Catching up.. [Thanksgiving]

So, I think that's the title of my post about every other time.. obviously, this isn't exactly "my thing" but I really enjoy doing it when I get a chance. So - please bear with me, and we'll catch up on Thanksgiving, Hudson's first birthday, Christmas, and the New Year so far! :) :)

Thanksgiving was spent relaxing in Kansas with Cory's family this year. It was a nice long weekend hanging out at their home, cooking, eating, talking, and trying to keep Hudson entertained, as always! Honestly, it was so relaxing I hardly remembered to take pictures! So, enjoy the few we have :)

It was so nice that we spent a few afternoons out on the back deck letting Hudson get some fresh air and burn some energy going up and down the steps. He loved it!

As you can see, a few of the ways we entertained Hud was lots and lots of books, and of course - Tupperware :)

On our way home from Kansas Hudson had a hard time with the traveling. He normally does so well - so when we got home I checked his temp to see if he had a "teething fever" or anything - it's the highest it had ever been and turns out he was sick! He spent the month of December touching on a different sickness every week! Makes up for the whole first year with no sickness what so ever! 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, dear family and friends!

What a year! In our home, we have gone from having a precious little baby cradled in our arms to a one year old big boy walking around the house! It’s been such a joy watching Hudson this year – learning, developing new skills, and growing so quickly!

Cory is staying very busy with work. They have had another great year. They hired another attorney and their second associate! They also added another full time legal assistant. Because of these additions to the firm, they are needing to expand. They have a tentative deal to get a new commercial office building and move the firm into that building. Assuming all goes as planned, they will plan on building out the firm space starting in February and moving in sometime this spring! It’s very exciting and great progress for GRL Law.

I have been staying busy with Hudson at home - reading books, having “dance parties”, playing with all of his toys, practicing walking all over the house, going up and down the stairs, etc. Over the summer we enjoyed many walks on the walking trail near our house, going to the park and swinging, and pool time where ever we could find it! We also joined a gym that has child care so Hud and I go there every afternoon so he gets time playing with other kids and seeing other adults and I get a little time to myself! I’ve actually learned to really enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to work out! J We have gotten involved in a MOPS group as well through Valley Church (which is also our church home). It has been such a blessing to make friendships through that. I’m looking forward to more opportunities it provides in coming years.

Most recently Hudson has been transitioning in to eating solid foods! He loves it and doesn’t turn anything down! He’s not as big of a fan of his milk so far, but we’re working on it. He loves to look at books and turn the pages. Anything with buttons that make noise or play music can entertain him for quite a while too! He’s very content to hold on to someone’s finger and walk them all over the house. He also loves to be “chased” all over! On hands and knees, I’d say he’s faster than me! J He has a few favorite cupboards in the kitchen too! Tupperware, pots, and pans seem to be at the top of the list! He has a favorite blankie that he gets during nap and bed time. He’s a good sleeper which we appreciate so much!

Everything we did this year was new and exciting because it was always another 1st for Hudson to experience. He has completely changed our lives and helped us realize what an eventful life we live. There were so many trips to NW Iowa and to central Kansas visiting grandparents, and preparing at home for their weekend visits in Des Moines. We are so blessed to have such wonderful parents who are so active and involved in Hudson’s life and so willing to hang out with him for a few days here and there when Cory and I need a break.

Just a few of the fun things we did this year included a ski trip with friends in Colorado, Las Vegas with the Gourleys, lake house weekends with the Boones, March madness kick off in Lawrence with friends, weekends away for weddings all over Iowa and Kansas, a trip to Arkansas, and so many visits and get togethers from friends and family in Des Moines. Cory and I also celebrated our 1 year anniversary!

We have been so blessed this past year and thank you all for being such a special part of that blessing. But most importantly we celebrate the true giver of blessings, our Heavenly Father. It’s such a special time to celebrate the birth of Jesus and create more memories to carry in to coming years. We pray you all have a very merry Christmas and bring in the New Year with bubbles and joy!

With love,

Cory, Jaclyn, and Hudson Gourley

Happy Halloween!

Hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween! We had a blast! Here's a quick recap of the weekend of fun ...

