Hudson's first actual vacation

Let me start this post by saying that I'm somwhat of a binge blogger. I never seem to have the time to post when I want to, so I keep a mental list of all the things I want to write about and then I just go to town posting when I have a free minute (i.e. when Hudson goes to sleep without any fight).

So last Wednesday, we loaded up Lucy (my Aztek) and made the 2.5 hour drive to Ocean City, MD. My mom, Jack, Aunt El, Joey, Kelly, Randy, and Brandon were all ready there. Hudson fell asleep before we even travelled a mile from the house. Unfortunately, that wasn't an indication of the remainder of the trip. He woke up about an hour outside of OC and proceeded to cry the entire way there. Well, I'm not sure if you call it crying when it's just a bunch of screaming with no tears. Anyways, we were so excited to finally get there. We all went out for steaks to celebrate my birthday and we came back to the condo for some delicious Giant Eagle birthday cake (yes, my family really loves me - they routinely transport Giant Eagle cakes out of state).

The next day we attempted to go to the beach, but it was a little cloudy. That didn't stop Hudson from enjoying himself. Here he is showing off his new top teeth (you have to look closely):



That night, the Steelers were playing a preseason game, so what choice did we have but to deck ourselves out in black and gold and head to the local Steelers bar, The Salty Dog Saloon?!?

We were able to get in some good beach time on Friday. Here's Hudson playing with the new dumptruck that Grami bought him. The kid is obsessed with wheels.

Saturday, our last full day, was the hottest of them all. Therefore Hudson got to squeeze in some pool time.

We had a great trip!!

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.

A true summer weekend

This past weekend, we loaded up the 'tek (that's what we call Lucy, the Aztek, to make her sound a little cooler) and headed to Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house in NJ. We had a great time even though the trip back to Baltimore was an eventful one (Hudson decided to have explosive poop while in his carseat only 30 minutes into the trip. After changing him, he figured that he was stay up for the entire 3 hour ride home and just have Mommy entertain him).

During our visit, Hudson visited the Jersey Shore for the first time. I tried to show him the sand (he wasn't interested) and Ryan tried to take him in the water (he was REALLY not interested):

Hudson got his first taste of nectarines - they were a big hit!

The real reason for the trip was so that we could all meet baby Izabella. She's a tiny little thing, especially when she's next to our monkey man. She's now weighing in over 8 lbs. It's hard to believe that Hudson was once this small! Her feet were a third the size of Hudson's! Here's a pic of them together. Hudson loved her!! He's smiling here and wanting to touch her hair (maybe he's a little jealous since he's still bald!):

Megan, Jay, and baby Izzy live in NYC. We went to Central Park and to Bloomingdales:

A summer trip to NJ would not be complete without a dip in the pool!