Short and sweet

Here is Hudson's birth story!!!
October 16th, 2011
I thought he would be here by now. In fact, I just knew he'd be here by now. Addie was born at 37 1/2 weeks and there was no way Hudson would be later than that. My doctor told me not to think he's coming early like Addie did b/c then he won't. She was right! Well, partially right. Our baby boy was born early, just not as early as Addie which well, made him late! :) It was a Sunday morning and we decided to skip church and go to the zoo! This was the first time Hank was able to go with us. It was a beautiful day! We had A LOT of fun and did A LOT of walking (which I think helped Mr. Hudson to make his debut).

This picture was taken right before we went to the zoo.

38, almost 39 weeks

Addie and Daddy feeding the giraffes

By the end of our three hour zoo trip I was one tired girl! (and hot too)

October 17th, 12:30am

I was suddenly awakened by a contraction! And then immediately after that my water broke. I woke Hank up right away and told him it was time to go to the hospital! There is nothing like this feeling of excitement and anticipation - we were going to meet our son very soon! We called our cousin Charlene and she came over right away to stay at our house with Addie. We are so thankful that she was willing to do that for us. Our suitcases were already packed and we called our parents and headed to the hospital. On the way there my contractions were getting closer and closer and were about 5 minutes apart. Hank dropped me off at the door (we had to go to the ER entrance since it was in the middle of the night) and as soon as Hank came in they wheeled me up to triage. I told the nurse my labor with my daughter was fast and this one would be too! She checked me and I was at a 6!!! She immediately got my iv and paper work going and before I knew it she checked me again and she said it was time! We went up to the delivery room and my nurse told me I could start to push, but my doctor was not here yet (and um, I had not received my epidural yet!!!) I insisted on getting an epidural, but was warned that sitting up may cause Hudson to want to come out and that the epidural may not be effective...but epidural it was! They quickly got the anesthesiologist in there (he happened to be my old neighbor, weird, huh?) and I felt much much better. Immediately after the epidural kicked in, my doctor came in, 3 pushes and Hudson Benjamin Bockus was born! He was born at 3:19am (less than three hours after my water broke), weighed 8lbs 6oz, and was 20 inches long. We love our little boy and are so grateful to God for a healthy baby!!

In the triage room waiting to be moved to the delivery room


So, so happy!!

Our sweet boy

Daddy and Hudson

Thank you to our families who came in the middle of the night to meet sweet Hudson. And to Auntie Mel who was in the delivery room with us and was our photographer and cord cutter :)

baby bump

25 weeks pregnant with baby Boy!

We are still working on a name!!

Loving being pregnant, but not loving 110 degrees

baby bump

21 weeks pregnant w/ baby Boy!

Guess what????

It's a B O Y!!!!!!!

woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so excited!!!

baby bump blog

18 weeks pregnant w/Baby #2!

18 weeks pregnant w/Addie

We have our big ultrasound at the end of the week.....can't wait to find out boy or girl!!

Our Satruday project

One day last spring I walked outside to find Hank ripping out the bushes in our front flower bed (they were ugly)!! Well unfortunately, we had no plan in place to replace them or to get the rest of the flower bed in shape....this is what I had to live with for a YEAR.....

notice (but please don't look too closely) the weeds, and dead monkey grass...

The side flower bed not too bad...just needs some plants!

So a year later + perfect weather + 1 master gardener (Hank's mom) + 1 father in law + 1 mom + 1 dad + 1 sister + 1 Addie + 3 Little Henrys (or sweet little Henrys as my father in law, Henry, likes to call them) + 2 Hydrangeas + 3 Japanese Yews + 1 Japanese maple + 11 Hostas + 2 Heucheras + 2 Cordalis + 10 bags of pecan mulch =

A beautiful flower bed!!

Let's just hope I don't kill these pretty plants!

The happy dance

Why is Addie doing the happy dance you ask??

Because we just told her she is going to be a big sister in October!!!! :)

We couldn't be more excited about this wonderful blessing!!

I was tagged!

Thank you, Crislyn, for tagging me for the 4X4 Tag and for bringing me back into the blogging world! :)

1. Four places I go:
Yukon
Sonic (strawberry limeade drinks are the best)
Crossings
My parent's house

2. Four Favorite Smells
Chocolate chip cookies baking
Addie Rose after she gets a baby massage (Before we put on Addie's pj's we'll put lotion on her arms and legs and say "baby massage, baby massage". When we are all done she keeps saying and signing "more"!!)
A clean house
Hank when he puts on his aftershave

3. Four favorite movies/TV shows
Gray's Anatomy
The Real Housewives of ________ (fill in the blank....I pretty much watch them all)
The Proposal
Parenthood (my new favorite)

4. Four Recommendations
Love on your babies every chance you get!!!! They grow up way to fast. My little Addie is not so little anymore. I LOVE her new found independence that comes with pre-toddlerhood, but I miss my tiny baby!

