Sibling Love

Hudson's big sister loves him like no-one else! He is the 1st person she looks for in the morning and usually the last one she kisses before going to bed at night!  She is constantly wanting to hold him, talk to him, laugh for him, play with him, etc. Who knew I would be so blessed just watching these 2 together already...and it's only been 4 weeks!

Easter! Hudson was only 6 days old!

Tummy time is way more fun with sister around!

Every morning she washes her hands and then asks to hold brother! She often wants to be wherever he is and loves sitting next to him in the car!

She's getting better at actually holding/supporting him!

His first smiles were for his sister! At first I wondered if it was legit but he just kept smiling at her, over and over again!

The 1st of many walks together.

Hudson is Here!

It's been almost a month, but better late than never! Maybe someday I'll actually write out his whole birth story, but for now, this is what I journaled the morning after he was born:

"Our perfect little boy is here and he's just wonderful! Water broke @ 8am and we checked in at 10:30ish. (he didn't arrive until 10:39pm) He's just right with his chubby cheeks and flat little nose! It was so incredible to hold him skin-to-skin right away and to watch him move his way to my left breast. God's handiwork indeed!  He latched on perfectly. So blessed to be his Mom! Jaye was wonderful and tender as always-I am so lucky! He whispered his words of encouragement with each push and tears filled his eyes as Hudson arrived! My prince charming! So far, Hudson is easy-going and content. I am so excited for Hope to meet him today! We've been blessed with along time since 3pm yesterday and it's been good but I can't wait to be a family of 4 today! This little guy will be so loved and adored by his big sister!!! God is so good and I can't wait to see what He has planned for Hudson!"

He was born 3/25 @ 10:39pm, weighing in at 8.9lbs & 21 1/4 inches long!

Our 1st self-portrait with Hudson! (An hour old maybe)

Getting ready to leave labor & delivery and go to our room. So in awe!

1st family photo all together!

Hope meeting Hudson for the 1st time is probably one of my all-time cherished/favorite moments! She crawled up on the bed with me and just kept giggling and looking at me, full of sheer delight! I've never seen her so excited or overjoyed as she was at that moment! Tears filled my eyes as I looked at my sweet girl admiring her brother! At one point we both just giggled and laughed as there were no words to capture our pure joy! Once we finally stopped giggling over Hudson, she said he was so cute and so tiny! That moment was the beginning of a fierce love and bond that will never be matched!

Hope turns 4!

 This year, Hope got to have 2 birthdays! We celebrated her "pretend birthday" at Disneyland early in March, as she wanted to go before brother came. Hope got her very 1st autograph book and picked a special Minnie pen and our day was all about finding characters and getting autographs! We had a really fun day and it was so fun to watch Hope beam with excitement and eagerly meet all the different characters! Her favorite of the day was Princess Minnie Mouse! She even picked a princess Minnie to take home!

 Birthday treasure box cake! YUM!

 

For her actual birthday we decided to keep things low-key and just do little things together as a family. (we'd only been home 2 days with baby brother by then) Once everyone was up and ready Jaye took Hope to get donuts (her favorite). They took their donuts to the train station and watched the trains together and played on the big bridge that stretches over the tracks. While they were out, Hope decided her new bike (birthday gift) needed a bell so she and Daddy found a bell and rear-view mirror to add to her bike!

 

Hope requested Subway for lunch so my parents and Grandma met us there. We all enjoyed lunch together and then Jaye took Hope home to ride her  bike while I took brother to another Dr. appt. After dinner all the Grandparents and Great Grandma came over for cupcakes. Hope wanted a Tinkerbell party so we decorated the house with Tinkerbell and had cupcakes, pink with sprinkles and Tinkerbell rings...just as she requested. It ended up being a really great day for everyone!!

It's hard to believe it's been 4 years. Being in the hospital with Hudson brought back a lot of memories of when Hope was born. Little did we know 4 years ago how much richer and fuller our lives would be because of 1 sweet little girl who is full of personality! She is full of 4-year old personality and sass and sometimes I can't help but laugh at the things she says or the way she rolls her eyes or the funny moves she makes! We have been so blessed by Hope and are loving watching her as a big sister. She is so gentle and kind and is so absolutely in love with her baby brother! 

Here's some of her favorites: (according to Hope)

Color: pink

Friend: Asher and all my other friends

Toy: hammerhead shark in the  bathtub, I love him

Book: ABC book 

Thing to do with Daddy: play toys, watch movies, eat peanuts & popcorn, star wars

Thing to do with Mommy: read books and play with  my toys

Show to watch: Star Wars

Princess: Ariel

Place to go: the zoo (even though we haven't been in over a year)

When she grows up: a builder

Food: pancakes

Drink: pink lemonade

Something you're really good at: coloring in the lines, connect the dot to dot, school books

Stuffed Animal: Sissy bear, beluga, Hopskotch Bunny 

As I was finishing this, Hope says, "there's one more thing you should know about me: that I'm a good friend and I share and I don't give up"...