This and That....

WOW! A HUGE thanks to all of you who commented on my last post. Each comment was GREAT and I found it as very valuable information. Thank you for the advice. Discipline is something we struggle with, but hopefully we won't mess Hudson up too much since he is our Guinea pig. If anything reading your comments just made me feel so much better in knowing that our feelings about discipline is normal, and that all of you parents out there can relate. Another side note....I just want you guys to know from reading your comments that I think you all are awesome parents with a lot of insight....AND for you sweet friends who commented that don't have children YET...Thank you too because your words of wisdom were very much appreciated. Yall will make great parents someday too!!!

I know I did not state my opinion about discipline in my last post...because I wanted your HONEST opinion first.

Our approach to disciplining Hudson these last few weeks has been thru using time-out. So far so good. Once he does something he shouldn't, I (or Matt) put him in our time-out chair. I sit on the floor in front of him and hold his hands in his lap. The minute/2 minutes he is there I talk to him about what he did wrong. Meanwhile, Hudson is crying for his "bay" (his blankie). I also ask him to tell me that he is sorry. Sometimes I get a sorry, sometimes I don't. Then once the time is up we hug and kiss. You know, some days I have to put him in time-out maybe 10 times. Then we will go several days without even going once. Hudson copies our actions so much that a spanking might not do the trick right now. I know it will someday. I agree with you all in saying that spanking your child should NEVER be done out of anger. I also agree that spanking should be done in situations that might cause harm to the child. Like running in the street...ect. I too believe that CONSISTENCY IS KEY! I think it is harder on the parent than the child. Some days I do not feel like taking the time to put him in time-out, but how does that make since to him to get away with something that he did not get away with the day before?? So yes, it is hard, but I am trying my best.

Lastly, I agree with you in that each child is different, and you use the type of discipline that suits your child's needs. I also agree that you have to start immediately with your children in setting boundaries that they cannot cross.

Again, thank you so much for the comments. And you anonymous readers...thanks for giving the ol'comments a try. Now you have to keep it up. And for those of you who DIDN'T respond (you know exactly who you are)...shame on you! :) I think you deserve a time-out! :)

OK....now onto other things. This weekend was super fun. We had so much fun having family time. We played hard and were lazy at times. It was perfect. We went to dinner Saturday night at Babes!! OH MY WORD....SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! It is one of those family style restaurants with months worth of calories in every bite. But oh' so worth every calorie! (I know that is the pregnancy talking). Yesterday we went to the zoo for a couple of hours. It wasn't the best day for the zoo because it was chilly and some of the animals are no where to be found, but the monkeys were great!!! See pics below! We also "ride da chooo chooo" (as Hudson says) 2 times. He's a big fan of the choo choo train! I don't know what I would do without the zoo near by. It is so fun and such a treat every time. I also love how much Hudson loves it. It makes me happy to see him so excited.

One funny and not so funny story about our little Hudman. Saturday we put him down for a nap and he sat in his bed and talked for a good 45 minutes before falling asleep. He was very busy we found out later. We went in to get him when he woke up and he was TOTALLY NAKED. He had taken his sweat pants, shirt, socks, and DIAPER off. He has NEVER done this before. In fact, it was a total hidden talent because we had NO idea he even knew how to do it. He had gone potty all in his bed...thank goodness no poop. He acted like nothing was weird at all about the situation when we went in there. We could not help but laugh. From now on he will stay in his tightly zipped PJs until after nap time. I will not take the risk of him rubbing a poopy diaper all over himself and his bed. Yes, he would do it too.

LASTLY...last week on Tuesday I started going to RH ladies Bible study. AND WOW is it ever GREAT!!! Hudson goes and plays with kids his age, and I get to be in fellowship with such wonderful ladies of ALL ages. I am in a Beth Moore study called Breaking Free....and is it ever amazing. Another great part is that it is 3 hours long. They have breakfast, coffee and fellowship. Then praise and a mini-devo. Then we break off into our small groups. I love that I get 3 hours to myself on Tuesdays while knowing that Hudson is being very well taken care of. It is good for the both of us. He needs time with other kids too. The Bible studies are so wonderful too. I just LOVE it!!!

OK....enough of my rambling. I hope you all have a wonderful week! Can you believe that at the end of the week it will be Feb??? Crazy!





Daddy and Hud in front of the Wells Fargo stage coach at the FW Zoo.
The next Crocodile Hunter! He's fearless I tell you!
He thru a mini-fit once we took him off the crocodile. He could have stayed there the rest of the day.
Look at this Gorilla! He was eating his lunch right in front of us. It was so cool!

Thank goodness for that piece of glass!! I was kind of scared...not Hudson!

This was another monkey exhibit. We loved how the monkeys were sitting right by the glass. Hudson was fascinated!
The monkey just hanging out.

Daddy and Hud before we went out to dinner.

Hud and his most favorite UNK ever! They are buddies for sure!