Finally a year....

Little Ms. LJ turned one on the 27th of January. Lord knows why it has taken me so long to post. I'm a horrible blogger.

We had a great party for her... a bounce house for the kids, a street taco guy and a keg of beer and margaritas. It was perfect! Her Mimi got her the most precious birthday party outfit... little pink and white stripped leggings that looked like ballerina slippers... it was adorable.

Aunt Jamie, Uncle Wes and both of her cousins (Jenoma and Harper) came out for the party, along with Mimi, Papa, Grandpa, Grandma Teri and all of her relatives. It was almost like a family reunion. Seeing my pops (Grandpa) sit around with my mom (Mimi), the Fallows and my grandma was a throwback to my childhood.

Some of the highlights:

The bounce house got delivered at 7:30 a.m. If that wasn't the best thing since sliced bread, I don't know what is. The second it was fully inflated we ordered Jenoma and Lucas to go outside and bounce. Instant babysitter!!

Mr. Nuelle and Mr. Shott decided that they were going to have a taco eating contest. If you knew Mr. Nuelle you would not be shocked that he won.

We finished the keg of beer (rather impressive for a one year old's birthday party).

Lucy demolished her adorable heart-shaped personal birthday cake. Picked it up like it was a bowling ball.

* * *

Overall it was a great day. My baby is now almost 13 months old. Still not walking, but man can she crawl. She says a ton of words, can sign "more, please, thank you, and milk," she always wants to give you kisses, can blow kisses, and loves to do everything you do.

I can't believe my baby has been on this Earth for over a year. I sat on the floor of her room two nights ago and just watched her breath. I tried to wrap my head around the fact that the hubby and I had created her. That I carried her in my stomach.. it all seems so long ago.

Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl. I never knew I could love anything or anyone this much.

Hudson Lee

Welcome sweet baby Hudson. 7 lbs, 7 ounces and 20.4 inches long. Your mommy and daddy welcomed you into the world at 6:53 p.m. last night after two hours of pushing. I went and visited you today. I held you in my arms, examined your little legs and huge feet. I kissed your sweet nose and stared into your wandering eyes. You are perfect. Your mama looks exhausted (but beautiful) and your daddy looks like a proud papa. I am already in love with you. My heart is filled with so much happiness and pride for you and your family.

I still remember the day your mama called to tell me that I was going to be an auntie. I remember feeling so overjoyed for her…that she was going to experience all of the wonderful ups and downs I’ve been experiencing on my own relatively new journey into motherhood. Driving to the hospital today, I felt those same emotions. One of my oldest and dearest friends has just joined the club - being a mama.

So as I sit here at my desk, still smelling that sweet smell of new baby on my clothes, I drift back to being in the hospital myself. It feels like it was just yesterday that LJ was born. In 16 short days my baby girl is going to be one. Where did the time go? You always laugh at people when they tell you how quickly it flies by. They aren’t kidding.

Congratulations Janine, Adam and big-brother Zach!

We made it...

We survived the drive up to Quincy. LJ was actually amazing. She slept, played with her brother, stared out the window at the rain. All in all, not too bad. I already miss not having Jenoma around to keep Lucas entertained. That made life so easy. Jamie was awesome - the kids would come out of Jenoma's room screaming and yelling, and Jamie would shout out: "Back in the room." It was awesome. Hands-on parenting at its best.

After a 12 hour drive home, we woke up the next morning to go and pick up Cano. He is a 9.5 week old chocolate lab puppy who has stolen our hearts...and is causing me to lose my mind. Between Cano thinking LJ is a litter mate and pouncing on her, to the 2:00 a.m. howling to be let out... it's like having a baby all over again. The hubby and I have resorted back to the beginning weeks with a new baby... yelling at each other in the middle of the night, claiming to have been outside with the puppy longer than we really were. It's hysterical.

Due to my losing my mind and having far to much to do (isn't this supposed to be vacation?) I've yet to upload my pictures. I want to do a post this week with a year in pictures of Ms. LJ (totally stolen from Dear Baby).

I hear someone making sounds like a bird being strangled. Must be Cano wanting to go outside.

We're nuts. . .

We leave tomorrow to head up to Quincy for the Christmas holiday. (For those of you who don't know where Quincy is, it is a gorgeous chunk of land nestled in the Sierra Nevada mountains. It's the kind of place where you arm gets tired from waving to people.) The drive is scheduled to be anywhere from 9-11+ hours, depending on traffic. Not to mention this amazing storm that has been sweeping up and down the state.

Herein lies the "nuts" part. We're planning to do this drive with an 11 month old!!! Lucas (who just turned six) is going to be amazing. As long as he has a DVD player or some other electronic device (we got smart and picked him up some headphones) in his lap, he's good to go. LJ on the other hand... my face is breaking out with stress and anxiety just thinking about it.

Presents...

Do you think she'll look back at her first Christmas and accidentally mistake her mama for the Grinch?

First, I decided I didn't have the patience to put up a Christmas Tree. LJ gets into everything. I had nightmare flashes of her pulling the tree down on herself, swallowing an ornament hook, or worse.

Second, we decided not to get her any Christmas presents. Before you judge, realize that the girl has more toys then she knows what to do with, and we are having a huge 1st birthday party for her 4 weeks later. And to be honest, she will be just as excited by the wrapping paper her brother tosses at her after he opens up his presents. I think it's a win-win for everyone.

Aunt KiKi came by Saturday morning to bring LJ and her brother their Christmas presents. She did a pretty good job unwrapping the most adorable teapot set you've ever seen. She even let me put a bow on her head - and kept it there for over an hour.

Quote of the day...

I stole this from my favorite blog in the whole word, Dear Baby. Something about this woman and her family stole my heart. To say that I am mildly obsessed is an understatement.

"You know what is the beautiful thing about becoming a mother? You get to always be one. It’s not like being a child or a teenager or a twenty something - those are all phases. They are all moments in life that come and go. But to be a mother. To become that woman who holds a tiny newborn in her arms and who watches that newborn grow into a unique individual. To become that woman who knows the feeling of loving another being with every cell in her body - the beautiful thing about that is that it never ends. No matter what happens in life. Becoming a mother is a journey that always will continue. And knowing that I get the privilege of doing this all again. It hit me like a ton of bricks Sunday morning."

On a side note, I'm slightly jealous. I've been very adamant in my decision to only give birth to one child. When the hubby and I decided to bring LJ into this world, we were both in agreement that since we already had Lucas, she would be it. As of right now, the hubby will be 62 when LJ graduates from high school. Yet at the same time, part of me wonders "what if?" (and honestly, I've been doing that far too much lately).

Where did the time go...

Can you believe Ms. LJ is going to be a year old in one and a half months?