the best saturday.

I'm a little late posting on this, but we had such a fun day last Saturday... had to share. As most can relate, we have had such a COLD and wet winter. So when we found out that Saturday was going to be bright & sunny & near 70 degrees outside, we had to plan something fun. We took the kids to the recreation park @ Maclay {not to be confused with the gardens} for a picnic lunch and playtime. Sadly, Gus and I in all of our years in the area, have never been there. We had no idea what to expect. Well, we discovered a place we plan on taking the boys often. We all had soooo much fun! There's a lake and a big grassy area where we had our little homemade picnic on a blanket, and then the boys played on the playground afterwards.











When we were ready to move on, there was no whining because our next stop was Marble Slab Creamery for ICE CREAM!





And if ice cream wasn't enough of a tweat {in Hudson language}, girl scouts were selling cookies almost right next door. We could NOT pass up a box of thin mints! So, while Matthew & Gus took a potty break on the way home, Hudson had to have his very first thin mint...

never a dull moment {with Hudson around}...

Last Friday, we had just finished lunch and I was trying to straighten up the kitchen a bit before naptime/room-time. {Hudson & I take naps while Matthew plays in his room... and may or may not fall asleep} Then Matthew informed me that Hudson had locked himself in his room. Hudson has locked himself in numerous rooms, and I've become a master at picking locks. Plus, his room has another door that goes out to the balcony, so I just knew I'd have him out in a second. No such luck. Thankfully, my Dad was a few minutes away {Gus being 25 minutes away @ work couldn't help, obviously}... and thankfully, he was with cousin Freddy who is a true handyman! {no offense, Dad!} So after Hudson had been in there for about 40 minutes, Freddy got him out by prying off the doorway trim.

Thankfully, Hudson did not tear up his room OR decide to climb on his bookcase that is not bolted to the wall OR get really upset over being trapped in his room... he whined briefly, but mostly said "Heyyo" and "Pwease" over and over :)

And really the least of our worries, thankfully, getting him out didn't really do any damage...



*And wouldn't you know, Hudson locked himself in again on Monday! I thought I had fixed the issue with the balcony door... good thing I watched Freddy last week :)

eight years ago :)

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary! We just got home to an empty house {thanks to Mom & Dad!}... we had the best time tonight. Went to dinner @ Kool Beanz and then stopped off at RedEye coffee house on the way home. Fun to hang out in hip midtown Tallahassee! So, in honor of our eighth anniversary, here are some of the things that I love most about the last eight years:

1. Our Miami honeymoon. Miami is certainly not the typical honeymoon spot, but we LOVED it.

2. Starting out our marriage in a new place, just us. We lived in the Jacksonville area for two years before moving back "home", and we had such a great time seeing new things and living in a whole new place all by ourselves!

3. Moving back to Quincy into a house I had always loved when I was younger... being close to our parents/families; Gus' new job; getting back in touch with old friends & making new ones. It was a great move at such a great time in our lives.

4. The birth of Matthew Nicholson on August 17, 2005 :)

5. Our 5th anniversary trip to NYC... that was THE BEST! We walked all over that city even though there were record-cold temps outside. I can't wait for our 10th anniversary trip!

6. The birth of Hudson Bruce on May 20, 2008 :)

7. Our recent involvement with the students/youth @ church back in September. We feel so unqualified, yet priveleged to teach them each week... and just get to know who they are individually. They are such a blessing to us!

8. Finding out we were pregnant with baby #3... and then finding out that this baby is in fact another boy!!

weekend with our "littlest" valentine!

Although we missed our Matthew, {kinda goes without saying} it was sooo nice to have time with just Hudson over the weekend. Those of you who have more than one child can relate I'm sure. It's hard to feel like the second one gets near enough one-on-one attention. Not to mention, having one child is unbelievably EASY!! So much for the third on the way :)

We had tons of fun making cupcakes for the kids in our sunday school class... and Hudson had the best time for two reasons: being up on the counter & eating something sweet!

all is pretty well.

This morning went really well... everyone @ the surgery center was extremely nice & sensitive; Gus and I were really calm/peaceful about everything; Hudson did not shed a tear when we handed him off {this was huge for him}; surgery was actually ahead of schedule... basically, all of our prayers were answered!

He's recovering pretty well too, especially as long as he has tylenol in his system. It's really nice timing too because Gus' parents took Matthew to the beach tonight {his home away from home!}, so we'll have a weekend to pamper our little patient :)

Speaking of the patient, enjoy some pictures from the pre-op room...

{enjoying a special treat to distract him... dada's blackberry}

{in need of some mama love... the blackberry alone was no longer cutting it}

{sweet, sweet boy... very blessed & grateful that he is in that gown for such a minor procedure}

tubes tomorrow.

