Gators, rides and Icecream!

First, we'd like to say a belated "Go Gators"! It is definitely great to be a FLORIDA GATOR. And even better to be a Gainesville resident, especially at times like these

Saturday, I invited Mom and Dad up because I was missing them and I thought it would be good for Dad to get out of the house. They brought Drew with them so that Jen and Brad could get some stuff done around the house. The boys had a great time. They and our neighbor, Fisher, rode around on riding toys in our close. Drew got to ride a little motorcycle. He borrowed Raleigh's helmet, and Raleigh rode Fisher's new big boy bike. He did really well on it, I was quite surprised. We then loaded all three boys in our wagon and pulled them down to the park. Who do you think the crazy nut was that volunteered to pull all 120 pounds of kids? It was I. Idiot. I was so tired. Lesson learned.
After playing a while, we went to the village market and got ice cream (Everyone but me of course, because I for some reason has decided to start with my trainer again and now have to write down everything I eat. Oh yeah, and is the reason why I can't move today!) It was cute to watch Drew's face, because where we live is totally different than where he lives. He has a ton of acres, a pony, donkeys, and room to roam. We live very close to our neighbors and can walk to several playgrounds, restaurants, stores and common spaces. I think he liked it though, there were tons of people to watch.
Here are some pics of the boys on there rides...

Happy Birthday Hudson

My baby turned one today. It was one year ago today that he only made me labor for 3 hours. It was one year ago today that he only made me push 3 times. It was one year ago today that he totally and completely changed my life. So, here is an ode to Huddie...

Oh Huddie. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
1. You are the sweetest baby I have ever met.
2. I love how much you love me. You look at me like I am magical.
3. You have so much personality for such a little guy, still new to the world.
4. I love how you can charm people we don't even know.
5. I love every time you put your head on my shoulder.
6. I love how cuddle-y you are. I could cuddle with you all day.
7. I love how you look at Raleigh.
8. I love that you think your Dad is too cool and how excited you get when you see him.
9. I love how you have changed my life and have made me a better person!
10. I love that I could go on and on about you, but I won't, I will save some for future years.
Happy Birthday my little man! Your momma adores you.

Here are some pictures we would like to share from our day!


We started the morning at our house and a bagel for breakfast.


P.J. fed him Lasagna so that I could have the chance to eat. Thanks P.J.!


Jen pried him away from me and they enjoyed some quiet time sitting outside. It was a beautiful day. Thanks Mom, for letting us party at your house. The kids had a blast!

This is a rare photo of all three boys together! Thank you Drew, for loving your cousins so much.

He did better opening presents today, than a week ago.

I loved his cake. It was the inspiration for the party decor.

He LOVED the cake. He almost ate the whole thing.

He was so tired after his bath, so we put him down for a nap. The rest of us played outside.

I snuck in and got a shot of him resting. Boy, was he wiped out!

Here is a video of him eating his smash cake.

Yeah Huddie!

He did it! Hudson took his first step tonight. It was actually 5 steps (2 days before his birthday). As Raleigh, Bryan and I cheered him on, he got so proud of himself and kept trying over and over. I am so excited for him, although, I realize that it will be a lot more work for me trying to contain him. He wants so much to be like his big brother and this just makes him one step closer.


He is already into everything! Don't you love the shoes and diaper. What style...


The boys in my life have so much fun together. I think Bryan spends more time on his knees than on his feet.



This was a shot from his bath tonight. I love it when they are all wet and drippy!

Way to go Huddie! Momma is so proud...

An action packed day...

Christmas was a lot of fun this year! Christmas Eve, Bryan and I gave Raleigh the Disney train we bought him. We set it up on our unfinished 3rd floor and we all went up there to enjoy a little time together before Santa came!





Huddie turned out to be like Godzilla, so he and I went downstairs and left the men to play with the train.





I love the matching jammies. Christmas morning was fun and Raleigh was so excited. This is the first year that he really understood everything. The morning was short lived, we had to quickly get ready to make it to Aunt Cindi's house by noon.


P.J. and Pappy got Raleigh a doctors kit and he looked too cute in the doctor's glasses.




