Happy Halloween

We started off carving pumpkins.

Smile babe

that's better

I made the boys wear their costumes from last year over again. I know bad mother right?? Well, they weren't sure what they wanted to be and then the deadline passed for buying something and mailing it here. I had bought their costumes in a bigger size last year so they still fit great this year.

Chase didn't want his picture taken at all!!

Chase wore the same costume that Carter wore 4 years prior. We had different patches put on and had his name custom made. I think it looked better this year than when Carter wore it. You can also see the size difference between them. They are both the same age when they wore this flight suit. Carter was so much bigger at this age then Chase is.

I missed my Bryson and Carter.

I missed the boys so much that when I got home I took them outside and took a quick photo of them. They are growing so fast.

My Very Special Friend Sarah

Sarah is another one of my very special friends. There aren't enough words to describe her, but a few of them would be creative, loyal, talented and willing. She is one of those friends that will bend over backwards to help you. Sarah and I became really close as all our other friends were moving from Pope AFB in 08. Remember me talking about my other friend Joanna in a few posts below, if you aren't leaving your friends then you are being left behind and that is exactly what was happening.

All our friends were moving away, Pope AFB was preparing to be turned over to the Army. Sarah and I clung together. Both of our husbands were deployed so we hung out a lot. We would take turns cooking diner at each others houses and going out to eat. We would load up her carseats in my Tahoe and off we would go. Click HERE to read about one of our adventures.

My family and friends think I am talented and creative but I don't even make up a quarter of the creativity that Sarah has. Joe will always remember Sarah as the girl who got us started on recycling and how easy it really was. She went as far as to clean and disinfect her old recycling trash can and set it up in our house. Honestly it was that easy. All we do is put the recycling in that trash can instead of the other. Now we are doing our part, living here in Japan it is mandatory so we were already set up thanks to her.

She taught me how to quilt and I was able to make my sister a beautiful quilt for her wedding.




She is able to free hand henna. She also does henna on leather which is beautiful. You should check out her ETSY SITE as there are many more handmade items there. Actually I just checked and she doesn't have any items up for sale right now but check back. Here family is getting ready to move to England so I know they are super busy.

She made these out of corn husks, this is the kind of creativity I am talking about.
Joe was gone the whole time I was pregnant with Chase and the first three months of his life and Sarah was there by my side. She helped me more than she will ever know and I am horored to call her my friend. She is an amazing woman.

Like I said earlier her family is getting ready to move to England and will be living in Albuquerque for 6 months prior. Her husband has to do a bit of training before hand. Since she knew I was going to be in Albuquerque she decided to fly from North Carolina and visit Chasers and I. What an awesome friend right??!!





We went out to eat and shopped at the mall. She talked me into buying something from Fredricks of Hollywood ;) We had a good time visiting again. I can't wait until next time.
Click HERE to read a very funny post about Sarah's daughter when she was a baby and I watched her.

Taylor Grace Newborn Session ~ Okinawa Newborn Photographer

So today was Taylor's newborn session. I was so glad that my mom and sister were there to see just how much work goes into a newborn session. They are HARD and very time consuming!

Conversation with a (typical) Newborn

Me: Well hello bright eyes! I am so pleased to meet you. I am excited that you are going to share four hours of your day with me. I have been looking forward to holding you and playing with you. I have the house all nice and cozy for you at about 85 degrees, everything is quiet here, your mama is going to make sure you have a full tummy, and then I want you to just sleep sleep sleep. Sound good?

Five minutes pass.

Baby: HEY! WHERE IS MY MOM? A picture shoot is not how I had my day planned out. Your crampin my style lady.

Thirty minutes pass and we have little or nothing to show for it.

Baby: We need to have a one on one. I think you missed the memo. About a week ago, all was perfect in my world. I was warm, snuggled, it was quiet, I never got hungry, I never needed to be changed and my mom was always holding me. That all came to a rather abrupt halt on my birthday and I am still trying to adjust to the changes. While there are some advantages to being out of the womb, I am having to cope with quite a bit these days, the very least you could do to make this transition easier would be to hold me. What makes you think I can balance my own head on my hands and who says I want to? Please pass me back to my mother now. She’ll know what to do.

Me: Ahhhhh…yes….I do see the difficulties I am creating for you today. I am doing my best to make this easy for you but it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better darlin.

Baby: You say that as though I have no options here. I’ll have you know that I am firm believer in boundaries and I will enforce my lines as needed. If you continue to push me on this, I am going to have to give you a presentation of my power.

Me: I have no doubt that is true and I expect no less. I have learned to be a woman of patience though and am pretty determined myself. Unlike you, I have had years to hone my skills and you, babe, are brand new player in this grand adventure of life. That puts the odds in my favor.

