Elmo

Hudson received an Elmo last weekend from his cousins. Elmo has gone almost everywhere with him this week. And the times Elmo is not with us, Hudson is often talking about him. While we were out on a walk today, Hudson said "home Elmo hug." So I ask, Hudson did you want to go home and give Elmo a hug? "YES!" he exclaimed with excitement in his eyes and voice.

After bathtime, Elmo needed a diaper too.

Jacksonville

Last weekend, we traveled to Amelia Island, FL where we did a lot of celebrating! We celebrated time with family, a great 2009, starting a new year, being able to walk and run around, and being at the beach. Here are lots of pictures showing some of the highlights...

Hudson did a great job traveling, what a trooper!

Getting ready for the Gator Bowl!

Aunt Stephanie & Mark

Grandma Carol & Brandon

Grandpa, Erica & her twins

We all rented bikes to ride around the island we were staying on.

We rode to a park and had a great time playing! Here's Mark climbing to a tree fort.

Aaron in the tree fort.

Hudson playing in the sand.

Aaron- the WV tattoo in the middle of his forehead is characteristic of him. :)

Mapping out where to ride to next

The oldest & youngest cousin (but not for much longer!)

Sisters

The view from Trent & I's balcony...it was beautiful staying there. Erica & I decided to go running and had matching outfits on, so we had to get a picture. :)

We stayed longer on the last day. It was our 6th anniversary and we enjoyed  spending time at the beach (even though it was the coldest day & cloudy!).

Happy 6 years together Trent! I love you more with each passing day!!

Hudson in the Jacksonville airport. We carried him around like this while he slept for a couple hours. He was really tuckered out after such a fun weekend!

Trent's parents stayed at the same resort as my family for the first couple days, which was a very special treat for us!! We got to hang-out with them some and Hudson loved seeing Nana & Papaw. Unfortunately, we never had the camera when we saw them.

Surprised!

Had the ultrasound tech write the gender in an envelope, then Trent and I went out to lunch and opened the envelope there...

I was 99.9% sure (at least I thought I was) that we were having another boy. I didn't even think we needed to open the envelope. I thought boy before the ultrasound, but then thought I could tell on the ultrasound that it was clearly a boy. As my sister said, good thing I'm not reading ultrasounds for a living. 

I decided to change the blog to pinkish for a little while in honor of this newest little one. :)

Stretching

A couple days ago after Trent, Hudson & I got home from running (Hudson likes to look at books or scenery in his stroller while we jog), Trent & I were both stretching. We looked up to realize that Hudson was trying to imitate our every move. I grabbed the camera to see if I could get a little on video. He repeats lots of words we say and mimics our actions. It makes me all the more aware of the huge amount of influence we have in his life.

Merry Christmas!

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord..."

Merry Christmas from snowy Texas! That's right, it was 71 degrees here on Wednesday, started snowing Christmas Eve and we had a white Christmas. The 3 inches recorded Thursday at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was the first measurable Christmas Eve snowfall since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1898. According to the Weather Service, it has snowed on Christmas Eve only a couple of times, but not enough to officially measure.

We enjoyed a warm and cozy fire on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning! This picture is from first thing Christmas morning.

On a Christmas walk by our house today

***I posted a copy of our Christmas card at the top of the blog, but we actually just got 12 free cards from Shutterfly. They went to parents, grandparents and mostly older family family members. We loved getting Christmas cards (thanks to everyone who sent one!) and will maybe pick back up sending them out next year. 

Duck Drama

While at the lake a couple days ago, a little girl shared some bread with Hudson to feed the ducks. Hudson was ecstatic about it, so we decided to take a little video, but then things went south quickly. 

Some Texas Sun

While most of our family and friends are enjoying a thick blanket of snow, we are taking in some beautiful days in the 60s. We are not missing the snow and instead enjoying running around outside and playing without getting really bundled up. For us, all those sweltering days were worth it.

We spent the afternoon at White Rock Lake yesterday. There was a sailboat race while we were there.

watching some ducks

Playing in his church clothes