Cindi bought all the kids silly string, but Raleigh didn't like it because it was messy, so Bryan volunteered to take his place in the Silly String War!


By 3:00, both boys were pooped!

It is the best time to get a cuddle in...Then, it was off to YaYa and Papa's!

Papa helped the boys get ready for dinner...

Drew set in to dominate my boys. He is so much fun to watch. My boys are so timid compared to him. Hopefully he will rough them up a little bit.

I'm not quite sure why, but Drew kept putting his tush in Huddie's face... Brad calls it a "Fruit Bowl". If you don't get it, ask Brad next time you see him.

Bryan and Raleigh enjoyed some quiet time out side together doing guy talk on the swings.

And this is Raleigh with his new scooter, helmet and knee pads that YaYa got him. He looks like a professional.

I think the boys had a great day! Raleigh was so full of excitement and Hudson couldn't wait to get his hands on more wrapping paper. I'm sure next year will be even better! Happy Holidays !

Time to leave this joint

That is what Dad was saying yesterday. If you haven't read Jen's post yet, yes, Dad had his surgery and is doing great. He came home yesterday evening and is enjoying time sitting in his favorite chair. This surgery was much better than the last. Hopefully, he will be feeling like a new man soon. Here are some pics from the hospital. He handles everything so well. You can tell by the pics. The last one is of all of his drainage tubes and collectors. He calls them his "balls". Gotta love him...
During the surgery Mom was sharing with me just how wonderful she thinks my Dad is (like she has to tell me). She was telling me how he has always taken care of her, from day one and telling me some stories about their early days. And really, that's what my Dad always does, takes care of people. I hope that after 35 years of marriage, Bryan and I still feel about each other the way Mom and Dad do. They are truly best friends and are still in love after all this time. Dad saved her and she did him as well. What a pair.

Cinderella, Dumbo and Staph, OH MY!

Saturday we went to Disney. Huddie enjoyed
being held, ALOT.

He met his first Disney character. Raleigh
was there but was being shy.


Raleigh watches Cinderella almost every night
before bed and was so excited to meet her.
For some reason, he froze and wouldn't speak
to her. Maybe she was just too beautiful. She
was really sweet with him.


Papa rode Dumbo with Raleigh. He is so great
with him.


After lunch, Raleigh came down with a fever
and really did not enjoy much of the rest of the
day. Poor baby.

Huddie was feeling better than he had been

feeling, but was awful tired.

Bryan and I were thinking as we were hardly

able to walk down the side walk because of

all of the people, "What the heck are we doing

here?"

Oh, did I mention, Hudson came down with a

Staph infection this week. Brave Bryan had to

take him to the Doctor to get it lanced. It is on

his belly, so we had to wrap it in gauze and a

bandage to keep him from messing with it.

Needless to say he was a little sore. Truly

pitiful.

Well, that about wraps up our weekend. Could

have been better, could have been worse, but

it sure was nice spending time with the family!

Dude loves the bottle...

Before I turn to the bottle, I just want to brag on my Raleigh. He helped mom and dad a few weeks ago put up their outside Christmas decorations and loved it. He and Bryan decorated our downstairs porch Saturday and he was so proud. He wanted to put lights anywhere there was a plug. This is a picture of him with the leftovers...



I have always been one of those people that believes that babies should be done with their bottles by 1 year, no binky past 1 year, basically, nothing that they hold dear by the time they turn 1 year and 1 day. I followed this philosophy with Raleigh and it seemed to work really well. Well, I now realize that not all babies are made equal. My Huddie is in love with his bottle. Maybe it is because we had to go through 6 different models just to get one he would drink from. Maybe it is because I still take him a bottle in the middle of the night when he wakes up (which, by the way, I am totally against). Whatever it is, the boy loves it. He carries it around between his teeth. All day if you let him. So, needless to say, I am not sure that I will be able to wean him in the next 24 days. Heck, I don't know if I really care. It is true that you are much more lax with your second. Here are some pictures of him playing today with his BFF, "The Bottle"








Below is a little video I shot to show you just how into the bottle he is.