1st Annual First Neighbors Now Friends Christmas Party

Kevin and I moved into our house almost 5 years ago this March. I guess you could say we are impulse buyers when it comes to pretty much anything and this house was probably the most impulsive buy for sure. I found our house on Craigslist of all places and as soon as we walked in I knew it was "our" house. We were about to get married and knew we wanted to buy a house and thought Frisco would be nice so we looked at one house and that was it. See impulse. Thankfully it has proven to be a great house and we have loved every second of living in it. I loved Frisco when we first moved here and I love it even more now and can honestly say I don't see us every leaving this area. We have not only been blessed with a great home but a wonderful neighborhood as well and more recently we have been blessed to become friends with our great neighbors. My Mom always said that she and my dad first friends when they moved to Texas were their neighbors. For the first 3 years we didn't know really any of our neighbors. Well that has all changed and I am so happy it has! We finally started meeting our neighbors once Jake was old enough to really enjoy the park. The park is right down the street from our house and we are pretty much out there every single night if the weather is right. Our neighborhood is full of kids just around Jake's age and since we started going we have met majority of our neighbors there. All of us moms are around the same age and just genuinely have a good time together. We now have group texts that go out reading like this: park??; play date at our house; going to the museum wanna come etc. Basically we are all stay-at-home moms looking for things to do to keep the kids busy :) After spending countless nights together with the hubby's and kids I finally decided that it was time for just the ladies to get together; no kids, no husbands and not at the park. I invited all the girls over to my house for a ornament exchange and we had the best time! These girls all started out as neighbors and now I call them friends.

 

Sara, Lindsey, Rhiannon, LeeAndra, Me, Kim and Shannon

This was our yummy food. I made a few heavy appetizers and then everyone brought something either sweet or savory.

 

The guys were all at the Wilson's with all the kids. According to Lindsey it was one wild party. The picture above was their spread of food :) Pretty sad.

 

 

Dinner with Santa

Every month at my parents country club they have kids night and in December they have Santa and crafts so last night we met my parents up there so the kids could see Santa! The Santa they had this year was way better then last year. Last years Santa was a grumpy old man and didn't even talk to the kids but this years Santa was awesome and he asked Jake what he wanted for Christmas, Transformers of course, and chit chatted with him. So cute! We practiced all day about what we would say when Santa asked him what he wanted and he did so good. I am all about the mall Santa but nothing beats not waiting in line and a FREE picture with the big guy :) Hudson even did great. Just so we can compare. Here is a look back at our pictures with Santa:

 

Christmas 2010: Jake 10 months old

 

 

 

Christmas 2011: Jake 22 months old and wouldn't go near Santa...hence Klusman and I holding the boys. Hudson is in my belly and I am about 14 weeks in this picture.

 

 

Christmas 2012: Jake almost 3 and Hudson is 6 months and both are all smiles

 

 

Hudson's first picture with Santa: Hudson 6 months

 

 

Helping Jakey decorate his first cookie

 

 

Jake decorating his 2nd cookie...pretty much all sprinkles and icing and that's all he ate for dinner.

 

 

On a side note Hudson was referred to 2 times yesterday as a girl. Now I know he is "pretty" and all but really?? Then I was thinking about it this morning and maybe it was the girly outfit I dressed him in that made people think that :) Oh well I thought he looked cute.

 

 

 

The second time around you do what works

I can't help but laugh even thinking about my life lately. With all of the sad news over this past weekend I have to remember that my kids are safe and alive and I need to appreciate this crazy season of life that I am in and just laugh...cause sometimes the only thing that will help is to just laugh. So with that being said here is a run down of my life lately with two kids. Things that I never would have done with Jake are the norm now with Hudson. Hence the title, the second time around you do what works.

 

 Finding Hudson in his crib with his jammies all up around his neck would have freaked me out with Jake but not this time around...just button them back up and we were on our way

 

 

 God forbid I would have put Jake in a dirty grocery cart but this time around we just shove some items on either side of him so he doesn't fall over and off we go

 I also would have never put Jake in a dirty restaurant high chair but if you put a dirty restaurant napkin in the front and back then its all good

With Jake I read labels religiously and never would have given him something clearly meant for a toddler at 6 months. Nope not this time around...he gobbled down the whole pouch and then I read the label.

 

Baby in the front backpack on the back. A real man wears his child and a child size backpack :)

 

 

With Jake I never would have taken him to a baseball game..at night...in August...when it was 100 degrees outside...and West Nile was a big concern. But this time around you find a portable fan and Off Clip On and you set

 

 

In order to run after Jake and take care of Hudson AND still drink my wine just slap Hudson on the chest and you can do it all.

 

I can't imagine my life when the 3rd comes along.

 

6 months in review

 

 

 

Happy Half Birthday Huddy!