Don't ever pay full price for anything. Bargain shopping is so fun and exciting!

Do not worry! It is not worth it! By excessively worrying about something, I am telling God that I don't need him, I don't trust him, and that I think I am in control of everything in my life. Far better is my time spent praying for peace, wisdom and guidance from our Heavenly Father than worrying about a situation that I have little control over. I used to worry about a lot of things and my life has become much more peaceful once I let that go. I have full faith that the Lord is looking after me and I pray for his blessing constantly. I'm certainly not perfect at this and have my times of self doubt and weakness, but feel a renewed confidence in my heart once I gave it all to God. For the bible says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phil 4:6

Make new friends, but keep the old. There is nothing like an old friend. Nothing like someone who knows your story and your history. This is one of life's greatest gifts.

I tag Amanda, Jen H, Danielle, and Sarah B

Happy 1st Birthday Addie Rose!

To our ONE year old, we LOVE you!!

tickle, tickle, tickle

Addie is talking more and more these days. Here is her latest phrase!

Santa Henry

My mom's one request this Christmas was to have a family picture of her girls, their husbands and her granddaughter with Santa. Since the real santa from the North Pole was busy at the mall, Santa Henry stepped up to the plate....and he was the BEST Santa! Addie was not scared of him at all...a little perplexed, but not scared. It was a lot of fun and a great memory.

Addie sees Santa Henry for the first time

We had an amazing Christmas. My heart was overflowing with joy!! I don't know if it is b/c I'm a mom now or what, but the true meaning of Christmas was at the forefront of my mind this year (which was a nice feeling). I can easily get caught up in the commercial side of Christmas (unfortunatley). So, so thankful for the birth of our Savior!!

Hope everyone enjoys the last day of 2010. Hope I can stay awake until midnight! :)

My childhood obsession and my current obsession collide

Our little unicorn

Go Addie, Go!

Well it is official people! Addie is crawling!!! She had recently been crawling a little bit here and there (and by little bit I mean moving the left arm, then right foot and that's about it). But now she's got the hang of it. We had a play date this morning and Addie saw her friend Brooklynn crawling around and she did about 4 crawling movements in a row to try to catch her. Then this afternoon I knew just what would do the trick. Addie LOVES the remote control and we do NOT let her play with it. But in a moment of weakness I sat Addie down on one end of the rug and put the remote control at the other and she went for it! I did let her play with it for just a few minutes. We are so proud of our baby girl! However, she has not quite mastered crawling on our wood floors...it is kinda like Bambi on the ice pond!

sweet baby Paige

Our great friends Corey and Amanda had their beautiful daughter, Paige, on September 27th! (I am late, once again, on my post). She is the cutest little thing and looks like her momma. Addie and Paige already have matching outfits (it is so cute). Addie is actually modeling the outfit and can't wait for her and Paige to both wear them on a game day! We love Paige so much and look forward to many fun times with the Bolding and Bockus families!!

the new family of three

best friends

Dads and their daughters

Addie meeting Paige for the first time

She wanted to give Paige a big hug!

Wordless Wednesday

Addie and her beautiful Gran

(OK, so I guess it is not-so wordless Wednesday)

Catch up time

Well since it has been over a MONTH since I last posted, I have a lot of catching up to do! Of course Addie Rose needs an update first! She'll be 8 months old in 4 days. 8 months old - I just can't believe it!

UPDATE #1
- Addie is starting to give hugs and kisses! It is the sweetest, most precious thing. We've been loving on her since the day she was born and it is the best feeling for her to show us love back. You can ask for a hug and she'll usually give you one. Her kisses, on the other hand, are totally spontaneous. They are big, slobbery, open mouth kisses and we love them.

- We've started feeding Addie the Gerber puffs and she is obsessed with them. She much prefers them to any other baby food. It has been fun watching her motor skills develop. She can now pick up an individual puff and successfully put it in her mouth. What a big girl!

- Addie is finally getting teeth! I know the teething process is no fun, but I've been awaiting their arrival. :)

- Addie has started saying "dada" in addition to "mama".

- Addie can wave "bye" and "hi" now! It is so cute. When we go downstairs first thing in the morning she'll see Ethel and wave hello to her.

- Addie reaches for mommy and daddy. It is so sweet to see those chubby little arms reach for you to pick her up.

