We had a good first Halloween. We didn’t do much. The Gamecocks played Tennessee so we went to watch the game with a bunch of friends and brought Hudson (aka Charlie Brown) with us.

Have I mentioned that we have an earlier bedtime? When he was a newborn, his bedtime was 11:00 p.m. Then it switched to 9 p.m. and he’d sleep 10 hours. Now his bedtime (per his request, obviously) is 7:30 and he sleeps 12 hours. Praise Jesus! We love the 12 hours.

But a 7:30 bedtime has made it harder for us to be out of the house with him past 7:00. This just started last week. He was so fussy and we couldn’t really figure out why. I fed him his 7:15 bottle and he dozed off, so I just put him in his crib and turned off the lights, thinking that he’d wake up at midnight and need to be fed. Wrong. He woke up at 7:00 a.m. and was ready to start the day!

So at the Halloween party on Saturday night, Hudson wasn’t very happy. We got there right at 7:00 p.m. (this was before we realized that his new permanent bedtime was 7:30) and he immediately lost his head. I’ve never seen him so upset. It was loud in the house, but he just could not calm down. So Todd drove our little Charlie Brown around their neighborhood and then he was fine for a few minutes. When he got out of the car he was upset again. We decided to call it a night and just go home. So he slept the whole way home and then slept until 8:15 the next morning. This sweet boy is finally ready to get a full 12 hours! And we’re not about to object!

Man, he sure is keeping us on our toes, though. His routine changes a little bit every couple of months. He knows what he wants better than we do, so we’re going with it!

He is quite the eater. He gobbles up his race cereal every morning, eats a vegetable (peas, green beans, squash, or carrots) every night, and manages to consume 36 ounces of formula every day. No wonder he’s so tired every night!

A couple of Halloween pictures. (The Snoopy stuffed animal was Todd’s when he was little.)

We had to retire the smocked Halloween bubble for this baby, but we can still use the smocked pumpkin long johns for at least another month– or until he grows out of them! The sweet ladies in the church nursery went gaga for this little outfit– from Hip Hip Hooray in Dallas.

Just checking out his name on his pillow. Probably learning how to spell it. He is a genius.

We also broke out the Thanksgiving pajamas last night for the first time. And I noticed what it says on the bottom of the feet! So cute.

My Little Turkey and I want to wish you a happy start to the holiday season! It’s such a wonderful time of year!

I am hoping that I can get my act together to write more than once this week, but I can’t make any promises.

I woke up last Thursday and my sinuses were killing me. You know that feeling when your face hurts (yeah, I know the joke “your face hurts me, too!”) and you can’t breathe? My throat was hurting and I was completely congested. We left for Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Friday afternoon and had a fantastic weekend watching the Gamecocks play.

I decided that the University of Alabama can be on Hudson’s short list of potential future colleges. It was quite cold and we lost, but I managed to do okay despite having a pretty bad cold.

My mom flew into Birmingham to hang out with one of her good friends and they kept Hudson while Todd and I went to the football game. We were also able to tailgate with my cousin and her in-laws. Two of Todd’s law school friends and their wives live in Birmingham, so we had a great time hanging out with them and catching up. It was a fantastic weekend.

I have started to feel a little bit better, but last night when we got home, Hudson was a little fussy. Then I’m pretty sure I was awake every hour last night rocking him back to sleep. He never needs to eat in the middle of the night anymore, but I gave him two bottles last night because he was starving and so distraught. Poor baby.

I was exhausted this morning and when Hudson finally woke up I noticed that his little eyes were all watery and he just looked pitiful. I called the doctor’s office and spoke to the nurse. She got us in to see his doctor. I was so worried that he had an ear infection– or worse!– but he just has a cold. And of course I’m thinking I gave it to him. Where else would he have gotten it? Here comes the guilt.

So we’re watching him for the next few days. If he has two more sleepless nights we have to go back to the doctor to recheck his ears. Hopefully this little cold will just vanish and he’ll be back to his happy self soon.

He did let out a giant giggle tonight while I was dressing him for bed. He’s trying to be happy despite not being able to breathe.

Look at the tired boy. And the sweet little hat I made him wear. His Daddy was NOT happy about the hat.

Oh– and doesn’t it look like a cat lives with us? His sharp little finger nails are getting him every night now that we’ve stopped swaddling. Gotta get better about making sure the edges aren’t sharp when I cut them.