21 months

Hudson is my constant and when i say constant I mean he is constantly teaching me how to be a parent on  daily basis. He is such a sweet heart but his sinful nature has started to bloom. He's in to everything and loves testing his boundaries. Heres just a little glimpse of what Hudson is into at 21 months young! =)
-climbing. everywhere. on everything.
-he's favorite thing to say "no mommy."
-will talk in somewhat gibberish sentences for example he will say "i don wan dis mommy" (i dont want this mommy)
-has gotten soooo much better being a big brother! =) Loves giving hampton toys, swinging him, and getting down talking to him while hampton works on tummy time.
-Does the hand motions to "Wheels on the Bus" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
-Bowes his head, folds his hands and says "Amen" when praying.
-Loves sitting in his play closet reading books
-Enjoys "cooking" with us and plays at the kitchen counter probably 2-3 times a day.
-Is becoming a great helper by throwing things in the trash, sweeping up his crumbs and getting hamptons burp clothes for me when i nurse
-has started "tot school" with me at home and though we plan for an hour he typically only last about 45 minutes. So we finish the last 15 minutes after our nap usually.
-his favorite game to play in the car is sticking his fingers in his ears & having us talk to him
-his favorite foods are: bananas, green beans, dried cranberries, and any kind of "bar."
-He loves watching & waiting for the trash truck and recycle truck
-And his daily morning routine consist of him dragging our smaller laundry basket into our bathroom, flipping it over to climb up & stand on it so he can play with his toothbrush, my hair brush, bobby pins, make up brushes, dannys hair gel (this can get messy lol) anything that he can get his hands on. He usually imitates whatever were doing to get ready...its so funny!
-his sleeping is still great but definitely struggles whenever he is teething. He typically sleeps about 11 hours a night and 2 hours at nap .
I'm sure i'm missing some other things but nothing i probably wont blog about in the future! ;)

I cant believe he's almost 2! How precious these times are and though i may not always like his behavior we are so in love with the little toddler that he is! 

D.C

About a week ago or has it already been 2 weeks? Who knows! Danny & I went to Washington, D.C for 5 days!  Danny earned a certain/specific certification in the Insurance world so for earning this we got to go on a trip which happened to be in DC! Pretty cool! We had known about the trip for months almost a year really and the whole time (after finding out we were preggo again) we had planned on taking Hampton because we knew he would be so young & I still would be nursing so leaving him wasn't every really an issue. But as the trip quickly approached and Hampton wasn't getting any easier about a few weeks before leaving we decided to not take him. It really ended up being the best decision but it was a very hard one for me to commit to. I was a mess the week leading up to it, which is really why i never even blogged about it. I was crying every day about leaving our boys for 6 days!! I had never been away from them for that long. The day I went to the hospital to have Hampton was really my first time to ever leave Hudson and I even saw him the next day...ha so not even 24 hours. So technically for the past 20 months I had not spent one day without having one of my babies with me. I'm a little attached to say the least.

If you people only knew how insane I was about leaving them, you probably would of wanted to prescribe me some kind of medication. Just a basket case really, and the day we left after dropping them off...i literally was bawling my eyes out in the car all the way to the airport. I had never been so sad about leaving someone. Anyway, they ended up being just fine and Danny & I had a blast! It really was such a sweet sweet time for us and it was like having "date night" every day all day for 5 days straight! We got dressed up everyday, had fancy dinners almost every night, held hands everywhere, enjoyed some room service, laughed and talked and laughed some more! We did all kinds of things while we were there! I have a friend that lives there so she was absolutely amazing at being my travel guide!! She told us all the great places to eat, which museums to see & which ones to skip and even fun places to get a cupcake! We were such tourist, but we tried our best to fit in as well. DC was soooo pretty...i loved everything about it except for one thing...the people. They just weren't friendly texans, yall. I'm a Texas girl through & through so when waiters would initially walk up to our table and just say "what can i get you?" would totally throw me off. We both would kinda giggle and just say "well, to drink I would like a glass of Merlot and some water with lemon" ... it was so strange. In downtown DC there were homeless people everywhere and rats! HUGE rats! totally freaked me out.

Our favorite things were: THE FOOD...we both loved eating out for every meal including snacks! I mean who doesn't like someone else cooking (& paying) for you?! Thanks to my DC friend we ate at some awesome places. But besides the food our top things were: The Holocaust Museum was pretty amazing, Ford's Theater where Lincoln was shot, the Smithsonian Zoo (were kinda zoo snobs!;), having dinner at Union Station, visiting the Arlington Cemetery, seeing the Lincoln Memorial at night, Air & Space Museum & going to the Washingon Nationals baseball Game. We also really liked riding the Metro everywhere...sooo cool! Oh and the Forever 21 and H&M stores weren't too bad either! ;)

We did got lost a couple of times but it always ended up being an adventure! And one day instead of doing any touristy stuff we decided to just go see a movie! Very random but in a way it was so perfect since we hardly ever get to go!