- Addie has had several play dates and loves them (and mommy does too)

7 months old

Addie giving her baby kisses

Addie and Ethel

UPDATE #2

OK, on to the next update....which I can't believe I'm announcing publicly...I'm doing the Tie Dye Tri next weekend! aaaaahhhhhhhh!!! Last year we went to the tri to watch Hank's dad, uncle and aunt and I was inspired. I was preggers with Addie at the time and made it a goal then and there to participate in it next year. I thought it would be a good goal and an even better way to lose the baby weight. Well here we are a year later and it is really happening! I've been training since June, bought a bike, a one-piece swim suit, a swim cap, and a ridiculous looking tri suit and I think I'm finally ready. Did I mention that I am not a swimmer, or a runner, or really even a biker? Thankfully I have some people in my life that are all of the above and have been great encouragers. I've been training with my sister Mel and our goal is to finish and feel good! During one of our bike rides Melissa (my younger sister) was totally kicking my booty and I jokingly said, "hey, I'm allowed to be slower b/c I'm a mom" Melissa then responds "That is no excuse" but from then on whenever I was tired or worn out from training I would say it was b/c I'm a tri mama. So if you think about it next weekend, say some prayers for this tri mama!!!

UPDATE #3

The fair! We go every year with the Bolding's and this year Amanda happened to be 38 weeks pregnant! She was such a trooper! We tried to tell her we didn't have to go this year, but she insisted that we go. Amanda wanted to do some walking to help move things along with Paige. We were hoping for a good story (like Amanda going into labor at the fair, ha!), but instead we just had a good time!

WOW

Mr. Wyatt Owen Ward was born early in the morning on July 17th, 2010 to Sam and Crislyn Ward! Crislyn has been one of my best friends for over 20 YEARS and Hank and I couldn't be happier for them! We were so thankful that we were able to meet that little guy before we left for Minnesota. (He was born the morning we left for vacation which is why I'm a little late on this post...) He is handsome and absolutely perfect! I have literally gone through almost every phase of life with Crislyn by my side and it brings such joy and amazement to my heart that we both now have children. Addie and Wyatt are destined to be great friends! Crislyn and Sam are incredible parents already (the lack of sleep hasn't even phased them). It will be so fun to watch that little guy grow up!

Momma Crislyn and Wyatt


Addie and Wyatt

Friends

6 mo pictures

We were so excited when Uncle Randy agreed to take Addie's 6 month pictures in Minnesota! We just love these pics!

6 mo info:
weight: 17lb 8oz (75%)
height: 26" (50%)

Addie is now eating carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, and she does not like squash. We try a new food about once a week or so. She is loving her solids and has little interest in her bottle. She has been learning to use a sippy cup with some help. She threw her first official fit the other day when I took the sippy cup away. And what did this first time mommy do? Well, i promptly returned it to her, of course! oops! :)

Who wants to go ta.... Minnesota?

We just got back from our annual Minnesota trip and couldn't be missing it more! We spent two full weeks of bliss on Lake Vermillion. This was Addie's first official road trip and she did GREAT! We drove 16 hours in two days and Addie handled it like a champ. (Just FYI, we used a "the First Years" car bottle warmer and it worked like a charm) She took lots of naps and I sat in the back and played with her a lot. When we finally arrived in Minnesota the temperature was an amazingly wonderful 72 degrees! It even got down into the 60's at some point. We love going to Minnesota b/c we do a lot of relaxing, fishing and eating. This year was especially fun b/c Addie was with us. I felt like she reached a lot of milestones in Minnesota, which makes for great memories. We fed her solids (and by solids I mean something besides cereal) for the first time, she mastered sitting up, and she turned SIX MONTHS OLD! Addie also had her first boat ride (which she loved), her first dip in the lake (which she loved) and her first sip of water from a glass (which she loved). Her Uncle Andy got to spend some time with us in Minnesota too - Addie adores him! Hank and I also got to go on a date night while we were there and Grandma Teresa did most of Addie's morning feedings for me so that I could sleep in (thank you!!!) I also toted my bike and Henry's bike up this year and we got to do some riding. Hank, as usual, did not shave the entire trip and I caught the biggest fish this year (a 30" Northern - it was scarrrry). Also, Addie's great Uncle Randy took her 6 month pictures while we were there and they are incredible! I will post those soon.

The beginning of our road trip! (We actually bought this Minnesota T-shirt when we were there last year and I was preggers....we didn't know we were having a girl yet, so we bought something gender neutral that our little one could wear when we went this year)

Addie eating sweet potatoes for the first time. She actually loved them.

Addie in Lake Vermillion. I was very surprised how much she loved the water - it was pretty cold!

Addie at the Wilderness Club

Addie snuggled up with her daddy. I love that little face. And yes, it was THAT chilly!

Naked baby loving the lake!

Mamamama

Guess what??? Addie has said her first word.......MAMA!!!! She is a 6 month old baby genius! Ok, well technically I don't think she knows what she is saying or that it is me who she is talking about but I'm going to go ahead and count it! Whether it is baby jabbering or intentional - it doesn't matter b/c I absolutely love it.

Sorry if the video makes you a little dizzy. I had to sneak up on her b/c every time I get the video camera out she stops talking.