7 months and an ICE Storm

 We have ourselves a 7 monther! He is all kinds of happy! When he gets really mobile- I am going to be in big trouble. He has no fear! He rolls all over and is already trying to pull up on things! Lets work on crawling first little buddy! He is eating baby food and cereal twice a day, nursing 4 times a day, 2 naps and sleeping for 12 hours at night. He is beyond a dream baby!

                                             Looking out to see the snow for the first time!

 I think the last good ice storm was the week before Harrison was born. Trees fell in our backyard and we were without power for a few days. I was praying for more than one reason that I would go into labor that week! This ice storm was a LOT more fun! We actually had a little buddy (and a half) to play with! (And we had power!) Harrison LOVED the snow! He has been so excited about Christmas for so long that we have had to tell him about the seasons so he knows when it was getting closer. First, The leaves would change colors, then the leaves would fall off, then it would get really cold, then it would SNOW, and then Christmas would be here. Wellllll......we didn't really plan on the snow being here- but more when we traveled North for Christmas- so we had a little explaining to do! With each season he would describe the changes and then proclaim "It's almost Christmas!" For example, "The leaves are turning red! That means it's ALLLMOSTTT CHRISTMAS!!!!!" lol! I told you he has been excited for a long time!! 

 Church was cancelled on Sunday so Charlie prepared a little lesson on the birth of Jesus for our family as we prepare our hearts for Christmas. It was beyond wonderful to have a mini church lesson in our Pj's on Sunday morning! I am so grateful for Charlie and the way he leads and loves our family!

 Well, Christmas is near! We will be heading North to visit both sets of Granparents and our one and only Aunt Alyssa! We will meet our fellow Texans Gabby & Gumby in the North as well as "Papa Thomas" my 93 year old Grandpa! He will get to meet Hudson for the very first time! 4 Generations and my whole family will be together! What a blessing!

Charlie even got two snow days! But one of those days I had to work- so the boys of course helped their Daddy get a lot of work done!

Well- I am off to cook and clean! We are having our small group over tomorrow for a Christmas Party where we are serving a full on Christmas meal! Yummmmm!!!! We are also having an Oprah-Inspired Favorite Things Gift Swap! Oh its going to be awesome! Hope everyone is well! We Love y'all!!!

October 2013

We are having the time of our lives with this guy and his big brother. We have officially survived the first six months! Having two kiddos was truthfully easier than I thought. Now, that doesn't for one minute mean I have it all figured out...I think it just means that I expected the worst case scenario and truthfully two has been a lot more fun than I ever expected!

Hudson is truly a joy. He is ALWAYS happy and ALWAYS smiling. He has brought out a side of Harrison I would have never expected...prayed for...but never expected. He cannot get enough hugs and kisses from his little brother. Fortunately, Hudson's tolerance for being squeezed and laid on is extremely high! So the two get along great. No one can make Hudson squeal and laugh like his big brother. Harrison has really grown up a lot this month too. He is so conversational! He has really gotten better about obeying and listening this month too. 2013 brought a lot of change for Harrison...New house, big boy bed, no more paci's, potty training, and a new brother. I think things have finally settled down and we are really getting into a routine.

Hudson started baby food this month and cannot get enough of it. I definitely have a big eater on my hands. Can I just say I adore feeding children! Harrison NEVER eats, so I get a huge thrill out of feeding any kid who eats!

Hudson is weighing in at 21 pounds, wearing 12 month clothes for the most part. Size 4 diapers. He is sleeping exclusively in his crib for naps and at night. No more swing...bittersweet. He is sitting up, rolling all over and as of yesterday, he is clapping!!!

Harrison is weighing in a just over 31 pounds. Still wearing 3T clothes. He is loving bugs, playing outside, playing with his legos, and coloring. Charlie is teaching him how to draw smiley faces this week. Harrison truly has a little engineers mind. If Charlie builds something with legos Harrison can pretty much duplicate it. It is remarkable; Giraffes, bumble bees, houses, etc. If he sees one he can recreate it!

Well, thats all from me. Just a little quick update about my little gentleman and life in the Howlett House. Hudson turns 7 months old this week! Cannot believe it! Hope everyone has a blessed thanksgiving!

July 2013

Highlights of July...

