Christmas Eve 2008

We had such a fun Christmas Eve! It didn't go exactly as planned, but everything turned out fine. We were supposed to go to my parents for Christmas Eve, but my mom woke up feeling really bad that morning. We definitely did not want her to miss Christmas Day, so we decided to stay at our house and have my dad come to us. We were sad that my mom couldn't be there, but really happy when she felt better the next day and was able to celebrate with us!

We had also planned to go to candlelight service at church, but that got scrapped as well. So, we were all dressed up with no place to go! I bought this cute Christmas outfit for Hudson last Christmas and I was bound and determined that he was going to wear it even if we just stayed home! :)

The Fletcher Family before we fondued:
My dad, Hudson and I:
I wanted to start the tradition of having Hudson open one gift on Christmas Eve and have that be a pair of Christmas pj's:

The perfect ending to a wonderful Christmas Eve for Huddy!

Someone is ready for Christmas....

Two....Two...Two Ear Infections in One!

That's right folks....DOUBLE ear infection. Awesome. I guess I should be happy that we made it ten months without anything more than a runny nose, but I feel so bad for little Huddy. Truthfully, if he didn't have a wretched cough we would have never known that he was sick. He has been playing, smiling, clapping, etc. The cough and the zero interest in eating solids told us something wasn't exactly right though. The good news is that the medicine he got today should have him feeling 100% just in time for Christmas Eve, so yea for Christmas miracles (aka as modern medicine in this case)!

December Playdate!

We had a fun playdate at Mallie's the other day! No couch picture this month, the kids are way too interested in moving around right now! Thanks for having us, Mallie!

Ten month outtakes

So squirmy it took TWO days and a few dozen pictures to make it happen:

Ten Months!!!

Dear Huddy,
You are ten months old today!!! And you are on the move - hence the reason for this month's picture being the way it is, we had to work with what we could. You are EVERYWHERE and it is so fun! You have discovered that there is not a magical barrier and you can make your way out of the living room. You love to go into the kitchen and look out the french doors to the backyard. The office is another favorite place of yours - you like to crawl under the desk and check out all of the cords much to my dismay. You also love to play with your daddy's shoe trees which live in the office, at least you did until they pinched you the other day and now I think you may be over it. You crawl a million miles an hour all over the house and you are super fast! In recent weeks you have learned to pull up and cruise around the furniture. We call you a frustrated walker because you would love to be walking (actually running) everywhere and soon you will be doing just that. You are still such a sweet, happy baby. You truly are personality plus - you love to "talk" to people, wave and smile at them wherever we are. You also LOVE other kids and get so excited to be around them. You enjoy watching Little Einstein's which cracks me up...no Baby Einstein for you, kiddo. You are eating a TON and eating whatever we eat. It is fun for us to introduce you to new foods and watch you enjoy them. We are looking forward to your first Christmas and experiencing the joy of it with you. We love you so much!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Fletcher Family Extravaganza!

It isn't really an extravaganza, but I like to call it that. :) Several years ago (five to be exact) Trent and I started a tradition (I will pause here and wait for the shock to wear off that we have a tradition) of going to Dallas, eating dinner at one of our favorite places - Campisi's, picking up a holiday treat at Starbucks, then driving around the beautiful neighborhoods nearby to look at lights. Tonight was the night for Fletcher Family Extravaganza. We were so excited to have Huddy with us this year even if he didn't actually stay awake long enough to see any of the lights. Here are some pics from the night (the second one cracks me up because Hudson was WAY more interested in the table next to us than he was us):

P.S. Ten month post to come...

Santa Success!

Honesty...

My sweet friend from college, Meg, nominated me for this award. I have enjoyed reading others honest facts the past few days and I appreciate the opportunity to share some about myself. Thanks Meg!! (Sidenote - if you haven't read Meg's blog, you should - trust me it is great).

Ten honest facts about myself:

1. I am a worrier. I don't think that comes as a shock to anyone who knows me well. I worry a lot. About everything. The health of my family, the price of gas, what I am going to wear tomorrow, etc. I have tried over and over again to give this up to God, but it has got a tight hold on me.

2. I am scared to get pregnant again. I will someday and I look forward to more children because I adore Hudson so much. But, my pregnancy was so hard that I fear going through it again. I feel like I was robbed of the joy that goes along with pregnancy - of course my joy is ten thousand fold now that Huddy is with us, but I really hated being pregnant.

3. Trent and I are still searching for a church that we love. I honestly thought by now we would have found one and plugged in. It has been a really hard process and having a nine month old doesn't make the process easier. We have a number of churches we want to try, but for some reason Hudson has decided Sunday mornings is a great day to take a TWO AND A HALF HOUR NAP the past 3 Sundays. Seriously - how do people with infants do it? Wake up the kid? Skip the nap? I need some gudiance here.

4. I overthink everything. I worry that I said something I shouldn't have, hurt a person's feelings, etc. I do this a lot.

5. I am way too concerned with my weight. (See #1). I would like to avoid heart disease, diabetes, etc (like anyone wants those things) and so I tend to push myself too hard to be a certain number on the scale. Then there is the whole vanity issue...

6. I love TV. A lot. And I have it on with Hudson around and I have no issues with that at all.

7. Trent loves to cook and I love to let him. I actually really enjoy cooking, but I am also totally fine with him doing it.

8. I cry at least once a week. Happy tears, sad tears, sensitive tears - all kinds of tears.

9. I really don't miss working at all. I loved my last job very much, but I love being home with Hudson more.

10. I am so so so happy that Trent changed jobs. It is going to be so nice seeing him between the months of January and May.

Now it is my turn to nominate people for this award. I nominate: Holly, Jenny, Mallie, Liz and Jaime.

I've been tagged....

8 tv shows I watch

Only 8. Really? Okay...
Grey's Anatomy
The Bachelor
How I Met Your Mother
Brothers and Sisters
The Amazing Race
The Hills (don't judge)
Ugly Betty
Lost

8 Favorite Restaurants

Again - only 8, really?

Joe T's
Bob's
Chuy's
Lombardi's Pizza (NYC)
Ruby Foo's (NYC)
Kincaid's
Sambuca
St. Emilion's

8 things that happened today
Hudson slept until 8 - beautiful!
Hudson took a 2 hour nap - beautiful! (Sleep ranks highly in this house)
I got a variety of mundane things done around the house during above mentioned nap
We went to playgroup
I slid on some ice on a bridge - good times
We took a super quick trip to Target
We took our traditional tour of Interlochen lights with Holly and Doug
I am now watching a super classy show called Momma's Boys

8 things I look forward to:
Hudson's first Christmas
Christmas parties this weekend
Snow in Omaha (I hope)
NO BUSY SEASON THIS YEAR!!!! So because of that January!
Moving once we find a house we like
Hudson's first birthday (bittersweet)
Vacation next year
Taking Hudson to see Santa

8 things I wish for:
World peace (seriously)
For Hudson to grow up to be happy
That the Bachelor would run for ever
That my next pregnancy would be a little bit smoother
That I could become a photographer
That I could whatever I wanted and not have to worry about it
I am out of public wishes...

8 people I tag:
Jenny
Mallie
Ruth
Amy
Katie
Jaime
Melissa
and Rachel because peer pressure is good....

I promise...

I am not torturing Hudson like he makes it look in this picture, but I love this picture. You may think that is crazy, but I love it for two reasons. 1.) I like his little jacket and 2.) I think he is even cute when he cries. :) I think I had taken his paci out in an attempt to get a smiling picture - clearly that went over well...