Birthdays and more!

I need to play catch up!  Since I last wrote we have had 3 birthdays, a holiday, and snow!  So here goes……

I turned the big 30 in November.  My sweet hubby made me dinner (chocolate chip pancakes, bacon and eggs) and he and Lilly picked me out some cute birthday presents – cookbook, Santa socks, candy, plastic panda bear (Lilly picked most of it out:)).  I really enjoyed my b-day with my family!

Then, Hudson turned 1!!!!! I can’t believe it has been a year since we were in the hospital being handed our precious little son.  How thankful that we were chosen to be his parents.   He is the sweetest thing and we love him so much.  He had a monkey party this year.  I think he had fun playing with all his cousins and grandparents.  He was not too sure about the cake – it was very sweet and he puckered his mouth after each bite!  He did manage to eat about 1/2 of his smash cake.  He is walking around everywhere now and is very adventurous!  He loves all balls – I think that is his favorite thing.  He got his first hair cut  the day of his first party and he did so good – my hair cut lady did it and she was great, so now some of his curls are gone, but I left some on the back for now.  Happy Birthday Hudson! 

Then we had Thanksgiving in Tyler.  I can’t believe that a trip that once took 3 1/2 hours without kids can now take 5.  We had a great time hanging out with our family – we even had a new family picture of the England side done.  We also got to meet my cousin’s fiancée – they are getting married in December and he is from Copenhagen.  It was neat to get to meet him.

Then it was Lilly’s 3rd birthday.  Her party will be next week, but we had a good time celebrating her special day.  She really understands birthdays this year – she is one of the last in her class at preschool to turn 3, so she was glad it was finally her time.  It even snowed on her birthday – she thinks just for her!  She definitely loved her cake and opening her presents and is still wearing her birthday crown around the house.  

Halloween

This year for Halloween, we got to celebrate many times.  Lilly and Hudson were Tinkerbelle and Peter Pan. Our first was at Nina and Papa’s house.  Their neighborhood has a tractor ride that took the kids to houses on their street to trick or treat.  Hudson and cousin  Ruthie rode in strollers and Lilly rode in a wagon, and the other cousins rode the tractor.  They got lots of candy!  We also had a smore roast – Nina built a fire pit that is really great and we had tons of gooey fun!

 

 

Second, Lilly got to dress up for dance class.  They learned a short dance to Ghostbusters and performed for the parents.  It was pretty cute!

 

Then, on actual Halloween, we went to a Fall Festival at Lilly’s school.  She did the bouncy things and played lots of games and of course got more candy.  Hudson hung out in the stroller looking cute as Peter Pan.  Lilly helped me hand out candy the trick or treators at our house.  

 

11 months

Our Hudson is 11 months old!  1 is right around the corner and we are working on birthday plans.  He is too funny – will not stay still to take a picture, so that is why the 11 month pic is pretty funny –even Aunt Katy was trying to help, but he wanted to get away!  This month our big thing is standing up by himself.  He has actually taken about 2 steps in a row, so walking is coming close.  He is still very fun and loveable, and his temper has started to show when he does not like something.  He also likes to feed the dog while he eats – throws his food down off the highchair, much to his and Dakota’s delight.  He loves to be around people and especially his Lilly.  When she is not here on school days, he misses her and is excited when she gets home (even though they fuss about sharing toys).  Hudson loves to roll the ball and chase it around the house.  Happy 11 months!

2 little pumpkins in a patch

We went to a pumpkin patch in October at a local church.  They had cute little vignettes set up that you can take pictures on or with.  This was Hudson’s first year – he did good, but was a little unsure about pictures.  Lilly picked out 2 pumpkins – one for her and one for Hudson.

    

New York

Brian and I got back from New York about a week ago.  We had a fabulous time and really reconnected as a couple.  Here are some of our highlights/pics from the trip.

Friday: Went to see the Broadway Musical Mary Poppins – we absolutely loved it!  It was so magical and reminded us of watching the movie growing up. 