 

 

 

 

                    Welcome to the world Hudson Charles! You are a little black and blue from being stuck in the birth canal but still a cutie

1 month old and not happy about it

2 months old and smiling

 

3 months old and already giving Mommy the "Get that camera out of my face" look

 

Skipped 4 months..oops

 

 

5 months old and working on sitting up

 

 

Happy 6 month Birthday!!!

 

 

Half way there

Dear Hudson,

You are 6 months old tomorrow! How did we already get to this point?? Where did the first half of your life go??? You are such a dream and we love you so much! Cheers to the next 6 months!

Love,
Mommy

Here are your 6 month stats:

Weight: I am guessing you are around 18 pounds...we will find out on the 29th

Health: You got your first 2 bottom teeth! Just in time for Christmas. I was singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" to you and then all of a sudden they came through! You have been a little fussy but nothing like your brother..thank goodness!

Sleeping: Sleeping through the night..yay! You want to be in bed at 7pm on the dot if not sooner and you wake up between 6-7am. You are napping 2-3 times a day. Your first nap is from 8-10 am and your second is between 12 pm and 1pm depending on when your brother goes down for a nap.

My #1 rule with napping...you don't go to sleep until brother does..Mommy needs 2 hours by herself.

Then lately you are taking a cat nap around 5 pm but only for 30-45 minutes.

Eating: You are eating 8 oz every 2-3 hours. I have tried to give you solids but you are not interested. You only like oatmeal still so Mommy needs to get creative. I am still pumping but this past week my milk supply has gone way down so I don't know how much longer I will pump. Luckily you drink formula (Gerber Goodstart) just fine.

Clothes: You are wearing 6-12 month clothes and a size 3 diaper.

Activity: You are sitting up but I have to sit you up first and then you sit up on your own. I actually think you are going to crawl before you sit up. You are on all fours and rocking back and fourth. I am not ready for you to crawl! You are also sitting in the double stroller facing forward right next to brother and you love it!

A typical Tuesday

Snapshot of how yesterday went down...12/4/12

6-6:30am-I hear Hudson talking and babbling and turn on the monitor and watch him for a few minutes. Then I get up and brush my teeth, splash some water on my face and throw my hair in a ponytail. I grab the bottle out of the fridge and drop it in the bottle warmer, best invention ever especially for my picky boy who only likes a warm bottle..not his fault I created that monster. Kevin has already left for work so the coffee is already made..score! I pour my first cup of coffee and go and get Hudson. He looks up at me and smiles like he has never seen me before and squeals cause he is so excited to see me! Best feeling!

6:30am-8am-Feed Hudson while drinking first cup of coffee. After his bottle I put him in the bouncer to play for a bit while I check my email. He entertains himself for a bit and then starts getting fussy so I lay him on the floor and we play for a bit. Currently we are working on sitting up.

8am-Put Hudson down for his morning nap. I hear Jake now so I go in to get him. First thing out of his mouth is "Where's Daddy"...good to see you too buddy! Daddy already left for work so its you and me kid. Jake goes to the pantry, opens it up and tries to decide what he wants for breakfast. I don't know why he does it cause he always picks the same thing..breakfast bar and milk. I pour him his milk and get him set up in his "spot", left cushion of the big couch, turn on the most recent dvr'd episode of Transformers Rescue Bots. I pump real quick  and go hop in the shower. I am lucky that Jake will watch the entire episode and hang on every word coming out of Cody's mouth which gives me plenty of time to shower. After I get out of the shower I check in Jake and he is usually playing in the living room while watching another cartoon. Big benefit to having a one story house is that the rooms are all close and I can pretty much hear him from my bathroom.

8:30am-It's a school day so I am now rushing to get Jake dressed which is quite the battle these days since he now cares about what he wears. Preferably shirts with trucks on them and sadly today all shirts with trucks are dirty so its a battle. It's almost 80 degrees around here so he is wearing a tshirt and shorts to school...gotta love Texas in December. I didn't pack his lunch the night before...dang it..so I am throwing that together..he hardly eats anything I pack so really I could send him with just milk but I'm sure the school would frown upon that. At this point its almost 9 and we are already running late. I run and grab Hudson and throw him in his carseat and load everyone in the car.

