Miami Dolphins #1

Congratulations to the Miami Dolphins on becoming the AFC Division Champions!!

When you say Miami...

We're talking super bowl...

We are the Miami Dolphins, Miami Dolphins,

Miami Dolphins #1

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

It's hard to believe that this year is coming to an end! As we think back tonight on all the memories, good times, struggles, and joys of the past year, I can honestly say that I feel tremendously blessed by so many aspects of my life. I am thankful to God for each day he has given me with my family and friends, and as I don't want time to go by any faster then it does I look forward to what is in store for us in 2009! May you all look back with joy and thankfulness in your heart, and be filled with hope of the possibilities for the year ahead!

Below is a slide show of our Christmas holiday. We had a wonderful holiday at home filled with tons of fun for the kids! Oh, to be a kid again and be filled with such awe and wonder!

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Family Pictures

In October we had family photos taken at one of our favorite places in Tallahassee, Maclay Gardens. Our photographer, Robin Adams (http://www.robinadamsphotography.com/) did a great job, despite the horrible mood Hudson was in. She is the same photographer who took my maternity portraits. We wanted to capture Hudson and Madison at this age, and our family enjoying a beautiful place in town, so that we could remember this time in our lives living here in Tallahassee. If you are interested in seeing them, just click on the post entry title and it will take you to collages.net. Enter the username Mosier 2008 and password 11203. Enjoy...we did!

Child Stats

Today was the dreaded "shots" day with our children. Both Madison and Hudson had their well child check-ups, and yes, they both got shots. We have been spreading out Hudson's so that there aren't so many at one time, but that wasn't the case for little Maddy Mo. She had to take four different pokes in her thighs. Each one got harder and caused her more pain due to her stiffining, screaming and kicking. I have always hated when my babies got their shots, but I think holding down and hearing a 5 year old scream and cry in pain is way worse then hearing them as a baby. I felt horrible, and I know the nurse did too! After a while she pulled it together, but she is already wondering when she has to go back! Next time I might send Daddy!! Otherwise, it was a great check-up!

Here are their stats:

-Madison-

weight: 37 lbs (25th percentile)

height: 42 1/2 in (50th percentile)

-Hudson-

weight: 22lbs 2 oz (20th percentile)

height: 30 3/4 in (40th percentile)

An Early Christmas Celebration

Madison and Hudson got to enjoy an early Christmas celebration with Grandma and Grandpa...Well, we actually did too! We enjoyed breakfast and gifts at their house since we won't be together on Christmas day. Madison and Hudson, along with us recieved many wonderful gifts. We must have all been good this year because they were certainly good to us! Thanks so much!

Tracy's Wedding

This weekend was a long time friend's Wedding. Tracy and Patrick Hollon got married in Orlando, and both Brian and I were honored to be a part of their special day. I got to spend the weekend as a bridesmaid doing fun wedding party things. They also asked Brian to give the blessing at the reception. The weekend was filled with fun, love and joy. Below is a slide show of part of the weekend.

Thanksgiving 2008

I'm finally getting around to posting about our Thanksgiving holiday. This year we broke our long standing tradition of going to Brooksville to visit Grandma Jean and the gang, and tried something different. We spent the first half of the long weekend in Orlando with my Dad and Stepmother, Denise. My grandparents came over to join us on Thursday for a wonderful feast that Denise prepared. Friday we joined the millions of others for Black Friday shopping. After a fun-filled couple of days we headed over to Melbourne Beach to visit Brian's Grandmother, Mom, and extended family. We continued to celebrate the weekend with more feasting, fishing, and playing at the beach and in Nana Lucy's backyard. We had a fun time, and were thankful we were able to spend the time with so many members of our families.

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful food, gifts and memories!

Our Little Dancer

Madison has been taking dance lessons for a few years now. Today was a parent observation day at her studio, and we were able to watch our little dancers and the progress they are making. Of course, I think she did great! Just wanted to share some photos and a brief clip of one of her beautiful bar exercises.

