Watch DOG

Wednesday, October 9th was an exciting day for Daddy and Hudson.  Daddy signed up to be a Watch DOG at Hudson's school for the day and his day finally arrived.  It was a busy day because it was also Walk to School Day and it was bully prevention week and all of the students were supposed to wear orange for the day.  So, Daddy and Hudson left bright and early and walked to school at 7:10 that morning.  Here they are before heading out:

 We of course had to have a silly face picture:

 I got one text during the day from Kelly saying it was going well.  That afternoon, I walked outside to see them walking home.  Kelly was BEAT!  He was scheduled for recess for an hour and half straight and said he played tag the entire time.  He also was in PE for two classes and did a lot of running as well.  There was also reading to the first graders in the library, helping out in the lunchroom, and finally Hudson's favorites...being on the morning announcements with Hudson, eating lunch with Hudson, and helping out in Hudson's room.  :)  They both had a fabulous day and neither can wait for Daddy to do it again next year!  

Will it be pink or will it be blue??

Saturday, October 5th was a day our family was anxiously awaiting...my sister's gender reveal party!!  I really thought the day would never arrive.  I'm not sure who was more excited that day...Shani, Todd, ME, or the grandparents.  Ha!  Thankfully the party was in the morning and the cake was the first order of business.  I didn't take a ton of pictures because they hired a photographer, but here are a few of the big reveal!  They had this precious cake made and the inside layer of frosting was either going to be pink or blue:

 The proud parents to be.

 Shani at 20 weeks.

 Cutting in...

 IT WAS BLUE!!!!

They were SO excited!!  Baby Luke is set to arrive in February.  I am so happy for these two!  :)

Family of FOUR!

Friday, August 2nd I knew Kelly would be mowing when he came home from work.  So, I wrote a special note in sidewalk chalk on the back patio.  It said:  Guess what?  We're adding one more.  We're about to be a family of FOUR!  I watched him mow the yard, and then begin to edge, all while walking back and forth across the note.  I finally couldn't take it anymore and walked outside to have him read the note.  By this time, it was starting to fade, so I had to help him read part of it.  Here he is trying his best to see what it says:

 He finally got it!  :)

 We decided to wait and tell Hudson until after my 12 week appointment.  So, on Friday, October 4th we surprised him with a cookie cake that said Big Brother in pink and blue.  At first when we asked him what he thought it meant, he said it was because Aunt Shani was having a baby.  Guess again little man!

 So, after a little explaining, we got some funny responses from him!  First, was surprise...

 ...followed by understanding there would be "stinky diapers" in the house!

 And finally, acceptance.  When we asked him what he hoped it would be, he said a girl because boys are stinkier.  Silly boy!

 We then gave him his new shirt to pose in before diving into the cookie cake.  This is how we announced it to everyone else.  

He's still warming up to the idea and the other day told me I didn't look like I had a baby in my tummy.  He's worried about the baby crying in the middle of the night and waking him up when he has to go to school the next day.  We've reassured him that since the baby isn't due until April and school will almost be over that he doesn't need to worry about that since the baby will be sleeping in our room for a few months.  The things he comes up with!  Here's to becoming a family of FOUR!  :)

Hudson's 6 Year Pics

Hudson's 6 year pictures were taken on August 18th outside Winspear Opera House.  They turned out so cute!!  I can't believe how big he's getting.  

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this boy!!!!

Little Monsters

This year, Kelly and I "helped" Hudson decide to try out soccer instead of baseball.  He has always claimed to have enjoyed playing baseball, but Kelly and I haven't been sold.  He never looked like he was having fun at practices or games, so we convinced him that soccer might be more his style.  We are SO glad we did too!!  We signed up blindly and just happened to be put on the same team, "Little Monsters" as Hudson's friend Stone and a friend Cooper from school.  I knew at the very first practice when he was smiling and running around like a mad man that he was going to enjoy this so much more.  I think he might just be a little too active for baseball right now...too much standing/sitting around.  Ha!  :)  His first game was September 7th.  Sadly, their uniforms hadn't come in, so they were just supposed to wear green.  They were quite a bunch!  Hudson did great his first game...even scored 1 of 2 goals!!

 We were surprised at how aggressive he was.  He wasn't afraid to be right in the middle of the action.  His face is hilarious too...he gets a mean face when he is going after the ball.

 HOT, sweaty mess after the game!  

He had his second game this past weekend and he did great again.  I think we found a sport much more his speed!  :)

Ready or Not, Kindergarten here comes Hudson!

The year is finally here...Hudson officially started school!  You would think that I would have been ready since he got to stay at home an extra year with an August birthday, but I still find it hard to believe.  It is amazing (and sad!) to me how fast time has gone by.  With two years of Pre-K under his belt at our church, he was ready, whether this mamma was ready or not!  Thursday, August 22nd we headed to our new neighborhood school to Meet the Teacher.  It was very strange being on the other side.  I have a lot of experience being the teacher, but not much being the mom!  Thankfully, his teacher, Mrs. Bray is everything we prayed for!!  She is absolutely wonderful and he loves her!  Here they are at Meet the Teacher.

 Monday, August 26th, we got up early for his first day of Kindergarten!  School starts at 7:30, so he has an early wake up time of 6:30 this year.  It has definitely been an adjustment and my little sleeper has been going to bed at 7:00 without batting an eye.  Bless his heart!  He let me torture him with a few pictures before heading out the door.  :)

 Here he is at his table before we said good-bye.  He didn't shed one tear.  (Wish I could say the same, but they started streaming when I walked out the door!)

I am writing this on Friday night, so he has been in school for one week!  He did GREAT all week!!  He loves his teacher, loves that a friend on his soccer team is also in Kindergarten and he sees him at recess, he loves art and music class, and loves that his teacher has rewarded him several times during the week for making good choices.  I couldn't be more proud of how well he did his first week!!!  I hope his love for school stays strong all through the year and through his life!  :)

#6

Hudson's actual birthday was on a Tuesday this year.  It was kind of a strange day because Kelly was out of town for work and I had some morning in-service to go to for Wylie Preparatory Academy.  But, we made the most of it and thankfully Nana and Aunt Fern were here to help!  Hudson woke up to a decorated table and a donut with 6 candles in it.  :)

 He was so excited to blow out candles again!

He then got to open a few presents from Mommy and Daddy.

 I managed to sneak in a quick picture of the two of us before rushing off to my meeting.  

 Thankfully, my meeting only lasted until noon.  So, I rushed home and we all headed to Amazing Jakes for lunch and HOURS of play!  I told Hudson he could pick whatever he wanted for dinner that night.  I figured it would be Chick-fil-A or Taco Bueno, but no, he requested a steak and baked potato.  Only my 6 year old!!  So, I grilled steak and baked potatoes for dinner.  :)  After dinner, he got to blow out candles yet again on a mini cookie cake.

 Thumbs up for cookie cake!

How can my "baby" be 6???  He brings more joy to our lives than he'll ever know...LOVE HIM!!