Favorite Quote

This is one of my favorite quotes. It's at the end of Meet the Robinsons. Yet another heart felt Disney movie that Hudson and I love to watch. This quote is a reminder to me that Hudson's curiousity is opening new doors for us every day and I couldn't be more proud. 

"Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. 

We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...And curiousity keeps leading us down new paths."

-Walt Disney

Christmas Festivities

I can safely say that Christmas has not flown by for us. Hudson and I put the tree up before Thanksgiving because I didn't want to get to Christmas and be super sad that it went too fast. Even though I will still probably think it went too fast after it's over but Hudson and I have done our best to soak it all in. 

After Christmas in Boerne the Friday after Thanksgiving we've been taking trips to Garden Ridge to see the huge blowup snowman, santa, Christmas trees, all things Christmas. 

We helped decorate mawmaw and pawpaw's Christmas Tree.

Friday the 13th we went to Karl's work Christmas party for kids. Santa was there with a present with Hudson's name on it! I thought it was such a cute idea. They asked us to send them a gift idea and they would get it and have Santa give it to them at the party. Such a sweet idea. When we got there we decorated a cookie. Hudson was eating the decorations. Boy loves candy..who doesn't? :) They had a photobooth and my angel wanted to put the props on. So cute! At first he was hesitant and then when he saw mommy and daddy put on he was ready to play dress up. He didn't want to sit on Santa's lap but kind of warmed up to him on a talk with mommy :). 

The next morning we went to the Budafest Parade. We stood where we always used to stand with my mawmaw. We used to go every year with mawmaw. Hudson and Noah had a blast. Then we waited to take a picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus and got a classic crying baby picture. Hudson didn't want to get close. Noah was adorable. He told Santa he wanted a jackhammer. 

That night pawpaw and I took Hudson to Marble Falls to walk their trail of lights. We did the round twice. Drank some hot chocolate, ate a rice krispy treat and had a great time. 

Sunday night we went to the Buda Trail of Lights with mawmaw, pawpaw, Ashley, Thomas, Brigette, Bryan, Jessica, Vincent, Riley, Wendy, James and Noah. The lights were great but it was busy as heck. I won't sugar coat this. It was kind of a nightmare. Trying to keep up with Hudson. Running after him and trying to keep an eye on him while trying to stay with the gang. We took notes and knew we were going again with nana and pops so I packed candy for our next trip. 

Tuesday, 12/17 also nana's bday, we went to the Buda Trail of Lights again. Hapa came and it was wonderful. There was barely anyone there and marshmallows were a good idea :). Much better. 

Wednesday 12/18 nana, pops, hapa, Hudson and I went to the trail of lights. That was very busy but we had a great time. Hudson kept running to hapa. Wanted to help push his wheel chair. 

After all of these festivities I can honestly say we have soaked in a bunch of Christmas spirit. 

23 Month Old Helper

Man this month has seen a lot of changes. My bubba is growing so fast. So fast...you guessed it...makes me want to cry. This past month about 3 weeks ago my bubba asked to go to bed in his big bed with me. I have been so fortunate to have rocked my baby to bed. This about killed me. I knew it would happen and maybe sometimes wondered when but it's been the most amazing experience ever. Now...before you go off telling me it's what's best for Hudson, trust me, I know what's best for my little man and there's nothing that I want more. However, just my thoughts...thanks to my husband, my work background and the two wonderful ladies (Lisa and DeeDee) I wouldn't have been able to work from home with Hudson. There's not a day that I don't thank my lucky stars. Having said that, my job at home is to work and also be there for my son 100%. Rocking him has allowed us to build this most amazing bond that's untouchable. I also owe a huge thanks to all of those who told me "hold on to what you have because it won't last forever." I'm taking their words literally. I hold my beautiful son and rock him. Our hearts touch every night. I'm so unbelievably thankful for this time that I was allowed to be this close. Don't get me wrong. He still wants me in his big bed with him as he falls asleep and I'll never tell him no....cause one day...he won't ask me.

My little man is talking about a storm. He said "hapa" for the first time and knows that it's grandpa. In fact, he knows and calls most of us by our names. I'm mommy of course. :) Hudson is usually shy around grandpa at first but he quickly warms up and wants to tell grandpa everything he does. It's so very cute.

New words? Most definitely. Too many to keep up. Hudson loves to tell us what he's done. What he's doing. Who he saw. What he did. He's amazing. I love it. Even if I have to put on my mom ears I totally understand most of what he says :). My little talker is growing way too fast.