A few new hobbies

So, we have been saying since birth that Hudson looks like a football player. Well, now he is acting like one. One of his new favorite hobbies is to put buckets, bowls, or pretty much anything big enough onto his head, then runs around crashing into things. Yes, that's right, he does this for fun....and laughs the entire time he's doing it. He also has discovered how fun it is to hang....this is great at the park, but the only problem is he tries to do this on unstable objects...like our chairs. So, maybe we were right in thinking he was going to be a football player. If not that, maybe a stunt man!

Below are two videos of Hudson's new hobbies.

Madison is 5!

Our sweet, baby girl turned 5 today....where has the time gone? 5 just sounds way too old! It seems like yesterday that she joined our family, and yet it is hard to remember life without her. She is such an amazing, special part of our family. What a year she has had. Here are a few highlights and accomplishments:

• She learned how to do a cartwheel and a bridge
• She can pump herself real high on a swing, and still loves to swing
• She can count to 115
• She has learned to read simple words and loves to spell and write the words she knows...about 25!
• She performed in her second dance recital, and did a tap and ballet dance
• She continues to be giving and kind to her friends. She still enjoys giving away her toys
• Her favorite color currently is purple
• She also still loves to play with her dolls, do arts and crafts, read books, dance and sing and watch movies...I don't think there is a favorite at the moment
• She is very insightful and doesn't miss anything we say, nor does she forget...If you say you will do something with her, for her...you better follow through!
• She has elaborate conversations and has always spoken very well...however she still has a few words that she mispronounces that we love: photum album (photo album), upslidedown (upside down), extructions (instructions), Duck Ella (Lake Ella), paterin (pattern), callepittar (caterpillar).

We are all so blessed by her each and everyday. To celebrate this 5th year of life we had a gymnastics birthday party yesterday. She decided that she wanted a purple, turquoise, and green cake. So, after Halloween trick-or-treating, I got busy making frosting and created a special cake for my princess. Thankfully it held up well and tasted great too! After a fun-filled party, thanks to Daddy, she spent the afternoon playing with her new toys and watching one of her new movies. This morning she woke up and opened the rest of her presents, and then put on her new dress, made by my friend, Janay. When she was asked what she wanted to eat for her birthday meal she said, "a taco", so after church we went out to lunch with friends for some Mexican. After watching another new movie, Brian surprised us by telling us to go get our nails done together. This was Madison's first time getting her nails done in a salon, and she thought she was really something special!

It was a wonderful birthday weekend, for a wonderful big girl!

Happy 5th Birthday Madison

Here is a slide show of the weekend!

Happy Halloween

Well, it was a trip to Oz this Halloween for the Mosier family. Dorothy followed the yellow brick road and found the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and the Wicked Witch. Luckily, Dorothy saved Toto from the Witch, after getting oiled up, the Tin Man got a heart, the Lion found some courage.....we think from the two lollipops he had, and everyone got plenty of candy. We were also joined by a vampire, Curious George, The Man in the Yellow Hat, a little Dorothy in training, and a Sparkly Fairy. It was a wonderful Halloween in our neighborhood.

I love this holiday!

Below is a slide show of our adventure Halloween night and our visit to the pumpkin patch.

There is also a video of Dorothy singing a very special song.

A First Prayer

Wednesday night we sat down to a family dinner. While Brian was saying a prayer before we began eating, I looked over at Hudson and noticed he had clasped his hands and bowed his head. It brought a smile to each of our faces, as we felt like we witnessed Hudson's first attempt to pray!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Below is a long slide show of some pictures of us over the last month or so...enjoy!

Hudson is 13 Months Old

This shot was taken for Hudson's 1 year visit. (I have quite a few copies if you want one...just let me know.)

Hudson has finally grown in his 2 front teeth, for a total of 4 teeth...I was beginning to wonder if he was going to ever get any more teeth! He continues to be fun and loving, but now that he is walking all over he is a bit more stubborn. He does not want help doing things, and the bruises on his head proves it! He enjoys sliding on the slide out back, rocking in Madison's little rocking chair, and sitting down my his bookshelf to look at books. This has been great because until this month he had little interest in books. His favorite book currently is "Pajama Time". I think he likes the sing-song way it lends itself to.