Saturday:  Saw Rockefeller Plaza – no ice right now, it was still too hot (but great weather coming from Houston, only highs in the 60’s).  Went to Grand Central Station – saw a couple getting married – they are in the corner of our picture.  Visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral – beautiful architecture.  Went to American Girl for my nieces Christmas gifts – it was so funny and big – we ended up getting Lilly’s Christmas there too!  Saw the Broadway Musical Wicked – this was so cool.  I did not know the story behind it, but loved it – the two lead girls were wonderful and there were funny moments too!  We ate at Lombardi’s Pizza that night – thanks Kim for recommending it- loved it!   

 

Sunday:  We took the subway to Battery Park and then the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  I thought the Statue of Liberty was huge!  We walked past ground zero – still under construction and went to Trinity Church which was kind of a command post for the rescue workers during that time.  We went to the Empire State Building – great views!  There was a huge Polish parade outside of here, I had no idea there were so many Polish americans in New York!  That night we had dinner at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill – it was so good, and had a wonderful atmosphere.

       

Monday:  Stardust diner for breakfast complete with singing waiters/waitresses.  We took the subway out to the Bronx to look at Yankee Stadium – it was not open to tours because it was right before the playoffs started.  We walked through part of Central Park and saw Lincoln Center.  That night we ate at Serendipity for dinner and had good home cooking and a great dessert – frozen hot chocolate – made famous by the movie Serendipity. 

Tuesday:  We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for some culture.  We also walked through the rest of Central Park – I loved how it was so big and green right in the middle of the city.  We had tickets to see a taping of David Letterman – KISS was in concert – oh my!  To finish off our vacation we had a really yummy dessert at Cafe Lalo (the one where Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail met Tom Hanks with the red rose) – the dessert menu was soooo big – thanks again Kim !

 

Overall, we really enjoyed our time in New York, enjoyed resting, and trying new things.  Hope you enjoyed some of our highlights!

10 months

Hudson is 10 months!  I am late posting this, but better late than never!  Hudson is doing so much now!  I can’t believe our little man will soon be 1 years old!  Hudson is a super fast crawler, he can get to the stairs and up them so fast, he thinks it is pretty funny!  We have started barricading the stairs to prevent this.  He can also bee-line for Dakota’s food super fast – a little dog food never hurt anyone – right?  He says dada for daddy and dakota, mama, and growls very loud like a dinosaur.  Hudson can stand by himself for a few seconds and then will grab something or plop right down.  He likes to use walkers, shopping carts, kitchen chairs, stools – anything he can push in front of him to walk.  He is still a good eater – eats a large amount very fast – but we did find one thing he does not care for – rice – maybe the texture?  He still has great hair – it has gotten longer and curlier.  Hudson loves balls – he can catch one really well and rolls it back to you over and over!  He likes cars and anything that Lilly is playing with. 

  

First dance lesson

Lilly has started dance class at Carol Ehler's Dance Studio. They do 20 min of ballet and 20 min of tap. Lilly has a good time - she is the youngest in her class for 3 and 4 year olds - Lilly will be 3 in a few months. She does well participating and likes to wear her leotards and ballet/tap shoes. They are learning to point their toes, stay in a line, first position, and tapping (not stomping). I think she looks so cute!

Hudson is 9 months!

Our Hudson just turned 9 months last week! He is so on the move – crawls everywhere, pulls up on anything and anyone, he rarely sits still! He has thick, thick hair – it gets curly when he is hot or if it is too humid outside. He still has no teeth, but that does not stop him from eating anything at all. :) This little guy can definitely eat – he likes all meat, chicken, beef, sausage; any veggie I have tried except canned spinach, and all fruits and bread. He will not be my hard one to try to figure out what to feed. I so hope this does not change too much! He loves little cars and motorcycles – especially the ones you pull back on and they go forward with a buzzing sound! He has started waving back at you, too. He can climb about half way up our stairs.

Other things noteworthy:

Brian got his MAI certification – a huge thing in the appraisal world. We are so proud of all his hard work and dedication.

I started back to school – I have 31 in my face to face class and 26 in my online class – keeping me busy grading.

Lilly started preschool on Monday. She goes MWF and did very well on her first day, I know she painted and did not take a nap – she was so pooped on the way home, she fell asleep.