July update-4 months old already!

It's been a busy couple weeks with both Andy and I back to work full-time. We are trying to spend as much time as a family as we can, but it's been hard having opposite shifts and days off. And unfortunately we're going to be doing this until at least next March. I just bid for my new shift at work that starts in September and I will be working the same shift (10pm-8am) but my new days/nights off will be Weds/Thurs/Friday. So at least I will have Friday nights and most of Saturday off before I have to come in to work. And since Christmas Eve and Christmas are on Fri/Sat this year, I will get to spend Hudson's first Christmas with him! So I am very excited about that :)

Lets see...since the last post I had another birthday...the big 27! I feel so old..I can't believe I am already 27..how did this happen?! I got home from work that morning around 8:30, slept for about 4 hours, then got up to enjoy my day. I went and got a pedicure while Hudson was napping, then we headed to Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse where we met Sally, Alysha, Joy and Hayden for dinner. The food was delicious and I think both the boys enjoyed looking at all the decorations inside the restaurant and watching the chef cook for us. Andy and Hudson spoiled me for my birthday buying me a new point and shoot camera (so I don't always have to lug the huge one around!) and a new hair straightener.

Birthday dinner @ Tokyo


Hudson is now 4 months old! We had his 4 month appointment on July 14th (the day before) where he was weighed/measured and also given 2 shots and 1 oral vaccine. He did great and only cried for a minute after the shots. The dr. said everything looks great and gave us the OK to start rice cereal and solids. We have decided to wait a little longer to try them though..maybe when he's closer to 5 months, unless he starts showing more readiness signs soon :) Here's Hudson's 4 month stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 3.5 oz (50th %)

Height/Length: 25 1/2 inches (75th %)

Head Circumference: 17 inches (90th %)

Hudson is becoming such a fun little guy. He is a VERY happy baby, he loves 'talking' to us, giggling/laughing and smiling :) We started putting him in his jumperoo which he is getting the hang of, he still loves batting at his toys in his bouncy chair/activity mat, he loves going on walks and checking out the scenery and his new favorite toy is "Sophie the giraffe" that I just bought him. It's a wonderful teething toy that fits in his little hands perfectly!

Hudson with "Sophie"-his new favorite toy

Hudson is still working on rolling over. He did it twice when he was just over 3 months old (from tummy to back) but has yet to do it since then! Sometimes he rocks back and forth like he's going to do it, but never makes it all the way over! He has been rocking more on his back too, so maybe he will start rolling that direction soon!

We are still working on getting Hudson on a consistent nap schedule. It's been hard to do since each day is different with me working nights and Hudson being with Nancy or my mom watching him on my work days. We're hoping to break him of the habit of sleeping in his swing, which has proven difficult, as he generally doesn't nap very long in his crib. Hopefully this will change soon and we will have a good napper. Luckily his lack of good naps doesn't usually affect his mood, he stays pretty happy and content most days and has been sleeping pretty good at night, usually only waking up once, or not at all until 5 or 6 am.

Well, we don't have too much planned in the upcoming couple months except for a few weddings, but I'm sure Hudson will keep us plenty busy and we will find lots to do with the little guy! I will post pictures soon (although my computer has been having trouble uploading..so not sure when it will work!)

{Weekend in San Francisco!}

A couple weeks ago Andy had the week off, so for my 'weekend' we decided to take a quick trip to San Francisco :) We left early Tuesday morning and arrived at San Francisco International Airport around 9 or so. We took the tram to the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit--pretty much their version of the subway) and made it downtown around 11 or so. We walked to our hotel and got all checked in. The hotel was beautiful (the Hilton-Union Square). We got changed and decided to go grab some lunch. We spent the afternoon checking out some of the shopping, china town, then taking a double decker bus tour of the city. The tour was cool because it gave us a chance to see most of the city that we may not have otherwise seen in such a short visit. The tour took us down to Fisherman's Wharf, near Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the US), through many different neighborhoods and finally over the Golden Gate Bridge. Once we crossed the bridge we were able to get off the bus for a few minutes and take some pictures of the bridge from the other side. Although it was very windy and cold, it was a beautiful view of the bridge and the city.

That night we were pretty tired from getting up early and traveling so we had diner at "Lori's Diner" which was a 50's style diner and I finally got my Turkey Dinner I've been craving!!! It was sooo good :) After dinner we did some walking around, then headed back to our hotel room to watch a movie and call it a night! :)

Wednesday was Andy's Birthday, we woke up early to catch a taxi down to the pier for our 9:30 Alcatraz Tour!! This was defnitely the highlight of the trip. We took the ferry across the water to the Island where we were able to take a self-guided Audio tour of the prison. It was a really good recording with tons of information about the prison and history of the island. We both enjoyed walking through the cell blocks and imagining what it may have been like living in such a place 40 or more years ago.

After the tour we returned to the Wharf and walked around the many shops and restaurants. We had lunch at Joe's Crab Shack, then went to the Museum of Wax. It wasn't the best wax museum I've been to, but it was still fun! After that we walked up to Ghiradelli Square for some of their ice cream and famous chocolate!!! My hot fudge sundae was DELICIOUS!! And Andy got the waffle cone he had been wanting all day :) The rest of the day was spent riding the double decker bus again. We got off near the City Center in hopes of finding the "Painted Ladies" (the houses like the one on Full House) but after a TON of walking realized we must have been in the wrong area or something. So we made the couple mile trek back to our hotel area. We decided to relax for a while since we walked so much, then went to a late dinner at Puccini and Pinetti which was recommended to us by Andy's aunt who travels to San Francisco often. I wasn't all that hungry so I just had soup and salad which was ok. Andy had an interesting pizza. It wasn't really our style of restaurant, but it was ok. We then walked up to a bar that had a live piano player and listened while Andy had a couple birthday beers :)

The next and last day was spent with more wandering around Union Square as well as up to Chinatown again. We also did some shopping at Ross and Old Navy. After shopping we decided a trip to San Francisco wouldn't be complete without a ride on the Cable Cars! So we got tickets and waited in line for about an hour before finally getting to ride. We took the cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf where we had lunch at Boudini's (which is famous for their sourdough bread). I had some delicious clam chowder and a sandwich with sourdough..yum!! We made sure to buy any last minute souveniers before taking the cable car back to Union Square to get ready to head home.

Overall, we had a very eventful couple days and hope to someday come back to San Francisco,maybe with a little more time for more tours and possibly an excursion to Napa Valley for some wine tasting! But that will all have to wait until after the little one is here :)