Hudson & Bryce's Mustache Bash

Planning this birthday party for the boys has been such a fun hobby for me these past 7 months! After being inspired by a coffee mug with a mustache decal, the idea to throw a Mustache Bash was born! Once Brian was on board it was time to ask the kiddos. Shortly after I mentioned 'mustache' Hudson was asking to wear one like Mr. Noodle (from Elmo's World on Sesame Street). Nothing's sillier than a kid with a stache! Since there's not too many party items out there to accommodate our theme I had to do most of the creating myself. Many nights I would cut out mustaches while Brian watched TV. Lots of preparation went into planning a very special party for two very special boys! Surrounded by loving friends and family, who were such fun guests, I'd say our party was a huge success! We ordered BBQ from Smokey Bones, set up a bounce house borrowed from a friend, played "Pin the Stache on the Lash", made our own photo booth with silly props, and ate lots of yummy desserts! The boys loved blowing out the candles on their very own cake and especially loved hearing everyone sing "Happy Birthday". We can't forget to mention the Squirt Guns! We all had tons of fun making memories!

Bryce is 2

Happy 2nd Birthday, our sweet little Bryce! At 2 years old you are a crazy monkey! I don't know how else to describe you! You are so fun. So full of life. So entertaining. So dramatic! Mommy & Daddy love when you play "nite, nite!". It's adorable how you squeeze your eyes shut so tight and you pretend to sleep! This may be why you love pillows and blankets so much! You've just recently shown us that you can climb in and out of your crib. You only do this when playing with Hudson...you two like when we create a tent for you to play under! You only take a binky at bed time now and you call it be-be. For some reason you tend to leave the beginning and ending off of words, but Mommy, Daddy, & Noni are pretty good at knowing what you are saying. We love how you say eyebrow! It's so funny! You're an adventurous little boy and you bump your head at least once a day! You still dance and bob your head to music and seem like you're going to be the life of the party! While you used to eat everything, you're starting to eat like a bird! You love choosing your own clothes and love wearing shoes. It's very silly, but you sometimes unzip your jammies or even take off your shirt while sleeping! Bath time is one of your favorite times of day. You love putting DVD's into the DVD player. Cars and Toy Story 3 are among your favorite things to watch on TV right now. If you could choose anything from the grocery store, it would probably be Monkey Milk (Dannon yogurt smoothies), Teddy Grahams, or Little Debbie brownies! Making lion, tiger, and bear sounds are your specialty! You still nap daily and go to your bed without a problem, in fact, you seem excited about it! You love going bye-bye's in mommy's car. You run for your shoes anytime you someone else putting on theirs. You are a pooper! Usually 2-3 times a day! Right now, you throw everything! Seriously! You toss toys, your little tables & chairs, everything! You love Hudsie! And we love you! You cannot imagine how much love and happiness you bring to us everyday!

Hudson's Eye Surgery

Hudson had eye surgery yesterday to correct the muscle imbalance that causes his eyes to drift outward. We left around 7:00am to go to the Cole Eye Institute. Once there, Hudson was a little restless in the waiting area, partly because we had to wake him up so early and partly because he is 3! Daddy and I brought a doctor kit to give to Hudson to play with before surgery...thank goodness we did because this entertained him while we waited. Once we were called back to prepare for surgery Hudson started to calm down a bit. Instead of being scared he was very interested in what all of the machines and computers were for. Two sweet ladies also came to help prepare Hudson for what to expect with the mask that will be placed over his face. He warmed up to the girls very quickly and was soon known as the sweetest boy! Next we met with the anesthesiologist. She said that she would be bringing Hudson some "silly juice" to help fog his memory a bit and help him remain calm once they got him into the operating room. The "silly juice" must have had an awful taste because once he was finished with it he kept wiping his tongue on the blanket. It didn't take long for the juice to kick in. He began sticking out his tongue and making silly faces. He kept saying "Dr. Boulsi is coming...better be quiet" and would start cracking up. He also asked an intern if she was big...he had her giggling too! Daddy and I were very happy that Hudson was so happy. It made it a little easier to deal with the fact that he would soon be going into surgery. Only one parent was allowed to go into the operating room briefly, so I wanted to be with him. Thankfully I had a mask over my face so Hudson couldn't see the crazy amount of tears I had! It was so much more emotional than I thought it would be. In the operating room they sang "Twinkle Twinkle" to the little man as he drifted off to sleep and then Mommy had to leave. Daddy and I were put back into the waiting room around 10:30am. Around 12:15 surgery was over and we were allowed to watch him sleep in recovery. About a half hour later Hudson woke up for the first time. He was very upset and crying. He kept saying "I don't feel better". This was heartbreaking! I was able to get him to fall back asleep in my arms. Here he slept another 45 minutes or so. Not long after he woke up, they released us to go home. Hudson was very irritable and unhappy most of the ride home; however, not long after we got home and he saw Bryce he perked up. Bryce was just as happy to see Hudson! We could hear Bryce yelling "Hudsie" from our driveway before we even got in the house! Hudson did eat a little (Fruity Pebbles. He saw them on a commercial and wanted them so Daddy ran to Giant Eagle). He even got a quick bath before bed. He slept very well, only getting up once around 5:30. He was crying "my eyes burn", but I think it was just the combination of ointment and drainage that caused his eyes to be glued shut that he was afraid of! I cleaned his eyes and he said "that's better" and went right back to sleep. Today we had a follow-up visit with Dr. Traboulsi and he said that Hudson's eyes are now aligned perfectly. He was very happy that Hudson was even able to see some 3D objects that he wasn't able to see last month. He said that this means his eyes are working together and he couldn't be more pleased! Dr warned us that Hudson's eyes might show the opposite effect, meaning they may look like they are turning inward at times, but that this is normal and should go way within 6 to 8 weeks! Dr also promised that the redness in his eyes looks more painful than it really is. Back to the clinic in 6-8 weeks to make sure all is good, which will be. Hudson has been playing normally all day today and I haven't heard him complain about his eyes at all, except for when I have to apply the ointment. Long term effects will be so much greater than these difficult few days so I'm happy Hudson will be able to see better with minimal discomfort!

