Christmas Eve & Christmas Day!

So I'll do my best to cram Christmas Eve & Day into one post...I have close to 300 pics to sort through, so I'll do my best to keep it all short but sweet!!! Hudson's big gift this year was his Art Easel...I know he will love it b/c he loves to color. I even asked him Christmas week what he wanted Santa to bring him and every time he said "Colors!" It made me so excited! He can stand at it and color or fold it down into a table & sit at his stool!! Other gifts he hasn't put down are his "power drill" and vacuum! {if only the vacuum were real!} Kevin's big gift was an iPod Touch and mine, well, I actually got mine before Hudson's Birthday ~ so I unwrapped an empty box!! I have been jonesin' for a fancy SLR and instead of missing out on all of the bday & pre-Christmas fesitivities, he gave it to me early! I love it and haven't stopped taking pictures...hence the 300 Christmas Day pics! We had Kevin's family over for a late lunch & presents Christmas Day...did I mention Hudson was more than happy to help unwrap any and all gifts!?!

I can't believe Christmas is already over! It was such a wonderful year, and I can't wait to see what next year holds for our little family!!! We've almost got all of our decorations down {which makes me quite depressed} and tomorrow Kevin and I are headed out for our annual After Christmas Shopping Trip {sans Hudson-man}! I hope everyone had a fabulous & joyful Christmas!!! Happy 2009!

Christmas {finally}

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I finally have a moment to breathe and I AM BLOGGING! Warning: Not enough patience to cover all of Christmas in one post + lots 'o pics!!! But what a wonderful Christmas it was. First...THANK YOU to everyone who was so generous to us and esp. to Hudson-man! I'm pretty sure he thinks December is "Hudson Month" since all he does is open gifts for his birthday and Christmas. And it showed...all gifts were fair game...if you didn't open your gift fast enough, he was sure to help you!

Christmas 2008 started last weekend with my mom & Sister. One of our traditions is to draw names which makes shopping more economical and {a little} easier! Mom always has lots of yummy food planned, including our traditional Shrimp Creole Christmas Eve dinner & Christmas Morning Brunch. This year, we enjoyed riding a real train {from the Parkman farm} around Camelot. The kiddos loved it, and it was a perfect night to be outside looking at the wonderful Christmas lights! It is so much fun to watch Mallory & Harper play, and now Hudson thinks he's a big boy so he trys to get in on the fun...but the key word being "try!" After mom's, we came home to enjoy a short week before Christmas Eve & Morning as a family then to celebrate with Kevin's family.

the kiddos

mimi and her "mimiites"

Christmas Eve Shrimp Creole

"Christmas Morning"

Harper waiting patiently

a new way to ride his new scooter

LIGHT SABERS

Hudson's fav toy!

Mom's pretty yard sign

looks like the boys are ganging up on Mallory already

the Train

making cookies

YUM

decorating machine

a few of our cookies

Hudson had his own special touch!

The {Aubie} Party

Here are the pics from Hudson's 2nd Birthday Party! We wanted to keep it simple this year...as we know Hudson will probably be pretty vocal about what kind of party he wants from here on out. Since he is OBSESSED with Aubie {and we have lots of Auburn tailgating stuff}, we opted for an Aubie Party! We sure had fun and want to thank everyone who spent the afternoon with us. Also, thank you for all of the Toy Donations to "Toys 4 Tots!!! "

TWO!!!

Hudson is TWO Today!!! I can't believe it...time has really gone by fast! His party was yesterday {more to follow soon}, but we had lots of family fun today. After his 2 year check-up {no shots, yea!!!}, Hudson, Mommy & Daddy headed to the mall for lunch and Build-A-Bear! Hudson picked out his first Build-A-Bear which was actually a MONKEY, who we named George! And Hudson-man loves it! He stuffed it, put George's heart in, gave him a "bath," and even picked out an Auburn tee for him to wear!! I can't wait to see what this year holds...filled with lots of fun {guaranteed} and very little "terrible twos {a mommy can only wish}!"

Though Decision!!

MONKEY wins!

Putting His Heart In

Giving George a Bath

His New Buddy!

Kisses!!!!

A Little Chick-fil-A for Lunch! YUM!

REALLY!?!?!

A few dollars I can understand, but EIGHT!?!? The difference...brand name - take every 12 hours...Target brand - every 4-6! I'm pretty sure I can inconvenience myself one or two times more during the day to save EIGHT DOLLARS! {And I got 10 more pills with the Target brand to compensate for taking more often!!}

"Ora-Met" {3 f 3}

IT'S CHRISTMAS!!! My favorite time of the year! We decided last year to put up all Christmas decorations before Hudson's bday with the exception of the tree...well, you can see that lasted one year. I just couldn't wait any longer!