9am-12pm-We are on our way to school and running late. After hitting every light we pull into the parking lot and I unload the boys and we run in. Today I am told that Jake's Christmas program is next Thursday morning followed by the class party that afternoon which I am in charge of. Great add that to my long to do list! Get back in the car and head to the Tolltag store. I called 3 times yesterday and was on hold for at least 10 minutes each time and never got anyone on the phone, annoying, so I have to go there. Of course its busy and the lady is rude but I get the new car added and we are good to go. I feed Hudson in the Tolltag store while we are waiting so he is happy and we are off to run more errands. Kevin's turning 35 on Friday, man he's old :), so I go and get his birthday gift. I venture to Bass Pro for the first time and I am the only woman in there besides the women that work there with a baby and i'm strolling the gun section. I was definitely out of place there and after wandering around aimlessly I find a nice guy that works there that answers my questions. I am sure I sound dumb as I know nothing about guns but he was nice and I ended up walking out of there with Kev's birthday gift so that's done. Note to self...take Jake back there cause he would love it! Lots for him to do. Finally we are off to Kroger. No food in the house and have to go. I get everything and i'm loading up the car and I grab the bag with the milk in it and the bag breaks and the jug hits the pavement and breaks and milk goes everywhere including in my shoes and all over my jeans so I am sopping wet with milk. I get Hudson back out of the car and go back in and get a new gallon of milk and am grumpy at this point and wet and ready to be home.

12pm-Get home and unload the car, Hudson is hungry again and so am I. I feed Hudson, put him down for a nap, put all the groceries away and finally sit down to eat lunch. This is my time during the day. I eat lunch while looking at email, FB, blogs whatever. Today I had to call about our FSA and HSA accounts..super fun. I am so confused by it all. Kev left a list of things for me to do and this was on the list. I "think" I asked the right questions and I "assume" I got the right answers. I guess when I explain it to Kev I will find out??

1:45pm-I pump again...necessary evil..then go and get Hudson up and ready to go pick up brother. Today I have a dentist appointment so I warm up a bottle to feed Hudson with while i'm there and put together a quick snack for Jake to eat in the car.

2:30pm-Pick up Jake and we are off to the dentist. I need gas but we are running late so we are riding on fumes. Thankfully my Mom is meeting me there to keep the boys occupied while I get my teeth cleaned.

3pm-I haven't been to the dentist in forever but I get a good report and Jake isn't too bad. Luckily my dentist is an old family friend so he doesn't mind my wild child in the waiting room. I always feel like I am 10 again every time I step into his office. Nothing has changed..even the posters on the ceilings are the same. I asked Dr. D to talk to Jake about how important it is to brush. Jake only like to eats toothpaste and not so much brush them. He is shy and super sweet to Dr. D and he tells him he will brush his teeth. We will see if that actually happens.

LONGEST PART OF THE DAY

4:30pm-Finally get home. Contemplate going to the park like we do everyday but I am too tired today so we stay home. I pick up around the house, throw in some laundry and get Hudson's next meal ready.

5pm-Feed Hudson oatmeal followed by a bottle. I swear this kid is always hungry! Jake and I play and Hudson rolls around on the ground and I am already thinking about a glass of wine.

6pm-I just put dinner in the oven when Kev walks through the front door...hallelujah. I am surprised he is home since he said he would be late. I was supposed to go to a candle exchange party but cancelled since he said he would be late but I guess he's home now but I decided to stay home with my boys. I will see the girls next week. Kev plays with the boys so I can finish dinner and I am on my 2nd glass of wine :)

6:30pm-Sit down for dinner. Hudson is screaming cause he is tired and ready for bed but we power through dinner and I start the bath while Kev cleans the kitchen. Both boys are in the bath and we are singing Christmas songs...love Christmas this year with Jake...Hudson is happy again and things are good.

7pm-I get Hudson out of the bath, Kev steps in to watch Jake, and in his jammies and feed him an 8oz formula bottle, that he sucks down..didn't this kid just eat?? I then lay him down and he is out for the night. Jake would stay in the bath all night if we let him but at this point he is all Kev's so he can stay in as long as he wants.

8pm-10pm-Me time. Ahh Kevin and Jake hang out and eventually Kev puts him in bed and they read books and Jake "tells" Daddy about his day. I watch it all on the monitor. It's so cute. I am on the couch with my wine, I promise I am not an alcholic, and watching my shows thinking about what a long day it was. Jake is a night owl and will stay up all night if we let him. Tonight he has a screaming fit about wanting more milk and screams and crys..it's sad..but he is smart and knows we will give in and we do and then he screams for more. This literally goes on til 10pm when I tell Kev to let him cry cause he is playing us at this point.

10pm-Finally fall into bed to watch a show with Kev...Homeland..if you are not watching you are missing out..amazing! Jake is still awake in his room but I am too tired to worry anymore.

11pm-ZZZZZZZ

I am back...for now

Since my last post..almost a year ago..I know I am doing a great job at blogging...a lot has happened! Jake turned 2, Kevin's Granny Lewis passed away, we welcomed Hudson Charles Lewis into the world on 6/14, we decided that it was time for me to "retire" and become a stay at home mom (yay), Jake left Sweet Peas to stay at home with me, we survived the summer as a family of four, more importantly I survived being a new stay at home mom to 2 kids, Kevin's Mom passed away, Jake started MDO 2 days a week and we are about to celebrate Hudson's 6 month birthday! Ok a lot more happened but you get the idea.

