It's Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!! 

Seriously I know I am biased but, isn't he just the cutest?? 

It feels like it has been forever since I've posted . . . okay it has been forever. Life with an almost 6 month old is BUSY!! I love every minute . . . well almost every minute! ;) We managed to get a tree up and are currently enjoying our last Christmas with breakable ornaments on the tree. ;)

I think it is safe to say our tree is LOADED!! I don't think that it could fit one more decoration. I don't think I have ever loaded a tree up this much but I am loving the look!!!

The stockings were hung with care . . . all three of them! :)

Some rustic candle holders and a garland on the mantel,

and some metal peace decorations finish off the mantel.

and lastly, I chose a black, gold, and kraft paper theme for our wrapping paper and it's my favorite scheme to date!! It's kind of glam and kind of rustic!

I hope you all have an amazing Holiday season with your families!!! I hope to put together a gift guide before Christmas. I was able to find some seriously cute gifts for the two men in my life and of course I wanted to share them with you.
Oh and I almost forgot . . . my favorite tree ornament:

This H from Chapters/Indigo. H for Hudson!!!

Olive Leaf Stencils Giveaway

I am so excited to share today's giveaway with you today!! Seriously, I love stencils. When Olive Leaf Stencils contacted me about a giveaway I jumped on it faster then a cat jumps out of the bathtub (if you have ever bathed a cat you know, that's pretty fast).

Olive Leaf has some amazing stencils, everything from wall patterns to a giant octopus (I swear if I didn't think this octopus would scare Hudson I would totally pop it on his wall).

But my personal favorite stencil would be the bird stencils!! A little Edgar Alan Poe, I love them!

Now it's your chance to let us know what your favorite stencil is, come back and let us know for your chance to win it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!!!!

Baby Elephant

Hudson's first Halloween was a success. We had the cutest baby elephant on our hands, this was the only picture I was able to snap without his hand in his mouth (darn teething).

I hope everyone had a great Halloween, I will be back tomorrow with another great giveaway and later this week with my latest organizing project!

Attiser Pillow Giveaway

Ugg, still out sick! Sick baby + sick Mama = not a very happy home. But we are on the mend with some antibiotics and some grandparent visits! All I have to say is thank goodness for grandparents.

I was able to wrangle you another fabulous giveaway to apologize for my absence. This one is from Attiser, their motto is "Kindling passion in color, discovering beauty in imperfections." I love that!

Attiser has a beautiful line of linens ranging from bedding to shower curtains, Table linens to curtain panels all with a colorful bohemian feel!

I am Loving the blue print on the shower curtain but I am seriously in love with the pink sheet set and quilt. 

_________________________________________________________

Today they have offered one lucky reader a chance to win a set of their Amethyst Amore Throw Pillow Covers!!

They are 17" x 17", 100% cotton throw pillow covers. Each pillow is printed individually, by hand using wood blocks!  I love their bright bohemian feel!!

Here's the Details: 

To Enter: Like Attiser's Facebook page, come back and let us know you did. It's that simple!
Bonus Entry: Visit Attiser's Site and let us know what your favorite item is, come back and let us know.

Prize: A set of Amethyst Amore Throw Pillows
Open to: Canada and the United States
Contest Closes: Nov. 6, 2013 11:59pm

Sassy Steal Giveaway

 I am so excited to share today's giveaway with you today. I have been locked up at home with a sick little baby, poor Hudson caught a bad cold with a fever that wouldn't go away. But we are both on the mend and to celebrate we are giving away a $50 gift certificate to Sassy Steals.

Sassy Steals offers daily online deals on Woman's jewelry, trendy clothing and other handmade crafts. And by Deals . . . they really mean deals!!! Many of their deals are under $10, like this set of stainless straws for $5.99!

Or these bubble necklaces for $8.99.

Or just in time for Christmas some personalized gift tags or mailing labels. They also have some fabulous burlap stockings that I am ordering for our mantel this year.

