[ 6 months ]
[ eight months ]
And we have a winner for the stationery giveaway!
It was so so fun to read all the comments and hear of from every single one of you!
112 comments means there are a lot of people who still like an old fashioned letter. I love it! :)
I think almost everyone that commented I thought, “Oooo, I hope SHE wins!”
and then at the end I was feeling bad that there was only one winner!
There were some really neat stories too, I love reading every one!
I used random.org to choose a winning number…
My heart was pounding as I entered the number,
the number 70 popped up,
and the winner is Laura K.!
Congratulations, Laura! :)
I can’t wait to collect the supplies and send you a package!
______________________________________________________________
So it’s been a week of being hit with some kind of bug around here. Again.
Some big-time immune boosters are on the way,
something is wrong with the picture when mom gets sick more the kids.
There is nothing that makes me want to cry, “MAAAMA!!!!!”
more then when I’m sick, and especially now that I have kids.
I feel like curling up in a fetal position and shedding some tears about it sometimes.
It. is. rough.
There are many things hard about being many miles and states away from my mother.
Being sick is one of those hard things!
But we’ll be okay.
This is a week of a lot of ibuprofen for me and a lot of cereal-eating for the kids.
Next week they’ll have a balanced diet again!
The house looks like a wind storm blew through.
Next week we’ll clean it.
This week we’re all living in pajamas.
Next week we’ll get dressed. :)
A few things of gratitude today….
…. my husband arranging work so he can be home a bit this week so I can rest
… a sister-in-law who brought delicious soup and muffins on my sickest day
… a messy house. It shows there is much life here. :)
_________________________________________________________________
Little Man is passing legal boundaries in growth and cuteness factors.
[I can say that, right? Everyone knows moms are prejudiced anyway.]
It nearly makes me cry when I see him next to a newborn and realize how BIG he is.
I wish the baby stage would last longer! With full sleeping nights, of course. :)
But he is SO fun right now too, that every stage seems like the best.
These are a few pictures from the last few months,
from 6 months to 8 months.
Stats at 8 months:
… sits alone well
… scoots backwards :)
… 22 pounds
… sprouted 4 teeth
… has no idea that there is a mode of transportation called “crawling”
… says “da-da”. Yep, he’s a Daddy’s Boy, for sure.
… does his own version of the sign language “please”
… eats, eats, EATS. Seriously, it’s frightening.
He may or may not eat about a quarter of our weekly grocery budget. Not even joking. There is nothing that he doesn’t like.
… is beginning to fight sleep. FIGHT it. He knows he’ll miss action with his sisters.
So even if he hasn’t slept allll day, he sits up in bed, stick a leg out the side and gets stuck and hollaaaaars.
Repeat and repeat. He’s a little stinker.
… starting to have his own little personality shine out of the cracks, er, rolls. It’s really cute.
He is a sweetie with a stubborn streak. :)
Somehow we missed the memo that babies should be born with hair.
But it’s okay. We love them anyway, bald, hair, however they come. They are loved!
typical Hudson face…
another typical face, without the leaf in the mouth.
His daddy hopes he’ll like football. None of this silly hipster moustache stuff his mommy really likes.
The Olivia Relationship.
This is something that really needs to be addressed, it is a point of grave concern.
The relationship between these two is definitely one of love, much love, yes.
But perhaps love that doesn’t know it’s power?
Perhaps ‘painful love’ would be accurate.
You would think when one loves another, there would be nothing like
ear pinching
arm squeezing
knocking over
neck pulling
arm yanking
stuff going on.
But that’s just it: there is much of it!
Daily we speak of the benefits of gentle love,
for then love will be reciprocated,
instead of the baby turning away with a frightened look on his face when she comes around.
It’s true.
It’s also true there are times he physically tries to restrain her.
It’s further true there are times he seems overjoyed to see her.
Namely, when he doesn’t want to sleep and she sneaks by his bedside.
I say he will grow to be either a very very patient man
or an angry man. :)
The truth is: Olivia absolutely ADORES him.
Her dramatic personality just has to learn when the other person in the relationship doesn’t quite feel the love. :)
But she does make him laugh harder than anyone else on the planet can.
Sometimes he will almost be gasping for air, he laughs that hard at her.
I’ve never heard a baby laugh so hard.
What can I say? I laugh at her too. She really is pretty funny.
Take One: the squeeze
Take Two: the fall
Take Three: the evidence that there ARE some very precious moments too. :)
What a precious life this is!
