St. Louis

We're back in St. Louis now after a good trip of visiting with family & friends. It was fun to introduce Hudson to so many people. He was such a trooper on our trip. We weren't sure quite what to expect, but he did a great job sleeping in the car for the most part and greeting so many people with a smile. My left elbow hurts & I was trying to think of what it could be. After racking my brain, I believe it's from reaching back to put Hudson's pacifier back in his mouth again and again and again from the front seat. So, it wasn't without some bumps, but overall he traveled well and we're glad we went.

We did come back to find that our basement had flooded in Trent's study. We had to throw away all the carpet from that one room and moved some other carpet pieces we had in other rooms into there. Water got into our printer as well, but I'm not sure if it's broken yet or not. Thankfully none of Trent's books got wet.

Hudson has his 2mo check-up on Monday. He's starting to get a flat spot on the back of his head, which we're anxious to ask the pediatrician about. Every time we put him down, he always turns his head slightly to the right, therefore laying on the same spot on his head. We've tried changing the direction he's laying in his crib, turning his head manually after he falls asleep, propping him with a rolled-up receiving blanket and putting colorful things for him to look at on his left side all to no avail. Sometimes we can get him to turn his head for 5-10min, but it always goes back to the one spot. I have been wearing him in the front baby carrier we have a lot to decrease the amount of time he's on his head. We'll see what the doctor says. Then on Tuesday I go back to work. Trent will watch Hudson while I'm at work.

my Dad & Stepmom with Hudson


at Arlington National Cemetery


walking around the National Mall

Whirlwind

Here are a lot of pics from a couple things we've done in the last week. We went to 2 high school graduations (Brianna, Trent's sister & Kylie, Trent's cousin), a family reunion & visited with friends. The family reunion is one that Trent's family does every Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. This was the 90th consecutive gathering. It is at a beautiful spot in rural WV (Poplar) where a few of his great great grandparents and some other family members are buried. Trent's cousins travel there by hayride each year from his grandparents house. Once there, everyone congregates for some singing, prayer, a recap of the ancestors that have gone before us & a short message from the Bible. Then there's lots of food to eat (Trent was able to enjoy it!) and talking & catching up. It is such a glorious, rich time.

We also visited with some good friends in WV and traveled to Washington, DC to meet one of my best friends, Martha Jane and her boyfriend, Ryan. I'll post DC pics later, there's already more than enough here. We're enjoying time with our parents today before heading back to St. Louis tomorrow. What a whirlwind!



admiring Brianna (Trent's sister) on her graduation day

Trent's grandparents

with Trent's sisters

helping Papaw (Trent's dad) drive the tractor

taking in some rays

Trent, Hudson & Aunt Robin (Hudson was born on Aunt Robin's birthday)

Hudson with cousin Kacie

Hudson with Mamaw (Trent's grandma)

Hudson & Nana (Trent's mom)

With Trent's parents & grandparents at Poplar

Trent introducing Hudson at Poplar

Hudson & Trent with Aunt Karla, Karlie & Jimmy


Hudson's first hayride


loading up the wagon for a hayride

visiting good friends Ben, Angie & Cadence

Cadence & Hudson

The first leg

We've had a great first couple of days of our trip! We enjoyed seeing my grandparents & my little sister in 3 different cities. Hudson did a wonderful job sleeping in the car & then smiling and cooing whenever we woke him up to meet new people.

Now we're laying low at my parent's house in Morgantown, WV. Trent successfully had all 4 of his wisdom teeth out this morning, with my dad doing his anesthesia. Everything went well, he's just hoping he can eat normally by our time at his grandparents this weekend. He loves eating the great down home cooking at his parent's and grandparents' houses (eg: we save real bacon for a treat when we go home...it's turkey bacon at our house).

Hudson with Great Grandma & Great Grandpa in Cincinnati


After lunch with Great Grandma & Great Aunt Liz in Columbus


Hanging with the cool kids...Aunt Stephanie & friends

Take me home country roads

We're West Virginia bound! We're leaving tomorrow after church and heading to WV via Cincinnai and Columbus to visit grandparents. Our first stop in WV is to see my little sister at her boarding school and then we're going on to my parents' house. Trent's getting his wisdom teeth out on Tuesday morning (what a vacation!). Then, we're heading down to Trent's parents and grandparents houses. We'll finish the week going to a family reunion and Trent's sister's high school graduation.

This past week, we both finished our finals! We're officially in summer and very excited about it. Neither of us are taking summer classes and we're on track to graduate next May. So far with our free days, we've gone to the zoo, walked around Forest Park, Trent ran a great 5k this week (his time was just over 17min), we've both done a fair amount of running and we got haircuts.

Who would guess this handsome boy was born in St. Louis


Hudson did get 2 Cardinals outfits this week from our friend Erin. He's excited to go to a game and cheer on the Cardinals!

Hudson is 6 weeks old!

After a lot of rain and gloomy weather, it is finally sunny today. I've been reading for school and taking in some sun while Hudson naps. We're still in the midst of finals and looking forward to them being over.

enduring a photo shoot


saving on the rising gas prices...

Inevitable

Despite my best efforts, the cat finally got his wish and made it into the crib with Hudson. I found them both sleeping peacefully. The cat woke up from the flash of the camera, looked at me and immediately jumped out of the crib (he knows he's not allowed to be in there). Thankfully the cat is declawed and is very friendly, but I still would feel much better if he didn't get near Hudson.

Rainy Day

What better thing to do on a rainy day than stay in and play with Hudson? He's been smiling and cooing a lot today. It must be because he's so well rested after sleeping for 4 1/2 hours straight last night! Since he went to sleep at 8:15pm and I went to sleep at 10, I got my normal 2 1/2 hour stretch of sleep before getting up to feed him. But, it makes me think that longer stretches of sleep are coming. On the sleep note, I'm actually doing quite well and feeling rested during the days. Hudson eats fast (around 10 min) and goes back to sleep fairly easily at night, which means I'm not missing as much sleep. I normally enjoy getting up to feed him at nights, it is such a sweet time. In between playing with Hudson today, I'm working on my take home final. I'm very appreciative that it's a take home final and that I can work on it at my own pace.

trying to capture his smile is a bit of a challenge




All this smiling is hard work...

How can we resist a face like this? Although I'm posting a pic with his little bottom lip sticking out, he actually smiled for the first time yesterday! It was so wonderful. Trent & I were eating breakfast before church and Hudson was sitting in his bouncy seat & we both were looking at him when his whole face broke into a huge grin. We then kept him up too long trying to get him to smile again (we got a couple more out of him). I'm looking forward to more smiles.

After church, we went to a nearby park & enjoyed a beautiful day. We have finals this week and the beginning of next week. We're both looking forward to being done with finals and enjoying more nice days outside.

Hudson snapped this photo while we posed

Hudson is one month!

We just got back from Hudson's 1mo check-up. He's healthy and growing well. Here are his stats




10lbs 10oz (80%)
21.5" (50%)
14.5" (25%) for head circumference

He did a great job getting one vaccine. I'm dreading when he has 4 shots at his 2 month check-up because I don't want to see him in pain. He's been sleeping well the last couple days and eating every 3 hours. He's also been awake more during the day, which is fun. He still loves looking at lights (especially out the window), playing on his activity mat, sitting in his vibrating seat and going for walks.

Trent did well at his 5mi race on Wed, finishing with a time of 29:41 (5:56 pace). He finished 4th overall and felt much better about this race. I didn't take any pictures this week (I was too busy pushing Hudson, talking on the phone & cheering).

some great playing

showing off his hot body

waiting at the doctor's office

kung fu fighting anyone?