hudson's here

Hudson Jason Larkin was born on Monday, August 1, 2011 at 8:39 am, weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 9ozs and 22 inches long.  We are madly in love with our little man and are so excited to have him be a part of our little family.  I'll share the birth story another time, but for now enjoy some pictures our little buddy.

8lbs 9ozs

One proud papa

Room with a view - notice the Hudson river in the background

Headed home

He has his own building

On the street where we live

This what Hudson does when he wants us to step off:)

In front of our building

We don't know where he got his hair, but we'll take it!

Chicken legs

He loves hanging out in his swing (thanks Granum's)

First manicure - thanks daddy!

nobody puts baby in the corner

Living in the city and making room for baby is always a challenge.  While it is common for most NYers to put baby in the closet, and I know most of you with homes cringe at the idea of putting your baby in a closet, when space is limited - we do what we must.

For now we've made space for buddy in our room but may be transferring him to the closet once he arrives;  hence the reason we bought a crib with wheels - so he can easily move from room-to-room (from bedroom to living room and back again).  We have had so much fun getting ready for baby to arrive.  I will admit that Jason has been a champ in this department and has been nesting just as much, if not more, than me.  We have probably reorganized our closets 10 times, but I think we now have it all figured out.  I know once he arrives I will probably have to change things up a bit, but for now, we are ready to bring our little buddy home to his new little corner.

I have loved having his crib all setup and all of his clothes neatly folded in his dresser.  Some nights I find myself just sitting in my bedroom staring at his crib, imagining him in it.  My heart is so full every time I open our bedroom door and see all of his things, and I can't wait for the day when he will be sleeping softly in his crib.  Almost nightly I cry at the thought that we will soon have our little one.  It is amazing how I can get so overwhelmed with joy at the thought of him coming to our family, and I can't imagine the feelings I will have when I actually get to bring him home.

Burp clothes & blankets

H is for Hudson

Jason is convinced that his son will have a bulldog, so for now this french bulldog will have to do

the final countdown

Yesterday I officially hit the 39 week mark and I am sad to report that there hasn't been much progress.  I am currently dilated to a two and 50% effaced, but that's also what I was at last week so I was a little disappointed when the Dr told me there hadn't been any changes this week.

We did have a little false alarm.  When I went in for my appointment on Tuesday my blood pressure was running a little high so the Dr was concerned and wanted me to go to the hospital to be monitored.  I was a little freaked out and after calling Jason he was even more freaked out and insisted that I kept him updated every 15 minutes.  Of course they hooked me up to all of the machines and reported that my blood pressure was now normal.  But because they had me all hooked up they decided to continue to monitor me for the next two hours and make sure my blood tests were fine.  It was a little annoying, but once I knew that our little man wasn't coming I relaxed and enjoyed listening to his heart beat.  The nurse also showed me that I was having contractions about every 8 minutes so it was interesting to learn that something was happening, I just didn't know it.

I immediately went home that night and packed my bags so I am officially ready, and will not be caught off guard if buddy decides to come early.  So now the waiting begins.  I am starting to get very uncomfortable, and the heat wave we've been having is not helping.  I know I haven't been very good at updating the blog but now that I am all caught up, and I have everything ready - I will definitely be better at updating.

4th of july in vermont

This year for the 4th we were lucky enough to share the holiday with our wonderful friends in Vermont.  The Walker's got the house and invited friends to come up.  This was our first time in Vermont and it was beautiful.  The drive getting to VT; however, was not so beautiful.  It is amazing when there is a holiday how almost every New Yorker tries to leave the city, causing traffic chaos.  Luckily we made it out fairly early in the weekend and avoided the worst of it.

We had no idea what to expect with the house and got a little nervous when Vicky (our GPS) took us down a few dirt roads to get to there.  We were pleasantly surprised with the house once we got there and had so much fun with everyone during our stay.

We quickly learned that nothing is close together in VT, and you have to drive 30 minutes to get anywhere.    We enjoyed staying up late and visiting with friends and playing games.  It is amazing some of the topics that come up when you get this group together, they definitely like to keep it interesting:)

While we were in VT we decided to take advantage of being out in nature and one day hiked to a waterfall; where we saw a little more of one VT man then we would have liked.  Another day the boys golfed while the girls shopped, but the highlight of the weekend was the VT style 4th of July celebration.  Laurel heard about some of the festivities at a local ski resort so we decided to check it out.  There was a huge BBQ with amazing brisket and chicken and then afterward was followed by an amazing firework show.  We were all pleasantly surprised with the display that lasted over 20 minutes.  There is just something about celebrating the 4th in small town America that I love.  

