Hudson’s daycare put on a little Christmas singing production yesterday. It was lots of fun to witness & quite hilarious!! Imagine 20-25 kids ranging in age from 1-4 trying to stand together & sing. If you’ll notice in the group picture, Hudson started out on the 2nd row but once the singing started, he quickly made his way to the front. Not sure where he got those dancing moves…….
Marching to their places…
Cute little group of kiddos!
Here are 2 pictures I took with my iphone last night. The lighting is awful on the second one but I did not feel like getting out my camera & having to download pics. So you can at least get the idea of the room! That tall armoire is actually for sale. We do not have a place for it but it it staying there until we can figure out what to do with it. We hope to replace it on that wall with a book case for Hudson’s books & toys. I am also in need of things for his walls. I have not seen anything that is appealing so far but hopefully I will find some things soon! Canton, maybe?!
I am so pleased with his furniture, bedding & curtains! We ordered the bed & dresser from Bodie’s. If any of you are looking for someone to do some sewing, I have a great lady! She is here in Ruston & is super fast & affordable. She made the curtains, bed skirt & throw pillows. The quilt is from Pottery Barn Kids. If anybody has ideas for things to go on the walls, please share! :-)
We’ve been planning on redoing Hudson’s room for several months & Friday was the day for his new furniture to be delivered! I am crazy about the bed & dresser that we bought & apparently SO IS HUDSON! I am waiting on his new curtains, bed skirt & throw pillows to be finished but I will post pictures as soon as the room is completely done. I honestly cannot believe how well this transition has gone. After hearing horror story after horror story about putting kids in a big bed for the first time, I was definitely dreading the transition. I envisioned myself being awake all night putting him back in his bed 100 times. I was bound & determined that if it meant no sleep for me for the first night, that is what would happen b/c he was going to learn that we were serious about him sleeping in his bed. Fortunately, none of the above happened! He has been a rock star all weekend! All week long we talked about his new big boy bed & tried to make it exciting for him. It was here & made up when he got home on Friday from school. Before we put him in bed, we sat on the couch & talked about how he was going to sleep in his new bed & he was not to get out of the bed. I told him he would get a spanking if he got out. And I told him that when he woke up the next morning to call for us & we would come get him out of bed. I’m sorry if this sounds harsh to some of you, but in my mind, it was kind of the same as training him to sleep when he was a baby. Again, I’m not even sure that this little speech was neccesary! He climbed up in his bed, we tucked him in & turned off the lights. He never made a peep, never made an attempt to get out of bed & didn’t wake up until 7:45 on Saturday morning. He is normally a 6-7am riser, so 7:45 was really nice! Saturday afternoon when it came time for a nap, I wondered how that would go. After a 2 hour nap, I was feeling like we had this transition whooped! Same story last night for bed, this afternoon for a nap & again tonight for bed. I’m so proud of him!! I had a friend tell me that if you switch them when they are ready, it really is easy on them & they will sleep so much better. Fortunately, I think we picked the right time & he has handled it like a champ. Good thing since baby sister will be needing that crib in about 3 months! :-)
When I think back over each big stage in Hudson’s 2 1/2 years, I’ve been the one to fret over everything. I worried when it was time to take the bottle away. Done in one day & he never got upset about it at all. I worried when it was time to take the paci away. This was done in about 2 days & it was a super easy transition. And of course I worried about this new bed thing. You’d think I’d have learned by now that my child is very adaptable & seems to transition to new things fairly easily! Lets hope baby #2 handles things the same way!
We attended our 3rd Breakfast with Santa at Squire Creek this morning. What a fun tradition that Hudson & I have with my parents! This year my brother Gavin was in town so he came with us, too! I don’t have any pictures with Santa, we’ll have to wait to get the professional shot from Allison! :-) But here are some pictures from our morning.
And I thought this was fun to look back at the last 2 years pics!
2009 (6 months) & 2010 (18 months)
I’m happy to report that this year there were NO tears! Hudson is a fan of Santa & I’m so glad!
We took family pictures a few weeks ago & I am so pleased with how they turned out. I knew this year would be a tough year to get a great family shot b/c of a very active 2 year old! 
Beth Yenser took our pics & she was great. She is a teacher at RHS & does pictures on the side. I told her from the beginning that I was not expecting the perfect posed shot & that some great, natural pictures would be perfect! Here are some of my favorites!!
