Brothers

My sister arrived just before I started pushing, but we knew it would be best for her to wait and come in with Hudson and my mom. As soon as Hud woke up from his nap, my mom and Hud were on their way. They arrived around 3:45pm. I was so excited to see Hudson! 

Hudson seemed so excited to meet his brother when he walked in. Based on many recommendations, Nic held Luc and I was sitting in the bed ready to give Hud a big cuddle. He gave me a big hug then immediately wanted to meet Luc. Nic brought him over and Hudson said hello and gave him a kiss. Then he held out his arms and wanted to hold him. We helped him hold his little brother and my heart exploded. My sister asked if she could have a turn holding Luc and Hudson said no. He was so proud, loving and sweet with Luc. We did our very best to prepare him, but you never really know how a 2 year old will react in that sort of a situation. I can honestly say that it was one of my proudest mommy moments so far and my favorite moment of the day. My heart was so full watching the love between my two boys. 

After my mom and Sabrina got turns holding Luc, we decided it was time for the boys to exchange their gifts. Hudson gave Luc the build a bear he had made him, then he opened his gift from Luc. He got a big brother bear, a doctor set, and a few big brother books. The two of them with their bears was another really special moment and again Hud took on his big brother role perfectly. I couldn't contain the huge smile I had on my face! 

The Birth Story

We arrived at the hospital at 5am on September 9th. We were greeted by a nurse and taken to our room. We were in the same room as last time, LDR 2, which was cool. The hospital started a new computer program the day before and I found out that I was the first patient they were using it on. We spent the first hour just filling out paperwork. 

At 6am, they started an IV. 

At 7:35 they started the pitocin. I asked my nurse, Kris (she is a friend of Sandy's and is so nice!), if she could check me before we started. She said I was nice and soft, about 2 centimeters dilated, 50% effaced and baby was nice and low, about a -1 station. This was re-assuring because I had been nervous about not coming in the night before to do the cytotec like last time, but my stats were pretty similar to what they were with Hud when they started the pitocin so I was feeling pretty good about it. We had also started the pitocin around 7:30 with Hudson so I was interested to see if things would progressed similarly or not.

By 8:10, I still wasn't having many contractions, not a lot was happening. Dr. Nelson came in and broke my water. Nic had left to go the bathroom so he missed it. I was all excited because having my water break was one of my favorite parts last time. It was so weird and a bit gross, but also really cool. Well, this time it was a bit of a let down. There was no big gush. In fact,she wasn't even sure if she had broken it. She had to ask the nurse to push on my stomach to see if anything would come out. Only when I sat up did a little bit of water trickle out. It was kind of scary actually and at that moment I knew we had made the right choice to have the induction. After they broke my water, they also upped my pitocin. 

At 9:30, I started to feel contractions. It felt similar to the night before my polyp surgery (like really bad period cramps), I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes. I don't remember being hungry at all last time, which is strange because I didn't eat for almost 24 hours, but this time I was starving! 

By 11am, the contractions were getting stronger and more painful. Because I had had my epidural so early last time, I really wanted to experience labor. I literally had been in no pain the entire experience and even though I had felt contractions, they had only been slightly uncomfortable, nothing worse than period cramps. This time, I was strangely enjoying the "experience" although I knew I still wanted the epidural at some point. 

By 12, I could still talk through my contractions, but was starting to want to breath and focus through them, so I mentioned to the nurse that I wasn't in a rush, but whenever they were ready I was up for getting the epidural. Last time they asked me and I sort of had to get it really early. This time it was strange because they never asked and part of me wanted to keep going until the pain was unbearable, but Nic kept reminding me that it was better to get it put in before the pain was bad so I could hold still for it, plus we didn't know how fast things might go and I didn't want to miss out. It still sort of felt like I was being a wimp asking for it when I knew I could handle more pain. I asked the nurse to check me before I got the epidural because I wanted to know how far I had gone without it. I was at 4cm dilated and 80% effaced. I was happy with that since last time I was only about 2-3 cm dilated. I was hoping for the same anesthesiologist as I was really happy with my epidural last time, but she wasn't working that day. It was a bit more painful when the needle went in this time. I'm not sure if it was because the contractions were stronger so I was having to focus harder on being still. It still felt cool when the cold trickled down my spine and slowly each contraction got less and less painful. As soon as I was pain free and relaxed I realized how silly I was being trying to wait as long as possible for the epidural. I had obviously forgotten how wonderful it was last time! :)

By 1pm, the epidural was finished and the nurse checked me again as she inserted the catheter. I was about 5cm and 90% effaced. She said she could feel his head starting to poke through. She got me situated to one side and reminded me that they would have to flip my legs every hour then she left. Nic set me up with a movie on the ipad, What to Expect When You're Expecting, then he left to get himself lunch. I was so relaxed and happy. Ready to enjoy my movie and the next few hours....

