San Francisco here we come...Goooooo Bison!

My younger brother Taylor plays basketball for North Dakota State University. Last spring, we found out that he wasn't going to be able to come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas (or at any other time to meet Hudson). We knew he would be playing a tournament in San Francisco, so we decided that we would caravan down with my dad's family and friends to see him play and give him a chance to meet Hudson. I was a little nervous about how the 10-hour drive would go, but Hudson was a dream baby!

On the way there we broke up the drive by driving 7 hours on Thursday and then getting up Friday morning and driving to San Francisco in time to see Taylor's first game.

The first night we stayed in northern California. Great Grandma and Grandpa Smith came on the trip too! It was wonderful to get to spend so much time with them! Here we are leaving for San Francisco Friday morning...

My dad and Alex...

Once we got to San Francisco, we played a little musical rooms trying to figure which room we were supposed to be staying in. Meanwhile, Hudson relaxed on the couch and enjoyed being out of the car seat!

After figuring out the room fiasco, we jumped on the city bus and ran over to Taylor's hotel before the game.

Thankfully, we got to meet with him for a little bit, and were able to introduce Hudson to his tallest uncle! :) (I think Hudson was a little unsure how he got so high off the ground all of a sudden!)

After meeting with Taylor, we walked all around San Francisco trying to find a place to eat. Finally, we ended up finding a place near the tournament where we could relax and get out of the RAIN! 

I love this picture of our little family...

Here are some shots of Game 1. They played the University of San Francisco, and, unfortunately for USF, the Bison whooped them 73-65.

DISCLAIMER: The following action shots are extremely professional. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting many phone calls after publishing this post from ESPN and various sports teams offering me large sums of money if I would consider quitting my job as a stay-at-home mom in order to capture some equally stunning and priceless photos of their teams. Sorry, the answer is no. I'd rather hang out with Hudson! :)  

Don't you just love how crisp and clear they are!?!?!?

 Photo of the year:

That night we got back to the hotel around 10:00. Hudson had a little trouble sleeping at the hotel, and after feeding him around 1:30am, I had just put him to bed when I heard a loud THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! from the window. This was really strange considering we were on the top floor and there was no balcony. Garrett instantly woke up and we waited to see if we would hear it again. About two minutes later the loud knocking repeated itself. We went to the closet on the other side of the L-shaped room that had a window that let us see where the knocking could possibly be coming from. At first we saw nothing. Then, after a few minutes, we saw a man walk out onto an adjacent rooftop and knock again. At this point, I was FREAKED OUT. I went and called hotel security and then Hudson and Garrett and I all sat in this little closet watching the mysterious man. After a bit of observing, it became obvious that the guy was completely drunk. I was hoping he didn't lose his balance and kill himself by falling from the rooftop. Once we realized the situation was under control and the man posed no threat to us, I wish I would have grabbed my camera for a quick snapshot of the night lurker...it would have fit in perfectly after this sentence. :(

Unfortunately, I'm not that quick at two am. 

The next day, we headed down to Pier 39 to check out the sights before Taylor's 8:30pm game. We got some grub at Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant where they have an endless amount of delicious options for the poor, unfortunate soy-and-dairy-free people of the world! :/

Here is the little man choosing his favorite dairy-and-soy-free entree with Grandpa and Grandma Braun:

My youngest brother, fondly known as Nick-Nack for most of his life, at the restaurant with Garrett:

Hudson and his Auntie Alex:

We were hoping to go on a tour of Alcatraz, but unfortunately it was all. sold. out. :(

Can you tell what a GORGEOUS day it was?!?!?! I was thankful to be missing the lovely Oregon rain!

 After our day out and about in the city, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Garrett's stinky Ducks to take on Stanford. Before the game started, Alex and I snuck out and did a little shopping while Hudson napped and Great Grandma Penny, Great Grandpa Steve, and Garrett supervised.

We came back from our mini-shopping trip with this:

Not the baby of course, but the CUTEST. HAT. EVER. !!!

After oohing and aahhing over the adorable baby in his new hat, we watched the Ducks crush Stanford, tested out some new earplugs for the Hud-Dinger (as Garrett likes to --hopefully lovingly!-- call him),

threw on our Bison Believer gear, 

and hopped on the bus and headed to Game 2 where the Bison would be taking on the Ragin' Cajun's from Louisiana-Lafayette!