All & in all it was a great trip! By day 3 I had finally gotten a little less "sad" about missing my babies but by day 5 i was super eager to see them and not an ounce of me was disappointed about our vacay ending! I really had the best of both worlds! Danny was so sweet to me & did such a great job on balancing out time for just us and then hanging out with other people! I am so proud of how hard he worked to earn all of it! I didn't take as many pics as I had planned but heres a few!

I took a lot more pics with my phone but havent gotten around to organizing them! maybe they will just have a little post their own!

Granola Thursday, even though its Friday!

So as most of you know... it is definitely that time of year. the time of year where everyone, and i mean everyone you know, especially the little people aka the children... start getting the sniffles, which leads, to the runny faucet noses, which leads to the coughing, then a fever, then a trip to the doctors office for an antibiotic because heaven forbid there be a runny nose. =)

I try to avoid going to the doctor at all cost, and with no pun intended the cost of a doctors visit is pretty much the main reason I dont like to go. Our pediatrician is a holistic doctor (and totally loves jesus- major plus!) so for the most part we share the same point of view when it comes to treating the body, especially the little people ;) So we love seeing Dr. Bain but like i said, I would much rather spend a $60 co pay on something else...hmm like maybe a date night! So in order to stay away from doctors office  we try to strengthen & build up our immune systems as naturally best as we can!

Here is the basic list of what I give Hudson:
(Hampton is breast feeding so as long as I'm taking all my supplements he should pretty much be covered... because as you know, breast milk is only as healthy as the mommy is.)

Elderberry - HUGE for the immune system during seasonal change! So good for you! you can get in a children's chewable or in a liquid! Hudson loves the liquid because its so sweet but once we run out of it I plan on switching him to the chewable only because its less messy and more manageable! Our ped prefers the liquid only because any "chewable" can be bad on their teeth, which makes sense but sometimes as a mom you just take the easy way out. ;)
Here is where I order our chewable Elderberry : http://www.healthywarehouse.com/children/sh-elderberry.asp

Probiotic- I've blogged about taking a probiotic before so I won't really get into the importance of it so in a nut shell it strengthens the immune system and aides in digestion! Its a chewable but not a gummy so if you order this one make sure your child can chew pretty well! Hudson couldn't chew this up until about 18 months, up until this I would mash it up and either put it in his apple sauce or oatmeal. You can also get a probiotic liquid and can find it at any sprouts, whole foods, central market etc. This is where I get ours: http://www.healthywarehouse.com/children/sh-probiotic-power.asp

Vitamin D(3)- which is what we get from the sun, and during the winter we tend to be inside more leaving our kids not getting as much sunlight as the normally do in the summer. So therefore majority of children (and adults) are lacking in Vitamin D. Now Hampton does get Vitamin D drops because Vitamin D is not found in breastmilk, he gets about 5 drops every other day. Kids under 7 need about 800-2000 IU's every day during the fall/winter season. Hampton gets about 800, Hudson 2000. We get our Vitamin D3 from sprouts or whole foods typically. It has a lemon flavory taste to it so they usually like it! =)

Briar Rose drops- all natural remedy for runny nose and congestion! Strengthens the immune system and aides with all areas involving ears, nose, throat & sinuses. Dosage: The dosage for infants is 5 to 8 drops. Give children ages 3 to 8 years old 12 to 15 drops daily! When my kids actually start having signs of a cold I give this 2 or 3 times a day! It works great! You can order it here: http://www.drfeder.com/index.php?page=shop&action=viewProduct&itemID=123

So there you have it! Thats our supplement list! Danny & I take couple of other things such as FOUR, Echinacea and our probiotics! Most of these can be found at your local health food store or at healthywarehouse.com or naturesunshine.com ! And on a side note none of these things are going to "cure" your problem most of them are to "prevent" signs and side effects of the common cold/flu! Once your sick...your sick, these things will help in getting you well quicker but definitely will not be an over night fix.

