Updates on all my "H" people

Mike (The Hubby) was officially sworn in as a legal intern in the state of Kansas yesterday. I unfortunately missed it so no cheesy pictures, this I am sure he is grateful for! He works at the Law Clinic and did all last year too but he will also now be "working" there for a class. He will take on real cases that are overseen by practicing lawyers aka his teachers. Pretty cool experience!

Hudson has taken 1 nap since last Saturday...yep just one. I put him down, I do the whole nap routine and he just sits in there and talks and plays and sings. I cannot make him fall asleep. I am about at my wit's end with this one. Any ideas? Because I am NOT giving up!

Hadley officially grew out of her newborn diapers and most of her newborn clothes. I guess they were getting too small for a few days now but I wanted to finish the pack of diapers. Sad to think she is already big enough to be growing out of things. Time goes by too fast. Some days I am thankful for this....and others, it just makes me sad!

Here hand me the eggs...

Not really a frantic saying I thought I would be uttering to Hudson on a daily basis. But his fridge obsession has taken over. He keeps bringing me the eggs everyday saying he wants to eat them. Funny thing, since he will never actually eat them! He also gets his own drink and cheesesticks. I think I am going to have to put a stop to his fridge fascination!

Cooling Off at the Zoo

Mike took Hudson to the Ice Cream Safari at the Zoo. Hudson had a blast checking out the animals eating their cool treats. They took in all the animals. Hudson loved the Gorillas and the Orangutans. There was this guy chiseling out this awesome ice sculpture. And they had ice cream for everyone and water slides (although somehow, Huds and Mike missed that one completely! Oh well, they still had fun!)

Niner, Niner

Hudson was cracking me up the other day with these helmets over his ears! It looks like he is calling in the air traffic at the airport! And a few shots of Hadley. I cannot believe how un-newbornish she looks now. She is getting some seriously chunky legs. I think she is trying to rival a few sumo wrestlers with how big her thighs are getting. Sorry but these pictures don't do her rolls justice at all. And you can see 2 chins in these pictures but what you don't see are the other two underneath these ones!! Its nice to know that she is healthy and definitely an eater! She is such a happy girl. She does love to be held but at least so far, she doesn't really care who holds her. She has the cutest smile and on Saturday, she did a smiley laugh at her Dad. It was so cute! Glad to see she has him wrapped around her finger already!! Life with two kids is definitely very busy but also really fun. The hardest part is making sure Hudson doesn't smother her with kisses (or anything else for that matter!). He loves her a lot but definitely needs to get a sense of space and stay out of her grill! We had our first (and probably not the last) incident of him throwing something to me (against my wishes of course!) and it hitting her on the head. Luckily, she wasn't hurt and his ego wasn't too badly bruised!

The Velveteen Fuzz

Guess after countless nights of sleep, chewing on him til he stunk, dragging him everywhere and pretty much just loving him to death, Fuzz was bound to look a little tattered.
Luckily, Hudson can't tell the difference. He still loves him just as much!

First Day

Mike started his first day of his last year of law school today. We are so proud of him. In my delirious state this morning, I rolled out of bed and took a few shots of him with Hudson and Hadley. I think he thinks it is dorky but its a momentous occasion! Hadley gave him a great gift last night...sleeping for SIX WHOLE HOURS straight!! This is the longest stretch she has slept so far. And I must say, it was heavenly. I was actually complaining to Mike yesterday that Hudson had his first 6 hour stretch about 6 weeks old and I was trying to figure out how to get Hadley to do the same. Guess just mentioning it worked like a charm. Wahoo! I won't count on it again tonight but at least it is a start!

Good luck with this year Mike! You will do awesome! I cannot believe we are already almost done. I will be sad to leave the friends we have made here but I know we will all be moving onto bigger and better adventures!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

We were so grateful my mom and step-dad came out with us to Kansas. It made the drive with just one child so much more manageable. I think they were thoroughly entertained by Hudson the whole trip too. We had a great time with them here in Topeka. Mr Handyman, aka my step-dad, helped Mike fix our grill and a few other odds and ends around the house. We celebrated my birthday and had some fun scoping out some sights around Topeka that they had yet to see. It was sad to see them leave though. Reality set in when we actually had to wake up when Hudson did. Wow, that was rough! I miss my full night's sleep!

We have been keeping busy with Dr appointments and tons of other errands since we have been back. We are trying to live it up this next week so we can be ready for when school starts. All played out and ready for work...or maybe rested and ready for something new. Not sure which but either way, this week will be a good one! I still cannot believe that Mike starts his last year of law school just 1 week from tomorrow. I know it will fly by too. It is almost a little sad, but also pretty exciting!

SC in KC

We headed out to KC one day for some great food and fun. We hit up Arthur Bryant's, which never disappoints! We also went to Science City to show off some of our mad science skills for the grandparents.

Hudson thought it was hilarious to stick his head in the alligator's mouth!
Hudson is always a fan of digging for dinosaurs. Love that tongue sticking out.And you can't dig without goggles. These are probably his favorite. He would wear them all around.Ever since we went to the Boise Zoo and saw a Bald Eagle. Hudson always thinks big birds are Bald Eagles. But here, there really was one for him to scope out.Hudson was a big fan of these bright colored lights. He was pretty much just running back and forth along them and watching his shadow. Pretty cool for a 2 year old!Hudson was fascinated by this tall guy!We also went and saw a Beatles Laser Show which was pretty darn good. But I LoVe the Beatles so what isn't to love about that?

