A Circus, Some Country Dancing, and the Zoo

With the upcoming birth of Rylan, we spent quite a bit of time with Kaelyn on mini-dates to spend time together as family of three. We visited Gatti Town which Kaelyn loved, took several trips to the mall to ride the carousel, and enjoyed the nice weather outside by adventuring out on walks and playing on our swing set. One of the more memorable dates we took was to the Shriners Circus in Garland. Kaelyn has really taken a liking to elephants and we knew she would love seeing all the animals. Fortunately, Pop and KK were coming in town for my Granddad Killian's 80th birthday party and they got to join us. We arrived early for the pre-party activities which included elephant rides, pictures with a snake, meeting the clowns, bounce houses, and pony rides.

Kaelyn getting ready to ride her pony!

She loved riding the pony and kept saying "Neh"

since we've been practicing our animal sounds at home.

Kade and Kylen with Kaelyn following close behind.

She couldn't believe how big the elephant was! She's only

seen them on her television shows and was surprised! 

Bo, the elephant, was amazing in his circus act!

How on earth did he get all four of his big feet on

such a small stool? 

Another amazing feat...Doing a handstand on the same small stool!

On the Saturday evening after the circus, we celebrated my grandfather's 80th birthday with all of the family. We ate at one of my favorite restaurants growing up called the Trail Dust Steakhouse. Unfortunately, there is only one left in the DFW area and so we drove the distance to Arlington for a little boot scootin' and good food. One of the attractions at Trail Dust is the 50 ft. slide from the second floor to the first floor. Kaelyn was so excited to try it out. She also tried out her dance moves on the dance floor while the band played.

Kaelyn dancing with the birthday boy! 

Sliding down with Daddy!

Granddad Killian sliding at 80 years young! 

Getting warmed up on the dance floor.

She was a little unsure at first...

But not unsure anymore...Right at home.

Mommy and Daddy enjoying a dance together. 

The young bunch trying out the line dancing while the band played.

A little boot scootin' with Pop. 

She found the stage directly in front of the band and

made it her own! 

A new kind of step...and a little tired at the end of the night!

Fast forward to Rylan's second week of life...We decided to take Kaelyn and Rylan to the Ft. Worth Zoo. Mimi and PawPaw were headed into town to help out for the week and got to join in on the fun. Robbie and I really thought Kaelyn would make it 1/3 of the way through the zoo and get tired of it, but we were definitely wrong. From 10:30 in the morning until 3:30 that afternoon, Kaelyn enjoyed seeing the animals and couldn't get enough. It was so precious to see her excitement when she recognized certain animals along with her curiousity when we introduced her to a new animal. The best part was the bird feeding where she got to go in and let the birds land on her feeding strip. Rylan was a trooper as well. He is such a good baby and just goes with the flow of our family. He saw the zoo in his sleep mode!

Such a sweet picture! The mommy and baby together! 

Kaelyn and PawPaw checking out the zebras.

Kaelyn riding her own elephant (a statue dedicated to the baby

born at the Ft. Worth Zoo named Bonnie)

Feeding the birds

"Wow, Daddy. One of the birds landed on my stick to eat. I'm

not sure what I think of this just yet."

Found a kangaroo statue...Kaelyn being goofy!

Our luck never fails...Found the carousel and picked out

a horse to ride with Mimi!

Our precious Rylan enjoying a clean diaper and some time to stretch out!

Rylan Brice Hudson



Rylan Brice Hudson was born on Monday, April 4th at 1:05 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs. 0 oz. and was 20.75 inches long. He is absolutely beautiful, and we are a happy family of four now!

Rylan's Birth Story: The morning started just like I feared; we were bumped for induction AGAIN (with Kaelyn we were bumped to four days later) and were told to call the hospital at 8:30 a.m. (We were scheduled to be there at 7:30 a.m. and go the call at 6:35 a.m. after we had already showered and packed all of our bags in the car). Instead of having anxiety of giving birth, my biggest concern was getting that dreaded call. Thankfully the Lord took care of us and the hospital called us at 8:20 a.m. and told us to come have a baby! Of course, just like with Kaelyn, all the family was already in town because no one wanted to miss the birth of Mr. Rylan.

We got checked in around 9:15 and they started the pitocin drip at 9:30 a.m. Everything went very smoothly with the labor and delivery. My only complaint is that I should have asked for the epidural 30 minutes before I did, but I like to think I actually experienced some real labor contractions with intense pain! My doctor had said we would have a baby by lunch time provided that we started at 7:30 like planned, and she was right!

When we met Rylan for the first time, it brought back all the memories of delivering Kaelyn and the happiness Robbie and I felt then. When I saw his little face, I had tears in my eyes and felt so happy to have another precious member of our family. He is so special and Kaelyn couldn't be a better big sister!

Things have been really great since we arrived home. Robbie got to be home for the remaining of the week and then we were blessed to have my parents and Robbie's parents with us for the first two weeks. Kaelyn received lots of attention from her grandparents and it enabled me to get in a rhythm with Rylan. As Robbie likes to say, we are definitely practicing "man to man coverage" right now with learning to parent two children. Welcome to our family Rylan Brice! You are one special little guy and we can't believe how much you've blessed our lives in just these first few weeks. We love you so very much!

Big sister Kaelyn checking out her baby brother!

Cousin Brice, from whom Rylan got his middle name!

Daddy and his sweet babies!

Kaelyn getting a little daddy time!

Our happy family of four!

Little Brother

Daddy and Rylan getting some snuggle time.