Have a great weekend, friends!
~clarita
He really and truly is adorable. And their is much love in your home. ♥ Sweetness.
You little guy is so sweet, and those beautiful blue eyes…………! Hope you feel better soon.
i’m so sorry for the sickness!! i know just what you mean when you are sick and you just want MOM!!! it’s rough, for sure. i hope, and pray that you STAY healthy for a while now! take all the acidophilus and immune boosters you can and drink lots of water and eat lost of fruits and veggies and get your sleep! (wait, you said you miss your mom, not other people trying to mother you too?! ;))
little Hudson! so handsome he is!! and, wasn’t it just yesterday he was born?! time sure does fly!
yay for the winner of the fantastic giveaway you did. i’m sure it will be a stellar package that she receives!
hang in there friend!
♥
congrats to your winner laura k! so sorry that you’ve been sick. i know that doesn’t work for a mom. at all. so yay for ben coming home so that you could rest. and the awesome sil with food too.
i laughed outloud about “the baby turning away with a frightened look on his face .” the pics are priceless!!! i remember those days. like it happened yesterday actually. because it did. the baby hollars because the other kids are loving on him. seriously. they come home from HIGH SCHOOL and want to hug and kiss him. i’d like to say that their interest is not as dangerous as little olivia’s enthusiasm. but the other saturday i found out that my big boy was lighting m-80’s with my little boy. WHAT?! ack!
and you can say that about your son and the “legal limits.” loveLOVE it. he’s already 22 lbs? wow! and he IS so handsome.
hope that you get better and stay better soon. love to you.
hudson is absolutely adorable~
his little eyes just SPARKLE!
and don’t we all need some olivia loving in our lives..
someone who loves on us that fiercely! :)
so precious.
hope you’re feeling 100% soon! being sick and being mom just don’t mix!
i liked your “this week. next week” reasoning..
that’s the way to look at it.
this is life NOW. but it’s not forever and next week – or SOMETIME before too long – we’ll be back on track again! :)
{YES YOU WILL!!}
love you girl
you sure do make cute babies :)
Are you sure you’re starting him out young enough with a football?! :) I guess Olivia is just teaching him early on how to tackle and stand up for himself…gain those muscles fighting her off :) (thought it looks like he may need to do a few more workouts to get better at that) ;)
i just could not picture you with a boy, before hudson was born. now? i can see he is THHEEE PERFECT! addition to your family. i could just look at his pictures for the longest time. i kept thinking (beginning at the 2nd one) “oh, this is my favorite picture!” and then i would get further and find “oh, no, this one is my favorite!” :) he is just all a little boy should be!
and i really hope you get well soon. it IS H.A.R.D. to be a sick mama.
loves.
aww, get well. It is hard being a sick mama. I have been wanting to mother my dil who is all the way in the Caribbean, and has been sick all week with a 5 month and a 22 month, while my son is in med school. She is feeling homesick too, and mentioned today that the house is a wreck. All us mommies relate. Thankfully we can pray.
Hudson is adorable!! Isn’t it amazing how boys can eat? Sorry to tell you it just increases
Ohmylanta, I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. I didn’t know little boys could be so wonderful. I laughed out loud and got little baby crocodile tears while looking at his handsome face. Dramatic proof this auntie lives way too far away. P.S. How do you make them so cute?
So sorry you’re sick again. Been there, done that enough this winter to have it very fresh in my mind and to feel VERY sorry for you! Hugs and prayers and hoping for a QUICK recovery!
And super cute pictures of Hudson. Such a sweetie! Just love them!!! It’s been so LONG since I’ve seen him in real life.
MISS YOU!!!
There is much love here, painful love. I can SO relate to this, as I have watched Seth and Sarah (who are now 3 and 2) grow doing the same things (well, it’s Seth, pinching on his sister). LOL
Aren’t giveaways so fun? I’ve done a few and each time I get that same heart-pounded and then the guilt, wishing I could send something to every one! Thank you for doing it. Maybe you can show a picture of the stuff when you get it all together for her?
Your baby boy IS beautiful! Enjoy him, mama!
He is JUST adorable, Clarita!
That pestering thing will continue, just in different forms. He’ll have his day when big sister wants him to just LEAVE HER STUFF ALONE and he will be all into it. He’s planning it now. Trust me.
