Christmas

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas! I can't believe its already come and gone, honestly! We've been waiting for weeks and weeks, which seemed to take for-ev-er to get here, and then our week of Christmas with my family in Charleston flew by.
This was the first time my family has all been together since March, plus we had two new additions - Hudson and my sister's new baby, Eliza. So, needlesstosay, it was a different and new Christmas experience for us, but was SO much fun.

We started off by visiting my grandparents, aunts, and cousins in Atlanta, who hadn't met Hudson yet. They were all very excited to meet him, and he did great meeting new people! He was happy and smiled, and played with everyone. Plus, it was just a lot of fun to see my extended family and to spend time with them all!

My Aunt Karen

My cousin Marjorie

My grandparents, Mi-mom and Pop

After that, we headed down to Charleston to spend about a week with my family. I have been looking forward to this for a long time! Like I said, we haven't all been together since March, and we've added two new babies, so we had a lot of catching up to do. We hadn't met Eliza and I was more than excited to get my hands on her! She's precious and such a good baby. She's about 10 weeks younger than Hudson, and about half his size! It was funny to watch them together - we would lay them next to each other and they would "talk" and try to play. And Henry has grown up so much! He's an adorable little boy, full of life, and personality, and was a lot of fun to play with, once he opened up to me that is. The last time I saw him he was just starting to talk, and now he was talking in full sentences and using words or saying things that cracked me up! He definitely kept up entertained. 

Christmas Eve was very nice. We went to a local church for candle light service. I kept Hudson with me and he did great. He just sat on my lap and looked around and kinda took all of the sights and sounds in. Leah had gotten him this cute smocked outfit and he looked adorable! Look at that smile!! 

Our first family Christmas picture in front of my parents tree.

 Hudson and Eliza. They are about 10 weeks apart and this was the first time we met Eliza.

 Hudson, Henry (a wonderful big brother and big cousin), and Eliza.

My mom got us girls matching pajamas with our monograms for Christmas Eve. Growing up a friend used to get my sisters and me pajamas every year and we wanted to carry on the tradition. Aren't we cute?

Carrying on the tradition for the kids. Theirs all had penguins on them! They're a lot cuter!

Hudson got a Bumbo and loved it! He can sit up in it and look around and see so much more than lying down. This will come in very handy back at home when I have to get dinner ready or fold laundry. He's almost out growing his bouncy seat, so I guess this is the next step up. I can't believe how much he's growing and changing!

 Me and my big guy! Our first Christmas!

This was a very memorable Christmas for us all. We had a great time with family and celebrating Christ's birth this year. This holiday has always been special for my family and I hope we can carry on some old traditions while making new ones, too. 

God Bless

4 months!

Well I may be a little late, but Hudson was 4 months old on December 9th!
He is getting so big, and growing so much! Sometimes it's hard for me to see and notice since I see him everyday, but then I'll see Paul holding him, or he'll do something, and all of a sudden it's like my baby has grown right in front of me.

• he weighed 14.4 lbs (25%) and was 25.5 inches (75%), so still long and lean!
• he's holding his head all the way up while on his tummy
• he's SO close to rolling over! he likes to roll on his side now, especially when he's in his crib or on the changing table
• he is talking all the time! even at 6:30 in the morning when mommy and daddy are still waking up!
• he still loves to sing and to be sung to; right now we sing Jingle Bells, Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, and Santa Claus is coming to Town on a daily basis
• he's doing really well at "school", and "flirts" with his teachers and laughs with the other kids
• he still enjoys bath time, and will now "splish-splash" with his legs
• we're in the process of sleep training, and he's adjusting pretty well; at night we read Goodnight Moon, sing a few songs, then say a prayer, and lay him down drowsy but still awake (that's our routine we're trying to establish), and he can put himself to sleep, and will sleep about 6-7 hours, so usually he's only up once or twice each night
• he's starting to recognize people, which means he gets excited to see us after being away, but on the flip side, he can also be hesitant when meeting new people
• he's still very active - kicking and wiggling and moving his arms; I have a feeling that when he becomes mobile, he's going to be moving all the time and all over the place
• he is a very happy, easy baby, and just the love of our lives!

 Merry Christmas, from Hudson!

Thanksgiving at the Lake

We had a wonderful long weekend for Thanksgiving with the Reids at George and Leah's new house! It had just been finished being built, and they had only moved in not even a week before! But they graciously opened their doors to all of us, and we had a long weekend full of laughter, cheesy Christmas movies, delicious meals, fellowship around the table, and family love.

We started the weekend off by visiting Santa! Hudson did GREAT! The ladies who worked there were able to make him smile and they just barely captured it!

We then headed down to the lake where Hudson made himself comfortable right away! Lucky for him, he has wonderful aunts, uncles, and grandparents who were all willing to hold him and love on him! Aunt Anna has the touch!