Of course this is just a sampling of what they have to offer and it changes daily! I love that so many of the deals are handmade items and the prices really are a steal,  I saw a peacoat for $20.99 on there last night!! ;)

Enter Below and Good luck!!!

For those of you who want to get your Sassy Steal on now, they have offered our readers a coupon code for 15% off your first purchase . . . just type in Sassy15

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Easy Biscuits and Butter

If this blog was to be called something else . . . I would seriously consider calling it Biscuits and Butter! I highly question if there is something better than warm biscuits out of the oven with butter . . . or jam . . . or both. 

I am neither a Grandmother, nor am I from the South so I don't blame you if you are skeptical about my biscuit knowledge, but I am going to break the southern grandmother stereotype and this Canadian Girl is going to share her easy and delicious biscuit recipe! haha

2 cups Flour
3 Tbsp Sugar
3 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup of Cold Butter (or shortening)
2/3 Cup of Cold Buttermilk  (if your dough is too dry add a splash more milk)
        * You could substitute regular milk if you don't have any buttermilk
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl. Cut in Butter with a pastry cutter or if you work quick enough not to melt the butter use your fingers.
Add Milk and stir until the dough combines, add more milk if it's still too dry. 

Roll out dough until it's 1/2" thick. 

Using a round cutter cut out your rounds . . . if you like them more rustic then just cut them into squares.

Then you arrange them on an ungreased baking sheet. Now, if you like crispy biscuits, like I do, arrange them about 1" apart on the sheet. If you like softer biscuit arrange them so that the edges are just touching each other, I thought that was pretty cool . . . my granny taught us that!

In a 425 degree oven, bake them for anywhere from 10-13 minutes. Keep an eye on them!!

There you have it . . . biscuits worthy of any Southern Grandma.
Always served with some warm Sour Cherry Jam!!!

Lastly, I am in LOVE with these ceramic berry containers from Anthropologie!! I love it when ordinary, disposable items are made permanent. So cute and odd at the same time. I love items with a little bit of quirk to them . . . like my white ceramic gnome.

I hope you'll try this simple biscuit recipe, they may have you say'in:

"Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, that girl can bake!!"  :) haha

Baby Kit!

The number 1 rule around here seems to be "Don't Wake the Baby!" haha.

It seems like as soon as I mix a bottle, grab the baby, grab the pillow and sit down on the couch . . . I will immediately need something, a pacifier, a burp cloth, the nail clippers (because the only time I can clip his nails is when he's asleep on me). I was tired of having to wake up a sleeping baby to grab any of these things. So I set up a "Baby Kit".

A Baby Kit just contains all the little bits and pieces that come with having a baby in the house.

• First, since I always change Hudson upstairs but there has been an "incident" or two that required an emergency diaper so I keep an extra diaper or two in the kit.
• WIPES, very very important to have easily within reach. 
• Bibs!! He's a bit of a drool machine right now, so having a few bibs in reach is a must have. These bibs are from Ikea, and they are super cute and cozy. 
• Nail Clippers.  
• Sock, extra baby socks are always good to have on hand, because apparently baby feet repel baby socks.  
• Dimpleskin Naturals Boo Boo Goo. Good for any little scratch or rash. 
• Natural teething remedy, some Camilla Drops! I am not convinced they work but they definitely distract him from his gums for a minute or two. 
• A Thermometer. Ours is the Kidz Med scanner. It good because I am a little paranoid about him over heating so this thermometer let's me check him with out waking him up! :)
• A dangly elephant that rattles.
• A wood rattle.
• And a pacimal! A pacifier attached to a stuffed animal. These are perfect for little babies that can't keep the pacifier in their mouth. 

 And of course . . . Aden and Anias Burp Cloths!!!

I keep the kit, in a 3 Sprouts bag, complete with a little mouse! I like these bags because they have pockets on the outside and they are lined on the inside so they are waterproof!

I hope you like the "Baby Kit" as much as I do. It has really helped control the baby clutter in our living room.  

A living room to LIVE in!

