Lots of updates!

Wow, where do I start?!? I seriously can't keep up with this kid!

Last weekend, we took Hudson to the National Zoo in DC for the first time. It was actually a date with his future wife Layla. They're so in love....

He had his first taste of yogurt and was a BIG fan!

His 4th tooth came in. He now has two on the top and two on the bottom. Could this toothy grin be any cuter?!?

He has learned how to stand on his own. He can stand without holding on for about 10 seconds before giving up and crashing down on his bum. We don't have a picture of the "assisted stand" yet, but don't fret - I'm sure we'll get it soon enough. I figured I'd just post a picture of him standing so that I could show off how adorable he looks in these crocs!

Hudson has also learned a new consonant sound - "ba". I warned him not to called Grami a "ba-ba"! So he now knows Ba, Da, Ra, Ga. We work on Ma everyday, but I guess he's saving that one for when the time is right.

As Ryan already wrote, Hudson also went to his first professional sporting event (the Yankees vs. the Orioles). I was a little bummed that it wasn't a Steelers game, but it's okay. We're just introducing him to the inferior sports so that he has a full appreciation for how wonderful Steelers games really are.

We're off to the beach tomorrow, so we should have some great pictures when we get back. Ryan bought me a great new cell phone for my birthday yesterday and he told me that I can blog from it, so maybe we can upload pics before we even get home! Happy (early) Labor Day to everyone!

First trip to the ballpark

Today, the "fam" went to Camden Yards to watch the O's take on the New York Yankees. It was a gorgeous day especially for Hudson's first trip to a ball park - to a professional sport for that matter.

Events like this make being a dad the best job in the world... they really do, I'm not just saying that. I can't help but think about how proud my father was taking me to the ballpark, and now I get to feel the same way with my son. That "passing down to the next generation" crap really tears me up.

Here are some of the highlights from today:

1) We showed up at the ballpark and I first ran to get a "beer and hotdog" at the concession stand while Jenn held Hudson and about 13 bags that we seem to need to carry everywhere we go now that Hudson has arrived.
2) I asked Hudson if he was excited about his first ballgame. He responded by drooling then smiling at a cute 2 year old girl walking by. He's a serious flirt.
3) While Jenn was taking care of Hudson (I had to focus on the game), I gave her a bite of my hotdog (which I was reluctant to do since it was so f'n good). She spilled some ketchup on her pants. I laughed at her and asked the guy next to me if I could borrow some napkins to clean up the mess my wife made. I told him that she's kinda messy and that I wasn't aware of this flaw when I married her. We had a good laugh... but Jenn didn't. She just stared at me. I wasn't sure what that meant at the time but suffice it to say that I'm writing this entry from my couch and Jenn has just brought down a pillow and blanket. I think it's for me.
4) We sat in the stands and watched a few innings of some great baseball!
5) Hudson nursed on his mother's boob while I nursed on a beer.
6) The Yankees won and we celebrated by stopping at Hudson's favorite BBQ joint (RUB - sometimes pronounced RUBS by certain senial senior citizens who won't be mentioned here).

All in all, it was a great day and I couldn't ask for anything more. I love my wife and I love my son more than anything in the world. Days like this make it seem like we live in our own little world and things couldn't be better... except for sleeping in my own bed :)

Another one popped through!

In case you're keeping track, the current score is Hudson's teeth - 3, Jenn - 0. All the moms I know seemed to "forget" to warn me about the joys of teething. I mean, I know that it's painful and all, but it goes on for TWO YEARS?!?! I didn't really sign up for that...
Anyways, Hudson's top left front tooth popped through today with the right one very close behind. My adorable gummy grin is now turning into an even cuter toothy one!

(There's no picture to post because I'm lucky that I can get my finger in his mouth to feel it - forget about getting a picture of it! Those days are long gone!)

Day 3 of new recipes

As I mentioned before, I'm trying all new recipes this week. We had another success today. Although I have to say I'm not quite sure how Rachael Ray got this dish made in 30 minutes! It was a 60 minute meal for me!

Red Eye Chili Gravy Steaks with Cheddar-Chive Polenta

Where have the last nine months gone?

