Piggies and Paws Party

On August 14th, I had a bunch of friends over for a Piggies and Paws party. Hudson and I went to one of these parties back in January and I immediately knew I wanted to host a party of my own. I thought it would be perfect to do it while Oliver was visiting and also close to Hudson's 1st birthday so I could get a hand print and footprint of my one year old boy. The party was so much fun! Hudson had a blast playing with all of his friends. I had fun catching up with my friends and I love how all the artwork turned out! Hudson got the cutest ice cream cone with a candle on it for his birthday that included his footprint and hand print. We got one for Susan with her hand print, Oliver's and Hudson's all of which were made to look like "Grandma's Garden" My mom got one with Hudson as well that was a really sweet Grandma hand print. My favorite one though was a pirate ship and crocodile using Oliver's hand print and Hudson's footprint saying "We Don't Want to Grow Up" I thought it was a perfect souvenir of this trip especially since it will be both boy's first trip to Disneyland. I am always so impressed with how great the artwork turns out and of course I love anything that freezes my little boy's prints in time. :)

Fifty One Weeks

On August 14th, Hudson turned fifty one weeks old. He finally figured out his water cup and drinking from straws so he is really into that at the moment. He keeps trying to steal any cup he can get his hands on to test out his new skills. Hudson stacked three blocks and stacked bowls out of a drawer. He is really interested in walking all of a sudden. He gives hugs now and is very cuddly when he is tired, but he isn't as into kisses at the moment.  

Gymboree and Kisho

On August 13th, Susan joined Hudson and me at Hud's weekly Gymboree class. Hudson loved having his grandma at class with him. After class we met up with Oliver and Lauren and had Menchies. We also ran into Lindsay, Brooke and Gracie. 

That evening, we met my parents and Sabrina at Kisho for dinner to celebrate Oliver and Hudson's birthdays. The boys loved the restaurant! I felt bad after though, because we didn't have them sing Happy Birthday to Nic too. oops!

Helicopter Ride

On August 11th, my dad took Hudson, Susan, Lauren, Oliver and me for a ride in the helicopter. It was Oliver and Hudson's first helicopter ride. Hudson loved it, but Oliver wasn't as thrilled. He got pretty scared and cried for most of the flight. He did enjoy the part where we flew over the ocean though! It was such a beautiful day! We flew through the dessert out to the coast, went along the coastline for a bit, then flew in land over Hollywood, then over my parent's house before heading back to the airport. The coastline and Hollywood sign were the highlights for me. When we got back to the Agua Dulce airport, my dad let Susan test out her piloting skills (don't worry my dad used to be a helicopter instructor). Susan was nervous, but she did great!

After the flight, we went to my parent's house for a BBQ and swimming. It was a really fun day. 

Playground, Pool, a Wedding Reception and a Happy Birthday Too!

We spent the first few days playing at the playground with the boys and going to the pool. It was great to spend time with the boys and watch them interact with each other. 

Since everyone was so tired the first night, we sang Happy Birthday to Oliver and ate the cake on August 10th. 

That night, Nic and I went to a wedding reception for my friend Tara and her husband Dan while Susan and Lauren watched Hudson and Oliver. It was one of the first nights Nic and I have had away from Hudson and we had a great time.

Oliver's Party DIYs

I made a few decorations for Oliver's party that were pretty easy and made the table look fantastic. In fact, I'm thinking of doing a Mickey themed birthday party for Hudson next year so I can re-use all of the cute things I made. :)

To make the centerpieces, I bought tin pails for a few dollars at Ikea. I then wrapped them in Mickey themed washi tape. It only took a few minutes and transformed the pails. My mind began spinning with ways to use these pails for other centerpieces. I also bought styrofoam balls from Michaels and painted them black. Then I stuck a wood rod, with more washi tape around it into the balls and the pail (I placed styrofoam in the pail as well) and secured everything with hot glue. Then I cut a circle with construction paper and placed it in the pail to cover up the styrofoam. Lastly I cut some strips of construction paper and wrapped them around a pencil to curl them and placed them on top as the final touch. This project was so quick and easy and made adorable centerpieces. 

I also used some washi tape to make little flags for my hot diggity dogs. I cut strips of tape about 2-3 inches in length. I wrapped each strip around a toothpick then cut a triangle out of the end. These were also super quick and easy to make and really made the pigs in a blanket look cute!

To make the banner, I just used my cricut to cut a bunch of circles and letters. I also used the cricut craftroom to design and cut the Mickey shape. Then I glued everything, hole punched the sides, strung ribbon through, then tied extra ribbon in-between each piece for decoration.