Baby: Now I am getting very angry. Maybe you are unaware of the cards I hold. I can cry – very loud and very long. I can flail. I can refuse to be swaddled. I can insist on being fed every five minutes. If that doesn’t work, I can spit up on your best blanket and I can potty on everything you’ve got. But we don’t have to go there. We can stop all this right now. Pass me back to my mama.

Me: You do indeed hold all those cards. I expect you to play each and every one of them. When you fuss and flail, I will smile at you and think you a perfect little creation. When you insist on being fed, I will be your champion and ask your mommy to abandon her feeding schedule and give you all the nourishment you want. When you potty all over my stuff, I will gladly clean it right up. I am a persistent woman sweetheart. My own mama taught me that with children, you have to be willing to go farther than they are. I have learned that lesson well and I confess my strategy to you upfront. All is well baby. Just go to sleepytown now.

Hour one passes and the duel continues.

At the ninety minute mark, we still have very little to show for our efforts and mom and dad are breaking into a sweat.

Somewhere between hour two and three, after baby has insisted on being fed again for the umpteenth time, the conversation winds down.

Baby: I am feeling an odd sort of sensation now. It’s toasty warm, my tummy is more than full, and I am getting quite exhausted. Yawn…..still though….I have some fight left…..sssshhhhhhhhhh.

And then…there is a twitch…and a few sleepy smiles….and…out for the count.

And then…I lean down close and whisper this…

Me: Good night sweet thing. You put up a gallant fight today and I applaud your efforts. No one will fault you for abandoning your grand plan to unravel our photo shoot. You are sufficiently milk drunk now and can no longer resist my charms. Now I can move you into many different positions, switch hats and blankets and baskets and beds, and you will sleep in blissful oblivion and we will accomplish a lot in the final stretch of our shoot. I realize that you have given up several hours of your fine day that you can never get back but by the time you wake up this will be a distant memory. You will forget.

But know this little one…your Daddy and Mommy will never get these precious few hours of your life back either. Because of what you and I did together today…they will never forget. Sleep baby sleep.

Spending time with the grandparents.

Chase had so much fun spending time with his great grandparents Gigi and Poppy (my grandparents).

Then he spent time with his Gramie and Pop Pop (Joe's parents).

He hung out with my mom Mimi.

And also with his "adopted" grandparents Gammy and Gampy.

My brother's family photo session ~ Okinawa Photographer

While I was in New Mexico my brother and his wife asked if I would take their family photos. We drove up to Cloud Croft and had a blast. They were very easy and I feel so blessed to be able to do this for them. Here are a couple of the shots that I got today.




If you would like to see more of my work check out my website at Dawn Hudson Photography.

Meeting up with old Friends.

We were stationed with them back in North Carolina and after we left they got pregnant and had baby Cora. I was so shocked and excited when I learned of Cora and was so happy I was able to meet her. She is just precious as can be and looks just like daddy.
We met up at a cute little restaurant called El Pinto. It was so yummy and I couldn't believe how big it was. They had tables outside on all the patios surrounding the whole restaurant. We sat outside and it was beautiful. I am so thankful for wonderful friends that would drive up to come see us.
When you are in the military and moving every 3 years you leave a lot of friends behind, or you are left behind. When you are so far away from home a lot of your friends become like family. It was an honor to be able to see Joanna and Ian again and to meet sweet baby Cora. I do hope our paths cross again because it would be so wonderful to live down the street from you once more.

Meet my new niece ~ Taylor Grace

Shannon had a very long hard labor, but in the end we got a very perfect little baby girl. Chase was a trooper the whole time. We arrived at the hospital around 10am on October the 8th, we left for about 3 hours in the early morning of the 9th and then we were right back at the hospital because it was time to start pushing. After a couple of hours of pushing Shannon ended up having a c-section.

Taylor was born at 11:37am on October 9th, 2010.

Weighing in at 8lbs 2oz and she was 22 inches long.

Happy Birthday Taylor Grace

Albuquerque Balloon Festival

Chase and I got up very early this morning and headed to the Balloon Festival with the Hein Family. Joseph and I went to high school with Ed and they were best buds. They graciously allowed us to stay the night with them and take us to the balloon festival.

Like I said before we got up way before the sun rose and headed to the field. Shannon called me around 330 when we were getting up and said she was at the hospital and in labor. I saw this balloon and thought it was quite fitting.

Apparently it was windy up higher and it was pilot discretion. A few did go up but most stayed on the ground. Which honestly was probably better for Chase so he could actually see the balloons.

Ed just found out that he and his wife Michelle are going to be having twins. When I saw this picture I thought it was perfect.

Carter loves Darth Vader.

The crowd one direction

and then the other.

This is the inside of the Jack balloon above.

This is Ed, Michelle and Daken. Their daughter was with grandma.

Daken loved the balloons

Ed and Daken.