Sunday was decorating day! We headed to Lowe's for a tree...unfortunately, it was quite picked over. So, off to the "devil" {if you know anything about Kevin's job, you know Home Depot is in a 1st place dead-lock with WalMart in our family}...but they sure have pretty trees! It only took 3 trees & we had a winner. Once at home and inside, we realize it is the BIGGEST tree we've ever gotten...a good 9 feet! Woo Hoo...I love big trees with lots of {white} lights! After tackling the lights solo, we decide on festive hamburgers for dinner. After dinner we decorated! As I got out each ornament, Hudson took it over to the couch. He was such a big help & so cute...he kept saying "ora-met!" Hudson loved all the ornaments & made sure to tell us what it was and where to put it on the tree! Of course, every time he passes the tree he says "Tree!"..."Lights!"..."AUBIE!" {for the Aubie ornament}

Looking for the perfect tree

I wanted the mantel to look like the Southern Living at Home catalog...I think it's pretty close & was on a Hobby Lobby budget!!

Hudson tried his hand at hanging ornaments

Checking out the Aubie ornament

Showing Daddy all of his favorites!

SOME OF OUR FAVS

The Finished Product {BTW...it looks crooked but I think that would be the picture taker}

Wii Special Olympics {2 of 3}

AKA "SunTrust Analyst" Christmas Party. First, none of those attending the party are analysts anymore...Second, not all of us even work for SunTrust anymore. But, this was the original name so we're stickin' to it! This year we chose Adults Only and man, I am glad! The party always consists of good food, White Elephant gifts and at least one {or two} classic moments! Classic Moments of 2008 {which are now referred to as WII SPECIAL OLYMPICS} are brought to you by Wii Rock Band...I'm pretty sure the makers of Rock Band didn't have 30 year olds in mind when creating this game...but it sure makes it funny!!!

Of all the videos, we got the biggest kick out of this one...oh, I could keep uploading but it would just take too long! Enjoy! {Rockers include: Chuck & Kevin on lead guitar, Scott on drums, and Roger on Maddd Vocals. Blair would be the blonde in the back barely containing herself and yours truly is laughing her a$$ off in the background.}

PINK PIG {1 of 3}

Last week we went to the Pink Pig at Lenox Mall! I must admit, I thought this was a little hokey since the "ride" consists of a tiny pink train that goes around in {not one} but TWO circles! But, we were invited so why not. Well, {while I was still not amazed} Hudson was...and although we got to ride 2x & he kept saying "more"..."gain" {again}!! I was only able to coax him away with fries from Chick-fil-A! Maybe we'll ride again soon Little Man!

The Original Pink Pig

Lizzie, Elizabeth & Hudson

Again, Hudson LOVED It!

Snow Day!

What? You Say? Yes, a Snow Day!! On December 1st!! It has been snowing off and on since lunch today & I was able to take Hudson-man out to enjoy it {can you believe he's had snow each year he's been alive?!?}! Here are a few pics & a video...video note: he wanted to jump "high" b/c he saw me running & jumping around like a kid {but you can really see the snow}!

He Did It...He Did It...

...Sat on {near} Santa's Lap WITHOUT crying! After church & brunch, we headed to Perimeter Mall...unfortunately, we {Mommy} didn't like the Santa...no plaid vests please! Since we weren't doing much else and it was cold & rainy, we drove down to Lenox. Apparently, the Pink Pig is more popular than Santa, who only had 5 families in line compared to the Pig's 10x that many. While we waited, Mommy & Daddy hyped Santa up & Hudson was ready!! We said Hello and offered to have Hudson sit in his lap; that wasn't happening but I sat & held him and all was okay! He even gave Santa a high-five, a smile and a hug!!! Maybe next year Mommy won't have to be in the picture!

*On a serious, side note: please put Mike Reed {and April & baby Trent} in your prayers...Mike's latest round on chemo sent his levels down which caused a bad infection that has him in the Montgomery ICU.

I MISSED Thanksgiving!

Yep...that's right...I missed it...ALL OF IT! I saw 15 minutes of the Macy's Parade..woo hoo! Somehow, I woke up Thanksgiving Morning with the Stomach Virus from H*$&! I missed playing with the kids, helping Sister in the kitchen, watching football, EATING, Smores, and spending much needed down time with my fam!

Worse News...Kevin got a "touch" of it later that night, but woke up feeling better Friday morning. Good news...I lost 6 pounds {of water weight} that I'm sure will be back on today with all the yummy food we're having for the Beat Bama/Beat the Dawgs Tailgate Party!

Even so, I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am Thankful for so much and hope next year is just as wonderful!

Flips & Giggles

Hudson did his first forward flip {all by himself...although the video shows a Daddy push}! I just couldn't resist the second part of the video!

Staking Claim

Looks like Hudson isn't the only one in this family who likes to snuggle on "giraffe!"

Fall Photo Shoot

After nap today, Hudson and I did our usual & walked Beasley for his afternoon "business." Even though the weather was a little overcast, it seemed perfect for taking some fall pics...especially with the leaves turning their fabulous shades of orange & red! With the {definite} 2s upon us, it was nice to pause & have some fun with my little man!! I've always loved taking pictures but he is definitely my favorite thing to shoot!!! {Now if I could just convince Husband to get me one of those fancy cameras!}

future tree climber?! {my favorite is the saggy pants!}

a little coloring time