Hudson's Birthday

Hudson turned 1 this week. We invited family over for his duck themed birthday party. As would be expected, Hudson most enjoyed the birthday cake and playing with the wrapping paper. We had eggless birthday cake (which was actually pretty good) since we have recently learned that Hudson is allergic to egg whites. With the help of our friend Julie, I made the birthday cake and cupcakes. I also made his outfit. I wish I could say that the beautifully pressed outfit it is now safely stored in his memory box for him to admire for years to come. Unforturnately, it disentegrated in the washing machine! I am pretty sure that I will not be a seamstress in my next life! At least we have pictures. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate this special day.

Hudson has had an exciting first year for sure. He is walking/running all over the place and is having so much fun exploring (making messes) and learning new things. We are so blessed to have him in our lives. I can't wait to see what excitement this next year brings.

Pictures by Jennifer Hagler Photography

The latest pictures of the boys can be viewed by clicking in the left hand column under Jennifer Hagler Photography. Surprisingly, you hardly even notice the black eye!

Fun-Filled Weekend

Friday was an exciting day. Carter and his cousin, Will, started tennis lessons. They are actually both pretty good. I was amazed that a group of four and five year olds could pay attention to a coach for 45 minutes, but they all did. I posted a video below but I can only make it show up at the very bottom. The coach lined the kids up on the service line and told each one to stand next to a soccer cone. The kids stayed in just the right position until it was their turn to hit. Amazing! I need some of those soccer cones. Wonder if they would work for Hudson?







Speaking of Hudson and walking, Hudson is now full speed ahead. Carter and I took him to get his first pair of shoes Saturday. To say he prefers walking barefoot is an understatement! The poor guy curled his toes the whole time his new shoes were on his feet and marched around as if the shoes weighed 100 pounds. He was much more interested in the train table at the shoe store than the shoes.







After shoe shopping, we all went over to the Lawrences house to help Caroline celebrate her birthday. The kids had a blast swimming in the pool. After swimming, we ate hotdogs and had some of Aunt Amy's yummy cupcakes. Carter is a big fan of the cupcakes.....especially the "sparkly icing". Below is a picture of how Carter eats (or licks) his cupcakes.

Black Eye

Here are the black eye shots. Think we need to have pictures made this morning?

A Day of Firsts

Wednesday was an exciting day at the Jackman house. Carter started 4-year old kindergarten. His teachers are Mr. Robert and Ms. Neeley and he has a super fun classroom with computers and all kinds of new toys. He came home telling me how much fun he had with his new friends and teachers. Starting next week, he has a notebook that he is responsible for bringing home and taking back every day. I wonder how that will go?


In other news, Hudson turned ten months old yesterday and he officially started walking. He made it all the way across the playroom and then turned around and came back. Below is a sample of his new found hobby. Hudson also ate some real diced carrots tonight and fed himself some of them. The rest I found later ground into his shorts.

Today was another fun day at school so I hear. We are supposed to have family photos taken tomorrow so I felt pretty sure this morning that the boys would not make it home looking as spotless as I left them. The only question was.... how bad would it be? Well, I arrived at school this afternoon to pick up Carter for a haircut only to find that he has a black eye. Not terrible, but just enough that it will probably be nice and green by tomorrow morning. Evidently there was a playground accident that he forgot to tell me about yesterday that is to blame. After dinner, Carter and Hudson were playing on the floor like they always do. I turned to watch them just in time to see Carter plow face first into the carpet.....strawberry on top of the sure to be green bruise!! Add all of this to Hudson's running nose and we should be looking really nice for those pictures tomorrow. Is it too late to cancel yet?

We just got Hudson to bed after all of this excitemet. My next video project will be taping us trying to get Hudson dressed, lotioned and ready for bed. I have a feeling pig wrestling is easier.

Birthday Fun

We have just wrapped up a week of fun in celebration of Carter's 4th birthday. The fun started last Saturday with a dinosaur themed birthday party at the McWane Center. Many of his friends from school and church came, along with lots of family. Carter got to dress up as a paleontologist as he and his friends learned about dinosaurs. Later, they all enjoyed exploring all of the McWane exhibits.

Carter also celebrated his birthday at school with his class. A cookie cake was his snack of choice and his friends did their "birthday dance" in his honor. It was quite a show! Afterward, they shared many hugs (as is the custom since "manners week" a few weeks ago) and he got to go home early for a special dinner with his cousins / grandparents.

On Friday, we played hookie from school and Carter and I went to Chuck E. Cheese with some friends.

I cannot believe that my baby is already 4 years old! I don't think it hit me until I realized that he is now old enough to go to "big church" with us on Sundays. He looked so grown up walking to the front of the church for preschool worship.