James' 3rd Birthday PaRtY!!!!!

Well...many of you have been asking when I was going to finally post pictures from James' 3rd birthday party. It has taken me this long for 2 reasons: 1. I don't have time and 2. I am unhappy/disappointed with the pictures that I do have which aren't many. Do those of you who have kids feel like it is an absolute madhouse once the party begins? James never wants to stop long enough to have a picture taken for anything. He didn't even eat any of his cake...he just wanted to run around and play. I am glad he had fun...but was disappointed about my pictures. So, here are a few. I don't have many pictures of the actual cow decorations. That one was my fault. I missed them in the hecticness (is that a word?) of the day...

The Cow Cake

I wasn't real sure how this would turn out and when I am pregnant I don't have much patience for details, so you can imagine how that worked for me! :) I am happy with the way it turned out and more importantly James LOVED it! He thought it was hilarious and asked to look at it at least 15 times before his party ever started! He couldn't wait

until Lauren woke up so he could show her. That made me very happy and it was worth the work!

Some of his gifts...

Yes, your eyes are not misleading you. He did get his very own mini shop vac and Luke had to immediately put it together for him. My sister got this for him. Hilarious isn't it? He is going to be set by the time he's out on his own as far as household tools and gadgets. He loves it and has cleaned up many things with it!

He got many, many animals to set up and play with which have kept him very entertained over the last week. He loves them all! He also got a truck and horse trailer as well as a 2 barns! He just sets them up all day, feeds them, and takes them for walks...I'm enjoying watching his imagination run wild!

Isn't this adorable? My MIL couldn't find cow paper, so she made her own. James also got many cow stuffed animals and a cow puppet. We have a lot of black and white around here right now.

This is Sunday morning before church. I made him a go cart at his request out of his tinker toys (also a b-day gift) and is giving his animals rides. Aren't you girls proud of my tinker toy skills? :)

He got a bug back pack, sleeping bag, flashlight, and canteen/water bottle that he has also enjoyed playing with. He's ready to go camping...I am hoping we can have a camp out in our living room here in the next several months.




We always try and get a family picture at each event....James is NEVER in the mood because he has fun cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents he'd much rather be playing with....but....it's a moment.

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James' birthday lasted about 10 days as far as mini birthday celebrations. He really enjoyed it and was disappointed when I told him this was his last one until next year. These are his 2 best buddies, Morgan and Addie. We always get together for the kids' birthdays and have a little party. James really enjoyed it this year and of course his gifts. We love our friends!

I love these action pictures of him blowing out his candles. These are better shots than I
got at his birthday party! :( I actually think I am going to make another cow cake, put
James in his birthday clothes and stage the whole scene so I can get some good
pictures. Is that bad or weird? Am I psycho? The fact that I'm willing to make a cow
cake again is a bit scary, but hey, at least I've done it before!!!!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy JaMeS!!!! We love you!!!!

A liitle bit of us...

Things have been really busy around here these days and I am hanging in there! Just wanted to give you a quick update on some of the things that we've been doing around here. James' big, cow birthday party is tomorrow and Lauren will be 14 months...so I am sure I will have lots of updates for you in the next several days.

Let's start with Lauren since you haven't seen much of her lately:

The funniest thing about Lauren right now...she's a sippy cup thief. Seriously, her goal each and every day is to see how many times she can steal James' sippy cup. At first I thought maybe she just liked his cups so we started giving her a drink in them. Nope...it's HIS cup she wants. We have to barricade his the hallway when he's napping because she wants to barge in and steal the sippy cup. It's hilarious. If it's in reach...she's got it and she knows exactly what she's doing. She'll grab and run! It's really a sight to see. I will try and get it on video! Usually James is pretty gracious, but as soon as he takes it away she throws herself on the floor and just sobs. So much drama...such a girl. Here are a few pics of her in action:

In for the kill... Score!!!!!!

She thinks this whole thing is hilarious...

This is the face after James or myself has taken the sippy cup away...

Pitiful huh? Don't feel too sorry for her. It will only be a matter of minutes before she's gotten it again!!!

This girl LOVES books. She would sit and look at books forever! Loves them!!!! It's so weird

because James NEVER sat and looked at books. It's kind of nice! :)

look how big she's getting!!!

McDonald's for James' Birthday

James' birthday was on MLK day so his cousins didn't have school. We decided

to take the kids to Mc Donalds to celebrate. Those of you who know me at all know

that I never take the kids to the "germland." My stomach turns when I think of it...

