Luc's Passport

On March 28th we had to take a family trip to the passport office to get Luc's passport. He technically didn't need one for our upcoming vacation, but I knew I would feel more comfortable traveling with it. We got there nice and early and still had to wait forever. It was amazing to watch how long each person took. (By amazing I mean absurd- the employees were so slow and most of the people had not come prepared). As you can imagine, this is not the ideal place to have two little kids. Luc started to get very tired and both boys were hungry and cranky. After I gave the boys food pouches, Nic put Luc in the stroller and Hudson pushed him around. Of course Luc didn't fall asleep, but at least it kept the boys occupied for a bit. When it was finally our turn, we went through the process so quick, which again makes me wonder why on earth most of the people before us took so long. I was nervous about Luc's picture because he was so over being there, but he actually smiled (everyone around us awwed and the employee missed the moment-I know, shocking right? haha). Oh well, the photo they got was still pretty good and we were just happy to get the heck out of that place!

Double Date

On March 27th, Hudson and I had a day date at Magic Mountain. I love spending time just the two of us. I think it really helps Hudson when he is having behavior problems to spend one on one time together doing something fun. We had so much fun! We went on all 3 kid coasters. Hudson was scared on Canyon Blasters. He asked me to hold him tight - I love that kid so much! 

That evening Aubree babysat so Nic and I could have a date night (how lucky am I? Two dates with two very special men in my life all in one day!). I overheard Aubree say let's go babe to Hudson and he corrected her saying, no dada's babe. That made me laugh. Nic and I went to chipotle for dinner then to see 22 Jump Street. It was really funny. We still had time when we got home so we squeezed in a trip to the jacuzzi (which ended up being a trip to all 3 because ours was not heated for some strange reason, the one by the basketball courts was filled with foam pouring out all over the sidewalk (I'm assuming teenagers had something to do with that-so we ended up at the main pool). After Aubree left I baked some vegan chocolate chip cookies (which are delicious and awesome to have on hand because you can eat spoonfuls (or entire tubs) of dough without worrying about salmonella. The recipe is below in case anyone is interested.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan)

Yield: Approximately 18 cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 ¼ cup dark chocolate chips (I use enjoy life-I'm not a fan of dark chocolate)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon water
Coarse-grained sea salt, for garnish

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate chips to the flour mixture and toss to coat.

In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugars briskly with the canola oil and water until smooth and incorporated, about 2 minutes. Note: use fresh, soft light brown sugar. If there are clumps, break them up with the back of a spoon or your hand before whisking.

Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, and then stir with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula until just combined and no flour is visible. Do not overmix.

Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Do not skip this step.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and use an ice cream scoop or a spoon to portion dough into 2-inch mounds. We recommend freezing the balls of dough for 10 minutes before baking as the cookies will retain their shape better while baking.

Sprinkle the balls of dough with coarse-grained sea salt (if freezing, remove balls of dough from the freezer first), and bake for 12 to 13 minutes, or until the edges are just golden. Do not overbake.

Let cool completely before serving.

28 Weeks

On March 24th, Luc hit the 28 week mark. Luc had his first food, sweet potato, this week. Luc is getting really good at scooting backwards, especially on the wood floor. He is also getting really good at pushing up into the crawl position. He has started smacking his hands. He still doesn't say much - just some squeals, screams and laughs. He has been really smiley lately. 

Hudson's Surgery

On March 23, we threw Hud in the car super early in his pjs to drive down to CHLA for his meatotomy procedure. Hudson had meatal stenosis which is when the opening where pee comes out narrows. We noticed it when Hudson started peeing in the toilet before baths. Even when pointing down his pee would often spray upwards. I brought the issue up to his pediatrician (Dr. Brocket is who we saw at that particular appoinment) and she referred me to a pediatric urologist at CHLA. She was tearing up saying poor Hudson, he has been through so much already and she couldn't imagine if it was her son. That of course made me super nervous and sad for my little man. When we met with the doctor though, he assured us this was actually somewhat common and a fairly easy fix. So we scheduled the surgery and did our best to stay calm leading up to the big day. When we arrived, we were directed to a waiting room full of toys. Hudson thought it was pretty cool. It seemed like quite a long wait before they took some vitals then we waited a bit longer before being taken back to the prep area. 

They gave Hudson something that made him get a bit funny. We gave him hugs, told him we loved him, then they whisked him away. As they were wheeling him down the hallway he said, "dada I don't want to go" From there we were led to a waiting room where they post your child's updates by patient code on a giant tv screen. We were told the actual procedure was really quick, but the wait still felt like it took forever! 