As a gift, I also made the boys autograph books for their first trip to Disneyland. I combined ideas I found here and here. I found images of each character on-line. Then imported them into Creative Memories Storybook Creator. I made my template to size 4x6 to fit the picture book. Then imported a picture and made a title for each page. I printed them out, cut them to size and wallah, the boys had adorable autograph books. My favorite thing about this book is that I can take each autographed page out and use it on a scrapbook page with the photo of Hudson and the character when we get back from our trip. 

Happy Birthday Oliver

Our nephew Oliver arrived from Australia on his 3rd birthday, August 8th. He actually left on his birthday too, so we joked with him that he got to celebrate twice! Since he had to travel on his birthday and because we love and adore him and wanted him to feel special, I planned a small little birthday celebration for when Oliver, Lauren and Susan arrived. I bought sandwiches from Jersey Mikes and wrapped them in pretty paper and twine, I made watermelon Mickeys, hot diggity dogs (pigs in a blanket), Mickey rice krispie treats, Mickey chicken nuggets, cupcakes, and brownie bites. I also ordered Mickey shaped cake pops and a mIckey cake from Cakegoodness. I made a banner and a few decorations too. It turned out really cute and I think Oliver was very excited to see it when he arrived. We all enjoyed the delicious food and watching Oliver open his presents. It was a great way to kick off the trip. 

Fifty Weeks

On August 7th, Hudson turned 50 weeks old. Hudson weighs 19 pounds 2 ounces. Hudson follows commands now. He gives hugs and loves somersaults. I say tuck your head and then he does and I flip him over.Hudson had his 1st jamba juice. He didn't understand how to suck it, but he really liked it. Hudson has been grinding his teeth this week, which drives me crazy. He can bite puffs in half now. He goes down stairs the correct way now. It is funny to watch him try to spin around at the top of the stairs. Randomly, Hudson started crawling with his head on the ground and Nic and I laughed, so Hudson started doing it more. 

1 Year Photos

On August 4th, we met up with Jade once again to take Hudson's one year photos. 

Didn't she do a great job?! We always love Jade's photos, especially when they are of our adorable little man!

Cake Smash

On August 3rd, we met Jade to shoot Hudson's cake smash. I was so excited, but also a bit nervous. Since I keep Hudson pretty neat during feedings and discourage messes, I had a feeling he wouldn't be one of those kids who dives right in and starts shoveling cake in his mouth, although after the crunchie episode, I wasn't as sure what to expect. We had the absolute best time watching Hud experience cake for the first time and Jade from www.theletterbphotography.com did an amazing job of capturing this special moment. Here is the post she did on her blog: http://www.theletterbphotography.com/blog/cake-smash-los-angeles-childrens-photographer/. Melinda from www.cakegoodness.com also did an incredible job making Hudson's adorable bow-tie, ruffle vegan chocolate cake. 

Here are a few pictures we took. I just love the one of Hudson feeding Nic. So sweet. 

Here is a video from the big event:

Forty Nine Weeks

On July 31st Hudson turned forty nine weeks old. I didn't weigh Hudson, but I'm guessing he is still around 19 pounds 3 ounces. Hudson is following verbal instructions really well now. I can tell him to hug his puppy, clap his hands or wave bye bye and without any other prompting or demonstrating he will do it. Hudson also loves to play peek-a-boo and is obsessed with pushing buttons. This week he has had beef, some slices of zuchinni, some chicken and some pasta, which he loved!

Lauren's Bridal Shower

On July 27th, Hudson and I went to my friend Lauren's bridal shower. Lauren is one of my good friends from LACHSA who now lives in DC so I don't see her very often, but whenever I do, we pick up right where we left off. I have some wonderful friends from high school and it is so fun to spend time together, especially now that Jordan and I have kids so close in age. 

Watching Liam, Gracin and Hudson together was a crack up. Jordan has 2 older kids at home so she is definitely a more relaxed parent than I am. I had Hudson in a bib, feeding him one spoonful of food at a time, when I looked over to see her hand her boys a container of crunchies and let them go at it. Hudson was loving it! Within minutes, he had stolen their waters, food pouches and was shoveling fistfuls of crunchies into his mouth. It was so funny to watch and we both laughed at how much more relaxed parents are with subsequent children. It was a wonderful day of laughter and joy celebrating a great friend. I'm so excited for Lauren to start this next chapter of her life. I know she will be a fantastic wife because she is such an amazing friend.