A week...

...and, what a week it was...

By far the prettiest, sunniest, most spectacular weather week we've seen in Seattle, and we spent 99% of it INSIDE.

BOO!

It all started Monday morning, when Maddie woke from her nap with a fever. With no other symptoms, I gave her some tylenol and her fever went away. So, later that day, after our afternoon naps, we headed out to the park in our new double stroller....

where Hudson did a lot of this:

And Maddie looked like this:

And, as you know, she almost always looks like this:

So, I knew something was wrong.

I told Hudson we needed to head home, we loaded up the stroller and headed back to the house. When we got there, I walked around to the front of the stroller and went to unbuckle Hudson when I noticed that Maddie was sort-of trembling. I knew she'd had a fever earlier, so I thought, maybe it was back and perhaps she just had the chills, but then I noticed her eyes weren't looking at me, they were just off somewhere, almost like she wasn't there, she was just gone...somewhere, and as I started calling her name, "Maddie, Maddie, Maddie!!" each time more frantically, I began to panic. I know, you're supposed to stay calm in these situations, but I have no idea how that's even possible. I couldn't get her to respond to me at all and it was getting more and more frightening. I called 911 and in a matter of minutes (which honestly felt like hours) the paramedics arrived. My poor little girl had a seizure, a febrile seizure.

It was horribly, horribly, scary! We took her to the Children's Hospital and 4 hours later...they said she would be fine.

The next four days she had a fever. A high, high, 104.4 degree fever, she would not let me put her down at all, not even to nap, and I just couldn't bear to even try, she was just so miserable and it absolutely broke my heart.

She basically looked like this the entire week:

The Hud was a big help, and a very, very good boy (most of the week).

We saw Maddie's pediatrician twice this week, where they ran several tests and everything was normal, thank goodness! It was a waiting game all week. Waiting to see when she'd get better. All week during the spectacular, lovely, beautiful, sunny weather. 

Friday, finally, she got better. The fever broke and the sun went away. 

Saturday it rained.

Sunday it rained some more.

We did get out for a bit this weekend, despite the usual Seattle gloom.

Hudson got to spend some time with his cousin, Scarlett, which is always fun for him.

And then today, at Hudson's request we took a ride on the bus. Everyone rides the bus in Seattle (which we actually think is pretty cool) and since we have a bus stop in front of our house, we see the bus coming and going all day long. So, today we did it. We took the bus downtown and the Hud LOVED it. Almost as much as the ferry! He told everyone that "we rode the city bus!" It was seriously, the highlight of the week. Next up is Ride the Ducks, which I have promised Hudson I would do with him. Scott refuses to go because he's too cool for Ride the Ducks, but I embrace the opportunity to do dorky, fun things with my child, even if it means I look like a tourist.

Maddie loved it, too. Frankly, I think she's just glad to have her smile back.

And, while downtown, Maddie got her very first pair of shoes! We are absolutely 100% positive that walking is in her very near future, so we felt it was time. Nordstrom took a commemorative photo of this milestone, and since Hudson's foot has grown, yet again, he got a new pair of shoes, too.

After a long, sad week, it was nice to get out, and I am so thankful that all is well again.

The Double Stroller

We finally gave in and bought one. I bet the HUD outgrows it in less than a month- look at his legs! Scott sent this picture to me this morning while I was out shopping. Good times for all!

Hudson is on spring break this week. On the one hand, it's been nice having him around. I miss him a lot in the morning, especially our one - on - one time together. On the other hand, it's really tough being here alone with both Hudson and Maddie. Our "schedule" has been off all week, naps are completely crazy, in fact Hudson hasn't napped all week and as a result, both kids went to bed at 6PM last night! It was nice having an entire evening to ourselves, but 5:45AM came along really, really fast. Anyways, it's been, how should I put this?....interesting....trying to come up with things to do around the house. Here's a little but of what we've been up to.

Maddie loves ice cream.
Chocolate ice cream to be exact.

This is what happened when Hud tried to put his own hair gel in.
HA! What a mess....

