Hudson's First Christmas!!

I think that I am the only mom out there that has a blog and has not posted pictures of her child's first Christmas!!!! I keep saying that I am going to get better at this, and I just seem to be getting worse. I should have made it my New Years resolution to take the time to try and blog each week. For all that have been patiently waiting, I apologize.

Christmas has come and gone, and all went well at the Stansell household. I am sure that Hudson had no idea what was going on, but I know that Jeremy and I had the best time getting ready for Christmas morning. We had my mom, Michael, and our neighbor Jerry over for breakfast (after we opened our presents of course) Here are some of the highlights from all of the gifts that Hudson received.

The Leapfrog Learning table was a big hit

We love the rocking dinosaur as well

It took Hudson a while to figure out the lawnmower but now we love it

Nana and Hudson enjoyed sitting in Hudson's new chair

After breakfast we headed to Huspa for Christmas with the Stansells. By the time that we got home from all of the festivities, Hudson was ready for his own crib that was for sure. We had a great day and we all got way too many presents (especially Hudson)

After Christmas we headed to Mississippi for New Years with The McElhinney family. We had a great week there, and of course the bad mother that I am, took no pictures while we were there. Kate, Shannon, and Hudson had the best time playing together. We can't wait for our trip to the beach with them this summer.

Since then, we have been getting back into the swing of things. Hudson is talking away, and very ,very very, close to walking. He loves to climb the stairs these days and push his grocery cart around the house. He is into every cabinet we have and is constantly on the go. It is hard to believe that in 2 short months we will be celebrating his first birthday....where has the time gone????

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!!

These days you can't take your eyes off Hudson for a minute because who knows what he will get into. We had to finally put a gate around the tree or else I am sure we would have made a trip to the hospital because Hudson had a hook sticking out of some part of his body. He stills trys to grab at the ornaments even though we have the gate up. It is really amusing to watch.

He knows that he is not supposed to grab the ornaments, so when you say his name, he looks at us and laughs.

This is how his father found him the other night while mom was at work.

Hudson under our bar stool

We want to thank Aunt Joan for our Christmas hat. Hudson loves to wear it and doesn't even pull it off. We are glad that Pickney's head was a little too big!!

We are very thankful for talented family members, because I know that I will never be able to sew like that.

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.....