-Harrison got to ride his firetruck in the neighborhood 4th of July Parade! And won a prize for the coolest dude on 4 wheels =)
-Harrison & Hudson got a great show of fireworks that ended with mommy nursing in public and harrison with ants in his pants....fun times. 
-We met the Trotti family at Grapevine Mills Outlet mall for a day of shopping....it was great to visit but we learned online shopping is definitely the way to go! ;)
-Papa and Grammy came to visit and we had a great visit with them.
-We are back full swing in small group and loving every minute of it. Charlie even lead small group last week at our home and did an awesome job teaching on God's Trials in our lives.

-Hudson weighed in at over 18 pounds.....he is 1 pound away from what Harrison weighed at 1 year....this is going to be interesting. 

Needless to say we are having far too much fun with these two boys! Harrison still adores that baby brother of his & Hudson is still all smiles all the time. I started back to work and though I would much rather be at home with the boys, it has been a good transition back. We are gearing up for our trip to the beach with the Trotti family over Labor Day Weekend. Same cabin we stayed in last year but we are adding two newborn babies......yes we are crazy....but we are going to have some CrAzY fun too! Hope y'all are enjoying your July as much as we are.

The First Two Months

Our little buddy has gone from 8 pounds 4 ounces and 21.5 inches to a whopping 15 pounds 9 ounces and 24.75 inches in just two short months! He is smiling and cooing and just the happiest baby I could have ever dreamed of having. If he is not sleeping he is smiling every chance he gets. He thinks his big brother is pretty funny too! I know they are going to be the sweetest of friends. He is sleeping through the night and cuddling with Harrison every chance he gets. He is wearing size 3 diapers (which is what Harrison wore at 2 years old) and size 3-6 month clothes. We definitely have a good eater on our hands. I cannot even begin to tell you what a perfect addition he is to our family. We are so in love and so grateful to the Lord for his precious life.

Hudson Levi Howlett's Birthday...Mommy's Story

On Saturday, April 20th 2013, Charlie and I had no idea the night were about to have. We should have gone to bed early because we were supposed to take Harrison to ride an actual Thomas THE Train early the next day. Instead we stayed up watching episodes of Modern Family and I gave myself a manicure. I thought Hudson was coming days before as I had 5 hours of regular contractions on Wednesday and then 5 more hours on Friday. Then they just stopped. We had stopped all our efforts to get Hudson here 24 hours earlier. No more spicy foods, long walks, running down stairs, or bouncing on the big red bouncy ball. I was okay being pregnant for just one more day so we could all go see Thomas.

Hudson had other plans though. At midnight, April 21, it all started with one extreme contraction and I started to worry. I immediately started to feel sick at my stomach so I got up to go to the bathroom and Charlie fell asleep. Strong contractions continued and I continued to want to hold off labor so I did the one thing I thought would stop the labor and I took a warm bath. The warm water and relaxing nature can slow or stop your labor. Not in our case. He was coming with or without my permission. The bath woke Charlie up and when he came to check on me, the look on my face said it all.....it was time!

Contractions were coming fast and furious. So much so I could hardly get ready! I kept having to stop and breath and lie down. We called our babysitter Amanda who was thankfully here in no time and away we went. This time was much different than with Harrison (read his story here.)...Hudson was coming quick!! Charlie drove with flashers on, through red lights, and over speed limits to get us there as quick as possible.

We had to enter through the ER because it was the middle of the night. They checked us in and sent someone to get a wheelchair to take me up to Labor and Delivery. That person was taking far too long so I finally asked"Can I could walk to labor and delivery?" I said "I know right where it is...I've done this before!" This baby was coming and I was wanting that epidural and fast! They then realized how serious I was...."No ma'am you cannot walk to labor and delivery"...but magically a wheelchair appeared and we were on our way to labor and delivery. It was everything I could do to not take over and start high speed pushing myself in the wheelchair through the hospital. 

We arrived on the unit at 1:40am and wheeled by all the nurses at the nurses station and into our room. I calmly informed the nurses how difficult of a situation it was for my epidural with my first delivery and if we could get it started ASAP that would be awesome. The nurse calmly informed me there were some things that had to happen 1st.