This whole living room situation (as Lee likes to call it) takes some explaining, stick with me it will make sense in a second.
Back in May we had finished our Homestudy and had our minds on baby (although there was no baby yet). We knew that the original way we had our living room set up wasn't going to work . . . there was NO open floor space and no where to put a swing or an exersaucer, or even a little blanket on the floor. We also wanted to move our sectional sofa into the basement where it could be used for movie watching.
So,
We bought our existing sofa from Homesense for $240 . . . it's really more of a loveseat but it would work and it would give us way more room for baby items. Thank goodness we did the living room change up because not even a month later we had Hudson home, along with all the baby gear!

The rocking chair was in the corner by the TV but that thing is more uncomfortable than sitting on your bony grandmother's knee. I thought something wicker would be nice since it's kind of rustic . . . I found these two chairs at Ikea in their as-is section for half price almost $50 each. The white seat cushions were extra but well worth it.
These Ikea Byholma chairs are actually very comfortable! With the thick seat cushions they are a bit high but we are both tall and don't seem to notice, it was actually a vertically challenged friend (aka. a short friend) of mine that pointed out that they were high as her feet dangled above the floor.

We also replaced the large coffee table with a small farmhouse bench we've had forever. The coffee table switch up definitely gave us more room for a wiggly baby. I don't think the bench will stay in the living room forever . . . eventually I would like to see a round tufted leather ottoman in the middle of our living space. But for now the bench works just fine and gives Hudson tons of room to do his tummy time and general baby floor wiggling.

Since it was fall we also layered in our red ikea rug! For a little fall interest.

And Lastly, it's a bit hard to see but we found a sofa table off Craigslist. It's originally an ikea Stockholm table I believe, but I don't think they still sell it. It wasn't exactly what I had pictured behind the sofa, but the price was right, the scale was right and with a little paint and maybe some wheels it will be perfect!

So there's our living room as it looks today . . . okay, maybe not exactly how it looks today. Add in a nursing pillow, a baby activity mat, an exersaucer and some random wood toys around and you'll have EXACTLY what it looks like. ;)

Baby Must Haves

I am so excited to share my Baby Must Haves with you today!!! Before I share them, I will say that I think all babies are different and what our little Hudson LOVES might not be loved by all babies ;). But I will also add that there are other little babes we know (I'm talking about you Emma) that also love some of these Must Haves.

It seems like almost all of our Must Haves fall under the same few companies, Mamas and Papas, Aden and Anias, Skip Hop and Seventh Generation. 

First, Bed and Bath Products.

Although they hardly need my endorsement after Royal Baby George was seen in their swaddle blanket, I LOVE Aden and Anais products. Hudson's bed sheets, blankets, change pad cover and burp cloths and bibs are all made by Aden and Anais! I can't get enough.
1) Muslin baby Swaddle blankets in the Up, Up and Away pattern. They were perfect for summer, but now they make Cozy Muslin blankets for Winter.  We have 6 of them and they are well used!
2) Cozy Sleep Sacks also made by Aden and Anais. We have two in each size as well as a thinner summer one, I love the Liam the Brave pattern.
3) Baby Bee Diaper Ointment. This stuff WORKS. Hudson has insanely sensitive skin and this cream gets rid of any signs of diaper rash. We went for 3 months without any diaper rash, then he got a touch sick and he got a little bum rash, we were using California Baby diaper cream but it didn't make the rash any better, then 2 days of Baby Bee and it was gone!! 100% natural!!
4) Aden and Anais Burp Cloths. These things are amazing!! They are HUGE so they cover your whole shoulder (very important), they are super absorbent (also very important), and as a bonus they have a little snap and they turn into a bib!! We have 4!!
5) Aden and Anais Bamboo Security Blankets. I noticed Hudson was always grabbing his blankets or his outfit, I mentioned it to my friend Sara, and she said she noticed that as well and bought her baby girl these little security blankets and that she loved them. I pick up a pack for Hudson (they come in a pack of 2) and he LOVES them!
6) Silkberry Sleepers. They are so soft, and so stretchy! They are expensive but worth it, we have 3 of them and Hudson has basically lived in them!
7) Seventh Generation baby shampoo and lotion. Like I mentioned before Hudson has very sensitive skin, and the shampoo and wash doesn't irritate his skin. The lotion has helped us keep his eczema away, any sign of dryness the lotion goes on and so far we've been able to keep any flare ups at bay!

