Mommy & Daddy Edition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello everyone!   It's Daddy writing this week, as Hudson is currently indisposed (he's feeding, per usual).  So I figure this is a great opportunity to dish out the real dirt on child-rearing.  You really have no idea!!  Hudson's blog posts makes it seem like this raising-a-kid thing is no sweat - as if everyday Mommy & Daddy are shittin' in tall cotton with smiles on our faces (a phrase my mother taught me).  Pshaw!   Okay true, the way Hudson sees it, we DO make it look easy - like it ain't no big thing (and to Angela's credit, I think it really is "ain't no big thing"...at least most days).  But it's absolutely no walk in the park...maybe that's the wrong phrase b/c those do not come all that easy these days!  I mean, I felt like I prepared myself....I read aloud a bunch of baby books and aced all the quizzes inside (guys, Angela forced me); I watched all the "Supernanny" shows until I could give spot-on critiques regarding child-discipline (again you guys, I was coerced by Angela); and I downloaded "Happiest Baby on the Block" and took copious notes (guys, at some point, you just learn to pick your battles and do what wifey wants).  I thought I was armed and ready to go; I wasn't gonna cry "Uncle!" to a tiny little pipsqueak - even if this pipsqueak was blood.  I GOT THIS!!!

Well, three weeks into it and if handing my kid off to Angela in frustration counts as crying "Uncle!", or if it's considered a cop-out every time I tell Angela "I'll calm Hudson down this time" and then quickly follow that up with "Ummm Angela, I think he's hungry!", then...yeah, I was fooling myself at how well-prepared I was for baby-rearing (though to be fair to me, he IS hungry a lot!)!!!  There is no question that I absolutely adore my little Huckleberry - Angela and I love watching him do his little baby arm-stretches after we un-swaddle him, and can sit seemingly for hours just looking at him make silly faces after he gets done eating.  But I cannot recall, as far as I can remember, anyone telling me how a baby's lungs were perfectly designed to create shrieks that are more cringe-inducing than nails on a chalkboard and that they can reach octaves you never even knew existed!  And those horrific cries that would make you think you were torturing your baby if you didn't know any better, those same bloodcurdling howls will evaporate instantly (INSTANTLY!!) the moment you do any number of things that, to my Dad-eyes, seem wholly random and arbitrary - like, I don't know, say, pull down his shirt all the way or blow in his face or cover his feet with your hands or something else equally capricious.  Oh, and please believe that the reverse holds just as true. One moment you're holding your baby boy, calming him down and rocking him to sleep oh-so-softly that it takes every ounce of energy to make it that gentle - I think I caught myself sweating once, it's THAT energy-zapping.  But with determination it finally works!!  After a while his eyes begin to roll back and then they start to close shut and you swear you can almost make out a faint smile on Huddlebug's little face.  He's gone.  He's sound asleep!!  I did it!!!!   You let out a satisfied sigh of relief....which wakes the baby up (or was it that my arm moved a half inch when I tried to scratch an itch on my leg?)!!!   Damn you Hudson!!!!    So I try it again...or I pass him off to Angela.   Dad's can only do so much... 

Anyway, Angela and I got the joy of experiencing this sort of cry on the car ride - it felt like the entire car ride - to Hudson's first Dr.'s appt. this past Monday.  Angela blamed it on my driving (a dubious idea, for anyone that knows my expert driving ability); I blamed it on her lack of energy (more probable).  The Dr.'s appt. went great and Hudson was given a clean bill of health; he tipped the scales at 8lbs 8oz (up from 6lbs 9oz at discharge from the hospital...I thought that was a massive increase in weight, but he's still only in the 50th percentile), and Hudson grew a quarter of an inch (now 21.25 inches long....in the 75th percentile).  I think all the crying wore little Huddy out, b/c he was zonked when we came back...which allowed Angela to get in a photo session with the pets. 

All the photos we've been posting don't really show it, but Hudson has slowly but surely been getting a little grime-y.  He'd have old spit-up from his lips to the back of his ears (!!), his eyes are starting to get a tad bit too gunky, even for MY liking, and the boy's head pours out sweat sometimes (although, that could be the coconut oil I've lubed his head up with - hey, I've been told it promotes healthy hair - but at this point, who knows what it is).  So after Angela's ever-so-craftily-built photo shoot, we  had the pleasure of giving Hudson his first ever bath!  His reaction when we put him in the water wasn't a surprise....he did NOT enjoy it one bit!!    

It reminded me of Bernie Mac in Kings of Comedy.  Bernie talked about how he smacked his kid's hand one time, and his kid cried so hard that no sound came out.  That is exactly what Hudson did; neither of us had seen it before and we both couldn't help ourselves but to laugh at it!   We eventually settled down (after taking pictures, of course) and got him all cleaned up.  And after we got him out and bundled him up in his towel, we had another one of those moments when Hudson's torture-tears disappeared instantly.  We gave him another bath on Thursday and he took it a tiny shade better that time around...(he peed all over Mommy afterwards to show his spite).  Here's hoping tonight's bath will be a breeze!

We also went to the dog beach this past week.  Hudson LOVES his sling!   After Angela gets him all settled down, he is zonked...until we put him back in the car (where he still hasn't gotten used to the car seat...he's not a fan yet).  The dog beach wasn't too crowded so I was able to keep Penny Lane calm enough to snap a picture or two.  Shortly after this picture was taken, we came across a pack of dogs who were all playing together.   Then one of them calmly walked away from the group, sat down, and spent the next five-ten minutes hopping in circles.   Angela and I were both cracking up the entire time!! (lest you think the dog was injured, he eventually stopped and continued back on playing)  And thank God for Hudson - if he's taught me anything, it's to always make sure I'm ready to snap a picture (or in this case record a video)!!!  While I'm not exactly a quick draw when it comes to getting out my phone and hitting the "record" button, thankfully ol' Sparky didn't mind and kept on going in circles long enough for me to get some funny clips.  The dog's owner was nearby so I had to control my laughing and play it cool so as not be too obvious in filming his dog.  Anyway, I posted up one of the videos for your enjoyment.  Hooray for stupid dogs!!!  It made our day!   

That's about all this week.   Next week we will be out of town visiting the Angela's family in Louisville!!! We're excited to show him off...this will be Hudson's first time being introduced to the Wilson's - which is a WAY bigger fam than the Kemp side - so we will be giving him pep talks all week telling him that he needs to sparkle!!!    Unfortunately, this will mean that next week's post will be a bit late and perhaps a bit short.  We'll keep you posted.   Love you all and take care!  Til next time...