MR MOM

After a nice visit from Ong Noi and Ba Noi, the kids were treated to some extra time with Dad this week as he took some time from work. Highlights of the week included Hudson trying to eat dirt and successfully sneaking some of Champ's dog food into his mouth. The little meatball is QUICK and lets just say that Daddy needs a little more practice being Mr. Mom. It wasn't all dirt and dogfood however as Hudson did get treated to some more of his favorite Cheddar Bay biscuits, some great grub at the always tasty Truluck's, and some of these delicious sliders that Daddy made (seriously, we've got a great recipe...email us or leave us a comment):


It's WIMPY from Popeye! Interesting fact: Hudson would've been named Olive if he were a "she." We think Fayte looks like Olive Oil and so we figured her sister would look similar. Who knows, maybe Baby #3.





Here's the little guy getting excited to see his Aunt Tania, who also came up to spend some quality time with the kiddos this weekend. Thanks Tania. We had a blast!

Oh and In the time since the last post, we've also completed renovating our home gym into a home boxing gym with lots of fun explosive conditioning equipment. We got some great ideas from Ross Training and Defranco's Training in NJ. Mommy's going to be training with an ex-UFC champ this summer (conditioning/self-defense. NOT fighting!) and it looks like Fayte wants to follow in her footsteps:




"You lookin' at me?"

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

Now that the family's woken back up from its collective turkey coma, things are starting to look a little more festive at the house. Lights are up, the tree is trimmed and the stockings are hung. The kids have been wonderful this year so all that's left is a visit from Big Red.


Fayte and ROBO-Champ


Fayte crafts her letter to Santa with beautiful penmanship


Translation: Dear Santa, I want "Mickey Mouse candy." Love, Fayte


Decorating the tree


Hudson lends a hand


He was about as helpful as Champ


But they'll take credit for it


The stockings were hung


Let the countdown begin!

FAYTE TURNS 3

3 years ago on November 10, Fayte was born and we've been on the most incredible and rewarding journey of our lives ever since. Fayte spent the days leading up to her celebration with special outings, activities and even a new addition to the family: Champ! Then rang in her birthday in style with her friends at "Milk and Cooki3s!"


Fayte was treated to a special birthday lunch at Red Robin all the way out in Flower Mound. She ordered a root beer float, mac and cheese (despite having mac and cheese for breakfast too!) and a special birthday sundae.


Fayte works on some dance moves for her upcoming party at Powerhouse Dallas


Hudson prefers to stand off to the side, though he can't resist the mirrors


Fayte's also been into makeup ever since she got to wear some for Halloween. Unfortunately, she hasn't mastered the art yet and unfortunately, this was done with a permanent marker.


And here is Fayte's birthday present from Mommy and Daddy: Champ the boxer puppy






Hudson takes him out for a test drive. Champ is not amused.


The kids were all smiles the morning of the party


MILK AND COOKIES!


Fayte's friend Christian sported some appropriate kicks to the party


Fayte and Ava jam out on Guitar Hero


Ava, Chantel Fayte and Abby


Connor gets ready to throw on the Hulk Hands


Connor, Fayte, Abby, Ava and Magrite pick up after Cookie Monster


Fayte had the most wonderful third birthday party!


Hudson was happy too


And so was Champ since he got to see our friend Baxter


We may have to make room on the mantle for Champ. This is our shameless plug for our newly renovated "subway-tiled, midcentury-modern" fireplace by the way. We haven't posted any home renovation entries lately...being pregnant kinda gets in the way, so we're happy to be able to show this before and after.


Gold is old. Be sure to click on the "home" tag under "categories" to the right if you're interested in seeing our other home projects. We know its been a while.

And after the fireplace, we took our tools into the garage and fashioned a nice little den for Champ.


The room was pre-existing. We just fancied it up a little and added a mid-century style gate to match our home. The windows were made using cheap photo frames from Ikea. The room has 2 doggie doors connecting to the dog run on the side of our house on one side and into our galley kitchen on the other side. Champ loves it...so does Fayte.



We also noticed that Champ was starting to spill his food everywhere. The fix? Some cheap legs from Ikea, a plank of wood and some handy work. We can't take credit for this since we read of a similar set up on IkeaHacker.com.





And while we're off-subject, we just wanted to share this great shot of Fayte in the backyard on Saturday morning. The combination of the leaves of the persimmon tree turning yellow, the sun peeking over our fence and the winter-wear on this chilly morning really doesn't feel like Dallas does it?

Anyway, 1000 thanks to all the wonderful friends and family who showed up to the big bash. It was certainly one to remember and it looks like everyone had a great time. With all the dog chasing, pinata smashing and milk and cookie eating, we trust that everyone had a pretty nice nap afterward as well!


Peace out!

HUDSON WATCH 2008

We are under a Hudson Watch and the forecast calls for showers; baby showers! While we've been trying to go about our daily lives blocking out the fact that Hudson will be here any day now, we've been keeping ourselves busy with two things: nesting and baby showers.

Both of our workplaces were generous enough to throw us some fabulous showers and the V-Family hosted one at our home this weekend in Dallas. We are so grateful to all and had so much fun that we weren't able to snap enough photos. Really, here are the few that we did manage to get. Some of these were actually taken by Fayte.


Daddy's ad firm already wants to put him to work!


Cake balls! These are sooooo good.


Aunt KJ And Uncle Nate

And as far as the nesting instinct goes, we've been full speed ahead in trying to create the perfect home for Hudson. His new crib came in just in time and after a trip to Home Depot for some hardware, we were able to patch the parts of the old crib together to form a matching day bed for his room. Take a look:


Cooper the Longhorn enjoys Hudson's new crib


And here's the matching day bed


We also gave this old bookcase new life with some cool wrapping paper. Cheap DIY job.


Here's the same trick on one of Fayte's bookcases.


While we were picking up the hardware for the daybed, we also picked up some peg board for 5 bucks. After painting it chalkboard green, it became the perfect organization item for Fayte's school area in our studio.


Well white rug, it was nice to know you.


Can't wait to add the fourth frame to the mantle!

Well, this should be the last post before the Le Unit becomes a 4-member group. The big day should be next Friday or sooner. Until then, it's Hudson Watch 2008. Wish us luck!