I have my eye on you

I have had my eyes on this little number for over a year now.


I begged for it to be my "push present," but after looking at the price tag all Jonathan did was laugh. It is very pricey but a girl can dream right?!?! Until then I will be stalking our jeweler, Alan and this ring every time I go to get my rings cleaned.

Please?

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Katie is my hero!

I had a mild breakdown the other day. It was not because I dropped my phone in the toilet and lost every singe contact number I have ever had, it was because there was 1 very special picture on my cell phone. Hudson's very first photo.

Jonathan took a picture with my cell phone of the minute they cleaned Hudson up and handed him to me. It was the very second I fell in love with my sweet, precious little boy. I used to scroll through my phone all the time to look at that amazing moment. We sent that picture out as a text to all of our friends and family to announce that Hudson had arrived.

That is a moment I can never relieve but that picture always helped me remember that special time. I was devastated when the Verizon store was unable to retrieve my images. I vented about it the next day to my sweet friend and free therapist Katie. 2 minutes later a photo text showed up on my phone. You cannot imagine the squeal that came from my mouth. There it was, my favorite, lost picture. It brings tears to my eyes every time I see it.



After 9 months, she still had it on her phone! What a great Aunt! Thank you so much , Katie. I cannot even begin to describe how much I appreciate it. Bathing suit Brian would be dying to hug you right now. Hahahah

(And do not worry, I saved the picture to my new phone, the computer and have it in both mine and Jonathan's email.)

Watch out, Hudson is on the move!

For a few weeks Hudson has been attempting to crawl. Who knew this was such a long learning process?! I thought babies just started randomly doing it all at once. I was able to capture a few of his moves yesterday. He is so proud of himself and loves his new found independence. However, I think he is very tired of me living in his face wth a camera.





Happy Friday!!! Have a safe and happy weekend.

Two of a kind

I can already tell I am going to have my hands full with these two...

"Give me some sugar, Hudson"


"Get off me Bailey!"


Hudson thinking, "I did not do it."


Best buddies

9 month update

Hudson turned 9 months old this past Monday. Time sure flies when you are having fun! I cannot believe in 3 months, we will be celebrating his 1st birthday.

We went to the doctor for his 9 month checkup and got a perfect bill of health! He weighs 21.9 lbs (67th percentile). He lost almost a pound being sick last week. He is 29 inches long (70th percentile) and his head circumference is 18 3/4 (98th percentile). No wonder I have a hard time getting clothes over his head.

He is right on target with all of his abilities. Anytime you say "Yay," "Good job" or "Go Hudson" he claps. He loves to sing and is starting to make a lot more sounds. He reaches for his toys and pitches a FIT if you take them away. He loves peek-a-boo and will put anything over his face to play with you. He is starting to crawl and loves to stand with a little help.

He is only eating people food now which is hilarious. He loves fruit and vegetables, yogurt, bread, Ritz crackers, pudding, cheese, egg, noodles, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, pancakes, chicken and rice cakes. We are going to introduce him to more meats this weekend. I think he would eat all day if he had the choice.

He has 8 teeth, loves to bite and have his teeth brushed.

We have been walking outside everyday and he talks the entire hour. He loves to be outside. We have been spending a lot of time on the patio and at the park. We have a new playgroup and we are very excited.

Hudson is still very in love with Bailey. She is the best dog with him. This morning they were both on our bed and she layed her head in his lap and he played with her ears.

He loves books and will stop whatever he is doing if you get one out.

He is a great baby and doing a lot better with separation anxiety. We love having him to play with and spoil rotten.

Home

I wrote a blog earlier today about my dream house. It got me thinking. As much as I would love to move and have more space, I will be so sad when we leave this house. It is small and we are starting to outgrow it, but this is our home.

This is the house where I got ready on my wedding day, where I spent my first night as Mrs. Bazemore, the place where we brought our son home for the first time, where Bailey lays in front of the door and wags her tail at everyone who walks by, where Hudson has had so many of his "firsts", where we plan our future.....

I love this house. I love that it is filled with love, dreams and hope. I love the family that we have become in this house. I love that we can walk to Starbucks on Saturday mornings, that we have a dog park in our backyard, that 2 blocks away there is a children's park. I love our neighbors. I even LOVE our mailman, Darryl, who delivers right to our front door and knows Hudson and I by name.

So, as much as I would love to live on the beach in Miami, I am so thankful for the little house in Raleigh that I live in with my wonderful family. At the end of the day, it is not the size of your house or where it is located that matters. As long as you have a family that you can share your life with, you are always in the perfect spot.