Sorry, no pictures with this story! Just something I want to remember! Hudson went to “Big Church” for the first time tonight to watch our Children’s Christmas Musical. (If you’re my friend on facebook you’ve already heard the first part of this story) All the way to church, Hudson & I talked about going to big church & going into God’s House, aka the sanctuary. I wanted him to understand he wasn’t going to the nursery like every other time we go to church. We talked about sitting on the pew, no running around, being as quiet as possible, etc. He asked “where is God’s House” when I told him that’s where we were going. I told him that God’s house was where we went to learn about God & worship him. So, we get there & walk in. Literally as we walk through the doors into the sanctuary, he looks up at me & asks “Mommy, where is God? We’re in God’s house?” Such a sweet spirit!
Now, although he was REALLY good for a 2 1/2 year old to sit for a solid hour, there were a few funny moments that made Eric & I, as well as everyone else sitting around us, laugh out loud. There was a light out in the sanctuary (yes, way up there! He noticed!) so he talked about that light being out A LOT! It was really bothering him!! Then, our precious friends took their littlest one out (he wasn’t even being loud) & Hudson says loudly, “Where is that baby going?” He tried to sing along with Jingle Bells, he clapped & yelled “YAY!” He had a grand ole time. Then, our preacher makes a joke about the Dallas Cowboys game today & says jokingly “if you agree, say Amen.” Yep, you guessed it. Hudson shouts “AMEN!”
My sweet boy is in the midst of his first run in with Hand, Foot, Mouth disease. Ugh. And the most frustrating part of it all is the word “virus.” It is so frustrating to have something that medicine will not cure. I hate to hear “just let it run its course.” But, that’s what we’re doing! His poor little hands & feet just hurt. We’re giving him Benadryl & Maalox mixed per our dr’s instructions but if you have any other tips for comfort let me know!! And the craziest thing of all is that he has not been at daycare since Tuesday & symptoms didn’t show up until today. (Well, he hasn’t slept well the past 2 nights & now I’m contributing that to this.) He has not run any fever which I understand is very common, so I’m hoping we missed all of that. Either way, he will be home from daycare for a few days this week.
On a happier note, here are a few things he has said lately that have caught us off guard. He is a SPONGE!! I like to write these things down here since I’m not very good at writing in his paper baby book!
H: Mommy, I want to watch Barney.
Me: Okay (As I grab the remote to turn it on.)
H: I want to watch Handy Manny, actually. (really, he used the word actually in the correct context?!?!)
H: I wanna go across the river Daddy.
Eric: There isn’t a river here son.
H: It’s in Monroe?
When asked what his little sisters name is going to be, Hudson says “Jingle Bells!” It’s really quite funny in person!!
On the way to daycare, we pass by the construction yard where there is always a big crane parked. Well, the crane disappeared for a couple of weeks. The first day when he noticed, this was the conversation:
H: Daddy, where did the crane go?
Eric: I don’t know son.
H: The crane go to the doctor? He make it feel better? (LOL!)
Later that week, this was the conversation:
H: Daddy, where did the crane go?
Eric: I’m not sure Hudson.
H: The crane go to jobsite? (Now I’m sure one of us told him that in passing one day, but we don’t even remember. How he remembers those random words I will never comprehend!)
Then, a few weeks later on the way to school I’m just driving along when Hudson shouts, “MOMMY!”
Me: Yes, baby
H: THE CRANE IS BACK!!!!
I sure do love this sweet boy!!!
Once again, I find myself needing to play catch up. We’ve had a jam packed last few months & have really enjoyed the Fall season, even though you’d never know it was Fall by the weather!
We went to the circus!
We tailgated before Tech football games with friends!
We visited the Townsend House Pumpkin Patch!
We dressed up for Halloween & hosted our annual neighborhood Halloween party.
Along with other friends, I celebrated Sheree’s 30th birthday at Palette Party!
Eric ran his first race ever… A half marathon! We are so proud of him!
I made an A in my graduate class this quarter & am maintaining that 4.0!
We saw Santa Claus in Railroad Park this weekend & Hudson was certainly not afraid!! He hollered at Santa, “Come on, Santa!” As he beckoned him onto the sleigh with him. Santa burst into laughter but obliged! Then Hudson whispered into his ear his wishlist! So precious!
