Merry Christmas!

Hudson did a great job getting our cookies out for Santa!

We are off to sleep through his arrival and most importantly we are remembering that sweet baby boy who entered the world more than 2000 years ago.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11

The Salon

Yesterday was Hudson's first visit to the salon. You can tell by the look on his face that he is obviously not enjoying it.

We tried the lollipop and candy cane trick to keep him occupied, but he really just wasn't interested. The fact was that someone was messing with his head and he wanted to know who it was and what she was doing. I ended up having to hold his head like this most of the time.

But that 15 minutes of torture sure does make for one cute baby! Hopefully we will get some cute Christmas pictures up this week so you can see the finished product! He looks so handsome and grown up! What happened to my baby?

Dry Gulch and Santa Cow

Saturday we went to the Christmas Train at Dry Gulch. It's put on by Church on the Move and it's an amazing ministry!

They have a really cool town with shops and food and theaters. I couldn't get the settings just right on my camera for this picture, but you may be able to see dad and Hudson waving.

We had fun enjoy the cool setting like this cute little country Christmas store,

the Stew and Chili house where we ate dinner,

and this candy and toy store.

We also visited Santa's Palace (it is beautiful)

and went to the Cowboy show at the Silver Dollar Saloon.

Our Santa experience was hardly more enjoyable than the last, but we tried. He just really isn't sure who this big bearded guy he keeps sitting with is.

At the end of our night, we battled the line to ride the train. It didn't end up taking as long as we thought to get into the depot.

The train ride is the story of creation to the resurrection with music and displays (some live). I think it's awesome the way they took the story of Jesus' life and put it into a short 12 minute summary to really show people what Christmas is all about. The money is really worth it to go when you think about the ministry you are supporting.

Hudson did so good all night! I was afraid he would be cold, would fight to wear his mittens, or get really restless, but overall he was really happy and good. We definitely wore him out-we didn't even get out of the parking lot and he was asleep!

This morning we went to Chick-Fil-A for a pajama party! It was a family affair and we were all in our jammies for free chicken minis!

He was really intrigued by the cows. He sat on Santa Cow's lap and enjoyed it much more than the regular Santa. I have yet to figure out why big furry cows seem more friendly than the jolly old man and his white beard.

He was actually very calm and thoughtful about the whole event. Everyone kept commenting on how good he was doing and it cracked me up because of our past experiences with Santa. He just watched them walk around the restaurant and really checked them out. Hudson even made the Owasso Facebook page!

11 Months

Hudson, you are 11 months old today!

You weigh 21.2 pounds

You wear 6-12 month clothes, but we are about ready to move to 12 month. Your pants are getting too short!

You wear a size 3 diaper.

You are a very good eater! You are totally off of baby food. You hate being fed with a spoon or fork and only want to eat with your fingers. You especially love bread right now, but aren't too picky yet. Right now you eat cheerios for breakfast (and often have a banana too), you love turkey for lunch, and eat whatever we are eating for dinner. You mostly eat fruits and vegetables and breads and a small amount of meat (you don't need that much right now).

You love to drink water out of your sippy cup and are still getting acquainted with juice. You drink about 5 bottles throughout the day and then 2 smaller ones in the night/early morning.

I never know what to say about your sleeping habits, because every week they seem to change. The fact is that you are really just not into sleeping because you have too much to do. You fight it and have to have a bottle to go to sleep. I'm afraid of what will happen when we take it away soon...You take about 2 naps a day, but they always vary in length. You go to bed at 8pm and you are up and ready to start your day at 6:30.

You have 8 teeth and we are waiting on some more! You are drooling and chomping on everything! You love to chew things with your teeth and your smile is so sweet.

You babble so much, but your favorite thing to say is "dada." We occasionally get "ma" and are starting to get "no." For some reason you have quit saying hi, but I think it's because you would rather just wave. Some days you just talk all day long, and you always talk the most when you are playing on the floor.

You are still crawling everywhere and getting into everything! You love to stand up and you pull up on anything you can. You don't really like to let go yet. You do like to walk while pushing the walker or holding our hands.

You love to wave bye-it's your favorite thing to do. Sometimes you have bye when we are going up the stairs. You also are learning to reach one arm out when you want something. You give high fives and do touchdown (it's hilarious)!

You have celebrated your first Thanksgiving this month, made your first trip to Missouri, and met Santa twice (neither of which you enjoyed).

You are always busy and never sit still. You are a social bug and will just about crawl up to anyone (except Santa).

You are so silly and fun to be around. I can't believe that we will be celebrating your first birthday soon (yes, mommy is already planning). This time last year we were so curious as to what you would look like, how big you would be, and when you were coming. Now we know that we have one adorable, happy boy that is growing and learning every day and we couldn't be more thankful for that. We love you very much, Hudson.

Undeserving

We have just been swamped lately with all of the excitement of the holiday season. Between parties, breakfasts, dinners, secret Santa, and kindergarten crafts we just haven't stopped much. I won't bore you with all the details of each celebration, but I thought I would share this picture as I type.

I have this serious problem with writing a post without a picture. I can't do it. CAN'T. Or wont? I guess it has something to do with me wanting this for documentation of dates and what our life looks like now?! Anyway, back to the point....