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. We dressed up and went to lunch in Anderson. Now that he's a little bit older, Hudson is staying awake longer and interacting with everyone more. He did great at lunch, sleeping through some of it, and sitting with me through the rest. 

 We also celebrated Christmas with the Reids since we will be with the Manning family for Christmas. It was fun exchanging gifts with everyone and also with Hudson. He got some fun things - including this cute little stool with his name, which are blocks that come out!

 And also a wagon!

 We had a very nice weekend, and the house is beautiful. George and Leah have been waiting and praying over this house for a very long time, and it was so much fun to finally see it completed and to see them in it! They are certainly making it their home and we can't wait to visit again. Who can resist a view like this?!

 God Bless

Growing Boy!

Bath time is now enjoyable - Hudson likes the water, and especially likes splashing in it!

I saw the first picture on my phone as I was looking through old pictures and thought I would take a new one to compare!

Hudson 1 week old

Hudson 15 weeks old!

Such a cutie!!

God Bless

3 months!

Hudson was 3 months old on Saturday! He is growing so fast!

-I don't know his length or weight, but I would guess he's around 13 pounds by now
-He loves being around people! He's a very social baby
-He's very aware of what is going on around him - he's attentive and likes looking around
-He loves singing! When we sing to him, he'll often times sing back. Some of his favorite songs continue to be Old McDonald, The People on the Bus, 10 Little Indians, and The Ants Go Marching
-He loves to talk and is very vocal, even when he wakes up. He won't really cry to let you know that he's awake - he'll just start talking and making noises
-He's starting to roll onto his side from his back, and is about to figure out how to roll from his belly to his back
-He can pick his head up off the blanket when he's on his belly!
-He has the sweetest smile, and it melts my heart every time he smiles up at me
-He likes sitting up, and we practice as much as we can - I still have to hold his hands or his sides, but he likes being up
-He's sleeping in the crib more, which is great! He's been sleeping in his swing, and transitioning to the crib has been a long process, but he's adjusting and doing much better
-He still eats roughly every 2-2.5 hours, but we're working on spreading that out more
-Usually, he's only up twice a night to eat. Sometimes its more, sometimes, it's only once - it really just depends on how his day went and how tired he is
-He started going to "school". We are fortunate to have found a wonderful lady who runs a day care out of her home. It's small, and he's one of 6 or 7 that's there throughout the day. So far, we've been really pleased.

1 month

 2 months

 3 months

Happy Halloween!

Hudson continues to be the biggest blessing God could have given us. We are humbled and honored to be his parents, and pray every day that we can raise him in the love of the Lord. 

God Bless

It's Fall y'all!

We are enjoying fall around here!
We finally got to decorating the front of the house a little bit. George and Leah planted some pansies in the flower beds, we got some mums and pumpkins for the front porch, and I re-decorated the door wreath.
We've been able to take some nice walks, and we still love to eat out on the screen porch in the evenings.

We also took Hudson to Strawberry Hill Farm over the weekend. My class actually went there for a field trip, and it's so family/kid friendly, that even though he's so little, I still wanted to take him for his first fall! They sell pumpkins, various flowers, hay, corn stalks, foods and drinks; they have an amazing playground for kids, cows you can feed "candy" to, and two corn mazes (one for kids and one for adults). This past Saturday we just went to look around and to take pictures. Hudson was actually awake, and enjoyed looking around. I would love to go back each year with him, and really enjoy all that it has to offer.

Happy Fall!

God Bless

2 months old!

Hudson was 2 months on October 9th! 

This past month was a big month for little man -

• he weighs 12.2 pounds (50th percentile), and is 24.5 inches long (97% percentile) - so he's long and lean! 
• he is growing well and fast
• he is smiling and laughing, which we love!
• he is "talking" a lot more, making the sweetest sounds
• he still enjoys bath time, which seems to calm him before going to bed
• for a couple of weeks he would be real fussy before going down to nap, but over the past few days, he's started to go down without much fuss
• he is sleeping 3-4 hours at a stretch during the night, which Mama loves especially!
• he can hold his head up real well when he's up on a shoulder
• he loves to hold on to my thumbs and sit up while sitting in my lap - anything where he can practice holding his head up, and he loves to do it!
• he enjoys tummy time, and is starting to move his head from side to side
• he enjoys walks in the Baby K'Tan or in his Bob stroller
• he loves being rocked to sleep
• he is making eye contact and holding it, and will look at us when we talk to him
• I still think he looks like his Daddy, but he does have some Manning features

We treasure every minute we have with him! He is a really good baby, happy and content, and bringing so much joy to us. We are truly blessed to have him in our lives. We love watching him grow and change, and looking back at his 1 month pictures, its so neat to see just how much he is growing! 

1 month

2 months

   

God Bless