Sadly the last night of our stay we grilled and had a special dinner for our dear friends the Granum's.  We were all so excited and had a wonderful weekend but hated knowing that it would end with a goodbye.  They have been some of our closest friends since moving to the city 5 years ago and NY just won't be the same without them.  Their girls are our favorite and it has been so hard not seeing them each week.  We know they are moving on to amazing opportunities for the their family in CA, but we are so sad to see them go.

After partying in VT we made it home just in time to see the NYC fireworks from the Granum's balcony, so we got a little bit of country and a little bit of city.

We are so grateful for the wonderful friends we have made in the city and love when we are able to get together with them when we are unable to spend the holidays with our families.  They are truly our NY family!!!

The cute kids

The waterfall

b is for baby shower

My wonderful friends Kelli, Megan and Laurel threw me a lovely shower to prepare for baby boy and I had such a great time.  The theme was "B is for ..." and everything was blue and started with a B (they were very creative when it came to names for all the food) - I loved it all.

It was so sweet to see all of my friends and I was truly touched that so many people came on a busy Saturday to celebrate baby boy.  I have made so many wonderful friends in the city, most of whom are amazing mamas, and I am so glad I have them to follow as examples.  If you want to find a group of women that can do it all - you must check out the NYC mommies.  They do it all!!

Thank you all again for coming and celebrating with me.  I am so excited to rediscover the city with my little man and I can't wait for your little ones to be his new friends.  

Playing celebrity baby name game

babymoon in barbados

Over Memorial Day weekend we decided to take one last vacation before I reached the no-fly zone.  All we wanted to do was relax on the beach and do nothing else, and that is just what we did.

We had a wonderful time in Barbados.  Everyone told us how important it was to go on one last vacation before our little man arrives and we are so glad we listened.  The country was beautiful and we spent most of the time exploring the island and checking out all of the different beaches.  Jason insisted on snorkeling at each beach, convinced he would find a turtle and finally one day he was successful and found Walter while he was out swimming in the ocean.

The best part of our trip was our awesome yellow car, Betty.  She was very reliable and made sure no big bad trucks ran us off the road.  Driving on the left side of the road was a little tricky to get use to but the worst was the narrow little roads.  It was amazing how fast the cars would go on the little roads.  She was a little small for two tall people, and I'm sure we looked awesome driving around in such a mini car, but we loved it!

Besides exploring the country and swimming we heard about the Friday night Oistin fish fry that everyone said was a must.  After talking to a few people at our hotel we found out which shack was the best and headed to Oistin.  Apparently everyone in the country also goes to the Friday night fish fry because it took what should have been a 15 minute drive, 40 minutes.  We then found Uncle George's.  We only waited 45 minutes for our grilled fish, but the wait was well worth it and I will say I have never had swordfish and marlin that was that good.

The fish fry

We had a wonderful time in Barbados but couldn't help talking about our future travel plans and how excited we are to bring buddy along on our next beach vacation.  I'm not sure how old someone has to be before they can start snorkeling in the ocean but I can guarantee Jason will have our little man in the water as soon as he is able.

Local school girls in their uniforms

The view from our room

One of the restaurants we had lunch at

Me and buddy

april showers . . .

brings lots of things for baby boy!!  I know I am always a late poster and an absent poster as of late, but my mind is on so many other things right now that I keep forgetting to post. 

Baby boy is right on schedule and kicking like a mad man.  I just reached the 30 week mark and I am starting to freak out that we are almost down to single digits.  I feel like I still have so much to learn and buy before our little buddy arrives.  Every week we feel like we've lost another Saturday if we didn't accomplish some shopping for baby, so we are getting it all, bit-by-bit.

Last month I flew to UT to spend time with friends and family and show everyone my huge baby bump.  It seemed crazy to think that my family hadn't seen me pregnant - I'm sure it was a little wierd for them too.  I will admit I have been doing my best to hide the baby bump, don't worry, I have now embraced it, it's way to big to hide now.  I'm not one for having all the attention so it was a little hard for me to show it off.  When I first saw each of my family and friends they first looked at my face to say hi and then the eyes immediately dropped to the baby bump, and that is where they stayed throughout the conversation - awkward.  Now I know how large chested women feel:)

I had such a lovely time while I was in UT.  I was able to spend some quality time with my mom discussing everything baby.  I've never really had a reason to talk babies with her before so it was so nice to have a little one-on-one to hear about me and my brothers as babies - I just hope my labor is as fast as hers were.  My aunt and grandma came up from Roosevelt and it was so nice to spend a few days with them, it's been almost two years since I saw them last.  And it was so good to see my beautiful grandma looking so healthy after just completing her chemo. 

While I was home I was spoiled with two lovely showers.  One night I met up with my old high school friends for dinner at Calloways, followed by dessert and presents at my friends house.  We visited until midnight and it was so fun to hear about them as mothers and all that they have experienced raising their adorable babies.  My good friend, Michelle, who was also pregnant at the time of the shower, just welcomed her adorable baby Sophie Ann - congrats Michelle!!