This month I worked on introducing Hudson to Christmas. So...he's learned that "Santa eats cookies"...he'll tell you that. We read it in a book and it's what he remembers the most. Hudson absolutely loves every snowman he sees and does NOT want to sit on Santa's lap. They can talk. Just no sitting.

My favorite thing this month. Any time Hudson wakes up the first thing he usually says in his sweet voice to me is "Hiiiii mommmyyy." He says it so soft and sweet. Of course we are still like this (I'm crossing my pointer and middle finger). Always his go to gal. Hudson buries himself on purpose and says "help mommy." Any booboo he wants mommy to kiss it and he says "better" right after. Angel! Hudson LOVES lights. We go on a walk or car ride in the neighborhood. He points and says, "Look! More lights." This Christmas / Holiday season has been the best yet. More on that next. Let's just say..we're living up the holiday experience to it's fullest. Just to see my beautiful boy's expressions and attempts to understand just blows me away. I feel like I can never say it enough. He is amazing.

Hudson's activity level is still through the roof. This boy doesn't sit still for anything. Well...one thing. Toy Story 1, 2 and 3. Hudson could watch those over and over again. When they aren't on the tv he wants to go go go. Such a busy boy. Full of adventure and curiosity. And so much more pretend play this month. Bubba will pull out the pots and pans and say "I cook" or tuck his baby giraffe in for bed time and say "baby night night."  Or roar at you with his "dino" or have the baby bears hug. Funniest thing is to see him wrestle with this Jeffery the Toys R Us giraffe pops gave him. I love to see him pretend. It's the highlight of a childhood. Imagination. He's got one for sure.

Another wonderful thing is bubba wants to "help" with EVERYTHING. It's awesome. He wants to load the dryer with me. Sweep the floor. Type on mommy's computer. Peel the orange. Anything you can think of...he wants to help. Showing me his awesome big brother abilities? Hmmm...we'll get him a sibling sooner or later :).

Hardest thing about this month? Entertaining a wild man with the time change and super cold weather. We take trips to Garden Ridge to jump the rugs. Academy to check out the boats. Anything to fulfill his adventurous heart's desires. Anything for him :)

Month after month this awesome boy of mine continues to amaze me. I never knew life before him. I never enjoyed it this much. And I'm just a bystander in this crazy world of Hudson watching him grow, learn and shine. I've got the best seat in the house. Life is good.

Love you my sweet angel. Can't believe you will be 2 next month.

-Luckiest mommy in the world.

Christmas in Boerne 2013

This time was by far my favorite trip to Boerne. Where do I even begin? We drove down to Boerne during Hudson's nap time. I took a nap too because I ran 18 miles in the morning! So proud of myself. Getting there. We checked into the hotel and took off for the petting zoo. I was wondering how Hudson would do. With our trips to the Austin Zoo he's a little scarred from a goat that nibbled on his hand. But he LOVED the baby goats, baby pigs, and chickens. He even petted a chicken. I'm not brave enough to do that. What if the peck you? LOL! JK!

After the petting zoo pawpaw asked about the pony ride. Karl and I both said no but if you want to try it go for it. We for sure thought he would jump off as soon as the ponies started to move. We were wrong. He LOVED it. It was probably one of the cutest moments so far. Hudson had the biggest smile and he looked like a pro. Not sure if Karl will let us but I'm asking Santa for a pony for Christmas. Hehe.

They have snow machines up down the main street and Hudson was trying to squish all the "bubbles" of course he knew it was bubbles. No pulling that over his head lol. Everyone had so much fun in them. We then walked to the end of the street and did a carriage ride. Bubba said horse every time he saw one. A carriage ride was definitely a must.

After the carriage ride there was a gazebo behind a huge stage with a band playing. Hudson and cousin Noah ran around that gazebo for hours! We all talked about how well they were going to sleep. Heck, we all slept good. It was such a huge treat to be with cousin Noah and running around. Being boys. Being kids. Loved watching them chase each other, copy each other, dance together and kiss. Sweetest cousins in the whole world. Best friends for life in the making.

We normally walk up and down the main street to shop. This time we let those who wanted to shop, shop and those who didn't followed the little ones around having a blast. I can't wait to continue our family tradition of Boerne as we add more and more little ones to the bunch. The little ones, my son...bring all the joys in life. There's nothing better than watching my baby boy experience fun. What more could a mom ask for?

