big boy

He is pulling himself up to stand.

And he is so proud.

He is not liking the toys I pull out.

So, he goes searching for new ones in his toy box.

How did this kid get so big?

Seriously.

I love that he is growing up, but a part of me just wants him to stay little for just a bit longer. 

It's a love/hate ordeal that I battle every day. 

And probably will for a long time. 

Maybe forever. 

Little Man Baby Shower

Hope and Jason were some of the first friends we made in our church ward here in Raleigh. It was so exciting to find out that Hope was having a baby - they actually told us the news a day before Hudson was born. Hope is also one of the girls I visit teach. She is so friendly, creative, and makes the BEST Oreo truffles.

I decided to throw Hope a "little man" baby shower with the help of a few friends in the ward. Little did I know that it would involve so much time and effort. But it was a lot of fun planning and stressing over. It turned out to be a HUGE success! We had over 40 people attend! Here are some of the pictures from my camera. I'm still waiting for more, but you can get a general idea of how it turned out. Most of the ideas came straight from Pinterest.

 Isn't that banner the cutest? It was so simple to make - just scrapbook paper and letters cut out. 

 The mommy-to-be (Hope) with Hudson. Hope is so sweet and has watched Hudson for us on more than one occasion.

 We had the shower at a gorgeous home provided by one of Hope's previous Young Women's leader. 

 These pom poms were so easy to make and they added a pop of color to the room.

Not the best picture, but my friend Cari and I made all the guests a bow tie to wear during the shower and to take home. 

This is the car seat cover I made for Hope. She picked out the fabric and I went at it. It is so cute. I almost wanted to keep it for myself because I think it turned out so much better than the one I made Hudson (probably because I'm getting better at sewing). 

So, there you have it. 

It was an awesome baby shower!

We are so excited for Hope and Jason to welcome their little man into the world!

Life of a Vegetarian

Okay, so we decided to try being vegetarian for a week. Not my idea. Totally Logan's idea after reading the book, Born to Run. It inspired him to eat healthier and run more - great goals. Being vegetarian was a fun little experiment and we found some really delicious meals that we love. I don't think we are ready to eliminate meat from our diet just yet (because we "celebrated" the end of vegetarian week with a pork roast), but we are going to limit our intake to maybe 2-3 times a week. Here's what was for dinner:

Spinach Lentil Soup - This was really good. It reminded me of chili, but a healthier version. It was our first time having lentils and they were surprisingly very tasty!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos - This was different. Sweet potatoes and black beans seem like a bad combo, but it was actually pretty good. I gave Hudson the leftover sweet potatoes and he loved it. Logan, on the other hand, does not like sweet potatoes very much (crazy person) so he wasn't the biggest fan of this meal. Sweet potatoes are so good, even if they are not topped with marshmallows - like this.

Mushroom Burgers - I don't like mushrooms that much, but I ate this up. Really yummy! Logan loved it too; mushrooms are his favorite.

Caramelized Onion & Roasted Veggies Pizza - Delicious! We loved this one so much. We had it TWICE in one week. It was that good. You can also adapt it to fit what veggies you and your family like.

Stuffed Vegetarian Bell Peppers - Not too bad. It would have been better with a little bit of meat, just sayin.

Ranch Pasta Salad - Did not like this. AT ALL. Maybe it would have been better with bacon (most things are), but it was just too bland for our liking. This recipe is our favorite pasta salad ever (minus the sugar).

Potato and Mushroom Chowder - Lots of veggies and tasty! We just added a little too much black pepper, so we couldn't really enjoy it.

So there you have it. We tried a lot of fun vegetarian dishes and will be trying a lot more in the future. I'll post more recipes as we try them. We also bought hummus this week. I forgot how much I love hummus. I ate a lot of hummus in high school (my awesome Journalism buddies loved that stuff), but never bought it for myself. Now, I am trying to learn how to make it - any hummus recipes you all just love? Or, any other vegetarian meals you love? Share them with me!

Hudson = 6 months

How did my baby go from this...

(3 days old) 

to this?

In 6 months, that is how. 

I can't believe he is this old already. 

I loved all the other stages, but 6 months is my absolute favorite so far! 

He is so active and playful right now - I love it. It's so much fun getting to see his face light up with a smile or to see his daddy make him laugh hysterically. 

He is such a happy, easy-going baby. We are so lucky! 

6 month old stats:
Weight: 15 pounds and 4 ounces (11th percentile)
Height: 26 1/2 inches (43rd percentile)

Fun facts about the little man....

• He is eating solids about twice a day. He likes peas, bananas, rice cereal, and sweet potatoes. He LOVES food. I haven't bought a single can of baby food from the store - yay for saving money! It's been fun experimenting in the kitchen and coming up with baby foods. It helps that Hudson is a good eater; the only thing he doesn't like is oatmeal, but no surprise there since I don't like it either. He is his mama's boy, after all :) 
• He is crying it out for naps and bed time. We do this in intervals (5 minutes, check on him, then 10 minutes, etc). He usually falls asleep during the 10-15 minute time period. It was so hard doing this, especially the first couple of days, but it has gotten easier and we all get better sleep (Hudson included). 
• He had his first bottle of formula a week or so ago. It was really hard coming to grips with giving him formula (since I was planning to breastfeed exclusively for a year). But after much thought, prayer, and a few tears I think I am finally okay with it. He is still getting mama's milk, but formula supplements for when we are out and about. I just can't keep up with the pumping and his growing, hungry body. 
• He is army crawling and he is getting fast. So fast that we turned our backs for a second and he fell off our bed. Scariest moment ever. 
• He is starting to open his arms up when he wants to be picked up. It is really endearing to see. 
• He drinks water from a sippy cup. Still working on him getting to hold it, but he's getting there. 
• He sleeps from about 9PM - 6/7AM. 
• He loves to play with his little keyboard. Daddy makes him "practice" every morning for 15 minutes.
• He is so curious. He always wants what is in my hands, which makes it hard to hold him and get things done at the same time. 
• He puts everything (within his reach) in his mouth. EVERYTHING - the remote, his socks, his toes, his toys, the laptop charger, mom's new shoes, etc. 
• He smiles at anyone who will give him attention and will let anyone hold him. 
• He is not a cuddly or chunky baby - two things I really wanted - maybe our next one will be. 

Happy Half-Birthday!
We love you, Hudson Bear! 

We celebrated with a walk to the library and brownies.
 Hudson enjoyed being outside and we enjoyed the brownies for him :)