Bubbles!!

Even though he won't eat them, Hudson wanted to make red cupcakes.
So, daddy and I are now making our way through 2 dozen red velvet cupcakes.

Hudson is finally really enjoying his magna tiles. 

These two.
They have so much fun in their bath together. 

Our good little eater.

Our "getting better every day" little eater.
But still extremely picky.
Things are still "too spicy" or they "have crumbs" on them or in them
 and thus will not even be considered for consumption.

He loves going down on his tummy these days.

Pushing Maddie in the swing.
She LOVED it!

They both love the swings.
AND the SUN!

Hudson was in this position this morning and I said,
"What are you doing, Hud?"
He replied, "I'm doing push-ups just like my daddy."
The cutest. Absolutely the cutest thing ever!

Sunshine and Ice Cream

Another beautiful day in Seattle (I know, I know....don't get used to it). Hudson and I spent some special time together this morning, just the two of us. It was absolutely beautiful outside, so we headed down to the water, checked out the Seattle aquarium, rode the carousel and had fish and chips on the pier. I must admit, the Seattle Aquarium is actually quite disappointing and it pains me to say it, but the Dallas Aquarium just blows it away. So, if you're keeping score, that's one for Dallas and if you live in Dallas and haven't been to the Dallas Aquarium- GO! We didn't realize it at the time, but it's pretty spectacular.

Then later this afternoon, we all went out for ice cream and learned that our good little eater - Maddie - loves chocolate ice cream.

The HUD

I've taken some really cute pics of the Hud lately- these are a few of my favorites from this week:

Hudson still LOVES his books. He spends more time with books (by far) than with any toy he owns, even the train table. He has so many of them memorized that he reads them in his bed by himself before his nap (when he takes one) and before bedtime. When I went in to check on him the other day, this is how I found him. So, so cute.

Our neighbor is putting a new roof on his house and Hudson is loving all of the construction going on over there. He loves the workers, he loves to watch what they're doing and he asks a million questions about everything. Our neighbor is kind enough to fill him in on all the details and he even let Hudson wear his hat.

For quite some time Hudson has been insisting that he doesn't need a nap. I would say that's actually true about 10% of the time. Some days it's just not worth the battle, so often I'll ask him to just look at some books on my bed and wait for me while I put Madeline down for her nap. On friday, when I returned I found him asleep on my bed. He doesn't need a nap, eh? 

Today we were out and about when suddenly it starting hailing. We didn't know hail happened in Seattle and we're betting it's a fairly odd occurrence given the amount of people we saw outside taking pictures in it. Let me be clear, though...Hail in Seattle is nowhere near the size of hail in Dallas. At least it wasn't today. It did look like it snowed though and so, as you might imagine, Hudson broke out with Jingle Bells once again. Good grief, he makes me laugh. 

Yeah, those are great pics, but trust me, it isn't always pretty around here folks....

Pics from breakfast this morning.

The Hair

When we first moved to Seattle, Hudson's hair was in dire need of cutting. So, I simply looked online for the best place to go for a haircut in Queen Anne, and learned that according to Yelp, The Shop was the place to go. So, off we went. As it turns out, The Shop is actually a barber shop, so I'm not sure it was the best choice for a say, stylish cut, but I thought, how bad can it be?

Pretty bad, apparently. Hudson came out looking like this:

I'm not sure how or why he ended up with a buzz-cut, but he did. It didn't bother me a whole lot at first, I mean, it's about as low maintenance as you can possibly get, and in my own biased opinion, he always looks cute. As it started growing, however, I admit, it started looking a little bit funny, sticking up a little in the back and laying down flat in the front. I figured, ah, he's a kid, no one will care. 

Boy, was I WRONG.

He's 3. Yeah, you already know that, but I felt the need to remind you because it's quite shocking to me to learn that kids picking on kids begins at age 3. I learned this last week from another one of the moms that the kids in Hudson's class were teasing him about his hair, calling him HAIRHEAD instead of Hudson. When she shared this with me I tried to hold back my emotion, though my heart was pounding and I was shaking a little bit at the utter thought that I'd just sent my child into a class room full of kids making fun of him. My instinct was to run in, grab him and take him home with me, but I didn't. 