Now to be on the safe side of things, I would definitely consult with your doctor before doing anything crazy  just because some crazy granola eater mom blogged about it. =)

sleep

as most of you probably know, i put "sleep" for my children at the top of my "Good Parenting" to do list.  i may even go as far as saying that i pray for good sleep for my boys about as much as i pray for their salvation. hudson has always been my crazy, awesome, "are you sure he isn't sick" sleeper! Up until he was 18 months he was sleeping 12-13 hours at night, and then 3-4 hours during the day (divided into 2 naps). I even made a doctors appointment once to ask about how much he was sleeping and if that was normal. Oh the silly things we do as new moms. Always running to the doctor.  Dr. Bain insured me that Hudson was normal but went ahead and tested his blood. Turns out...Hudson was fine and little did I know that my incredible sleeper would soon blossom to an energetic, sing myself to sleep, throw everything out of my crib, refuse to fall asleep on my own - sleeper. Hudson has chosen the craziest time to switch up his sleeping habits and though i'm well aware this is just a season...its still hot in texas & i may just need some earmuffs if the whining because he doesnt want to sleep doesnt stop. he's sleeping habits have really cramped my blogging too. for instance as i type he has already woken up and is yelling for me & banging on the wall...its 2:30, he was put down for nap at 1. The last 3 nights danny & have put him to bed around 6:30/6:45 only for him to not fall asleep till after 8! and then waking up at 6...which then wakes Hampton up at 6. the joys of a small house...everyone hears everyone. The waking up early doesnt nearly bother me as much as the not napping part.

i'm not tired. i'm getting plenty of sleep. i'm just not getting anything done around my house because thats what nap time is for... house work, dinner preparing, important phone calls etc. oh yeah and my blog. a girls gotta blog right?! I mean this blog is almost 4 years old, it was here before these babies were ever on a sonogram picture hanging on my fridge... it deserves some importance right?!

well, hudson has now banged on the wall enough to where i have 2 pictures that are hanging crooked... my poor gallery wall, i just hope none of them fall & break, I really cant afford another walmart frame.

-praying for good sleepers-

continued

what a cliff hanger huh? my last post was almost 2 weeks ago and the last thing i wrote was "to be continued..."

 I think i really only wrote that because the boys were waking up from nap and I couldnt think of any other way to wrap it up.

kidding. kind of. in my last blog i mentioned that i felt convicted due to my friend Amanda believing "i had it all together." that my friends, is far from the truth. i by no means have anything together, though i try and i try and i try. And i pray daily that the Lord spares my children & my husband from all my mishaps, sinful nature and simply my lack of imperfections.

ive never been a good actress, just really wasn't my calling. so when my sweet friend suggested  i was mom of the year, i didnt know if i should laugh hysterically after embracing her with hugs or  just continue on with my act. i guess i did a little bit of both. when i got to our play date that morning i was beyond stressed, left my house a mess, forgot to lay the chicken out to thaw, listened to both the boys cry the whole way & of course hated what i was wearing.

i suppose as moms thats just what we do...until we have too many kids (or margaritas) that we dont care what others think anymore. because i'm not going to lie...i really do try every single day to be super mom. I want to be super mom. Being a mom is my job... its what i do from sun up till sun down or in my case "son up till son down" ;) i want to be perfect at it, i want to get better at it, and i honestly dont plan on leaving my position anytime soon! =)

so i guess what i'm trying to say is, " i assure you i do not have it all together, i've just apparently gotten better at pretending like i do!"

a hot mess

Thursday morning I was up with Hampton from 2 to 3 in the morning. First time this has happened since he started sleeping thru the night a couple of weeks ago. I could totally tell it was his tummy, and around 2:40 decided to give him some Colic Calm...kid was out by 3. Love that stuff. He started stirring again around 7:30 due to a really really stinky diaper.  I got about a total of 4 hours of good sleep that night because then Hudson decide to awake at 5:30. That morning we had a play date with our friend Amanda & her sweet little girl, I had told Amanda I would be there at 9:30. Needless to say i didnt even leave the house until 9:35. Fail. Arrived at the play area at 10:03. Just in time to feed Hudson a snack & nurse the hamster.

