T-ball

Eli had his first t-ball game last night!  I was so happy that it was cloudy, breezy, and cooler by the evening so that I could bring Asher and be there.  He had a lot of fun and did a great job hitting and running the bases.  I was one proud Mama!   All the kids on his team would run to the ball no matter where it went and it would end up in a dog pile on the grass.  It was hilarious and all of us got a LOT of laughs!   

1 Week Old

Asher had his one week appointment yesterday.  He was a champ and never cried.  He has gained a good amount back up past his birth weight at 7 lbs 14 oz (considering he nurses constantly) and is 19 inches long.  He still is a tiny bit jaundice, so we're putting him in the indirect sunlight to help with that.  We're settling into a routine around here and loving life!  The first few nights after we got home we didn't get any sleep because he had his days and nights mixed up, but the past few have been awesome! He even slept three hour stretches last night and it feels amazing!  He is quite the cutie and we are feeling so thankful to have three amazing kids.  He hardly ever cries and loves his siblings.  Cora holds him a lot and he'll just stare up at her and she'll talk to him.  It's beautiful to watch the kids fall in love with him.  I forgot how much newborns sleep.  It is allowing me to still have great quality time with the other kids and get rest for recovery.  Brandon has been taking the older kids out to do fun things (zoo, park, mall playplace etc.) so they are having a great time. We took family pictures and pictures of the kids yeserday and I am dying to see them!  The boys wore matching shirts and it was so cute!  We have been blessed with AMAZING friends and church community who have been bringing us amazing meals.  We will be blessed with meals for two weeks!  I am so thankful!      

Judson 5

We are home and settling into our new family of 5!  The kids are doing great and I am feeling so blessed!

Asher Graham Judson

We are happy to announce the arrival (a day early might I add) of our little man, Asher Graham Judson born May 23rd weighing 7 lbs 10 oz and 19 inches long.  I started having contractions at 3:30 a.m. yesterday and they didn't stop.  I was having back pain and other labor symptoms.  Luckily, all of our family were on their way already and pulled in right as we were needing to head to the hospital!  It was such a God thing!  I was rushed into surgery and had a great c-section and tubal ligation.  I felt so much better than I did with Cora's.  My friend Courtney watched the kids so our parents could be at the hospital with us, which was very special.  Asher came into this world screaming his head off!  We immediately noticed his dark head of hair and that he looked a lot different from the other kids.  He looks just like Brandon and doesn't have the big round eyes like the other kids.  He is absolutely gorgeous!  He has narrow deep set eyes and Brandon's nose.  His eyes remind me of Brandon's Grandpa Louks.  He looks so different than we expected and we just keep admiring him!  He is the sweetest baby, a great nurser, and slept all night just waking for feedings.  I hope it lasts!  I feel amazing and am up walking around and happily enjoying my new little guy!  Eli and Cora came up and met him yesterday and Cora was enthralled.  Eli liked seeing the baby, but he was more interested in figuring out what all the medical supplies were!  They have been doing great staying with my parents so far and I am so appreciative!    

Asher Graham Judson

Date Nights

We did date nights with the kids recently to make sure they got some one on one time with both of us.  My parents did this growing up and I hope to continue the tradition!  I get alone time with Cora while Eli's at preschool and alone time with Eli while Cora's napping and his rest time is over, so it's more important for Brandon.  Brandon took Eli out to the carnival that was in town and he got to ride the roller coaster a couple of times, the ferris wheel, and the car rides.  He loved it!  I am so happy that neither of my kids show any signs of having my terrible motion sickness.  Thank God!  I can't even swing on the porch swing without getting sick.  Eli had a wonderful time and Cora and I snuggled and spent time together doing "girl things".  The next night Brandon took Cora out on a special date.  She was really excited and picked out a dress just for the occasion.  He took her to this super girly store in the mall called "Sparkles" and let her pick out jewelry.  They also went and got ice cream.  She came home covered in bracelets and necklaces with smudges of ice cream on her cheeks.  She showed off all of her jewels and was SO proud!  Eli and I had a "train date" while they were gone.  We took all of his extra track from his room and built a new train set in the basement and played trains.  He kept saying, "I just love our train date, Mom!"  We had juice popcicles and just had fun!  I hope to continue these date nights, especially with a third on the way.  The kids will love the special attention!     

T-ball

Eli had his first t-ball practice last night! We had been trying to think of ways to keep him involved with other kids over the Summer and t-ball seemed like a good idea. I figure it includes: exercise, social time, fun, following directions, team work, etc. His best friend Seth is on his team and so is another friend, Nathan, from church. There are 8 boys and 1 girl on his team and his coaches seemed great! I was very impressed by how well all the kids paid attention to the coaches and followed instructions. They worked on throwing, catching, hitting, and running the bases. It was SO cute! Just getting the kids to run to first was an accomplishment :-). Eli had a great time and loved his special water bottle we got him for his practices and games. Eli sure is FAST! We took him out for a frosty afterwards to celebrate.