On the way home I got more and more upset, thinking about how the whole thing was my fault for taking him to that stupid barber shop to get his haircut. What was I thinking?  My sweet, innocent little boy is being picked on and it's all my fault. So, I did the obvious things-

1. Cried

2. Called the school

3. Bought him some hair products ASAP.

4. Styled him up.

Ta-da! The finished product. Scott thinks he has "boy band" potential, what do you think?

I realize that even though I'd honestly like to just wrap both of my children in bubble wrap so they never have to experience hurt, it's just not realistic. Hurt is going to happen, both physically and emotionally, and although it's our maternal instinct to protect our children from harms way it's not possible to protect them from everything. Hurt is a part of life, part of the human experience. I get all of that, but I don't have to like it. To think of other kids picking on your child (AT AGE 3!!) is just unbearable and I know as he gets older these things only get worse. I better toughen up.

I'm not sure Hudson really grasps that they're teasing him. At age 3 can you really understand that concept? I don't know. For now, we're talking a lot about friends and being kind to others and the other things that are important (I think) to a 3 year old. He's probably wondering why I'm suddenly hugging him more than usual, and telling him how much he's loved. I don't want there to be any doubt, that he is loved, no matter what the kids at school think about his hair. I personally think he's adorable and oh, do I love him so, bad haircut and all. 

Yesterday I think I completely and totally had a lapse in sanity.
I went to Costco, with both kids, by myself.
Yes.
By. My. Self.
What in the world was I thinking?
I have no idea, but hey, at least now I know I can.

Here's proof I did it:

Hudson is actually way too big to be in the cart, and he rarely wants to be anyways, but yesterday he did and I went with it.

Other than that, I don't have much to say except that I'm glad tomorrow is Friday!

Cousins

Hudson and Madeline's cousin Scarlett came over to hang out with us today. Hudson was super excited to see her, and for me, seeing the two of them together is really, really fun. It's just smiles the whole time, it really is, and Madeline loved all the action, too.

Who knows what they're talking about here. Whatever it was, it was pretty funny, according to them anyways.

Lunchtime with the three of them (and Mr. Potato-head).

I can't recall what it was, but here, Scarlett is feeding Hudson something (pretend) over and over again. It never got old, apparently.

This was by far the funniest part of the afternoon. Note: first, the effort which is being applied to this activity. Second, the "team" effort which is being applied. Third, the serious determination going on here. And yet, it is important also to note that, first, they've got way too much play dough in this device to make it work even IF it was being used with the correct parts, and second, it's not being used with the correct parts, so....even with all of that teamwork, effort and determination, it was a fail. A big fat fail. Poor kids. I think they still had fun.

We had such a great weekend..Spring has sprung and there is beauty everywhere! I love this time of year, you just can't help but be happy!

Hudson picks dandelions every day on the way to the park. When we get home he puts them in a vase on our kitchen table.

I have no idea how it happened, but he looks like he's 10 in this next photo. They are just growing up waaaaaaayyyyyy tooooooo faaaassssstttttt!!!!!!!

I mean, just look at our little pumpkin!!! She turned 10 months this weekend! I know a lot has happened in our lives since she came into the world, but gosh, it seems like I blinked and it's 10 months later. I am completely and totally smitten with my little girl. She could not be any cuter if she tried.

There was a lot of park time this weekend, and trust me, nothing makes the Hud happier.

At Kerry Park they have this awesome slide. Hudson loves it, and as it turns out, so did Scott and Maddie! I got lucky with this great photo, which I cropped so you could see their faces, but I posted the original below it so you could see how big the slide actually is.

And, this one is from Kerry Park yesterday. Mt Rainier continues to amaze us, it just doesn't even look real sometimes. It's funny, every time Hudson sees any mountain, he gets very excited and yells, "Mommy, there's Mt. Rainier!!" So cute.