Tuesday dreamin'

It is no secret that I want to live somewhere warm (but not hot, I do not like to sweat). There are so many things that I would love to be able to do year round- swim outside, wear summer, have the ability to play outside with Hudson without having to bundle him up, eat on the patio every night and keep the windows open all day.

I do not want to be too far away. We are spoiled by having all of our family in North Carolina and I would hate to be a huge distance away from them. Jonathan and I love Miami and I would gladly move there. I know that some parts of the city are super dirty and we would all need to learn Spanish but look at this house... The asking price is only $20,000,000







Ohhhhhhh, a girl can dream right?!?!

Motherhood

There is nothing in the world like being mom. Every day is a new adventure and a new form of excitement. I have experienced so many "firsts" and they are all just as magical as the one before. Last night, I experienced a new kind of firsts-


Yes, that is baby throw up. And yes, I took a picture. I did not think Jonathan would believe me. My poor Hudson. He has a double ear infection and cold. He refuses to take his medicine and now may have a stomach bug. He is beyond pitiful. It breaks my heart.

On a brighter note, we celebrated Jonathan's birthday and had a fantastic play date with some great friends at the park this past week.

Happy birthday, Puddin'!

My favorite big guy turns 26 tomorrow. Since we have plans for every meal until Monday, I decided Hudson and I will celebrate with him alone tonight. I am making his two favorite things.

For dinner we are having his very, very favorite taco bake


(Thank you God for allowing us to go out to eat pizza last night so I have some leftovers to eat. I can hardly make this stuff without gagging.)

And homemade key lime pie for dessert.



This was my first attempt at making it and I am very proud of myself.

After dinner we have to go exchange all of his gifts. I caved and gave them to him last night. Who knew that when you try a new men's store it means that all the sizes are different?!?!

Happy birthday Puddin'! I love and appreciate you so much. You are the most amazing dad and husband. I cannot imagine my life without you! Thank you for taking such good care of Hudson, Bailey and me.

List, list, list

It is no secret that I have OCD. My closet is color coordinated by jackets, pants, shorts, skirts, sleeveless tops, short sleeve tops and long sleeve. I reorganize Hudson's room all the time, making sure his books are tallest to shortest, his clothes are all folded perfectly, etc. I try to make sure our house is always clean. I hate seeing dust or dog hair anywhere. My main weakness is making lists. I have a list for everything-

Grocery list

Target list

Costco list

Chore list

Weekend to- do list .... this way Jonathan has no excuse to say he did not know what I needed his help with.

List of things that we need to eventually buy (new painting above sofa, bedroom furniture, new curtains, etc)

I even have a list on the side of the refrigerator that tells me what food is safe for Hudson to eat.



It drives Jonathan insane, INSANE. He makes so much fun of me. It is something I cannot help. It honestly makes my life easier.

A few months ago, I added a new list. A monthly menu. You may think I am crazy but it makes life so simple. I plan a meal for each day. Then I make my grocery list and go through our coupons. We buy all of our meat at Costco and freeze it in portions. I then go to the grocery store and buy all of our fresh vegetables, fruit, bread, marinades, etc. I love Allrecipes.com for new ideas. I usually plan 5 healthy meals a week. This allows me to wake up, look at what sounds good from our chart, defrost the meat and then prepare dinner during Hudson's last nap of the day. By the time Jonathan is walking in the door, I have dinner on the table. I leave 2 nights open for eating out or random ideas. Now that it is getting warm out, we are grilling a lot. When we do that, we like to go buy fresh meat and seafood.

That is my crazy confession of the week. I recommend making a menu chart. It saves you from running to the grocery at the last minute for that 1 ingredient you forgot!

RIP Juicy

Saturday was a very sad day for me. I found out that my car, Juicy is her name, is dying. She is fixable (it will cost about the same amount as she is worth), but we are choosing to "put her down." I love her so much, she has been with me through some good times. I will be sad to see her go but I know that it is time for a reliable new car. RIP Juicy, thank you for the good years you gave me.


Here is my top 4 wish list for Juciy II....


(I have had a Range Rover and a Discovery. 2 worst cars ever but they are so good looking. Jonathan and I would probably get divorced before he bought one.)



(this is the most realistic and one we have looked at the most)


Exspensive taste right? It must have been inherited.

2 peas in a pod

There is nothing in the world that I love more than these two guys....



Thank you both for an amazing weekend!

Happy boy

Hudson wishes you wonderful weekend wishes!

Friday of questions

I've decided to join my friend, Jen and complete this little survey - enjoy!


1. The best day ever was? Without a doubt June 22, 2009, the day Hudson was born. There will never be a more perfect, memorable, amazing day.