At this point, I think I am supposed to have some similarly AMAZING shots of the second game, but the stellar photographer that I am forgot that her camera was in the diaper bag and didn't take a single picture at the game. :(

I even went to the USF and NDSU website to see if I could steal some photos for the sake of my blog post, but they wouldn't let me steal from them. :(

The good news is, the Bison had another victory demolishing the Ragin' Cajun's 78-58. That night, we went home happy and got to the hotel about 11:30..and thankfully slept through the night (well, Garrett did at least) without any unwanted visitors.

Sunday morning, we woke up, checked out of our hotel, got some breakfast, and headed to the gym for the third and final game against Northern Arizona. Since USF wasn't playing there weren't many fans at the game because not very many of their true fans live in the bay area. :)

Grammy, Steve, and Nick at game 3:

Another amazing shot of Taylor taking a quick break from helping his team crush Northern Arizona 70-58: (What is wrong with my camera?!?!)

Unfortunately, by game 3, all of Hudson's Bison fan gear smelled a lot like spit-up. :(

Then way too fast after the game was over we had to hop in the car and drive home in order to make it in time for Garrett to go to school Monday morning. Thankfully, our little travel-master was just as fantastic on the way home as he was on the way there! What a trooper!

He even learned how to eat on-the-go: 

Overall we had a great trip and really enjoyed getting to see Taylor play and spending lots of time with family! 

Oh, one more thing... Just in case you were wondering who the MVP of the entire tournament was...it was this little cutie big, buff all-star!

Way to go Uncle Taylor! We love you!

Happy VERY-Belated Halloween...

My time to blog has been almost completely depleted by our almost 3-month old who has decided waking every 20-40 throughout the whole night is a good plan. Thankfully, I think we have turned a corner and things are beginning to get back to normal around here.

So without further ado, here are a few shots from Hudson's first Halloween. (I have always despised Halloween. Have always thought it was the worst "holiday" ever. But something about those tiny little costumes just sucks you in!)

On Halloween, we were planning on staying home and greeting the trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood for the first time since living in our house. The days prior to Halloween my mom kept calling and telling me how she was dying to see Hudson. So, instead of staying home, we decided to go and surprise her with our little trick-or-treater.

We also visited Grandma and Grandpa Jones but unfortunately I left the camera in the car so there is no proof!

Right before we got in the car to leave our house, Garrett insisted that we "dress up" too. Honestly, I think it was just an excuse to get to wear this weird looking super cool hunting gear!

My mom was definitely surprised, and confused at who the man standing at her door was!

And, lucky for us, Great Grandma Braun happened to be returning from her birthday dinner so she stopped by for a chance to see the little man.

Our favorite hero...

So things have been a little crazy around here lately. I just realized I haven't updated anything since the end of October. :/  We just got back late last night from my brother's basketball tournament in San Francisco. Hudson is napping, laundry is in the washer, kitchen is clean, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to give some attention to my neglected blog.

Before I post about our great trip, there is a more important post I have to do. Last Friday was Veteran's Day. Typically, I plan something special on this day, but it is safe to say that this year I totally dropped the ball. All our wonderful veteran received was a card..a late one at that. :( If I had my act together, I would have written this post before we left and scheduled it to post the morning of Veteran's Day, but clearly, I'm not that put together these days.

Anyway...moving on to the important part of this post...

During the long car ride home, Hudson told me all the things he wanted to make sure I shared today (in English!)...

Dear Daddy,

Did you know that I think I am the luckiest boy in the whole world? 

God is so so good to have blessed me with a dad like you.

 From the moment I saw you when I was born, I knew it was an honor to be called your son. 

I love you so much and am so proud of all you have done and all you have sacrificed for our country. 

Even though you never like to admit it or let it show, I know that sometimes you get tired. 

Sometimes you hurt,

 and sometimes you even get frustrated. 

But on those days I hope you remember how very thankful and grateful I am that you are here with me and that you keep fighting and pushing forward.

I am so thankful that God was protecting you that day, and that he kept you extra safe and saved you. 

He had big plans for you still.  

I think He knew that my mom needed you. 

And that I needed you too. 

Although I can't imagine what you've been through, 

nor fully understand the challenges and difficulties that you have overcome,

please know how much I admire and respect you.

Whenever new people meet me, they constantly say I look just like you. 

(Lucky for me, that means I should turn out to be a pretty handsome dude!)

I hope that I take after you in other ways too. 

I hope someday to be a great man of God like you. 

I hope you will teach me how to be brave and courageous. 

How to be willing to do things that other people won't. 

How to stand up for what is right. 

How to be a great husband and dad. 

