One Week To Go

Hudson Daniel. This is your name. It always has been your name. We kept a small window open as we considered other options but always came back to this one. Some other names we talked about were Grant, Cole and even George (with the middle name Alexandre for all three) but deep down we knew it was Hudson Daniel.The window closed soon after seeing my last ultrasound at 24 weeks and the name became final. We've liked this name ever since my first pregnancy before we knew Addie was a girl. Had she been a boy she would've been given the name Hudson.

There's only one week left of you being carried in my belly because by next weekend you'll be placed in my arms. I'll see you soon.

Nesting

I started nesting around week thirty of this pregnancy and Danny was really good about getting some projects done for me during his spare time. He doesn't have much spare time to begin with which is why I'm especially grateful for him. I'm not sure how soon we'll move the baby into the bedroom with Addie, but at least it's all ready for when it happens. The last thing we have to do is set up the new monitor we'll be ordering and hang up some pictures on the wall once we take them but other than that I feel completely nested. 

Danny's dad built a dresser and toddler bed for Danny a long time ago and both of those things were passed on to us. Dave had painted the furniture blue, red, green and yellow but Danny transformed them into white and yellow to better fit in the nursery. It took Addie a little while to accept her new bed but now she loves it. Danny even let her help him paint the bed which she liked doing. I love the dresser because of how spacious the drawers are and I think it's cool that it once belonged to Danny as a kid. Baby boy (Hudson) has all his newborn clothes washed and waiting in there for several weeks now and Addie's stuff fits perfectly with room to spare.

Before and After

Before and After

Before and After

My favorite part: Addie and Hudson 💜💙

Here's a before picture of the dresser before it was painted white and yellow. Danny replaced the handles on it as well and you can see part of the toddler bed frame in the background.

Alexandre Craig Burton

This is Alex, one of Danny's very best friends. Sadly I never got to meet him because he passed away in 2012 on Danny's birthday. Alex was diagnosed with cancer while serving a mission of his own. A lot of what makes who my husband is today has to do with the influence that Alex had on him.

Happy birthday Alex. Coming from someone who has never met you I thank you for the life you lived.

Target Photo Session

Addie and I were shopping for last minute baby items at Target last week when we were approached by a Target photographer. She asked if it was okay to use Addie as a model for the night in exchange for a free printed picture. I'll never be one to say no to free pictures; even though anyone else in my shoes probably would have passed on the opportunity if they had seen what Addie was wearing haha. She was wearing a Cleveland Brown's shirt that was covered by a kitty Halloween sweater with non-matching purple shoes. Her hair was messy in the back and badly need a comb through. We left the house that way because it was late and I figured we wouldn't be long at the store before we'd be back home and she'd be in bed. Now I know to make sure she is always cute and ready for spontaneous photo sessions. We plan on taking family pictures in December after the baby is born so I figured I could use this experience as practice for when the real photo shoot happens. Addie surprised me with how well she did. We only took a few pictures but I still love the ones we got. I can't stop staring at her little face. I sure love this girl.

She thought it would be funny to scoot further and further away from the 'A'.

Can you tell her hair was a mess this night?

Our Life Lately - Fall Catch Up

Halloween passed and Thanksgiving is fast approaching. Addie LOVED Halloween. She even loved all the spooky stuff and wasn't scared at all when it came to ghosts, mummy's and other monster decor. She found it all fascinating. The more decorated the house was the harder it was to pull her away from it because she loved it all. We went trick or treating in Mapleton again this year after first seeing Grandma Colleen and Grandpa Paul. Danny had to work so it was just Addie and I for a good while. It was really fun for me as a mom to take my little girl out and watch how much fun she was having. She was such a cute Little Red Riding Hood. We were later joined by Jaina, Donna, Jill, Georgia and Rand's kids. At one point we had all the Ferguson grandchildren trick or treating together before Addie and I left because it was getting late. She really got the hang of trick or treating. The weekend before Halloween Jill and I took Addie and Georgia to a trunk or treat activity and by the time we were done going through all the cars Addie tried going again for a second round. I didn't let her but maybe I should have because she didn't pick out the best candy for her mama to eat later. :) We'll have to work on that for next year.

Georgia wandered off and this is sadly the best picture of the group.

3 Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf

Rand and Ashley went with a Star Wars theme.

We started a little tradition last year with some friends I've had since middle school (Charisa J. and Jeni S.) where we get together and have the kids paint pumpkins. We continued it again this year and it was a blast. Charisa's sister joined this year and between the four of us ladies we had ten kids. They all did really well except for the occasional times where the paint would end up on each other instead of the pumpkins. Addie had just turned one last year so I mostly painted her pumpkin but this year she was able to do it all by herself and she did great.

Snuggling with Charisa's baby girl.

Addie with Charisa's handsome boys.

I've said this before and I'll say it again; holidays are so much better with children involved. Addie is now looking forward to Christmas since all the stores in the area have their seasonal decorations up. She especially loves Christmas trees and I can't wait to see the look on her face when we put ours up next weekend.

Lately I've been super aware of the fact that soon Addie will not be an only child so I've been trying to do more and more things with her while I still can. Her favorite thing is when I take her to Danny's school and we have lunch on campus with him. She loves the environment, seeing Danny and just being free to roam around their grounds. Her toy kitty is still her favorite and she HAS to have kitty join us on our outings. She even gets upset if we sit down somewhere to eat and there isn't an extra seat for her kitty to sit on. It's kind of cute but I'll be honest in saying that it can also be an inconvenience. 

Baby boy was also celebrated in October with a baby shower. I went back and forth on deciding if I wanted a baby shower or not but I'm glad I did. It was held at Grandma Colleen's house and put together by Jill and Marie. It was a good turnout and I'm grateful for the gifts we were given. This baby boy is already loved by so many. The shower ended with a dinosaur pinata that I could not for the life of me break open. Several of us took turns trying to use the toy bat to break open the dinosaur and finally a little boy succeeded. 

It's almost the middle of November now and it's already been eventful as far as our country goes. The presidential elections happened and the people voted for Donald Trump. This is my third time being able to vote and I still have never seen my vote go to the elect (McCain 2008, Romney 2012 and McMullin 2016). That's okay though. In other smaller news, Danny was able to almost witness another Cleveland victory. Almost. The Cleveland Indians lost to the Chicago Cubs in game seven of the world series. It was a great game but the Indians came up short. I definitely married into a Cleveland sports marriage and the win would have been nice but the loss is also okay. It was a fun game either way. Danny says that humility is a requirement when it comes to being a Cleveland fan.

And one more picture just to show how much Addie loves her kitty.