Babies, Wine and Cookies

On April 17th, Rachelle called after a crappy day of work up in our neck of the woods. She wasn't in the mood to come by for a visit, but said she would anyways since she was so close. I just knew Hudson would cheer her up, but put some cookies in the oven and got a glass of wine ready too just to really make sure I cheered her up. Who doesn't love cookies, wine and babies? I think it worked!! :)

Thirty Four Weeks

On April 17th, Hudson turned 34 weeks old. Hudson weighs 17 pounds 10 ounces. We stopped giving Hudson his reflux medicine this week since he finally seems to be doing better in that area. Hudson can now sit down from standing with complete control. He has been scared lately by the vacuum and other loud noises. He climbed the two stairs outside our bedroom this week. He has really taken off with crawling. Up until this week, he needed a toy close to him for motivation, but this week he has started crawling fast and all over without something nearby. He is very interested in everything he shouldn't be touching like outlets and electrical cords. He walked down the hallway this week holding my hands. He crawls all over the carpet, but when he gets to hard floors such as the wood and tile he stops then tries to crawl on his hands and feet. He is pulling himself up on anything and everything. He is getting really good at waving bye bye. He is starting to play peek-a-boo himself. Every night we say bye bye to Nic before bed. One night this week, Hudson started waving bye as soon as Nic turned the lights down. He also automatically starts waving whenever I say hi or bye. He has had pears this week.

Family Visit and BBQ

On April 14th my mom, Tyler and Sabrina came over to play with Hudson. Hudson is so lucky to be so loved!

That evening the Mirkovich clan came over for a BBQ. We made hot dogs, chicken, beef burgers, turkey burgers, zuchinni, yellow squash, mushrooms, and peppers. For dessert I made s'more cupcakes and rice krispy treats. We had planned to roast s'mores in our fire pit, but didn't have time because of kiddie bedtimes. We joked that it was too bad they didn't live next door so they could put the girls down then come back for dessert with their monitor. Luckily, they do live quite close, so I'm sure we will have more of these BBQs over the summer. 

Since Nic had already prepped the fire pit, we took advantage and had a mini date night after we put Hudson to bed. It was so nice to spend some quality time together and was actually quite romantic. A friend of mine wrote a blog post about this very subject recently and even had a printable dating bucketlist. I agree with her so much about the importance of finding time with your partner and I also agree that when kids are in the mix you have to get creative. We had a great time and even created allergy free s'mores with special graham cracker cookies and rice milk chocolate bars. I hope this is the first of many backyard S'more making date nights. :)

Healthy Homemade Meals

Nic and I have really been making an effort to eat healthy. We have both been following the allergy free diet for a while now, but since we eliminated tomato from our diet we had to get a bit more creative. Now that it is warming up though the veggie options are better and we have been using the BBQ which gives has made it easier than ever to have quick, delicious, allergy free meals. A lot of times we will BBQ steak on Sunday night along with a large portion of zucchini, yellow squash, peppers and mushrooms. Then we can have the leftovers during the week for other dinners and lunches. We also added halibut to our repertoire with broccoli and corn and BBQ chicken, which is super easy and delicious. We kept a few staples like salmon with spinach and sweet potato fries and turkey tacos with corn tortillas, Spanish rice, guacamole and lettuce. I also have gotten this whole allergy free baking thing down. We have been enjoying lots of delicious desserts too. We've had brownies, s'more cupcakes, rice krispy treats and sorbet. I never knew eating so healthy could taste so good!! And to make life even better on April 13th, we decided to introduce wheat back into our diet. So we can have burgers and hot dogs now!! YUM!! 

Gymboree Free Play

On April 12th, Nic and I took Hudson to the free play at Gymboree. We had so much fun playing on all the equipment and to be honest Nic seemed to be having more fun than Hudson dribbling, spinning and juggling balls. 

We set up an obstacle course for Hudson and he did so well until he ate it exiting a tunnel. Ooops. Luckily, as soon as we gave him the ball we were using as his motivation he stopped crying. 

Park and Gymboree

On April 10th, Hudson and I walked to the park. We had a nice little afternoon sitting on a blanket and watching some of the big kids play. I took him on the swings (his favorite) and then we headed home.

That night we went to Gymboree. Hudson loves it so much! He has made so much progress since the first class already. He is more confident and willing to explore. He is highly motivated to try anything if there is a ball involved as his motivation, He crawled all the way through a long tunnel and climbed up a wedge (not the one in the photo below). His favorite part of class though was when he got to kick the ball.

