One of those mornings

This morning is one of those mornings. It's one of those mornings where Scott wakes me up before he leaves for work and I had just gotten settled into the best sleep all night. One of those mornings that follow a night where Hudson cried all night long. A night where at one point Hudson slept for 17 minutes before waking up again, and then slept another 20 minutes. It was a night where he gets mad because he's not getting much milk, but that's because he had been nursing hourly the whole night. This morning follows a night that followed a day where Hudson tried to poo all day pretty much unsuccessfully due to his body trying to handle the increasing amount of food he has been demanding from me. This is a morning where I can hear Hudson sleep hiccuping on the monitor because of all the crying he did last night (in our bed...beside me...in my arms...just had to add that). It's a morning where the minute I come downstairs Libby says she wants to nurse, which she does every morning, but this morning follows a night where I nursed all night long. And this morning has me nearly falling sleep nursing said little girl while her baby brother sleeps soundly all morning to make up for the sleep he didn't get all night. Sigh.

Do you have mornings like this?

A Christmas tradition

Every year since the first Thanksgiving and Christmas since Scott and I got married, on the weekend after Thanksgiving we decorate the house for Christmas and take a family picture to put on our Christmas cards. This year things were a little off with Scott having to work different hours, and I just got around to taking our picture a few nights ago. It actually went a lot better than I imagined it would go with two kids under 3, especially with a 12 second timer! If I didn't say anything and left the eye directing to Scott, they both looked at the camera perfectly. If I even breathed loud, Hudson looked around at me, and Libby started moving. I love her big girl forced smile! =)

Happy memory building!

Edited to add: Scott and I are on our knees in the picture. Our tree is not nearly that tall, and I am not that similar in height to Scott=)

Violet, you're turning violet, Violet!

This is what my kids looked like yesterday, and this was after most of it wore off during the night and morning. They both had thrush, and I had gotten it too on my, uh, "nursies." It was getting really bad on Hudson's bottom, and mine was so bad that I had two cracks, so I said "enough's enough." The natural remedies that I was trying weren't getting the job done, so I turned to Gentian Violet. It took care of the thrush in their mouths and on me, but I and Hudson's bottom are still healing. Gentian Violet is the "big gun" when it comes to thrush care, and I hated that I had to turn to it, but it was really bad. As you can tell, it stains everything a pretty violet color. It stains mouths, skin, clothes, blankies, you name it.

And for your daily smile, I just had to share this picture of Libby after she finished drinking her yogurt out of a cup.
Have a wonderful day!

Hey, I wanna come out, too!

Hudson had a great time the other day watching Libby play out in the snow. One day soon he'll be out there with her.

Random goodness

Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks. I took some pictures for my in-laws of them with Libby and Hudson and my nephews for my in-laws to use for their Christmas card this year. It was a beautiful day, so I took advantage of the great lighting. Hudson's face had varying degrees of this same expression in all of the pictures.

Hudson enjoyed checking out his very first Christmas tree, though he didn't enjoy the million pictures that Mama had to take to get a good one (hence the tear in his eye)

We got some snow the last few days, and Libby just had to go out and help Daddy shovel the walkway. Her cheeks were red as can be when she came back in. Oh, the biting cold goodness of winter.

And this was Libby's creation the other day when I was nursing Hudson to sleep. I heard her talking about it being her (imaginary) friend Dah Dah's birthday, and when I went in to check on her she had made this birthday cake.
Have a great week, friends!

The fingers are a'flying

And now we eagerly count the days until Christmas, the season that celebrates the birth of our Savior. We are trying even more this season to not commercialize Christmas. We are trying to get the big things that the babes need/want (like a car seat for Hudson, a bike for Libby) from grandparents, and to handmake the things that they will be getting from us. I am making a whole slew of knitted farm animals for Libby and I am making play silks for her. I will be dying one green for grass with a blue "pond" for ducks and a brown "mudpit" for piggies. Then I'm going to go out to my parents house and gather small twigs and sticks to make a fence to house all of the animals. I am finishing up my first horse (I had to pause that project to hurry and retry his mittens so he could wear them when we go out hiking today, they are turning out better this time). I'll share pics when it's finished. There are also plans for making felt balls, and some teddy bears and rabbits for Hudson and friends. I've also got something special up my sleve for my knitting buddies, but I can't share that here, cause they read this=) I've got to get to work! If I don't post as frequently these next few weeks, it's because I am trying (and thoroughly enjoying) making these gifts for the people that I love. Enjoy this season, friends, for it truly is magical.

The joys of Thanksgiving

Here are some shots from our Thanksgiving. It's all about family at Granny's (my Grandma, Libby's Granny) house, and the dolls at Granny's house.

A quiet moment with a cup of coffee and a glance out the window.

A moment of pure baby-loving bliss for Libby, as she cuddles her baby cousin.

And a little Guitar Hero.