Pretty soon after everyone left, I started to feel a really low pain with every contraction. I thought something must be wrong with my catheter or something and I must be feeling it. I started breathing through the contractions, then finally I decided I should call the nurse, so at 1:40, I called her to tell her that my epidural must not be working and I was feeling a really low, sharp pain with each contraction. She came rushing in and said it was probably the baby's head. She checked me and I was at 9+ centimeters dilated. I was also starting to get a slight urge to push! I was so not prepared for things to happen that fast! I quickly texted Nic to tell him to get back up to the room, then texted our photographer Jade to see where she was at. Luckily Nic was already heading back to the room, but Jade was still about 20 minutes away.

At 1:52, I was 10 centimeters dilated and baby was at +2. I had the urge to push, but really wanted to wait for Jade to get there. The nurses said as long as I felt ok waiting to push, I could wait. So I did. I started breathing through each contraction and tried to distract myself. 

By 2:05ish, Jade arrived. Then the nurses seemed to take forever to get everything ready. I'm not exactly sure why they didn't prep while we waited for Jade, but they didn't. (It probably wasn't much longer that I waited after Jade arrived, but when you are trying to hold in a baby that is ready to come out, it obviously feels way longer). The nurses explained the pushing to me and then had me start pushing. By the second push, they told me to stop so they could get Dr. Nelson and Mindy, the baby nurse. So I had to wait yet again. My doctor works across the street so I asked if she drives over, but apparently she walks! Last time, Dr. Nelson was all ready and came in fully geared up, but this time she rushed in and started putting her gear on in the room. The nurses kept saying if I sneezed the baby would come out, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. Especially after Hudson and his giant head last time around! 

I'm not sure what time I started pushing because everything was happening so fast. I did the 3 pushes and Nic told me he could see Luc's head. He was already crowning. I did 3 more and suddenly the nurses and Dr. Nelson seemed concerned. Apparently his arm was up by his head and I heard a mention of his heart rate dropping. I asked if I should just keep pushing. I obviously had tons of energy and didn't need to take breaks if we needed to get Luc out quickly. They nodded, so I immediately went into my next set of pushes. I did 2 more pushes, then they told me to stop. I always close my eyes while pushing and focus all my energy on getting the baby out. So the nurse told me to open my eyes and there he was! They pulled Luc out, did the bulb thing, then placed him on me. I only had a slight tear this time from Luc's arm (Dr. Nelson called it a skid mark and said it wasn't even necessary, but she put in a couple of stitches).

Luc was born at 2:31pm. He weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 22 1/2 inches long. Nic says that they said 22 inches out loud, but they officially recorded 22 1/2. His head was 13 3/4 inches (Hudson's was 14 1/4). His apgar scores were 8 and 9. Nic cut Luc's umbilical cord, they cleaned him up, then brought him back to me for skin to skin and nursing. Nic said his umbilical cord was quite different from Hudson's. 

The whole thing happened so fast that it is all honestly a huge blur! I am so thankful that Jade was there to capture this special and very overwhelming moment. 

Off to the Hospital

After only about 2 hours of sleep (even though I knew I really needed the rest, my mind was too busy to fall asleep), we got up at 3am on September 9th and got ready to go to the hospital. We left around 4:15 and I experienced the same overwhelming emotions as last time. For some reason leaving our house knowing that the next time we would be in it everything would be different was very emotional for me. This time we would be returning as a family of 4!! I thought about how I had put Hudson to bed the night before as my little baby, but when we got back he would be my big boy. I pulled myself together and tried to focus on the excitement instead. I was losing Hudson as my baby, but gaining a new little baby to love and in the process Hudson was going to be getting a little brother. It was a big day, with a little bit of sadness, a lot of nerves, but mostly it would be an exciting and wonderful day!

3rd Trimester

Here are photos from weeks 28-40 of this pregnancy. 

Here is the post from my 3rd Trimester with Hudson for comparison.