And last but not least….. We learned that we will be welcoming a BABY GIRL into our family!!! I am now 21 weeks along & everything has been great so far. Baby Girl Wilkerson is due to arrive in March & we are excited! We are just starting to work on transitioning our 4th bedroom/office into her nursery, but before we can do much, we’ve got to transition Hudson into a big boy bed. A lot of changes coming in our house over the next few months!
We are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with our families this week! And this prego is looking forward to the traditional Thanksgiving meal!
This age brings much laughter! It is hilarious the things that Hudson comes up with & the things that come out of his mouth.
Some of his latest antics:
If I ask him if he needs a clean diaper, he’ll respond with “Mrs. Jessica changed it.” Or Yaya, or Daddy, or somebody… He’s told me that Mrs. Jessica changed his diaper about 3 different times today… But the problem with that is that Mrs. Jessica is his teacher at school & he hasn’t been to school since yesterday! lol!
The other day, Eric said to me, “Do you know that he knows how to say T-E-X-A-C-O?” (he spelled the letters out so Hudson “wouldn’t know” what he was saying.) Well, that didn’t work! Before he could finish spelling the word, Hudson yelled TEXACO! We looked at each other & burst into laughter! How he knew what he was spelling I don’t know… But you should know that he LOVES the Texaco because his Poppa takes him their most afternoons for an Icee.
If he wants something that you aren’t letting him have, he so pitifully says “But I NEEEEEED it!”
Eric & Hudson were laying on the floor playing the other day. They each had a pillow. I walked into the room & just laid down beside Hudson. He looked at me, grinned, got up & went to the couch & brought me back a pillow. Sweet boy!
“Come on Poppa, let’s go!” Poppa is most definitely his favorite playmate. Isn’t everyone’s favorite playmate the one who will play follow the leader & let you do anything you want to do! 
“What happened” is probably the most heard phrase in our house these days! Hudson wants to know what happened with everything!!! Sadly our response is usually not appreciated so he just keeps on asking! I am so thankful for an inquisitive little boy!
One day Hudson put his tractor up on the couch & wanted me to look at it. I made a big deal out of how silly that tractor was being up on the couch because tractors were supposed to be in the dirt not sitting nice & pretty on a couch! Well, now that tractor is the “silly tractor.” Every time Hudson sees the tractor, he points & says “Mommy, there is that silly tractor!” He gets the cutest little grin & immediately starts laughing. Love him!!
This age can be pretty rough, but it can also be so sweet & so much fun! Loving my little man through all the different stages!
Let me just say that I have the best family & friends!!! I’m pretty sure I could put my group up against anybody’s & win!
My 30th bday was on June 3. That was a Friday. Eric was going to be working in our yard doing our new landscaping all day that Friday, so he & I made plans to go out & celebrate on Saturday night. My friends were taking me out on Friday. Nobody would tell me what we were doing & I was okay with that! Just going with the flow! (I know that is a shock! I’m usually the one that likes to be in control & in the know!) They told me to be ready at 4:30 on Friday afternoon & somebody would come & pick me up!
So, Nicola showed up to get me & off we went! First stop…. Jessie’s house for a Paint Party! It was SO much fun!!! I loved it & we all said we wanted to do it again! They had fixed the most yummy snacks & put out cute “30” decorations! Thanks ya’ll for doing all that for me!!
And… little did I know, the night didn’t stop there!! After we finished painting, we loaded up & headed West! About the time we took Pierremont Road exit off 49 in Shreveport, I was pretty sure we were headed to Superior!! I hadn’t said anything, but about the time Hillary started stressing out because she couldn’t see the car we were following, I told her to keep going straight & take a right at the light…. She looked at me & started laughing! “Do you know where we are going?!” lol! I told her I was pretty sure we were going to Superior at that point!
So, as we are walking up to the restaurant, Jessie tells me that I need to go in first. I look at her like she is crazy, but proceed. I walk in & there are most of our better halves! We had such a fun night!!! My first surprise party every & they pulled it off! The icing on the cake was all of the mexican waiters bringing out a Strawn’s pie & singing happy birthday to me! It was HILARIOUS as they sang “shake it mamacita.” I was so embarrassed! We all laughed a ton! Isn’t that when memories are made?! Love my hubby & my girls! Thanks Jessie, Hillary, Sheree, Nicola & Tara for planning this with Eric!!
