Hudson's photo shoot

I was trying to get some pictures of Hudson and his two little teeth. I figured that it would be impossible and I was right. I was able to capture these sweet pictures of our little man. He is growing so fast. It is so hard for me to believe he will be six months old tomorrow....crazy!!! I wish I could slow time down just a little.

He thinks I'm funny!

Love this precious face:)

Sweet sweet boy!

Our big big boy!!

Your next American Idol!!

Todd and I have been fans of American Idol as long as I can remember. We of course hope that Hudson is too. Last night he had been scooting all over the place, playing with his toys and doing everything else that babies do. We noticed he kept getting closer and closer to the tv and then he just stopped. He sat there for a good five or ten minutes just starring at the tv. This is what he was watching:

This was during the recap part at the end of the show. I would probably stare at this crazy guy too. He loved it.

"Army" Crawling!!

I have mentioned in several of my post that Hudson is already trying to crawl. Crazy I know. It does not seem like he should be crawling already. I know....well hope it will be awhile before he is really crawling. So for now we are enjoying watching him do what his daddy likes to call "army" crawling. If he wants to get somewhere he finds a way to get there. It is so cute to watch I just had to share it with you!!!

This was not the best video of him but of all ten of them this one was the shortest. Hope you like it!!

We got her!!!

One of my very best friends Rachel and her husband Ty are expecting their first baby July 23rd. As soon as we found out she was pregnant the shower planning began! We decided to surprise her early when she least expects it. Since she doesn't find out until next Monday whether she is having a boy or girl we decided to give her a mommy shower with a few baby things here and there. We were going with a girl/boy theme and I saw shower that Todds cousin Julie had done and got a few ideas from that. We had a lot of fun and she was very surprised. We are all so happy for her and Ty and have all waited for this day to come. Now we just have to wait for July!!

We were wanting to do something different and wanted to incorporate the idea that we don't know what she was having. We were going to do a pink and blue cake with a big question mark until I saw the zebra themed shower that Julie had done. It was perfect especially if you know Rachel...she is not your typical baby pastel mommy!

This is not a good picture of the invitations but they read:

Rachel is due

The Connor house could soon be a zoo

Come help us celebrate upcoming pink or blue

Please bring something for mommy and baby too!!!

Here are a few of the decorations and some of her gifts.

A very surprised Rachel!! This is my favorite Rachel face:)

Reading our prediction cards. We wrote on pink or blue cards whether we thought she was having a girl or boy, arrival date and time, height and weight and a piece of advice for her or a message for baby. It was a lot of fun seeing what everyone predicted and it will be interesting to see who will be right!

I remembered to get a picture after everyone else had left so here are just a few of us.

Hudson came once everyone had left so I had to get a picture of the two of them. We can not wait to see whether Hudson will be getting a new best friend or a new little girlfriend (that is if Rachel and I have anything to do with it). We are all so thankful that God answers prayers and that Rachel is finally going to be a mommy!! We can not wait to meet baby "C" and can finally give this sweet baby a name:)

Then there were TWO!!

TEETH that is!! We have known for several weeks now that Hudson was teething. He started out just a little more fussy than normal and drooling all over the place and you could feel two little teeth under the skin. Then over the weekend one finally appeared. I knew there was another one but didn't know how long it would be before it would decide to come through. Well, this morning when I went to get a very happy Hudson out of his crib I noticed there were now TWO! I just can't believe how fast he is growing....make him stop now! He will be six months on the 28th and he now has two teeth, he has been "army" crawling for a couple weeks now and I feel like if I blink he will be walking, talking and I don't even want to think about him starting school. Everyone told me when I was pregnant to enjoy it because it goes by fast and boy were they right. I try to take pictures of everything and write it down when he does something new but it is so hard sometimes. Here are a few pictures I have taken lately of our little man.

Hudson is starting to love playing with toys or anything we can get his hands on. If he sees something he wants he finds a way to get it. He is a very active baby and rolls and scoots all over the place. He has several favorite toys but he especially loves anything that talks or sings and lights up.

Another one of Hudson's favorite toys is his Elmo. This Elmo was actually mine and my parents found it a while back when they were doing some cleaning. He loves it and of course it laughs and says "that tickles"!!

