Hudson is 11 months old

Dear Hudson,

You are 11 months old! Time flies by so fast. You turned 11 months on the day we returned from New York City.

I can’t believe how fast these 11 months have gone by. You’ll be a year old in just a few weeks. You become more and more hilarious every month. It has been such a joy to watch you grow and change. I’ll say it again- I am so torn! I want time to stand still with each stage with you because each new stage is my favorite. But then I know that the next stage is going to be even better than this one. (Remind me that I said this when you turn 16 and you don’t want to talk to me!)

You spent more than two nights away from us for the first time and I’m confident that it was harder on me that it was on you. I really did miss you and knew that I was missing so many of your laughs and smiles.

You took two steps a couple of days before your daddy and I left for our vacation! It was so wonderful to get to see that and since then you’ve only taken two steps a handful of times. You know that you can get around really quickly if you crawl. And that’s fine with me. I’m not in any hurry to have a walker in our house. You’ll be running soon and I’ll never be able to catch up with you!

You’re really discovering words! You say “ba-ba” (bottle), “buh-bye” (bye-bye), “mama”, “da-da”, “Boo” (Boudreaux), “do” (dog), and “ba” (ball). You’ve even really started getting that “n” sound down and when you shake your head back and forth like I do, you also say “na-na-na” (no-no-no). It’s so cute!

When I say, “Hudson, what does the cow say?” You say, “mmmmm.” You can’t quite make the “oo” sound come after the “m” sound, but you’re getting it and you definitely know what the cow says! Just today when I started singing “Old MacDonald had a farm,” you said “e-yi-e-yi” and I didn’t know what you were saying. Silly me, you were singing “e-i-e-i-o.”

You absolutely love books. I mean, you love cruising around the house and playing peek-a-boo constantly, but you really love your books. You crawl over to your book basket every morning after your nap and pull out the books one by one. And you read them one by one. I hope that you’ll grow up to love books as much as I do.

Since we returned from our trip, you’ve been much more strong-willed than usual. You make it very clear when you don’t like something and when I tell you “no” in a stern voice, you have a full-blown meltdown on the floor. Hopefully we can figure out a way to correct this before it happens in public.

Your personality is really coming through every day and I absolutely love it. You have such a sweet spirit, but you are 100% boy. You make sounds like a truck and your KK calls you a little bull. You run into the couch cushions with the top of your head and plow through the room like you’re on a mission. But when you’re tired, you crawl over to my lap and climb up, pop your thumb in your mouth, and rest your head on my shoulder. There are few greater feelings than the one I feel when I recognize how much you need me right then.

Your daddy and I love you so much and we are going to cherish this last month of having an infant! The toddler days are right around the corner!

Love,

Mama

Stats for this month:

Weight: 27 pounds (you haven’t gained in a while!)

Diaper: size 4 Pampers Cruisers (daytime) and size 5 Pampers Overnights (night time)

Clothes: 18-24 months

Food: 32 oz of formula during the day (8 oz per bottle) and 3 meals at the high chair. You love your vegetables and Yogurt Melts. We only have one more month of formula!

Teeth: 8 teeth!

Sleep: 7 am- 7 pm with two naps during the day. We love this!


…because this is hilarious

Remember this post where I showed y’all the house plans I love?

Do you see the first sentence in the above paragraph?

I’d like to share a little spousal conversation with you.

Erin: I want to show you some of the house plans I found that I posted on my blog. I don’t think I’ve shown all of them to you.

TC: You mean the “Amazingness” plans? Is that what they’re called?

Erin: Well, it’s Acadian style. Is that what you mean?

TC: No, you said it was “Amazingness.” I wouldn’t forget that.

Erin: (dying laughing) I made that up! It was the best description I could find to express the way I felt about the Acadian or Country French style!

TC: Well, I never know what you Louisiana people are talking about. I mean, we named our dog Boudreaux, so I figured “Amazingness” was what it’s really called.

I’d like to go ahead and apologize to anyone else who really thought that the houses I posted are really called South Louisiana Amazingness Style. But if that’s really what you thought it was, you may not want to admit it! (still laughing)

mom-style monday: tracy negoshian {and a giveaway}

This is a very special edition of Mom-Style Monday. I want to share a fantastic, comfortable, stylish line of clothes with all of you. I have to admit that I’ve kind of been keeping it a secret because I wanted to be unique with a couple of items in my closet, but I can’t keep it a secret anymore!

Tracy Negoshian makes comfortable, stylish, quality, and affordable garments for women of all ages. I first saw Tracy Negoshian pieces at the Junior League of Columbia Holiday Market in December 2009 and snatched up two dresses for myself.

I have this Betsy dress in black/red and aqua/brown. I wore it to a Christmas party. I wear it to run errands. I wear it with leggings when I’m hanging out at home with Hudson.

If you look through Tracy’s website, you’ll notice that many of the tunics and dresses are in SEC team colors (shown below). This is not a coincidence.

shown: Michelle tunic in colors appropriate for LSU, University of Georgia, Auburn University, and University of Florida

In fact, there’s a great story behind Tracy Negoshian’s clothes. I had the privilege of speaking with Tracy on Friday and got to hear her amazing story that she wanted to share with all of you.

Tracy Negoshian attended the University of South Florida. She was a Marketing major and worked three jobs to put herself through school. After college, Tracy moved to Palm Beach by herself and lived in a 600 square foot apartment a couple of blocks from the ocean and Worth Avenue.