1. I had to be dilated more than 4cm.
2. I needed to get an IV and get labs drawn
3. We needed the results of those labs.
4. I needed to receive one liter IV fluid

They checked to see how far I was dilated and the nurse said I only a 3.5. I was a 3 at the doctors 4 days earlier and the way the contractions were coming i wasn't buying it. There is no way I was only a 3.5. The nurse sympathetically told me she couldn't call the anesthesiologist until we were sure we were having a baby tonight and that they wouldn't be sending me home. (WHAT?!?! I stopped acting as stoic as I had been....I had been playing it too tough and they weren't taking me seriously....send me home?!?! You have got to be JOKING!)......

The nurse decided she would start doing my admission paperwork "just in case" we were having the baby. She started asking me all the questions they need to know to get you admitted and let me just say we did not get too far. For one...you cannot talk through the extreme contractions that I was having and two...they were coming like every 3 minutes and lasting for a full minute so needless to say we did not get much time to chat.

She decided after witnessing the contractions that I was INDEED in labor and she would go ahead and start the IV, IV fluid and lab work. They had a hard time finding an IV and getting my blood and during that time my water broke. They checked me again and I was a 7. (That's more like it!!!) The nurses told me they didn't think there was going to be time for that beloved epidural but that I could still get a spinal block which is what they do for csections.... I didn't care what they did as long as they took away the pain.

Moments later... I felt the urge to push. By this point we had 5 nurses including the charge nurse in the room with us. The charge nurse informed me there was no time for the epidural and no time for a spinal block. I was going to have to do this naturally. I looked at Charlie and I said "I did not want to do this naturally!" With sadness we both knew we had no choice. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a natural birth! Its actually the best for mom and baby! However, in nursing school I had witnessed far too many natural deliveries of screaming women in pain and had become  pro-epidural way back then! Many many women plan on doing it natural and prepare mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually for all 9 months and some after all that still beg for that blessed epidural. So I decided long ago, epidurals were my friend and I wanted one every time...no questions. With Harrison's delivery I had a bad anesthesiologist and it took 7 different attempts to get a half way working epidural- and even after all that I still thought it was worth it! I also labored with Harrison for 19 hours so never would I have thought there would not be time for an epidural with baby number 2. What I am trying to say is... I was not prepared for a natural delivery and would not have chosen a natural delivery...but a natural delivery is what I was about to have.

I started to pray out loud. I prayed for God to take away the pain, I prayed for our sweet baby boy to be healthy and for everything to go smoothly. I knew it would be over soon and I would one day be looking back on that night and I knew that I would be proud of myself for having a natural delivery. But in that moment I wanted it to all be over. I was ready for it to be a memory rather than a reality.

It was definitely time to push and the baby was coming, but there was no doctor! I could not help but push. My body had taken over and it knew exactly what to do. I told the nurses I had to push. The charge nurse told me that I could not push until the doctor arrived.  She said I needed to lay on my side and keep my legs together.... I didn't really listen to her.  She kept telling me "I cannot encourage you to push!" After that, I explained to her  that she was indeed not encouraging me, but the baby was encouraging me and I was sorry but I was pushing!! I gave the 5 nurses in the room a pep talk on delivering the baby without a doctor. ("You are strong capable women. You don't need a doctor. You've done this for years! You've got this! Now please make sure everything goes smoothly!).... and I started to push.

I kept thinking in my head that I could not believe what was happening. I am about to deliver a baby naturally and without a doctor....but I also knew I wanted the pain to stop and the only way for that to happen was to get the baby out. So not only did I push but I pushed with all that I had. The doctor arrived shortly after and just in time to introduce herself, gown up and deliver my sweet baby Hudson.

At 2:46 am our family of three became a family of four. I hugged that sweet boy with the biggest sigh of relief... We had done it. He was here and healthy and it was all over. In that moment the Lord stretched my heart more than I ever knew possible. He made room for all the love that I had for my second baby boy. He was so handsome, so perfect, and so BIG!

After it was all over, I jokingly asked the nurses if they had gotten my labs back yet, that was one thing we were waiting on before they would call the anesthesiologist for the epidural.  They all laughed and said they never would have guessed that when I wheeled passed them all in the nurses station that we would be having a baby within the next hour. But we did, a chunky 8 pound 4 ounce  21 1/2 inch bundle of sweetness. Hudson Levi Howlett.... the absolute most perfect addition to our family. Praise the Lord for our sweet boy and answered prayers.

