Bath Time

Probably the most fun time at our house lately is bath time. Hudson has graduated from the cute little "whale of a tub" baby bathtub and is now sitting up in the full-size tub. We started with the whale tub in the large bath but he really didn't need it. He was ready to play and splash.

He loves splashing around and is playing with little squeaky ducks. His favorite time, however, is the drying off!

Thanksgiving Weekend & Family Reunion

We had an amazing Thanksgiving weekend this year. It felt like we got a lot done, but still had a chance to see family and enjoy the long weekend. We stayed in Kansas City on Thanksgiving Day and Rollie fried a turkey - an annual tradition at our house. We had my parents over to enjoy the Thanksgiving classics (and my mom brought the hard stuff - mashed potatoes, gravy, pie, etc.). Hudson tried mashed potatoes (he didn't like them) and pumpkin pie (he loved it) both for the first time.

Hudson Helping to Fry a Turkey

We left for Nebraska early on Friday morning for the Nebraska vs. Colorado game (played for the last time at Memorial Stadium). The Huskers won and we had a chance to meet my dearest friend Emily and her family for lunch and dinner. We spent the night in Lincoln and met up with my parents at the hotel, where they had brought Hudson.

Go Big Red! Last Big 12 Game at Memorial Stadium

He loved sitting up in the Pack n Play, and slept great both nights on the road in it.

Early on Saturday we set out for Western Nebraska. My great aunt Marietta was having her 90th Birthday celebration in Kearney, Nebraska. Marietta and I actually have the same birthday. The birthday party was actually a wonderful celebration of Marietta's entire life and a full reunion of the Gallagher and Sims families. It was so great to see everyone - especially my cousins and their babies. All three of the babies (Quinn, Olivia, and Hudson) were born within 15 days of each other.

My Dad with Quinn and Hudson. I love the look on Hudson's face - like he wants that bow from Quinn's head!

Emily with Hudson, Chris with Olivia, and Maggie with Quinn

Marietta meets Hudson

And we made it through the marathon trek back to Kansas City (over 5 hours in the car) without any disasters. It was Hudson's first car trip in the big boy car seat, but he loved it. We even finished getting all of our holiday decorations up before the weekend ended!

Go Play in the Yard

Hudson and Molly had a fabulous time in the yard on the last nice weekend in Kansas City. While Rollie did some yard work, Molly looked after Hudson. Or did Hudson look after Molly?  Either way they had a great time. Hudson loves his little chair (a small version of our larger Adirondacks) and I can't believe how close in size Molly and Hudson are. Molly still has him on weight though!

Fors Family Photographs

We had family photos taken in the River Market in downtown Kansas City two weeks ago. The weather was perfect and the setting provided some great colors. But, of course, Hudson was the star of the show. The timing worked perfectly so these could be his six month photos and also be on our holiday card. We again used Melissa Pfannenstiel, owner of Captures in Time Photography, and I can't say enough great things about her. We purchased the rights to the ten pictures below.

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!