You are my hero. My favorite veteran. My mom and I love you so much.

We consider it an honor to get to share our lives with you.

Thank you for being you. And thank you for all you have done.

Happy Veteran's Day!
(sorry my mom didn't make it very special)

Love love love you with all of my heart,

Hudson

Held hostage...

Today a pretty crazy thing happened. I was sound asleep in my bed this morning, when I heard a little scream across the monitor from Hudson's room. I jumped out of bed, in fear that something bad was happening to our little man, and ran into Hudson's room. There, right before my eyes was Garrett forcing Hudson's little body into that nasty, awful, duck jersey and costume. Hudson screamed and screamed with all his might to avoid the attack, but his dad was a little too strong for him.

Garrett said he was taking him to the car and told me to get ready to go. I asked where we were headed and  he quickly replied, "To the Ducks game!" I blocked the hallway. I begged. I pleaded. I implored him to let my little baby go, and not torture him by forcing him into becoming an ugly duckling. Turns out, Hudson's dad is too strong for me too. Next thing I knew, I was being forced to get into the car. (Thankfully he didn't force me into a large mama duck outfit---in fact, I had just enough time to throw on a pair of orange and black socks before we left)

Hudson and I kicked and screamed the whole drive there, but to no avail. Alas, we arrived at the game and had to suffer through the entire event amongst the swarm of crazy ducks. During the game, I explained to Hudson that we can always be Beavers in our hearts...no matter what we come up against! And he survived the game shouting, "Arriba castores!!! (Go Beavs!)" after every good play by the Cougars. The following pictures are a glimpse of the day we had. Although we appear to be a happy little family, hopefully you can see the glimmer of orange and black pride still left in our eyes.

Doesn't he look simply miserable? :)

Concerned what fellow Beaver fans might think of his outfit:

Feeling much better during mom's "Beavers-forever-in-our-hearts" pep talk:

 Hudson thought it was pretty funny that no one around us could understand what we were saying when we shouted, 

"ARRRRRIBBBBAAA CASTTTOOOOORRESS!"

 Hudson asking me if he would ever be able to get out of this outfit...

Still a little unsure...

Finally able to relax. Relieved that I promised I would change him the minute we got home. ;)

Too bad you can't see my socks...

The culprit of this whole disaster... Take 1...

Mug shot #2...

...But we sure do love him lots! Thanks Dad for a great day! :)

Gooooooo  Beavs!!!

2 months...

Last Thursday (I know, I know, I'm a whole week late), Hudson turned two months old. I'm not sure how that happened so fast, but right before our very eyes he has gone from a tiny little newborn, to looking more like an actual baby. At the very beginning of October we had to go back to the doctor because his "reflux"wasn't getting any better, in fact it seemed worse. At that appointment he weighed 11 lbs 1oz and we decided to put me on a dairy and soy free diet thinking he could be allergic or intolerant to one or both of those. Three weeks later he seems like a whole new baby! He is much much happier, sleeping a whole lot better, and almost completely pain free! Although it makes my eating a little more difficult and A LOT less enjoyable, it is definitely worth the sacrifice to have such a happier baby!

So on Monday we went to his 2-month check-up and he weighed in at a whopping 12lbs 4oz and is now 24 inches long! --clearly all the vomiting isn't affecting him too badly. :) I think he takes after his dad in the social realm. The past two weeks all we have seen are tons and tons of smiles and short little laughs. He coos and "talks" constantly and is starting to try to bat at the toys that dangle above his head....It is so sweet to see his little personality coming out. His latest new trick is crying and screaming like he is STARVING, and then, once given the opportunity to eat, he refuses and insists on smiling, cooing, and laughing at you. Although very cute, it makes for LONG drawn out feedings. :)

It took me awhile to get these pictures because he was super grumpy after getting shots and I was really hoping to catch a bunch of him smiling. Unfortunately, he wasn't willing to perform and I wasn't willing to let him get any bigger before posting 2 month pictures.

Here is the little man at 2 months:

And here is the progression from 0 to 2 months:

 These have been the best two months of my life, and even though I hate the thought of him getting bigger, I can't wait to get to experience every stage of his little life!

Smiles and Coos...

This video is a little long and I am basically just telling him over and over that I'm going to give him a kiss. BUUUUT, it is the best video I have yet to document his constant smiles, coos, and semi-laughs. So, for my own sake, I must post it here. :) (It was a little challenging for me at first to keep the phone on him so please forgive the constant camera movement!)




Hudson turned 2 months on Thursday and the pictures are on their way! :)