How in the world was I late?I had been up since 5:30! Lets recap shall we:
5:40- realize hudson isnt going back to sleep & I really dont want him to wake up Hampton...
5:45- bring hudson to bed with us...he wiggles, a lot. and talks, & pokes us in the eyes, ears & nose.
6:00- hudson is somewhat quiet but not asleep. still wiggling & pretending the bed is a jungle gym.
6:10- i really need to nurse (all nursing moms know this feeling).
6:30- Make Hudson breakfast, bless the food, talk about jesus, pray for our family- he then eats.
7:00-Decide to pump. i pump 5 oz in 20 minutes
7:25- fight with hudson about changing his diaper & getting dressed.
7:30- get in shower. with hudson roaming around.
7:32- hudson throws a shirt in the shower.
7:34- hudson throws paci in the shower.
7:35- hudson drags laundry basket into bathroom, flips it over, climbs up to the counter & "brushes his teeth" with all of our tooth brushes.
7:37- i hear hampton waking on the monitor.
7:38- end shower with only washing my hair & face. no shaving, no bathing, no conditioner & definitely no relaxing.
7:45- get hampton up & change a very stinky blow out diaper, get him dressed.
7:50- nurse
8:00- burp, realize i dont have a burp cloth, clean up spit up, will need to change clothes. switch sides, nurse some more.
8:06- burp. sit him down to pack diaper bag for the day. he cries
8:07- shush hampton, offer paci, still crying.
8:08- give him his medicine.
8:10 - back to packing the diaper bag.
8:13- hudson wants a bar (to eat), just because he see's me making his lunch for the day.
8:14- hudson throws temper tantrum. (hampton still crying)
8:15- hudson hits mommy & we go have a teachable moment with the spoon.
8:18- back to finish the diaper bag. 2 snacks, 4 diapers, one cup of water, wet bag, nursing cover, burp cloths, wipes, wallet, phone, 2 pacis, & hudson a packed lunch
8:20- bring the boys to our room while i get dress.
8:25- hudson gets into dannys hair get stuff while i'm blow drying my hair. (hampton's happy listening to hair dryer)
8:26- clean up goop off of hudson.
8:30- back to blow drying my hair
8:35- make up
8:37- hampton crying; realizing i really cant hold him, i swaddle him up and put him back in his crib. he's not happy.
8:43- back to getting dressed.
8:50- realize i need to start the dishwasher
8:52- start dishwasher
8:54- sweep hudson's breakfast up under the table.
8:55- hudson wants to sweep. get hudson's little broom, help him "sweep"
8:56- hudson throws his broom in the trash and throws a temper tantrum because i take it out. spend the next 3 minutes explaining why we dont throw the broom away just the crumbs.
9:00- brush my teeth.
9:01- hudson needs to brush his teeth, i snap at him & tell him no were in a hurry (as if he knows what that means)
9:04- hudson has a poopie diaper.
9:05- change diaper which involved another teachable moment.
9:06- hampton is up & crying.
9:07- remembered that i had pumped before feeding him earlier this morning so he most likely didnt get a full feeding.
9:08- get a puzzle out for hudson, show him how to do it
9:10- nurse hampton. burp hampton. nurse hampton. burp hampton
9:22-start washing machine
9:24-put hudson's socks & shoes on
9:27- find my shoes to put on, put hudson & diaper bag in the car.
9:30- get hampton in car seat &  then realize i never changed shirts from when hampton spit up on me. go & change shirt.
9:32- change shirts, turn off lights, turn up the AC, close the blinds, grab the car seat, lock the door
9:35- pull out of the drive way. with hampton crying & hudson's fingers in his ears.

9:42- realize i never ate breakfast & forgot to put my pumped milk in the deep freeze.

we get to the play area. hudson plays wonderfully, hampton his happy for the most part. Hudson only hits once but then chose to run out of the play area the moment i decide to start nursing hampton. (if thats not jealousy & attention seeking, i dont know what is). I run out of the play area with a baby on my boob to then motion hudson back into the play area.

...amanda & cadence show up a little later and upon arriving she says something along the lines of "you have it all together...i'm such a hot mess" it was then i was totally convicted.

to be continued....

breathing? check.

I think all moms would agree that its hard not to compare. i look back and remember hudson doing so much more than hampton is now. Hudson was amazing at tummy time, holding his head up and even rolling over. Hampton is getting better at holding his head up but thats really about all he is doing. I dont do much tummy time with him since he sleeps on his tummy and honestly...there really isnt any time to work on it. Floor time is pretty non existent when Hudson is around and if Hudson is sleeping then momma is cleaning, cooking, doing errands, scheduling play dates, planning Village Mommy events, developing lesson plans, writing out to do list, paying bills, stuffing diapers, returning phone calls...oh and showering, but thats always the least of my priorities. so sadly, tummy time is rare. With Hudson i was pretty much obsessed with him reaching & mastering every milestone. With hampton, as long as he's smiling, breathing, sleeping & needing diaper changes... life is good. Its funny how our perspectives change. I look back now and think how silly i must of seemed to other moms with more than one. 

Okay i'm rambling again and my battery is getting low & i'm too lazy to go plug it in so...we need to wrap this present up. (i came up with that all on my own(the present part)). 

So heres a couple of pics of hudson & hampton at 3 months...Any similarities? They only thing i see is the same forehead & hair line. 

Hampton on the Left, Hudson on the Right

no namer on top, frankie on bottom

Hampton on Top, Hudson on the bottom.