eight

Hudson recently turned eight.  this is a big deal for him, and us.  he was so excited to hit this milestone, and to be honest, we were excited for him.  each passing year for Hudson seems to bring slow and steady growth and change....usually in the right direction.  sort of the "two steps forward, one back" routine...just being honest...Hudson is lively and loving and full of potential.  i adore this child.  i feel for him when i see him struggling.  i want to help point him to success and good choices. 

celebrating his birthday together with family was super exciting for him.  first, he opened gifts from Jeff and I.  a gigantic highlight was the signed Malcolm Subban jersey he received (thanks Uncle Bob for orchestrating this!), the autographed photo and birthday message from Malcolm, the Belleville Bulls loot (water bottle, hockey cards, puck) and the Bulls t-shirt with "Hudson" on the back...

 

below, he sat through his birthday letter...

 

 

 later, cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents came for cake.  love the super sincere smile here.  notice, front tooth #2 has fallen out as well. 

 

lights out, sparklers lit, fun attention and focus just on the birthday boy.  sadly, i had started to cut and plate the cake before cluing in that we still needed to sing to the birthday boy, thus the missing piece.  bothered me, but i don't know if Hudson even noticed it.  even more disturbing, i did the same thing last year for one of the kids.  i think i'll be ok.  must need a vacation...hehe...

 

four sweet girls...two older cousins, one proud new sister, and one brand-spankin' new baby named Cali....we were all smitten.  AJ declared "i like that girl".   i loved stealing a few moments with my new niece.  she is perfect and cuddly and has that awesome baby smell that i'll never tire of....

 even though birthdays with my kids always involve extra work, there is something really special about seeing the moments unfold.  Hudson was thankful for the day he had.  he loved sharing those moments with extended family.  i loved seeing him excitedly participate.  we also spoke of his beginning, we remembered his first family, we shared some more, we thanked God we'd been matched with each other.  i pray Hudson's life will be marked by ongoing joy, gratitude and a clear and simple understanding that his life has a purpose.  that he is loved unconditionally.   i pray he'll continue to grow and develop both physically and emotionally and spiritually.  happy birthday, Hudson!