Our little monkey changed our lives forever a mere 9 months ago. I haven't stopped glowing since the day I found out that I was pregnant. Ryan hasn't stopped beaming with pride since the morning that his little sidekick came into this world. I know that it's been said before, but parenthood is truly an amazing thing. There really is no other way to explain it than by saying you know how it feels to see your heart out side of your body. Your child becomes the reason for every breath you take. With every minute that I look at my little guy I love him more than the last. It's truly remarkable how selflessness becomes a way of life and your world revolves around this little angel - anything you can do to make him happy will be done since his happiness is the only thing that matters to you. The things I do just to see my monkey smile are countless. In a little book that my mom bought me there was a quote that said "Your baby will learn how to love because of you". If that's the case, Hudson is going to be prodigy when it comes to love.

Taken right before leaving for the hospital

As if what I have already written isn't sappy enough, I also have to mention the changes that the last 9 months have had on our marriage. Parenthood can do two things to a marriage - strengthen it or destroy it. Thankfully for us, it has done the former. The highs and lows of parenting are so much more enjoyable when you have someone wonderful with whom to share them. I can feel my chest expand as my heart grows when Ryan walks into the room after a long day at work. As much as I play with Hudson, his smiles are the biggest when his Daddy walks into the room. Everyday I stop whatever I'm doing just to see his face light up when Ryan announces that it's time for the "Daddy changing dance" (while that sounds wildly inappropriate, it's a rather cute little dance that Ryan does for Hudson before changing out of his work clothes - Hudson LOVES it). I have never felt more blessed than those times I see my guys together.

Leaving the house as two, coming home as one...

Okay, I guess the sleep deprivation is getting to me - I'm not sure what caused me to be a blubbering mess right now. At least I know that my mom and Ryan's mom are at home crying along with me as they read this.

Just a reminder of how much has changed in 9 months...

New recipes...

This is a week of new recipes. So far, the two I've tried have been keepers!!

Italian beef sandwiches - this is super easy!
2.5 lb round roast
1 can beef broth
1 packet of McCormick's Au Jus mix
1 packet of Zesty Italian dressing mix.

Combine the mixes and the broth in a bowl. Place roast in crockpot. Pour mixture over top of roast and cook on low for 10 hours. (I shredded the beef after 8 hours so that it could soak up some of the gravy after it was shredded.). Serve on a potato bun with a slice of provolone cheese.

Tonight I made Rachael Ray's Lime Rickey Chicky. It's a 30 minute meal. I thought it was pretty good and Ryan LOVED it. Here's a link to the recipe:
Lime Rickey Chicky with Buttered Almond Rice

Hudson's 1st day of school!

It's been almost 9 months that me and my little monkey man have been playing the days away. Unfortunately, I have a dissertation that doesn't want to write itself, so that means I have to get back to the grindstone. Since Hudson isn't the best co-author (he's not too interested in disproportionate minority confinement of juveniles in Baltimore County), it was time to start daycare. I have stressed and agonized over this decision for months. Do we use a daycare or nanny/babysitter (what's the difference, by the way?)? When should we start to send him? How will we pay for this? The list of anxieties goes on and on.

Hudson and Daddy before school

I'll spare you the nitty gritty details on how we came to this decision, but we chose a daycare center right down the street from our house (who better to care for our kid than someone in The Point?!?). August 4th was his start date. I was excited for him because I thought he might enjoy playing with the other children, especially now that he's mobile. But I was extremely concerned for a few reasons. 1. He won't drink milk from a bottle. 2. He only falls asleep when I nurse him or when someone walks him around. and 3. I didn't want him to think I abandoned him.

Hudson and Mommy before school

Ryan and I both took him to the daycare at 8:30a. We talked with his teachers until 9a. Hudson was smiling, looking around, and even reached for his teacher. That made leaving much easier (and the fact that I was only leaving him for a few hours). I went to school and felt invigorated to get back into the swing of things. I called to check on Hudson at 11:30a and they said he was sleeping.

