Messing with Sasquatch

Hello gang!   Daddy here taking the reins this week - finally with some time to update the blog.  This year has been a complete BLUR - it has gone by sooooo fast!    And adding a baby into the mix, well, let's just say that I've become good friends with the Costco-size Tums containers!   Gotten a lot of emails about Hudson's avocado incident.....for all those disgusted, we're just letting you all in on the secrets of parenthood!!  

But still, we are so blessed to have a baby Kemp in the family to have and to hold and to love...and to mess around with.  :-)   This past week, Mommy and Daddy were playing with baby Hudson when I decided to mess with his cheeks for a few laughs.    

Who said parents can't have fun at baby's expense every once in a while????  C'mon, give us a break.   It was one of those days last week when we got some major snow (for Dayton) and were forced inside all day....what ELSE were we to do?!?!!?   It was so funny b/c Hudson had no idea what was going on at first.  His eyes would get all big like "Mommy, Daddy?  What in the he....?!!?!"   Then when he saw us laughing, he would start to laugh too.  Which makes us laugh even more (Huddy's laugh is a hybrid b/w Beavis & Butthead and an old man - it's quite humorous and always with a prolonged coo at the end).   

I've also begun dressing Hudson - at least more often than I used to.   So Angela wants everyone to know that if you see a picture of Hudson in an outfit that doesn't match, it was I that dressed him that day.   But in being able to dress my son, I find outfits that were given to us that Angela likes to hide in the way way back of the closet.   Thankfully, I found some dusty LSU gear (Geaux Tigers!!!).    I dusted it off, immediately slapped it on little Huddy and snapped some pictures!!!  

Hudson leaves you all today with a nice little picture he took with Santa at the mall a few weeks back.   Santa's other knee was supposed to have cousin Anderson on it, but as Anderson and his Momma came closer, Anderson realized he was way too scared of Santa to get into his lap.   So Hudson was on his own!  Hudson can already tell he's got a LOT of work to do in toughening up his cousin's backbone!!!   Merry Christmas everyone!!!!   See you in 2014!!!

Hudson's First Food! Must see video!

Angela here! It's been a very busy Saturday for the Kemp family. And I busy, I mean we're stuck indoors due to the weather. It's cold, it's wet, it rains one minute then snows the next. Good thing we have a cute baby boy to entertain us.

We decided Hudson was ready for solids. And since we had time on our hands and no where to go, why not start today! Huddy's only five months, but he's been showing all the signs that he's ready for the good stuff. He can sit up by himself, grab and hold things, and he is always interested in what we eat. So I put him in his cute overalls and Chris and I faced the unknown of new parenting....

Farmer Hud ready for the big tasting.

I decided avocado was going to be his first food. Chris and I love it, so he should too, right?!? This was the look after the first taste. Confused. Conflicted. Definitely not rice cereal...

But my boy wanted to give it a second shot...on his own turf. He grabbed the spoon and took it right to his mouth. 

"Still not sure mom..."

End result, a happy baby boy!

Ok, and now for the truth. Yes he took the spoon and tried to feed himself. And yes he was full of smiles at the end. And yes, the moment was cute and fun for the family (Lolly may debate that statement). The above pictures you see are the beginning and the end of today's big milestone. What you didn't get was the middle. Well here you go folks. Thank the lord for iPad's and YouTube! Chris and I are not afraid to disclose the truth....life isn't always what people perceive. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKTILwmj6Wo

Happy Saturday!  :)

Let it Snow!

Angela here! This past weekend was a whirlwind of snow, ice and cold weather for us Ohio folk. Hudson got to experience his first snowfall and he was in awe. Or maybe just confused. He loved looking out the window as the snow fell and the dogs played in the backyard. We ended up getting a few inches, which kept us indoors for most of the weekend.

He has this orange winter hat that is a tad too big. But it makes us laugh so we keep putting him in it.

  

                          

Helping Pop with the snowblower. Anyone worried about safety precautions?!?

  

This is Hudson's "help-me-mom-because-dad-is-about-to-do-something-that-will-make-me-cry" face. Dad wanted to make snow angels and Huddy got nervous. Luckily, mom intervened. Chris says I can be a 'fun-sucker' because I suck all the fun out of his brillant baby ideas. I'm just trying to keep my child alive.

