Hudson 1 month old

First Photo Shoot!

Brian thought I had lost my mind but we trekked on down to Portrait Innovations to attempt a snap of all three Chunkies! My goal was just one shot but we also ended up getting some good pix of William and Madi! Mission Impossible accomplished!

THE GRADUATE!

What happened to my lil baby? Here he is - about to graduate Pre-K and go into the big, bad world of TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN! It sounds weird - but it's basically more advanced than Pre-K - and less advanced than kindergarten for students that fall in to the gap of September to December birthdays! So TK here we come in August and Mommy gets one more year - before she really cries for real! Plus - it's darn good snap of William - I don't know what they did to get him to pose so perfectly - but we'll keep this one since next year will probably be a wash-out :)

Mommy - he's NAKED!!!!

At just 12 days old - Hudson got to be a model for a famous local newborn photographer! At 12 days old - he was on the OLD side as far as newborns go. Laura Brett feels strongly that the lil newbies loose their magic after the 12th day! For posing for her class we got some free snaps! When William saw them - he busted our laughing - Mommy - he's NAAAAKED!

And then there were 3!

We are slowly starting to get something of a schedule going! Hudson continues to be a good sleeper which is a lifesaver! The other two are now back in school half days and the moms group is continuing to bring meals through this week - so I'm easing back into reality!

The kids just love, love, love their new baby brother. William tells people everywhere we go he has a baby brother. Madison has a very natural motherly instinct and Hudson loves when she holds him and snuggles him. She's a very good little helper.

The other day in the car - William mentioned - Mommy - we have 2 boys and 1 girl - so we need another girl! As much as I would love Madison to have a sister - I can 100% say - sorry buddy - we are DONE :)

Sassy Lil Sister

Half Tom-boy - half princess - 100 attitude - that's my Madison. She's a strong willed little girl who loves to steal her brother's friends and hang with "the guys" and also loves to dress up in tutus, have her nails painted and wear fancy clothes! That's my Mad! Being sandwiched between two brothers, her strong will will serve will her well!

Hudson Ryan - Welcome to the World

In just 12 hours - you may be ALMOST as surprised as we are - to learn - we went from a family of four to a party of five!
Welcome to the fam - Hudson Ryan Lossie!

On Wednesday January 25 we received a call around 2pm in the afternoon that a birthmother had picked our family to adopt her baby. The only catch - we had to be in Oklahoma the very next morning for his birth!

Thanks to our amazing friends - The Bowmans - we were able to quickly put a plan in place - and ship the Chunkies off to their home (with three kiddies of their own!) and fly to Oklahoma. And oh - please take my kids to pre-school and my son to baseball try-outs - no problem we got it - with a smile!!!! Now THOSE are some really good friends! With our first baby - our social worker told us - not to worry if we don't have anything ready - a baby could sleep in a drawer! I thought she was crazy!!! Now I'm totally banking on that theory as I stuff oneies, sleepers and blankets into my suitcase - any color but pink!!! I dis-assemble the bouncy - toss in a couple of burp clothes -and bibs and we're off! Oh yeah - the stroller and carseat - after NYC - we killed it- but maybe it can get through one more kid! I can buy diapers and formula at a gas station - worse case scenario since we're going to the middle of nowhere Oklahoma!!!! Do I have a crib set-up a room decorated - a closet full of clothes - HECK NO - but we'll deal! On the plane ride - we fired up the iPad and discussed baby names and eventually went back to Hudson - the name we had picked out for Madison - when we thought she was a boy! We added Ryan as an updated form of Brian!

We landed in Wichita, Kansas - rented a looser cruiser and drove 2 hours to Ponca City, Oklahoma passing tumbleweed after tumbleweed and plenty of oil pumps.

After a quick lunch at Perkins (the only chain restaurant we recognized) - we arrived at the hospital in middle of nowhere Oklahoma with population 200 + 1 more (and 2 more if you count us city folk) and met our sweet Hudson. Born January 26, 2012 - weighing in at 7.13 and 20 inches long - apparently an ice storm baby -like the rest of the babies in the jam-packed wing! Our boy was a sweet natured, good eater, good sleeper, totally mellow, chill baby - like his big brother - but with a whole head of wispy blond, surfer dude hair. The kid had more hair than our dear daughter at 2!

The hospital staff could not be nicer - they treated us like rock stars! We were given our own room and meals and Hudson to care for as soon as we arrived! We were surprised to learn - this was this tiny hospital's third adoption of the week!

After 36 hours - we got the green light to leave the hospital with our Hudson. Pending review of the 1000+ pieces of paperwork and FBI profiles we had completed to adopt this child - we were not allowed to leave the state - so as fate works out - one of my best friends had just moved to Tulsa! She graciously welcomed us - and the Hudson Hornet into her home with her hubby and 5 year old twins. Brian flew home on Saturday night - and added single dad to his duties of CEO/President of a company and somehow survived the week - with some help from some really great friends!
Hudson and I got our orders to leave Oklahoma on Thursday and flew back to Georgia later that afternoon. The whole fam picked us up at the airport - and William was the most excited. Is this my new brother - I'm sitting in the back now Mommy to make room for him. My new brother - my new brother - what's name again Mommy?

So here we are - a Party of 5 - our family complete - our dreams complete - somehow, someway - they all found their way home - each and every one of them!