to my friend Jane's baby shower. It was so fun! And she got tons of great gifts. I also met a lot of wonderful new girls. Amazing how you live in the same city, run around with a lot of the same people and yet you still meet new friends all the time. I love that! There were a lot of us that hosted this shower. Sixteen to be exact!! Good times.
I don't know what in the world happened to my camera at the shower. It was fine in Southlake and then it started taking blurry pictures. The settings were all set the same, so I'm not sure what the deal was??? I guess that's my hint to learn how to use my new camera that Trey got me for Christmas that's still sitting in the closet? Yeah. Most likely. So.....sorry for the blurry pics, but that's just how it is.

Drink table

Food table

Ice Cream Sundae Bar with lots of toppings

I stopped pictures after this one because of my camera, so no shots of any actual people. Hopefully, Jane will send me a few pics. 

H and I stayed home on SAT night while Trey went to a wedding shower for some of our friends. This is one of his new games. He likes us to crawl around the dining room table and chase him through his tunnels. This can go on for hours!

And----that was our weekend in a nutshell. Hope y'all had a great one!

Random Friday

Yipee for Friday! I have Spring fever like no other right now. Our weather for the last 2 days has been awesome. I think a cold front is coming back through tonight and it's supposed to be cold and rainy all day tomorrow. So.....I plan on enjoying today. We've been doing a lot of walking in the evenings and these are some of my favorite trees in our neighborhood. They're fruitless pear trees and they are ALL over. Love it!

Hudson and I are meeting Coco and her kiddos for a patio lunch at Joe T's after they go to the museum today. I hope the museum is still standing when they leave because I haven't taken Hudson yet and I really want him to see it.

Tomorrow, H and I have more lunch plans with a friend that I used to work with and then I'm hosting a baby shower tomorrow afternoon. We're doing an ice cream sundae bar and I think it'll be so cute! I'll take lots of pictures, I promise.

In other news, this is how Trey likes to play with the hunchback of notre dame Hudson. That would be a soccer ball stuffed into the back of his shirt. It didn't even phase H. Not one bit.

Dee did a post about how annoying it is to see Christmas decor and lights up in March. I have to agree. I hadn't paid much attention, but I noticed this yesterday as I was driving through a neighborhood. Seriously???? Take that crap down. From the looks of the house, I'd venture to say they don't really care.

And finally, Gammie is giving Hudson guitar lessons. Maybe Trey and I can retire early and milk off of our musician son? I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I swear he played Stairway to Heaven yesterday....or maybe that was my mom??

Hope y'all have a great weekend!!
Ciao

Testing the Limits

In the last couple of weeks, I've seen numerous changes in our little munchkin and it absolutely amazes me. He's testing his limits and really letting us know what he wants and doesn't want. And it's not always in such a pleasant way. He's been whining a lot more, throwing a few tantrums here and there, lots of pointing, lots of squirming out of our arms, and lots of "talking". This kid has a lot to say! 

I love to see how he's developing each day, but BOY oh BOY...it fascinates me that he already knows how to test us. He understands the word no. For example, the laundry room is a No-No and he'll sit in front of the closed door and point and shake his head. I love to see him do this and I think to myself - Wow, this kid is smart. He gets it! 

But no, he doesn't quite get it yet. Or maybe he does?? Sometimes when I tell him NO, he cocks his head to the side and gives me a sweet smile.....and then he tries to do whatever I've told him not to do again. Does he think if he flirts and grins at me that I'll let him touch that fireplace??? Of course he does. He's already mastering the art of persuasion. It blows my mind. I don't give in. I don't let him touch the fireplace. I promise I'm not a pushover. I really do stand my ground with him. Trey can vouch for me on that, but it doesn't stop Hudson from TRYING to persuade me. And what's funny is that he doesn't do that with Trey. Or my parents. Only me. Why is that??? 

This past week, we weaned him off his nap time bottles. This wasn't my idea. I mentioned to Trey that Dr. M suggested we go ahead and take the bottles away and Trey jumped right on board. He started last Friday by taking away his morning nap bottle. Hudson did great. He did perfect all through the weekend. But, then Trey fessed up last night and told me that he "might" have given Hudson "only 3 oz" of a bottle yesterday morning. WHAT?!?! I explained that we couldn't take away his bottles and then give them back. We've gotta stick to our guns! I think we're clear on that now. 

We're still giving him his bedtime bottle at night and really, I have no desire to take that one away just yet. Hudson doesn't use a pacifier, he doesn't have a blankie or stuffed animal to carry around, so his bedtime bottle is his only crutch. And he doesn't take it to bed with him. Doctors tell Moms to nurse their children as long as possible, so I don't really see the difference in keeping him on a bottle or keeping him on a boob. Personally, I'd rather see my 1 year old with a bottle than a boob. Just sayin! If you're a Mom or Dad, when did y'all take away the bottle? 

Be Thankful

We got some heartbreaking news on Sunday that a friend of ours died unexpectedly. I use the term 'friend', though Trey and I weren't close to him or his wife. However, we all run around in the same circle and some of our best friends were good friends with him.

He was 32 years old and in great shape. He ran a half-marathon on Sunday, crossed the finished line, gave his brother a high-five and collapsed. Never regained consciousness and died later at the hospital. He left behind a wife and 2 little girls (ages 3 and 1). Make my heart ache for them and they've been on my mind constantly. The girls are probably too young to realize what's happened and it just devastates me that they'll never know their Dad. Thankfully, they have a wonderful support system to help them through this terrible time.

It's made me realize how short life can be and how we need to live life to it's fullest all the time. Hug your family a little tighter, tell them you're proud of them, spend quality time with them each day, listen when they talk and tell them you love them every single day.

Remember - "Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, but Today is a gift!"

More pics

Busy day today! Here are more pictures that Jill took. So good....

And this is our other baby, Ranger. He's 13.