Cousin Anderson came over to hang out on Saturday. Anderson has mastered the high-five and he wanted to show Huddy how it's done.

Hudson is in the process of mastering sitting up on his own. With toys in front of him, he can sit with the best of them. Between the nonstop rolling, sitting and feet kicking, I think I'm going to have crawling baby on my hands very soon. 

Big or small, he wants to put everything in his mouth. Chris even let him suck on a squeeky dog toy this weekend. I had to be the fun-sucker again and stop the madness. Poor Huddy. I'm praying he doesn't go to Show-and-Tell one day saying all his parents give him is dog toys.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

Patriots and Pilgrims

Well hello there lads and lassies!!  Oh man, am I excited to be able to blog it up again finally!!   I have been going through one of those baby growth spurts that cause me to become highly irascible, easily irritated, and dangerously easy to make boo-hoo.   Nothing would make me smile for longer than a few seconds.  Mommy says I'm overly dramatic "just like your daddy!" - but I think it was because I just haven't been seeing much of Daddy lately.  He has been coming home late these past few weeks, and it has really been a bummer!!   We've got all these little games we play - he tosses me in the air [DADDY NOTE:  a very small, gentle, doctor-and-baby-approved toss] which is SOOOOOOO much fun......or he plays peek-a-boo, or makes funny noises, or makes up new songs to sing to me, or plays "The Claw" with me.   Who needs toys when your Daddy gives you all THAT??!?!   And I've been missing all of that lately!!!   Luckily, Daddy doesn't see the late work nights lasting too much longer.   Woo hoo!!!!

But I think I am finally starting to get out of my funk.   It all started a couple weeks ago when Daddy got the entire family ready for the Big Game - we all got dressed in our New England Patriots gear in giddy anticipation for America's Team against the hated Denver Broncos!!!  

Unfortunately, Daddy turned the game off at halftime to put me to bed....with our Patriots losing 24-0.  When I woke up and heard Dad tell me that America's Team had come back to beat Peyton Manning, I was ecstatic!  Woo-hoo!!   Things were right with the world.   Yup, I knew then I was gonna be okay!

Last week, I had my first doctor's appt. since arriving in Ohio.  Of course, being a Kemp, I was given an excellent bill of health (minus the ear infection I was told I had....don't worry gang, M&D have me on some pink liquid that has made me feel a lot better) and was all smiles next to my stat board.  Also last week, I finally figured out how to roll from my back to my belly!!!  The trick now is learning how to roll in more than one direction - I can roll to my left (which I like to do over and over until I'm about to hit something!), but not my right.    Am I going to be a lefty?   Daddy sure hopes so!      

I also learned about Thanksgiving this week!   First, my teachers at daycare taught us about the turkeys and pilgrims......well, not so much teach, as let us do fun, messy activities to get our creative juices flowing!   I made two turkeys with my feet! 

We celebrated Thanksgiving day at Lolly and Pop's house, but spent Thanksgiving weekend in Louisville where I got to see all of Mommy's side of the family!!!  Once again, it was a big turnout.   There was my great-grandma Memaw, Mimi and Big Irv, Uncle Brandon and Aunt Sam.  Even Mommy's Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathy showed up with their two sons, Robert and Patrick Michael.  So many people!!    

But I was most excited to see my cousins, Hannah and Nate.  Nate is so BIG!  Uncle Brandon and Daddy were talking to each other on who would win in a fight so they put me and Nate together to see what happened.   

I don't have anything against cousin Nate, so I just stared at him.   After a while, I finally pulled his ear a bit, and Daddy thought that was enough to declare me the winner!!    Afterwards, Nate and I shook the proverbial hands and took a picture with Daddy.

All in all, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving and so much fun!   It was a shame we had to leave, but I am ready to go back whenever!   That's all for now.....it's snowing outside and I can't wait to experience my very first snow!!!   Til next time, take care y'all!!

- Hudson

Daddy's Back!!!!

