Hudson's First Christmas: Part 3: Christmas Day

Let me start this by saying I had all these plans to have the ONE toy that we had to put together assembled way before Christmas Eve night.  But with the change in the school calendar, I quickly lost track of time and all of a sudden it was Christmas Eve.  We stayed at Rusty's parents house until 7:30.  Hudson fell asleep on the way home, so the plan was to transport him from the car to his crib like a peaceful little Christmas angel, set out all of his goodies, and get in bed ourselves.

Well, things don't always go as planned.  Hudson woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep.  I don't remember now, but I think we wrestled him for almost 2 hours.  We didn't even get started until 10:30.  Then, of course, his Smart Trike, which was all supposed to "click and snap" quickly into place had directions and parts with no labels or words, so that took longer than expected.  Almost an hour and 1 blood blister later, we were finished.  It was almost midnight and we were pretty tired, but Christmas Vacation came on so we had a few laughs and took in the thoughts of waking up as Santa for the first time. 

Rusty got me a tripod for our video camera and we had everything all charged and set up.  We got lots of video, but somehow I forgot to take the "look what Santa brought you" picture.  This could be because we went to bed around 1 and Hudson woke up at 5:30, so we were all in a fog. Either way, we loved spending time together that morning.  Here are a few pictures of that morning.

We started to get ready to go spend Christmas Day with my parents in Oneonta.  All everyone had talked about for a week were the tornadoes and severe storms that were coming that afternoon.  I knew we could be stuck in Oneonta due to the storms and I just couldn't stand the thought of leaving our fur babies outside all alone during a tornado! SO............. we ALL packed up.  Mommy, Daddy, Baby, two 50 pound dogs, and a car full of presents.  After all of that, all we got was a lot of rain.  Oh well.  Better safe than sorry.

When we got to my parents house, we swapped gifts and took pictures of Nana and Papa and their boys! 

After that, my mom's brother's family arrived.  We all had a fun lunch and played with a house full of kiddos. 

I can't believe his first Christmas has already come and gone! It was very fun, and I can't wait to see what next year will be like when he is talking and walking!! 

Hudson's First Christmas: Part 2: Christmas Eve

See Christmas Part 1 here. 

Christmas Eve was celebrated at MeMe and PawPaw's house (Rusty's parents).

Before everyone got there, I went a little nuts and had a photo shoot took a few pictures of our handsome man in front of the tree.  Hey, it's only your first Christmas once! 

Before we ate, everyone just oooohhh and aahhhhhh all over Hudson and all of a sudden he started army crawling! He tends to crawl after things he shouldn't be playing with, but we would do anything to get him to crawl.

First Christmas as MeMe and PawPaw

Aunt Lauren helping Hudson open some presents.

The best you can get with a busy 8 month old.

He LOVED all of the tissue paper and wrapping paper. 

Havin some nakey time with Uncle Brett.  FYI: Uncle Brett was not nakey, just Hud Stud.

 

 On the move again!

All presents, wrapping paper, etc went straight to the mouth, as usual.

We had a wonderful time relaxing and having a casual late lunch.  It was fun celebrating for the first time with a baby in the house.  It was definitely all about him, but he was cool enough to play in the highchair and watch us play Battle of the Sexes for a little while.  He was so spoiled with all kinds of goodies, but most importantly spoiled with hugs and kisses.  We are looking forward to many more babies to fill the Ashworth house over the coming years! Babies do make everything more fun!

Hudson's First Christmas: Part 1

 

We had a wonderful time celebrating Hudson's first Christmas! It was a very busy month, and our house is full of all kinds of goodies.  We are very blessed to be surrounded by so many loving friends and family.
Our very first "family" ornament!

At the beginning of the month, he had a little play date with Miss Payton Vail.  To say he was smitten is an understatement.  They were cracking us up...

 

 A couple of weeks later we went to see Santa at Bass Pro Shop.  He was great! It all happened so fast that I don't think he had time to be scared! He loved Santa and the "North Pole".

(some of these are pictures of pictures, so forgive the quality...)

 

 

Very first time on a carousel!

 

 

We had the Annual Miller Christmas at Palisades Park in Oneonta.