Saturday we went to the Freed-Hardeman/Union basketball game. We had a blast cheering on the Lions and Lady Lions and were happy that the Lions defeated Union for the second time this year. Hudson also got some loving from my friend Paige. He loves her and she of course loves him too.

Hudson and his friend Redick. Redick is the son of our friends Chuck and Bethany. Chuck and I went to high school and college together and he is the youth minister at our church. Redick loves hugging and kissing on Hudson so at the game Hudson decided he wanted to be sweet back. He was really just trying to eat his face but it still looks sweet:) I LOVE that I get to watch our babies grow up together!

Rub a dub dub...Hudson finally likes the tub!!

Hudson has never really enjoyed bath time. He would start to cry as soon as his little feet would touch the water. He had his moments where he was content but it still was not something he wanted to be doing. We tried everything to get him to be happier at bath time but nothing seemed to help. Now that Hudson has outgrown his little bath tub and we have been able to hold him in the big tub he is much happier. He plays with his toys and kicks his feet in the water. I am hoping he continues to enjoy them .

Ahhh...this isn't so bad!

Still happy after his bath:)

Sweet naked boy! I have to have something to embarrass him with when he is older right?!

My Valentine Surprise!

Todd and I decided it was finally time to leave Hudson for the night. So for Valentines Day Todd planned this wonderful surprise night out in Memphis. We took Hudson to my parents house to leave him for the whole night...yes, I cried. I honestly don't think I have been away from him for more than four or five hours at a time. I was dreading leaving him but I was looking forward to our night out. We left and I finally stopped crying:) We got to Memphis and we pulled into a shopping center so I immediately began looking at all the stores trying to figure out what we are doing. I see Cold Stone Creamery and I am thinking we are going there...it is one of our favorites and Todd had already told me our dinner reservations weren't until 7:30. Todd pulls strait ahead to Gould's Day Spa and Salon. I am still trying to figure out what we are doing then Todd tells me I am getting a manicure and pedicure. I was so excited. Getting my nails manicured is something I have given up sine we got married and I have missed terribly. While I was getting pampered Todd went to the hotel and got us checked in and unpacked. Todd had made reservations for us to stay at the Hilton Hotel...the same hotel we stayed in the night we got married:) Thanks Todd for pampering me for the day!!! Here is a picture of us in the lobby in front of the pretty fountain.

Then, it was time for dinner. We went down town to The Majestic Grille....Amazing!!! I honestly felt like we were on our honeymoon all over again. The service was amazing and the food was DELICIOUS!! We enjoyed our date and I tried not to talk about Hudson while we were there. If you are ever down town Memphis and looking for a place to dine we recommend it:) Thanks again Todd for an amazing day!!

Sunday came and it was time to head back home to reality. We enjoyed our night out but we were both so ready to see Hudson. He seemed to enjoy his night away from us too. He slept all night for his Nana and Poppa and they had to wake him up for church. He is always so good for them and they even offered to keep him again:)

Hudson in his new outfit he got for Valentine's Day. He also got the book "Love You Forever" my favorite children's book and some Baby Kisses for his lips and face. He is already five and half months old and he loves rolling all over the place and playing with his little feet:)

Much Better!

A few weeks ago we attempted to start Hudson on Cereal. He was already not it a very good mood and was just hungry. So me giving him this new substance from a spoon did not make him very happy. He cried and as you can see he was just MAD! So we decided to wait a little while and try again. I tried again on Valentines Day and this time put him in his bouncy seat. He did MUCH BETTER this time around. He was already in a good mood so that made things a lot easier.

Hmm...what is this?!

Seems to be pretty happy with the cereal second time around!!

March for Babies!!!

Most of you know I baby-sit a sweet, beautiful and happy 17 month old girl named Kealeigh. What you may not know is that sweet K was born 13 weeks premature. She spent the first 12 weeks of her life in the NICU and she was such a little fighter. Without the help of March of Dimes she may not be here today. I have decided to join Kealeigh and her family in March for Babies to help raise money for other babies like Kealeigh. This year the walk is April 19th at Pringles Park in Jackson and I am so excited to be a part of it.