Next, Meals and Wheels baby must haves.

1)  Mamas and Papas Loop high chair. This was a recent purchase for us, but I already regret not getting it sooner. He loves to sit in it and watch me make dinner! It tilts back and it spins, but the main reason we bought it is because the height is easily adjustable so I can feed him standing in the kitchen or sitting at the dining table.
2) My Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag. It turns into a back pack if it gets too heavy . . . enough said! ;)
3) Glass Dr. Brown's Bottles, we didn't want to use plastic bottles and I had heard that Dr.Browns help with colic (Hudson wasn't colic but why risk it) haha. I noticed that he had way fewer toots and burps when using these bottles. They are a PAIN to clean though.
4) We are getting close to solid food time, I am planning on making Hudson's baby food so I needed little jars to store it in. I found and LOVE these little glass Wean Tubs. Again, we didn't want to use plastic so we were willing to spend a little more for the glass tubs.
5) Again my friend Sara found this product, this Skip Hop stroller caddy has saved more than one shopping trip. It's a perfect cup holder and it also has a detachable wallet in the front, and space for all the little bits and bobs that come with leaving the house with a baby. It will fit a bunch of different strollers as well, it fits my Urbo and my friends Britax.
6) Speaking of our stroller. We have a Mamas and Papas Urbo, and we LOVE IT!!!! Couldn't live with out it. It is definitely made for Urban life . . . so no off roading with this guy. It is so light, and so maneuverable, I can hold a door open with one hand and wheel the stroller in easily with the other. The frame is metal so it's super sturdy. The handle telescopes in and out so it fits me at 5'9" or Lee at 6'8". And best of all it fits into the back of my tiny car (Toyota Yaris). We Purchased the Bassinet in addition to the seat it came with, we weren't sure if we should or shouldn't get the bassinet but it was worth every penny!!! We still use that bassinet even though his little legs are starting to hang out the bottom!! I loved that the seat can either face us (for when he's little still) or face out for when he's older (the seat is rated up to 55 lbs).
7) This bottle drying rack is not only cute!! It's also really functional. It fits all 8 of his bottles and all the bits and pieces that come with Dr.Brown's bottles. I would definitely recommend this!!!

Next, TOYS!!!

1) Skip Hop Mobile. What's not to love Owls, birds! I thought I could get away with a simple pastel mobile but one look at his friends brightly colored mobile and suddenly we had to get him one too . . . I know I know, get use to it right!!
2) Skip Hop Activity Gym, I love it, he loves it. It is by far the least ugly play mat I could find.
3) Skip Hop wood blocks. I love wood toys! Give me the option and I will choose wood over plastic any day! And what little boy doesn't love building blocks??
4) A wood rattle. He has two versions of these wood rattles, both made by Hape. We have a love affair with Hape toys right now. So so cute!
5) Lastly, Hudson's Favorite toy!!! This crocheted Snake made by Pebble. He can't nap without it. I do find it funny that the snakes head rattles but not his tail . . . but I guess they weren't going for realism (because a blue and teal snake is soooo realistic).

The down and Dirty must haves.

 1) Seventh Generation Diapers. They are great for Hudson's skin, we haven't noticed any diaper rash (except for the week he was sick), and they are Chlorine free!!
2) Seventh Generation Wipes. For the same natural reasons as using the diapers, plus they are thicker than other wipes I've tried. I like the thickest possible barrier between my hand and the contents of diapers (Definitely enough said).
3) Natursutten Pacifiers. Pacifiers made from natural rubber, with no creases or crevices.

And last but not least . . . . .

A SLEEP SHEEP! Hudson LOVES his sleep sheep!