He is constantly doing cute things. I'm not sure if I already mentioned this last month, but he loves to put objects into the toilets and garbage cans, so we are still watching him. He also loves to take laundry out of the basket or off the bed and walk around with it over his head...another reason for the bumps on the head...but he just laughs and hollers as he blindly walks! He dances and bops up and down to his handy many tool box (see video below). Brian has coached him so well, that lately every time Brian enters the room, Hudson does the Seminole chop (see video below)...It's pretty funny! He has also learned to say "again", and when asked a question like, "Where did Daddy do?", he hold up his hands and shakes his head.

He studies Madison and continues to learn from and copy her. Yesterday, Madison was eating on the floor with her tray, and Hudson just would not eat in his high chair, so I took him out and put his bowl next to hers and he sat and ate with her. He also had his first Popsicle in the tub just like his big sis...he thought he was big stuff!! She continues to love him and learns to deal with having a little brother who wants to explore all of her stuff....she's doing a pretty good job!!

I love watching their relationship develop.

Fun Stuff!!

Madison is Turning 5!

The evite worked so well for Hudson's birthday that we decided to make another one for Madison's upcoming birthday party. Just wanted to share it with you all...she's pretty cute!

Make a Smilebox greeting

New Design

In order to get into the Fall season, I decided to change the blog a bit. Last week we were given a small glimpse of cooler weather, but now we are back into the heat. Hopefully the Fall weather will be here to stay real soon! Our favorite pumpkin patch is up and ready to go...can't wait to visit it real soon.
I love this time of year!

High School Reunion

Make a Smilebox slideshow

1 Year Well Baby Check-Up

Hudson had his 1 year check up today, and our once big boy has definitely slowed down on his growth....or has just gotten really active! He seems to be right on track developmentally and doing great! However, he does appear to be allergic to milk/dairy products, so we will be altering some ingredients in our house for at least the next year. Then, hopefully he will have outgrown it. We will also be trying a prescription cream for his eczema because it seems to be getting worse. Let's hope it works. Thankfully he does not seem to notice it or be bothered by it.

Below are his current stats:

height: 29 1/2 inches (45th percentile)
weight: 21 pounds 9 ounces (35th percentile)

Many Thanks!

Ok, so I am doing my part to conserve paper and help our environment. Here is a copy of the Thank You card we sent out from Hudson's birthday. Just because it is not tangible does not mean that we are any less thankful. We are extremely appreciative to all of you who made Hudson's first birthday special!

Make a Smilebox postcard

Hudson is 1 Year Old

Well, the big day has finally arrived...my baby boy is 1 year old!! Yesterday we celebrated his first year of life by having a party at our house. The party revolved around balls, since playing with balls is one of Hudson's favorite things. The poster above was used for a decoration. We had a football cake, along with baseball, soccer ball and basketball cupcakes....all of which were homemade. We also played "Kick a field goal"(pin the tail on the donkey style). Everyone seemed to have a great time...especially Hudson and Madison. Hudson definitely enjoyed eating his baseball cupcake...so much that he decided to forgo using his hands and just dove his face right into it...it was hilariously cute!! He has thoroughly enjoyed playing with the new toys that we have opened....Thank You Everyone!

I'm convinced that there is something life changing about turning 1. I noticed it with Madison and I am noticing it with Hudson. He is doing so much more these days and seems different already. He is walking short distances, mimicking animal noises, saying a handful of words, playing more purposefully, and listening to and following simple directions. We know he understands us by the way he looks at us, even when he doesn't respond the way we would want him to. His new fascinations lie with toilets, garbage cans and his diaper pail. He enjoys putting objects into containers, and does not yet understand why he can't put his toys in those places! When he gets busted, he looks at you with those big blue eyes and a face that says, "I know I'm doing something I shouldn't, but don't I look cute doing it!" He's amazing...but then again I am a little biased! There is no doubt though that he is adorable. His eyes are as blue as ever and I think his hair may even be getting lighter. He truly looks like an all American boy!
Below is a digital scrapbook that I made from his party. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

A few trips and early celebrations

We have had a busy August with lots of traveling. We took a couple day trips to the beach, some with friends and some with family. We made a long trek to North Carolina to visit my Mom. Then we headed to Ft. Lauderdale for my High School Reunion (I will post pictures of this later). We have also had a few pre-birthday celebrations for Hudson since our family can not make it up for his party. Below is a slideshow of some of these trips.

