Six Month Stats & Photos

Hudson had his 6 month check up this week, and not surprisingly, is in the 98th percentile for height! He is 28 inches long and weighs about 18 pounds. I just can’t believe he’s doubled in size since he was born. He had 3 shots and shed his first real tear! It was just one lone tear, but the sad look on his face as he looked up at me with those big, blue eyes was completely heartbreaking!

Because he's six months already, we decided to get a few family pictures taken. Here are two "sneak peek" pictures from our very talented photographer, Melissa (Captures in Time Photography).

I think he really looks like a boy (instead of a baby) now that he is sitting on his own and standing with help.

 

Welcome Baby Arthur!

Our good friends Whitney and Robby Arthur had their baby on October 30th (exactly 2 weeks early; just as Whitney had predicted) at 10:46 a.m. They named him Robert Charles Arthur, Jr. and will call him Bobby. He weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 19 inches long.  We visited the Arthurs in the hospital on Sunday and it was so amazing to see them as a healthy, happy family of three! 

Em & Rollie with Baby Bobby Arthur - 1 day old!

We took them dinner on Saturday (just another excuse to see that precious little peanut!) and they all looked great and were doing well adjusting to the new addition to the family. Chuck and Oliver (the Goldendoodles who run the household) were also enjoying the new little bundle of joy. They are already protective of their little brother.

Baby Bobby - 7 Days Old

We had a toast to Baby Artie (his nickname in utero since Whit and Robby didn’t know if they were having a boy or girl) with Artie Ale from 75th Street Boulevard. And now I’m already thinking of the next excuse to stop by and visit him! 

Trick or Treat!

We definitely went all out with Halloween this year. Mostly that was because it was Hudson’s first Halloween, but also it’s just a fun holiday that Rollie and I have always really gotten into over the years.

I had my mind set on having Hudson be a pug for Halloween – which wasn’t exactly easy because I was not able to find a pug costume! So my mom and I did the next best thing and made one! I ordered a giant stuffed pug on eBay and we got to work with making his costume. First we cut a seam down the side and removed all the stuffing (except some in the head to keep its shape). We  fit it on little Hudson during the process to be sure it would fit. We had planned on cutting the paws off, but ended up leaving them on, and I’m so glad we did because it was cold on Halloween!

My mom tacked on some velcro to close up the pug suit, and we were all set. The little hood of a pug’s face is the best part of the costume, but the little curly tail in the back is a nice touch too. 

The making of the costume - trying on for size.

Loving the costume- this is when we just had the velcro tacked on.

Two pugs on the couch.

We had several fun events for Halloween this year. On Friday night we went to the Halloween celebration at Indian Hills. Of course like all events there, the club went all out. There was a rock climbing wall, haunted house, huge buffet dinner, dessert decorating stations, pumpkin carving, a DJ and dance floor (huge hit with the little kids), and hundreds of costumes. Of course, Hudson is too little to fully appreciate it, but we had a great time seeing all the kids’ costumes, games and entertainment. Hudson wore a cow sleeper and hat since we wanted him to be comfortable and not get too hot at the party. 

Check out the Rock Climbing Wall in the background.

On Halloween day, we went to visit Whitney & Robby in the hospital since they had a fun Halloween weekend surprise as Baby Bobby arrived early! We dropped Hudson off with Papa and Nonnie (Rollie’s dad and his wife Chris), who were in town for the weekend. Then we started the Halloween festivities. First went to the Prairie Village shops for trick or treating. Since it was cold, Hudson wore his full Pug costume – and it was a huge hit! We strolled around the shops for awhile and then we all went to our friends’ (Dave and Suzi) house for their annual Halloween Party. They had a fire going and tons of great snacks. We finished off the night by making hot apple cider (with spirits!) and a caramel apple bar for everyone who came by trick or treating to enjoy.

At the Prairie Village Shops for Trick or Treating

Hard to tell there's a baby in there!

Dad with his two pugs.

At Dave & Suzi's Annual Halloween Party

Oh, and Hudson’s wasn’t the only costume we made! I guess we went a little overboard this year, because I also decided to make a costume for our competition at work. I got a giant wardrobe box from Uhaul and painted the entire thing with several coats of pink spray paint. My next step was to download the “Barbie” font and make the letters for the box. I think the font really made it look authentic. I added some stars and the Mattel logo, then I cut all the pieces out. I cut out the window with a box cutter and then used spray adhesive to affix the letters. The next two steps took a bit of figuring out. I wanted to wear the box rather than have to balance it and hold it up the whole time, so I glued a shoebox and lid shut with hot glue, then glued that on to the back of the box. This centered my body inside the box. Then I cut slits in the back of the box and added backpack straps so I could wear the entire costume. A clear shower curtain liner was the last step so that I truly looked like the doll, inside the box! And I actually won the Individual Costume Contest at work! 

