One of my favorite things about Christmas time is sending and receiving Christmas cards. It is so fun to check the mail every day and see the beautiful photos of family and friends and read the sweet messages. Christmas cards just make me happy! Here is the Christmas card we sent out this year:
I must confess that I made and saved so many cards this year. So many amazing things happened and the one I picked best showcased each special moment. Here is another one that I just love because you only get to have one first Christmas. i hope it was special for Hudson...I know it was special for me.
I posted this on facebook and Instagram with the caption "All mommy wants for Christmas is a Silent Night" Just for the record, I did not get what I wanted...maybe next year. ;)
On December 23rd, we celebrated Christmas Eve Eve. Hardly any of the family could make it this year, which was a bit of a bummer. Hopefully everyone will be there again next year because I really love the tradition. I made Chicken Altogether again this year and my mom came over for dinner.
While my mom was over we hung this year's ornaments on the tree. We got one for the family, one for Hudson's first Christmas and Nic's parents got a 1st Christmas one too with a special message written on it. I love ornaments so much and love that we buy a new one every year!! Hudson really liked the ornaments too!
The Mirkovich family came over later that night for dessert. We had my red velvet chocolate chip cupcakes with peppermint cream cheese frosting, peppermint oreo truffles and golden peppermint oreo truffles. Yum!!!
How has it been 4 months since this little guy came into our lives?!! I just adore him and my love for Hud grows more and more each day. Hudson is so expressive and I think I love that so much more than just having a smiley baby (although I'll admit it drives me crazy at times). His many face expressions crack me up! He reminds me so much of Justin in that sense. Hudson has tons of personality and he makes sure you know how he feels. He is very inquisitive and aware of his surroundings. We constantly get comments about how alert he is. Hudson loves to laugh and talk. He is very social just like his momma. He is also very easy going like his dad. He is just the most perfect, beautiful little boy!!
On December 21st, we went to AFF's holiday party. This year it was held in the new building-Griswold. It was kind of funny to have Nic there and it felt a bit weird to be there myself since I haven't been working all that much and when I do work it is mainly from home. Everyone was super excited to meet Hudson though and it was especially nice for Uncle Nick to spend some time with him. Hudson was so good just like he always is when we are out and about. It was a big anniversary this year so Helga gave a really nice speech about Papa Fred and my parents and everyone surprised my parents with a photo album. We did the annual drawing for present order: Nic got a CPK gift card which is perfect because CPK has an allergy free salad that I like and I got a new Breville Panini Press because ours is getting a bit run down. It was a fun event just like it is every year and it was nice that my whole little family got to be there.
On December 19th, Hudson turned 17 weeks old. He weighed 15 pounds 11 ounces. Hudson has been sleeping in his pack~n~play lately because he got too big for his rock~n~play sleeper. He crosses his legs in his sleep, picks his legs up and slams them down, he has been moving all over the pack~n~play. He has been sleeping terribly lately! He is getting really good at grabbing toys and pulling them towards him. He lifts his head up all the time even when laying down. He pulls his legs in and pushes his butt into the air. He blows bubbles, has been sticking his tongue out and has even been trying to blow raspberries. He loves sitting up on my lap and has started looking up at me from that position. He really likes his Sophie teether and passes it between his hands. We have started putting Hudson in his crib for some of his naps in the hopes that we can fully transition him to his room soon. This of course makes me cry because it means my little boy is growing up.
On December 18th, 2011 we found out we were expecting! Our life has changed so much in the year since that day! It's amazing how much the word "pregnant' on a stick and the little boy that followed has changed our lives. We took a photo in the same spot in the bathroom on December 18th, 2012 to celebrate how much joy Hudson has brought to our lives. We fell in love the second we knew he existed and our love has been growing every day since!!