All about Madison

Madison has been growing and learning with leaps and bounds lately. What a fun, smart and sweet girl she is. I just wanted to take a minute to share some cute pictures of her and give you a little update about her. She has really been trying to write and read and is getting close everyday. She can now count 100 all by herself! When we get the chance, she enjoys playing with all of my old Kindergarten games....and let me tell you, she does an excellent job...even better then some of the kids I used to teach...and she is not even in kindergarten yet! She loves to draw, play with her dolls, dance and perform, and play card games like UNO, slap jack and go fish. She takes things a little more seriously at times and is enjoying some alone time in her room...probably so that Hudson can't mess up her toys...but she's usually still up for giving us all a good laugh...just check out her faces in the pictures below. Thankfully she remains a sweet girl who is loving, generous and fun to be with. Can't believe she will be 5 in November!

It's Party Time

We decided to do an e-invitation for Hudson's 1st Birthday Party invitation. We will be having a small gathering of our closests friends and family at home on Hudson's big day. Although many of you can not make it, I wanted to share the invitation with you all!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Hudson is 11 Months

Hudson turned 11 months last week. Its been a crazy couple of weeks, so I am just now getting to his entry.

Look at how big he is... I can't believe how old he is looking....handsome too!! It has been yet another fun month full of learning new things. Some highlights of the month are that he had his first visit to Disney World, he has developed an appreciation for real food (and even eats more then Madison at some meals), and has tried to say a few new words. He still says Dada, Mama, bye-bye and go-go. He has begun to say hello (or something close to it), but usually only if he is holding a cell phone! He calls Madison "Das" and Angela seems to be "A la la". He loves to wave to people and will blow kisses when asked. He also covers his eyes to play peek-a-boo, makes an Indian noise with his mouth and hand, and makes a fish face when he feels like it. He can identify his head, mouth and ears and will brush his own or someone else's hair with a brush (that is when he is not eating it)! He walks around the house with his walker and can transfer from one piece of furniture to the next. He will let go and stand briefly, but then gets frustrated. He took one step this weekend when he transferred from his walker to the couch. He didn't even know what he did, but I saw it and started cheering for him! He hasn't done it again, but I am sure it won't be long. Only a few more weeks until the big 1st Birthday!!

Hudson's Wish List

As you all know, Hudson has a very special day coming up in about a month. In preparation for this cute kid's first birthday he has helped us put together this birthday wish list. Feel free to browse the slide show below to see some of the items we thought he'd enjoy. He seems to love balls, cars, and toys with lights and sounds. He, thankfully, has plenty of clothes, along with stuffed animals. He is definitely ready for some new big boy toys!!

Below are are a few more things that we found!A photo book, a Little Tykes workbench, and books about boy stuff!

My First Sewing Project

Last Christmas I received a sewing machine as a gift from my parents. (I'm sure they were beginning to think that I was never going to open it.) After many months of being intimidated by the machine sitting in the box, I decided that this week I would crack the seal. So I went to the fabric store, picked out some fabric and ribbon and decided that my first project would be a tag blanket for Hudson. He had received one for a baby gift...loved it...but then lost it. After I got him down for a nap, I opened the manual and quickly decided to call Daisha for some help. She kindly came over, gave me a quick tutorial and away I went. I was determined to complete the project in one day, and I actually did it!! I would say for my first attempt, I did great and am proud of myself. Do I think I can go into business...not quite...but hopefully Hudson will enjoy it and will serve its purpose. I told Madison that if this project went well, my next one would be a dress for her. Looks like I'll be taking her to pick out some fabric.

Here are some pictures of my first creation!!

