Getting ready for Christmas!!!

I think that I win the award for the worst blogger ever. It seems to get tougher and tougher to find a minute to sit down and blog these days, and I am sorry to everyone that has been awaiting new pictures of Hudson.

So much has changed in our home since my last post. Hudson is crawling and pulling up on everything these days. His top two teeth are coming in and he would love to walk if he could figure it out. I think that walking is not far off in our future. We have had a lot of firsts this past month...our first Thanksgiving at the Stansells, our first Christmas tree, and our first visit with Santa Claus. It is amazing how much fun everything becomes once a child is in the picture.

We got our Christmas tree a couple of weeks ago, and ever since then all Hudson wants to do is pull all of the ornaments off and feel the tree. Here are some pictures of our tree outing and decorating.

We went last Friday night to night on the town and Hudson got to sit on Santa's lap for the first time. I was sure that he would cry, but he actually surprised us and just stared at Santa wondering who he was. We are glad to say that no tears were shed and I am sure that next year Hudson will have a little better idea of who Santa really is.

We also love the bath these days. We love to splash and play in the tub. Here is how I found Hudson after his father had given him a bath.

I do not think that we have a problem in the hair category. He definitely got that from the McElhinney side of the family. We hope that everyone is getting ready for the holidays and having as much fun as we are.

Happy Halloween

Even though I am pretty sure that Hudson will not remember his first Halloween, it was still tons of fun to dress him up in his pea pod costume. He was a great sport about it, because once we put him in it, he couldn't really move his body that much. We didn't get to trick or treat this year since mommy had to work. We didn't think that this year was too big of a deal since Hudson can't eat the candy anyway. Hopefully next year, and the years to come, I will not be scheduled to work.

We hope that everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. We sure did and can't wait for next year when Hudson will be walking.

And Then There Were Two....

For my 30th birthday I got lots of really great gifts, but nothing can beat the gift that Hudson gave me.....his first 2 teeth. Not just one, but his two bottom front teeth came in. We have been waiting and waiting, and knowing that the teeth were somewhere in the distant future. We have had signs for awhile now, but no physical sign of teeth until my birthday. Jeremy did a good job at capturing them with the camera.

Hudson is also about to crawl. He gets on all fours and rocks back and forth. He scoots forward but still has not mastered putting his arms and legs together and actually crawling.

Hudson's attempt at crawling

It is truly amazing how fast Hudson is growing and changing. He will be walking and talking before we know it. At this point he definitely says "Da Da," and knows who his "Da Da" is. Nothing seems to light up Hudson's face more than his father. I am so blessed to have Jeremy as such an active part in Hudson's life. I couldn't do it without him that is for sure!!!

Happy Birthday Nana!!!!!!!

We wanted to wish Nana a Happy 60th Birthday!!!!! We are so blessed to have you so close and so much a part of Hudson's life. We thank you for all that you do for us and hope that you have an amazing birthday. We had a great weekend with you and Papa and can't wait until we see you again.

We love You!!!!

Love, Emily, Jeremy, and Hudson

The Pumpkin Patch

I have been VERY slack with the blog lately, but life has been crazy around the Stansell household. This past month has been filled with so many things that is seems nearly impossible to find sometime to sit down at the computer and blog.

My brother Jamie got married on October 11, 2008, and I will have to wait to post pictures since I took all of the pictures with my moms camera, and she is in St. Simons. Hopefully sometime this weekend I can get those and show off how amazing their wedding was, and what a great week we had.

When we got back, I turned 30, and Jeremy, Hudson, and I spent the morning of my birthday at the pumpkin patch. Hudson wasn't so interested at smiling for the camera as he was with playing in the grass or with the straw. We still managed to get a few good shots and have a great time.

Hudson playing with the scarecrows feet

Hudson and I trying to find a good pumpkin

Our last attempt to get Hudson to smile for the camera

When we got home, Jeremy decided to show Hudson how to carve a pumpkin. Hudson was more interested in playing with the tools to carve the pumpkin than carving the pumpkin itself.

Daddy hard at work

The finished product

We even put lights in the pumpkin that are battery powered that we turn on every night. It looks pretty spooky from the street and Hudson loves to look at the pumpkin at night. Our first trip to the pumpkin patch turned out to be a big success except for the fact that Hudson was not interested in smiling for any of the pictures. Maybe we'll do better on Halloween.....

Happy belated birthday Jeremy!!

Jeremy's birthday was last Friday. We did not forget it, but this is the first chance that we have had to tell him Happy Birthday on the blog. We are glad that we did not experience a hurricane on his birthday, and were very happy that work closed early so that we could celebrate with him on his special day. Our lives have changed dramtically since Jeremy's last birthday. Last year at this time, we had just found out that we would be expecting Hudson in April. I truly do not think that having a child had really sunk in at that point though.
From the minute that Hudson was born, Jeremy has been the most amazing father we could have ever asked for. Hudson lights up whenever Jeremy comes into the room and the bond that the two of them have formed is irreplaceable. The nights that I have to work until 9pm, the boys love hanging out with each other, and everytime I ask Jeremy how things went, he always responds by saying that Hudson was perfect. We wish you a Happy 32nd birthday and hope that it was fabulous!!! We can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with you!! Thanks for being the light in our lives!!!

Jeremy and Hudson (april 13,2008)

Jeremy and Hudson (only a few days old)

Jeremy and Hudson (3 weeks old)

Jeremy and Hudson (8 weeks old)

Jeremy and Hudson (16 weeks old)

We Love You!!!

Emily and Hudson

Labor Day

For Labor Day, my mom, Hudson, Michael, and I went to Poplar Bluff, Missouri to visit a longtime friend of ours, Emily Nelson. Growing up, I would go with Emily to Poplar Bluff to visit her mom. Emily moved there a couple of years ago, and this was our first chance to visit. I was a little nervous with the plane ride seeing that we had to go from Savannah to Atlanta, Atlanta to Memphis, rent a car, and drive 3 hours to Poplar Bluff. Hudson did amazingly well despite two long days of traveling.

Here is mom and Hudson stretching their legs in between flights

We arrived at Emily's beautiful home on Friday afternoon and spent the next two nights there. We had great food, good company, and a very relaxing weekend.

Emily and Hudson

Mrs. Wolpers and Hudson

We spent Sunday night in Memphis at the famous Peabody hotel. This hotel is famous for the marching of the ducks. Everyday at 11 and 5, ducks walk down a red carpet to the fountain in which they swim in. At the end of the day, they are escorted (by the duck master) up to the rooftop of the hotel where they stay until the next morning. This is quite the tourist attraction in Memphis.

Here is the duck master getting ready to escort the ducks

The ducks making their famous walk

On Monday before we headed back home, we promised Michael that we could stop by Graceland to check out Elvis's living quarters. We ended up looking at his home from the gates because the wait was a hour long and cost $70.00 to get in.

Mom and Michael at the gates of Graceland

Overall we had a great weekend. I think that we will wait until we are done with breastfeeding before we take another airplane ride. That proved to be the most challenging part of the trip. Thanks again to Emily for being such an amazing host. We can't wait to see you again soon.

Nana and Hudson on our trip home!