I went to pick him up at 1p. I sped there because I couldn't wait to see him! As I was putting shoe covers on my shoes before going into his room, I could hear him crying. Not sobbing, but just crying which was okay. I was walking into his room when one of his teachers was walking out. The first thing out of her mouth was "Oh Lordy" - not exactly the greeting I was hoping for. She proceeded to tell me that it's obvious that he's used to one-on-one attention and would cry when she walked away (the other teacher in the room was just sitting on a chair while he was on the ground crying). I sat down and he crawled to me crying, but started to smile once he got to me. Then he seemed fine. The teacher also asked me how he played with other kids at playgroup since he kept taking the other children's toys. So, in the first 2 minutes of arriving, she has told me that my son is needy and a bully. I was less than thrilled with her feedback.

Thankfully, Hudson seemed to be fine which makes taking him tomorrow bearable.

Hudson smiling in his new classroom

Boobs to Breezewood!

This past weekend, we packed up the car once again (Hudson didn't contribute to the packing once again...), but this weekend we were off to Pittsburgh. My little brother Joey stayed with us during the week after our NJ trip, so he was also driving back with us. After a hectic morning of trying to get everything packed in addition to preparing our rental property for the new tenants, we finally headed out at 2p. For the last few weeks, I've had some problems with my car's AC. The fan would just stop blowing, but then randomly come back on. (This was particularly concerning since I spent a small fortune last summer to get a new AC). I wasn't too worried when it went out on Friday morning, thinking it will DEFINITELY come back on before we head out. Boy, was I wrong! Did I mention that it was 90 degrees?


This was one of the worst drives to Pittsburgh that I've ever been on. And I've been on quite a few since moving to Baltimore. We pretty much hit traffic from our house until Breezewood. Being the sweet wife that I am, I offered to drive so that Ryan could eat some food. Joey was in the back with Hudson. Well, I got caught up in all of the packing and organizing before we left, that I forgot to nurse Hudson before hitting the road (again, please don't call CYS...I promise I'm a better mom than these posts are making me sound). Since I was the one driving, there was no way to "road nurse", so I was stuck praying that the boobs would make it to Breezewood. In fact, everytime we hit more traffic, Ryan, Joey, and I would all sigh and say "Boobs to Breezewood!". Hudson was an absolute doll through all of this. I shed more tears than he did on this trip.
When you're sitting in traffic with no AC and the windows opened, you don't even get the luxury of a breeze. Good times....


We stopped at Starbucks in Breezewood (an iced tea-lemonade with black tea, sweetened was like a juice from the Gods at that point) so that I could nurse. Wouldn't you know that Hudson didn't even want to eat! Ahhh, the pain!


We finally made it (boobs and all) and went straight to Kings' Family Restaurant. Ryan gets the biggest kick out of Kings'. He doesn't think there's anywhere else in the world that is a big of a time warp than Kings'. Everything about the place (the people, the prices, the decor) is stuck a world that existed about 25 years earlier.

On Saturday, we went swimming at my cousin's pool. Hudson had a little piece of raw broccoli. He actually liked it. Well, except for the fact that he kept choking on it (damn! Looking like a negligent mother again!).




Thankfully, all of the heat, traffic, and boobie pain was worth it when we got to see our family! (Indulging in Kings', Giant Eagle cake, Lucci's white pizza, and Eat N Park cookies was just a bonus!!)

Grami and Hudson

Play time at the beach!

This post is a little late, but life with an infant is a bit chaotic!

Over the weekend of July 25th, Ryan, Hudson, and I packed up the car (well, Hudson was slacking on the packing duties) and headed up to Ryan's parents' house in NJ where we met Bobby and Joey (my 2 brothers who drove in from Pgh), Ashley (Bobby's girlfriend), and Alex (my college roomie/BFF). We all went to the beach on Saturday along with Ryan's mom. The weather was absolutely amazing. Hudson sat on his blanket and played with his toys. He wasn't too interested in the sand and definitely was not a fan of the water.

All of that surf and sun is tiring!

We had an amazing time on Saturday night when Che (another college roomie/BFF) and Mike (her husband), and Megan (high school BFF), Jay (her husband), and Izabella (their daughter) joined us all for dinner catered by none other than the family chef, Ryan's dad. It was so great to see everyone and catch up. Unfortunately, we got so carried away with catching up that we forgot to take pictures :(

Hudson also wanted to partake in the party...

(DISCLAIMER: He didn't actually drink the beer - don't call CYS)

Hudson also had his first taste of pasta - he was a fan.