On Sunday December 16th, my mom and I went down to Papa's house for Betty, Kathy and Jeanne's Annual Holiday Party. Sabrina was able to come too because she was in the OC already for a wedding. We got to spend some time with Papa, which is always nice and he had a great time with Hudson. We also got our "Four Generations of 1st Borns" photo that my mom has been wanting to get for a while now. We also enjoyed delicious food, wonderful apple cider, my mom had a candy cane martini that looked delicious and we got to catch up with Betty, Kathy, Jeanne, Kelley, Melody and Meredith. Hudson was so good and everyone kept commenting on how cute and well behaved he was. I don't think he cried once the entire day.
On Saturday, December 15th, we went to Carlie's graduation party. I haven't seen Carlie in forever so it was great to see her, plus it was nice to see all the Mercier clan, especially the twins!! They are so cute!! It was a really fun night!!
On Friday, December 14th, I went to Jessica's house for a mommy play date. It was nice to catch up with the mom's from my pregnancy class. Our babies are all around the same age and it was great to share experiences, offer advice and support for each other.
After our morning play date, Hudson, my mom and I went down to Beverly Hills for another appointment with Dr. Ines. I had to get a cavity filled and my mom had to get a night guard made. From there we went to the mall. My mom had a mac appointment so I took Hudson to get another photo with Santa. We met up with Nic and grabbed dinner at Lucille's. Then we met up with Tara, Brenda and Craig Bays. Tara was in town for the weekend and it was great to see her.
I know no one said motherhood was easy, but the moments you discover it for yourself are tough! Hudson had a growth spurt last weekend and ever since he has not been sleeping! The two days of the growth spurt (feedings every hour and a half to two hours) were tough, but at least with a growth spurt I knew it was temporary. Now he isn't eating as frequently, but he still isn't sleeping and it's been over a week! The thing though that I'm struggling with the most isn't the exhaustion, it's my diet! I've realized through all of this how much I rely on food. When Hudson screamed for 15 minutes straight today because he was overtired I would have grabbed a handful of chocolate after to calm my nerves, but I can't have chocolate. Last night we had to go pick up Nic's car from the shop and my first thought was how nice it would be if we could have grabbed ice cream or frozen yogurt as a little mood lifter. Yesterday morning when I woke up exhausted from a rough night with the little man i wanted to push Hudson in the stroller down to Starbucks to get one of those holiday drinks everyone keeps posting all over the internet. Going out to dinner, grabbing takeout, even making dinner are all simple, fun activities that have become depressing, difficult experiences. I always knew I loved food, but I never realized how big a part of my life it is. There are so many moments that I'm tempted to give up, to be selfish, give Hudson formula and eat whatever I want, but every time I look at Hudson I remember why I am doing this. He is worth all the sacrifices, but it doesn't mean that it is easy.
On December 12th, Hudson turned 16 weeks old. He now weighs 15 pounds 7 ounces. Hudson still has the falling sensation ocasionally. He has been sucking his thumb. He leans forward when sitting up supported. He turned the page of a book while I was reading it to him. He has been sleeping terribly this past week, waking every 2-3 hours. Hudson still takes naps in my arms rather frequently and despite it being inconvenient at times, one of my absolute favorite things is when he looks up at me half asleep and smiles at me. It melts my heart every time.
Nic and I finished decorating the tree the weekend of December 8th and 9th. The finishing touch was Nic putting the star on top. We then spent the next few nights torturing Hudson with Christmas themed photos. We put him in a Santa suit, a reindeer outfit, his reindeer pajamas and an adorable red knitted one piece. I'm just so obsessed with my little boy, I can't seem to stop photographing him.
This is Hudson in my stocking. I have a photo like this taken when I was a baby. I'll have to see if my mom can find it and send it to me.
On December 8th, Hudson and I went to Christine's baby shower. I met Christine through Rachelle and we instantly hit it off. I am so excited for her to meet her sweet little boy Payton and begin the adventure of being a mommy. The shower was beautiful and everyone was going crazy over Hudson. I barely held him the entire shower because everyone was fighting over him. He was so good too. He was happy as can be going from person to person. I think he loved all the attention and enjoyed the little break.
