Birthday Girl

My sweet, sweet baby girl is ONE today. It's been the fastest year of my entire life. So many changes, so much to be thankful for and so much to celebrate. 

Our little pumpkin has added so much joy to our lives, with her infectious smile, her laughter, her happy and playful spirit. We all love her dearly (except maybe the cat, who wishes she'd stop hitting/petting her). I have such a special, incredible bond with my little girl, and the tremendous love I have for her continues to grow. She is one of my life's most beautiful gifts. 

Little pumpkin, you are celebrating your first birthday today, and I find myself wishing I could freeze the hands of time. You are growing up and changing way too fast and I am already missing my baby girl. You are a very happy, little girl and you are almost always smiling. You are curious, silly and daring. You are strong and independent, with these big, amazing eyes that show us all what a beautiful soul you are. You are affectionate, giving me hugs throughout the day completely at your own will. You love people, and wave to everyone you see. You are already saying your first word, and have been for a while, actually. It's, "Hi!", usually in combination with one of your sweet smiles and precious waves. 

You adore your brother, who equally adores you and I love watching the two of you together. I hope that you will always have a special bond with him as you two grow together, play together and share your early life experiences together. I look forward to so many things in our future, I can hardly wait. 

My sweet angel, you have filled my heart with so much love, I am so grateful for you and for all that you bring to our lives. You are so very special. Happy Birthday, pumpkin. 

Here's a little of what we've been up to the last few days...

Last night Hudson's school had a work party, where the parents had the opportunity to work with the children in the classroom. Each child chose three activities to share with their parents. Hudson chose nomenclature (a favorite activity which he does every day), building a pyramid and the brownstones and pink blocks. It was really neat to see him in the classroom, interacting with the other kids. He was so proud of his work and I was so proud of him.

Maddie has been working on her 7th tooth for about two weeks now and it's been bumpy, to say the least. We're all hoping the tooth would make its way through already. In other news, she's still smiling.

And she can now do this completely on her own. By this, I mean, get out the giraffe, slide him around and then climb on him and scoot around on him, totally unassisted. She is a little daredevil and there is no stopping her no matter what.

Sunday

I love a slow, lazy, go-where-the-day-takes-you kind of Sunday. We had one today and it was so nice. Our last stop of the day was, no surprise - the park. I attempted a few pics there this afternoon and as you'll see, they were not a success, but I thought they might still make you laugh, so...here you go.

This picture made me laugh so much that I thought it was definitely blog worthy.

You might notice the shiner and/or goose egg on Hud's face/head. Poor kid. He's always got so many bruises/injuries/broken bones/what-not. We were at the park over the weekend and he took a header on the cement off of a 3 foot ledge. It was pretty awful, but it could have been way worse. In Hud's reenactment of this event, he fell....then, "crash, bang, crash!" He "broke" his head. This kid makes me laugh so much. Love him.

And this one! Total accident waiting to happen. Climbs on EVERYTHING! Is not afraid of ANYTHING! Will stand up in a grocery shopping cart, even when strapped in- I learned this the hard way yesterday. The child can not be trusted alone anywhere, not even for 10 seconds! I've got my work cut out for me. Seriously.

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a very busy and really, really fun weekend. My wonderful, beautiful sister, Julie came for a visit and it was so much fun! I love that she got to spend time with Hudson and Madeline, they just don't see her often enough, and even though the Hud said goodbye to Julie yesterday, he still went looking for her first thing this morning when he got out of bed (so, so cute!).

We had lots of visitors over the weekend, since Julie was here and it was truly wonderful. It's been a long time since I've been in a house filled with family, particularly our house...it was so fun, and honestly, it's the reason we moved to Seattle, to be near our families. I am so glad my kids will know their cousins, aunts, uncles, etc...it's just invaluable. There really is nothing more important in life than family.

Below are some of my favorite pics from this weekend- enjoy!

Sippin' sangria and shopping in Ballard. 

My little pumpkin and me.

Uncle Paul reading to the Hud. 

Aunt Julie with Madeline.

Hud and company out on our deck- it was really warm this weekend!

My baby girl and me.

Hud reading to his cousin Scarlett.

The hud with his Aunt Julie.

Mother's Day with my Hud.

Mother's day brunch with my little ones.

My sister and me.
I can't imagine my life without her.
So lucky to have such a great sister!

Ok, I know I'm biased...but, seriously, does it get any cuter than this?

I love watching the bond between my son and my daughter develop. Don't get me wrong, there are moments when it's not so good, but when it's good, it's really, really good.

And then this afternoon while Maddie napped, the Hud and I made lasagna. He loved it.

It might be time to change from the Daily Hud to the Weekly Hudson/Madeline or something along those lines, I just can't keep up with my daily posts anymore. So now, when I post, you get something like 20 photos. Here are your 20 for today. Ok...14. Maybe next week it will be 20.

This little girl LOVES her daddy. A LOT.

See.

I don't know if she has ever worn a cuter outfit. 

And this smile...it's contagious!

At Macrina bakery.
Have I mentioned my love for Macrina?

With cookie on her mouth.

Hud was breakin' out some serious dance moves.