2 Years Old

32 pounds

35 1/2 inches tall

size 8 shoes

Hudson is 2!

What a weekend! Friday was Hudson's actual birthday, so we started out the day at Kiddie Gym. All the kids sang 'Happy Birthday' while Hudson plopped himself in the center of the circle. Too funny. After Kiddie Gym, we met up with Daddy for lunch at Cafe Rio (one of our new faves). Hudson enjoyed his cheesy quesadilla. Then we polished off lunch with a trip to Yogurtland! Unfortunately, even birthday boys need their rest, so after that it was time for a snooze. Ga-ga came over in the afternoon with presents! Then she stayed to play with Hudson so we could hit up Costco for all the party food!

Yesterday was Hudson's party at Flo-Jo Park. It was a beautiful day and the weather wasn't too hot, especially under all the shade. We had a wonderful day celebrating our little man's birthday with all our family and close friends! 

Here's what we grubbed on:

BBQ Pork Sliders with Swish Slaw

Team Mom's Coconut Macaroons (dipped in chocolate, of course)

Backcourt Burgers with Extra Sharp White Cheddar/Jalapeño Muenster Cheese

3-Point Potato Salad

Team Captain's Cupcakes in Strawberry, Carrot Cake & Dark Blue (Devil's food cake w/ blueberries)

I guess Hudson's didn't feel his outfit was complete, so he decided to take a spill 30 minutes before the party started, and ended up with a large scrape on his face and knee! That didn't stop him from having fun though! All in all, it was a fabulous day. We all slept very well last night. :)

My Big Preschooler

Yesterday was Hudson's first day of preschool! He is attending a Christian school about a mile from home. Technically, school doesn't start until September, but they offer a summer camp with fun activities and lessons, and we felt it would be a good way for Hudson to get acclimated before the fall. 

His first day went great- his teacher said he listened really well. He was a little confused at nap time because he's not used to sleeping on a cot with other kids in the room, but he'll get the hang of it. When I picked him up, he didn't want to leave. I waited a few minutes, but eventually had to carry him out against his will! I guess that's a good thing, but it can be a bit challenging to carry 31 pounds of uncooperative weight. :) 

I asked Hudson about his day and he said "Bikes!!" then waited a few seconds and said "Trash truck!!" and "Basketball!" By the way, Hudson thinks any large, noisy vehicle is a trash truck... but in his defense, the school is having a trash truck visit today to talk about "Going Green" so I'm sure he was referring to that. All in all, it was a great start to preschool! Yay Hudson!!

Wrap-Up

Hudson's blog has been a bit neglected these days... so here's a summary of what we've been up to: 

May 9th: I celebrated my 2nd official Mother's Day! My mom also came out for the weekend, so it was great having her here. It had been almost a year since we'd seen her. She stayed with us one night, and Hudson had a great time playing with his Grandma Bev.

May 30th: Celebrated my dad's birthday at Outback. I hadn't been back there for about 3 years, so it was a little strange revisiting my old stomping grounds. :) 

June 6th: Brandon & I headed out to Palm Springs for a night. Hudson stayed with Gramma Joan while we relaxed at the Parker! We had an amazing time. The hotel was beautiful, we ate some great food, and I even got a massage. It was a much needed break from our day-to-day life.

June 12th: Hudson & I went out to Murrieta for my cousin Amber's baby shower, which was really nice! Her baby, Weston, will be arriving in August.

June 13th: We celebrated Grammy's 94th birthday at Knott's Chicken House (a tradition). I think we had about 25 people this time, and we were quite the sight, I'm sure. :) Hudson got his first taste of boysenberry punch- yum!

The Refinery

On of Hudson's favorite places to go is The Refinery at Saddleback Church.  On Fridays, we attend Kiddie Gym here, and on Tuesdays, Brandon takes him to play basketball and run around. The Refinery was built for the youth of the church, as well as the community. The building itself is beautiful and was made with mostly recycled materials. Inside are 2 basketball courts, pool tables, ping pong, video games, foosball, flat screen TVs, cafes, etc. Outside is a sand volleyball court, waterfall, BBQs and skateboard/BMX ramps. If I were in high school, I would be hanging out here all the time! :) Hudson is too young for a lot of the things offered, but he still loves running around, pushing the button for the elevator, and playing basketball. We are so grateful for such a cool place, just a few miles from home! Oh, and by the way... Hudson knows the way to church. As soon as we make a right at the light down the hill from home, he gets really excited. And down the street from church, he starts saying "Yay! Ba-goo-goo!" (This can be problematic if I need to make a LEFT and go grocery shopping...)

