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