The Train Ride

Hudson was FrEaKiNg out once he realized that we were going to ride on the train. He adores trains and cannot get enough of them.Hudson was more than happy to pose for the camera on the train!Hadley's first train ride. She looks real excited!Hudson wanted to stand in front of the train so we could take his picture. Its amazing how big he is getting. He is now 34 inches tall and 31 pounds. What a big boy!!

OPT

We took Hudson's grandparents to Old Prairie Town. It was SUPER hot, especially for Hudson since he kept running everywhere while we were there.
Look at that tongue sticking out as he is rounding the corner.
Hudson had fun poking around everywhere and climbing on everything. So that was a workout for Mike to chase him down. Thank goodness he was willing to do it!
Love this picture of Huds checking out the barbershop. He is such a curious kid.

Blessing Day

Hadley was blessed in Salt Lake on our way to Kansas. We were able to have most of Mike's family there and a lot of mine there too. It was so nice to see family and have them share in our special day.
Here is a picture of the grandkids on Mike's side of the family. It was pretty crazy getting them to all stand there and stay in the picture. I think this is one of the better ones. It was great to see all of them. They just love Hadley and are so good with her too.
Some of my family on my Mom's side. It was so great to see all of them and have them there. They are always so supportive and we really appreciate that. Hudson absolutely adores my mom as you can see in this picture. He and Hadley are the only grandkids on my side of the family so they are SPOILED!
Here is a shot with my Dad and step-mom, Judy. We stayed with them over the summer and really enjoyed it. They were so helpful with Hudson and always helped entertained him, which was a huge lifesaver for me. I am glad that his noise level didn't send them over the edge!
Here we are with Mike's parents and his Grandma. We were so glad to see all of them since its been a year since we saw them last.
Here are a few quick shots we took with each of us with Hadley. Now to the girl of the day! Here is her sweet little bracelet I made her. It is so tiny. It fits a little loosely on my thumb. That is how tiny it is! This is her dress I made. I really loved how it turned out even though it might have been a little big for her still. She was pretty small! She looked like an angel in it. She is so beautiful! It was definitely a great day. Thanks to everyone who came!

Puttin' on the Pounds

Hadley is seriously packing on the weight. She is now 9 pounds 3 oz and is 21 inches long. She is in the 80 and 85% for those. Her head is only in the 40% range. But I am sure that will catch up too. The Dr says she is doing great and that she is very healthy and alert. She was wide eyed and looking all around at him and his office. It is fun to see her be so aware of everything that is going on. She is such a sweet baby!

1 Month Old

I cannot believe that Hadley is already a month old. It goes way too fast. She is such a fun little thing to have around. She is fun to dress and she is so fun to cuddle. She is a great eater and wants to eat a lot but it has slowed down a little which is a nice reprieve for me. She sleeps really well at night and usually does at least 4 hours, 3 hours then 2.5 hours. Not too bad when you are only up for about 30 minutes with her in between those times. Now if we could just get ourselves to go to bed when she does...then we would be feeling great and well rested! This last week she even did a few 5 hour stretches which were heaven. You forget how much a full night's sleep means to you! So I will take as long of a stretch as I can get. She is such a sweetheart though when she wakes up, she rarely cries. She just starts grunting around first and you can hear her stretching and making these little goat noises. Then if you don't respond, she gets down to business and adds a little cry to her demands.
She doesn't seem to be bothered too much with Hudson's lack of understanding about one's personal space. She enjoys being shown trains and doesn't even seem to mind if they are right next to her face. She loves the swing and the bouncer but she really prefers to be held more often than not. Sometimes she will peek open one eye and look at you when she is asleep. I think she does it just to make sure you are still holding her. I swear sometimes the second you set her down, those eyes pop open and she knows it instantly! She has given us some very cute smiles the last week or week and a half. It is so fun to see "real" smiles and not gas induced ones. She is such a sweet baby and we are so glad she is part of our family.

Road Trip

On our way back to Kansas, we stopped in Utah for Hadley's blessing (a post of its own soon to come!). Hudson and Mike had a little fun on an abandoned train while I fed Hadley. Hudson is in LOVE with trains so it was fun for him to be able to hop up on a real one.Then from Utah to Kansas, Hudson rode with his grandparents. They, of course, spoiled him with treats galore. He had a little mishap with a cherry slurpee. The bright red goodness got dumped all over Hudson courtesy of the little man himself. Luckily, it came out of his clothing but I wasn't sure it would after the way it stained Hudson's belly. He thought it was so awesome!

Snake Charmer

Hudson is really going to miss his daily walks or bike rides with his grandparents. He has done the coolest things while on these walks. He plays at the park, he throws sticks into the canal,he plays with the river water and sometimes gets wet,he finds rattlesnake skins and brings it home to show me,and after that is all over with, he gets in the big bathtub and plays with the soap. It is all in a day's work for a two year old. What a life!