one year today.

one year ago today, gus and i went to the hospital for my scheduled c-section. ironically enough, when hooked up to the monitors in labor & delivery, the nurse informed me that i was having contractions. so that's what i had been feeling for days! i had no idea since i've never gone into labor. of course they weren't anything crazy, but we thought that was pretty funny. just thinking back to those first few days all i can think about is how happy and blessed we were/felt. my recovery was much better, we were more relaxed this time around and just enjoyed the moments. i remember the day after hudson's birth thinking - "oh good, he's only 1 day old"... i just didn't want time to go by too quickly! (or maybe it was the pain medication doing the thinking - just kidding!) another interesting thing is that on the OR table right after hudson was delivered, i thought about how i couldn't wait to be back on that table again. i thought the same exact thing when matthew was born. we'll see what God has in store for us! reagardless, hudson certainly completes our family :)

p.s. i'll post pictures tomorrow!

Hudson's Birthday Party!!

We celebrated with family on Sunday night. It was a very fun time, and Hudson LOVED the way the cake turned out.

the party quickly turned into a gumdrop themed event when i decided to make a gumdrop wreath for the door. time consuming, but worth it!


and the gumdrop cake... (no, i did not run out of gumdrops! i'm not into a typical looking one!)




the birthday boy!




hitching a ride with lawre bradley.


LOVE this picture.

time for cake!

Saturday night, Matthew and I made Hudson's birthday cake! When Matthew discovered that we were making a chocolate cake, he was thrilled to help. (and eat LOTS of batter) We even let Hudson have a taste...




(gimme that spatula!)

poor little guy :(

friday night we had our first "what do we do?" moment... hudson was playing around in the kitchen opening cabinets and he pulled out a glass cake stand that shattered at his feet. one peice of glass shot up and cut his shin (and cut it pretty good). we took him to urgent care to have it checked out and thankfully, the doctor was able to use dermabond (aka: glue) as opposed to stiches. whew! we are very thankful he wasn't cut worse. thank you, Lord!

Mama Day!

I had the best Mother's Day... the boys fixed breakfast, there was a "mommy & me" breakfast at church with Matthew, lunch at Mom & Dad's with everyone, and then home for the rest of the day. (my favorite) We played outside and then Gus came up with an awesome menu (grilled hamburgers, sweet potato fries & watermelon) and cooked for me/us!!! It was SO good and such a GREAT day :)


(the "grandest" mother - Mama Tom)


(the little guy who made me a mama of 2!)





(i could eat these boys with a spoon)

the last couple of months...

It's been a loooonnnngg time! Here's a little re-cap of March and April for ya. I'll get to May shortly, but this is very time consuming, and I am ready to hit the hay!

At the very end of April/first of May, we went up to Charlotte for the PGA Quail Hollow Championship tournament. We had the best time. First, the boys, Lynn, Dad and I went to the practice round... Dad's 60th Brithday present from us. It was fantastic - beautiful day, not too many people, boys did great - just a lot of fun! So happy for the opportunity to go with Dad :)


(Papa can always find Hudson's tickle spots!)




(that's Rocco Mediate in the background)

The next day at the Pro Am... waiting with Uncle Adam to see Tiger Woods (not just Tiger, Tiger Woods) walk by. This day I decided that the boys would not be heading back to the course again! There was just a moment (that felt like eternity) where I swear the entire golf course was silent except for Hudson. Stressful is an understatement!



Bathing with Cousin Taylor!



And oopsy, Hudson's jammies got wet and we had to borrow some from Taylor... might be the closest thing to us actually having a girl!



Matthew was in HEAVEN playing with all of Uncle Adam's old school cars & trucks.



We went to Mexico Beach for the weekend back in April and had a great time. Matthew and Hudson would be happy never leaving the sand.





MB is also where Hudson mastered the push toy :)





Here are some random pictures of the boys playing around:



(they go all over the house like this, and it is so funny)




(a few of his silly faces!)





Matthew got his first black eye from falling off the bed :(



It's sad to say that we took so few pictures at Easter - no family shot, no shot of the boys together dressed for church - you can only tell it's Easter by the one of Matthew. Pathetic!


(our littlest chick-a-dee)


(hunting eggs at his fourth egg hunt... atleast he still got excited!)

In March, Richard & Melissa asked us to go out to Big Sky, Montana, for SIX days. (without children) We had such a great time. I learned that I could really take or leave the skiing/snowboarding. (i did try boarding and had the best time hanging with my VERY patient husband for two days!) I don't know if it's that I'm older and a parent (or a wimp!), but being on the mountain makes me so aware of the fact that I could break a bone in a matter of seconds. However, I could definitely live in the mountains. It blows my mind that people actually wake up to that scenery every morning. It's BEAUTIFUL out there!

future drummer maybe?!

Matthew has a little play drum set that he just loves, but now he can say he has played some "real" drums... thanks to Mr. Mike! We went to a church in Tallahassee last night called The Well (fantastic by the way - a young church birthed by a young guy that meets at a high school - very contemporary and so inviting. even the childcare was very impressive and to think they transform this school each and every week. wow! best of all, a heart for Christ there is undeniable.) After the service, our friend Mike (guest drummer for the night) invited M up on stage to check out his drum set...

9 month check-up...

Hudson had his check-up last Thursday and he checked out with flying colors... woohoo! And the bonus - no shots! He weighs 18 pounds 9 ounces and the nurse said he measured 28 inches, but that's up for debate. She marked the head and toe on the table paper and when measuring from the marks, she kind of measured diagonally. So, who knows!

Anyhoo, just 2 days before his appt, I found Hudson standing up when I went to get him from his nap!! Of course, he was crushed when I ran out to get the camera, so that's why he's crying in the pictures. Now he loves to pull up when he can and he's crawling up the 2 steps from the den to the hallway ALL the time! Gus and I are thrilled that he decided to do all this new fun stuff last week instead of this week... we leave tomorrow for Big Sky, Montana, and won't be back until next Monday. The other "first" that seems to be on the rise is a tooth, but it won't be upsetting to miss that pop through... I will feel bad for Nana & Mama Anne though :)

boys!