We've halved our diaper costs!

Hi all. Well, as you may have surmised from the title of this post, Hudson is now potty trained. If you don't care about a potty training story, skip to the next paragraph! Some of you know that we tried about 6 months ago and he got the "hold it" part but not the "let it go" part; he held his urine for 18 hours straight. It took us until now to be brave enough to give it another try (also delayed by the broken arm). On Saturday we had him sit on the potty chair with a diaper on to practice letting it go. By Sunday morning he started going without diapers and hasn't gone back. He had one accident in bed one night but that has been the only time in four days.

Hudson's arm is really working normally now. He was pretty stiff for a few days but is now back to normal. Landon continues to walk more and more also.

Work has been pretty busy for Rick. It's caused a few nights of not getting home by bedtime over the past couple of weeks. Things usually get more reasonable around this time of year, though so we hope that will get better.

Funny Hudson Quote:

"How you like them apples!"
Hudson to Daddy (unprompted) in the garage after he and Mommy beat Daddy home from the library.

No more cast!!

Well, the era of the cast is over. Hudson was able to get his cast off today and is doing fine. His arm (especially elbow) is pretty stiff and his muscles are fairly atrophied but all is well. The bone is healing great. He should be good as new in no time.

Also, Landon seems to be walking! He has been taking a few steps at a time today but it seems to be the real deal now.

It was a pretty big day around here. Daddy and Hudson slept in a tent in the backyard last night. Other than needing some extra clothes and blankets at 3AM (Daddy was the cold whimp, not the boy) it was a great, fun night. Rick awoke to loud birds and Hudson saying, "Those birds sound happy!" Then Mommy took the boys to the railroad park and fun was had by all. Then Hudson got his cast off - both boys cried while the cast saw was cutting it off. Finally, Mommy took the boys to the mall tonight. They got to play and have a fun dinner there.

We love you all.

Lots of Events

Hi everyone. Sorry about the long time between posts but hopefully this update will help you to understand why.

Two weeks ago, Kathryn and Rick were out of town while Papa and Grandma watched the boys. Rick had two meetings in a row. First we went to Tucson to the La Paloma Resort on Monday. Kathryn spent time by the pool while Rick was in meetings but both of us took some R&R time one morning with Rick on the golf course and Kathryn at a half-day spa package.

Wednesday night we drove home and saw the boys but Thursday morning we were off to fly to San Diego. Kathryn enjoyed the shopping and pool while Rick was in meetings and we saw a movie together and went out to dinner every night. We returned home Sunday afternoon.

The following week was a real adventure. On Tuesday, Landon got sick. He threw up most of the day but was a little better by Tuesday night and seemed to be over it by Wednesday. Wednesday, it was Hudson's turn. He threw up most of the day but seemed to settle down by bedtime. Unfortunately, by Thursday mid-day he was back to throwing up. It continued through the night and that same night Rick and Kathryn got sick. Hudson threw up all night and Rick was also throwing up while Kathryn was keeping it down by staying as still as possible. It was quite a night. By Friday morning, Hudson was really dehydrated. We took him to the pediatrician and they admitted him to the hospital for IV fluids. Rick was still sick and had to do seven operations. As soon as Hudson got some fluids into him, he stopped vomiting immediately. He spent a day at the hospital and was good as new. He really charmed the nurses. Several of them bought him cars and one spent nearly an hour reading books to him.

Finally, last week, Rick was traveling again to a meeting in Baltimore. Kathryn and the boys stayed home except Hudson went to stay with Papa and Grandma Friday and Saturday nights. Rick returned Saturday night and we got together Sunday. Papa and Grandma left for Michigan via Colorado on Monday morning. Hudson was really sad to see them go, as were the rest of us.

Funny Hudson quotes:

"Wait just a cotton-pickin' minute."
To Grandma (he picked up this phrase from her) as she moved a little too quickly past the hotwheels car display in a store.

"We had to pull over into the parking lot of the place where you and Mommy got married."
Explaining to Rick where Kathryn pulled over when Landon got sick. Kathryn had pointed out the Chapel where we got married to him more than six months prior.