Eliot Kate Homer

Here she is! Our little love bug. Can't believe I had yet to blog about our newest addition. Even more so, I can't believe it has been 9 months since she has come into our home. On one hand, it feels like I just had her and on the other hand, it's hard to remember what life was like before she was here. Eliot is such a happy baby with the sweetest little spirit. She is absolutely the cutest thing we have ever laid eyes on..besides Hudson, of course. ;) She is adventurous, daring, inquisitive, and brave. She is also affectionate and sensitive. It amazes us how different she and Hudson are. However, they definitely have the same eyes. Big, bright, and VERY blue! Hudson and Eliot adore each other and we love watching them interact. 

Eliot, we are so glad that you are part of our family! We love you sweet girl!!

We made this little video shortly after Eliot was born. Enjoy! :)

I have taken a picture of her every month with these little monthly onesie stickers. It is so much fun to see how quickly they change. I sure wish I had these stickers with Hudson. 

Eliot - 9 months

nicknames - nellie, ellie, ellie bug, love bug, sweeties, sweetie nel, kater bug, kater tot

Weight - 17 lbs 6 oz (25%)

Height - 27 in (35%)

Head - 18.5 in (99%) :)

Sleeps through the night like a champ! Goes to bed at 6:30pm and sleeps until 6:30/7am. 

Has never really been the best napper during the day, but is getting better. (Took a 3hr nap today - it.was.AWESOME!)

Still likes to be swaddled. 

LOVES to eat! Not a picky eater by any means, but is not a fan of peaches. Sweet potatoes are her favorite. 

She has 3 teeth. All on the bottom.

She is still nursing and she loves it. :)

Favorite toys are Sophie, her lamaze giraffe, and her pink purse teether. 

She loves to watch Signing Time, Sesame Street, Tigger and Pooh, and....drumroll please.......Spookley the Square Pumpkin. (I"m not sure why both of my kids seem to have an obsession with this show??)

She is a very fast crawler. She knows what she wants and she goes for it!

Has pulled her self up to a standing position once.

Likes the jumperoo.

Loves to watch Hudson dance around and make silly noises. He makes her laugh, which he thinks is hysterical so he starts laughing and then, well, you get the picture... :)

She becomes very "vocal" when she's tired. Says baa baa baa and daa daa daa. 

LOVES her mommy. ;)

WE LOVE YOU ELLIE BUG!

and then there were four...five, if you count Marley :)

Update # 2 =

Our family is expanding....and so is my tummy!

We are excited to announce that we are expecting baby # 2 in November!!! And.......it's a GIRL!! We couldn't be more thrilled! :)

Please excuse the quality of the next few photos. They are actually pictures taken of the ultrasound pics they printed out for me because I was having trouble uploading the photos from the CD they gave me. I also realize that the next photo is kinda scary looking at first, but I had to post it because I thought it was so cute. She's yawning. (How amazing is it that we can capture moments like this while baby is still in utero?!)

I had to see a perinatologist and they did an ultrasound in 3D so the following photos are from that appointment. We never had a 3D ultrasound with Hudson so it was unbelievable to see these shots of her.

Long time, no see....

Okay so it has been a while. For some reason whenever I plan to blog something always comes up and I feel like there is something else that needs to be done. I finally realized that instead of feeling like I have to blog for hours to catch up, it's totally okay to just do quick updates here and there. Slowly, but surely.....and hopefully I will catch up.

Update # 1 - Hudson

Hudson is 17 months old!!!

He seems so grown up and it's been so much fun to see him learn new things each day.

He talks a lot (in his own little language, of course). He knows how to say momma, mom, daddy, dad, hi, juse (juice), dog, duck, ball, nana (banana), giaf (giraffe, he usually calls most animals giraffes), bird, manny (as in Handy Manny from the disney channel), uh oh, and probably a few more....I'm just drawing a blank right now.

He loves his signing time dvds. He knows how to sign daddy, grandpa/papa, eat, more, banana, cereal, cracker, milk, baby, and bird.

He is such a happy boy, but definitely takes after me when I was little....he NEEDS his sleep! He sleeps an average of 11 hours a night (8pm - 7am) and takes two naps throughout the day.

He is a very lovey little guy. He is constantly hugging and kissing us and he blows kisses to just about anyone. He is also very sensitive. He gets his feelings hurt if he thinks he did something wrong or if he thinks he is in trouble.

He seems tall for his age. He has always been in the 80-90th percentile for height.

He has a ton of hair!!! Torrey is a little jealous.

He had his four front teeth on top, his four front teeth on bottom, and two middle/back teeth (one on each side) on bottom for a total of 10 teeth!!!