What I really wanted to write and say is that I am just really reminded each day how undeserving and unworthy I am of all the precious gifts I have been given. No matter how big or small they are all a blessing, and I deserve none of it. Nada. God is really working on heart about this. I can't tell you how much I have had to say thank you this past week because with every passing day I see more and more of His blessings. I just encourage you to remind yourself that we are here because a sweet baby came into the world 2000+ years ago. For some reason, now that I have my own baby boy, it is so much more real to me all that Mary went through. To know that this baby would be our king-what responsibility! I hope you take the time to stop and celebrate Him.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Santa Claus & Teacher of the Year

It's been a big day in the life of our family members!

This morning my sister was surprised and awarded Teacher of the Year! My parents and Hudson got to be there for the assembly and reception! We are so proud of her! She is the most creative, crafty person I know. She can make or fix anything! And I'm sure those little Pre-K littles love her as much as we do!

Hudson also made his first visit to Santa! We hadn't planned it, but we were in the area celebrating Erin's TOY award and decided to head that way!

Let's just say he wasn't exactly thrilled....

That big old man is just not really who Hudson wanted to let go of his momma for. And believe me, he was holding on tight! I guess he will soon learn that he is really a jolly ole fellow!

And just for humor's sake here is my picture with Santa! Who knew that over 20 years later I would take Hudson to the same chain store that I went to to visit Santa?!

Staying Home

This weekend we had a few plans, but those quicky got changed and we ended up staying home.

Poor Hudson ended up at the pediatrician where our suspicions were confirmed that he had staph infection :( I hate this for the poor little guy. It is so painful. It's something his daddy has dealt with for a while and I had always hoped he wouldn't get it, but somehow he did. He is getting much better now and a lot less sore, I just pray it doesn't make it's way back around for awhile. 

He loved this fun toy at the doctor's office!

We ended up hanging around the house and wrapping a few presents and taking some good naps! For some reason he slept so well during this...

And we also learned TOUCHDOWN! Just in time for a Steelers win (aka Papa's favorite team)!

Talking on the Phone

Someone is learning how to call his friends!

Is this how you hold it?
Nobody is answering, mom!
Check this out!

Balloon Hair

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we went to Red Robin with family and Aunt Jessica got him a balloon, which was followed by awesome balloon hair. I thought it was too funny not to share this picture, although it's terrible quality.

And yes, he is chomping on a french fry. I am THAT mom! Not really. But all things in moderation, right?!

Sometimes Monday feels just like this. Don't you think?!

Saturday Scarf Craft

A few weeks ago my sister and I had a little craft project. This was just hours before the terrible stomach bug of 2010 hit our house. Anyway you don't want to know about that. It was disgusting. Terribly disgusting. But this project however is not anything close. It is easy, fun and adorable! And luckily it came before the awfulness that filled the rest of the weekend.

First, we took 4 old t-shirts and cut them up and made rings like this. This is Abby's. She did a great job organizing.

Then we used the hem of the shirts to tie the rings together and....

Voila!

You have this adorable and probably not so warm scarf. But it's cute and isn't that what matters?!

I made my colors similair to that of the one I had originally seen. My lovely sister is a little more daring than I ;)

And I really LOVE the way it turned out.

It's the perfect I'm-not-getting-out-in-the-cold project!

HERE is the direct link for detailed instructions!

Happy Crafting!

Speaking of crafting, this weekend I crafted together this new blog design. I think it turned out pretty well :)

Have a blessed week,

Coming to your mailbox soon...

We are up bright and early on this Saturday morning so I thought I would show you some of our Christmas card designs. We order from Shutterfly. One of my favorite sites. I use it to print pictures of family and my school kids, I also use their Share Site to exchange pictures with the parents of my kindergarten friends! It's wonderful! I've also ordered a few Christmas gifts here along with my cards :)

They always have such good deals and if you are a member of this site they e-mail you coupons. I heart coupons.

The cute ornaments on this card say "Buy me, buy me!"

Words. I love the words on this card and the way they are all in different fonts. 

And the cute plaid on this one with the cursive writing :)

And the fun and happiness of this card. It's bright and cheery!

If you want to order a photo card go HERE,

or a stationery card HERE (I love these-they are a matte finish and on nice card stock),

or you can get a cute calendar with your favorite photos HERE! They make a great Christmas present-2011 will be here soon!

They also have great promotions going on right now so go HERE to check those out!

Also if you want to know how to earn free Christmas cards THIS is what you want :0

Happy Shutterfly Shopping,

P.S. None of the cards shown here are the ones chosen for our distribution this year. Watch your mailbox to find out which is my favorite ;)

Happy Very Late Thanksgiving!

Well it's been almost a week since celebrating turkey day and I haven't shared pictures yet. So here goes....I'm finally catching up! And with lots of pictures too.

We had a pretty low key Thanksgiving weekend-living within a mile of both sets of our parents is really nice. However, we made a quick trip to Springfield to have a Thanksgiving dinner with my grandparents.

We had a little bonfire outside and just hung out. And it included smores. YUM!

But I didn't get one...how did that happen?

I'm so thankful for all of this wonderful family we are surrounded by.

I'm especially thankful for the family of my own that I am blessed to have.

And Hudson is thankful to have such wonderful grandparents!

He also met his cousin Brayden for the first time-obviously they aren't interested in a family picture.

But they were interested in watching Umizoomi together.

Our Thanksgiving day involved a lot of staying home and just being together as family. Some of Ryan's family was in town from Texas (which I don't have any pictures of) and we got to be with both of our families for their Thanksgiving meals.

The rest of our time was spent playing with this funny boy, doing a little Black Friday shopping, decorating for Christmas and hanging with family. It was nice to have no agenda and really nowhere to go. 

By the way, does anyone believe it's really December? Already? Where has this year gone?

I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30