Fun at the Stamford Nature Center

Sept 5, 2013

We had such a fun time!  JH got pecked my a hen and he cried, poor baby, but other than that, it was a great day!

I love you boys!!!!  You are my heart.  A day with you two is a day in paradise.

xxoo Mamma

Dino Safari at The Bronx Zoo

July 30, 2013

We went to the Bronx zoo today and there was a special dinosaur exhibit. It was fun!  The lines were long,  but we made it. Hudson, you were super cute with your friends.  You still love dinosaurs!  Still!!  how many years is it now?   are you going to be a paleontologist?

Hudson you are very into animals and want to look in every glass window at the zoo.  We went to the Tiger exhibit and found out there were only 5000 wild tigers left in the world.  I explained to you what a poacher was and you got a very mad, and said "If I see one kill a tiger,  I'm going to kick their butt!"  You do not like to hear or see animals getting hurt.  You told us in Colorado that if you saw a bear you wanted a tranquilizer gun so that you could shoot him and he would be ok-  he would just sleep while you got away.  You have a beautiful and intelligent heart my love.

Nick (5) & Hudson (5) - both went to preschool together at First Church in OG

Queens Zoo

July 12, 2013

One of Mamma's adventures.  Just searching online and decided we were going to the zoo in Queens.  There are rides at the beginning and one of the attendees told us JH would be fine for one ride.  We got on and it was so fast-  we were on this cart and we were flying around and around.  Hudson and I were laughing so hard, and tough JH,  He didn't cry or anything, but he wanted out by the end !!  I kept saying "That lady was crazy!  This isn't for an 11 month old!"

Fun day with my boys!  xxoo Mamma

The Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, CT

Sept 2012

Today, Mamma did what she always does. I Googled and found us something fun to do. I threw Hudson and JH in the car and we headed to the zoo in Bridgeport. It was a decent enough zoo. It was sweet. We had fun as we always do. Saw foxes, groundhogs, a tiger and much more!

Xoxo Mamma

Petting Zoo in Long Island - White Post Farms

July 19, 2012

Today, Mamma, who is 39 weeks pregnant with your baby brother took you to a petting zoo on Long Island.  We had so much fun.  I should probably have stayed close to home in case I went into labor, but that's not your Mamma.  We had laid in the apartment for about 5 straight hours yesterday and I knew we had to get out (although we walked 14 blocks in the rain yesterday after laying in the bed for 5 hours - I'm crazy).  Mamma does not sit still well.  As I got on the LIE and saw the traffic coming back, I thought " I really hope I don't go into labor because I am going to be in some nasty traffic on the way back!"  It was so worth it.  This was the cutest petting zoo.  You rode a horse named Cisco, we fed goats, camels, cows, llamas, pigs and zebras.  I couldn't believe how many animals were at this sweet little farm.  We also went inside the bird cage to feed the birds and they attacked us!  You dropped your stick with bird seed and we ran out.  We both laughed afterwards!

I love you sweet baby
xo Mamma

Day 1 and 2 of Move - Dallas to NYC to CT

May 24, 2012

Today, the movers came to our house in Dallas and started packing.  You went to school and Annette and Erik picked you up and took you to the zoo all day.  It seemed easier for you not to be in the house.  Daddy and I were not sure how you were going to react.  We have been preparing you, but it is still shocking for a 4 year old boy to see his house and items being shoved into boxes.  I was worried about my baby, but thank God kids are resilient and forward thinking.  We should all be so lucky, but you are not when you are a grown up - ha!  Grown ups drag things out (avoid that if possible when you are an adult).  You walked in after the zoo and said, "This is our big empty house!  BORING.  This house is empty and boring.  There is nothing in it."  I was worried because I know that was your way of letting your frustrations out, however after that, you seemed to be ok.  The movers were all so nice to you and made you a fort with the moving boxes and you had fun.    We have explained to you that this was going to be a big, fun adventure.

My love, letting go, moving on, and saying goodbye will always be a part of your life.  It's not always easy.  Sometimes it's for the best and sometimes it just happens.  These events in  your life will make you stronger,  they will build character and they will make you who you are.  These events cannot be avoided and are a part of life. When change comes, look for the adventure, look for the lesson, and look ahead.  Know that as long as you have love and you love in return, you will be ok wherever you are.

We love you sweet boy, Mamma

Hudson and Erik. (above and below)  You love Erik, Annette's son.  he is 14 and he has tons of energy and loves to play with you.  We will miss him and Annette so much!

Huge moving truck                               Guest bedroom where I tried to rest.

The movers made you a fort.

Melissa and Jack (above) - some of our oldest friends.   We had a play date with them almost every week.

Our empty house. (above and below)

You and Daddy in our empty garage (above).

Mamma and Hudson in our backyard (above) - only the tricycle left.  You never rode that much.

Mamma is about 7.5 pregnant!  I am a trooper.  Moving during pregnant not easy. 

Hudson- the tree above is on the side of our house in Dallas.  You started climbing it when you were 2 - we use to lift you up.  Of course, you get up there on your own now.  It may look small, but it is not easy to get up there.  You are a climber and a very good one at that.  You climb everything, things other kids your age do not climb.  You climbed that tree so many times.  

At the Zoo with Siti

February 27, 2012

Our Summer Trip to Oklahoma

May 9, 2011

You and me went to Oklahoma City for a week to see Siti, Uncle Rhoni and Bailey. We had so much fun! You stayed up late every night, got to sleep in Siti's bed and ate way too much candy.