We got together with the LaRue bunch at Granny LaRue's house and boy were we spoiled.  We changed it up a little bit and instead of having the traditional "Thanksgiving-esque" dinner, we had a seafood feast! Fried shrimp, shrimp scampi, shrimp cocktail, homemade hush puppies, and pies! Rene and Lane brought Edgar's cake bites and to say we were all stuffed is an understatement. We are all definitely spoiled! We may have kids of our own, but we are still Granny's babies! Somehow I didn't get all the pictures I wanted to get with everyone.  Maybe when seperation anxiety dies down, I can pick up my camera  next year.


This is my nephew Dominic.  He's almost 2 1/2 and this was his third Christmas.  Boy was he lovin it!  Every year has just gotten more fun. It makes me really look forward to next year with Hudson!

9 months

Hudson,

(aka: Huddy Buddy, Snuggle Bug, Nugget, Bug, Stud Muffin, Hud, Hud Stud, Sweet Pea, Puppy, etc........)

You are NINE months old!

How can this be!?  You are growing up waaaaaaaaaaay too fast! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of our little man but we are in disbelief of how quickly the baby phase is passing by.

So much has changed since last month.

Your checkup is Thursday, so I will update your weight then, but you weigh between 23-24 pounds.

At nine months old, you are wearing size 4 diapers and size almost all 12 month clothes with a couple of 12-18 months outfits.  You can still fit some size 3 shoes.    

You eat three meals a day (B: cereal, L: size 2 fruit, D: size 2 veggie and size 1 fruit) with a snack of puffs/yogurt melts with a water/juice cup around 3pm. You drink 3 bottles of about 26 oz total of formula a day.  We have offered you a few table foods but you weren't too crazy about them.  Not long after you turned 8 months old, you started crying every night at dinner time.  At first I thought it was the high chair, or maybe you just didn't feel well, but then we discovered you longer like meats in your veggies.  And SOMETIMES you are even picky about your veggies! My child that finished every meal and never turned down anything for 8 months is suddenly a picky eater.  But you don't push it away or spit it out.  You just cry! So right now we are back to just veggies. 

Some of the biggest changes since last month:

YOU ARE SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT IN YOUR CRIB! 

This is a BIG deal.  We tried various things at various times throughout the past 5 months but after you became like a flopping fish/karate kid in our bed, we HAD to do something.  You woke frequently for no apparent reason and we were all getting pretty restless.  We felt like you loved sleeping on our squishy mattress, so we put an old quilted doubled over in your crib and secured it so you couldn't move it with all of your moving.  The first night or two you did your usual wake up at 10pm for a few minutes but we stalked you like a hawk on the video monitor left you alone to see what you would do.  After a few minutes of whining and playing with your pacifiers, (yes, multiple pacifiers are sprinkled in your bed so you can find one if you wake up) you went back to sleep.  You go down about 7:30-7:45 every night after a bath, books, and a little rocking.  You usually sleep until 6-6:30 with the occasional weekend gift of a 7:00 wake-up time.  It has been wonderful!!!  You still take two 1 1/2-2 hour naps a day, but if those get cut short you will need a catnap around 4:30 to get you through the evening.

Teeth, teeth, and MORE teeth!

Look at those pearly whites! 

You top left central incisor is through and coming down and the right central incisor is cutting through as we speak! You have definitely had some teeth pain that has made you a little fussy in the afternoons, but thankfully it is not waking you up at night.  This makes 6 teeth!  We use Orajel almost every night.   

You are saying DaDa now and just started clapping! It is funny because you don't really open your hands, so it is more like banging your fists together.  But it is pretty cute! 

You have the biggest, most beautiful smile and you love to talk and laugh all the time.  

AND........................

YOU ARE CRAWLING!!  

It's an army crawl, but you are definitely on the move.  This has just made your will to be more independent even stronger.  You love to be held and cuddled, but you are very hard to hold now unless you are very sleepy.  You want to turn around, stand up, and push away, even though you can't get to where you want to go as fast as you would like. This, combined with you continuing to roll all over the place, makes you quite the busy bee! I got a lot of much needed cleaning and organizing completed the past few days and you have just played with all of your new toys and scooted all over the place! I would go to put something away and you would be across the room with toys in hand when I came back!  This had made changing diapers and clothes much more challenging!