He still hums ("mmmmm") when he eats. It's as though every bite is just so delicious he has to let everybody know about it. He has definitely become a more picky eater, however, over the last few weeks. If he could survive off a diet made up of bananas and cookies (preferably, banana cookies) he would be a happy boy!!!

He drinks A TON!!!! So much so that we thought he might be diabetic! He can easily down 8 full sippy cups throughout the day! I feel like I am constantly filling those things up.

He LOVES books! His favorites are Spookley the Square Pumpkin (yes, he is STILL obsessed with Spookley), Six Little Ducks, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear. It's fun because he is starting to get to the point where he will bring me a book and sit down on my lap for me to read it to him.

His favorite shows are Spookley the Square Pumpkin, Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Special Agent Oso, and much to our dismay...Care Bears. Not that we hate the care bears or anything, but their voices can be just a tad annoying.

He loves music and he LOVES to dance!

He recently learned how to ride his firetruck by himself!

Here are some recent pics (I apologize that some of them are a little out of focus):

*Funny Story:

So I mentioned above that Hudson hums when he eats...well, a couple weeks ago we were downstairs in the kitchen and I was cleaning things up after breakfast when I heard "mmmmmm", "mmmm", etc. coming from the pantry. When I looked over towards the pantry the light was off and the door was practically shut so I was a little confused as to where the "mmmmm" was actually coming from. I continued to hear the noise so I walked over to the pantry, opened the door, flipped on the light, and found this...

(notice there are actually TWO cookies in one hand and one in the other)

I sure do love my little cookie monster!!! :)

Update # 2 - coming soon!

Hudson's PAR-TAY!!!

We had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed birthday party for Hudson

on Saturday March 12th.

THANK YOU to all those who came to help us celebrate!!!

(and THANKS for all the cool gifts!! you guys are WAY too generous!

we really appreciate it!)

the birthday boy!

mommy and hudson

daddy and hudson

aunt christy and uncle brandon

mike and lindsay (aka - the chippa)

cassie

jeff, holly, and alyssa

dad (with his "hudson" t shirt on) and torrey

Hudson was sooo funny eating his cake. In the beginning he did not want to use his hands so he would just bend forward and nibble of the corner. It was SO CUTE!!!

YAY!!!

By the end he was much more comfortable using his hands to mush the cake around!

Hudson's nickname is duck. He LOVES ducks. This was a little pink duck (that Tyson refers to as a "sister duck") that Hudson got from the Bordens. He loves it!!!

A duck humidifier from grammy and grandpa!! (This is his second one already. Long story...)

all the kiddos (tyson, alyssa, hudson, and emmett)

Thanks again everyone! It was a blast!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUCK!!! We love you!

Dear Hudson Luc,

Dear Hudson Luc,

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY little man!!!!

Wow. Where has the time gone? And where has all your red hair gone?? I miss it! I love the picture posted above because I get to see your BIG BLUE EYES (well, big blue EYE, but you know what I mean). It feels like just yesterday we brought you home from the hospital and yet I can hardly remember what life was like before you were here. You have been such a blessing to our little family and we love you SO SO MUCH!!!

It has been so much fun to watch you grow into the handsome little one year old that you are today. You have mommy and daddy wrapped around your little finger and your smile/laugh just melts my heart (especially with those two little "chicklet teeth" of yours). Part of me wants you to stay just as you are, with your cute little "gummies" (your top gums that have no teeth yet) and your chubby little hands and feet, but each stage has honestly become my new favorite and I can't wait to see what comes next!

Thank you for reminding me what life is all about. I am SO proud to be your mommy and to have you as my little duck. You are the apple of my eye.

love,

mommy

Happy Birthday Hudson!!!

On March 11, 2011

our little guy turned ONE YEAR OLD!!!!!

March 11, 2011

What a big boy!

This is him giving me a kiss from across the room! SOOO CUTE!

Hudson and I went to the zoo with some friends for his birthday! Debra Jo brought her two little boys Tyson and Emmett, and Whitney brought Garrison and Delaney. Other than the fact that we were practically attacked by bees at lunch and it was VERY warm outside for the middle of March, we had a blast!!!

Emmett and Hudson (they are 6 months apart)

This pic was taken at the sting ray pool. We got to pet sting rays!!! I didn't know that sting rays liked to be pet, but it was fun!! I tried to let Hudson have a chance to pet them, but his little arms just wouldn't reach. He did enjoy splashing his hands around in the water though. :)

I didn't get as many pictures of all the animals like I did last time, but those were just a few neat shots.

(ps - I promise I don't go to the zoo all that often, but this is what happens when I don't blog for 6 months. You end up getting two zoo posts back to back. Oh well.)