40 Weeks (Sort Of)

So I found out today, September 8th, that I'm being induced at 5am tomorrow morning!! Yikes! I was totally not prepared for that and am still in a bit of shock! At my doctor appointment today I did another NST. It went fine, but did take longer than the last few ) I think because I didn't eat lunch before my appointment). My doctor was already planning to induce me by Wednesday because of my fluid level even though I could tell she had really hoped it would happen on its own. I mentioned that Luc had still moved plenty over the weekend, but not nearly as much as normal and that was enough to convince her that it was better to induce than to wait and watch at this point. I still thought she was planning to have me come in on the 9th to start with cytotec, then get induced the morning of the 10th, but the ended up just booking me in for the 9th. I left the appointment super anxious and overwhelmed. I hadn't even wrapped my head around a 9/10 induction and had still been holding out hope that I would go into labor on my own. I feel so conflicted because I really, really wanted to experience labor this time and wait until the baby was ready, but I also know if things aren't going smoothly it isn't worth going past your due date. I guess I just really believed I wouldn't have to be induced this time around. Plus, I am meeting my baby tomorrow! That is such a  crazy concept. With spontaneous labor, it just sort of happens, but with an induction you have time to think about everything, which made for a bit of a stressful/emotional evening. I cried after I put Hudson to bed (he actually cried a lot too, I think he somewhat understands what is happening). His whole world is going to change tomorrow and I hope it isn't too difficult of a transition for him. I know we have prepared him as best we can and I know he will be a great big brother, but it is still going to be really hard for him. He is still somewhat of a baby himself and I was just sad that it was our last night as our family of three with him as the baby. 

Anyways, these photos were taken on September 8th, so I am technically 39 weeks and 5 days. I weigh 167.4 so my total weight gain this pregnancy was 43.4 pounds. Over the weekend, the baby seriously got higher. On Saturday, he was right under my rib cage! He is apparently confused about which way he is supposed to be exiting! (At my appointment today Dr. Nelson said he still felt low so he has either moved back down or he is just bigger and taking up more space!) I have had a very intense urge to get everything done the past few days so naturally I have been hyperactive and not sleeping much. I've had some cramping, some contractions and feeling slightly off, but not much to report. I wasn't surprised that I was only 2cm dilated today and think some of the "symptoms" over the weekend were just wishful thinking that I would go into labor on my own before being induced. On Sunday, I bounced on my yoga ball all day with Hud, I carried him around the house while running, we danced around (I actually have been doing most of these for the past week), we went for a big walk (I pushed the stroller up the hill with groceries in it). We pretty much did all the labor inducing techniques so I went to bed optimistic that I would wake up in the middle of the night with contractions. Instead I woke up at 2am with a really bad leg cramp! :( I guess this little boy is nice and comfy inside and would rather wait until he runs out of fluid to come out on his own. I guess he doesn't have a choice now. He is being forced out tomorrow. I'm just praying that it all goes smoothly. Even though I've done this once before and it was a really great experience, I am still so nervous! I still can't believe we get to meet our baby tomorrow!

Luc's Nursery

March:

I started out buy making rough layouts of the room using the PB website to get an idea of how the furniture would/could fit in the room. This room is very small so it was really important to do this to figure out what we could fit and what would be the best layout. This is the one we decided on. 

Next I used the website olioboard, recommended by Rachelle, to make a storyboard. According to her it is very user friendly, but it took me forever to make my boards. When I showed her what I came up with she laughed and said she would just do it for me. In no time at all she sent this back to me. haha. She is obviously way better at it than I am. lol. This really helped us decide which colors of furniture to get and helped us get a visual before we spent a bunch of money. 

April:
We used towels to map out the furniture. The pottery barn app shows everything true to size, but I wanted to double check that everything would fit before ordering big items. We also bought some paint samples and decided on one. 

May:
Nic painted the room and some of our furniture began to arrive. We decided to go with a white crib because we figured it would be more versatile in a future room or for a possible baby #3. Once the rug, crib and changing table were in the room it really started to look like a nursery. 

June:
The sheets that I ordered from IvieBaby arrived! I ordered grey arrow sheets for the bed and a mint geometric pattern for the changing table. We set it up using Hud's mattress and he immediately asked to test it out. Looks like he approves! haha. He loves coming in this room and calls it "baby's room" 

July:
In July, these adorable moccasins I ordered from the Coral Pear arrived. Hudson immediately tried to put them on and grabs them every time he comes in the room. Maybe I will have to get him a pair too. I also got this sign off etsy. We haven't decided where we want to hang it yet, but I just love the quote on it. Our chair arrived from BBB and our side table from Pottery Barn arrived too (the side table was on back order)! The room is really starting to come together! 