The first day we got there, we went to Uncle Rhoni's. Uncle Rhoni has a fun backyard. It looks like a forest. He has two huge trees and a zip line that runs from one tree to the other. You and Bailey went on it about 50 times each! You all ran all over the backyard, played hide and seek, tag and ran wild. This is the first time you and Bailey are a bit older and can really play and have fun together. So much of play between babies is parallel for so long so it's so fun to see you two interacting and really enjoying one another.

The first night we were there, Uncle Rhoni, Uncle Vic and Aunt Kay and I went to the Oklahoma City Thunder playoff game. They were playing the Memphis Grizzlies in the conference Semi Finals. You were sad for a minute, but you got to stay up late and watch movies on Siti's computer - you all had a picnic basically in her bed! So, you were fine and had a blast. We had a lot of fun too. The crowd was electric. Oklahoma City people are just so happy to have a team! Hudson, it is a very big deal that Oklahoma City has a pro basketball team. I grew up there with no pro teams. We had to steal from other states. In my family, it was as follows: Boston Celtics pro basketball (Larry Bird #33 baby- I was really young when he played), St. Louis Cardinals pro baseball and Dallas Cowboys pro football. So, it is a HUGE deal that OKC has a pro basketball team. Uncle Rhoni is a crazy fanatic over the Thunder nd says he only pays attention to the Thunder now. I really love them too. How could I not? OKC will always be heavy in my heart. One of their best players is Kevin Durant (KD). He was a star player for the University of Texas and he's amazing. He is only 22 and he was NBA Rookie of the Year in 2008. He'll still be playing when you are 15! Thundah up!

The next day, all you wanted was Bailey. It was so cute. "Mamma, is Bailey coming over? Where's Bailey?" Siti and I took you to the canal to ride the boat. Siti mentioned popcorn and you couldn't stop talking about it. Boy Hudson, when you get one thing one your mind, you don't stop. Siti went all over looking for popcorn and she found some! She got you a whole big bag and you ate every piece. You can sure eat snack and junk food like it's going out of style. So, we finally got into the ferry boat. It seemed like it was only going to be us three and a guy walks up and says, "You got 22 coming" to the lady driving the boat. 22 seniors came aboard from the elderly home. I was a bit worried because you are 3, you don't like to sit still and they were all seniors! We were pretty crammed in and you were very ready to get off the boat after about 5 minutes of a 45 minute boat ride! You kept bumping into the elderly man sitting across from us. He was so nice and I was grateful. He told us his name was Earl and he pulled out a mint from his pocket and gave it to you. You sure loved that. He also told us he had like 25+ grandchildren and that it didn't bother him at all. We ended up getting off the boat a little early, but we had a lot of fun. The canal ride is really neat. It was not there when I was little. So much has changed and so many neat things have been built in OKC.

We went to a festival one night and you and Bailey had an absolute blast. You all jumped in the bounce house for a long time and went down the slide about 50 times. Afterward, we went to watch the band and you LOVED IT! You literally just stood there and stared at the drummer, the guitar player and the band for 5 minutes at a time and then you you would start running all over, air drumming, dancing- like hip hop dancing - and going crazy. You and Bailey were running in circles. You all didn't want to leave.

One day, we went to the OKC zoo and it was also a blast. They have redone and added so much since I was a kid. I think it's rated as one of the better zoos in the country now.

All in all, we had a fantastic time at Siti's and got into routines while we were there. You slept with Siti every night and you LOVED that. I knew Daddy and I would pay for that when we got back home, and we did. You didn't want to sleep in your bed. You would wake up in the morning and watch TV with Siti and I got to sleep in a little bit! Exciting for me. Mommy does not get to sleep in. You would also stay up way too late and watch movies on Siti's computer. You ate tons of candy and cookies all day long, which started to drive me nuts after awhile. Too many sweets! We would go outside in Siti's backyard and look for the cats. Siti's neighbor has cats and you remember them from a long time ago. It's amazing! Now, every time you go to Siti's, you look for those cats. You and Bailey would dig for worms in the dirt in Siti's backyard. Siti bought you all shovels to dig with. Siti also let you plant some flowers and you picked out some caladiums at Home Depot (see pics). You were excited, it was your plant. You, me and Bailey looked for dinosaurs everyday on the side of Siti's house. We left them crackers and we'd wait to see if they would eat them. You and Bailey would get so excited! Siti fixed us some yummy Lebanese food that we ate all week and eggs and bacon every morning - that was a treat for me.

You and Bailey ae only 11 months apart and you were really sweet together this time. You all played and had such an enjoyable time with one another. I will say, you can be the aggressive one. Bailey is the sweet, calm little girl and you are the loud, rowdy and sometimes bossy boy. I guess that's just the difference between boys and girls. Oh, and you don't like to share. We are really going to have to figure that one out Hudsy. At times, you would get loud and yell and Bailey would cower and get scared, bless her heart. It reminded me of when I was a little girl and Uncle Rhoni wanted to be the boss and I would follow him around, and I was always scared he was going to yell at me. So, you can't scare Bailey! I am hoping you will grow out of some of that. Remember always that girls are flowers and should be treated delicately and with the utmost respect. Even if a little girl is tough, like Ella, she is still a flower. Girls should never be talked down to or yelled at. NEVER. All in all, you loved being with Bailey and she loved you - you all played very well together.

Lastly, Siti loves your Mamma like crazy and loves you like crazy too!

xoxo, Mamma