Bagoogoo

Ba•goo•goo

–noun

1. a game played by two teams of usually five 

players each on a rectangular court having a 

raised basket or goal at each end, points being 

scored by tossing the ball through the 

opponent's basket.

2. the round, inflated ball, approximately 30 in. 

(76 cm) incircumference, used in this game.

3. Hudson's favorite word, favorite object, 

favorite activity!

Hudson LOVES basketball! He spends most of his day playing with his hoop at home and he's actually pretty good! He dribbles, puts his elbows out to keep away the defenders, and has a mean shot! Any time basketball is on TV, his face lights up, he points and says "Ba-Goo-Goo!" over and over. It's the cutest thing. Needless to say, his daddy is very proud... and so am I. :)

Mom & Dad's Night Away

This past weekend, Brandon and I went away for a night. We went to Temecula for a hot air balloon ride and wine tasting. Since the hot air balloon ride is a "sunrise" ride, we had to wake up very early to get there by 6:00am.  Oh, and did I mention there was a time change and we lost an hour? Thanks to some noisy neighbors, we got up before our alarm and were out of the house at 3:40am with a full tank of gas and a full thermos of coffee.

To make a long story short, we ended up not going on our hot air balloon ride. We were unimpressed by the company {cough... Sunrise Balloons} and didn't want to put our lives in their hands at 2,000 feet up. This, however, left us with a dilemma... what do we do at 8:00 in the morning in Temecula? We were staying at South Coast Winery, but couldn't check into our villa until the afternoon, and the wineries didn't open until 10, so we decided to sit in the jacuzzi and have some champagne! It was really nice, since it's something we aren't able to do too often. It was a beautiful day in Temecula- a bit brisk at 8:00am- but the salt water jacuzzi felt great!

We went to a 2 wineries the first day and 2 the second. We were able to taste in Leonesse Cellars' barrel tasting room (thanks to our friends Grant & Brooke), which was a nice treat, and their wines were fantastic. The second day we went back to Churon Winery, where we were married. It's always nice to go back there. We finished up our trip with an amazing lunch at Public House in Old Towne Temecula. If you are in the area, I would highly recommend it!

Gramma Joan stayed with Hudson, and he did great without us! So much so, that we may have another night away in our near future! Although we missed our boy, it was a much needed break from our normal day-to-day life and responsibilities and we came back feeling refreshed!

Mommy Lesson #472

Today, Hudson and I were out and about, and since the weather was nice, I thought it would be fun to go to MV Lake and play in the sand and on the playground. Since this was a spontaneous trip, I didn't have beach essentials such as towels, bathing suits, etc. In fact, I was the genius who wore jeans... because "we won't be going in the water, we'll just play on the sand!" Well, of course Hudson didn't want to play on just the sand... there is all the fun lake water to play in! He was splashing along the edge of the water, when all of a sudden.... Splash! He tumbled and fell all the way in!! So we ditched the shirt and let him play in his shorts until... Splash! In the water again. And like I said, I was wearing jeans... so Hudson left the lake in just a diaper, and I left with soggy jeans. Next time I think I will bring a beach bag, just in case. :)

*Sorry for the poor quality, I took these on my cell phone. Did I mention I was unprepared today?

Hudson's Words

Hudson is staring to talk, and every day it seems like he learns a new word. Here are the words currently in his vocabulary:

Daddy

Doggie

Please ("Geeee")

Cheese  ("Jeeee")

Uh-oh

Iced Tea ("Dee Tee")

Hot

Sydney-his little friend from daycare ("Zee Zee")

*Note that Mommy/Mama/Mom or any other variation of the word has not made the list yet... but we're working on it. :)

18 Months Old

26 lb 6 oz

33 1/2 inches

size 7 shoe