Polls are open! Cast your vote

Amy suggested I take votes on names for our baby girl, so I've added a poll at the top of the page. Vote for your favorite name! As you can see, her middle name has already been decided, it will be Jai ("J" for our mom's Jean and Judy). As I previously mentioned, these are the names we've (sort of) agreed on so far, the list may change over the course of the next 5 months!

It's a GIRL!!!

For those of you that don't already know...

Yesterday we finally were able to have a definitive ultrasound. We found out we are going to welcome a little girl to our family April 13th!! We are very excited. Everything looked perfect on the ultrasound which is really the best news.

In the quest for names we've narrowed it down to 3 options, which is a record for us considering that I was recieving my epidural before we agreed on Hudson. Of course in the next 5 months that list could get longer or shorter!!

I have yet to go shopping for our new addition, which is also a record. 2 full shopping days have passed and I have not bought one dress, bow, or shoe! I'm sure that won't last too long since it is much much easier to spend money on girls than it is on boys, and I've become pretty good at spending it on Hudson so I'm in real trouble.

With your votes you could be looking at the next Gap Baby!!

I recently entered Hudson in the Gap Casting Call. They are looking for the next 4 faces of BabyGap and GapKids. Friends and family can vote once a day until November 17th for their favorite, and since I know Hudson has a special spot in all of our hearts I'm hoping we can enlist your votes. You do have to register with your email address to vote and it is a little work the first time, but after that it is pretty simple, especially if you save the page to your favorites.

If you want to participate:

Go to gap.com/castingcall
Scroll to the bottom of the page where it says Search Entries
Put in Hudson's ID number 45999236 or cherhouston (all one word, no spaces), hit search
Vote for our boy!

Hudson and a few others...

Here are a few pictures from some of our recent outings... Getting wood "over home" aka Cannonville area

Hudson stealing a drink from Grandpa Stew's GIANT soda jug

Waiting for Daddy, Cody, and Grandpa to finish loading the wood

A few weeks ago my parents were sealed in the St. George Temple. These are a few pictures from that day.

Hudson loves his little cousin Rylee.

Upside down sunglasses boy

Grandma and Hudson love spending time together

Roses taste yummmmmmmy

It's Been a LOOOOOONG Time

Since we moved out on our own, we have not had the internet so blogging has become a thing of my past. I thought I would do a quick update.

We have settled into our new place, got rid of a bunch of stuff at a yard sale, and enjoyed the last camping trip of the year.

Nate is busy with school, taking anatomy and looking at cadavers. He's been giving plasma which gives him about 4 hours every week to study. He's also been skating and scoping out a new place to build dirt jumps for his bike.

Hudson has been crazy...Loving the Jungle Book and marching to the elephant song from the movie. He's learned lots of new stuff. He is just my crazy little man. He loves being outside and escapes out the door every time it is open. He keeps me busy!

I am now 15 1/2 weeks pregnant. We are looking forward to finding out if we're having a boy or girl. I've still been extremely sick, but my doctor finally gave me some medicine which has helped a ton. This has definitely been a different experience than my pregnancy with Hudson. I'm also still going to school when I can.

That's our life right now in a nutshell...Wish I had some pictures to post. Maybe eventually we'll hook up the internet at our house and I'll be back in the blogging world!

BIG BIG News!

After invading Dave and Judy for the last 10 months we are finally moving into our own place!! It is so exciting. Hudson is going to be in his own room for the first time in his whole life. We have started moving a little bit of stuff over, and we are hoping by the weekend we will be totally settled in our new place.

Oh yeah, and Hudson got this new T-shirt for his birthday... That's right! He's gonna be a big brother in March. This news came as quite a shock to us, but we are so excited! We found out last Monday and it was a killer to keep it a secret from our families for the week, but we managed and surprised everyone before Hudson's party.

Hudson is ONE!!!!!

Yesterday our little monkey turned one. It's hard to believe that he isn't a baby anymore, he's a toddler now. Time flies!! He is one lucky/spoiled/loved little boy. We had a great day celebrating with family and friends... He loved the Happy Birthday song, and enjoyed hearing it about 7 times throughout the day!

It all started out with a yummy pancake breakfast prepared by Daddy.








After a short nap Hudson was ready to make his grand entrance in the wagon he got from Grandpa and Grandma Ivie. Hudson LOVES balloons so he got lots of balloons to start the festivites. Tawni made him a darling party hat, and he actually kept in on for a few pictures before tearing it off.

Nate barbecued hamburgers, bratwursts, and hotdogs, and we had some delicious salads and side dishes for lunch which I totally missed taking pictures of. The weather was perfect for barbecuing and eating outside.



After lunch we decided to let Hudson get busy with his gifts since he had so many to open! Like I said lucky/loved/spoiled!!



After playing a little with his new toys which included a lawn mower, lots of books, a ride-on car, 2 shape sorters, a few trucks and balls, some clothes, and a dvd player for the car it was CAKE TIME!!!

Auntie Brittany made this ridiculously darling monkey cake for Hudson. I ALMOST hated to watch him destroy it because of all of her hard work making it so cute.

At first he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it so he was slowly picking at the frosting. Finally he dug in though and had a great time eating lots of sugar which made him thirsty so he stole a few sips of water from my mom.

After cake for Hudson and cupcakes for all of the guests it was time to swim. Hudson made a big escape when Nate was changing him into his swim diaper and board shorts and I couldn't resist the naked bum picture because of his cute tan lines!

Finally most everyone left and Hudson had fun showing off his new toys for his Mommy, Daddy, and grandparents. Grammy Houston decided he needed a snack so she put him in his high chair for some strawberries and blueberries. I guess all of the excitement of the day (combined with only taking a 1/2 hour nap all day) finally kicked in because within minutes he was zonked out!

Some of the things that make it fun to be one:

Walking and sometimes running

Lots of babbling that often sounds like Chinese

Saying a few words; bird, ball, balloon, thank you, dad, mom, and baby

Giving "loves" to everyone, especially Sadie

Making silly faces

Watching Baby Einstein while swinging

Escaping during diaper changes

Lots and lots of playing

Getting into things he shouldn't

Drumming on metal bowls with wooden spoons or wire whisks

Eating anything and everything...dirt, bugs, dog food....

Dancing

Laughing

Getting chased

Imitating the sounds of cars, snakes, and monkeys

Going crazy by shaking his head back and forth really fast

Flirting with girls of all ages

Happy happy birthday Hudson! We love you so so much. You are a great little boy. You bring so much happiness to your family! This first year with you has been quite and adventure as I'm sure the years to come will be. We are so lucky to be your parents. Everyday is a learning experience for you and it is amazing to watch you figure things out and gain your independence. Even though I always say you're growing up too fast it has been fun to see you go from a little infant into the silly toddler you are now, and I'm sure as you continue growing the fun will continue too!!