Dancing with Grandma at a Halloween party

Friend, April at the Halloween party

Trick or treating with buddy Blake!

Rode around in his wagon holding on tightly to his bucket of candy for half an hour! (brrrr!)

Our little Jayhawk family! Basketball player, mascot, and cheerleader!

Our family trick or treating - a fun tradition to start! :)

Hooow big is Hudson??

 Sooo Big!!

Last week he would only put his left arm up, this week - he's got it. He even does it when no one asks how big he is :) I guess he just feels like being a big boy sometimes!  (..just like his father!)

Hudson really is becoming such a big boy.. He's over 10 months old!

-His 2nd tooth just came through last week - it's been a slow process.. He's trying new foods all the time, always wanting whats on my plate instead of his!
-He's very content playing and exploring (most of the time).
-He likes to stand, walk along all the furniture, he dances (bounces up and down in place and waves one arm up and down) every time he hears fun music playing :)
-he's always happy to play with dad, but gets bored with mom very quickly..
-when he's playing and happy, his constant babble sounds like "da dada da da" and when he's crying or whining it sounds like "ma ma waaa"  ..

    

-- I find this very fitting. I read somewhere that it's actually a compliment and reassurance to you when your baby is fussy around you and everyone else says they're just great and content all the time because it means they are most comfortable and familiar with you that they let you see their bad side. So.. I'll let him cry "ma ma" for now :) 

-He takes one really good nap in the morning (usually) and has been skipping an afternoon nap all together already! 

-He does not like to go to sleep. He fights it as long as we'll let him, but he is getting better about going to sleep when we put him down instead of crying. That's a nice change.

-- I know there are different opinions out there about letting babies "cry it out" or not .. we did a lot of contemplating and decided to try it. It worked for us! But wasn't easy.. and isn't easy to stick to in the middle of the night when he decides to wake up for no apparent reason at 4:00am! (which he did last night.. we kept going in and out of his room until about 5:45.. that's not easy) 

-Anyway, that's about it - he continues to grow and be a joy of a little boy! 

A few weeks ago we went up to SC for a weekend.. we went to the pumpkin patch, saw lots of family, and even had a bon fire! 

Ok, so we didn't actually "Master" the corn maze.. 

but it was only because we had to leave before we had time to finish! 

It took us 45 minutes to find 4 of the 6 mailboxes in there! 

We had a blast though, so we took the picture anyway :)

Thank you Grandma Janet for the exceptional picture taking! 

Did I mention Hudson helped Papa mow the lawn?! 

It's been a fun month so far! And it's only half way through! Hope you're all enjoying this wonderful fall weather :)

Pumpkin. Spice. Latte. Chai. Cinnamon. Fall. FALL. FALL!!! :)

Ok.. So I get a little carried away when the first hint of Fall comes around. I - Love - It !!

         The smell of it, the taste of it, the touch of it. I love how the crisp and fresh the air feels. I love cuddling in blankets. I love decorating my home in fall stuff - the colors are perfect. I love wearing sweat shirts and jeans and walking outside dragging my feet through the crunchy leaves on the ground. I love that the next thing to come are Thanksgiving and Christmas :) 

Alright, we get the picture! 

Speaking of pictures.. I have some new ones! 

Hud's latest face :)

We spent Labor Day weekend in Arkansas at Cory's grandparent's house. This collage summarizes our fun! 

Oh yea - and Hudson is 9 months old! Time flies when you're having fun!!

Hudson has been taking a good morning nap recently. He is crawling everywhere! Getting in to everything, playing with all of his toys, and the tubber ware, wooden kitchen spoons, coasters, and everything else he can get his hands on! Still no teeth or words, but lots of smiles which is all we need right now :) He's growing like crazy - weighing in at 21 pounds! He loves is food and is ready to start trying some different things - aka anything I'm eating! we'll get started on that right away as soon as he has some teeth to chew with! 

That's about all I have for now - Thanks for catching up and enjoy the "cooler" weather! :)  Until next time..

PS - if anyone knows how to make the picture at the top of my blog page smaller, please fill me in! I'm lost :)

More of a photo blogger than words blogger..