2. My favorite meal of the day is? dinner. Because? Jonathan is here to help me. I can hardly make a pb&j by myself.


3. This weekend ... will be busy. They all seem to be lately! We have a birthday party, some friends coming over, a huge list of household chores and a million errands to run.


4. Never in my life have I .... only wanted only 1 child until now. Hudson is perfect, happy and healthy and I could not ask for anything more.


5. The only thing better than ... proving a point to Jonathan
Is? being right all the time. (I am halfway kidding)


6. I could really do with some.... key lime pie.

7. The most recent thing I bought myself was... well, I do not work so technically Jonathan buys everything. But I did buy my first "mom" bathing suit. (A tankini)

Have a fabulous weekend! XOXO

Dear Nicholas Sparks,

Mr. Sparks,

I have always been a fan of your books. I have read every almost every one of them. They are easy to follow, involve a great love story and usually make me cry. I started reading "The Last Song" a few weeks ago but I had to stop when I saw this.



Miley Cyrus as the lead character, Veronica. Really?!?! That is the best you and the casting department could do? This book is dead to me now.

I tried to start reading it again, but every time I think of Veronica, I picture Miley. Smacking her gum and hunched back shoulders on the red carpet, giving an interview all the while sounding very uneducated and country. I cannot do it. I am unable to finish this book.

You built me up with high hopes of lead female characters like Rachel McAdams in "The Notebook" and Diane Lane in "Nights in Rodanthe." But you have killed all my hopes for this movie.

Love,
Anna

Happy Hump Day!

The morning rain caused us to cancel our play date with friends at the park. We had to settle for playing with the singing puppy. I think Hudson had fun though....




Happy Wednesday.

Drinking like a big boy!

After 2 days, Hudson has learned how to drink out of a straw! I am so proud of him.




(A little dribble never hurt anyone)

Weekend of 1st

We had a wonderful weekend. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we took full advantage of it, staying outside as much as we could.

Hudson had two 1st this weekend.

His 1st lollipop. He LOVED it and cried when I took it away after a few licks.


And his 1st NC State baseball game. He enjoyed being outside, dancing to the music and watching baseball with daddy. We only made it 3 innings before we had to come home for a nap, but we cannot wait to go to another game.




(Hudson also had his 1st grilled cheese at Applebees (yuck) before the game)

Just what I needed

While I was reading one of my favorite blogs the other day I wanted to shout, "Oh thank goodness someone else feels this way!" She wrote an entry about knowing what is best for your child and not letting other people's opinions or comments about your parenting affect you. I have found that being a mom automatically means that everyone is going to give you their two cents.
Here are some of my favorites-

"Does he need a hat?"

"Feels like he needs socks."

"It looks like you need a break."


And the one that makes my skin crawl every time....

"I never did that when ______ was little."


Every parents has their opinions on sleep schedules, on vaccinations, on dressing, on what their kids eat, on discipline, on who should babysit and who should not, etc. As a mom, I have to remind myself that Hudson is one of a kind and no one else on this entire planet knows what is best for him. I cannot let every snarky comment get to me.

This is some of the advice that I loved and think that all parents need to tell themselves.

"So the next time someone tries to tell you what is best for YOUR baby - remember that no ones opinion or advice should make you feel guilty over the choices you make for your child. You know your child and their needs intimately and wholly. You are their advocate, their expert, and their protector. Feel confident in that role and the decisions you are making!"

Friday excitement!

Hudson was very excited last night when we told him today is Friday and daddy was going to be here all weekend! Happy Friday! Get out and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Happy Thursday!

I have been waiting for this day for months. My Real Housewives of NYC are back! I like the Orange County version and the Atlanta version is OK but nothing beats the NYC and New Jersey girls. My poor, poor Jonathan. He hates when the NYC and NJ seasons are airing because I cannot stop talking like them. So here is to a great season and my best Yankee accent.

Death would be easier...

I have spent the last 36 hours feeling like I would rather die than have this flu. It hit me hard and fast. Unfortunately my sweet boy was sick too so it was a double whammy. We spent the entire day snuggled up in the bed.

(excuse the hair, clearly I did not have the energy to brush it. This was taken by my phone. Neither of us have black hair.)

Hudson is a boy on the move. For him to sit in one place for longer than 10 minutes proved to me how rotten he felt. He actually stayed in our bed all day. He took all of his naps with me. I loved our snuggle time.

Sadly we missed his Grandpa David's birthday dinner. We were so sad about that.

The good news is that Hudson feels a lot better today and is actually eating. Jonathan was able to play Mr. Mom today which is a HUGE help. I am resting and enjoying another day in bed. I had forgotten how much being sick takes out of you.

Cheers to everyone staying healthy!