Thirty Three Weeks

On April 10th, Hudson turned 33 weeks old.Hudson now weighs 17 pounds 10 ounces. He went to his first hockey game this week and loved it! He also sat in his first highchair. He was pretty amused by this and we could tell he felt all proud that he is now a big boy who can sit at the table. We also tried My Gym this week and Hudson seemed to really like it. He was easily the most vocal kid in the class. Hudson has a side of the crib that he prefers (of course its the side we have trouble seeing on the monitor). He hates having his diaper changed! He cries, rolls over and crawls away. It is as if he just doesn't have time for the diaper change or getting dressed for that matter (imagine when I add the lotion routine into the mix). The changes get in the way of his exploring, so I usually end up wrestling him during the diaper change trying to distract him with funny noises, songs and forbidden toys like my iphone. Then I just chase him around while lotioning and dressing him. Hudson has gotten really good at standing, he is pretty obsessed with it and is so proud of himself every time he stands up. He pulls himself up, then immediately looks around for praise with the hugest smile on his face. He has also gotten good at sitting back down. He stands up, realizes he wants a toy so he sits back down, then realizes he wants to stand again. He does this over and over again. One time he was able to bend over and pick up a toy while staying standing. He has started giving open mouth kisses! At Gymboree this week, he crawled up a wedge and through a tunnel. We were so proud! We went to the park this week too because Hudson loves the swings! This week he has had carrots, and peas. He also had his first night feed and ate an entire jar of sweet potato!

Hudson's 1st King's Game

On April 6th, I took Hudson to his first Kings Game. We went with my mom, dad and Tyler. We got there a bit late, so we missed the first goal. Hudson had so much fun though. He loved his flag, he loved spending time with his nonna, opa and uncle and he loved all the excitement around him. He also loved when we scored!! He even took a nap between the second and third period and part of the third period! Hudson is such a little sports fanatic already!! :)

After the game, we went to the hangar to check out my dad's helicopter. Hudson was so cute sitting in the pilot's seat. 

Tyler also took Hudson for a ride on the bone while we were there. He was spinning and pushing him pretty fast, which made me nervous, but of course Hudson loved it!

Park with Nonna

On April 5th, Hud and I went to check out my local mom group that I am thinking about joining. The library was holding an event that ended up being really cool. A musician played children's songs and even let all the kids play his drum. Hudson really liked it. I chatted with a few of the moms and then met up with my mom at the playground. Hudson had so much fun on the bouncy toys and the swing. He was still not a fan of the slide though.

Sleep Training Round 2

I must admit that the first time around I wasn't completely ready to give up night feedings. I missed the calm, quiet, cuddle time with my little boy and I constantly worried about Hudson's lack of weight gain. After our NY trip when Hudson's sleep habits went completely down the drain we decided to just see what happened when we got back. Hudson was waking up once a night for a feeding. It was perfect! I got to have my one cuddle a night, I was still getting a decent amount of sleep and I was getting a bit more food into Hud. Then one night waking turned into two. I told Nic that two wasn't ideal, but I could handle it. A few weeks later two became three. I was starting to feel run down and I had that sinking feeling that we were heading down a bad path. When Hudson started waking up four times a night I decided that he was an all our nothing kind of kid and that it was time to ditch the night feedings again. We began round two of sleep training on April 2nd. The first few nights were brutal!! I was up almost every hour! In about 5 days though, we had our great sleeper back!! Thank goodness!

Gymboree

On April 3rd, Nic and I went to Hudson's Gymboree class. I took Hudson to a free trial class the week before and we liked it so much, I signed him up. We decided to take the Wednesday night class so Nic could come too. The first class Hudson was army crawling and hated the foam equipment, and by the second class he was already crawling all over the place. He even crawled through a tunnel. We left with the hugest, proudest grins on our face! 

Thirty Two Weeks

On April 3rd, Hudson turned 32 weeks old. He weighs 17 pounds 2 ounces.This has been a big week for Hudson. He had his 1st Gymboree class, his 1st photo with the Easter bunny, his 1st trip to the zoo, his 1st Easter, he officially crawled and he said his 1st words! He started off the week by doing a few crawls on his hands and knees before returning to an army crawl, but now he is zipping around on his hands and knees. He is really good at going from crawling to sitting and vice versa. He is figuring out how to get a toy then bring it with him as he shifts to sitting so he can sit and play with it. He is pulling himself up to standing really well now and even lets go for a second. He is also working on standing up from a crawling position, not just from the sitting position. He has started doing a fake cough, he does it to get attention and he has even started to have a strange sounding laugh because of it. He is experimenting with putting his hands over his head and behind his head. He flicks his wrist. Hudson had a few days worth of nap strikes this week. It feels as if 3 naps is too many, but 2 naps isn't enough. Hudson has started waving goodbye. He also likes to grab people's noses. We are starting to be able to see Hudson's tooth when he smiles! Hudson loves when daddy throws him in the air. And speaking of daddy, Hudson said dada! He started saying Ah-da on March 30th. Then on April 1st, he said mumumum and what sounded like mama. A few hours later he said dada. Such a diplomatic kid. He knows how competitive his parents are so he said both mama and dada on the same day. By April 3rd, Hudson's fake cough had died down and his laugh was back to normal. His 2nd tooth also broke through. He now reaches his arms up when he wants to be picked up. He smacks his lips together and he says baba, mama, dada, gaga, and yaya. Hudson has now also had butternut squash and green beans.