Maui

Charlie and I traveled to Maui this spring- Here is a little bit about where we went and what we did...

Charlie's last day at Concussion was April 5 and he decided to take off some time before starting his next job May 7. We have been saving for a trip to celebrate our 5th anniversary but had not actually gotten around to planning or taking time off for the trip. So with the large amount of time off that Charlie had we decided to go for it! We booked our trip to Maui just 14 days before we left. Heidi was awesome to come down and keep Harrison for us so it could be a vacation just the two of us.

So we left Tuesday morning bright and early, 5am to be exact, and we were off! After a stop in LA we landed in Maui at 11:45 even though we had been traveling for close to over 10 hours....crazy time changes! We had Dinner (or lunch) by the poolside and headed to bed by 6pm Hawaii time- 11pm Texas time.

Day 2: we woke up at 2:30am to head to watch the sunrise on top of Haleakala Crater. This is an active volcano that is over 10,000 feet above sea level. We literally drove through the clouds to get to the top. The sunrise was stunning. We heard it described as the place where heaven touches the earth and that could not have been more true. The sun looked like liquid as it passed through the clouds. We took lots of pictures but none do any justice to what we witnessed. P.s it was also below freezing on top of the mountain so pardon the pics of us with our crazy layers on.... and yes I took my winte coat to Hawaii just for this moment. =)

After sunrise we headed back down the volcano and at breakfast at a restaurant called Grandma's. This was one of Charlie's highlights. A little hole in the wall filled with locals. We had omelets and homemade cinnamon raisin bread french toast....yummmmm.

We lounged by the pool/beach from breakfast til dinner time. For dinner we experienced our first Luau! Ours was called the "Drums of the Pacific." The Luau told stories of the Polynesian culture that span across Hawaii and the Pacific ocean. There were beautiful luau dancers and even men that danced with fire. The dinner was open buffet and open bar. So much fun!

Day 3: We had a breakfast buffet at our hotel that overlooked a waterfall and swan pond. Absolutely gorgeous. We walked the beach and the grounds of our hotel and then headed to Lahaina- an old whalers village. Charlie found this awesome vintage poster shop. The owner is a collector of only real prints of posters. The posters were huge and very inspiring for him to see in person! Some of the prints were worth more than cars and all of them had to be handled with white gloves. Pretty cool experience for him. We also got to see the historic Banyan Tree. The tree is over 100 years old and it is HUGE! Covers nearly the whole park. We had a late lunch over looking the beach headed back to hotel for some beach time and had my favorite dessert for dinner- creme brulee out of a coconut. ohhh so yummy.

Day 4: I woke up early and decided to get up and watch the sun rise....HUGE mistake. We stayed on the west part of the island- so the sunrise was hardly impressive... Should have stayed in bed. We had breakfast at the hotel again overlooking the pool and beach and then headed to Charlie's surf lesson! He surfed more waves than you can imagine from 10-12. They said it was the best day of waves they have had in a long time. He never got a break in between waves- it was just one beautiful wave after another and he caught almost every single one. He did awesome!

We headed to another local spot called Cafe Ole for lunch where we got awesome fish for a very good price. After Lunch we drove down to Wailea to the most beautiful beach called "Big Beach." The waves there were out of control! People were getting tossed around and injured left and right. We were smart enough not to go in the water but just to watch. The water was crystal clear and blue as can be. The waves were spectacular to watch.

After our time on the beach we stopped at a local stand and bought a fresh frozen coconut to drink......fun experience....wont be drinking that anymore though....yuck yuck yuck. =)

We had dinner at The Plantation House which was a special treat from my parents to truly celebrate our anniversary. The view was incredible. We overlooked the beach and a gorgeous golf course. I truly felt like I was living in one of those golf coffee table books. I recommend this restaurant to ANYONE going to Maui....it is a definite MUST see!

After dinner we walked the beach and lounged in a hammock on the beach at our hotel. I kid you not, you could actually see the stars twinkling- it was so beautiful.


