Hudson at 8 months

Hudson turned 8 months old on December 23 - the day after we arrived at my parents' ranch in North Dakota for the holidays. It was very exciting to be able to use one of my mom's Christmas quilts for the back drop this month - and to make the switch to a sitting baby, too! 

I cannot believe my baby boy is already 8 months old! It is amazing how much Hudson has changed in the past few weeks. He went from sitting with help to sitting up on his own, he started crawling, and he started talking! I had no idea how much joy I would feel the first time I heard him say Mama, nor did I know how heartbreaking he would sound when he started interjecting it into his crying and fussing! 

Sleep has been our biggest challenge lately. Hudson wants to be held through his naps. He will sleep for hours if I hold him, but as soon as I put him down, he is wide awake again. It's so frustrating to not get that little bit of free time to myself! Consequently, all the housework gets done after Hudson goes to bed, so I'm generally up late...only to get a wake up call from Hudson between 2 and 5 a.m. 

Here's to 8 amazing months! I just hope time starts to slow down a little! I'm not sure I'm ready to have a toddler. :(

December Recap

December was a very busy month for us! 

Hudson and I attended Blake's second birthday party during the first weekend of the month. As we were shopping at Target for Blake's gift, we ran into my college friend, Drew, and his family! 

We had Drew, Ashley, and Audrey, their baby girl, over for dinner the following Tuesday. That Friday, Hudson and I flew to Minneapolis to stay with Trevor's parents for the weekend. Trevor arrived separately as he was working. We all attended a Christmas party for Trevor's mom's side of the family that Saturday before going our separate ways back to Atlanta on Sunday morning. 

We had our Mothers Of Pre Schoolers (MOPS) Christmas party on December 18. We painted an adorable nativity scene with the guidance of an instructor from Bubbles and Brushes in Newnan. 

We traveled to North Dakota on Drcember 22. We celebrated with my family and enjoyed some quiet time on the ranch before returning on December 29. Trevor worked from December 27 to January 1, so he returned a few days before we did. I put Hudson down on New Years Eve and celebrated with mozzarella sticks. An appetizer dinner on NYE is my family tradition, so I stuck to it! 

Happy 2016!

One Little Word 2016

Eleven years ago, I used my Christmas money to buy a 35mm Canon Rebel. Most of my friends, including my boyfriend at the time, asked for digital cameras that year. There was just something about the digital camera that turned me off and sent me toward the 35mm camera. I loved the way the SLR camera let me focus on details that the cheap point and click cameras missed entirely. 

Four years later, I tucked it away and asked for a digital camera for Christmas. It was a little better than the point and shoots of my childhood and teen years, but still didn't have the focus I sought after. We upgraded to an attached lens DSLR when we got married, but by our fifth anniversary, the camera was in sad shape. Our images weren't coming out clear and focused like we expected. I began searching for a DSLR in our budget, but I kept coming back to the D-Rebel. It was my dream camera. It would be everything my 35mm Rebel had been ten years earlier! If only I could afford it...

Five days after Hudson was born, a huge package arrived addressed to me. It was from Focus Photography. My push present from Trevor was my D-Rebel and a deluxe kit to set me up to take amazing photos of our family. I was so excited!

I played with it a bit and grew frustrated. It wasn't giving me the clear focus I desired, no matter what I did. I secretly hated the camera and felt guilty Trevor bought it for me...until this week.

A friend of mine posted on Facebook that she was interested in film photography. I offered my 35mm Rebel to her, then dug it out. When I put it on the counter, I noticed that the lens had a macro focus. I compared it to the D-Rebel. There was no macro focus on the new camera. The problem hadn't been the camera! It had been the lens all along. Suddenly, I had my word for 2016. 

How often do we look at life through the wrong lens? How often do we use a lens that prohibits us from focusing on the right detail, that keeps us from enjoying the small things? I know I've been using the wrong lens lately. I've been focusing on the wrong details - if I have had any focus at all. I'm not going to spend 2016 in survival mode. I'm going to focus on my self, my health, my family, and my faith. I'm not going to lose focus on what matters this year. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure I'm using the right lens. 

When I settled on my word earlier today, I typed it into the YouVersion Bible app and read through several verses that contained the word "focus." It didn't take long to settle on a life verse for 2016.

What will your focus be in 2016?

Thankful Thursday | 11.26.15

20. Wine and ice cream "date nights" with Trevor after Hudson goes to bed

21. God and his generous provision 

22. Teething tablets

23. My sweet 7 month old baby boy

24. Trevor 

25. Our friends, Jennifer and Justin Place

26. My whole family :)

Thankful Thursday | 11.19.15

13. Spirit Airlines, for giving Trevor a job and for giving all of us a better quality of life

14. Our sweet kitties, for sleeping with me and keeping me warm

15. Our local Target Pharmacy, for always being so quick to serve us

16. Coffee, for turning me back from zombie to mommy each morning 

17. My planner, for keeping us organized

18. Jamberry, for the opportunity to make some extra money and for keeping my nails on point

19. Baby bottles, for letting Trevor feed Hudson once in awhile

Thankful Thursday | 11.12.15

6. Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS)

7. The Bridges Family

8. Crossroads Church

9. Lee Middle School

10. IKEA 

11. The U.S. Military 

12. Target

Thankful Thursday - 11.5.2015

I challenged myself to write down one thing for which I am grateful each day this month. I'm searching for things that were meaningful in each day, rather than a laundry list of obvious answers like my faith and my spouse. I'll be sharing the list on Thursdays until Thanksgiving. 

1. My awesome parents

2. Hudson's amazing pediatrician

3. Our fantastic friends, the Cerny family

4. Target

5. My sweet, snuggly baby boys (both the cat across my feet and the human on my lap as I type this)

Hudson at 3 months

Stats @ 3 months:

Weight: 13 pounds, 2 ounces

Length: 24 inches

Wears size 2 diapers, 6 month sleepers, and 3-6 month clothes 

Hudson smiles, coos, and reaches for objects. He grasps with intention, but he is mostly grabbing at my hair! He likes to play with blankets, too. We always watch him closely when he has them. As early as six weeks old, Hudson would pull them over his head and make coos that almost sound like a giggle. I foresee him being the sort of baby who is very attached to a particular blankie one day!

He rolls from his back to his side sometimes. Rolling all the way over seems like it might be coming soon! Hudson has very good neck control already, so we will probably be introducing a jumperoo around the time he turns 4 months old. We have taken him to the swimming pool a couple times already, and he ended up being so relaxed that he nearly fell asleep in the water both times! 

Bath time is Hudson's favorite part of the day. He splashes, kicks, and coos happily the entire time. Trevor even wears swim trunks for bath time sometimes! This week, there was a night when I had to refill the bath tub four times because Hudson kept pooping in it. He also peed twice. Obviously, he loves water and feels very relaxed when he gets in the tub!

Hudson has been sleeping through the night since he was about six weeks old. He has slept up to 9 hours in a stretch, which has been glorious for me! He doesn't really nap during the day, though. Sometimes, if we swaddle him before a feeding, he will go down for 90 minutes to three hours, depending on how he has slept in the past 24 hours. He still sleeps in his rock and play in our room, but we will be transitioning him into his crib in the nursery soon. 

July Recap

July was a wasted month. We did nothing exciting. Trevor and I had a lot of sinus trouble. Hudson spent a lot of time gassy, constipated, and spitting up. It was rough!

Hudson turned 3 months on July 23. We celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary on July 25 with take out from Applebee's. Hudson gave us the gift of sleeping 11 hours straight that night! 

Here's hoping August is better!