S'more Cupcakes

I finally created a dessert that follows my very strict diet and also tastes delicious. Desserts have been a real challenge, especially since eliminating eggs. I have tried packaged mix after packaged mix with egg substitutes, but kept failing miserably. I ended up throwing many very expensive baked disasters into the trash, but finally I have succeeded. This dessert is so good, I would eat it even if I wasn't on my diet. Even if you don't want to be allergy free you could use this concept and just use regular graham crackers, chocolate cake mix and marshmallows on top and get the same effect.

S’more Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

¾ cup Enjoy Life Crunchy Vanilla Honey Graham cookies

2 tbsp. Earth balance soy free butter

Wholesome Chow Chocolate Cake Baking Mix

1 ¼ cup Rice Milk

¼ cup Canola Oil

1/3 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

12 Marshmallows

Directions

Grind up graham cookies. Melt butter. Mix butter and graham crumbs together. Press into greased cupcake pan (I use liners sprayed with Pam). Cook at 350° for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare cupcake batter following packaging instructions. Add chocolate chips to mix. Fill cupcake tray with chocolate cake mix. Bake at 350 for 16-18 minutes. Place one marshmallow on top of each cupcake then bake for an additional 6 minutes.

Auntie Chelly

On April 3rd, Rachelle came by for a quick lunch visit. It is always so fun to have her stop by!

Look Ma, No Hands

On April 2nd, we shot this hilarious video of Hudson. So many of my mom friends warned of the standing phase. They all told me stories of how their little one would stand then cry until the parent came in and helped them down. This ever happened with Hudson. From the very first time he learned to stand he just let go, then fell. Apparently we have a little over-confident dare-devil on our hands. I was of course surprised when he fell so I stopped the video, but I really wish I had continued recording because Hudson's face was priceless. He didn't cry, he just looked stunned. He fully believed that he was going to let go and stay standing on his own and he was shocked and confused as to how he ended up on his back on the floor. Such a funny kid! I've probably watched this video about 15 times and it makes me laugh every time!

San Diego-Day 3

On Monday, April 1st, we fed Hudson breakfast. He was in his bunny outfit from Target, complete with ears and a big poofy bunny tail. 

While Hudson took his morning nap, we packed up. In the afternoon, we went for a walk. My Aunt's house is only a short walk from the Hotel del Coronado. It was too cold for an actual beach day, so we just took Hudson to put his feet in the sand then walked along the beach. It was a beautiful day!!

When we got back to Aunt Susannah's house, we took a few more pictures of Hudson and Katrina. I bought Katrina a onesie to match Hudson's so we wanted pictures of them together. I also got in a few more cuddles with Katrina, then practiced for baby #2 by holding Katrina and Hudson together.

Then for fun, we took a few photos of the babies with the bunny face sugar cookies. Gosh, they are just so darn cute! It is going to be fun watching them grow up together. They are only about 5 months apart so I'm sure they will be great friends. :) 

Thanks for a wonderful weekend Aunt Susannah and Will! We had a great time!

San Diego-Day 2-Easter

On March 31st I woke up to a lovely facebook feed filled with Easter bunnies, chicks, eggs, crosses, poems and all sorts of warm and fuzzies, then Nic interrupted me with an explosive diaper (Hudson's not Nic's)!! Happy Easter to Me! (I secretly felt like sharing this photo on facebook, but didn't want to gross people out)

After that lovely start to the day, Nic fed Hudson.

Then we all got dressed and ready for Easter. We gave Hudson his 1st Easter basket that I filled with all sorts of fun things like bibs, sippy cups, rubber ducks, a bunny, an Easter book and a few other things. 

 Hudson was so cute exploring all the gifts in his basket. He grabbed, examined, and sucked on each item. He also got a card and a few gifts from my parents and a card and gifts from Nic's parents. His favorites seemed to be the bunny rabbit, the baby's 1st Easter carrot car and the mini Easter book that he stole from Katrina.

We tried to do photos with Hudson inside his basket, but he did not like that idea very much!!