That's my list!! But I am dying to know what's on your baby must have list???

Slow Cooker Asian Garlic Chicken

       Since the arrival of Hudson in our lives . . . I have been cooking with either the phone (i.e. takeout) or the slow cooker. :) I think instead of giving traditional baby gifts . . . I am going to start giving new moms a crock pot! (Somehow I don't think that will go over super well ;) haha

       This is a MUST TRY recipe. I only share recipes that we love on the blog and I would never recommend a recipe that we didn't think was amazing, this recipe is in a bit of a league of it's own. It's right up there with Lee's favorite Beef Bourguignon, and my favorite key lime pie.
But what makes this recipe extra amazing is that it is so fast and so easy, seriously 5 minutes of prep! We like to serve ours over rice, but it would be equally good over noodles, (maybe even better), and for a vegetable I just chopped up some red peppers on the side.

Asian Garlic Chicken 

      4 boneless skinless chicken breast (or substitute chicken thighs)
      1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
      5 cloves minced fresh garlic
      1  1/2 cups brown sugar
      3 tablespoons soy sauce
      1/2 cup gingerale (you can substitute sprite, 7 up)
      1/2 tsp - 1 tsp red pepper flakes (*optional, adjust to personal tolerance for spice)

      2 tbsp water
      1 tbsp cornstarch

1) Combine vinegar, garlic, sugar, soy, pepper flakes and gingerale in crock pot. Mix until sugar has dissolved (this doesn't take more than 1 minute).
2) Now, place chicken into crock pot with liquid.
3) Turn crock pot to high and cook for 4 hours! (You can also turn the crock pot to low and cook for 8 hours),
4) When the chicken in ready (after 4 hours on high) pull the chicken out and cut into chunks. Take the liquid from the crock pot and pour it into a small sauce pot on the stove. Bring liquid to a boil. Mix water and cornstarch together and pour into liquid. Heat until the sauce is thickened (feel free to add more cornstarch and water if you would like your sauce thicker).
5) Eat!
6) Come back and let us know if you loved it as much as we do!!!

Nursery Reveal

       Hudson's almost 9 weeks old now and we can finally call his room finished. I wanted to keep the main elements timeless and neutral . . . things like the wall color and the trim detail (you can read more about those choices here). I wanted them to be able to grow up with him. The trim and paint also happen to be my favorite part of the room, I would love to paint the entire house those two colors!

       I wanted to add some whimsy (or a lot of whimsy as the case may be) in the form of drapes. I am not much of a "theme" person but somehow his little nursery ended up with a bit of an elephant theme. What I like about the drapes is that while it's obviously elephants up close . . . from far away it almost looks just like a patterned black and white fabric (you can read more about the drapes here).
       I found this curtain rod at Lowes for less than $20. I thought it was perfect for a nursery. I love that it looks like a branch with some little leaves off the end. I even love the antique brass finish . . . a little warmer than nickle or chrome.

       The crib was more than a bit of a dilemma. We originally bought Ikea's Sniglar crib. I really loved the clean lines and how thin and delicate it was, I especially liked the price at $79.99. What I didn't like was that it was natural wood (I was just hoping for something painted). So we bought it anyway . . . and picked up some no voc paint. The plan was that we would paint the crib with a no voc paint, then seal it with a no voc sealer. We knew that we had about a month before he would be sleeping in it . . . so that should be more than enough time for it to cure and all the smell to leave. One month later . . . the paint was still tacky . . . the smell was stronger than ever and in the end I just didn't feel comfortable with him sleeping in his room  . . . with the door closed and that crib inside. So back to the drawing board, or back to Ikea I should say, for their Gulliver crib. It is really similar in its style, very simple clean lines. The four corner pieces are a little thicker than the sniglar crib but generally the same idea. A bonus is that it was already a warm cream color, and it didn't stink. ;)

       We had no debate over what crib mattress to get Hudson . . . we knew we wanted one that had an infant side and a toddler side (although I am pretty sure most of them do). But mostly we wanted to ensure that it was made of organic cotton. I researched tons of different mattresses to find one that was a reasonable price, we ended up with the Simmons "Natures Best" mattress.  We found it on sale at Sears for $159.

