We have had such a wonderful couple of days with our family! Christmas has been so much fun just because we’ve loved watching Hudson’s amazement at everything. He was fun last Christmas, but this time he has just responded so vocally to everything and has been crazy excited about all of the new traditions and presents. Hudson is absolutely in love with his grandparents and loves to go around the room and name them all: KK, Poppie, RC, PC, and Nana. And then he names Mommy, Daddy, Boudreaux and Fiona.
He has been spoiled rotten the past few days, but I just love that there are so many people in his life that love him so much!
My parents drove in from Dallas and we all attended the beautiful Christmas Eve service at our church. There was some beautiful music and our pastor said something that night that I’ll never ever forget. First he reminded us of how much gratitude we owe Jesus, but then he said, “Jesus is not just the reason for the season. He is the reason for everything.” And that deserved a big old, “Amen!”
After church, we came home and had dinner with my parents, TC’s parents, and TC’s grandmother. It has become a tradition for us to eat gumbo on Christmas Eve and I just love that tradition!
After dinner, TC’s family went home and we exchanged gifts with my parents. We kept it simple this year, but we all spoiled Hudson! He wasn’t very interested in opening his presents- he just wanted to carry the wrapped presents around and arrange them.
His favorite gift from my mom was a Slinky! He kept saying “whoa” at the Slinky. The best toys are always the cheapest toys, right?
We video chatted with my brother, who is in Vail and couldn’t get off for Christmas, and loved watching him open the gifts we sent him and we all got a good laugh at Hudson. (I have a video to share of our video chat with him.) TC gave Hudson a little golf set and we gave him this great book called Tickle Monster that comes with adorable gloves for you, the Tickle Monster, to wear when reading the book!
Hudson went to bed so Santa could visit our house. He did leave Santa a yummy plate of fudge and Santa rewarded Hudson for being a very good boy! He got a giant Elmo, a Little People farm, a small Thomas the Train set, an Elmo potty, a little piano, and lots of books. His big gift this year was an outdoor playset that Santa (and Hudson’s grandparents) got for him! My parents also gave him an adorable little table and chairs set that he is obsessed with.
Santa went a little overboard this year, but it was just so much fun! I guess because Hudson only got one gift last year and we didn’t do birthday gifts, it was hard to limit ourselves this Christmas.
On Christmas morning, TC’s parents and grandmother came back over so everybody could see Hudson’s reaction to what Santa brought him. And Hudson’s reaction did not disappoint. He was so excited and kept saying “whoa!” He loved his giant Elmo and his piano. And he hasn’t stopped playing with his little farm. He wasn’t able to go outside and use the playset yet because it has been too cold, but I know he’s going to love it! And so will his little brother, who already has his own swing!
Hudson also got some new Elmo slippers, and as you can see, he wasn’t so sure about those slippers at first! But he wore them practically all day yesterday and loved them! Can you tell we have a big time Elmo obsession at our house? He goes around the house asking for Elmo all the time.
We all got dressed and went over to TC’s parents’ house to spend the day. They got Hudson some great gifts (and were very generous towards us, too!) and we had a great day hanging out together over there. I just love that our families have blended for Christmas every year since we got married. It makes the decision-making for “where do we spend Christmas” really easy and I love that everyone gets along so well.
TC’s mom made a delicious meal for us that we ate around lunch time, and then we all just hung out and watched movies. The boys threw the football around in the backyard and threw the ball for Boudreaux. Then it was time to go home, but before we left, we lit the candles on a very special birthday cake for Jesus and sang “happy birthday.” I’m really excited about this tradition to help Hudson remember that it’s about Jesus’s birthday. (My mom and Hudson got in a little bit of trouble with the red icing- and Hudson LOVED it!)
It has been snowing everywhere in the Southeast, but Columbia didn’t get any snow on Christmas Day. My mom and TC had a bet (for $5) about the snow. TC didn’t think it would snow and my mom insisted that it was going to. We woke up this morning to get ready for church and the ground was covered and the snow was coming down hard! TC, my dad, and I went on to church while KK (my mom) stayed home with Hudson so he didn’t have to get out since he’s still on antibiotics. The view in Columbia has been gorgeous today!
Did you get snow at your house? Did you have a great weekend?
I just want to thank all of you for the well-wishes and for being such great friends this year. This blog and the community has made such an impact on my life and my favorite part is the relationships I’ve made. Thanks for letting me share my life with you!
