Helllooooo Hudson!!

Meet Hudson Timothy Riddle!!

Born May 25, 2014 at 12:05pm
8 pounds, 1 ounce
21 inches long

 

Davis got to come meet his brother around 3:30 that afternoon!
He was (and still is) beyond excited about his baby!!

We were able to leave the hospital the next day after Hudson's 24hr test.

We are all so thrilled he's here and already so in love!! 

For those of you who asked about my birth story:

My WONDERFUL delivery team!
My nurse Liz is on the left and my midwife Hilary is on the right.
And Aaron was taking the picture, but he was by far my biggest support!!

Hudson's birth went as smoothly as we could have ever hoped for... and he was 6 days early and I'd been hoping for another early baby! I knew in the middle of the night (2am) I probably was in labor because I started having cramping that was obviously different from the Braxton Hicks I'd been having my entire 3rd trimester. But my contractions didn't actually start until 6am, so I woke Aaron up then to let him know.  Since it was a Sunday morning, he ran over to Westover to get last minute things prepared for the middle school that morning... it made me very thankful we live 3 minutes from his work.  :)  When Davis woke up around 7:45, Aaron fed him breakfast and got him dressed & ready and then my mom came around 9 & got him and took him to church. Meanwhile, I was having contractions but they weren't very strong - I could still walk around to help out with Davis a little and get last minute things together. Once Davis left, Aaron & I went outside and walked laps around the backyard - thankfully it was a gorgeous day with low humidity so it was very comfortable to walk around outside. We were outside walking from about 9:30 until 10:45 and then we decided we probably should head to the hospital to be safe. My contractions were now about 2-3 minutes apart (although mine were this close together for hours with Davis) and were fairly strong but still manageable. Aaron called my midwife to let her know we were going to come in and we went ahead & packed up the car and headed out. I had 3 contractions in the car (thankfully we only live about 5 minutes from the hospital) and although they certainly weren't fun, they weren't as bad as I expected. We got to to hospital at 11:15am and they quickly checked me in a triage room. At this point, my contractions were really strong and close together. My midwife thought I was about 7-8cm dilated and 100% effaced so they immediately took me to a labor & delivery room. A few minutes after we got into the room, I started feeling the urge to push so they checked me again & I was 10cm. My water still hadn't broken so they broke it before I started pushing. I'm not sure how long pushing took (maybe 15 minutes?), but it was much shorter & easier than last time! My midwife claims I only really pushed 1 or 2 times, but that's definitely not how I remember it!  :)  Hudson was born at 12:05pm, so overall I labored at home for about 5 hours and was at the hospital for about 45 minutes before Hudson made his appearance. This birth went a lot faster & easier than Davis's 14 hour birth. I think a lot of it was I was more mentally prepared for how tough an unmedicated delivery is, and my body was more prepared for a second birth. And I am so thankful for Aaron - he was so supportive and a great coach!! Aaron & I were both so pleased with how smoothly the whole delivery went and we're so grateful that our sweet Hudson is here safe & sound and in our arms! A huge THANKS to those of you who were praying for a safe & smooth delivery! 

Easter Celebrations

Oops, I realize Easter was a month ago... I'm way behind.  :)  But here are some pictures from some of our Easter celebrations from this year. Davis ended up having 5 Easter egg hunts, so luckily he was a big fan! And most of his eggs were filled with blueberries or stickers because he doesn't know he's supposed to get chocolate & candy, yet! 

Easter egg hunt in our backyard!

Easter lunch with my two favorites!

An Easter cookout with grandmother at Uncle Tim's park.

Beautiful day!

Searching for eggs

Davis's classic excited face! I love it!

Making yummy food!

Here in the ground his body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as he stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am his, and he is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Matt & Melissa's Wedding!!!!!

Ahhhhhh, Matt & Melissa's wedding FINALLY got here last weekend and it was a gorgeous day for it!!  We were so excited for their big day & everything was beautiful.  :)  Matt & Melissa asked Davis to be their ring bearer last summer and I'll be honest...I wasn't sure what he was gonna do. I thought he could do great OR there was a (greater) possibility that he may run down the aisle or refuse to go or start crying or a whole host of other not-so-great scenarios. But he and Kenzie (the flower girl who is 4 days younger than him) did such a great job!  And Matt & Melissa, y'all did great too!  :)  Ha. 
Disclaimer: I realize most of these pictures are of Davis...sorry!  There's just something about a teeny boy in a bow tie that gets me! And they're all iPhone pictures, so not the best quality. But trust me, everything was beautiful!! :) 

Meeting Kenzie for the first time!

As you can see from this progression, Davis warms up quickly to people. And loves to hug.  :)

Ha, sorry Kenzie! 

Davis was loving his job as ring bearer!

At the rehearsal with my men! 

Davis was really excited to open his gift from Melissa & Matt!

They got him an awesome bag that he loves!

So precious! 

The Riddle/Buster family!

The wedding party.  :)

With the beautiful bride & handsome groom!

Hanging out with my little man during pictures.  :)

We had a great time at their wedding!

After the wedding.  :)

Studs.

Garrett & Davis

Matt & Melissa's first dance

The happy couple!

At the reception - it was such a pretty venue!

We were thankful Mimi & Grandaddy Rick were there to help with Davis & take him home for bed.  :)

Out past (all of our) bedtimes.  :)

Matt & Melissa, we are so excited for you guys & excited to see how God grows you through your marriage. And we're so thankful you chose a wonderful bride, Matt! Melissa, welcome to the Riddle family!!!