The next day was the family shower.  It was so nice to see all of my family and I truly felt loved.  So many people traveled so far to see me and baby and I am so grateful for such a wonderful family.  My mom went above and beyond for the shower, making sure every little detail was perfect, and made the day so beautiful.  There were so many people that helped to make the day special and I came back NY with so many things to help us get ready for baby.

Thank you all for everything you did for us, we love you so much and can't wait to introduce you to our little buddy!

The Decorations

My dads clothesline with the favors he was so proud of

Baby boys new friend, Walter the Turtle

 The little shower helpers

 Grandma great

hello world

Yesterday we had a follow-up ultrasound because our little buddy was not cooperating properly the first time around, and the dr didn't get a shot of everything she wanted.  So, this time I loaded up on sugar hoping he would be a little more active - but he wasn't.  I think he just gets comfortable in one spot and that is where he likes to stay.  The tech had me turning from side-to-side and kept reclining the chair so far back that my feet were almost over my head (I had to hold on for dear life) and every time I moved - baby would move right along with me.  Lets just say he is a stubborn little guy and just wants everything his way - lets hope this is not a sign of things to come.

After almost an hour of adjusting and the tech digging the wand into my ribs, she gave up and left to get the dr.  So I climbed out of my chair and started doing jumping-jacks or anything to get our buddy to move.  It was a success, and he moved just enough that the dr was able to get a shot he was happy with.  The dr then zoomed in and baby boy gave us a thumbs up letting us know that we were good to go!! 

We haven't been very good about keeping the family updated, so we thought we would add a few profile pictures of baby boy waving to everyone.

Profile picture of his head

Another profile with his hand up, waving hello

our lil' superhero

Yesterday we had our official anatomy screening and found out, for certain, that our little Larkin, is in fact - a boy!!!!  We were both very very excited.  I'd like to say I knew all along because of my motherly intuition, but I think it's just what I thought I wanted.  Don't get me wrong, I would have loved a little girl, but I grew up with big brothers so I think in my mind it's just normal for a boy to come first.  Jason, of course, is ecstatic and can't wait to have a little buddy. 

Ever since Jason was a kid he has loved Batman - and he is convinced his son will too.  He's already bought several of the old school Batman figurines (even though baby boy won't even know what they are for a few years), and his first onesie purchase was none other than the classic Batman sign.  If he has it his way, baby will not be wearing any mama's boy onesies, and there will be no mention of Superman in the Larkin home.  I didn't think Jason would have cared about clothes and colors but he has voiced his opinion on several things, even down to the color of stroller we will get. 

Yesterday was one of those happy days I hope I never forget.  We were both so excited to see baby.  I haven't really felt the baby move (or just don't recognize the feeling) and it hasn't started to feel real to us yet, so we were just excited to see that there really was something in there.  It was the first warm day we've had in a long time and everyone on the streets were celebrating St. Patty's day, but for some reason I felt like everyone was happy (I realize they were probably just drunk) - like they were happy for us to see baby.  The girls at work have been so great and so nice to listen to anything and everything I say about baby and then everyone at the hospital was so sweet. 

The technician let us look at baby for an hour and half and we oohed and awed over every finger and toe.  I still cannot believe how clearly you could see his little parts and it was so comforting to know that he was growing strong and healthy.  Jason was very cute to watch.  He was seriously like a little kid at Disneyland and was amazed at everything.  At one point the technician said it sometimes makes the baby move when I cough so then throughout the rest of the screening when baby wasn't cooperating Jason kept nudging me and telling me to cough. 

It was a wonderful day, we are still both on a high, so I can't imagine what it will feel like when we actually get to see him face-to-face.  Thank you so much for your sweet comments and for being as excited as we are about our little one.

***  BreAnna, sorry for making you wait so long.
        Angie, I have know idea how you knew but I'm so sorry I had to lie to you:)

at last - a post

I'm sorry I've been out of the blogging world for a while, but to be honest .... I've been too busy making a baby!!!

That's right, the Larkin family will soon be three.  We are so excited to announce that we will be welcoming our little bundle of joy on August 3rd.  We will officially find out what we are having next week, but at our last appointment, the doctor thought she saw a little something in between the legs; so for now, we are calling it a he.  

For Valentine's day we sent our parents a little love package with the book "Urban Babies Wear Black" with a note that said:

Please open this Chinese take-out box with care.

Inside you will find a little book that we wanted to share.

We hope you learn a lot from our little Valentine's Day surprise.

Because on August 3rd a New York grandbaby is going to arrive!

The gift

The poem

new york looks a little lonely when you speed it up