Tracy didn’t have a job and wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to do, so she set out with her resume in hand to find a job. She walked down Worth Avenue in Palm Beach and went into the stores looking for job opportunities. She ended up getting a job at Saks Fifth Avenue as an assistant in the Designer Salon. For three and a half years she organized trunk shows and various other events for the Designer Salon and even got to meet designers like Michael Kors and members of the Missoni family.

Tracy started to want more out of her career, so she went into Sales and worked in the Contemporary department. She became a personal shopper for the most elite clients in Palm Beach. She had great experiences wardrobing closets and helping women find the best clothes for their needs. She didn’t have the money to afford the many of the clothes at Saks, so Tracy would typically shop at bargain stores.  One day, she went to K-Mart and bought three wrap dresses.  She wore one of the K-Mart wrap dresses to work the next day and accessorized it with a Target necklace. Her clients loved it and all wanted to know where Tracy got the outfit! They couldn’t believe it came from K-Mart.  Ironically, some of her clients whispered that they would like her to go buy them similar dresses.

Tracy has always been drawn to color and prints. She is a huge fan of Emilio Pucci because of the fun colors and prints.

After a while, she got an offer from a prestigious Palm Beach family to come work for them, so she left Saks Fifth Avenue.

In the meantime, University of Florida was headed to the National Championship game in 2006 against Ohio State. Tracy attended the game with her family. Her mom wore a rhinestone studded Gator shirt and all the women loved it and wanted to know where she got it. Tracy had a thought, “I can do better than that.” She realized that there was a wide-open space for affordable, stylish, comfortable clothing for women as well as stylish game-day apparel.

So Tracy picked up and moved home to Dade City, Florida and started My Team Boutique and created football jersey wrap tops appropriate for the fans of the University of Florida, Florida State University, University of South Florida, and the University of Georgia. Her first line was produced in India and shipped out of her parent’s home with Tracy fulfilling each order herself. The college licensing process became an issue, so Tracy decided to go a different route.

She decided to brand herself and still do college-inspired apparel with team colors and fun prints. Because the college football season is only 3 months of the year, Tracy needed a product for the other 9 months.

So that’s when Tracy got where she is today with these wonderful dresses that are perfect for college game-day and dresses that are perfect for a day of errands or a night of fun! Her garments are similar to Lilly Pulitzer and Tory Burch while only being a fraction of the price.

Tracy produces a quality garment that is easy to wear and won’t break the bank. And it makes women feel good about themselves. Her clothes are sold in 300 boutiques around the United States and Puerto Rico.

At only 28 years-old, I think she has quite a lot to be proud of!

Tracy Negoshian is giving one lucky Blue-Eyed Bride reader their choice of one of the Tracy Negoshian dresses or tunics.

To enter, visit the Tracy Negoshian online catalog and choose your favorite dress or tunic. Leave a comment on my blog telling me your favorite style and color.

The winner will be chosen randomly on Friday and notified here on my blog. I’ll ask the winner to email me with her sizing information and Tracy Negoshian will ship your garment as soon as possible.

To be notified of all Tracy Negoshian promotions and updates, join the Tracy Negoshian Facebook fan page.

thank you

A couple of letters on this Mother’s Day.

Dear Mom,

Thank you. It’s so hard to even start with the thank yous to you because I’m not sure which is the most important. Are the little thing or the big things the best? I’m not sure, but I know that you were there for all of it.

Thank you for singing to me when I was little. Thanks for teaching me about Jesus. Thank you for all of the sacrifices you made just to do the little things for me like staying up all night to make my pilgrim costume in kindergarten and “volunteering” to play the piano for my school plays.

Thank you for recognizing the moments when I need a little pick-me-up and sending me a “beach vacation in a box” with a little bit of sand, some flip flops, and Bobbi Brown “Beach” lotion.

Thank you for reminding me to set high standards for myself in relationships, jobs, and daily life. Thank you for crying when I cry and always being such a strong source of reason for me.

Thank you for holding me tight on the day I was born and holding me tight in those dark hours after my first born arrived. It was a time of such melancholy feelings with the extreme joy of Hudson’s arrival and extreme fear and being overwhelmed. But only you could understand and help me to get through it.

Thank you for being there to listen to me talk every single day when I know that some days you just want to do something else. Anything else!

Thank you for loving my family and me and always treating me like your little girl while still treating me with respect and dignity.

I love you. I hope I can be half the mother that you were to me.

Love,

Erin

and another…

Dearest Hudson,

Thank you for your precious little life.

Thank you for waking up every morning with the happiest, infectious little grin on your face. Seeing you every morning is the perfect way to start the day and any time I walk into the room you let me know that you’re happy I’m there. What a great feeling!

Thank you for your sweet, sensitive spirit. Your little heart breaks when we tell you “no,” but you are so easily soothed when you get a hug from your daddy and me.

Thank you for introducing me to the true feelings of sacrificial love. I’d do anything for you and your health and happiness.

Thank you for that precious giggle that makes us giggle, too. It’s such a sweet sound to hear your happiness and it warms my heart to watch you observe and appreciate the things around you.

Thank you for your curiosity- it has helped me to learn more about the world and God’s beautiful creation. Seeing things through your eyes has been an eye-opening experience and I love every day because you’re in the world.

Thank you for being such a unique little boy and for being your innocent, beautiful self.

Thank you for saying, “mama.” It’s such a sweet sound to me.

Thank you for making me a mother. I’m lucky to be your mama.

Love,

Mama

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