Hudson, you melt our hearts with every new sound, funny face, and toothy grin!  We love you more than you know! 

 

Merry Christmas from the Ashworths!

{not so speechless}

Disclaimer:  This may be more of a rambling than a blog, so please forgive me.  I have felt the urge to write since Friday night and I want to get my thoughts down before they leave me.  

There are no words to describe what I, what the world, felt Friday as we heard the news of the massacre.  I use the word massacre because that's exactly what it was.  The mass killing of innocent lives.  Why?  Why was there this mass killing?  At first, I was speechless.  Now, not so much.  

Although this tragedy will likely never have a direct devastating impact on my life, I will never forget it.  I was sitting at the lunch table with my 3rd grade coworkers and someone told me the devastating news.  What? What?  I remember that was all I could say.  I could literally feel my heart hurting.  Aching.  Of course, all I could think of was my baby.  I yearned to hold him.  All I wanted to do was snuggle him and kiss him and keep him safe.  People always say you will never know how much your parents love you... how much they worry about you... how they want the very best for you...until you have your own.  And it's so very, very true.    

When I was finally reunited with Huddy Buddy that afternoon, we were in a hurry.  Rusty was off work and we were in a rush to see Santa at Bass Pro Shop before the crowd arrived.  Before this day, I was overjoyed with the thought of seeing my son sitting on Santa's lap for the very first time.  Although he would have no clue what was going on, it was an important day for me.  One of the "must dos" with your child at Christmastime.  But the 30 minute drive there all I could think of were the presents that we had already purchased and couldn't wait to set out as Santa on Christmas morning.  And the overwhelming sadness thinking of the Mommies and Daddies that also had presents for their beautiful first graders... presents that would never be opened.  Never be played with.  The smiles on Christmas morning that would never be seen. Just typing that brings tears to my eyes.

The news of this tragedy is unique to me because of the different emotions I have.  Emotions as a new mother, but also emotions as a teacher.  

You could never, ever, understand the role of a teacher unless you have been one yourself.  Teachers play many roles: facilitator, instructor, mother/father, nurse, therapist, friend, referee, disciplinarian, cheerleader, role model, PROTECTOR - physically, socially, and emotionally.

Parents entrust me with their children daily. From the hours of 8-3, I play these roles and more.  My tones and facial expressions change throughout the day.  Some students require quiet encouragement while others need some tough love.  The coolest thing is, good teachers know what their students need.  And it makes me happy when I know I have provided them with what they needed. 

I came across a program tonight that was somewhat of a memorial service for the Newtown community.  I missed most of it, but managed to catch the President reading a list of the names of the students that lost their lives.  What made it so personal was that he only read their first names.  Just like I would call my students by name.  There were 20 children killed.  12 girls.  8 boys.  I have 19 kids this year - 12 girls, 7 boys.  This made it very real for me.  These poor babies, at school, likely doing Christmas crafts - just like we were doing Friday.  

It makes my kids laugh how well I know them.  How I can predict when they are about to get in trouble.  How I can tell who is talking behind me while we are walking down the hall because I know the individual sound of all 19 kids - their laugh, their huffs and puffs, the tone of their voice, even how they cry.  Most of them snicker when I call someone's name as we walk down the hall without ever turning around.  I must admit, it makes me smirk, too (most of the time).  From 8-3 - and many times even after that - those are my babies.  I know them well, and they all have a piece of my heart.  

I received a prerecorded message on my cell phone today.  A SchoolCast, we call it.  I recognized the number, and I had a feeling I would be receiving a few words from the school board regarding the shooting Friday.  The message was our Superintendent letting everyone know that a police officer would be assigned to every elementary, middle, and high school in our system- all 52 of them - during school hours until the Christmas break.  Although I like the idea of heightened security, it just added to the realness.  It could have been our school.  It could have been my babies.  It could have been me. 

I can't imagine what the day will be like when the rest of the Sandy Hook Elementary students and faculty return to school.  20 kids, 2 teachers, a psychologist, and the principal - all part of the Sandy Hook family - faces and voices that once filled the halls - gone forever.  The place where the last sounds many of the survivors heard were gunshots, screams, sirens...their lives will be forever changed. 