An Afternoon with G

Now that our friends, The Sheets Family, have moved in the neighborhood it is easy to get together to play. Yesterday Madison invited Gideon over to play in the pool. They had a fun afternoon playing outside and enjoyed a snowcone treat. Just wanted to share some fun pictures.

The Wonderful World of Disney!

Last week we had our annual trip to Disney World. We are so thankful that MomMom and Stu continue to take us each year because we always have a great time, and make some fun memories. This year my brother Bobby and sister-in-law Kim joined us. This made it even more special because my brother and I have not been together since we were kids and this was Kim's very first time. As usual, we packed our days with park hopping, a few trips to the pool, shopping and a delicious buffet character breakfast. Its amazing how quickly the days go by when you are on vacation. We all had such a wonderful time that we didn't want to leave! Below is a slide show of our trip.

Thanks a Million MomMom and Stu!

Hudson is 10 months

We're getting closer and closer to the big first birthday. Hudson is 10 months old today, and what a fun month it has been! His crawling speed seems to increase daily, and all he wants to do is stand up. He has proudly taken his first steps with a walker. So now, he tries to push anything that will move so he can take a few steps. He loves playing ball...and this makes Brian very happy! If you roll or toss him a ball, he will grab it and toss it back and then clap for himself....it's really adorable! He likes tactile books, where he can touch the pages and books with animals. Other then that I am lucky if I can get him to sit still long enough to finish one story....he is a mover!! Since it is summertime we have spent a lot of time outside in the pool. He loves the water and has his own mini pool that he'll play in for as long as I let him. He especially loves when Madison joins him. He has become her little copy cat, trying to mimic her sounds. He has really gotten good at this lately. He tries to say ball, bye-bye, mama and dada, nana (banana), and go go go. He can meow like a cat (he learned this from copying our cat), and baaa like a sheep. He has also begun using the sign for more when he eats. He is eating a variety of foods now and is transitioning into more table foods. His current favorite is grapes....you can't get them on his plate fast enough! We are still concerned about possible food allergies because he gets a rash around his mouth after eating certain foods, so we will have to keep an eye on it. Other then that he is a wonderful, joyful baby boy! He still melts our hearts with his cute smile, crazy sounds and beautiful blue eyes. We are looking forward to the month ahead!

Happy Birthday Brian

32 years ago today, my wonderful husband was brought into this world, and I am truly greatful for that. Although we could not be at the beach for Brian's birthday this year, we made the best of it by having a small gathering of family and friends. We had some chicken wings, snacks, and homemade cake. Once we got the kids to sleep we were able to play a 3 hour game of Trivial Pursuit 90's Pop Culture...guys vs girls....in a sudden death finish, the guys claimed the title of champions for the night. We all had a great time celebrating Brian's special day!

Happy Birthday Brian!

Art Show

Yesterday was Madison's annual school art show. As usual, the teachers did an amazing job displaying art work that the students have worked on throughout the year. They transformed the playground into an outdoor art gallery. It truly makes the kids feel like little artists. Below are just a few pieces of her work. Please feel free to contact Madison if you would like to purchase one of these priceless masterpieces. Sorry no checks or credit cards accepted....cash only please!!

Happy Father's Day

Well, today was Father's Day and I think Hudson's shirt says it all! Brian is truly an exceptional father and I don't think Madison and Hudson can yet understand how lucky they are. To celebrate this special day we took a day trip yesterday to the beach at St. George Island, which is one of Brian's favorite places. It was a beautiful day filled with fun in the sun, and a great weekend celebrating Dads.

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dad's in our life!

9 Month Check-up

Hudson had an excellent well baby check-up today. All is well and he looks great. He is starting to slim down a bit now that he is crawling and becoming more active. Below is a picture of a new favorite position of his. We had to lower his crib last week and remove the bumpers since he was trying to climb up them already. I have a feeling we're going to have to watch him very closely!!

