38 weeks

And the time draws nigh......


Can you believe it??? 8.5 months down....2 weeks to go


Mama is ready to have this baby.....she is growing more uncomfortable by the day and Hudson seemingly manages to find every nerve in her lower body to press on


After our doctor appointment last week, everyone is ready for Hudson to make his grand entry.....calls are coming in several times each day w/ "Have you had that baby yet?"


I don't think we're far off now.....my guess is by this Sunday we'll have a new mouth to feed

"Please tell me I'm not being replaced..."

37 week Ultrasound

Since Erin was measuring 4 weeks ahead, her doctor wanted to do an ultrasound to get a better idea of just how big Hudson is

Not wanting to induce unless absolutely necessary, he wanted to see if we were dealing w/ an 8.5 lb baby with large amounts of amniotic fluid or if Erin was carrying a baby that was pushing 10.5 lbs (you should have seen her eyes when that number came out!)

As the ultrasound commenced, we discovered that our son (WOW!!! That sounds crazy!!!) has a long femur (confirmation that he is from these parents), a large big toe (gets that from his mama.....ha ha ha ha......mama says that comes from his daddy), and he was very comfortable and relaxed in the womb....heartbeat was mid-130s

They said he is very healthy and everything is progressing well.....the tech estimated him at 8 lbs 3 oz

At this point, the doctor said (tongue in cheek) for us to make an appointment for the upcoming week but to plan on canceling it :-)

The contractions are beginning, but at this point they're infrequent

Mama and daddy are both ready for this boy to get here so the sleepless nights can begin!

37 weeks

37 weeks.....Do you think people can tell that I'm pregnant yet?

It's all coming together

After several months of looking at furniture, bedding, themes, and all sorts of decorations, we finally made decisions on what the nursery would look like (or at least what we "hoped" it would end up looking like)


We ended up getting the changing table and dresser early in the process, while we held off ordering the crib until the nervous anxiety that Erin was feeling b/c Hudson had no place to sleep finally got to be overwhelming


So far we've been very pleased w/ how our "Classic Coastal" theme has come through.....we wanted something unique but something that was also important to us.....what better than images/decor from the coast in a classy presentation?  The only thing missing is the salt spray and sand spurs


While we still have a little cleaning up to do and some additional decorations to hang, the nursery is coming together and we're pleased with how it's turned out......baby Hudson will have a nice, comfortable, peaceful place (at least we hope it's peaceful at 2 in the morning) to call his own

Multi-purpose chair

I can see this being a place where the boy can kick back and relax, he can sit and read, or it could be used when he needs to take some time off and learn the finer parts of discipline (he'll get that quality from his daddy I'm sure)

Who knew that a baby needed so much stuff!?!?!?!

A few pics of things Erin got at her shower.....(Abby just wanted to make sure she wasn't going to be forgotten)


The camo came from Aunt Francis....she said Hudson was gonna need something to wear while he helps hang stands, cut shooting lanes, plant food plots, and build duck blinds out at the farm......he might even wear this home from the hospital (not really....his mama has already squashed that idea)

Benefits.....

While being pregnant has it's drawbacks, there are some big (no pun intended) upsides
Gotta love that sheepish grin.....that pose w/ food in hand (and in mouth)
has been a common theme throughout.....baby Hudson needs lots
of nourishment!

Even Max recognized the fact that it helps to be able to rest your plate on your belly!!!
Now we won't need to go out and buy tv trays :-)

32 weeks

30 weeks

Something happens when you reach the 30 week mark

The first thought is....."Oh crap!  I'm about to be responsible for another human being in only 10 weeks!!!!"


However, you also get to the point where you become more and more exited and ready to see the thing that moves all around your wife's belly like an alien...


Erin asked me alot if I thought that people could tell she was pregnant....."Nope!  Looks like a torpedo hit you in the back and got stuck in your belly button!"

29 weeks

25 weeks

Looks like someone is gonna have an "outie" before it's all said and done!

24 weeks

The bump seemed to grow quite a bit from 23 to 24 weeks....apparently the boy is eating well!!!

23 weeks

20 weeks

18 weeks

14 weeks

Can you tell I'm pregnant yet?

And the bump begins....

First Glimpse

After a few weeks of merely talking about a baby, we finally got a glimpse him......and it was confirmed that he was a "him"

This was becoming more real by the minute.....

January 31, 2010: The Journey Begins

The last weekend of January brought another winter storm to eastern North Carolina in what turned out to be one of the coldest winters we've had in years


As Erin had to work this particular weekend, I planned on taking her to work so that she didn't have to fight poor road conditions.


As she was getting ready for work, I was in the den working when I heard, "Chris.....come here!"


As has often been the case, I figured she'd found a bug in the bathroom that she needed for me to dispose of.  I walked into the bathroom, and she pointed toward the shower.  I walked over to the shower, looked around and said, "What?  I don't see anything over here."


She pointed at the sink, and there I finally saw a stick.  I picked it up, looked at it, and noticed that it had a "+" showing.  I immediately looked at Erin, sat down on the toilet (b/c it was the nearest seat to me), looked back at Erin, and asked, "What does that mean?"


After running to the drug store that morning to buy a brand name pregnancy test, and two positive tests later, we realized (as much as we could) that we were now in a whole new category....life was about to change......FOREVER!