August:
More of the details arrived this month. The major highlight of the room, the teepee came. Hudson was so excited about it! I figure this will be a great space for him to play in while we are busy with the baby. I'm also hoping the two of them will enjoy playing in it together down the road. It is really cool and looks awesome in the room! Our mobile also arrived. I custom ordered it and the colors were different than expected, but I ended up getting some money back and we still think it looks amazing in the room. The pillow I ordered for the chair arrived, the pillows for the crib arrived (I just love the little wolf pillow) and I ordered an instant download sign for the frame on the side table. We also bought the bed mattress and changing table pad this month and a few other essentials such as the laundry basket and diaper holder arrived too. Right at the end of August, the shutters were completed and installed too. (Not pictured: an awesome basket for the closet arrived and Luc's personalized chair did too!)

September:
The custom Luc sign has arrived! Now that we have that, we were able to decide where to hang everything. I also bought a bunch of storage bins so we could get the closet organized. Nic picked up a rug for the teepee and a container for the changing table from Ikea. All we have left to get are a few pillows for inside the teepee and a birth stats sign like Hudson has (we obviously can't get that until after the baby arrives). So the room is pretty much done!! Yay! Now our little Luc can arrive!

39 Weeks

On September 3rd, I finished my 39th week of pregnancy. I weigh 166.2 pounds (42.2 pounds total weight gain). I have been waking up once a night for a the last few weeks to go the bathroom. My back has been sore and so are my ribs. It feels like the baby gets lower than higher than lower again. On Sunday, August 31st, I had an NST at Verdugo Hills Hospital. The baby moved a ton and I was done with the test in 20 minutes. On September 1st, my legs were really swollen by the time I went to bed. I'm assuming the heat is partially to blame (and I'm probably not taking it as easy as I should be). Hud got to feel the baby kick his hand repeatedly the night of September 2nd. He was so excited about it! It was fun to watch them interacting. I can't wait to watch them become best buds! The baby really went to town punching my bladder. I think Hudson was higher because I don't remember experiencing this with him, but it seems to occur fairly regularly with this little one. By the time I went to bed, the baby had moved way lower. I could fit a whole hand below my chest before my stomach started and even baby's kicks were lower than the normal spot (the spot Hud was feeling earlier in the night). As I went to bed, the baby was moving a ton. It was quite painful. I read that movements can be more painful if fluids are low because you feel more. I can believe it. Between that and the fact that this baby is more active than Hud in general, he is causing me quite a bit of pain. I had my appointment with Dr. Nelson on the 3rd. They did another NST, which went well. Then Dr. Nelson did an ultrasound to check my fluid levels. My fluid hadn't changed much since last week so that is good. One pocket was around 9, which is apparently the new standard, but most of the other pockets were quite smaller. Since my fluid levels aren't great (slightly under normal) she said she didn't want me going past my due date so it looks like this little guy will be here by the 10th at the latest. She also did a cervical check. She said I am about 1-2 centimeters dilated (I think she was being generous with the 2 and I'm guessing I'm probably closer to a 1 or 1 1/2. She also said the baby was at a -2. At 37 weeks she said he was around a -2/-1 which is lower so either he is higher now or around the same and he was in fact at a -2 at 37 weeks also. She did a membrane sweep in the hopes that our little man comes on his own.I guess we will see...

Labor Day

On September 1st we celebrated Labor Day. Not by me being in labor, haha, but we did get a lot accomplished in preparation for baby's arrival and I was ecstatic to officially make it to September! We did take a little break from our very busy and productive weekend to enjoy our community pool. Hudson had a blast and is doing so well with his swimming. Nic swam off the step and Hudson put his head down and copied him. I couldn't believe my eyes when he was actually swimming on his own across the pool! He keeps getting better and better and has become so comfortable in the water! We are so proud of him!! It was really nice to end the long weekend with some family fun time! Happy Labor Day everyone! 

Hudson's 1st Haircut

On August 30th, we took Hudson for his first haircut. I had wanted to get Hud's hair cut about a month ago when his mullet was really in full force, but Nic loved the mullet and didn't want to. Then the front of Hud's hair got longer and I was suddenly the one not ready for his first haircut. Especially with boys, they really grow up with that first haircut. They immediately go from little baby boy to big boy right before your eyes and I just wasn't ready for my baby to grow up. We talked about going the last few weekends, but every time I had an excuse or "forgot." Since my due date is fast approaching though and Hudson's hair is literally in his eyes, I knew it was time to suck it up and let my little boy become my little man. I was so nervous all morning and even teared up while we waited for Hudson's turn. Hudson had a blast! He rode a motorcycle, played in the castle and played in the hallway of mirrors while he waited for his turn. He sat in a car for the first part of his turn and watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but half way through he asked to switch to the choo choo train. He was loving the whole experience until she cut the front and hair got on his face. He hates when hair is on him so he of course started making faces and complaining. As soon as the hair dresser wiped his face though he was fine. I on the other hand was quite panicked the whole time (as you can see in the photo below). She was chopping off so much hair! I kept wanting to shout, ok that is enough, but I held it together. When she was done, he looked so grown up and so handsome. The place gave us a 1st haircut certificate with a photo and the first hair she cut off taped on. She also gave us the next few chunks of hair in an envelope to keep. All in all, it was a success!