Hudson is 3

We decorated Hudson's room with balloons so that when he woke up he would realize that this was his special day! I think he actually got this birthday thing this year! He was so excited about cake and he even asked for one with Bubble Guppies! He started singing "Happy Birthday" as soon as he saw the candles and smiled from ear to ear while he waited to blow out the candles! Hudson patiently sat on his little chair and opened each gift! His favorites, Woody and Iron Man! At 3, Hudson's favorite food is waffles with peanut butter and chocolate milk. He's been off the binky since June 28th! It was surprisingly a very easy transition, MUCH to our surprise! Hudson says "be beautiful, mommy" anytime he thinks I'm upset, so one day I asked him what beautiful means...he replied "happy!". Hudson can sing the ABC song and wants to start school to make friends! He can turn on the TV and put DVD's into the DVD player (although he's not allowed!). He belly laughs whenever he plays with the Talking Tom app on my phone! Hudson's BFF is definitely Bryce! They totally adore each other right now :) Hudson loves cartoons, less of an interest in Spongebob now, more of an interest in Dora and Diego, Bubble Guppies, and The Cat in the Hat. He's pretty much eliminated naps from his daily routine. Hudson loves playing in the sprinkler and kiddie pool outside! He's starting to use his imagination and makes his toys "talk" to each other. He loves animals (farm, zoo, sea!) He likes to give "big kisses" right now...they consist of him squeezing your cheeks while he kisses you, and then he pushes you away very quickly, finally he wants you to say "wow, you knocked my socks off", lol! Hudson is an amazing little boy, still patient and sweet as ever!

Family Pics: Summer 2011

Wordless Wednesday

Hudson told Noni today that he found a heart in the grass! Looks like there's 3 of them!!

Happy 4th of July

The day started without any plans, so we decided it would be nice to go on a picnic. We didn't have any particular place in mind, so Brian took us to Mosquito Lake. Hudson was excited to "find a picnic" and sit on a blanket! Bryce was excited to go bye bye's in the car! They both were so good today. They sat and enjoyed the picnic, and were really excited to "go swimming". Unfortunately Mommy and Daddy did not plan on going swimming so they had to settle for getting their feet wet. This was actually fine with them. I think they preferred playing in the sand! I did remember to bring their buckets! Once we had enough of that, we headed to the swings! You'll be able to tell from their faces that they loved this! The boys both looked so sleepy so we decided to head home. Bryce was so sad to leave the swings, and Hudson said "I really like the sand!" Today we had a blast together!!! We will definitely be planning another trip "to the beach" soon!

Bryce is SINGING!!

So many parties, so little time...

What a day! The boys were invited to two birthday parties. Their day was filled with bounce houses, a pinata, pin the tail on the poodle, a scavenger hunt, and lots of new friends! Hudson and Bryce had so much fun that they both passed out on the ride home from the second party. Since they had a late nap, we took them to the fair when they woke up since we figured they'd be up later than usual! The animals were a huge hit with the kids, as well as the popcorn and the hot apple dumpling with ice cream! YUM!