So, you'll never believe this, but I think my camera was so full of pictures it wouldn't connect to the computer! I had to go through my camera and manually delete over 500 photos so I could get the latest 200 uploaded to the computer! It finally worked after 2 months of experimenting! So guess what - I have more photos to share with you! Like this post title says, I'm more of a photo blogger than a words blogger - it's just how I'm more comfortable sharing our experiences! :) So, enjoy the experiences of our summer!

Hud's 7 and 8 month pictures!

Hud's moving more than sitting still these days - so these pictures were not easy to get! In the past month especially, he had started crawling everywhere - mainly to something he can pull himself up on so he's standing, then he tries walking from one piece of furniture to the next. Won't be long and I'll be chasing a walking baby instead of a crawling baby I'm afraid! :) Still no teeth though, so at least we're not worrying about him chewing in to all of that furniture he's climbing on! 

July 15, 2012 - Our first anniversary! :) :)

We had the opportunity of going out on our own for our anniversary because Cory's parents were in town to watch Hudson! Cory planned quite the special evening for us to enjoy :)  We started the night off at a Jazz concert held at the Art Center where we had our rehearsal dinner, then went to dinner at Cafe Di Scala, then we got our frozen wedding cake from home and took it to Flemings and had cake and coffee on the patio overlooking the pond on a beautiful evening .. ahh, the memories .. it was such a treat to have that time for the two of us to look back on the past year and how our lives have grown and changed so much. We are so very blessed and happy!

Family Anniversary Pic

Babies!

We've been busy visiting babies this summer! The first girl born in to the family since I was born arrived on July 20 - Sophia Lynne (left, and bottom right)! She's absolutely precious! :)  We also got to visit a new cousin - Bowen Jon was born on July 19! Hudson was curious for a minute, but then forgot there were little babies around and went about his business playing :)

- Kansas trip in a nutshell -

We spent a long weekend down in Kansas with Cory's family celebrating his birthday. Lots of fun with lots of family and friends!

Hudson :)

Just a few fun pics to share for kicks and giggles :)  We have lots of those.. Hud's not quite as serious as he use to be - he laughs and smiles at everyone now!

Even though the heat has kept us in more than we would have liked this summer, we've had a blast! Hudson is growing and changing every day, and our family is just enjoying every second of it! We're spending time with friends as well, grill outs, dinner out with kids :) always an experience! Now that it's cooled down a bit, we've been walking outside, attending free music at the Jordan Creek pond, and going to the park.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and few words to go along with them :) Take care and stay cool!

6 months!

My baby is  6.  months.  old.  already !!

Isn't he handsome?!

It's been such a joy this first half year getting to know my constantly growing little man! He's so active, always wants to be moving around (which he can't do on his own yet, so I'm constantly moving around with him!) :) He loves going for walks in the stroller, eating his fruits and veggies, and bottles and grapes in a mesh net (see pic below), and any and everything else he can get to his mouth! He loves his binky, and for, now that's ok :)  He likes reading books for about 5 minutes at a time, then he gets bored. He looves music! Which his daddy and I love too, so that works out! He's a very serious baby, and only gives out smiles when its well earned - which makes them even more precious! Same goes for his giggles. And as I watch him on the floor by me right now, I can officially say he can scoot. Backwards. ha :) He also balances on his hands and knees in crawling position - but moving consists of flopping to the ground and starting all over again! He will spin in circles all day long if he has something to go after too! He likes his sleep (usually). He sleeps through the night about 2/3rds of the time. He's only had 3 nights ever where he decided he didn't need to sleep. I consider us very fortunate for that! He loves activity, always wants to be "part of the mix"! I think that's why he has such a hard time falling asleep - he doesn't want to miss anything!

Mesh net - he can suck on fruit and get the juices

The past months have been a blast - seeing all the changes and progress - and being able to share it with family! Hudson's grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins have been so good at sharing in his life.

Tulip Time in Pella, IA 2012

5 month pic

Fire pit night with Papa and Grandma Janet

Mother's Day! :) :)

Fun in the sun! 

As you can see, the last few months have been full of fun and activities! Life never slows down, just how Hudson likes it! :)