Justin's Football Game

On August 29th, Nic, Hudson and I drove out to Frazier High School to watch Justin's football game. It was in a really pretty location and the weather was perfect. Our team got off to a rough start, at the half the score was 6-0, but we came back in the end to win 16-12. Justin had some huge plays in the 4th quarter that helped seal the win. He had a fumble recovery that led to a touchdown, a deflected pass and a huge tackle. It was very exciting and I'm so glad we were able to be there. Hudson loved it as well. He spent most of the time with Opa running up and down the field and watching his Uncle Jus play. He kept saying Go Dogs Go and was really into the whole experience. :)

Oma and Opa Visit

After my doctor appointment on August 27th, Hudson and I stopped by to quickly visit Oma and Opa. Oma isn't doing very well, in fact it took us about 5 minutes of waving and calling on the phone to finally get her to let us in the house. She is very confused these days and seems to be quite worried and distraught. I think Hudson could sense Oma's panic because he was a little nervous around her (he usually isn't at all). It makes me sad to see Oma withering away and who knows how much longer we have with her. Hudson gave Oma and Opa cuddles and kisses and followed the cat around. I gave them hugs and kisses as well and Oma got to be in her first "groupie" ;). It was a brief visit, but it is always nice to see my grandparents, even though it makes me sad to see them aging. 

38 Weeks

On August 27th, I hit the 38 week mark. I forgot to weigh myself this week so I have no idea what I now weigh (maybe that is a good thing, ignorance is bliss, right?) I had an appointment with Dr. Nelson this week and also had an ultrasound. It sure is different the second time around. With Hudson, Nic came to all of my ultrasounds, but now I've got Hudson as my doctor date. He was so good during the ultrasound. He sat on the chair watching his brother on the tv. He kept saying "hi brother" and he loved hearing his heartbeat. I wish someone could have video taped it because my heart was honestly exploding. The ultrasound tech estimated that the baby is 7 pounds 6 ounces, which is quite a bit smaller than Hud at this point. He was measuring at an overall EDD of 9/11, so only one day off from his actual due date and his head was measuring an EDD of 9/10 so that was a relief. He didn't have the cord around his neck and he is head down but face up. I was so relieved and excited that I wouldn't have to be induced because of a big baby this time, but my excitement was short lived because apparently my fluid levels were low. They are supposed to be at a minimum of 20 and my levels were 8.9. My doctor said it wasn't worrisome at this point (apparently below 5 is when it becomes a serious issue), but she did tell me to drink lots of fluids and take it easy.  She also had me do a 20 minute non stress test (NST). The baby moved a ton and everything looked great. She does want me to be more closely monitored now though so I will need to go to the hospital on Sunday to have another NST performed. 

I took this week's photo earlier in the night (we usually take them after we put Hud to bed) and Hud really wanted in on the action. :)

Hudson's 2 Year Appointment

On August 27th, Hudson had his two year appointment. He was acting really funny about having his clothes taken off when we first got there, but once he was naked, he didn't seem to mind. He got weighed and measured (he is 35 1/4 inches and 28 pounds 7 ounces) then evaluated by Dr. Sethi and got one shot. Both the nurse and Dr. Sethi commented on how much he has grown since his 18 month appointment. Hudson is now in the 80th % for height, which is much closer to what we expected given our heights and 30th % for weight so he is tall and skinny just like his parents. Dr. Sethi couldn't get over how much his hair has grown too and how much he looks like Nic. She also thought he looked very Australian which I thought was funny. I'm not sure what Australian looks like, but I do remember at one point during his hair growth thinking his hair was very Aussie. Hudson had fun playing red light, green light while we waited for the Dr and he also enjoyed climbing up and jumping off the chair. Dr. Sethi said he is developing great and shows no signs of any delays due to his allergies and skin issues (she said a lot of kids with severe allergies and rashes end up behind on milestones). She said to keep up the good work and predicted that he will be 6'4'' when he grows up. 