Here are Hudson's current stats:

weight: 20 pounds, 15 ounces (55th percentile)

height: 28 1/2 inches (55th percentile)

Mi'ma and Dave Make a Visit

Last weekend my Mom (Mi'ma) and her husband Dave finally were able to make a trip down from North Carolina. It was a much anticipated visit since this was the first time they were able to meet Hudson. The weekend was filled with playing, watching movies, shopping, eating and just hanging out. We all had a great time and were so happy they were able to stay for a while. Hope to see them again real soon!

Below is a short slide show.

Hudson is 9 Months Old

Hudson was all smiles today, but he wasn't this happy all month. It was a rough couple of weeks in our house dealing with sicknesses all around. Hudson had his first ear infection, and dealt with a horrible wheezing cough, which caused him to have nebulizer breathing treatments. After recovering from that he caught some other type of virus causing him to have several days of a high fever followed by a rash. Finally by the end of the month he fully recovered and made some major leaps and bounds. He is now a crawling machine! He decided that he would crawl, pull up on things and attempt to cruise the furniture all in the same day! Our life as we knew it will never be the same. Madison already has to be on guard of her things if Hudson is near by.

Currently, Hudson is doing a few new and funny things. He is trying to "meow" when you show him a picture of cat and make the sound. He also sings along to "Elmo's Song" with his own "la, la, La's". And finally tonight, Brian has taught him to mimic the tune of the Seminole war chant. (If I can capture all these on video soon, I will upload them because they are quite adorable.)

Hudson still loves water. He has his own baby pool that we put outside next to Madison's big pool, and he has a blast splashing away.

These next few things we are hoping are just a phase and we will be working on them with Hudson. He loves hair....he loves to play with it, pull it and even eat it! When he wants to be, he can be fast and strong! He has pulled chunks out of Madison's head and she hasn't even noticed. He gets such a good grip that he even gets me yelling for help sometimes. We are encouraging gentleness in this area. His other habit is biting. I attribute this to teething right now, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. Everything goes into his mouth, so if my shoulder is close by, he fits what he can in his mouth and chomps down!! One time this month, he actually pulled out one of my earrings and got it into his mouth without me realizing. We thought he was eating some hair, but when we turned him over and around, my earring fell out....thank God!! That would have been the last thing we needed this month.

Despite all the craziness of the month, though, we had plenty of fun moments. I also got to enjoy many days of snuggling, which I can never get enough of!

Happy 9 Month Birthday Hudson!

Congratulations Graduate!

Our niece Angela had her 5th Grade Graduation this morning and she certainly looked grown up! She has had an amazing few years in elementary school, making mainly all A's and B's and always being her teacher's dream student! She graduated with a few awards and will be entering the Pre-IB program in Middle School, which is an accelerated college prep program. We are all so proud of her accomplishments and the young lady (or should I say, "tween", as all the preteens call themselves) she is becoming.

Congratulations Graduate!!

A Big Day for Madison

For the past 6 months, Madison has inquired about getting her ears pierced. We told her that when she felt like she was ready that we would take her to get it done. She quickly thought she was ready to go, until we let her watch it being done. Then she decided that she would wait until she was 10. As the months past, she decided she would do it when she was 6, then it was when she turned 5, and then she finally decided that she would be ready after her dance recital. So, we took her on Sunday. She told everyone that she was both excited and nervous...and so was I! Below are some pictures of the experience. As you can see, now she really looks grown up and beautiful!

Happy Memorial Day

A special thanks to family, friends, and those we don't even know who have served our country so that we can freely enjoy the life we live here in America.

Happy Memorial Day and God Bless!

Better Days for Hudson

This week was much better for Hudson now that he is feeling back to normal. He is getting so close to crawling. He rocks on all fours, pushes backwards and is lifting his hands...he just hasn't gotten the moving forward action yet. I know he'll be moving along soon enough! He also got to enjoy some time in the driver's seat with Daddy (while the car was parked) and seemed to enjoy it. There are some pictures below.

Madison's Dance Recital

This weekend was Madison's dance recital, and she did a fantastic job! This year she was able to do a ballet and a tap dance. I hoped to have put together a short movie with all the clips we recorded from the weekend, but we are having technical difficulties with our movie editing software. I know many of you are anxious to see her dances, so I thought I would just upload the clips for now. When I complete my actual movie, I will upload that as well. Enjoy watching our beautiful little dancer. We sure did!

