Hudson's new look!

A few weeks ago we went for Hudson's routine eye check-up. We go every six months to a specialist in Memphis for Hudson's current eye condition. We have known since he was six months old that he was slightly far-sided. The doctor said it may or may not be a problem in the future. Since then we had noticed that his eyes were starting to cross a little. We were expecting the doctor to do something about it this time. I was a little surprised when he recommended glasses. I will admit...I was NOT prepared for that!! He wants us to try these first and see if they can correct the crossing. Surgery is an option but he said that Hudson would be a VERY difficult surgery because of his other eye condition. So we are praying the glasses work and correct the problem without having to have the surgery. We got his glasses about a week later and he was doing great with them....until they broke! We had only had them a week! Well, we got them back yesterday and he is starting to get used to them again. Hopefully, we will go a little longer without breaking them!

Snowed in!

The weather channel got it right this time! They had been saying a winter storm was heading this way and that is what we got. Thankfully, it was mostly snow with a little sleet in between. We spent most of the day in yesterday and then headed to Nana's so Hudson could play in the snow. He liked it but he just couldn't figure out how to get around in it. He would just fall down and then just crawl around in it! We thought it was pretty cute!

All bundled up!

Hudson crawling in the snow

Me and my snow baby!

Where I left off....

So back to Christmas! We had a wonderful Christmas. We spent Christmas with my family in Henderson and New Years in St. Louis. We enjoyed getting to spend lots of time with family and friends.

Hudson reading his Christmas book.

Family pic

GiGi with eleven of her thirteen great-grandbabies. Number fourteen will arrive sometime this summer:)

Me and sweet Keenan!

Cousins and matching PJ's from Nana

Hudson and his new rocking horse

More presents

More presents at Gran and Grandaddy's in St. Louis.

Christmas Surprise!!

A few weeks ago we all got a nice little surprise. It was a Friday afternoon. Todd was already out of school for Christmas break. We had made dinner/movie plans with Zack, Cherith and EK and were looking forward to a fun night with them. I had talked to Zack earlier that morning to make definate plans and I could tell he was in the car. I was asking him what they were doing and he said they were about an hour or so away and they finishing up some stuff for Christmas. Then he proceeded to tell me they were on their way home from Nashville. I thought all this was strange. I thought about why they would be in Nasville and even mentioned to Todd how strange it was. Well, an hour or so later I get a text from my other brother Chad asking if we want to go to dinner later that night. Side note: My brother Chad lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado!! We had not planned on seeing him anytime soon. SO we were very excited that he had made a surprise trip to Tennessee. We enjoyed dinner that night with him and lots of family time that weekend. He enjoyed getting to see Hudson and Ella Kate and they loved spending some time with their Uncle Chad. We were very sad to see him go on Sunday but we are looking forward to him coming again in April. We told him next time he has to bring Brandy with him though:)

Uncle Chad is so much fun!!

Saying "Bye-bye"

Kisses from Ella Kate

Thanksgiving

I am just now getting around to the Thanksgiving post. Some of you may remember my Thanksgiving post from last year. This year we had planned on spending Thanksgiving with Todd's family in St. Louis. We were planning on leaving Monday of that week and staying through Sunday. Byron, Jennifer and Jackson were flying in from Dallas on Wednesday. On Monday, just before we had planned on leaving, we got the unexpected news that Todd's grandmother Austin had passed away in Montgomery, Alabama. We were all heartbroken. She had been in assisted living there for almost a year. We decided to go on to St. Louis and would just come back early on Friday since funeral arrangements had been planned for Saturday in Florence, Alabama. We had a nice visit in St. Louis with family and friends and also enjoyed getting to see all of the Austin family in Florence. We wish the circumstances could have been different but we were thankful we got to spend some time with them and they all enjoyed talking about all the good times they had with their Grandma. They gave her a wonderful memorial service. I know that her legacy lives on through each of her grandchildren and now her five great-grandchildren.

It's Mickey!

Remember last year how I was certain that Hudson was going to be a puppy dog for Halloween?! He ended up being a sweet baby cow! Then, I was determined to make sure that I got him that puppy dog costume this year. Well, that didn't happen!! He was something even better than a puppy dog. He was Mickey Mouse!! My sister-in-law was in Memphis shopping a while back and called and told me all about the Mickey and Minnie costumes at the Disney Store. She was getting EK the Minnie one and thought that Hudson needed the Mickey one. I thought he needed it too!! So that was when I forgot all about the hunt for the puppy dog costume and was proud of my sweet, little Mickey Mouse!

Us with our sweet Mickey Boy at Trick-or Trunk.

Mommy and Mickey

Todd with Minne and Mickey!

Thank you Starla!

The week of Hudson's first birthday I was also going to get his one year pictures made. I was so excited! I bought a precious new outfit and we even got his first haircut. I was very exciting about these VERY important pictures! I was not so excited when I got the proofs. They were horrible!!! I was literally in tears when I saw them. The photographer only spent about thirty minutes with us and didn't seem to care how important these pictures were to me. I learned my lesson about trying a new photographer. A day or two later, I got an email from our wedding photographer about doing some family pics for Christmas cards. It was a sign and a slap in the face for trying someone new. I said YES!! I was so glad she was able to fit us into her schedule. She made this mommy very happy! She spent over two hours with us and was very patient with us and Hudson. I am so thankful for her and her amazing talent. She is sure to {capture} that perfect shot!

Look at that sweet red headed boy!

We were very blessed to use my Aunt and Uncle's farm for our pictures. They are very special to us and it meant a lot for us to be able to use their home for these special pictures. Starla also took our engagement pictures here. It was neat getting to take new pictures here now that our family has grown.

Hudson loves to clap! This was one of the only ways we could get a good picture of him...without the paci! He was pretty happy considering the next day was when I took him to the doctor with the flu!

Thanks again Starla for sharing your amazing talent with us! We are so thankful to have you to take all our special pictures.