Thanksgiving 2013

What's one word to sum up my Thanksgiving? Home. This Thanksgiving made my house feel even more like a home. It all started Wednesday when my aunt KK came into town with my cousin Marky and his girlfriend Brooke. Hudson took off with his dada for the night to be with nana, pops and hapa.  In the mean time we (me and KK) prepared our dishes. As I was cutting up onions in my kitchen my cousins Marky and Cameron (brothers) were sitting in the living room with their girlfriends (Brooke and Jasmine) and Jasmine's little brother. Telling stories with my aunt KK as she prepared her dish. Laughing. Telling those "remember when" stories and kid you not. The emotional goof I am it made me feel so warm in my heart to hear such fun stories from my cousins in MY HOME. It also made me think that when I give Hudson a sibling he'll be doing the same thing 18...23 years down the road. Just awesome. See anything funny about the top left pic below? My cousins being funny :). Not sure how long they were there while we were downstairs talking. Goof balls.

Made our first turkey this year and I'll have to say I was impressed :). Hudson help me brine the turkey on Tuesday, Karl buttered the turkey and I stuffed and seasoned. It was delicious. Karl made yummy bacon wrapped asparagus and of course I made the squash casserole that is a Thanksgiving must (my mom demands that I make it haha). I slept with Hudson in his big bed and we woke up to smelling burning grease in our oven (the turkey was safe). KK woke up with us. We drank coffee and watched the Macy's Day Parade. A tradition we always did with my mawmaw.

Lunch was at 1. Everyone showed up with their yummy food and of course we had entirely way too much food but thank goodness for leftovers. No cooking for a few days haha. Bubba ate a little here and there. For the first time since he was an infant he fell asleep in my arms on the couch as all the cousins were upstairs watching Toy Story 3. Bubba was so tired but didn't want to go down for a nap. He wanted to be with his cousins watching the movie. Sure enough momma's snuggle sent him over into dreamland. In the mean time, everyone sat around talking. Just the way we do it at my mom's house. Perfect.

Funniest thing? The cousins (Marky, Riley, Cameron, Jessica, Vincent and Hudson) found marshmallows and started throwing them in each other's mouths from downstairs to upstairs. The funny thing was we broke out the extra large s'more ones and Marky almost took Riley out with one. Hit him smack on the forehead. Sorry Riley...it looked hilarious. 

With a late nap time Hudson slept until 5. Dada was working the UT game and Marky wanted to do the Black Friday shopping thing. I knew I had to do something with Hudson since he had a late nap. What was I going to do to wear him out? Go shopping of course. We do that a lot. We look...we don't always buy haha. First we went to Wal Mart (mad house) and quickly realized we needed to get out of there. Headed to Target which was way more organized and a lot less scary. Bubba at Pizza at 8:30 at night for dinner at Target on Thanksgiving. He is most definitely his father's son. 

All in all it was a wonderful Thanksgiving. Sad dada had to leave to work the UT game but thankful for all of our wonderful family members who did and always continue to make my house feel more and more like a home. Thanksgiving has been officially handed down to me as "my holiday" and I couldn't be happier!

Hudson Tells A Story Part 2

 Oh man this just gets more and more fun. I swear since in the last month Hudson has really started to say sentences. It is so awesome!! 

Where do we start? Bubba wakes up on Monday to find dada is not home so he says "dada work."  Everyone who is not at our house must be at work because Hudson says they are. When daddy gets home he either says "daddy here" or "daddy home." Mommy asks him if he's ok after a fall he tells mommy "I otay." Strapped in his car seat and "I stuck" and "mommy out" cause bubba doesn't like being stuck. We leave and bubba wants to go "back home" and when we arrive he says "we're here". 

A very demanding fellow bubba says "mommy run," "daddy eat," "pawpaw walk," "come on pawpaw." "Mommy up" at the park. My best friend always wants me to climb with him. This one truly amazes me: bubba absolutely hates his shoes off. Sometimes he cries and tells me "I want it on." In fact he says that about socks, shirts and shoes. Silly buns.

Took him to the park by our house that's mosquito infested (yuck) and he says "squitoes bite you." Every ant pile he sees he says "ant bite you." Bubba chases us around saying "mommy tickle" "daddy tickle" and "got you". Cutest thing ever. I mentioned this one on his 21 month blog but when bubba hasn't had enough of what he's eating he's says "more grapes, candy, Cheetos, water, cheese" etc.  

Lately he's been saying "I want to eat Jello." Mommy hasn't been giving into his candy cravings so Jello will have to suffice. He loves it...he is able to do it himself..and it's SWEET. Win Win Win. When's he's upset he says "I want mommy" or "I want daddy." Love that.