Some of you may also remember that my niece Ella Kate was born six weeks early. She was born a little over five pounds and was a giant compared to Kealeigh. She did not have as many complications but the first two weeks of her life were also spent in the NICU. We are all so thankful to the Nurses and Doctors that looked over her and we all know that both of these sweet girls are so lucky to be here. Thanks to the March of Dimes and their research we are blessed with two beautiful babies that otherwise may not be here today.

If you would like to donate in honor of Kealeigh, Ella Kate or another sweet baby in your life please view my website: www.marchofdimes.org/Blewis412. Thanks for your support!

This is Ella Kate the first time I got to see her...you can imagine...my heart was breaking. My brother took my mom and I to see her first. She was hooked up to so many tubes and monitors and each was vital in helping her stay alive. She was eventually able to loose the big tubes and we finally got to hold her. She was so so precious. If you could see her now and hear her talk and watch her play you would never know what a struggle she was faced with her first weeks of life. We love her so much and are so so thankful she is here with us today.

This is Ella Kate today!!!

I didn't have a picture of Kealeigh in the NICU but here is one of her Christmas pictures....I borrowed from her mommy:) I love that I get to watch her grow...EVERYday!!

Ding Dong!!

Todd's parents came in this past weekend for a visit. They had not seen Hudson since Christmas so they were dying to see him. It was a quick visit but we still seemed to have a very busy weekend. On Saturday, Todd wanted to take them Lexington and show them the school he works at and we also showed them the lake where we go in the summers . We also did a little shopping since Todd has some gift cards to some of the local businesses and then we had lunch at Sparky's. We came back and Todd's Dad helped him hang some much needed blinds in the kitchen. So we stayed pretty busy but I did find time to make a yummy dessert that we all enjoyed Saturday night.

Ding Dong Cake

I got this recipe from my cousin Katie who I think got it from Judy Harris. So I can't take full credit for it but it is sooo delicious. I thought I would share it with you all:

1 box of Devil's Food Cake Mix
3/4 cup of Powdered Sugar
8 oz. of Cool Whip
4 oz. of cream cheese
1 can of ready made Chocolate Frosting

Mix the cake and bake according to directions in a bundt (I just used two round pans) pan. Slice the cake into two layers. Mix the powdered sugar, Cool Whip & cream cheese together and spread this mixture between the two layers. Microwave the frosting for about 20 seconds and pour it slowly over the top and sides of the cake.

Yummy!!!

What would I do with Twins?!

Those of you with twins or babies less than a year apart....you are amazing. Last week I got to baby-sit my 16 month old niece while my brother and his wife went on a ski vacation in Colorado. She spent the night with us Sunday through Thursday and my mom would help us at night and then she stayed with my parents on the weekends. She is such a good baby and sleeps great, eats great...she is perfect. I will say I had my hands full at times since there were times I had THREE babies. I had Kealeigh most of the week but due to the snow day I didn't have her everyday but then Hudson started getting sick on Tuesday night...screaming crying, not taking his bottle and just pitiful. So I finally decided to take him to the doctor on Wednesday and leave Todd (since he was out for snow) here with Ella Kate. It was kind of crazy at times and Todd kept saying "I don't know what I would do if we had twins". I loved every minute of it though and I would do it all over again. By the end of the week Ella Kate was starting to miss her Mommy and Daddy and she was so excited to see them when they came back on Saturday. She was so funny...she ran back and forth between the both of them and do her "front flip" on the floor...it was precious. I hated to see them leave and I have missed her this week but I have enjoyed things getting back to normal.

I take advantage of every opportunity to get pictures of these two together. So precious! I love that they are so close in age and I hope that they become the best of friends.

Here's my CHEESE!!!

I got tagged yet again. This time I am supposed to take a picture of myself(right then) and tell you five things about what you see. I will be honest and say I saw this Friday after I had already updated for the day so I decided to wait until today. I did take a picture today similar to one I would have taken Friday.

1. Obviously I am looking gross early in the morning...still in my pajamas, no shower, no make-up, nothing. SO see I didn't cheat by waiting til today:)

2. Kealeigh was sitting with me while I was trying to take the picture. I love her:)

3. Hudson was sleeping but I could hear him waking up while we were taking pictures.

4. So he got in the picture too:)

5. I seriously started this an hour ago and I am just now getting it posted. Now you know why I am so bad about updating:)

I think most of you have already done this but I am tagging...Jill...Megan...Julie...Sallie and Katie!!!