On the way home from the shower I got a text from Rachelle. Apparently Chloe got in my diaper bag and stole Hudson's Sophie. Not surprisingly she loves it!! Haha! Now we all joke that Chloe has the most expensive chew toy ever!! :) Luckily, Hudson loves Chloe, so he forgave her and she even used her commercial money to get him a replacement.
On December 5th, Hudson turned 15 weeks old. He weighs 15 pounds 3 ounces. He rolled from his side to his stomach this week and he has discovered his feet! He is fascinated with them and grabs them every chance he gets. He has started grabbing toys while on his tummy. He loves to chew his blankets and he tries to eat his wash cloths in the bathtub. He holds his head up really well and looks around a ton.
On December 5th, my mom and I had dentist appointments. After our appointments we went to lunch at Crustacean with Dr. Ines. We all got the famous garlic noodles. They were delicious!!! We also grabbed cupcakes at Sprinkles. I tried a gluten free red velvet and it was actually pretty good. I must say, I always look forward to my dentist appointments!!
On December 4th, we went to La Chene for dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday. We dressed Hudson in such a cute outfit. He was really good throughout the meal. My mom took photos, but I haven't gotten them from her yet, so I will have to add them when I do.
On December 3rd, my mom, Judy, Debbie, Dave and I went to the Aerosmith concert. We ate at Katsuya before the concert and checked out the giant Christmas tree. Cheap Trick opened again, Johnny Depp made an appearance for two songs again, Izzy Stradlin (a guitarist from Guns N Roses) made an appearance for a song and Aersomith was great! It was pretty much the same concert we saw at the Bowl, but we were way closer, which made it a lot better. I do wish they had played more of their classics, but Steven Tyler is such an amazing performer, it is always fun to see him live. Oh, and we also saw Jesus. He was sitting right in front of us, but got moved up right near the stage and Steven Tyler even addressed him during the show. We also caught up with Val before the show. She was sitting one section over from us. :)
Over the weekend of December 1st and 2nd, we began decorating for Christmas. I helped Nic put the tree up, we started putting out some decorations, and Nic hung up my snowflakes. We also made a hand print ornament that my friend Amy got us as a shower present. It is almost impossible to get Hudson to cooperate when it comes to hand prints so I was a little nervous, but it actually turned out really good. Hopefully we will have it to treasure for years to come.
Sabrina came to visit that weekend as well. We got an adorable video of Hudson laughing!
We went to breakfast and the mall and I took these funny photos of Hudson with Beena, Hud sneezing, and then laughing.
On November 28th, Hudson turned 14 weeks old. He weighed 14 pounds 13 ounces. He is talking a lot, drooling a lot, and putting everything in his mouth. He is suddenly chewing things instead of sucking. He had his 1st pool experience this week. He was unsure at first, but ended up really liking it. He has also been taking his pacifier out of his mouth and putting it back in. He is smiling a ton and laughing more and more.
Here are some videos and photos we took of Hudson while we were in Maui. We got a video of him laughing.
We also got a video (not a great one) of his morning routine.Hudson always sleeps in a swaddle and every morning as soon as I open it his arms shoot up over his head and he does a huge stretch.We call it stretchy stretchy. Of course he didn't do it as good for the camera, but it is still funny to watch.
Look at this little blue eyed chubster. He looks a lot like Nic as a baby here.
One morning Hudson fell asleep on his changing table.
Hudson's feet were making a little heart, but by the time I got downstairs he had moved.
I was trying to get pictures of Hudson doing tummy time and he immediately rolled over. Since I hadn't gotten a short video of him rolling over yet, I thought maybe I could get one that I could post on facebook. Of course as soon as I video taped Hudson, he stayed on his tummy, talking away. He finally rolled over, but I knew I couldn't post a 4 minute video on facebook. So I kept trying. He then proceeded to spit up, drool, fuss, pretty much everything, but roll over. So I put it back to camera to take some photos and he immediately rolled over. A quick, efficient, happy roll that would have made a great video. haha. Such a little stinker. ;)