Playing Catch Up

Well, we are home, family is gone, daddy is back at work, and things are finally back to normal.  Hudson is catching up on lots of missed sleep and I am just now getting a chance to update the blog.  It has been a busy few weeks, but totally worth it!

To Grandma and Grandpa's house we go.

Grandma Smith holding the best Christmas gift I have ever gotten!

Our little booger celebrated his very first Christmas this year (we call him booger because he is so congested every single morning when he wakes up and at night before bed.  I have gotten the worlds biggest baby boogers out of his little nose!  Poor baby can hardly breath sometimes.)!  Everything was completely different, but so wonderful!  The Thursday before Christmas we headed to my parents house. We went to one Christmas Eve service two days before Christmas and another on Christmas eve.  We usually go to the candle light service, but decided with a baby we would go to the early service...  It was not what we were expecting at all!  haha we are accustomed to a very reverent sermon, beautiful hymens, and  time to reflect.  Well, this early service was geared toward kids.  There was talking and screaming and a very animated version of the Christmas Story.  There were two brothers in the children's choir that were fighting (hitting, shoving...) so their poor mother had to go sit with them to make them behave.  Then, there was one little boy, who in the middle of a scripture reading, got up and started slowly walking up the isle saying " I just want this to be over!  I want to go home now" over and over!  It was hilarious!  All you could do was laugh!  I guess we have much more of that to look forward to over the next few years!  It wasn't the service we were expecting, but it was sort of perfect in it's own way. 

It is funny how after having a baby, the Christmas Story takes on new meaning.  I have understood and appreciated the story of Jesus's birth, but never felt such a connection to Mary as I do now.  After having a baby myself I feel more sympathetic and understanding toward Mary and her situation.  I mean after singing the songs O Holy Night and Silent Night I was in tears.  Her bravery and faith in God were truly amazing! I wonder how I would have handled the responsibility of carrying and raising Jesus.... 

On Christmas Day we opened Santa peasants.  Hudson made out extremely well!  All of his new toys are covering the floor of his room because I have no clue where we are going to put it all!  What a lucky little guy!  Later on, we drove up to Fort Wayne, Indiana to visit my Grandma and dad's side of the family.  Hudson got to meet his new little 2nd cousin Landon.  It was fun seeing my cousins.  One is getting married in a few months and another just had her baby!  There was A LOT to talk about!  After a nice long visit we headed back home where we spend the evening watching White Christmas, eating Chex Mix, and putting a puzzle together!  IT WAS PERFECT!

Hudson after all the Christmas festivities!  He was pooped!

The day after Christmas we got together with our family friends!  We always have such a good time when we get together!  We ate, drank, and played a really fun game called The Game Of Things!  We laughed so hard we cried. I look forward to our evening together every year!

Wednesday after Christmas, we left my parents house and drove back home.  That night, Steve's brother's family came in from out of town and we got to celebrate Christmas all over again!  For the next almost week we got to spend a lot of time together!  It was so nice getting to hang out and relax with family.  John and Andrew (Hudson's cousins) LOVED him!  They opened all of Hudson's presents for him and showed him all of their new toys!  It was so sweet!  Hudson LOVED seeing his cousin's too.  Every time they smiled at him he would smile and laugh!  I just know they are going to have fun together when he gets older!

 Andrew and John, Hudson's cousins.  They are so sweet to him!

Andrew (9) holding Hudson (12 weeks)

John, who just had his 7th birthday holding Hudson at 12 weeks

 

John and Andrew made little crowns for all three of them so they could be "little princes".

We rang in the new year cuddled up in our bed with Hudson! We talked about this past year and what we hoped to accomplish in the coming year.  We watched Dick Clark's New Years Rockin Eve.  Just before the ball dropped, Huddy Buddy started crying and  that is how 2012 started!  haha I hope it isn't a sign of how this year is going to be!  He calmed down immediately, it was just bad timing!  I can't think of a better way to end the best year of my life and start a new one!  2012 has a lot to live up to. 

Now here we are and everything is back to normal!  Hudson did great with all the Holiday festivities.  He was completely out of his element and even though his routine had out the window, he was a happy little baby.   The past few days though he has been catching up on much needed sleep.  Bless his heart!  We took all of our Christmas decorations down and cleaned the house this weekend (I hate that part).  Today is actually Steve and my 3 year anniversary.  Neither one of us remembered until last night when I was looking on my calendar!  hahaha  That just goes to show you how busy and out of it we have been!  Now I have to go make a card or something for my husband and try to come up with something good for an anniversary dinner!  Happy New Year!

 Me with the kiddos.  I love all these boys!

 Hudson in one of his many Christmas outfits.  He looks so much like my grandpa (my dad's dad) in this picture!

 NAKED BABY!  Hudson LOVES to be naked these days!  It seems he is at his happiest when we are changing his diaper or letting him go without clothes! haha We may be in for some trouble down the road with our little nudest!

I received my first blog book in the mail the other day!  I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!