Hud the Stud

The laugh at the end is the cherry on top. 🥰🍒 #downsyndrome #theluckyfew #motherhood #kidsareawesome

Hudson was the only kid at his private school with Down syndrome. And since private schools do not receive funding for special needs assistance, I went with him - kind of like the paraprofessionals do in public schools. And I loved it! At the end of each day, we would walk out with his class. While Hudson and I headed straight to the car, the rest of the class sat down on the sidewalk to wait for their parents to pull up in the car line. One afternoon, as we were walking to the car, I stopped to talk with a mom, who was in the carline. And that’s when Hudson figured out what the carline pick up was all about. He saw the kids excitedly running up to their parents’ cars as they pulled up, and decided he wanted to be part of that as well. So, he pulled his hand from my grip and ran back to sit down with his class. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, so I quickly went back to get him, and when he saw me, he jumped up and ran and gave me the biggest Huddie hug, like he hadn’t seen me all day. And that’s when I understood. He wanted to experience the same after school pickup his friends did. So, every afternoon when we left school together, he sat down with his friends, while I scooted away for a couple minutes, and then walked up the sidewalk to pick him up. And that sweet boy jumped up and ran to give me the sweetest Huddie hug in the world! Y’all know this kid has my heart, but do you have any idea how many times a day he totally melts it? What I didn’t capture on camera was Hudson asking me very nicely to carry him to the car. I usually made him walk like a big boy but….he did the ‘pleeeease’ with the face and the hands, and puppy dog eyes, and I can not say no to that! So I picked him up, threw is backpack over my shoulder and carried him, my giant water bottle, and my phone, and made our way to the car. He snuggled his little head on my shoulder and said, “My mama. I lu ooo.” Oh, my boy. I love you, too. 😭🥹 #mymomma #myboy #schooldays #thejoysofmotherhood #downsyndromelove

Hudson‘s absolute favorite treat in all the world is a JonnyPops frozen ice pop. He’s obsessed! He’s even been known to snatch one out of our hands and finish it off. LOL We weren’t sure what he would do in this challenge, but I’ll be honest, I’m not surprised at all. He loves his poppops, but he loves his sisters more! I melted when he wanted to redo the surprise, so the second time around everyone had a pop pop waiting for them under their napkin. 🥰 #c#cookiechallengek#kidsarethebests#siblingloved#downsyndromelove@JonnyPops @C L A I R E @caitlynhj

When I think about how cruel people can be to someone with a disability like Down syndrome and start to worry about my son, I remember who his sisters are and I don’t have to worry any more. 🦁🦁🦁 #dontmesswithhim #downsyndromerocks

Down syndrome is nothing at all like I thought it would be. I guess parts of it are… I knew some things about DS before Hudson was born, I just knew them all wrong. So, I really knew nothing. It’s kind of like motherhood. You can know some things. You can read about it. You can prep for it. You can observe it. But you can’t really know anything about it until you’re doing it — Until you’re a mother. The hard parts are harder than you imagined. But the love…the joy…the wonder of motherhood… those things are just so extraordinarily big! Bigger than words can adequately describe. Bigger than anything you can imagine. Just. So. BIG. It’s the same with Down syndrome. You can know some things. You can read about it. You can prep for it. You can observe it. But you can’t really know anything, until you hold it in your arms - until you look it in the eyes. The hard parts are harder than you thought, but….they’re also easier. They’re easier because the LOVE, the JOY the MAGIC (yes, magic) - those things are just so darn big. It’s confusing…and impossible to explain. Unless you know, you’re just not going to know. So, you’ll have to take my word for it. 🩵 #downsyndrome #momtalk #momlife #trisomy21

I love surprising him! His reactions never disappoint. 🥹 This custom, hand-painted oil portrait was made by @PaintYourLife. It was so easy to order and I couldn’t have been more thrilled with the result. You can take 25% off your order with code “Huddie” 🖼️🎨🖌️ #paintyourlifes#surprisegiftt#thebigreveal#d#downsyndromelove