This one makes me laugh because it sounds silly to tell your kid this but bubba says "cars hit you." He patiently waits by his mommy in parking lots because he knows "cars hit you." It's not a lie...they really can lol. "Dogs kiss you" "mommy get you." "I throw it" - tough one. Yikes. No more hard balls in the house. we tell him not to throw and he listens after the 3rd time you ask. Fun stuff lol.

Of course his favorite lately is "I do it." Some people get sad when their babies take on this independent stage. But it's fun and very often Hudson will tell me "mommy, daddy help." Man, I could go on and on. I'll add more when I think of them but this stage is so much fun. He's learning so much. Saying so much. It's getting easier to communicate and understand each other.

Side Note:  Hudson went to the dentist this morning for a yearly checkup and his teeth are perfect!  YAY :). He decided he wanted to sleep in today and of course mommy had to schedule a dentist appointment at 8:15 AM. Didn't have time to get him dressed so put him in the car in his pjs. We changed in the bathroom so it's all good. About to get our nap time snuggle on.Happy Friday!

The Most Interesting Man: Eugene Peter Ruf

It's funny having grandpa "hapa" in my life. He's been a part of it for 11 1/2 years now and in my heart feels like he's my grandpa. It's also funny to interview a 104 year old without him wondering what you are doing. That's tough. Kudos to reporters who do that.

During the many times we play cribbage grandpa sings these old songs that are way before my time and then asks if I remember the song. He does this to everyone and it's the cutest thing. As he says about Hudson...grandpa "has all of his marbles." He remembers so much more than I ever could. I can't remember anything from 8 years or younger...or I'd really have to sit and think about it. He has the most interesting life to me.

On a side note:  I think everyone should keep some kind of diary. I've never been more interested in finding out what grandpa has to say about his life and all that he has been through. Even though most people will say "I have all my memories in my head" you'd be surprised on who wants to know about those memories and the connection you feel when you know about something you weren't around for.

So, without asking grandpa a billion questions. This is what he told me and has told me before but this time, I wrote it down. :)

Petrina Peterson (grandpa's mom) was a missionary in South Africa in the early 1900s. His father Eugen Ruf (pronounced Oy-gan) left Germany and went to South Africa. They met in Cape Town (bottom tip of Africa). They migrated to NY in1908. The next year Grandpa and his twin (Walter Johan Ruf) were born in April. Yes...that's 1909! Can you even imagine? Grandpa is 1 of 5 brothers. I'm missing a name but there's Walter Johan, Eugene Peter, Norman Lloyd, and Alf Rufus.


At age 12 grandpa lost his mom, dad and baby brother (Norman Lloyd) to the Spanish Influenza Pandemic. Three days in a row respectively. Once again, I can't imagine being around for this. More information below from this article.

THE LEGACY OF THE PANDEMIC

No one knows exactly how many people died during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic. During the 1920s, researchers estimated that 21.5 million people died as a result of the 1918-1919 pandemic. More recent estimates have estimated global mortality from the 1918-1919 pandemic at anywhere between 30 and 50 million. An estimated 675,000 Americans were among the dead.

Grandpa was then entered into the Christian Home for Children in Fort Lee, NJ on Palisades Avenue. Grandpa told me that Father Nelson (not a priest but the head man of the orphanage) was the nicest man ever. Everyone called him "Father Nelson". 

Grandpa has also told me stories about how he used to sell newspapers when he was a boy. He would strategically go down to the subway stations and fumble to get people their change so they would jump on the subway before he could get it to them. Smart from a young age. Doing what he needed to do to survive. A survivor in so many ways. What's his secret? He'll tell you good clean living. In my opinion it's the heart of an amazing survivor. Never dwelling on heartbreaks, unfortunate situations, hardships, times of despair...trust me...he has seen them all. Everything you read in your history books from 1909 and on...grandpa has been a part of it. 

What does all this mean to me? The world. Even though grandpa isn't my blood relative I feel that much more closer to him knowing some of history. And this is just a fraction. I want to know so much more about grandpa and try to remember all he tells me through our many card games. When I first met grandpa, he blew me away. Every day I talk to grandpa I feel wiser. And what might seem like nothing to some makes me feel amazing. 

My favorite thing about grandpa? How from day 1 he's made me feel like one of his own. Always loving. Always sweet. Not a cruel word ever from a wonderful grandpa. He seems to always be amazed by so many when we're all amazed by him. The wonderful amazing feelings are mutual. Especially when he talks about my son. Grandpa always tells me "Hudson has all of his marbles." Guess they have something in common :)