So tomorrow morning, I will kiss my husband and baby goodbye.  I will drive my 30 minute commute to work.  I will walk to my room, plug up my Christmas tree, and catch up with my coworkers about their weekend.  I will greet my students with a smile.  I will think of those 20 sweet angels.  I will think of their parents, that instead of sending their children off to school, are making funeral arrangements.  I will live cautiously, but not in fear.  I will be thankful for another day on Earth.  I will praise the Lord for all of his blessings and pray for comfort for those in unimaginable pain.    

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

8 Months

Hudson,

You are eight months old!

And you are by far the cutest, funniest, most loving little boy I know!

At eight months you...

 

weigh about 23 pounds

wear a size 4 diaper, 9 month/9-12 month/a few 12 month clothes and a size 3 shoe.

Your eating has recently changed just a little bit.  Your spit up problem had gotten a little better, but all of the sudden it started getting worse again.  I felt like you could go longer between feedings, so we first stretched out your bottles, which led to us giving you a 3-4 ounce bottle right before bed to "top you off".  That was so close to the bottle you had just had at 4:30.  So, we dropped a bottle, added a snack, and up your ounces for your first and last bottle.  You also dropped your last catnap! This has been going on since about Thanksgiving.  You can make it with just 2 naps as long as you sleep until 3.  If you wake up at 2, you will probably need a little nap.  Your current (during the week) schedule is: 6:30 wake up and 8oz bottle, 7:30 cereal/juice cup*, play, nap 9-11, stage 2 fruit and 7oz bottle around 12, play, nap 1-3, snack: mums mums/puffs and juice cup*, play, stage 2 meat and veggie and 1/2 a stage 2 fruit with juice cup*, play, bath, 8oz bottle at 7:15ish then bed. *Cups are always 1/2 water, 1/2 apple or pear juice.*     

We recently discovered Mum Mums! Love them! So much easier than puffs.  By the way, it is SO cute to watch you feed yourself! We just can't get enough of your everyday cuteness.

Your favorite times are bath time, when you first wake up, lying on the changing table, and when you find something you aren't suppose to have and start chewing on it.  ; )  You also love shopping.  You don't love being in the stroller if we aren't moving.  You LOVE being up in the shopping cart.  I think it's because you can see so much.  You are SO observant...almost to the point of ADD. I can't get you to look at the camera because you are too busy exploring.  You still love being outside and you enjoy riding with your window down when it is warm enough.  You have started chewing on your pointer fingers and smacking your lips.  Your favorite non toys are the remote, wooden spoons, cell phones, and anything with a tag. Oh, and Cooper.  You love to pet Cooper.  He is much more laid back with you than Macy.

You are a much better napper these days, averaging 1 1/2, many times 2 hour naps at a time.  You usually wake up for your paci a few times a night, but you will go right back to sleep.

Mommy You had several rough nights of sleep.  We just couldn't figure out what was wrong.  You were also a little fussier and more clingy during the day.  Then suddenly, your 2 "fangs" started popping through! You skipped your top central incisors and the lateral incisors came through instead.  They made for a rough few days, but I think we are finally past the roughest point.  

Sickness was another sleep culprit this past month.  You got your first ear infection about a week into November.  We could just tell something was up.  You didn't seem super sick, but after days of pulling at your ear, a slight cough, and finally a fever over 100, we called the doctor.  She thinks that the last bacterial infection didn't quite get out of your system. 

You still aren't crawling yet, but you can get around when you want to.  You roll and roll, do 360 spins on your belly, and are starting to pull up on things. 

You are quite the talker.  Your first word was definitely Mama.  : )  You've been saying it for a while, but I didn't think you knew what it meant.  I really think you understand now because you tend to say it when you are upset or mad.  You are great at saying and waving bye bye.  Buh, Bye, Ba... those are your favorite syllables! Here is a video of you talking after bath time.

You have started reaching for people and it is super sweet! 

Mommy and Daddy are so excited to be spending Christmas with the best gift we've ever been given!

We love you!