Lemonade For Sale

Our neighborhood had a community garage sale this morning. Madison was so excited for an opportunity to make some money that she decided she wanted to have a lemonade stand. She also helped out by going through her toys and stuffed animals, and was willing to part with a bunch of things. She made about $5 to add to her piggy bank. All she wants to do now is go and spend it. So, we are working on the concept of saving. Here she is with some of her earnings.

Update

We went back to the doctor's office and Hudson seems to be responding well to the breathing treatments. The wheezing is gone and his oxygen levels were back up to 99%. We have to continue the breathing treatments throughout the weekend and then he should be back to normal next week.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

Our Little Trooper

Well the sickness continues on for our little guy. After over three weeks of a yucky cough, Hudson began wheezing this weekend and running a low grade fever. Although we were just in the doctor's office a week and a half ago for pink eye, we decided to bring him back for another look. Good thing we did because he has a full blown ear infection in the left ear, with the right ear not far behind. Because of the wheezing, his oxygen level is a little low, so we had to bring home a nebulizer and give him breathing treatments (where we hold this mask over his face for about 6-10 minutes while he breathes the medicine) three times a day, along with an antibiotic. We will go back later in the week to check his progress. All this going on, and he has been remarkable. Not once did he let on that his ears were bothering him, and he even has been sleeping better....go figure! Despite all of this, he's still giving us smiles.

Say a prayer that our sweet boy gets better quickly.

Happy Mother's Day

My Mother's Day celebration started a few days ago at Madison's school. They had a Hawaiian Mother's Day Breakfast where we all dressed up in Hawaiian clothes, ate breakfast treats and received hand made gifts from our children. Although I almost didn't make it due to not reading the monthly bulletin yet, we made it in a hurry, and it was well worth it!! Madison made me a beautiful beaded necklace that she was so excited to give me. She did a great job!

On Mother's Day we hung out in our PJ's all morning while Hudson took an early nap. We did not make it to church since he has still been sick, but we did go out for a delicious brunch later in the morning. After we all rested, Madison and I got to enjoy a girl's shopping day while Brian stayed with Hudson. It was a lot of fun to spend some one on one time with her! Brian did the grocery shopping and the laundry so I didn't have to lift a hand all day...that was nice! Next weekend Brian is also taking me to dinner and a ballet to celebrate.

It was a wonderful Mother's Day and I'm so thankful to be a Mommy!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in our lives that we love and appreciate so much! Hope you all had a wonderful day!

Visiting Grandpa and Grandma

Last weekend we went down to visit Grandpa and Grandma in Orlando. Madison was excited to have a sleepover at their house and play with the dogs, Sparkey and Studley. We also got to go swimming a few times. Madison remembered how to swim with no problems and Hudson enjoyed his first real swim. As always, we all had a wonderful time and the kids enjoyed being spoiled by their Grandparents.
Below are pictures from our trip.

Hudson is 8 Months Old

Another fun month has passed by for our cutie! Not much has changed, he just becomes stronger and more efficient at what he has been doing. He is sitting up in his bath on his own and is a splashing machine. He went swimming for the first time and loved it....face under water and everything! He gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. He can also spin himself around on his belly like a CD. His favorite thing to do is to stand up. He will hold onto anything and when you try to sit him down he stiffens his legs and cries if you pull him away before he was ready too sit on his own. With all this movement though, he wound up getting his first bruise on his forehead, but it cleared up quickly. Verbally he is making all sorts of new sounds and babbles. He unknowingly says, "uh-oh" from time to time. (Madison thinks this is funny!) His happiest times of the day are still when he awakens from his naps and when Madison comes home from school. They are becoming more physical when they play (wrestling, tickling, laughing, etc..), and Hudson actually bit her for the first time this week. I asked Madison what she was doing putting her fingers in his mouth and she said, "I didn't Mommy, he pulled my hand into his mouth and he bit my finger." I reassured her that he didn't mean to hurt her, and I don't think she'll let that happen again. At least not until he becomes stronger then her!

