Tender Tennessee Christmas

This past weekend, we all loaded up and headed south to TN to celebrate Christmas a few weeks early with my family.

I always have the hardest time knowing how to pack for Hudson.  I pride myself on being a light packer and usually pack less than James - haha.  But for Hudson, I overpack out of fear that he'll need something and we won't have it so I pretty much bring everything.  Sweet baby, he had the biggest suitcase of all of us! 

It takes 3 hours to get to where my family lives in TN.  I truly expected Hudson to sleep the entire time and he probably would have had he kept to his somewhat normal schedule of napping.  But the little stinker went down for a nap at 11:30 (we were leaving at 2) so he was wide awake for the first two hours.  He just babbled, looked out the window, waved his arms and legs; you know being generally adorable.

Then about 2 hours in, he got sleepy.  Look at that sweet yawn.

 

By the time we hit Bowling Green, which is about a hour away from our destination, he was out.

Hudson has traveled before, particularly when James was preaching in Northern Kentucky this past summer/fall.  However this was his first "more than one night" trip so I was eager to learn how he'd do.  As far as riding in the car, he was amazing.  But he struggled with sleeping away from home. 

We have a hand-me-down pack-n-play which he's slept in before, but now that he's older he is too aware of his surroundings.  As I was trying to get him to bed Friday night at my sister's house he kept looking around his cousin Andrew's room, where we were sleeping.  He had this concerned "where am I?" look on his face.  At home in his crib, silly boy likes to hold onto the bumper as he sleeps.  Who knows why?  I hadn't thought about this much but as soon as I laid his sleepy head in the pack-n-play he started reaching for the bumper.  And you guessed it - the tears started rolling.  After several attempts, he ended up sleeping in the bed with us which means he got about 3 hours less sleep and this mama got hardly any because I simply can't sleep soundly with him in the bed with us.  Same thing happened at my parents' house Saturday night - sigh.  Sweet baby's old enough to recognize that he wasn't at home, but too young to understand that it was safe to sleep.  But in spite of his little sleep, he had a blast visiting with friends and family.

We started the festivities at Marvin & Kay's home.

Looking at Mama being all picture crazy.

First present EVER!

He was a natural :)

"Give that back, Daddy!"

The real "gift."

A very cool ball - it sings, spins on its own, etc...

Daddy thought it was pretty cool.

Kay helping Hudson open his second gift EVER!



Flashback to the coffee-drinking during finals seminary days
using Marvin's cool SBTS mug.

 

Sunday we had Christmas with my family.

Cousin Lisa and Hudson.

Grandaddy & his baby boy!

Grandaddy & his big boy!

Aunt Sharon and Hudson.



Uncle Chuck and Hudson

Hudson's great-great aunts: Mildred & Elma.

Gift Time!

All in all it was a wonderful trip.  Hudson brings us a ton of joy and I can't explain what a blessing it is to see the joy he brings others in our family.  To see my great aunts (Hudson's great-great aunts) love on him is so heartwarming.  We are so blessed!