Aunt Susannah did a great job hosting. Especially when you take into account the fact that she has a 2 month old. She had chicken tacos (including making allergy free ones for Nic and I), sugar cookies, fruit salad, sprinkles cupcakes, a chocolate fondue fountain with bunny rice krispy treats and other delicious looking things for dipping and Sprinkles cupcakes. I made mint chocolate chip cupcakes and rice krispy treats too so we would have some desserts to eat. We also packed Easter eggs with candy we can eat like Skittles and Starburst. Grandma Annabelle and Will also came. It was nice to spend some time with Grandma and for her to see Hudson again. She really enjoyed playing with him.

We took a few photos in the front yard before the egg hunt

Hudson actually took his nap during the egg hunt, so we did one with him by himself after the big kids did their hunt. Hudson was so cute. He loves the eggs, but hated the grass. As soon as I set him down he tried to get as much of his body off the grass as possible. It was so fun watching him.

Then we took more photos!

Will (Aunt Susannah's Will) made the most adorable bunny face sugar cookies off of Pinterest. They are so cute, huh?!!

Later that night, we tried to get photos of the kids together on the couch with their bunny ears on. It was quite a challenge to try and get all three kids posed. Hudson didn't like his ears and kept trying to crawl away so he had a few tear-filled melt downs and Katrina just had melt downs because she is a little baby. It was entertaining and we ended up getting a few good shots.

Just before bed, Hud and I threw on some bunny face masks for a few more photos. Hudson was so funny...usually he immediately pulls stuff like that off, but he didn't with this. We realized its because he had the teeth of it in his mouth! haha. What a funny kid.

San Diego-Day 1

We got to San Diego late Friday night, so we just said hi to everyone, set Hudson's bed up in the bathroom, did his routine and got to bed. The next morning (3/30) we introduced Hudson and Katrina for the first time. Hudson was a bit unsure of her at first, then he leaned over and gave her a kiss which was just about the cutest thing ever!

After breakfast, we went to see Carlie and Dan's new house. It was a short visit, but it was great to see them and see their new house. It is a fabulous house and they have already done a great job making it theirs. While we were at Carlie's house, we set Hudson down on the floor to see if he would do his army crawl for everyone and to our surprise, he crawled on his hands and knees. We made him to it again for the camera! I was such a proud mama in that moment! Way to go Hud!

From there we went to the zoo. We had the best time! I love the San Diego Zoo so much and was especially excited to see how Hudson would react. I found myself skipping as we entered. Hudson loved it! His favorite things were watching the plants blow in the wind, looking at signs, looking at water features like waterfalls and people watching. lol. ;) He was less interested in the animals, but they did catch his attention when they would move. A zebra walked by right in front of us and he liked that. He liked the orangutans, the jaguar, the elephants and the giraffes the best. The only animals he didn't like were the flamingos. They all had their wings out and walked toward us in a big group and it kind of scared him. Hudson was so good the entire day and we had an absolute blast. 

After the zoo, we went back to Aunt Susannah's house. We all went to dinner that night at Brigantines (Sabrina, Nic, Hudson and I walked). It was a beautiful night and it is so nice how close my Aunt's house is to the main shopping/restaurant area. 

After dinner, we came back and decorated Easter eggs.It was a really fun day!

Park Play Date

On March 29th, I met up with my Labour of Love friends and their babies at the park. It was such a beautiful day and we all had a great time. Hudson and Scarlett had so much fun together. Hudson would grab Scarlett's toy, then she would grab Hudson's. Neither one got upset when the other grabbed their toy. They just kind of looked at the other person, then grabbed their toy. This entertained them for about 20 minutes. It was hilarious! 

Easter Bunny

On March 28th, I took Hudson to a trial Gymboree class. We both really liked it and I ended up signing up for a weekly class. :) While we were at the mall, I figured we might as well get Hudson's photo with the Easter Bunny. It was his nap time, but I got in line and crossed my fingers he wouldn't be too fussy in the photo. While we were waiting for the bunny to come back from his break, we ran into Lindsay, Sheri, Brooke and Gracie. They were so excited to see Hudson. 

I put Hudson down in the Easter Bunny's lap and he just sat there looking straight ahead. He didn't look thrilled to be there, but he wasn't upset either. I think he was just tired. He looked up at the bunny for a bit, then back at me, then back at the bunny. If he could talk, I think he would have said, "Hey, who are you? Why is my mom over there? Why am I sitting here instead of taking my nap in my comfy crib." Oh wait, you are kind of soft. Hmmm... I like you. Maybe I'll just take my nap here." It was so sweet the way he looked up at him. Looking back, I kind of wish I had bought both photos.