Hudson's Day with Nonna

On August 25th, my mom took Hudson to the El Capitan to see the Frozen Sing A-Long. It was Hudson's first movie and I must admit that I was sad that Nic and I were going to miss this "first" but I'm learning that with another baby on the way I need to start letting go a little. Hudson was so excited that morning posing with his Olaf. My mom picked him up and I'm not sure if it was pregnancy hormones or what, but I almost cried as they drove off. I missed Hud all day, but it sure was nice to have the house to myself for the day. I honestly don't know if I've been home by myself since Hudson was born. 

My mom said that Hudson had the absolute best time! They sat in the third row and had no one in front of them. Elsa performed, it snowed and they threw beach balls out into the crowd. Apparently Hudson was reaching out for the balls, but didn't get to catch one. :( He watched the entire movie on my mom's lap and couldn't stop talking about it in the car after. 

Next, they went to CPK for lunch. Hudson was really good at lunch too even though he had only had a little cat nap in the car. My mom told me that they were talking about Hud and Luc and drawing smiley and sad faces. Hudson said Luc cries a lot and kept making my mom draw extra tears on the sad face. The smiley face was apparently Hudson. My mom said she was cracking up! Apparently those big brother books about babies crying are sinking in after all. haha. 

After lunch, they went to Build-a Bear. Hudson picked out and made a bear for Luc and my mom made one for Hudson (which will be from Luc). The plan is to have them exchange the gifts at the hospital when Hudson meets Luc for the first time. Hudson had a great time here as well. He loved picking out the bears, stuffing them, adding their hearts, washing them and especially creating the birth certificates on the computer. He also liked picking out clothes for them. He selected a Kings Stanley cup jersey for his bear and picked out a hilarious gorilla with sunglasses shirt for his little brother. Nic and I cracked up when we saw the shirt. I also had my mom grab some plain white shirts and got them embroidered with Big Bro and Little Bro. Hudson fell asleep in the car on the way home, so I hid the bears while he was sleeping and we don't bring up his Build-a-Bear experience. We are hoping he doesn't remember and ask for the bear so we can wait to have Luc give it to him. I can't wait for the two of them to meet and exchange their special gifts!! Thanks mom for taking Hudson for the day and making it so special for him. He had such a great time and couldn't stop talking about all the exciting things he experienced when he got home. He asks to go see Frozen again all the time! I hope he gets to have many more special days with Nonna in the future. :)

Jody's Shower

On August 24th, I went to my sorority sister, Jody's shower. She is due with a little boy a few weeks after me. Her shower was construction themed and it was so cute! The dessert bar was especially adorable! My other sorority sisters Amy and Tera were also there so we had fun chatting while eating the delicious Italian lunch. It was a really fun event and I'm so excited for our boys to arrive. It will be fun to get together for play dates! :)

When I got home, this is how I was greeted (well me and baby brother)! What a sweet little boy Hudson is!

House Update

Two years after remodeling our kitchen, we finally got it "finished" (I say that in quotes because we all know you are never really finished, but we did finally complete all of the big items). On August 23rd, our designer, Jolene delivered tons of items to help us get our house closer to a home. She has been perfect because she is just starting out so she is affordable, helped us stay within our budget and  this helps her get experience. We finally got a cushion so we can enjoy our beautiful bay window. We got cushions made for our table chairs and bought some for our barstools. We finally got a desk chair and I am in love with it! I had been sitting on a dining chair stacked with pillows for the last year and let me tell you this new chair is heaven. It was a navy chair from Pottery Barn teen that we had re-upholstered to match the kitchen cushions. It not only looks fabulous, but it is much more functional and comfortable too! We also had a custom memo board made and bought a few more things for the desk area. (We still need to hang the memo board then the magazine rack). We did have a few issues with the memo board. It was bigger than we anticipated and at first we thought it wouldn't work because of our computer cord cutout in the middle of the desk. If it gets hung right to the top of the space though it will be fine (for now it is just sitting on the desk). 

The dry erase portion also wasn't magnetic. I didn't request that because I kind of thought they all came magnetic now days, but was disappointed to discover that wasn't the case. After a quick google search and trip to Home Depot though we fixed it. We bought some magnetic sheet metal and glued it to the back. Then we bought some super strength magnets (the ones we had at home already weren't strong enough) and I made some magnets. I used glass pebbles out of a vase, some scrap booking paper, and glue to make some very cute magnets. The whole project cost us about $20 and I think it makes the memo board so much cuter and more functional. :) Here are directions if you are interested in making magnets of your own. 

