December Fun

A Christmas story...

So many Christmas decorations, so much to touch! Silly Mom thought decorating the Christmas tree would be such fun this year with Hudson. He would help me hang the ornaments and marvel at the lights. Not exactly how it went down. Hudson was fascinated alright, but his idea of fun was banging the Christmas ornaments together. We struggled as I decorated the house and then in the next few days as I reminded Hudson not to touch the new decor. However, one wonderfully bright spot was the moment I got out the nativity set. When we were first married, we picked out a beautiful plastic set knowing that we'd have little hands around one day. It's perfect for Hudson to play with. I've put it on the coffee table, and Hudson has had such fun moving the sheep around and exclaiming, "Sheep eat grass!" I've tried to encourage him to keep Baby Jesus in the manger and explain that He is special. It's provided me with several teachable moments and distracted Hudson from all the other things he can't touch. Oh, and I must share this...when I got the set out, Hudson was looking at the one goat. I told him it was different from the sheep because it had horns. He thought a moment and said, "beep, beep!" He was thinking about a horn on a car. Priceless.

A few other pieces of news...

One of Hudson's newest feats includes counting to 10. Never thought he could do that so early. It encourages me to continue to present new concepts to him and see what sticks. His love is still for Thomas the Train. He continues to sleep well with about the same routine he's had for the past year or more although I fear his nap is slowly shrinking. He's stayed in his crib for now. We plan to convert it to the toddler bed after all the Christmas gatherings. One thing we love to hear right now is Hudson talk as he falls to sleep. He will lay in his crib and chatter about the day, repeating new words that he enjoys saying. A recent favorite has been saying our "real names." I love hearing him say Jennifer Lynn, James Edward (not Edwin), or best of all James Hudson Felker. A new potty was Hudson's most exciting purchase of the week. We're still mostly just playing when we sit on it, but he is very interested in the idea. We'll just see what happens.

A Time for Thanks

Helping Susu in the kitchen wearing his own turtle apron

Cheering on the Bulldogs wearing a real big boy jersey

Despite each getting a cold over Thanksgiving, we were grateful for a restful and refreshing visit with the Felkers in Starkville. We've decided that whenever possible we should make extended visits to Mississippi since it's such a long drive. Hudson does his very best in the car, but he is only two. It was so hard trying to explain to him why we couldn't let him sit in my lap while we were driving (and I must confess I did let him sit with me for a minute in the back seat which was a horrible idea...he then couldn't understand why he couldn't get out again). Jay had the opportunity to tour David's new stomping grounds in Jackson, Susu took us shopping in Tuscalosa, we ate and ate on Thanksgiving, and we cheered to the Bulldogs to victory at the Egg Bowl. As Hudson would say, go Papa's team! :)  Hudson wasn't much of a Thanksgiving food eater.  Not a surprise to those who know our picky toddler well, but I think he was thrilled with all the family around and new toys to play with.  We are thankful for many blessings, including our wonderful family.  

Spider Mania

Whether we call it the Pumpkin Party or Fall Carnival (no one name has stuck just yet), Pa and Gigi's second annual gathering was incredible! I think some public festivals don't even have as many activities as this did. Tractor rides, fishing booth, bowling, and most every other type of carnival game you can think of were the kids' options. And, of course, there were plenty of yummy treats to be had. We didn't even get to the pumpkin carving, but they did paint pumpkins. Hudson loved the bowling and the tub of balls.

We spread out our celebrating throughout the week. We enjoyed Stillwater's Downtown Festival on Tuesday, did a little trick-or-treating and candy distributing on Thursday (yes, Stillwater moved the official celebration due to football games), and then finished up the week with the grand Pumpkin Party on Saturday. Hudson was the best looking spider I've ever known. His costume choice was his idea, so it made it even better.

(P.S. So I realize it is December as I'm posting this, but I felt it was necessary to chronicle our Halloween celebration. I tend to blog in clumps. I just can't help it!)