Kaelyn holding Rylan! Such a sweet girl!

Rylan Brice Hudson

Kaelyn's First Haircut

Last Friday afternoon, Kaelyn got her first haircut! Robbie and I were very hesitant to cut it because we were afraid her baby curls would be gone, but she definitely needed it. My hairdresser, April Stuart, did an amazing job! My mom had warned me that Kaelyn would probably not be happy during the haircut, but did Kaelyn ever prove her wrong. She was an angel and just sat on my lap very patiently, even keeping her chin down to get her hair even in the back  (while watching The Fresh Beat Band on my phone). Thank you April! We love our new haircut!

The Before Pictures...

Look at that crazy hair! 

Kaelyn sitting very still so April could even up the back. 

Very suspicious of the hairdryer/roll brush combo...

The final touches...

After our First Haircut!

The back view...

Hanging out in the chair with a sucker for a treat! 

"Hi Daddy!"

(We wanted Daddy to experience it with us even though

he was at work!)



Back to Blogging...

I have not been a good blogger lately, but I vow to do better now that I'm nearing the end of my second pregnancy. I also haven't been the best photographer lately either. It is really easy to snap Kaelyn's picture with my iphone, but the pictures are never as good. I'm calling the month of March my New Season Resolutions time and promise to do better. I feel as if there are so many things going on with Kaelyn that I don't want to miss writing about each one.

Recently, we took Kaelyn for her first emergency visit to Acute Kids Urgent Care. We have been to Acute Kids before, but for nothing as serious as we experienced a couple of weeks ago. As I was fixing dinner in the kitchen, Kaelyn decided to stand up in her pink rocking chair. Robbie and I have both told her over and over again that she is not allowed to stand on the furniture, but she didn't quite remember on this particular evening. Of course, the chair tumbled backwards onto the tile floor and Kaelyn busted her lip. At first I couldn't figure out what she'd hurt because the mouth bleeds regardless of the size of the cut. Robbie made it home about ten minutes after our accident and we both checked it out. She had a pretty nice gash on the inside of her lip and we just wanted to make sure all her teeth were okay and that she didn't need stitches, so we took her in! I cannot say enough nice things about the Acute Kids in Frisco because they are so quick at seeing each child and it makes the experience much better for the parents. The pediatrician on call took a look at her lip and gave us the great news that she wouldn't need stitches. They were going to have to strap me down with her if we'd been told she did need them. This mommy was feeling guilty for not being right there to warn her as it happened. Thankfully the inside of the mouth heals quickly, and the doctor sent us home with a popsicle to ice it down!

Kaelyn's puffy lip (one day after)

We've really enjoyed the nice weather lately and have been spending a lot of time outdoors. Last weekend Robbie's parents were in town on Saturday for the day and we took Kaelyn to a nearby park to swing! She has a swing in Longview that Pop and KK hung from one of the nice pine trees while she was there visiting a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loves it! We wanted to show Mimi and PawPaw how much she enjoys swinging! After the park, we enjoyed a nice dinner with Memaw (Robbie's grandmother and Kaelyn's great-grandmother) for her 87th birthday! It was such a nice dinner because Mimi and Memaw took care of Kaelyn and I got to enjoy my meal and conversations with the rest of the family! I have to say that Kaelyn was especially great during dinner and Robbie and I were so proud of her. My family was going to stay the night with us later that evening, so we headed home after getting the Hudson's on the road back to Longview. When we arrived at home, there was definitely something fishy going on! When we walked in, no one was inside the house. We headed outside, and to our surprise, we saw a lot of work going on! To make a long story short, my Mom and Dad, my brothers, and my Granddad Killian were putting together a swing set for Kaelyn. It just so happens that Karl and Marlene, my aunt and uncle, along with their sweet girls Kathryn and Madalyn were getting rid of their nice swing set and wanted to pass it on to Kaelyn! Mom, Dad and the boys made the trip to Houston and back to Dallas in a day to surprise us! We were thrilled and so was Kaelyn!

She can't believe that Daddy can swing with her!

Look at her sweet face to see the pure delight! 

The Construction Crew (project complete)

Thank you Karl, Marlene, Kathryn and Madalyn for helping

take it apart in Houston and for passing it down to Kaelyn! 

Here are a few other pictures of Kaelyn's activities recently.

She loves her Megablocks (Thank you PawPaw and Mimi)

Enjoying the outdoors with Mommy

Such a throwback to the 80's with all the headbands...

She loves to wear them all at once! So funny. 

"Hi Mommy...I added a necklace to go with my headbands.

What do you think?" 

Will he be a March or April baby?

On Friday, Robbie and I went for our last sonogram with Rylan! It's amazing to think that the next time we will see his sweet little face will be in person! He is currently 5 lbs. 12 oz. and is definitely running out of room in my belly. Our induction has been set for Monday, April 11th, but after the doctor visit, we aren't sure if we'll make it to that date. I've already started progressing and my doctor thinks there is a good chance he'll be early! Now, it's time to guess if he'll make his debut in March or April? I actually packed a bag today (I was trying not to yet because I didn't want jinx myself) and worked on many other projects around the house. All the "nesting" has exhausted me though!

I've heard all the second child stories about not keeping up as well with pictures, etc. and I'm determined to defy the odds, but I have to admit that Rylan's room isn't 100% ready yet which doesn't help me get off to a good start. All the furniture is in place, but I still need to decide what else goes on the walls. We are so excited to meet our little guy and cannot wait! We ask for prayers for an easy delivery and for the health of Rylan! His next blog post will be when he arrives!