Anti-Maureen Comes to Visit

Maureen (who we lovingly call Anti-Maureen instead of Auntie-Maureen) came back from Berlin to visit for her birthday. Because she was already crossing the pond for a conference on the east coast, she made a four day detour to Kansas City. Hudson was so happy to see her “outside of the computer”! We had wonderful dinners, went on walks, shopped, and had a great long weekend with Maureen. Hudson fell sound asleep during birthday dinner and missed out on dessert. We managed to take down that entire brownie tower even without his help. 

And since he napped during dinner, he was ready to stay up late. I love this photo of him watching a movie. The photo lighting is terrible, but I had to capture the moment. He had his little milk belly hanging out and was holding on to the remote control just mesmerized by his first Pixar movie - Monsters, Inc.  

Bath Time

Since we can never share too many bath pictures, here are some of the most recent ones. Basically Bath Time is the most fun time of day in our house. He often times goes into the bathroom and squeals at the tub – trying to tell us he’s ready for the bath. He could stay in there and splash all night! Sometimes we have to pry him out of there because the water is getting cold. But the smiles we get from Bath Time are just too precious! 

Child-Proofing!

I saw a coaster once that said, "I tried child-proofing the house, but they still get in!" Hilarious. But believe it or not, it’s already time to child proof the house. He’s motoring around so much and just gets in to everything. Every drawer, cabinet, closet, etc. 

Yep, already in to everything. 

This was the start of it. I didn’t even know he could open a drawer, but there he goes, just getting into everything. So we bought tons of supplies and set to work locking down the cabinets and drawers. 

Hudson wanted to help with the child-proofing.

Hudson's First Haircut

It was definitely hard to see those first little baby hairs go, but Hudson just had to have a little trim. His hair was so long that it hung in his eyes, so my mom gave him his first haircut. We put him in the bumbo in his diaper and just trimmed off those first little dark baby hairs that he was born with. He instantly looked like a little boy! 

Meet Miss Nora

One of my best friends had her baby on Friday, January 28 (only a couple days past their due date!) at 5:05 p.m.  Welcome Nora Jewel Clarkson, weighing in at 7 lbs 15 oz – the exact same weight Hudson was when he was born. Chris and Melissa are doing well and sweet Nora is just as predicted: perfect!

We visited them in the hospital the next day, and I just can’t believe that our giant baby Hudson was ever that tiny! Nora has a full head of thick, black hair and the sweetest little lips. I honestly wanted to snuggle her all day – but alas I had to give her back to her proud, glowing mommy.

Love the giant hat!

My mom made this  hospital gown, but I couldn't wear it in surgery, so Melissa put it to use!

Such a sweet face.

In the first outfit I bought for Nora (six months ago!)

Rollie can't believe Hudson was once this tiny. 

 Cheers to Nora!

Apres Ski Fondue Party

 Our friends Brandi Smith and Scott Sachse moved in down the street (literally, just 5 houses down!) so we decided to host their neighborhood welcome party to introduce them to the ‘hood. To say our neighbors are fun is a huge understatement. Just reference the Luau for proof of that. Our neighborhood group is called the Southside Swillers, and at every party, I'd say we earn the "swillers" part of that nickname. Almost all neighborhood parties have some sort of theme, so we chose “Apres Ski Fondue” for this one. The theme was inspired by an episode of Modern Family.

Here's the invitation.

It was perfect with the recent snowfall, and fondue is so fun and easy. I already have 4 fondue pots and tons of forks, so it was pretty simple to just cut up fruits, veggies, and breads for dippers, then make melty cheese and chocolate fondue. I did two kinds of cheeses (traditional Swiss and cheddar ale), with apples, breads, and veggies as dippers. For chocolate, I did a milk chocolate peanut butter with s’more station and my favorite: dark chocolate with strawberries, bananas and pineapple.

Everyone came decked out in their Apres Ski attire too – ski goggles, ski pants, fair isle sweaters, fur boots and Uggs, Rollie’s trapper hat -  and even Hudson dressed the part in a ski sweater, socks with little skiers on them, and a matching stocking hat.

Hudson was dressed for the slopes, but settled for the Jumperoo

Brandi & Scott - Officially Neighbors!

Down vests and Tank 7 Beers for Scott & Rollie.

 As with most of our neighborhood parties – it raged on until after midnight. And there were fireworks and some sort of floating lantern that took off about a mile down the road!  It ended up being a great way to welcome our new neighbors – and show them that it’s really not your typical neighborhood.

Up to no good.

Let's find a way to make the uninvited neighbors mad.

Going, going, gone.

Snow Day!

Hudson got to experience his first snow when we had our first big snowfall of the season in January. Rollie shoveled the front drive (as Molly pretended to help), and then the boys got bundled up and took the toboggan out for a quick run down the hill in our backyard. Hudson wasn’t quite sure what to think of the snow, but he did love the toboggan run and smiled the whole way down!