…Hudson got his first little hat this week. And boy is it cute! It’s red and he asks to wear it all the time. He’s so proud of his hat. I think he looks like a little heart breaker wearing it!

…One of the most annoying tasks is matching your husband’s socks when folding laundry. I really don’t like folding laundry anyway, but matching all of his socks is such a pain. The only socks I wear are gym socks and they all match. But I have to match up Todd’s argyle, striped, solid, wool, cotton, patterned black, blue, brown, grey, tan and white socks. Woof! My mom always made us pin our socks together with a safety pin before putting them in the hamper. So far that plan isn’t implemented at our house, but I wish it was. Socks. ‘Nuff said.

…We went to the park with our friends Emily and Jack yesterday after naps. I find that if I tell Hudson that we’re going to do something fun after his nap he will fall asleep right away. We had a great time playing in the incredible weather. We had a great time! And Hudson loves Emily and Jack.

…If you ask Hudson what kind of shoes he’s wearing, he’ll proudly shout out, “Chuck Taylors!”

…We sent out Hayes’s first birthday invitations. Since he was born on Cinco de Mayo, the theme is “Hayes’s First Fiesta!” I’ll be sharing some of the party plans as we get ready. I’ve always wanted to have a Cinco de Mayo party and now we have a really adorable reason to have one!

…Hayes’s doc band gets really hot when we go for walks. He’s supposed to wear it 23 hours a day, so I usually leave it off when we know we’re going to be outside. But I think he has the funniest case of hat hair… or helmet hair?

…Are y’all watching Celebrity Apprentice? Todd and I love it. We watch it together every Sunday night. We cannot wait for Aubrey and Lisa to go home. I never root for the bullies and these girls are just mean.

…Hudson’s favorite game to play is “Superman.” He loves doing this and he doesn’t want to stop. Last night, I probably helped him “fly” about 12 times. But he absolutely loves it and it’s so cute to watch him smile that big!

…We have a neighbor who we’ve called by a name for the last four years. One day, our other neighbor mentioned him to us and she called him by a double name. And when we asked her about it, she said, “yeah, that’s what he likes to be called because that’s his name.” We’ve called him the wrong thing for four years?!

…I ate scrambled eggs for dinner three nights this week.

Anything y’all want to contribute to the big brain dump? I hope you all have a very happy weekend!

A few weeks ago I was contacted and asked if Hudson and I wanted to review the new Veggie Tales movie, “Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men.” I jumped at the chance because Hudson loves Veggie Tales and don’t all parents love Veggie Tales?

I decided that it would be fun for Hudson and me to have a little movie night. I told him that we were going to pop some popcorn and watch the new Veggie Tales movie. He immediately found the movie on the shelf and asked me to open it. He was so excited about having his own little popcorn and movie party.

One of the things I love most about Veggie Tales is that every DVD has a great message, but it’s also funny for the kids and funny for the parents. It has just enough wit to keep the parents entertained and paying attention.

The DVD starts with “Lenny and The Lost Birthday,” a short movie perfect for this Leap Year. Lenny thinks that everyone forgot his birthday, but his mom points out that his birthday is on Leap Day. What a great way to explain Leap Day to kids!

“Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men” tells the story we all know of Robin Hood. But Robin Good doesn’t steal. He’s a fundraiser. He wants to help give to the poor, but he’s not willing to steal from the rich to do it. He tells his Not-So-Merry Men that stealing is wrong. This story gives a great lesson on how sharing and working together is good.

(doesn’t understand that saying “cheese” means to smile)

Robin Good helps the people who do steal realize that they can change their ways and that God loves them. There are great, funny characters, scary characters, and our favorite Veggie Tales faces in this cute movie.  Hudson was laughing and saying, “uh oh” when the Giant came out. Then he asked to watch it again.

And, of course, he asked to eat popcorn again.

To order the DVD, click here.

I’ve included the trailer for “Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men.”

*I was not compensated for this review. I received the DVD in exchange for the review.

When I say the word “procrastination” I actually say it like I’m singing the old Rod Stewart song “Infatuation.” Anyone else? I can’t help myself.