On a side note, there was a little girl in the waiting room playing with Hudson who looked only a bit younger. She had a mask on and based on the way her parents were talking she was a regular at the hospital. She was taken back for her procedure shortly after Hudson so we talked with her parents while we waited on Hudson. The little girl had cancer and they often spent 5 and 6 hour days at the hospital. The little girl had just turned two, but couldn't celebrate her birthday with friends because her immune system was too weak and the doctors advise against it. I couldn't help it, I started crying as the mother was telling me this. It still makes me tear up thinking about it a year later. I told her I was so sorry and honestly I never know what the right thing to say or do is in those situations, but I was just so overwhelmed by the information emotionally. The anxiety I felt waiting for Hudson was so intense, I cannot even imagine waiting for hours in that room all the time and on top of that knowing your child is fighting for her life. After my breakdown and a long, awkward silence while I cried and she just sat there fighting back tears herself we talked about Dream Dinners. Of course as we were driving home later, I kicked myself for not getting their info. I would have gladly dropped off Dream Dinners meals for them and called the store to see if I could contribute in some way-such as paying the monthly meal assembly fee so they could just stop by and pick up their meals. I still think about them often, pray for their daughter and still wish I could have helped them in some way. 

So after what felt like forever, but was more like 45 minutes, Hudson's status changed to recovery room. Another 15 minutes or so later the doctor came in to tell us that the surgery had gone well. We were so relieved. Someone came to get us a bit later and walked us back to Hudson. When we first walked up he was still asleep. I just wanted to give him the biggest hug and never let go. As he woke up he was a bit upset (they had warned us that this was normal). They offered him apple juice and turned on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and he immediately lit up. He chugged multiple juice boxes (which we had to halt because we were nervous he would vomit it back up, but he was fine). He was pretty loopy and quite funny, even on the way to the car. By the time we made it to the freeway, he was sound asleep. By that afternoon he was jumping on his trampoline as if nothing was wrong so that was a relief. We are so glad that is behind us and hope that the issue is fixed, heals properly and doesn't return. 

Jordan's Birthday Party

On March 22nd, I took Luc with me to Jordan's birthday party. It was fun to see Luc and Lachlan together, Sunde is expecting her second very soon and Jordan's kids are growing up so fast. Kind of weird that we all met dancing and now we all have little tribes of predominantly boys (we didn't know at the time this picture was taken, but Sunde ended up having her second boy). It is really cool that we have been friends for so long and now we get to watch our kids grow up together.

Luc's 1st Food

On March 21st, we gave Luc his first food! We did sweet potato which is the same thing we gave Hudson as his first food. I made it myself and was so excited to give it to Luc. He was very excited about going in his high chair for the first time. It was pretty funny actually how excited he was. He wasn't quite as thrilled about the food, haha. His faces were hilarious! 

March Madness

UCI played in March Madness this year! It was obviously a big deal , so on March 20th, the boys and I got our UCI gear on and we watched the game (sort of). It was a really exciting game, but sadly UCI lost. 

On March 21st, we went to our annual March Madness dinner to BJs with Nic's friend Jeff and his family. They have a girl and twin boys who all love kids so the boys got showered with attention. It is always fun hanging out with them. :)

27 Weeks

On March 17th, Luc turned 27 weeks old. He weighs about 17 pounds and 6 ounces. He is pushing up inyo a crawl position, rocking back and forth and even propelled himself forward twice. He mostly ends up pushing/moving back, but either way he is starting to move. Luc got his leg stuck in the bars on his crib for the first time - guess between those chunky thighs and the fact that he is starting to move it was bound to happen.  

St. Patrick's Day

March 17th was St. Patrick's Day. We had so much fun celebrating this year. I made Hudson a minty green smoothie, green pancakes (with spinach in them-bonus!), and grapes in the shape of shamrocks. Hudson shares my love and excitement for holidays, which is awesome! For dinner this year I made corned beef and cabbage in the crockpot. It was pretty good and allergy free, which meant we could all enjoy it, so that was a bonus. I also made lucky charm rice krispy treats that were dairy free so we were all able to enjoy those as well. We had a great day, I squeezed in a few extra kisses, and I definitely feel very lucky!!

Luc 6 Month Photo Shoot

On March 15th, we met Jade Brookbank at a park in Burbank to shoot Luc's 6 month photos. I always leave her photo shoots worried and then I have to remind myself that despite my crazy family of chaos she always manages to capture amazing shots and I always love how her photos turn out. I have to admit though, that this was the real first glimpse at our future. It was so hard to wrangle Hudson, while trying to get Luc to smile, especially when one of us was in the photo with Luc. At Hudson's 6 month photo shoot I had idea after idea of photos I wanted and we kind of just kept going. With Luc, I had very few ideas and Nic and I were so exhausted that we were actually slightly relieved when we started losing light. Family photos with little ones is no joke! Here are some of my favorites. 

Here are a few comparison photos just for fun.This one is Luc as a newborn and again at 6 months in the same pail. (Hudson took newborn and 6 month photos in this tin too) 

These are Hudson and Luc in the same pail at their 6 month photos. It is funny to me that everyone says how alike they look because to me they look so different, especially in these photos.

Hudson ~ Luc

Luc ~ Hudson

Hudson ~ Luc

 Here are the photos we took to show you a bit of a glimpse of the behind the scenes fun.