In our playroom, we bought a clock for the wall and a bunch of frames to make a collage for photos and kid's artwork. We are still waiting on some of the frames so I'll wait to show photos of that room. Upstairs, we had a cushion made for the bench in the scrapbooking room and I bought a few more pillows. 

We couldn't be happier with the results and love that our house is finally coming together! 

24 Months

On August 22nd, Hudson turned 24 months old! I can't even believe it! I think this year may have gone by even faster than the first year! Hudson weighs 28 pounds 7 ounces and is 35 1.4 inches tall. His head measurement is 18 1/2 inches. Hudson is such a sweet and happy boy who loves to help us in any way he can. He helps me put away dishes, he loves to push the cart at Target, he helps Nic take out the trash, etc. Hudson had two huge accomplishments this month: he passed his baked milk and baked egg challenge. This was very exciting for us for a number of reasons: it is less foods that we have to worry about him accidentally eating and now he can have baked goods at birthday parties and other special occasions. When you ask Hudson how old he is he answers with "I'm two!" If you ask him his name, he says, "Hudson Campbell" When he points things out he always uses a descriptive word first such as white truck, yellow bike, big blanket or baby blanket. He is getting really good at eating with his fork and spoon, but his favorite food is mickey chicken nuggets dipped in ketchup. He gets tons of compliments on how well he talks and makes us very proud! He is starting to play really well with other kids, especially kids that are a little bit older than he is. He is getting really good at pretend play too. The other day at a mom's club play date, he poured the little girl, Brielle, tea and they both pretended to drink it out of their cups. He also loves playing cars and any sport. He has started asking for his books by name: In the Woods, My New Baby, I'm a Big Brother, Moo Baa Lalala and The Going to Bed Book. After his initial rejection of the big brother books, he actually really likes them now and asks for them to be read to him quite regularly. Our little boy is turning into a big boy right before our eyes. He is so smart and such a little character and we just adore him!

Hudson Turns 2

I cannot believe Hudson is two! I think this year may have gone by even faster than the first year, if that is even possible! This year has had its challenges, but overall, it has been an amazing year filled with so much laughter and love. I must say, Hudson is one lucky kid. This year he got to go back to Maui and he had his first international trip to Australia! He went to a bunch of Kings games and even got to see the Kings win the Stanley Cup Live! He even went to the parade and rally! He took a few flights in Opa's helicopter and a few flight's in Opa's plane. He went to Lake Mead and Mammoth and sort of attempted snow skiing (on the balcony with Uncle Tyler's help). Hudson went to Disneyland 25 times this past year and seems to love it more and more each time! Hudson has grown and changed so much this past year! He is so smart and amazes us every day with how much he knows. He is quite stubborn and a bit of a handful, but he is such a sweetheart and has such a fun personality. He has brought so much joy to our lives and we just adore and love him so much! Happy 2nd Birthday, Hudson! Mama and Dada love you with all our hearts! 

 

(Usually iphoto is so easy to use to make slideshows, but I have had a ton of problems with this one. I used the fit music to slideshow option like always, but for some reason some of the photos are being shown way faster than others. When I exported the first time the slide show ended way before the music and I had about a minute of white screen at the end. It did not look like this in iphoto so something must have happened during the export. I started over, then exported the new slideshow, but this time it froze on saving slideshow. I had to cancel the export and try again in a new size. Now I want to add my video to blogger like I always do, but for some reason it isn't showing up in my youtube video section on blogger. :/ I'm too pregnant for these silly issues! Anyways, I figured out another way to embed the video into the post (hopefully it works) and I hope you still enjoy it! :) Here is the link too since this video has been so problematic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-17gYysIE4I&list=UUaAzpUUvx9PnHJArSsStZjg

Growing Up

Our good friend Lindsay Mirkovich gave us the most adorable ruler as a gift at our gender reveal party back in 2012. We hung it in our playroom and every year around Hudson's birthday we measure him. Here are photos from last year (for some reason I don't think I ever posted them). 

