Hudson's First Christmas

Hudson woke at 7:30am Christmas morning, and he was all smiles. First things first- breakfast! Hudson enjoyed oatmeal and pears before presents. He did really well trying to pull the paper off of his gifts as long as we started them off. I think it helped to have everything wrapped in red!

After presents, Hudson and I took a nap before preparing Christmas Brunch for the family. Noon, the guests arrived ready to eat some breakfast themselves.

Dana & Cody got ENGAGED! this Christmas

Congratulations!!!

After breakfast, it was time to open more presents! Wow, I think we all went a little overboard this year...I've never seen this many gifts before! Grace is at the best age to enjoy Christmas. She gets excited about and appreciates everything given to her!

From:Uncle Brian and Aunt Melissa

These stylish barrettes were actually for the horse but made us look so "beautiful". *Grace thinks everything is beautiful!

After a couple hours of festivities, Hudson could not take it anymore. Poor boy would not lay down for a nap so he fell asleep on my lap looking out at everyone! I told you he was nosy.

Catching some much needed zzzzzzzz's before we headed off to Dave and Colleen's for more food and presents!

What a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

We spent the evening of Christmas Eve at Craig and Meredith's, as we do every year. This year I've learned that babies create their own schedules. I had it all planned out...we would feed Hudson his dinner before we left and then give him his bath. I even found a sleeper that would also look like an outfit so that he would be comfortable while he slept (because we all know that he goes to sleep every night at 7:30)! This night, not the case. Hudson was a real trooper, he fought his sleep the entire evening with only a few minor meltdowns. When we left around 9:30, it only took him about 30 seconds to fall asleep in the car! This nosy boy doesn't want to miss a thing!

Somebody found his tootsies!

I've been trying to encourage Hudson to find his feet for months and now he's finally caught on! He's been showing a little interest in them lately (mostly when he has on red socks), but tonight, during his bath, I'm sure he discovered that they are there!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The stockings that I had personalized for our family this year!

Our day started off with a trip to the grocery store with long list in hand. Since it is our family tradition to have Christmas Brunch, we had to make sure that we had all of the food necessary for the meal!

After the trip to the grocery store and some much needed lunch, it was playtime!

Brian "stripped" down the couch, washed all of the cushion covers and even vacuumed it. Since we have guests coming, you never know when they'll decide to look under the cushions :)

While Brian did some cleaning, I did some wrapping! I even hung most of our Christmas cards. *Better late than never:)

Playtime

Since Brian had to work today, Hudson and I packed up and headed off to Grandma's. Gary, Stephanie, Little Gary, and Alexandra came down to visit as well so we had a full house. Aunt Deb brought up the baby walker that was once used by Little Gary. Can you believe how time flies? Although Hudson's feet could not touch the floor, the walker was still used as a source of entertainment for all of the kids!

Hudson could not take his eyes off of Little Gary!

All of the children playing together! Priceless!

Thanks Elsbury family for Hudson's Christmas gift! We love it!

3 Course Meal

A Delicious Single Grain Barley accompanied by Applesauce and Sweet Potatoes

Another satisfied customer!

Hudson has tried all of the Stage 1 fruits and is now moving on to vegetables! So far, he is proving to be an excellent eater and I sure hope that this continues. He will eat anything that we put on his spoon, usually with no fussing at all! He actually has his mouth open awaiting the next bite, so clean up is very easy!

Mommy's helper

I decided to take the last of my personal time off from work today to be at home with Hudson. We enjoyed a nice afternoon nap together, then we wrapped Christmas presents. He is starting to love his Bumbo seat since it allows him to "sit up". Before he made it to the Bumbo, I had him laying on his Boppy pillow on the floor- big mistake- he grunted and tried repeatedly to pull himself up to look around.

Getting practice for Christmas morning

Daddy's strange ways of entertaining

Hudson started getting a tad bit restless this evening as he usually does when tired so when all else failed, Daddy decided to put Hudson up on his shoulders for a new "view" and it actually worked!

I think Hudson liked grabbing handfuls of Daddy's hair more than the new view!

While in the bedroom, I could hear Hudson screeching with laughter because Daddy was "eating" his fingers. Hudson enjoyed this so much that he kept sticking them in his mouth!

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Below are some binky shots that I've been meaning to share from the other night. Lately Hudson has been sticking his thumb into his binky. It is very convenient because it does not fall off and if he desires it all he has to do is stick his thumb in his mouth! How clever! He also has been using his binky as a "chew toy". He will hold it in the corner of his mouth and chomp away!

Girls Day/Family Night

Just the girls (Alyson, Grace, and I) went to the State Theater at Playhouse Square in Cleveland for a showing of the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. It was a beautiful, festive show and we had a great time together! Once the show was over, we headed to Vernon's to meet the important men in our lives (Grandpa, Gary, Jason, Brian and Hudson)! It was really nice to enjoy dinner all together during this busy, busy season!

A compilation of clips from the performance found on YouTube so that Grandpa can see what else they do besides KICK!

I took the day off of work today! Yay! So Noni, Dana, Hudson, and I went to lunch at Panera and then went shopping at the Southern Park Mall. Immediately we were very interested in what this girl was doing...it is called threading and she is literally using a long string of thread to remove facial hair. Noni was very brave and decided to have her eyebrows done even though she was on display for all to see. I think the picture of Angelina Jolie was the selling point for her!

Very festive for our holiday shopping

Our Graceful Evening

We were asked to watch Grace for a couple of hours this evening and it was truly our pleasure! I love spending time with her as it is amazing to talk and play with a four year old. They can really teach you a thing or two! She patiently waited for Hudson to go to sleep so that we could spend time together baking cookies, lighting candles just to blow them out, and hanging balloons on the wall (rub them on your head, create static=MAGIC!). Uncle Brian even got in on the My Little Pony action! This girl comes prepared with a suitcase full of them!

Christmas lights

Since our tree has been up for a week, and still is completely bare, we decided to at least put the lights on it since Hudson was in a good mood. I have been waiting for him to be awake and non-fussy to do this as I thought he would enjoy "helping"...and he sure did! His little feet kept kicking away and he was constantly reaching for the strand of lights as Brian and I wrapped it around the tree. Next adventure: ornaments! *I hope to make some this weekend but we'll see:)

Mean Green Grabbing Machine

As you can see, Hudson learns something new everyday. He is now very interested in grabbing and feeling his toys. Mr. Frogger is the new favorite (for now).

Thanks, Noni, for taking these pictures while I was at work! I got to see him play with Mr. Frogger myself this evening, but I could not get a good picture- then I discovered there were already some on my camera! It was very thoughtful of you to document his day so that I don't miss out on too much!

U Turn

I found a huge surprise when I checked on Hudson at 3 o'clock this morning...he had turned himself around completely! I have a monitor on my nightstand and I hear every grunt, sneeze and toot that the boy makes; however, did not hear a peep while he was doing this...

Before (7:30 pm)

After (3:00 am)
*The thing on his head is usually placed under his back and arms to prevent him from rolling over!