       Attached to the crib is a Cloud B sleep sheep. Hudson loves it, he loves it so much we ended up buying the travel sized sleep sheep that we can take with us in the car and on trips. The sheep has 4 white noises, rain and ocean are Hudson's favorite. We use Rain for bedtime and we use Ocean for nap times. It's awesome . . . as soon as he hears the rain sound you can actually see him getting sleepy.

       In the crib we chose a Muslin crib sheet made by Aden and Anais, it's their Up, Up and Away pattern. I have more than a small crush on Aden and Anais products right now, we have the swaddle blankets, the sleep sacks, the burp cloths and the bibs. They are beautiful and breathable, even Lee likes them and he is pretty much immune to baby stuff. He said he doesn't understand why I think baby shoes are so cute because "They are just like adult shoes but small". haha

       Beside the crib is our old craft cabinet. We were given so many adorable baby gifts and so many books, we wanted somewhere to keep all the cute baby gear. The drawer at the bottom is especially useful to store extra diapers and wipes.

       I found the sign above the cabinet at Homesense. I went in for pillows (more on the pillows in a second) and I saw the sign . . . I knew we had to have it for Hudson's room. I am sure he will get to be a certain age and not want that up in his room any more but for now it's perfect!

       The mobile above his bed was a bit of a struggle for me. I couldn't find a mobile that I loved. I could find ones that I liked . . . but even those ones were well over $50. So I set out to make my own, errr . . . kind of. I found the wire mobile harness on Amazon for less than $10. Then I found these little monkeys at the dollar store for a dollar ;). I just clipped them on the bum (ouch). Hudson loves it. When I find little elephants I will swap out the little monkeys but for now the colors are perfect and if Hudson is happy with it, then I'm happy.

       On the other side of his room is his dresser (aka. Change table) and a chair. The mirror is a huge hit with Hudson. The change pad is the Naturepedic Organic Change pad (while Hudson doesn't spend a lot of time on his change pad . . . we still chose to go organic because we didn't want it off gassing in his room). We covered it in the matching Muslin Aden and Anais cover! We keep his diapers and wipes in the top drawer of the dresser, that way we didn't need to try and squeeze in a BIG, long dresser or change table.

       You might recognize the chair, it's our old living room chair (originally our library chair). We are planning on adding a glider mechanism to the bottom but for right now it's as is. The pillows are from Homesense and they were the inspiration for the whole room.

       Lastly, above the chair we attached a picture ledge (an old one from Ikea) to the wall and hung a very calming piece of black and white art work (originally from Ikea as well).

I also keep his little elephant rattle and diaper cream up there, because I give him the rattle when I change him and if I need the diaper cream it's within easy reach.

We also added a ceiling fan where the old light fixture was before. Having a fan in the room reduces the risk of SIDS so it was the first thing we installed when we knew Hudson was coming home.

Whew, that was a long post . . . and I hope you like his little nursery as much as we do. It's my favorite room in the house now. Like hands down, no contest, my favorite room! It makes me want to install trim and do a two toned paint scheme for the whole house!

Make sure to pop back tomorrow, I have been using our crock pot a ton since Hudson's arrival and I made the BEST and Easiest chicken dish, recipe up on the blog tomorrow morning!

Our Adoption Story

I am so excited to write about Hudson's adoption story today. I will tell you everything I can tell you . . . but we won't be getting into the details about his birth mother. We discussed what we felt comfortable sharing on the blog and what we decided is that, just like everything else around this manor we are more than happy to share our lives and stories . . . but his birth mother has the right to keep her story for herself. So you will hear everything about our experience but again, not too much about his birth mother. What we can tell you about her is . . . that she is truly one of the most amazing people we have met and that we do plan on having on going contact with her throughout the years!