I love the hipster baby clothes. :D
I hope that you are feeling better and soon. It is absolutely awful to be the Mama and be the one who is sick. Others help and that is awesome, but no one else is Mama and you’re still needed and depended upon even when you’re down.
Hudson is quite cute. And growing up so fast! :) I know what you mean about a kid eating so much. emily was that way- she’s finally slowed down a little- but I can’t believe how much more food it takes around here than it used to. I make a pan of chicken and think it will be enough for 2 meals, and we’re doing good to have leftovers!
And the hair- my babies aren’t bald, but they end up losing what they were born with. I would LOVE a baby with a head full of hair. I figure if I ever do have a baby with as much hair as I’d like, it will be a boy, and then he’ll need a haircut way too soon. ;)
He is so adorable… and does look well loved. :D Just give him some time, not much more, and he will return all that loving with lots of rough housing and she’ll learn. Things get completely wild here since the boy is able to hold his own!
If he wants to eat, let him. I have to shove food into all 3 of mine and it is a trial. The other day I asked Dakota what he thinks we should have for supper and he replied with, “Oh noooo! Not supper AGAIN!” :)
Beautiful, beautiful and absolutely darling! Great pics!
Must be an age-gap thing, because my Jocelyn loves her sister with the SAME kind of “painful love”! I have found encouragement from mothers who have told me that at one point their two acted like that, and later on, they were the best of friends. So take heart.:) At least I try to!
Your darling boy is SO adorable! And I’m sure he will be the perfect blend of stylish and macho masculinity. :)
I don’t know how I missed the stationary giveaway?! So sad. Such a perfectly wonderful idea! SOOOO not my area of strength, but I’m glad it is yours. I think that’s exactly why we are gifted in different areas, so the world can catch a glimpse of the many, MYRIAD aspects of God.
Blessings-
Shelley
I always love hearing about your boy, cuz you know, I have one too
Btw, you can come be my boy’s personal stylist, i love how you dress Hudson. 
Hope you don’t mind
and food? yes! Bentley has just discovered it and will howl in indignation if we dare to sit down and eat w/o him.
I really love the chalkboard shot of him…might just have to steal that one
@foreveranoatneygirl_n2Hisown – well, thanks for your sympathies! when mama isn’t close it’s at least comforting to have other people give advice and care! :) i’m getting something called ‘SuperMom’ – sound exciting enough?! =) i’ve heard rave reviews about it, from Beeyoutiful. xoxo
I love, love when you do Hudson posts…so fun, since he is the exact age as my daughter, down to the very day! =) He has about 4 pounds on Kadence, though! =) She is a speedy little crawler, I would guess his weight gain will slow down once he catches on to that.
So hear you on being sick. I took my turn last week. With company coming later in the week. And my mom is 500 miles away. May have to try the immune booster, sounds like a winner! =)
Oh your little Hudson {or *Husband* as Claudia had dubbed til I corrected} is just DARLING! I love that chalkboard shot so much . . . and his grin is just too sweet. When he smiles like that, he looks old beyond his years {months} . . . as if he’s knows something we don’t.
I had to s.m.i.l.e about your heart pounding as you drew the giveaway number. I always LOVE to do giveaways until it comes to that exact moment, then I wonder what in the world I’m doing and how I can even STAND it that I just have to choose one person. :)
I hope your health is definitely on the upswing! Like I said earlier, you knoooow how a time like that makes me wish even more for less distance between us. Of course, that would probably mean you’d live closer to your mama too, so my help might then be unneeded. :) Hugs!
Oh, I just had to say too, that both girls were here beside me as I scrolled through this post . . . Sophia was looking at the post pictures themselves and giving me orders about “going back or up” so that she could see more of Hudson. Meanwhile Claudia was focused solely on the sidebar where you have your family and house pics. She was just ooohing and ahhhing over everything and being very expressive about how beautiful the house, jelly beans, and everything else is, or “funny” Olivia in the washtub . . . and when she caught sight of your profile picture, she gasped and said, “See iss soo pretty!” I had to agree and chuckle inwardly because she is a girl of few words, but your high praises were rolling out of her this morning. :)
@down_onthefarm – your kids still love up on your baby? that is too neat. i love it!! but he probably doesn’t. :) xoxo
@redladybug18 – that’s right! she’s just making him strong and tough for when he plays football! no wimpy kids allowed, right?! :)
@mlt10202002 – your first sentence or two is just EXACTLY what i think. i could not picture me with a boy, as much as i hoped to have one some day. the thought was just a little scary. but now that he’s here? it could NOT be more perfect! i absolutely LOVE how God arranges our families for us. xoxo
Oh, I just laughed out loud about the precious love that Olivia gives Hudson.. so familiar! and I so agree with you on how fun little boys are! And I [secretly] love that my little boy is so attached to his mamma… lots of cuddles happening! Hope you feel better real soon!
