Hudson's 1st Texas Summer

He loves his Daddy. 

I'd say he has come pretty darn close to perfecting that smile of his. 

Getting STRONG!! Don't mind the spit up splotches on his clothes...

This go-round of swimming was a complete success! Hudson had a positive, HAPPY experience at Gigi and George's pool. (If you haven't checked out the blog in a while, take a trip down memory lane to a few weeks ago when I posted Hudson's first pool exposure. No bueno.)

I don't care who you are- that is just plain C U T E. 

Aaand this is how he felt after a day full of excitement. What can I say? He wears his emotions on his sleeves! We started the day by going to our church's wonderful nursery for the first time. I was so proud of him, and we received an outstanding report. Apparently he "played nice" with all the other 4-monthers.  

 Hudson has acquired quite the obsession/fascination with his hands and feet. His discovered that he can actually (kind of) CONTROL what those crazy things do, because they are somehow attached to his body! Here he is, proudly controlling his hand eye coordination enough to reach out and touch sweet patient Lily. 

He played with these "rattle socks" for a solid half hour, squealing in delight the whole time. His expression shows compelling interest these days whenever he glances at his feet. Sometimes I'll catch him staring at them for 10 minutes straight- and he's even been known to carry on a conversation with those giant feet of his! I wish my feet talked to me...

Look at that big boy grab onto his toy! 

Again, the hands. Just can't get enough of 'em. You'd think they were coated in sugar or cheeto residue judging by how often they are twirling around the inside of his mouth!

Here is Hudson's Heaven: fist in mouth and the non-stop entertainment of two feet! 

 We went to Joe T. Garcias to meet some dear friends in Fort Worth. Man, I've missed those margaritas- but not as much as those girls in the picture!

These two could easily pass as Mama and Daddy. Just look how at ease they are!!  

Great Grandmother Mamaw came to visit from Mobile. Hudson is absolutely in LOVE with Mamaw. He is so giddy around her!

Ben and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary by taking each other to the George Strait concert at the new Cowboys Stadium. I have no words to describe how enormous that stadium is. Unreal. 

We had great seats which allowed us to appreciate the "too-big-to-not-watch" HD screen. 

Side note: We also had some die hard Reba fans in front of us that just might have been the founders of her fan club. I have no doubt that they travel around to EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. of her concerts. 

Lake Trips and Swimming Pools

I feel as though Lily and Margy heard me counting to three, and secretly agreed to turn AWAY from the camera on "three!" as their own form of rebellion. 

There's my good girls- even Annie could stay put for a few seconds! This is impressive for these three- trust me.

I snapped this shot just after saying these three words to Margy: "Are you hungry?" 

I posted these out of order...

obviously. 

Look at his cutie pie shark PJs! I believe kid's jammies are absolutely the most adorable piece of clothing on any child. There are no rules when it comes to sleepware; rocket ships, stripes, dinosaurs, monkeys, polka dots, baseballs- you name it and they've somehow incorporated it onto a pajama print. And don't even get me started on the footies...

So serious.

"Fine, I'll give you a little smirk just to appease you, Mama."

"Your face is silly, Mama!!"

These are the happy pictures taken pre- swimming. 

Yes, he's wearing water shoes! Yes, they were falling off of him. Yes, it was worth putting them on just for a photo op. 

In our favorite BOB stroller, about to go for an afternoon walk. 

Practically twins. He's going to be a looker! :) 

Lately

So I started back at work this week. I didn't quite know what to expect, because honestly, I tried not to think much of work at ALL during my maternity leave (or as Ben likes to refer to it as, my  "vacation"). And really, I'll go ahead and say it: if I had my way, I'd stay at home with my children every day of the year. That's right- I'd be a die hard stay at home mom and proud of it. But it turns out God has something different (and better, no doubt) planned for me next year. I am still adjusting to the idea of leaving my baby everyday, and this week has been a bitter sweet taste of what it would be like. The mornings are the hardest. Once I make it to the car, I take a deep breath and just keep moving. ALL. DAY. LONG. If I stop to really think about how much I miss him during the day, I lose it. I know, I know- it will get better and I will get used to it. But what if I don't want to? Is that so bratty? Too control freakish? Teaching is and always will be a passion in my life. I love everything about educating the young. Children in general just light up my life. But lately- I'd say in the past 2 months one week and 5 days- I feel my passion has become a bit more "focused"... on... one child in particular... 

That's enough on that subject. The good news is, we are blessed beyond belief with two amazingly nurturing grandmothers that live within 5 minutes and are willing to step in and help out. Hudson absolutely adores Cici and Gigi. The other good news? God has it allllll under control. He's in charge, and I like that. As much as I want life to go the way I had it all mapped out, I have learned that patience and trust are a great combination in times like these. 

Now, a few picture notes: The insanely bright play apparatus you see in several pictures is a little something that we borrowed from Gigi's house and it happens to be his new favorite source of entertainment. He is starting to swing and bat at objects, and the cutest thing about it is seeing how ecstatic he gets after he actually makes contact with an object he's been swinging at for five minutes. What an athlete, right?  :) My little all-star. 

giggle box