We were so very very lucky, our Homestudy was over in April but then it takes about a month to type up the final approval by our social worker. Then we had to decide on where we were going to adopted from. Programs open and close all over the world so we needed to decide on a plan. Haiti was an option for a while (but they required that we both be over 30 and I am still 29), Africa was an option but the wait list was a bit long for us, and USA was an option as well but the cost put it out of our reach. Because an adoption from the US to Canada is an international adoption we would have to pay our agency up here and an agency in the US so almost twice the cost of a local adoption from BC.  The only reason we didn't choose BC right away was because we were told the wait times can be very long. We took all of May to decide and by May 28th we had decided to pursue local adoption and submitted our local fee and our profile.

June 12th we were chosen! 

Hudson was born on a Wednesday night but we didn't find out about him until Thursday morning. On Wednesday night I was falling asleep (Lee was already well into a deep sleep as usual), and the name Hudson popped into my head. I have no idea why? Maybe I was thinking of a Canadian Store (The Hudson's Bay Company) I really have no idea, that had never been one of our hypothetical "baby names" before. I woke Lee up and asked what he thought of the name Hudson he said he liked it (half asleep still) and that was it. The very next morning, Thursday morning, around 10:00 am we got a call from our agency saying we had been chosen by a birth mom for a baby boy born last night! I KNEW it was Hudson!

I was told a bunch of info over the phone . . . all I could think of was Baby Hudson. As soon as I got off the phone with the agency I phoned Lee.
Tears streaming down my face, a frog so big in my throat I wondered if I could even get the words out . . . Lee picked up and I managed to get out "We were picked"  and what do I get in response from Lee "That's great!!! For What??" haha Still crying I was able to squeak out . . . "For a baby!"
Then it all clicked and I heard "Oh . . . Wow . . . seriously? . . . wow"

We thought we might have to pick him up that day and to be honest that's how we would have liked to have done it. But because this wasn't a long standing plan in place, the agency and Hudson's birth mother thought it was best to keep him in the Hospital for the weekend so that everyone was sure that this was the right thing to do.
So in the hospital he stayed until Monday. We hoped we would be able to take him home on Monday but the social worker wasn't sure that his Birth mother was 100% in her decision yet. So to protect us Hudson went into a care home.
I will always appreciate our social workers concern for our well being. In BC a birth mother has 30 days from the date of birth to revoke her consent, and everyone wants to avoid placing a baby with an adoptive family then removing the baby because consent has been revoked.
And so started the longest 3 days of my life.

On Wednesday we heard that everyone was comfortable with us taking him home and that Friday morning we were to go and pick up our son!!
One small problem . . . Friday was my sister's wedding day! So we asked if we could pick him up in the afternoon after her wedding and of course that was just fine. I will always be amazed by my sister's grace that day. I was a little afraid to tell her . . . but she was nothing but happy and excited to share her wedding day with Hudson!

This is a scanned version of a photograph given to us by the beautiful woman who took care of Hudson for those first 5 days out of the hospital. This is the very first time we saw him (keep in mind I am in a gown because we had just come from my sister's wedding).

So at this point 9 days after his birth, we still had 21 days to go. I want to be honest with you so I will tell you that while those 21 days were some of the best days of my life they were also some of the worst. Looking at those sweet cheeks and knowing that at any moment the call could come and he would no longer be ours was beyond scary. I experienced a type of anxiety that I didn't even know could exist. It was a pulse pounding, stomach turning, hole in your heart kind of anxiety. I still am not sure how we made it through . . . but we did.

Once we met Hudson's Birth mom in our first meet up I felt instantly at ease. So much of the fear fell away. I almost felt silly for worrying so much. Meeting her was truly one of the highlights of this entire experience.

In BC it takes 6 months after placement to fully "adopted" your child, so come December we will have an adoption party for Hudson and he will, in the legal sense, be apart of our family. But in every other sense he already is!

Seriously,  no one warned me of the tidal wave of emotions that comes from seeing your husband hold your son. It's amazing! 

