CAKE!!!!!!

Hudson enjoyed his cake thoroughly. He used a spoon and one of the noisemakers to investigate the cake. He didn't really dig in with his hands but he seemed to enjoy it none-the-less. It was a much smaller mess than I had anticipated. When we gave him little bites he would get excited and open his mouth for more.

Gift time

Hudson enjoyed every gift he recieved. He got his fill of Little People. He loved to touch the boxes and made all sorts of adorable noises when gifts were opened. He also got a few toys that will help him master walking and help him learn shapes and numbers. We are so thankful to everyone who gave Hudson a gift to help him celebrate this momentous occasion!!

The Spread...cake and all

So, for Hudson's birthday we used his little people to help decorate. I put crumbled oreos and cream cheese together to make dirt and then put pumpkins on it and gated it in with pretzels to make a pumpkin patch. Then we dined on haystacks and dirt as well as other farm friendly fare. For the cake we bought a sheet cake and a little people sugar topper that I put on the cake.

September 21st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, today is Hudson's birthday. Today he turns one year old. Today he will get a cake/cupcake of his very own. Today he will look me in the eye and say he's ready for college... Okay, okay, maybe I am jumping the gun just a little bit but it feels just like yesterday I was at the hospital preparing to welcome him into the world. What a great year it has been with him. Despite all the heartache over losing my sister there is still such great joy. Here's a little parting picture of my man on year ago today. Ain't he a doll?

The birthday countdown begins!

We are only three days away from Hudson's first birthday. Yesterday he received his first birthday gifts in the mail. Thanks to Aunt Renee, Uncle David, Cousins David, Michelle, Beth, John, Emily and Morgan for the AWESOME Steeler attire and the musical book. Hudson loved

the book. He is very inquisitive as you can tell.

Yesterday he also took his first steps. Both times he was trying to get to items that he was not supposed to have. He is very resourceful and does what he has to to get what he wants. He is also becoming very good at going up and down the stairs. Today he climbed down the stairs and stopped to wave at me as he descended. I can't believe how big and independent he is becoming. He is no longer my little baby boy.

Vic's Bundle of Joy

Here are a few of the photos I took of JR (John Robert) while I was in Philly. I have a TON more to add at a later date!!

South Philly- What the heck?

I finally made it to Philly to see Vic's new digs and baby boy. Although I grew up in PA I never made it as far east as Philly. Amazing how a city in my home state could feel so foreign. Vic lives in South Philly which is really close to center city (downtown) and most of the major attractions in the city.

South Philly has its' own rules for driving. Double parking is permissible with some rules. You never block in someone you don't know but you can block in someone at the end of the road. If you don't want to be blocked in, you park about 2-3 feet away from the curb. This makes for some very interesting side roads. Also unique to south Philly is that people PARK in the turning lanes and restricted areas. It is CRAZY!!!!

Hudson on the move

Hudson has not yet taken any steps but that doesn't stop him!! These are some great photos of our little man during his last visit to Grampa and Grandma P's. Doesn't he look cute?

Holla if you like bananas

Hudson has been practicing feeding himself. His aim is generally
good but like most other kids his age he wears more than he eats. This is especially true to ooey gooey foods like ripe bananas. Even Hudson gets to the point where he doesn't want to pick up any more pieces and he waits for me to feed him. It is also funny to watch him try to eat mashed sweet potato. Too cute.




Next Sunday we celebrate his birthday and I am extremely excited to see what happens to the frosted piece of cake we give him. If he is anything like his Aunt Becca he will devour it. I will be sure to include the pictures when it happens.

Life at home with him has been great. We are starting to get into a routine and there is more order in my life. I hope to find a play group for him and me within the next few weeks and make some friends that are also domestic engineers. I still struggle day to day with the loss of my sister but that too will get better. Keep an eye on the blog to see all that the Hudster is up to. We love you all!!

A new look for the storage room

Hudson Helps mommy do the laundry

Hudson loves to push things around on the floor to help him crawl/walk. Here he has adopted my laundry basket. He also left me little gifts of his own toys. If he is really spunky he might start to pull out the clothes but on most days he is only interested in pushing it around or eating the socks in the basket. On this particular day s stray hanger caught his attention an he bagan to push it around on the floor.

He turns one in just over two weeks. I can't believe a whole year has gone by since he joined our lives. I can't imagine my life without him. He brings us new joy every moment of every day.

First trip to the museum

These are some of our snapshots for our trip to the Durham County Museum of Life and Science. As you can tell from the photos we had a lot of fun. Our friends, Ryan Gen and Jonathan were visitng from New Bern.