...our little angel.

...SO darn cute.

...wiggly.























...a precious gift.


...sleepy.

















...tiny.

















...a little prince!























Hudson, you are 6 and 1/2 weeks old now, and you are really growing!

You are finally getting into a night time routine, where you sleep for a longer period first (usually 4-5 hours), then a shorter period next (2.5-3 hours). We are so thankful that you are figuring out the difference between night and day!

Daddy has been SO wonderful in helping me out when he is home. On weekends he helps with a nighttime feeding so I can catch up on my beauty sleep, and he changes LOTS of diapers when he is here!

You are about to switch over from newborn diapers to size 1 diapers, and you are starting to fit into some of the 0-3 month clothing, though you can still fit into your Newborn size clothes as well. I guess all the brands are a little different in sizing, just like in women's clothing!

One of the best things EVER was seeing you smile at me for the first time (June 30th, 5 weeks old)--of course it happened at 3:00 in the morning, so your daddy missed it! I almost woke him up, but I don't think he would have appreciated it too much! :D Now your daddy and I love to try to make you smile--we especially love when you grin really big and show your toothless mouth--so precious! One of these days we'll catch it on film.

We love you so much, Hudson. I am already getting sad when I think about going back to work in August; I'm going to miss seeing you all day! :( In the meantime, I'm just trying to enjoy all my time with you because I know these moments will pass too quickly. So stop growing already, sweet baby! :)

Wow, time is really flying here at the end of my pregnancy.

And thank GOD. The bigger I get, the worse I feel, which only makes sense, right? Everything is pretty doable except for the severe rib pain I've been feeling. Sometimes it will just be some random sharp pains, but other times it's constant sharp pain, and it's awful. Today has been one of those awful days. I am just waiting for baby Hudson to drop and hopefully take some pressure off my poor ribs.

In other news, back at our 18 week appointment, when we found out we were having a Hudson and not a Quinn, the sonogram showed a calcification on his heart. Since then, we've been getting lots of sonograms on a regular basis to check on this little "spot," all the while knowing it would possibly go away, and also, that (according to our dr. AND the specialist) it was nothing to worry about.

Anyway, at our 32 week appointment, the calcification wasn't seen, so we are hoping it is gone for good! Like I said, we were told not to worry, but you can't help but wonder just a little bit, even so. :) We go back on Monday and get ANOTHER sonogram, so hopefully the calcification really is gone. :)

At 32 weeks, baby boy weighed approximately 4 lbs, 4 oz. They say at this point the baby gains about a half pound a week. Uhh...I do not relish the idea of having a 9 pound baby! And frankly, even though my hips are clearly widening as I type this, I am pretty sure they will STILL be too narrow to fit a 9 pound baby between them. Just sayin. And I really don't want to have a C-section if I don't have to. My mom had to have a C-section with me because her pelvis was too small. Seriously. This baby cannot be 9 pounds, or I will be screwed! LOL. Oh well. I know none of this is in my hands, and whatever happens, happens. As long as Hudson is healthy--that's all I'm concerned about right now. That, and I just can't wait to meet him and see what he looks like! At our 32 wk appointment, we lucked out and got to see some 4-D pictures of his face, and his cheeks looked SO CHUBBY! In that sense, he definitely takes after me. I am so curious to see if he will inherit the Cockrell chin dimple, which all the Cockrell men seem to have. :D

As it gets closer to time to meet Hudson, I just feel so happy and excited. I'm still nervous about labor & delivery. I know it's going to be hard being a parent. I know we're going to be exhausted for a while. I know breastfeeding will probably be hard, at least at first. There are so many things to be afraid about, but I know things will work out, because above all, this baby is going to be LOVED. Like, hardcore.

Wow. We are really going to be Mommy & Daddy. Wow.

i am excited to be linking up with Marie today at Emma Calls Me Mama, one of my favorite blogs, to take part in her Heirloom Party. please make a point to stop by over there and check out everyone else's special heirlooms.

framed photograph of hubby's grandparents' farm:


sorry about the flash situation. i actually gifted this to my husband for his birthday back when we were dating. i found a small black and white print in the bathroom of his old apartment (nice place, eh?) and discovered what it was: an aerial photograph of his grandpa's farm. realizing how close he was to his grandfather, i sneakily stole (borrowed) the photo to have it enlarged and framed (which was QUITE pricey, i might add). i love it displayed on the wall in our kitchen, and i hope it will be something we can pass down to our children, and so on.

antique dining set (from hubby's grandparents):





i love this set. i love the dark wood, i love how solid it is, and i love the buffet. the only thing i wish it had was a china cabinet to display my gorgeous wedding china that i didn't even WANT to register for, was harassed into it by hubby's aunt--hehe--and now LOVE. i also recovered the dining room chairs. you can see the before pictures here if you'd like.


painting passed down to me from Gran:


before my Gran (dad's mom) died, she gave me this painting that was done by her art teacher of many years. she knew i would love it because #1, it's 3 choir girls, and if you don't already know, i'm a singer, and #2, it's all kinds of blues and greens--my favorite colors. i absolutely LOVE this painting, even aside from the fact that it is sentimental. (the photo doesn't do it justice.) i had it reframed last summer when we moved into our house, because the old frame was awful. no before of it, sorry. =)

Gran's froggie bathroom painting:



Gran was an artist--i forgot to explain that before. she painted mostly landscapes (farm, beach, forest) and birds (amazing--oil paint on glass, which she did backwards, on the reverse side of the glass), but this one is one of my favorites. it is just plain cute. i love it in our guest bathroom. i had this one reframed as well--the original frame was an awful white with gold inner trim. i thought the detail of this black frame would be perfect for a bathroom (and it matches the black and white i've used in there).

in the second photo, hopefully you can see the artist's signature and the frame's detail.


Gran's silver serving tray:

ok, i'm sorry, but i forgot to pull this beauty out and get pictures, and frankly, i'm just too darn tired to upload anymore pictures tonight, so i'll just describe it. hehe. ok, this thing is awesome. it folds up to this nice, narrow little pedestal for storage, but when you unscrew the little screws, it folds out to show 3 tiers that are like small dessert plates...but silver. (i'm not so good at this descriptive business, hmm...) so anyway, it is great for entertaining, especially at bridal or baby showers. i put down those cheap white paper doilies on each tier and then load it up with yummy goodies! maybe i'll snap pictures at a later date or something, because i really do love it. moving on. good LORD, i ramble. my blog entries are often like dissertations, and for that, i apologize. in fact, no one is probably even reading this, because they all clicked away far earlier in this post. ha! but wait, there's more...


antique bench passed down from hub's grandparents:



i posted about this previously and mentioned that the bench is in need of a fabric makeover. i got some advice from a couple nice bloggers, but i just haven't gotten around to making it happen yet; hopefully in the next few weeks, but i am in project overload right now, so we shall see! your opinion, perhaps? do you think it would look ok to cover the bench in the same fabric i used for the piano bench, seen here?

take a look at our fabrics/colors in the living room:




(note: the accent wall to the left of the camera view is painted an avocado green--hence the color inspiration for the piano bench fabric.)


should have included a pic of the awesome chocolate brown shag rug; it really ties the room together. just imagine it: awesome.

thanks so much for any advice or opinions you may have! (and lord, that mirror is dirty, lol!)

xo, gayla