Below is a slide show of pictures I took of Hudson today. I decided to share them all so you could see a bit of his personality. Enjoy!

Happy 8 Month Birthday Hudson!!

Happy 1/2 Year Birthday Madison

Madison is half-way through her fourth year and it just blows my mind!! Over the past 6 months she has continued to grow into a spectacular little human being, constantly blowing our minds! Here is a list of highlights and accomplishments:

• Her new favorite thing do when friends or babies come over is to give away one of her toys as a gift to them. She gets such a joy out of doing this; it's truly an expression of how giving she is and how much she loves her friends.
• She still loves to be read to, but lately she enjoys writing just as much. She can sound out and write simple words and familiar names. She also enjoys stringing random letters together and asking someone to sound out what silly words she wrote.
• She can pump by herself on a swing.
• She hugged a dolphin for the first time.
• She can count to 50 by herself, and even to 100 with a little help.
• She learned to skip with both feet (she did a one-legged skip for a while).
• She finally pushed up to a bridge in gymnastics all by herself. (looks like a back-bend)
• She loves to sing and dance around the house. She pretends she is a rock star like Hannah Montana...although she's hardly ever seen her!! She's actually really good at improvising words to a song!
• Her favorite movie today is Enchanted, and she loves the song, "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie!
• She's outgrowing her naps, so we now call it "rest time". She gets to look at books quietly in her bed. Sometimes she falls asleep, but most of the time she does not!
• Every night before she goes to bed Madison has the deepest thoughts and asks the most profound questions. Brian and I have called it "Deep Thoughts" by Madison. We really have to be on our toes and ready for some serious answers because we never know what she might ask!
• She has an incredible memory and ability to make correlations between people and life events. It's amazing to us!
• She's still the best big sister to Hudson, and he adores her!
• One funny thing she said this weekend: We were visiting my Dad and Denise this weekend and went swimming a few times. They have a large community pool along with a little "kiddy" pool. On the last day we were in the big pool and she said, "Can we go to "cat pool" now. Get it "Kitty" pool...."Cat" pool. We all cracked up!

It's been a great 6 months. We could not ask for more in our little girl. Happy 4 1/2 Year Birthday Madison!

TGIF

Wow, what a week! We have not been this relieved for a Friday in a long time. I know we all have crazy weeks, but I figured this one was worth recording, so that one day when our life is calm again, we can look back and say,"Wow we made it through some hectic times!" This was the last week of the Spring semester for Brian, his last week of taking classes as a student and the week that I was transitioning from one studio to another pilates studio. We anticipated a busy week with many added appointments and tried to be as organized as possible, but life stepped in and made it more challenging. We all got sore throats and colds last weekend, then Brian ended up having strep throat and was out of commission for a few days. He had to postpone an exam until the middle of the week. Between Monday and Wednesday Hudson developed a horrible cough and pink eye in both eyes, our cat (who was scheduled to have surgery today to remove a large cist) ruptured his cist. I discovered this by finding pools of blood all over the floor and even on our bed!! To make it worse Brian was retaking the exam he already postponed. So, again he left the exam to rush our cat to the vet, while I stayed home with the sick kids. Thankfully he is ok and we all made it through the week. To unwind from the week, we are having a much needed adult night out tonight.

TGIF

Having fun!

Here's a few more cute pictures of Madison and Hudson playing together. They have more and more fun with each other as the days go by!

Madison the Artist

Madison loves to draw and write these days, and she has really become quite the artist. I thought I would put a short slide show together of her recent pictures. This way I have a space-saving way of keeping these masterpieces!!

Good-Bye Toothless Grin

I told you how Hudson cut his first tooth a few weeks back. Well, now he has two teeth and I was able to get a picture today of his new cute smile!!

Thanks Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa

Madison was sent this adorable outfit from her great-grandparents and got to wear it to church on Sunday. Her favorite part was the headband! I promised Great-Grandma & Grandpa that I would post a picture so that they could see it on her. Thanks again!!