Wow so much happened! Good and bad, happy and sad but we made it through it all. Jake will be 3 in two short months and I can't believe it. Where has the time gone? He is such a special boy. His current obsession is Transformers and to see the joy that they bring to him makes my day. He is very spirited, loud, stinky, messy and just an all around amazing little boy. He has grown so much since he started MDO and knows his ABC's, can count to 20, sing countless songs and so much more. Of course he still won't recite the abc's or count on command but he talks to himself all day and I hear him.  I have decided that he doesn't like to showoff his talents :) It was definitely an adjustment when we brought Hudson home and to be completely honest it was rough. It wasn't that he hit Hudson or kicked or anything like that its that he flat out ignored him and just pretended as if he didn't exist which broke my heart. The last month he has turned a corner and I think its mainly because Hudson moves now and "talks" and he loves his big brother. Hudson's face lights up with he looks at Jake and I have a feeling they will be good buddies soon. I still have yet to potty train Jake and again if we are being honest I am just in denial about that whole thing. I keep thinking it will magically happen and he will wake up potty trained. I never attempted when I was pregnant cause he was too young and with the arrival of his brother approaching I didn't want to add one more change to the list. We moved him into his big boy room and moved him to his big boy bed  and I could tell that potty training would put him, and myself over the edge :) But the countdown is on to his 3rd birthday and his doctor said he needs to have STARTED potty training by his checkup so the pressure is on! I faced every other thing head on with Jake; sleeping in the crib, breaking the swaddle, crying it out, taking the bottle away, taking the paci away and moving him to a big boy bed but potty training I can't wrap my brain around. I will update once we have conquered that.

And Hudson...ahh I love that sweet boy! He seriously is an angel and such an easy baby and God knew that I would have a lot on my plate so he blessed me with a laid back, go with the flow baby. Thank goodness cause Jake was so high maintenance!! We brought Hudson home on June 16th and it was if we didn't skip a beat. Life with two is BUSY but not harder..at least I don't think so. I was so worried about having two but I was so much more confident this time around and Hudson just fit right in. I have loved every single moment with Hudson and I have never "wished a phase" away like I did with Jake. I was so tired and exhausted with him and I always wanted him to be doing the next big thing but not with Hudson. Maybe its becuase I know how fast they grow up and I don't want to take a single day or phase for granted cause I know 3 years from now I will be looking back thinking where did the time go just like I am doing as we approach Jake's 3rd birthday. From the start he has been a great sleeper and even slept through the night early on..it was a fluke but I enjoyed it none the less. We then hit the 4 month marker and good old sleep regression kicked in and I was back up feeding him in the middle of the night and I went from only pumping and bottle feeding to nursing again in the middle of the night. My body is so out of wack. Just when it got used to not feeding in the middle of the night I started again. All I have to say is ouch! But I am happy to say that after a week of boot camp we are back on track! So yes I am still "breastfeeding" so to speak but mainly just pumping and giving bottles. I EBF for the first 4 months but life on the go with a 2.5 year old and nursing was hard. I was feeding him in parking lots, restaurants, dressing rooms..you name it. I had no shame this time around. With Jake I would have NEVER breastfed in public!! I would have gone home first before I fed him in Chilis during lunch hour but you know what..the 2nd time around you really gotta do what ya gotta do and yes I got looks but I didn't care. He was hungry and I was making him happy. He started rolling over at 2 months from his tummy to his back and then at 3 months he started rolling from back to tummy! Both things Jake never did til 4 months! He still has that gummy grin but I know a few teeth are trying to break through so hopefully that will happen soon cause that boy can drool! I think the thing I was most excited about when I found out I was having another boy was seeing the difference in them and boy are they different! Not only do they look completely different...I finally have one that looks like me..but their overall demeanor is so different. I have a loud, rambunckious, stubborn and wild almost 3 year old and a very laid back, smily, go with the flow almost 6 month old. I know this will all change as just the other day he army crawled so I see crawling in our near future...maybe even before sitting up cause that boy shows no interest in sitting up. He is eating solids once a day, oatmeal, and I am trying out new foods but he doenst like anything cold so fruits are out for now. I rememember with Jake I was so excited for him to start solids and this time I am fine with just the bottle...sadly its one more thing to add to the list of things to do for the day. I hate that I just said it but its true. I am going to look in to  Baby Led Weaning this time around. We will see.

All I know is that being at home with the boys is exactly where I want and need to be. I promised myself that now that I am home I would blog more and 6 months after being home I am finally starting :) Next up is a day in the life..I did it with Jake and man was it boring to read but I am glad I have it written down.