At the Zoo with Cousin Clara

For Christmas, my parents gave us a family zoo membership to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines.  We have made a mental list of people we want to take the zoo this summer.  An additional bonus of the membership is that we can get two adults and one child in for free, along with our pass.  Cousin Clara loves animals so she felt like a good one to take first.  Yeah!  For Mother's Day weekend the Swinger's came from Kansas.  It was a nice Saturday morning so we seized the moment and took in a zoo adventure.  Here are some pictures from our time...

Hudson insisted on taking his monkey, Bongo, because he wanted to introduce him to the "real monkeys" in the zoo.  

Its fun to watch the wallabies jump in the Australia exhibit.  

Two cute cousins in the ostrich eggs.  

The tortoise was really showing off for the guests.  

Hudson posing inside the turtle shell.  

Clara and Uncle Ben imitating the giraffes.  

The giraffes are a favorite of mine, so tall and so beautiful.  

A family picture of the Swinger's from Kansas.  We are excited to meet our new niece, someday real soon!  Thanks for the blessed morning and the fun memories.  

Bowling with a Buddy

Hudson's buddy Thomas turned three at the end of April.  We enjoyed a family fun night, including pizza and bowling to celebrate together.  The boys made it through all ten frames and remained interested, for the most part.  It was fun to watch them in action and they looked so cute in their bowling shoes.  :)  Its exciting to see them grow up together and we thank God for their friendship.    

"We are ready to have some fun!"  

"Cheese!  Happy Birthday, Thomas!"  

"I'll take the pink ball and you can take the green ball, does that sound ok?

They had a blast playing with this "machine" (or whatever it was) and acting like it was a spaceship.  They were in constant motion, as if flying in space.    

Hudson helped Daddy get the gutter unstuck by rolling another ball down.  

A Family Weekend

I believe this post is a bit out of order, but I wanted to write a bit about our weekend in Sioux Center, which was at the end of April.  My sister found a cheap plane ticket to came home for an extended weekend.  We have plans to go see her in July, but 6 months seems way to long to go without seeing her.  :)  We didn't exactly do anything "extra special" or exciting, we just hung out together at home…playing together, eating together, relaxing together, and sharing in life together.  It was perfect!  The weekend was full blessings, and we are grateful.  

Hudson received belated birthday gifts from Aunt Ang, with a farming theme of course.  

My parents farm from a distance.  

Hudson got lots of time to ride in the tractor.  He planted corn with Bapa and also disked with Daddy.  On Saturday he rode in the tractor for 5 hours.  Wow!  We have a little farmer on our hands.  

Hudson and Aunt Ang are buddies.  She does such a great job playing with him, initiating with him, talking with him, and building a relationship with him.  

We went to Le Mars on Sunday night.  Le Mars is the Ice Cream Capital of the World, home of Wells Blue Bunny ice cream.  We had dinner at Bob's Drive In (nothing fancy but still yummy) and then headed to the "Ice Cream Store" (as Hudson called it) for dessert.  

  

Hudson chose "Bunny Tracks" (same as Bapa Rog) for his ice cream treat.  The rest of us got cones, all different flavors.    

I got this picture of Hudson on our drive home.  We have made this trip lots of times and he really does great.  He knows its "really long ways to Bapa and Mimi's house" but it always proves to be worth the drive.  

Spring Training

We have had spring training around here and baseball is the name of the game.  Hudson is gearing up for the warmer weather and summer sunshine so he has his "A Game" on when the season is in full swing.  Hudson certainly has some technique to work on, but hopefully Uncle Ryan, the baseball coach in the family, can help him improve a few of those skills.  Batter…batter...swing!  

celebrating baby OLIVER

I guess while we are talking about babies, I'll share some pictures from a baby celebration I hosted on April 17th for my dear friend Jenna and her precious baby boy, Oliver.  This was her 2nd baby but it felt necessary, to celebrate the gift of life just the same, and gather with friends and family to shower her with love.  

Here is the invite I created and sent out to the lovely ladies who were invited.  

Jenna with Oliver by the serving table.  

I made chocolate covered strawberries and sugar cookies with sprinkles and frosting.  

I also made these homemade lemon blueberry cheesecake bars.  Even though the presentation was not as good as I was hoping for, they tasted amazing!  

Beautiful tulips for the spring time celebration.  

Jenna is a beautiful woman, inside and out.  I thank God for bringing her into my life and walking through this journey of motherhood together.  

Lil' Pumpkin

This is not a blog title that seems fitting for the month of May, but this is my official post to share that we are EXPECTING a Lil' Pumpkin at the end of October/early November.  Yeah!  Our hearts are overjoyed and full of gratitude.  It was what felt like a long journey and season of waiting for us, but in the big picture, not really.  We are grateful for the prayers and support of so many.  Our hearts overflow with thanksgiving.  God has proven Himself faithful and has answered our prayers.  We know His plan is perfect and we are thrilled to see it unfold for our family.  To Him be the glory!    

  

We had a "special breakfast" for Hudson, complete with Panera bagels, balloons, and a gift to tell Hudson about him becoming a big brother.  

Getting ready to open his gift.  

Hudson showing off his new big brother t-shirt.  He has enjoyed wearing it different places and getting a fun response from everyone.  I am confident Hudson is going to be a fantastic big brother.  He is already getting excited about helping Mommy take care of the baby and he talks to my belly often.      

To share our exciting news with friends and family we gave/sent sugar cookies shaped like a pumpkin (bummer I totally forgot to take a picture before giving the last one away) attached with these tags.  We thought Lil' Pumpkin was an appropriate "name" to give our little one, as my due date is around October 30th.  So much fun!  

Here is the first official "baby bump" picture of me and our Lil' Pumpkin, taken at 14 weeks.  I am grateful to be officially through the first trimester.  I had about 3 weeks of "yucky" early on but that passed quickly, thankfully!  I still take naps everyday and eat lots of snacks.  ;)     

April iPhone Pictures

Here is a collection of random pictures from this month.  :)  Enjoy!  

Mr. Hudson in a box.  Everyday is an adventure around here.  Its so fun to see what creative new things he comes up with to keep himself entertained.  

First pedicure of the season with the lovely ladies from small group.  

We attended an "Easter Party" on Saturday the 19th.  Hudson thought the Easter Bunny was really cool and always wanted to know exactly where he was at.  

Enjoying a beautiful afternoon at the park, playing in the sand, which is Hudson's favorite.  

On Friday, April 18th, we went out to Papa and Nana's house and watched them dig the basement to their new house.  So exciting!  

We usually attend story time at the Waukee Public Library on Wednesday mornings.  On this particular week we read and learned about eggs and chicks.  

"Good morning!"  Hudson loves to wear his pjs.  

Roy and I all dressed up in our Malaysian clothes for Malaysian Night at Drake.  Thanks to Farah and Afifa for these awesome outfits.  :)  

I am so grateful for Roy!  He literally is the BEST HUSBAND ever!  I am forever grateful for the gift of him in my life.  

Running errands on a cool and rainy morning calls for a hot chocolate treat for both Hudson and Mommy.  

We are both super excited about my recent purchase of a Vitamix.  Thanks to Thirty-One for the amazing gift cards!  

Decorating Easter eggs with Hudson.