Hello everybody!  After three weeks in Tampa with my new job, I finally came back home to Ohio last week to a completely different family and a completely different baby Hudson....he has changed so MUCH!!  When I left for Tampa, I had a calm and content little boy; he was fed every three hours and had just learned how to roll over onto his back.   But once in Tampa, the phone calls started coming - "Your son is acting like a brat!"; "Hudson is never satisfied but for a few moments.  And he is always HUNGRY!!";  "Huddy is always whinging!  He is such a handful now!!".   And then came the part that I had been waiting to hear since Angela and I got married.   In an almost sighed resignation, Angela told me on the phone, "I'll admit it Chris.  You are very helpful with Hudson, and I wish you were here right now to help."   Woo hoo!!!  And I went even further to interpret that as also saying "Hudson really misses his Daddy!".  Despite all the bad reports, I couldn't wait to get home to see my Huckleberry.

When I came home last Friday, the first thing everybody told me was that Hudson now had changed yet again.   He had started his first week of daycare, and know he was a totally different baby - a calm, cool, content, happy baby!!   I'm not sure if I believe it, b/c all I know is that he was a calm, cool, content, happy baby before I left and when I came home he was again a calm, cool, content, happy baby.  Nobody in the Kemp household knows what happened to Hudson while I was gone and why he acted out the way he did, but from where I'm standing, it's as simple as Hudson really missed his Daddy!!!!

Hudson meanwhile, has done a fantastic job at adapting to the daycare schedule.  I was a little hesitant to do daycare at first, given how expensive some of the places were, but after seeing him firsthand come home from daycare completely wiped out, I can tell you that daycare is worth every penny!!!   And this week, Daddy finally caved and got him ready for daycare and dropped him off.   Angela makes it look so simple, but it really isn't that easy of a thing to do!  You gotta make sure you dress him properly (which has always been a struggle for me...I'd say I've got about a 45% success rate of dressing myself in matching clothes, so thank the Lord most baby outfits come in sets!); then you have to make sure all his gear is packed (bottles, diapers, etc.); then you gotta put him in the car seat and make sure he has toys, pacifiers, blanket, et al. to occupy him.  Then you gotta drive him to daycare and pray Hudson doesn't start crying from the way I drive (which I've come to learn isn't the preferred way of driving a car).  There's a lot of little things in that list that can go wrong!   Thankfully, I got Hudson off to daycare without a hitch - though it did take me 30 minutes longer than I had planned and I had to go back to daycare b/c I forgot to pack something.

On Saturday, we went to the Newport Aquarium with Shannon, Andrew and Anderson, and Angela's friend Bonnie and her husband Kris.  Hudson loved it - he immediately wanted to get out of the stroller so he could look at all the different fish-ies and all the tropical colors.  I've never seen Hudson move his head so fast!   Right, center, left, then right, left, right, center, up, across, down......his head was going everywhere!!!  Cousin Anderson also enjoyed himself quite a bit, and it was near impossible to hold that boy still for long enough to get a picture with him!

Anderson would not stay still!

Yes, this is one of the better pictures at the aquarium!

 There were also a couple of spots at the aquarium where you could actually touch the fish.  This scared cousin Anderson half to death (no surprise!),  and he wasn't going near the starfish to touch it.  Hudson though, touched it without incident, albeit with Daddy's help.  There was even a shark tank that you were allowed to stick your hand in and touch!   Hudson was moving his little ol' legs and would get really excited whenever he saw a shark swim past!  I couldn't get Hudson's hand close enough to the sharks to touch, but I let Huddy watch as his brave Daddy touched every shark that swam past.

We had a blast at the aquarium and Hudson enjoyed himself....it definitely wore him out!   On the ride back home he slept the entire way and then when we got home he was STILL asleep, so we just let him sleep in the car seat, which if you know Huddy, he's not a big fan of the car seat.   

That's all this week.   I'm glad to be back home with my family and the Huckleberry, despite the fact that I now have to help out in feeding him in the middle of the night.  Huge bummer.   But Huddy's worth it!   See y'all soon!

     

Halloween, Swings and Rice

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween week! Hudson was full of giggles and grins as he got to wear his police officer outfit again. He's already outgrown most of his 3 month clothes so I was glad I could get one more use in. We went to Aunt Shannon's house to watch Anderson trick-or-treat and then pass out candy. Hudson sparkled in his officer outfit; Anderson, however, had a tough go in his Elmo costume. It took two adults to get him in that thing. But once he was outside and saw other kids, he liked walking around to the houses.

