Reflections on 09

Oh, sweet Hudson, how much fun we've had in 2009!

In our second full year with you, we experienced many joys and learned many new things. Between your first and second birthday it has been incredible to listen to your vocabulary develop. You accomplished great feats in the way of physical movement in your first year of life, but in this second year and beyond you are learning new words at such a fast rate. At the end of this year, we've noted how much more you are talking than even at your birthday in October. You can repeat almost anything, and you remember just about everything! Just yesterday I took you to a place we'd been to once before, and you asked for a balloon because you had been given one before months ago. How do you remember these things!

You are a sweet, happy little boy. You love life and get so excited at the opportunity to play with other little people your size. Outgoing, joyful, and sometimes silly are words I would use to describe you, little Hudson. You enjoy the nursery at church, as well as playing in the youth house and getting a chocolate in Daddy's op-ice. Daddy is your hero, and you are still Mommy's baby. Thomas the train, Pa's tractor trailers, and most any other types of truck have been your favorite playtime choices this year. When we leave the house, you can usually be spotted grasping some type of vehicle in your hands. You have continued to love books. I can clearly hear you saying, "Mama read." In your love of reading we've gotten to read more to you about your Heavenly Father. How could we ever say no when you ask us to read your bible to you? Haircuts have been a new experience for us this year. We've been thrilled to see that even after we cut your hair, those red locks keep coming back curly. Your hair attracts so much attention.

Some of our biggest struggles have been over food. You just don't love to eat, well, that is, you don't like to eat vegetables or dinner foods. Pea-boo-butter and bread is one of your favorite cuisines, as well as chicken nuggets (you are like your father). Fruit you will also eat well. Desserts, of course, are not in question. As in so many other ways of life, you've challenged us to be more healthy eaters as we know you are always watching and wanting what we have. Even though we conflict over this issue, you do want to please Momma and Daddy, and tell us you will obey. It is a very sweet sound.

A few travel hi-lights of the year include a second journey to the mountain of Colorado, a trip to the Florida beach, a mission trip to Galveston, and a visit to Nashville complete with a stay at Opryland. You are a well traveled little boy!

You are a precious gift, and we cherish each day with you. Even when you wake up early in the mornings, you bring a smile to our face and make us eager to start the day. Happy New Year, Hudson!

P.S. Hudson has now been sleeping in a toddler bed for a week. He has transitioned better than I even hoped. Way to go, Hudson!

Merry Christmas

Our Christmas celebrations officially began the morning of Christmas Eve. This morning was designated as our family time. When Hudson woke up, we sat in the living room munching on breakfast goodies and reading Christmas books. Hudson was delighted to have that cuddle time with us and truly enjoyed hearing the Christmas story. He has learned the simplest elements of that great story. I'd have to say this was my favorite Christmas moment. Hudson is still so young that he didn't know presents were coming next and feel the need to hurry on. Instead, he just enjoyed reading with us. We then went on to exchange a few presents. He took his time playing with each gift before moving on to see what else he had gotten.

Then the weather changed...at first the sleet and snow seemed picture perfect with the fire keeping us warm in our home on Christmas Eve. Maybe it would have been perfect had we not had travel plans. Church was canceled for the evening, so we drove over to Tulsa after Hudson's nap. I'll just say I was praying before we made it to the highway in Stillwater. The normal 1.5 hour trip to Gigi and Pa's took 3 hours! We were just glad we made it when it was all over. Hudson wasn't a huge fan of this snow storm. The drifts were so high around the house that he couldn't walk in them, and he fell a time or two as well. When we got back to our house, we did convince him to give it another try, and he enjoyed it then.

As for family time, we had a great visit with the Lane side of the family on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. The cousins enjoyed their play time with one another. Hudson was not too interested in opening presents Christmas day as the train table for all the kids from Pa and Gigi that was left sitting out was far more interesting than any other gift he could open. Even though we couldn't make it out to church, we took time together to reflect on our reason for this celebration with a reading of the Christmas story and a nativity reenactment as well, all focused on the little ones, of course.

Rockey, Susan, and Stephen journeyed over from Mississippi the next day for another Christmas celebration with us. Hudson seemed to get the present opening this time and was delighted to see gifts fill up under our Christmas tree when they first arrived. His interested was further sparked when he realized many of his presents were from Thomas and other trains. Thanks for coming to see us!

We hope you and your family had a joyous Christmas celebration as well!

Getting the driveway cleared off!