The Wiggles Teach Dance Moves

The Wiggles sang "Turn Around" and Gianna thought they said 'Run Around'... and Hudson is actually doing some of the moves (from swaying his arms back and forth, to clapping and singing la-la-la-la). Haha.

'Party Police' ??

I just read an article in Cookie Magazine (a parents magazine) and the article was titled "Party Police." The article discussed parents who throw parties for their children while placing 'increasing demands' on their guests. What increasing demands? ASKING THIER GUESTS TO NOT BRING A GIFT. The author states this is done because the parent is controlling (not to mention mean because what kid wouldnt want gifts?, she asks). Well, it just so happens that I threw Hudson a 1st birthday party and wrote on the card that Hudson was lucky to have plenty of toys and to please not bring anything (I went on to state that if you felt you had to bring a small toy, we would happily donate it to a local charity). Now, no one is going to deny that I can be controlling. But that is not why I wrote 'no gifts'. I wrote 'no gifts' because I felt that every time our group of friends gets together these days there is a gift (and therefore money) involved. I had a wedding recently, a bridal shower, a bachelorette party, TWO baby showers...not to mention birthdays, Christmases and anniversaries. Most of these events involved wonderful and generous gifts for us. It just started to seem that every time I saw my friends, I was 'asking' for a gift. Well, I wanted to throw Hudson a 1st birthday party WITHOUT people HAVING to spend MORE money on him/us. Hudson has no clue he 'missed out' and some people still got him a gift (to which we were very appreciative and thankful). I thought it worked out GREAT, but apparently I messed up the 'unspoken contract between planner and guest.' Our friends and family have been MORE than supportive over the years and we felt it RIGHT to throw a party without receiving/expecting something in return.

Jump

Never Leaving the House Again

I think we have been pretty good about taking Hudson with us to places and havent totally made ourselves home-bound just because we had a kid. However, that may soon change. I took Hudson to the OC Fair this week and he was a maniac. He was totally overwhelmed, overstimulated and totally over listening to mommy. It was hot. I was sweating. Hudson was running. And running. And finding places to squeeze his little body into that people werent supposed to be. We found a sand pit with toys for kids to play in and I thought I might be able to stand still for one minute. Until I saw Hudson digging dirt between his legs like a dog and getting a bunch of nearby adults all sandy. At one point I found Hudson behind a little fence kicking at large electrical plugs. Great - he probably almost turned out the power for the whole fair.
Part of my exhaustion and frustration from the fair day stems from the fact that he is running and moving like a much older kid (and has been for awhile) but he listens like a baby (or a boy - same thing). I am sure this is just another 'phase' but let's just hope this phase is at least better before this next baby comes or there is no way I will be able to leave the house alone with both kids. Unless I want to put Hudson on one of those leashes (which I dont - I used to make fun of people that had to use those and called the moms 'lazy' for not chasing their kids. Haha. Little did I know that I would have the poster child for that darn leash).

5 Month Bump

20 week belly photo! And I didnt cheat this time. This photo was taken right after I ate. I cannot believe we are already halfway there!

Faux-Hawk

Ok, I am pretty sure Hudson doesnt have enough hair for a mohawk or a faux-hawk, but Hudson did get a cool new hair cut. It is actually pretty much identical to the haircut/style JR has, so I need to get a picture of them together. But here are some photos of Hudson's cool new hair do.
(If you click to enlarge, you can see Hudson's new fat lip from running and hitting the cement in the backyard yesterday- sounds bad but it honestly happens daily around here as he gets faster and faster and refuses to slow down or be careful. He is ALL BOY.)

So you think We're Having a Boy...

The results of the voting poll (to the right) are showing that more people think I am having a BOY than a GIRL... and it looks like the Chinese Gender Prediction Calendars are in agreement.

That is, IF the November due date is correct (because that would mean a conception month of February), the calendar shows BOY if we conceived in February. However, IF we conceived in March (and the due date is closer to the first ultra-sound prediction of December 4) then the calendar predicts GIRL.

JR and I both think we are having a BOY.

But the 'necklace' (which many of you swear by) predicted a GIRL.

So there you go.... does that help? The wait to know continues...

Introducing....

Isabella Victoria Spaulding
Born July 3rd at 6:58 pm, weighing 8lbs 2oz and 20.5 inches long.
Isabella is finally here after 40 weeks of waiting! She looks like mommy with a hat on and daddy without the hat on!
I got to hold her this morning and she is perfect! The whole family is doing great!