6 month and Family Portraits

Last week we went for Hudson's 6 month portraits and decided to make it a family event. We have not actually received the pictures back yet, but had them sent to us via email. Somehow we were able to download them for free from the website. Below is a slide show of all the portraits taken. If you want to go to the site yourself and try to download them for printing purposes, either click on this blog title or go to:

https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTP63701035014JCP

and enter kristen mosier for the customer name.

Happy Viewing

Happy Easter

We had a wonderful day celebrating Easter. It started this morning with Madison waking everyone up to hunt the hidden Easter eggs. It took a while for us to realize that she was awake because she stayed in her room and called us, rather then just coming out like she normally does. When we asked her why she didn't come wake us up she said, "I didn't want to ruin my surprise!" How cute is she!! Angela spent the night with us, so she helped Hudson find some eggs while Madison found her own. One by one Madison opened them up to count all the money that was in each egg. Then they all opened their baskets and we enjoyed some delicious cinnamon rolls. (We only make these once or twice a year, so everyone was excited.) Angela said with a smile, "I thought we would be having pancakes, but these work!" Then we all got ready for church. After church we packed up a picnic and enjoyed an afternoon at the park. What a beautiful day it was. Below is a slide show of our day.

First, here is another quick Madison story....oh, how I love this child!!

As Madison was packing her purse for church, she filled it with a lot of change from her Easter eggs...about two hand fulls. I asked her what she was doing with it all and she said bringing it to church. I told her that she only needed to bring her usual quarter or two that she gives for the contribution, but she said, "No, Mommy, I want to give it all to God today because I love Him." Yet another example of how this little girl amazes me and challenges me! What a way to give back on such a special day. Shouldn't we all have a giving heart like this!

Happy Easter

Here Comes Peter Cottentail

Tonight we visited the Easter Bunny. Madison was excited to see him and was her usual sweet self, giving him lots of hugs. Hudson enjoyed sitting in his lap and tried to eat his fur and big bow tie. Here are some pictures.

My First Friend

My very first childhood friend was named Brianna Wolf. We lived two doors down from each other in Sunrise, Florida, and her mother cared for me from the time I was about 6 months old until we started preschool. Her family moved to Missouri when we were in elementary school, but we have kept in touch throughout the years at various times. The last time we saw each other was seven years ago when her Grandparents moved to Tallahassee, and a lot has changed since then!! We are both married now with two children. They currently live in Colorado, but this weekend her entire family came to town for the Easter holiday, and we were able to spend some time together. If was fun to watch our children play together and reminisce about the many days we spent playing together. It was so nice to get to meet her family (Kevin, Ian and Mya)and see how well they are doing. Hopefully we can get together again before another seven years go by. I am grateful we were able to catch up, and that I can say I am still friends with my very first friend!!

Easter gifts from Grandpa and Grandma

When we returned home from our trip, it looked like the Easter Bunny had come early to our house. The kids both had giant stuffed toys on their beds...which they love...and we even got some new stuff too! Got to love Grandparents. They know how to spoil us all!!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Mom-Mom's World

Last week was Brian's Spring Break, so we took an extra long weekend to travel down to Ft. Lauderdale to stay with Renee' (aka: Mom-Mom) and Stu. Ever since our niece was little, whenever she would visit or stay with them, she would call it Mom-Mom's World because she would get spoiled just like Grandparents do. So, now Madison calls it that too! It was Hudson's first visit down south, and our first long car ride with the two of them....6 hours of entertaining in the backseat, with a few brief breaks for naps....whew...They did great, but I am glad that it's over!! We had a great time visiting with family and friends, enjoyed the beach, the pool, shopping, and lots of good eating!! Below is a slide show from our trip.

One funny story: we went out to breakfast on Sunday before we left and to keep Hudson occupied the waitress gave him an empty kid's cup just like Madison's. He LOVED it. He loved it so much, that if you took it out of his hands he yelled for it back. It was the first time he had been so attached to anything like that, so we were all amused. That cup was a hit all the way home!!