Anyway. I’m not usually such a big procrastinator. But when it comes to planning Hayes’s first birthday party, I have put the brakes on in a major way. When I think about his party, my stomach gets in knots and I start to feel panicky.

It’s not because the planning part is a chore for me. I love planning parties- especially parties for my family! I actually have most of this party planned out already.

This is a completely different feeling than I had with Hudson. But I am in complete denial that my baby is turning one. I’m full out resisting the inevitable here. In less than a month, he will turn one, and I don’t like it one bit.

Hayes is my bitty baby. He buries his head in my shoulder and loves being held. He loves to sit in my lap. He’s not a wild toddler yet. When I close my eyes, I still think that he’s two months old and sleeping all day. It is just impossible that an entire year has gone by.

from August 2011

I’m supposed to stop giving him bottles soon. He’s supposed to eat table food. He needs to wear shoes on a regular basis. The old ladies at church won’t excuse me for having him sock-footed when he turns a year old. (We own shoes for Hayes, but he doesn’t keep them on his feet, so he just wears socks most of the time.)

I’m just not ready for this day to come. I’m not ready for him to grow up.

I’m thankful that Hayes was slower to reach milestones because he really stayed a baby for longer. I’ve definitely done my part in making sure I didn’t make him grow up too quickly, but his first year has been one of the best of my life. I love that sweet little love bug so much that my heart aches when I think about him.

Can y’all remember when I was so stressed about bringing another baby into our lives because I just couldn’t fathom how my heart could accommodate anyone else? Hudson filled up so much of it! I was so, dead wrong. So, so wrong to stress over that. I love Hayes in the same exact way as I love Hudson, but also in a completely different way. How is that possible?

I just don’t want him to grow up. But he’s going to. And we’re going to have a big fiesta with lots of family and friends on May 5 to celebrate his first year and the people that loved on him in that year.

I can’t believe that I have been a mom to two boys for almost a year now. Hayes will celebrate his first birthday on May 5.  The day before he was born, I wrote a letter to sweet Hayes and blogged that letter. In it, I told him that I was so excited for he and Hudson to have each other. One of my biggest joys was that I was giving them this enormous gift by giving them each other.

And the year has been really great. In the beginning Hudson wasn’t really interested in Hayes. Hayes didn’t really do much. Hudson would just kind of look at him and then go on with his business.

As Hayes has gotten bigger, he just is so obvious about how much he loves and admires his big brother. Hudson will have the occasional tender moment with Hayes where he wants to kiss his head or give him a hug. But the jealousy is totally there, too.

Our biggest “issue” has been Hudson being territorial. Hudson is aware of which toys belong to Hayes. But he also knows which toys belong to him. And when Hayes crawls toward Hudson’s toys, Hudson screams. High-pitched, make-my-ears-bleed, screaming. Hayes doesn’t know what’s going on, but the screaming is awful.

I can usually redirect Hayes and find something that he is content to play with. We have the talks with Hudson about sharing with his brother. But I know how he must feel. He doesn’t want his toys to be slobbered on. I can’t blame him.

But the moments when they do just sit and play together and laugh? Are so wonderful. I can see how much Hudson loves Hayes and loves having a play mate. Hudson will do anything to get Hayes to laugh at him.

Sometimes I think they are speaking their own little secret language. They’ll imitate each other and just crack themselves up. I know that as time goes on, the fights will get worse before they get better. But I also know that they will be so thankful for each other.

I think about my own brother and the fights we had growing up. He has been there for my whole life. We are connected in a way that neither of us have with anyone else.

So despite the loud screams and the jealousy, I’m encouraged at just how sweet they can be with each other. The admiration that Hayes has for Hudson and how much Hudson so obviously loves having a brother in his life.

The first video was taken when Hudson climbed up in Hayes’s crib so they could both play with the mobile. Hayes got so tickled at Hudson.

Hudson typically gets jealous when I have to sit down to feed Hayes a bottle. One morning when my mom was in town, Hudson woke up and said he wanted to go “check on Hayes and feed Hayes a bottle.” So we agreed that he should do it. He’s so bossy!