Spring in Here!

Kathleen and Owen are really excited that spring is here! The jogger stroller came today, so they'll be able to get around town faster and take longer walks. And the weather is supposed to be great this coming weekend (Easter)! We'll all be enjoying it!

Visit from Mamaw and Papaw!

This past weekend, Mamaw and Papaw Hudson drove up to visit Owen. They hadn't seen him since Thanksgiving. They brought Owen lots of nice toys and kept him really busy the whole time so that he was exhausted at night. We had a few nice meals at home - Kathleen made her favorite spinach lasagna and Phil made salmon and cauliflower from the Vietnamese cookbook. On Saturday, we had lunch out at a Greek restaurant and stopped by a local winery. One of Kathleen's friends from college and maids of honor Lisa also came down to visit on Saturday, which was nice timing, because we had babysitters and were able to get out for a nice dinner!

Big Boys Feed Themselves

We've been trying to get Owen to hold his bottle by himself while he feeds. He has a little trouble because he can't quite get his hands around the bottle to hold it up. So, he's developed his own way of getting the formula out: he sucks all of the air out of the drop-in liner and then sucks the formula out. He's our little engineer!

Test Run

Last weekend, we went down to see Grandmom and Grandpop Smith in Delaware and stayed the night. It was a beautiful day and we were able to get out for a little walk with Owen. And Mommy and Daddy were able to get out to dinner while Grandmom and Grandpop put Owen down to bed. This visit was a test run before our trip to New Orleans, which is coming up in April. Owen will be staying with Grandmom and Grandpop Smith for four nights while Mommy and Daddy get away for a little vacation. We want to make sure that Owen is comfortable at Grandmom and Grandpop's house. And, of course, he is totally fine there.

St. Patty's Day Party

The weekend before St. Patrick's Day, we had a little party with some of our friends with kids. We made some shepherd's pie and listed to some celtic tunes. Owen was, of course, the hit of the party. It wasn't a late night because many of our little guests needed to get home to bed, but we all had a great time.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had a very nice St. Patrick's Day here in Bethlehem. It was an absolutely beautiful spring day and we all walked downtown for dinner. Owen got to see the Irish dancers, but I think he really liked the cute female bagpipe player. Dinner was great too - we had a smoked salmon salad, nice potato soup with smoked haddock, and corned beef and cabbage.

Looking Snazzy in His Jacket

Thank God for this Nice Weather!

Kathleen and Owen are really happy that the weather's been nice the last few days so that they've been able to get out of the house for a few walks. And Betsy is thrilled that the snow is melting and she can play around in the yard ... and also spend some time in the sun in the sunroom! Really hope that it stays this nice now! We can't deal with any more snow this year.

Welcome Francesca

Owen would like to welcome his new neighbor Francesca to the neighborhood. She was born last Sunday, February 28. We met Francesca on our way home from downtown this past weekend. Francesca's parents (Joe and Rebecca) were getting out for some fresh air after their families left. She's beautiful and so small! We forgot how small newborns are already.

Now that's it's getting a little warmer out, Kathleen will be able to go on some walks around the neighborhood with Rebecca and Francesca (and Owen, of course). That will be great for Kathleen, who is starting to get a little stir-crazy after this long winter.

Well, That Couldn't Have Gone Any Worse

Tonight, we tried to feed Owen some pureed carrots - his first solid food that's not rice cereal. Well, his reaction was not quite what we expected. He immediately started gagging, turned red, and puked up his meal from earlier. And then he wouldn't eat anything! So, we will be trying something different now.

A Night Out For Dinner

Here are some pictures from a Friday night a few weeks ago when we got out for dinner at Blue Sky Cafe in Bethlehem.

Some Owen Pictures

Weekend Away in NYC

This past weekend, Mommy and Daddy went up to New York for the night. It was our first night away from Owen. Phil's parents came up to watch Owen and Betsy. They both did really well with them - didn't even seem to miss us when we got home.

We visited Kathleen's old roommate Liz and her husband Michael while we were up in the city. We had lunch and walked around midtown with them... just enjoying being in the city. We had dinner at an old favorite restaurant: Burrito Loco.

We stayed at a B&B in Chelsea for the night. It was actually very nice. When we got there, they upgraded our room to a larger room. It was very nice... even though we didn't spend much time in it. We'll definitely stay there again in the future!

We went to a concert while we were up in the city. It was a Mardi Gras party featuring three New Orleans bands: Tab Benoit, Bonerama, and Big Sam's Funky Nation. The later two are funk bands that we play for Owen when he's upset. The venue wasn't that nice, but the music was great!

Bonerama

Big Sam's Funky Nation

After the concert, we managed to get to a stand-up show at a comedy club that we used to go to (The Comedy Cellar). And we're glad that we did, because we were treated to a special guest appearance by David Allen Grier! The other comedians were great too! We had a nice full evening in NYC, but really wanted to come home to Owen and Betsy the next day!

Owen's First Community Service

Last week, we served our first dinner with Owen helping us at Victory House (the local men's shelter that we help out at). We made our normal meal: beef stroganoff casserole and green bean casserole. It's an easy dinner to make, and the guys really love it. They all enjoyed meeting Owen, and Owen had a good time watching them all come by to get dinner.