Day 5: We had the breakfast buffet at the hotel again overlooking the swan court and beach. We spent the morning by the pool relaxing and this morning we decided to try out the hotel's water slide. It was over 200ft long and totally pitch black inside. It was quite a thrill. We walked down to "Whalers Village" for lunch at the Hula Grill where they had home brewed Hawaiian beer- so fun! We walked down further to Black Rock and planned to snorkel here for the day- however, the waves were too high and people were getting injured. We got a tip from a local to take our snorkel gear over to Honolua Bay. Most. AMAZING. Experience. EVER! No one was out there except a pod of dolphins playing in the bay- jumping and flipping around. Charlie and I swam out together in the most beautiful water and coral ever. This is so amazing for me because I get so sea sick- I never get to go snorkeling because you usually have to take a boat out to the area where you snorkel. Here we just walked right off the beach and started snorkeling. It was quite an adrenaline rush too- because no one knew where we were, no one was out there, and of course I was afraid of sharks. The two of us enjoyed about a 30 minute snorkel out with the dolphins and enjoyed God's beautiful creation. This was definitely and experience I will never forget.

That night we had dinner at a restaurant at the hotel called Japango- we had amazing sushi and fish and again my favorite dessert creme brule out of a coconut.

Day 6: We had breakfast overlooking the pool and beach. We headed back to Lahaina (where Charlie fell in love with the poster's) and grabbed some souvenirs we had been eyeing (a tshirt for Charlie, a hand carved Christmas ornament of some fish we saw snorkeling, and a pandora charm.) Then we headed up the coast. We drove past Honolua Bay again to get a birds eye view of what we had been snorkeling in and then we drove to see a blow hole. This was quite a beautiful and fun place. The waves were crashing against the rocks and then all of a sudden a huge gush of water would come up through the rocks. This was our last day so we started toward the airport. Luckily our flight was later that night so we stopped at a beach near the airport to watch one more Hawaiian sunset.  Absolutely breathtaking sunsets in Hawaii!

This trip was the most amazing place I have ever been and by far and away the most fun I have ever had. We made sure to spend part of each day on the beautiful beaches/poolside and part of the day exploring the island and because of that I do not regret one minute. This will be a trip I am forever thankful we took. It was hard being away from Harrison, however I am proud of Charlie and I for continuing to take time away just the two of us and focus on each other. It is a goal we set for ourselves every year. Speaking of...looking forward to next year! =)

Here are some more pictures of our trip if you are interested....
http://photos2.walmart.com/walmart/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=7467837008/a=467880008_467880008/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=walmart/

Family Time...

This month has been filled with fun times with family. We finally took Harrison up to see my parents in Cape Girardeau Missouri. This is the first time he has been there! We had a weeks worth of time to make wonderful memories. We did it all too! We went to the STL zoo, the splash park, Harrison got to drive the tractor with his Papa, we got to spend the day with my grandpa, Spend time with my cousin Debby, and go to the Children's museum. My favorite thing was seeing Harrison drive the tractor with my dad. That was always something I loved to do with my papa and now Harrison gets to do that with his papa. Such sweet memories.

 

Alyssa came down to visit us this weekend. We had a blast going to the pool, playing clue, seeing the animals at the zoo and just being bums at our house. She is such a wonderful Aunt! Harrison was sick for one of the days Alyssa was here and she was the biggest help ever! She changed diapers, held the bucket while harrison was getting sick, encouraged our stubborn child to eat, etc. She would do anything for her little buddy Harrison and he loves his "Al" sooo much! I also loved having some fun girl time with Alyssa. She taught me some fun things to do with my hair and it was so great catching up and hanging out.

                                    

It is so wonderful to be with family and it makes my heart so sad that we don't live closer to family. Texas is definitely our home and we absolutely love it here- but I sure do wish it wasn't so far away from family. Harrison asks lots of nights for his Grammy to rock him and now he is asking for Al in the mornings. He asks for tractor rides from his papa and still tells me "papas car is loud." haha.


Charlie and I are loving every minute of life these days.... We are headed to Destin Florida over Labor Day with Devin, Courtney, and Hadley for a fun week of beach time with the kiddos. The whole Howlett clan is coming down in September for the TCU vs ISU football game. We are truly looking forward to making more precious memories with famiy. Life is good!