With the letters just attached. I mounted the box, straps and shower curtain next.

I was demonstrating that it is now "hands free". Luckily in this picture you can't see that my hair is pink from the spray paint!

The winning costume!

And this is my favorite picture from the weekend - I'm trying to feed Hudson dinner, but all he is interested in is grabbing an entire bag of Kit Kats and trying to put it in his mouth! Clearly Halloween is always going to be a big holiday at the Fors' house! 

Pumpkin Patch & Goat Whisperer

Last weekend we went to Deana Rose to the pumpkin patch. We were so impressed with everything there - especially the petting zoo animals and exhibits. I can't wait until Hudson is older and can enjoy everything Deana Rose has to offer - from fishing to horseback rides. His favorite things were the antique tractors, the cows, and the baby goats.  Some very small kids were bottle feeding the baby goats and several goats got out of their cage. The kids' mom couldn't leave the kids alone in the goat pen to chase after the loose goats, so Rollie intervened and herded three goats back into their pen. Some observers called him the "Goat Whisperer"!

Luau at the Fors'

At one point during a neighborhood get-together, everyone decided to bury a whole pig in the backyard and have a luau. Of course the hubs volunteered our yard for this event (and probably because I wasn’t at the driveway get-together, since it was the night before my Tri). Well, several weeks later, he brings up said Luau/pig adventure, completely forgetting that I wasn’t at the event and hadn’t sanctioned burying anything in the backyard, let alone a small barnyard animal. Luckily our neighbors Roger (as in “Roger the Plumber”) and Diane decide to order a whole smoked pig from a local smokehouse.

We hosted the event at our house since it was definitely our turn to host the next “Swillers” event. Side note – all the fun people in the neighborhood are nicknamed the Southside Swillers because we (almost) all live on the south side of 80th Street.

I found a ton of Hawaiian décor in a storage tote in the basement marked appropriately “party time”, so we had coconut candles, leis, sea shells, and small tabletop tiki torches. The real ambiance was created by tall lit tiki torches in the front and back yard. My dad found them the day before the event and they definitely made the party.

I think the pictures speak for themselves. And yes, that is a banana.

Diane & Roger Peugeot, dressed for the Luau, posing with the pig.

Even Hudson had a little Hawaiian shirt on!

Dinner.

Everyone brought a side dish, so we had quite the buffet!

Everyone was dressed for the party and no one was shy about digging in.

Some of the Swillers

Diane & Rollie

While Parents are Away, Grandparents will Play.

While we were away in Vegas, my parents decided to buy Hudson a Jumperoo. He is the happiest baby on the planet when he’s being held upright, so it definitely made sense to try one. He seems to enjoy it...

Vegas, Baby (without the Baby).

Rollie won a trip for two to Vegas (complete with airfare, hotel for 2 nights at the Mirage, Cirque du Soleil tickets, food, drinks, spending money for gambling, etc.). It was the first time we left Hudson and actually took a flight somewhere (side note: I hadn't flown anywhere since last December because of being pregnant). Considering I used to travel every other week, it felt like it had been forever! 

We left on Friday morning and got to Vegas at 8:00 a.m. We kicked off the vacation right with a mimosa at Encore, the new hotel at Wynn. We did a little shopping and walking around, then changed and headed to the pool for the afternoon. The temperature was a perfect 85 degrees both days we were there. Friday night we went to Hard Rock hotel for champagne and happy hour, then had dinner at Nobu, then on see “O”, the Cirque du Soleil show at the Bellagio. It far exceeded my expectations.

Saturday we ate lunch at Joe’s Stone Crab, then lounged by the pool for a while. We did the tasting menu at Joel Robuchon's restaurant (plus the cheese course) and then decided to spend Saturday night shopping around Caesars Palace. I love that the Forum shops stay open until midnight! After shopping we had a drink at Rumbar at our hotel before calling it a night.

Sunday we had champagne brunch and checked out Palazzo and Barney’s before heading to the airport. It definitely was a very relaxing trip (not always what you’d expect from Vegas!) and just what we needed in a long weekend get-a-way. 

First champagne of the vacation. A mimosa at Encore

Excuse me, but I ordered a "Large" Pina Colada...

Champagne Room Service

On the way to see O at Bellagio

Joe's Stone Crab for lunch.

The Lobby of the Mirage hotel

Dinner at Joel Robuchon

Shopping at Caesar's Palace Forum Shops

Last champagne of the trip - Champagne Bar at Palazzo.