So that's it . . . our whirlwind adventure. I wouldn't change a single moment. I might give my sister her wedding day but other than that it was all perfect. And a cool story "we picked you up on Auntie Kris's wedding day!"

We both wanted to thank everyone for their love and prayers and well wishes. We were amazed at the out pouring of support for us and our little family. Mini Manor readers really know how to make a couple feel loved! Thank you, sharing this journey with you has made it even more special.

I Heart Organizing: Baby Closet

Hi,
I am over on I Heart Organizing today talking about Hudson's new closet. Organizing a baby closet was a bit different than organizing a grown up closet I found out. For one . . . the clothes are much tinier. I worked out a very simple system for our little man's clothes.
If you have a second check it out on I heart Organizing!!

Elephant Curtains in the Nursery

I ran a bit wild with the elephant theme in Hudson's nursery. What started as a onesie quickly spiralled into crib sheets which snowballed into a theme.

Hudson is at the stage where anything high contrast is super interesting to him, so I thought I would try to find something high contrast for him too look at in his bedroom. I wasn't sure if I would choose a piece of art or maybe a mobile but I ended up finding this fabric on www.fabric.com for an amazing $7.98 a yard and just like that the curtains became my high contrast piece.

 Hudson LOVES his new curtains!!! We picked up a set of black out blinds from Target to block the light . . . a must have in a nursery and we just hung them behind the elephant curtains. Black out blinds are a bit pricey so we bought short ones and hung the less expensive elephant curtains in front.

I can't wait to share the rest of the nursery with you guys. I am trying to put the finishing touches on it this week. It feels a bit weird to be tackling Hudson's nursery this far after he was born but we only had 9 days to prepare for what most couples have 9 months to do. :) haha.

Baby Shower

Thank you so much for your patience over the last few weeks while I've been away ( a bit of a maternity leave, if you will). We have been figuring out our new lives as parents. It's been amazing and crazy all at the same time.
Now that Hudson is 6 weeks old he is starting to fall into a pattern. We are so lucky he never had his days and nights mixed up and he's always been a solid eater and sleeper, but we are finally getting those 6 hour stretches we've been promised for the last 5 weeks! ;) What everyone failed to mention is that it's only one 6 hour stretch . . . the rest are 2 hour stretches. But I am so grateful for any amount of sleep over 30 minutes.

We've moved into a cluster feeding schedule . . . about 4pm until 630 or 7pm I am on the couch feeding the baby! If only I could blog and feed Hudson at the same time. . . I would have endless posts for you!

But our update is that we are all doing well. We are sleeping, some days more than others. But we are over the moon in love with our little man!

On Saturday our very sweet and so creative friends threw us a beautiful shower!! Here are some of the pictures and really special touches they added. It was one of the most heartwarming days of my life. To share Hudson with our friends and family was amazing and only brought me to tears twice that day.

This banner welcomed us to the party (p.s. I am going to have to house crash these friends and share their home with you . . . beautiful doesn't even begin to describe it!).

We received some incredibly thoughtful and touching gifts. Hudson's library is now stocked full of beautiful and classic books, like Love you forever (a favorite of mine).

The diaper cake was fabulous and made up of organic, natural diapers . . . and what does every mother need in her diaper cake???? A bottle of Red Wine!!! haha I guess that's a perk reserved for adopting, non-breastfeeding mothers.

Ok, this is one of my favorite party banners of all time. I LOVE the Pattern!!  (I will have to share their fabulous fireplace made from old barn board one day!)

We were so spoiled by family and friends. Hudson is one very loved and now . . . very spoiled little guy.

We received a very special card from one of our honorary nieces . . . welcoming Hudson. And a very pretty picture of me and Hudson.

It was a beautiful day and one that I will remember for the rest of my life. Friends came in from all over, my mom came in to town for the weekend and even friends who couldn't make it sent gifts and Love!
We are so blessed.

We are almost finished Hudson's (***spoiler alert***) Elephant themed Nursery ;)  I will have some photos ready for tomorrow!! :)