Big Boy Stats

Hudson had his 6 month check up on Tuesday and seems to be doing great. He is right on track developmentally and our Doctor said he is a strong boy! His current stats are:

weight: 19 lbs 6oz (80th percentile...he's going down)

height: 27 in (70th percentile...he's going up)

So, it looks like he is starting to even out a bit...yeah! Don't get me wrong though, he is still huge and is already wearing 12 month clothing!! We don't know where he gets it from.

After I read what I posted for his 6 month birthday I remembered some other things he started doing that I didn't want to forget. If you read that he is eating oatmeal, the reason is because he had a negative reaction to rice cereal (vomiting and stuff...so it could be an allergy). But he is tolerating the oatmeal well and had also eaten sweet potatoes, bananas and carrots...all homemade. I'm trying to make my own food in hopes that it helps him become a less picky eater than his sister. Last month he also started reaching his hands out to yours if you hold yours out. He started showing more favoritism to me by reaching for me as I walk by or if someone else is holding him for too long. It's very sweet and rewarding!! I'm so in love!!

Happy 1/2 Year Birthday Hudson

I know I say this every month, but I can't believe Hudson is 6 months old today. As I was putting him to sleep tonight I rocked him a little longer then usual so I could stare at his cute face, think back over the past half year, and cherish the moment I was in. There's nothing quite like your baby asleep on your chest, with your cheek pressed up against their head and feeling their breath on your face! It's a good thing I can't fall asleep like that or I'd be tempted to let him sleep with me all night. As his legs scrunch up to fit in my lap, I thought about how grown up and independent Madison is, and I realize how quickly these days are passing for Hudson. As much as I'd love to keep him this age forever, its been truly amazing to watch him grow this year so far, and I know I will enjoy the next 6 months just as much. He's already accomplished a lot and changed dramatically from the day we brought him home. Each day we all fall more in love with the sweet, little person he is becoming.

This month's major accomplishments include learning to sit up my himself, and figuring out how to roll, wiggle, army crawl...or scoot to move around a room. He transfers objects between hands, and enjoys banging two things together to hear the noise it makes. Some favorite toys have been stacking cups. He gets so excited as we stack them up, then he eagerly moves close enough to knock them down. He loves the cups in the bathtub as well and enjoys having water dumped on him making a big splash. He likes books with pictures of animals and especially likes it when you make the animal noises for him. A favorite song is the ABC's. Whenever he starts to cry in the car, all we have to do is sing that song and he stops...its amazing....but if you stop, he usually cries again. So, there have been times where Madison and I have repeatedly sung that song the entire way home. You do what you have to do, ya know! He continues to be a good baby, and is actually sleeping a little better at night. He currently has one regular oatmeal dinner before bed, so maybe that is helping. He is still so sweet and so darn handsome. Another sweet thing he has learned is to give kisses. If you say, "Kisses" in a drawn out, high pitched sort of way and then make the kissing sound he will turn his face to you and come at you with a open mouth, drooly kiss. It's truly adorable, and even Madison doesn't mind the drool.

Below is a short slide show to recap the past 6 months. It was difficult for me to only pick a few pictures because I love them all. Tuesday we go to his 6 month check up, so I will let you know what he is currently weighing in at then.

Happy 1/2 Year Birthday Hudson!

XOXOXOXO

Unexpected Trip

We had a nice surprise on Friday evening when our friends Whitney and Jimmy called us and invited us to their sister's beach house in Amelia Island for the weekend. With how much we love the beach we quickly decided to pack up and head up to see them. Amelia Island was beautiful! It was a little chilly, but that didn't stop Madison from enjoying every aspect of the beach. She even managed to pull her Daddy into the freezing cold water with her. She collected tons of shells and spent most of the time skipping around the shore line singing, "I Love the ocean, I love the ocean!" This was Hudson's first time seeing the beach, and I'm pretty sure he loves it already. It was fun to spend some time with old friends....especially now that we can get our children together to play. Wish we could do it more often. Thanks Whitney and Jimmy for a great weekend!