"Why can't I eat the candy mom?"

Officer Hudson

This pic was taken right before Anderson was told he had to put on his Elmo suit.

Poor Anderson. Lolly thought this was soooo funny!

He eventually put on the hat and was a happy boy. It was pretty cute, trust me.

Hudson was also introduced  to his Jump-n-Go swing. He's still a tad small for it and I had to put a pillow behind him, but he lovesssss to be standing. He seems to get frustrated that he can't walk and even more frustrated that he can't sit upright on his own yet. But once he realized he could push off the floor, he'd do a couple bounces....and then he had to rest and suck on his hand. Standing up is tough work!

                                        

And another big milestone this week. Not only did Hudson hit the ripe age of 16 weeks, but I also started rice cereal. My boy was eating over 32 oz a day and still seemed hungry. With all his moving, kicking and squealing, I figured he was burning too many calories and needed an extra umph. I was hesitant and anxious to start rice cereal so early, but after he grabbed the spoon out of my hand, I figured he was ready.

"More please!"

And he still loves his Exer-Saucer. It's a surprise every time he gets in it. He can't even control his eyes he's so surprised...

Anderson helping Hudson push all the buttons.

Next week is a big week! I start work and Hudson starts daycare. I'm already dreading mornings and trying to figure out how I'm going to muster up the energy to mentally perform for a full day. But as long as we survive the crazy week, we'll get to see Chris next weekend. Three weeks in Tampa and I'm ready to not be a single parent anymore. I hope Chris is ready for some cold weather. And I hope he's ready to see a bigger, more energetic baby boy!

My Blustering Bodacious Boy

It has been a crazy week for Hudson and his momma. My little boy has taken me on a marathon that will hopefully end soon (fingers crossed). His once beautiful six hour stretch of sleeping has dwindled away to a little over three hours, which has really cramped my own beauty sleep. People tell me this is the norm and that he's probably going through a growth spurt. And that it should end soon. But I think they're just being gracious because I look like a walking zombie. Luckily, God created under-eye concealer which is my new best friend through these sleepless nights. I'm also transitioning Hudson to formula, which isn't setting well with his tummy. He's spitting up more and going through a lot more diapers. Gross. And to top it off, I had a sinus infection earlier in the week and have felt like crap. But my little boy keeps me smiling every day with his funny faces and belly giggles.

    He can almost roll from back to front, but I think those bulky cloth diapers are hindering his moves.

He had a wonderful play date with some college friends and their little ones this week. My girlfriend Abby is a teacher and it happened to be her fall break. She grew up in the Dayton area and brought her beautiful baby girl Stella over. Stella was the perfect baby; she is five months old. She was quiet, content and cute as could be. She never made a peep. It was definitely something I wasn't used to, as my son likes to jib jab all day long. Everyone must know Hudson is in the room and all eyes MUST be on Huddy....and he will let you know if they're not!

Stella giving a nice pat to both Hudson and Rumford.

My girlfriend Lindsey lives in Columbus and brought her two rambunctious boys, Henry and Marshall. They were adorable as well, but they had A LOT more energy than the babies. And the fact that I had gummy worms, skittles, brownies and pumpkin muffins for them, only added to the chaos. They definitely gave me a glimpse into my future with a boy on my hands, and it looks pretty exciting!

Hudson, Stella, Marshall and Henry

Then there was Rumford, Bonnie's 14 week old puppy. Penny Lane made sure to show Rummy who was boss by trying to either hump him or pin him to the ground with her paw. But Rummy was a champ and eventually Penny Lane was too tired to play. Her 'senior citizen' dog status is starting to catch up to her.

Could they be related?

Hudson was also introduced to his Exer-Saucer this week, which was just mind-boggling for him. His eyes would get all buggy every time a new sound would go off or a toy would light up. Flashing lights are his favorite.

I have one more week before I start work and have to send my baby off to daycare. It's going to be a tough moment, especially since I don't have Chris to distract me. But I'm excited about this new chapter that includes daycare. Hudson will be interacting with other babies every day and will soon learn sign language and Spanish. And there's even a video monitor app so I can check on him at any moment of the day. Oh how they grow up way too fast......

My baby boy at 3 days old and 3 1/2 months old.