Here are the photos from this year:

It is so fun to watch him grow! I can't wait to look at this in 20 years with all our kid's measurements on it just like we all look at the markings on my parent's wall in their garage. :)

Disneyland

On August 22nd, my little boy turned 2!! We decided to celebrate with a day at Disneyland. I know a lot of people think I'm crazy for going by myself with Hud at 37 weeks pregnant, but I was feeling great, found out I was hardly dilated at my appointment Wednesday and figured it would be one of our last opportuniies for a while to spend quality time together, just the two of us. So off we went and I'm so glad we did because we had a great day. I tied some of the balloons from Hudson's birthday party to his stroller, which he loved and wore a Minnie headband from the party, which also put a big smile on Hud's face. We went to Pirates first, but it was closed so we headed for Winne the Pooh. After the ride, I asked about the characters, but was told they wouldn't be out for another 30 minutes. Bummer because Hud loves Pooh, but there was no way I was gonna wait 30 minutes and I wasn't walking all the way back over there. Hudson was checking out the little river for a minute when all of a sudden out came the characters! Score! We raced over to the line and got to see Tigger, Eeyore and Pooh! :)

From there we went to Fantasyland. We went on a few of Hudson's favorite rides: Dumbo, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and his all time favorite, The Teacups. Hudson is such a big boy all of a sudden. He wanted to sit by himself on all the rides. On teacups, he sat across from me and spun the cup all by himself! When did my little boy grow up? I feel like this is happening over night and I'm proud of him, but not quite ready! After the teacups, we popped into the hat shop to ask about getting Hudson a birthday button. He was so excited about it!! 

After that, we went to Mickey's Toontown. We hadn't been there since Hudson's birthday last year and I figured he would love it! We saw Pluto first and the first thing Hud did was show Pluto his birthday button. :) Then he gave Pluto a big hug and posed for a few pictures. He said goodbye, then jumped off the curb. Every one in line was saying how cute he is and I couldn't agree more. My heart just swells watching him interact with the characters. Next we saw Goofy who Hud loves, then he drove a few of the cars. From there we went through Mickey's house. I couldn't believe how different it was from the same date last year. We waited in a line through the entire house last year, but this year we were able to take our time and walk through at our own pace. The line basically started at the movie area (which is where we got out of line last year! I still can't believe we did that! :( We were so close at that point!) Hudson loved watching the movies and when we got in to the room to meet the real Mickey he just kept begging to go back and watch more tv. I tried to tell him he was going to meet the real thing, but he didn't care. Apparently this kid really likes tv. haha. He changed his tune when it was his turn though and ran up to Mickey, showed him his button and gave him a big hug. Of course as soon as we said our goodbyes, he again started begging to go back and watch the videos. 

After meeting Mickey, we went over to Minnie's house. Even though it was much cooler than last year, it was still hot waiting outside in line and Hud was starting to get a little naughty. He kept trying to run away from me! I have been dreading the day he tries to assert his independence by running away and being 9 months pregnant didn't make the situation any easier. :/ I had to keep holding him since he couldn't be a big boy. Once we got inside Minnie's house he was fine. He played with her oven, dishwasher and table. He was very excited about meeting Minnie. I think he has a little crush on her. He gave her a hug and kiss and kept looking back at her as we walked away. I could tell he didn't want to leave. 

After meeting Minnie, I gave Hud some lunch, then we went to get our picture in front of the castle. After the castle pictures we decided to check if Pirates was open. It was so we ended the day with Pirates. This was the only ride Hudson sat on my lap for. It was nice to squeeze him tight and sing the yo ho song with him. After the ride, we ate our Mickey rice krispie treats left over from his party before heading home. What a fun time we had!!

Here is a photo I posted on-line. The first one is in Mickey's house on Hudson's 1st birthday and the second one is from his 2nd birthday. Isn't it crazy how much he has changed in a year?!!!

We had planned to meet Nic for dinner that night, but he had a crazy day at work and left late so instead of going home just to turn back around we went to free play at Gymboree. Hudson's favorite thing at the moment is jumping, so he spent the entire time jumping off the structure onto the mat. I can't believe he still had so much energy after a long day at Disneyland, but I guess that is the joy of being 2!

Nic met us at Gymboree, then we headed over to BJs for dinner. Hudson was so good! He told Nic all about his day, colored and ate his pasta and french fries like a champ! He even used a big fork (oops, I forgot to pack one). 

When we got home we skyped with Nic's parents and Stu. We lit Hudson's cake again and all sang Hud Happy Birthday. It was nice that they could be part of his birthday celebration. We cut Hud a piece of cake and he was hilarious eating it. He kept saying, "mmmm yumma yumma yumma" and then he would try to feed it to Nic so he could see how delicious it was too. 

After a long, but extremely fun day, we put our big boy to bed. I still can't believe we have a 2 year old. I feel so blessed to have Hudson in my life and can't wait to continue to watch him grow! Happy Birthday my little man! Mama and Dada love you with all our hearts!!