Picture me there with hand sanitizers in every form. Wipes, gel...you name it. I wiped James and Lauren's poor hands SO many times and changed their clothes when we got home. Is that normal? The kids had a great time and it was worth it!

Lauren just loved walking around and checking out all of the action. It was lots of fun!

James...My photographerFor a kid who hates the camera as much as he does, he sure likes to take the pictures. He loves carrying around my old camera and pretending to take pictures. He thought it was hilarious that I was taking a picture of him taking a picture of me!

My Cow Fanatic...
You all know how much James loves cows and we have been planning his cow themed birthday party for quite some time. Well, if you haven't been at Target recently they have an enormous section of cow gear for the spring. It's to die for...James was in heaven. He used his birthday money to buy this visor. Precious huh? He will also be getting the cow chair and I'm sure some of the other goodies. I just had to show you a picture. He loves it! Lauren does too!

Last but certainly NOT least...James had his first dentist visit. He was SO excited to go. It's all he could talk about and I walked him through what they would do. I actually thought it would go smoothly. Well, I was WRONG!!!!

Here he is sitting in the waiting room...excited to be at the dentist!

This picture is completely staged. Once we sat him in the chair and they put the napkin around his neck, it was OVER. Do you hear me??? O.V.E.R. He was crying and I had to hold him on my lap in the chair while they looked at his teeth. Needless to say he didn't get them cleaned. We're trying again in 6 months. During this time the Doctor came in (a man) and looked at Lauren and attempted to touch her hand. BAD NEWS! Lauren doesn't like men and he was no exception. So she began screaming! And keep in mind that I'm still holding James in my lap so now the Doctor can torture all of us by examining his teeth again. So James and Lauren are both crying (the hygienist...bless her heart what holding Lauren) and feeding off each other. The doctor is trying to talk over all of them to me... about how long to brush his teeth and so on...blah..blah...blah... Didn't work. I was starting to sweat and just wanted to get the heck out of there! Oh my goodness....it did NOT go as planned! So, we will see if we can go through the same madness in 6 months. And I will find a sitter for Lauren!!! :)

There's an update...a long one...sorry...I will post pictures of James' birthday party! Have a great weekend!

Happy 3rd Birthday James Hudson!!!!

I find myself in awe of the fact that my baby boy is 3 today! As I was cleaning the office yesterday I was thinking about some of the things I love most about James. These are just a few (or 10) of my favorites:

1. His sweetness-he is sweet...he loves babies, animals, his sister, daddy and especially me



2. His obsession with small appliances... specifically shop vacs :) It's so humorous and so...well...him



3. His loves of family and his friends. He so enjoys and looks forward to spending time with them..he gives Mallory and Claire nuzzles, hugs and kisses.



4. How he always wants to see me just 1 more time before he falls asleep.



5. The way he drags out the space heater every morning to the front room and lays in front of it along with his 3 stuffed animals and large stuffed dog..and says, "He's warming up."



6. The way he is so protective and careful with Lauren (most of the time...we have the occasional push and shove) He just follows her around and makes sure she doesn't do anything that she's not supposed to. We've had to work on him not being a "second mother" here lately...He thinks he can discipline her when need be... :0



7. The way he asks to have the same bible stories read to him every day...David and Goliath, Jonah, Daniel and the Lions Den, and The Good Samaritan (he likes hearing about the man's ouchies)



8. His sensitivity...boy, I don't know where he gets that from? He's going to be a tough one to parent in some senses because he is so sensitive that we have to be careful how we approach things and yet it's his sensitivity that makes him want to please us and others as well as brings out this ultra sweet side....his "let me just please you"..."tell me how great I am" side....and I don't have any trouble doing that! :)



9. Random hugs....several times a day...sometimes as many as 15 or 20
10. How he's pretty much always happy...he is rarely grumpy and rarely in a bad mood. We are so blessed!

That last 3 years have been the most rewarding and joyous time in our lives and have really made our lives complete. I know that sounds so cliche...but the birth of our children, has just been the icing on the cake for this life we are living. What a blessing and joy you are to us James. I often times say to Luke, "Do you really think other people love their kids as much as I do?" I really feel like I have such an amazing love, bond, and relationship with James. He is a special kid and I thank God for him daily...hourly...he is such a blessing! Happy Birthday Sweet James! I can't wait to watch you grow...but I'm not ready for you to stop giving all the hugs, kisses, and affection that you give us through the day!!!