Just a quick post... Hudson is going to have tubes put in his ears tomorrow morning. We know this is standard surgery {and many of our friends have gone through it with their children}, but it's still a little nerve-wracking! Hudson has had numerous ear infections since October, so we're hopeful tubes will be the solution.

I'll be back tomorrow with a report :)

it's official :)

First and foremost, the baby is healthy... thank you, thank you, God :)

Now for what you really want to know - the baby is a... ???
{warning: there is a brief shot of a not-so-glamorous preggo belly}

fun valentine garland.

I love decorating for holidays... particularly if it costs me nothing! Thanks to Martha Stewart's website and scrapbook paper I already had, our kitchen is now a little more festive for Valentine's Day!

I have to admit that originally, I thought this would be a fun project with Matthew, but I'm too much of a perfectionist. Thankfully, he never expressed any interest every time he saw me cutting out the hearts!

In case you're interested, you may find the template here. Here's what I did different... printed the template on cardstock, so I could trace the heart each time; used the medium-sized heart instead; made the cut on the side of the point @ the bottom to look less conspicuous; used tape {instead of glue} to close the heart back up.

the coolest thing.

A few weeks ago, {MLK weekend} Gus and I helped chaperone our youth ski trip in Boone, NC. There was a two-night conference put on by Student Life that we all went to after everyone skied all day. On the first night, the speaker {Dave Rhodes} shared with us that he and his wife were in the process of adopting a two year old boy, Frankie, from Haiti... the horrific earthquake had just happened 4 days before that. It was so touching to say the least to hear Dave talk. They obviously had been in such turmoil not knowing how Frankie was doing. Well, the night before the conference, Dave and Kim were watching the evening news on ABC with Diane Sawyer... she was reporting from Haiti and actually picked up their son, and said "Hi, Frankie!" Unbelievable.

Fast forward to last night... we went to youth to see them get their silly awards from the trip and we got to see this video that shared what happened with Frankie! ABC says it was by chance that Dave & Kim saw their son on t.v. that night, but there is no way. Their story is such proof that God cares about what's going on in our lives!

Enjoy...
New Chance and New Family for Haitian Orphan - ABC News

first day of "school" :)

Today was Matthew's first day at Mom's Morning Out @ the Presbyterian church in town. He'll go every Wednesday from 9-12 through May. Normally, it's probably not a big deal, but to us it is! Besides church each week and other random things Matthew is involved in, this is the closest thing to pre-school or daycare that he's ever done.

He was so excited to go this morning... wearing his backpack all around the house before it was time to leave! We are very blessed to have a child that is so easy going and eager to go anywhere and do just about anything that's new. {I only say this because it's easier on me that he is the way he is... Hudson will likely be completely different, but just as much of a blessing!} He was a breeze to leave, and we are so excited for him and all he is going to learn and do through MMO! We love the mission statement too, which is to "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" Proverbs 22:6

So, not to my surprise, MMO was a big hit. Matthew had a great time, and loved showing me his artwork and the snake he made and that it was all about the letter "A" today. We even got a sheet that said he was in a happy mood; that he had apples & nilla wafers for lunch; that he went potty {woohoo!! he's certainly potty trained, but also hard-headed and prefers to go when he is about to bust}; and that "he had a great day!"

{leaving the house... all ready to go!}

{so glad Gus could go with us this morning}

seventeen weeks today!

According to babycenter.com, the baby now weighs about 5 ounces... about the same weight as a turnip. And he/she is about 5" long, head to bottom!

Last week, I definitely started feeling the baby move around, which is so exciting... I think no matter how many times you're pregnant, it's amazing. I had been questioning little "feelings" for the past couple of weeks, but last week I definitely felt a light thump going on!

P.S. I'm thinking that with the third baby, your stomach just pokes out more quickly... so please save the twin comments! :)

a wagon & and some elephants.

We had a pretty eventful weekend... fun for the boys & us. On Saturday we celebrated Googie's 86th Birthday. {Googie is Gus' grandmother, & I am thankful to call her mine by marriage} She is the sweetest lady... has a fun sense of humor, loves each and every one of us, {she has 5 children, 6 grand-children, and 12 great-grandchildren with 2 of those on-the-way} and she is way too easy to please! Sadly, we did not get a single picture of her. The only evidence we have of the party is this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klpxt2pjggo {click}

Then on Sunday, Gus' parents generously sent us to the circus! {and kept the maniac for us!} We had the BEST time. It was so much fun to have quality "Matthew time", and the acts were definitely entertaining for all of us. Here's Matthew with his favorite, "the strong elephants".





When we got back to Mama Anne & Daddy Nick's, this cute little maniac greeted us in the front yard :) It was ffrrreeeezzing, but he didn't care one bit!