@ABAHM – aww, i feel sorry for your daughter-in-law!! and for you, that you’re so far away and wish to to be there! health is something i tend to take for granted until a week like this, and THEN i realize what a gift it really is!! and a boy’s appetite only increases, you say? how on earth do you afford them?! :)
@purpleamethyst76 – doing the giveaway was so much fun, but i know, what is with the heart-pounding and guilt with a giveaway?? i did not see that one coming! like seriously, i felt so mean that i wasn’t giving something all those dear people!! i know i tend to be overdramatic, but still!! :)
@madisonsmom2 – your Dakota is too funny! “not supper again!!” just blows me away! :) olivia is our little-tiny-eater, where she eats enough to keep going, but eating is really a waste of time, in her opinion. there are FAR more fun things to do than eat. :)
@shellElynn – i loved this line of yours, “I think that’s exactly why we are gifted in different areas, so the world can catch a glimpse of the many, MYRIAD aspects of God. ” so so good and true. the challenge is to offer the gifts we have without becoming intimidated or snooty at everyone else’s, right?! at least that’s me! xoxo
@fruitloops115 – i always love your posts on bentley too. :) there is something about seeing another little boy close in age that just melts me! and you dress him so great, what are you talking about! the chalkboard shot – sure, you can use. :) i have to say, i had GRAND ideas for that spot, but the lighting in that area is not what i was hoping for and i was dismally disappointed and the shots were awful and i could only do black and white and even THEN they weren’t good. can you tell i was frustrated and heartbroken? so i can’t wait to see the amazing stuff you’ll do with it! :)
@Laura – are you serious, Hudon and your daughter are the exact same age? that is so neat! :) and she’s a speedy little crawler you say? well, like i said, Hudson hasn’t heard of crawling yet. he just thinks the bigger he gets the better. :)
@FOREVERLANE – your help would NEVER be unneeded, even if my mom would live down the street!! just you remember that. :) and it’s funny that Claudia called him ‘Husband’ – our little neighbor calls him ‘Baby Husband’ too, and her day care could not figure out what she was talking about! It gave us a laugh. Your girls are so funny and sweet, I wish I could be with them (and YOU) more often! I’d love for my kidders to play with them too. :) xoxo
On feeling sick and wanting to cry “Mama!”? Yes, I know exactly how you feel! Except last week when I was sick, she actually was here and then I felt so bad for getting sick and ruining their vacation! Bless their hearts though, Mom & Dad so willingly stepped in and made grocery trips and cleaned and did laundry…that part was definitely wonderful :)
Your little guy adorable! And I’m sure you have people wanting to squeeze those wonderfully chubby cheeks all the time, right? :)
So stinkin’ cute!! That’s hilarious how hard she makes him laugh! ;) it’s time we hang out again!! So fun to chat again today!
Your little one sure is a keeper. Beautiful post as always.
Olivia reminds me of my nephew, Sawyer, he has the exact same personality.
Maybe it has to do with being the second child.
He displays the same kind of ‘tough’ love to his little brother.
It’s nail biting and sweet at the same time:)
I know what you mean about wishing Mom wasn’t so far away on those sick days. We had the bug here last week and it’s just no fun. Hoping you all feel better soon! Your little Hudson is ADORABLE!!
I hope the bug is out of your house now!!! i’m the sick mama around here this week….and even tho I only have one child, but it still brings out the cry baby in me! it’s hard. we’re slowly getting better. and i’ve noticed the better I feel and act, the better my toddler acts too! funny how that goes hand in hand?! And I will join everybody else in exclaiming over your son. Wow. you get good pictures of your kids! and every time you make reference to your husband hoping there’s a bit more “country” in him..it makes me laugh because it sounds exactly like things my husband would say if we’d have a boy!!!
Hudson is really cute! I love the pictures of him. They are really good. My son was born with some hair but it was so blonde everyone thought he was bald. =) Now at 14 months I’m getting ready to cut it for the 2nd time. Hope you all are better soon.