Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas! First time in many years that I have seen a white Christmas. Of course the snow melted very quickly, but that is okay with me. I prefer it that way actually! To start things off we attended the Christmas Eve service at Applegate Christian Fellowship. Matt was so excited to take us because the service is outside in the amphitheater. I knew it would be cold but still thought it would be fun. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and due to the rain the service had to be moved inside. The sanctuary was standing room only. So we almost didn't stay, but as we were walking out the door they started putting chairs in the foyer. It wasn't exactly what we had planned but it still was a beautiful service that encouraged us to remember the reason for the season. Ethan loved singing the songs and Hudson of course could not help but dance. Once we got home it was time to leave cookies for Santa. Ethan had never done this before so he was really excited. I was quite surprised at how easily the boys went to sleep. Christmas morning I think I was more anxious than anymore. I couldn't sleep! As a matter of fact I woke up at 3, then again at 4, and 5:30. The boys didn't even get up until 7! Santa had left Hudson a tricycle that converts to a rocker when in the house and Ethan a Stars Wars Video game and board game. Hudson immediately ran to the tricycle, he sat on it, started rocking and shouting Wee!!!!!! Ethan was beyond excited with his games. He started screaming I always wanted this. Then all of a sudden Ethan ran over to the plate of cookies to see if Santa ate them. He was very happy to see that they were gone. Then it was back to the presents. Hudson opened one present and then wanted to just start playing with it. Ethan on the other hand was ready to rip open the next gift. However, I should add that Ethan was very happy with each gift. When all the presents were opened Ethan looks at us and says "This is the best Christmas ever!" After a quiet morning at home we drove out to Applegate to have Christmas dinner with Matt's family. The meal was wonderful and the cousins had a blast comparing presents. It was totally chaos as the kids opened more presents. But that chaos brought joy to all our hearts. Yes, it truly was a very Merry Christmas.


Christmas Eve(Ethan's shirt says Dear Santa I was framed)


Leaving cookies for Santa


The boys


Hudson new tricycle

Wee! Wee! Wee!

Look at all those presents

The rubik's cube is baaaccckkk!

Ethan loves his POPCORN! Thanks Grandad!

Elmo Slippers

Elmo Legos

Stockings

Hudson is all about Elmo!

Jingle Baby (13 1/2 weeks)

Opening presents at Grandma and Grandpa's

I think the box was bigger than Ethan!

Ethan's Winter Mysteries

As I am sitting here watching the snow flurries fall, I couldn't help but chuckle as I was reminded of some of Ethan's comments. Until this year Ethan and Hudson had no idea what cold weather was like. They were used to the sun constantly shining. If they saw rain it was a treat. Since we moved to Oregon Ethan has come up with some funny questions/comments about the change in weather. You have to remember that this is a kid that spent the first four years of his life in the desert.

1.) The first time he saw the snow falling he ran to the window and said "Mommy is it Christmas?"

2.) If we are outside when it is foggy Ethan insists on holding his breath and sometimes coughs because he thinks it is smoke!

3.) One morning we were sitting in the car waiting for the windshield to defrost as it was covered in ice. So you can imagine how cold it was and I started talking. Ethan quickly says "Excuse me, something is wrong here, there is smoke coming out of your mouth." He was even more surprised when he noticed as he was talking the same thing happened.

4.) My personal favorite is the never ending question "Why isn't the sun waking up?" Ethan asks me this every time it is raining or foggy. He then tells me that he knows it is good morning time so he wants to know why he can't see the sun.

Of course I have tried to answer all of these questions. None of my answers seem to satisfy him. Kids just have a mind of their own.

First Trimester

My first trimester is nearing the end. Overall I can't complain. I only threw up once, took plenty of naps, and was to keep the nausea to a minimum. Today I had a nuchal translucency screening. This was strictly my choice to have the test done. They were taking measurements to determine if the baby was at risk for down syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities. In addition to the ultrasound they had to prick my finger to run some blood test. During the ultrasound nothing appeared out of the ordinary, bloodwork results will take about a week. The baby didn't want to cooperate this morning. The ultrasound tech had to work hard to get all the measurements. It was kind of cute that the baby kept waving his/her hands. I also had a 12 week check up with the doctor. This was the first time I actually got to talk with the doctor. It was a pretty boring appointment. They asked a bunch of questions then we tried to hear the heartbeat but we could only hear it for a brief second. Still a little too early. But I was not alarmed because I had the ultrasound in the morning to know everything was fine. They had to take more blood to check my thyroid levels to determine whether or not I need to continue taking the medication. Pretty basic stuff. Oh, I almost forgot not quite sure how this happened but I LOST a pound since last month. That would be my something different for this month because that never happened when I was pregnant with Ethan or Hudson. I am including a few ultrasound pictures in this post. Plus some new belly pictures. For scrapbooking purposes I take a picture in the same outfit every four weeks to track the growing belly. So you will get very tired of the orange tank top and black pants.

Profile


Nasal Bone


Hands

11 weeks

12 weeks

Winter Wonderland

The snow began falling on Saturday but then it was mainly slush. My Mom got an extra day on her vacation as her flight was not able to leave Medford. On Sunday the snow really began to fall. I didn't really notice since I was so involved with my football games. However, when we woke up Monday morning there was a blanket of snow on the ground. Of course this would be the morning that I have to be up bright and early for an ultrasound appointment. Thankfully it was just snow and not ice so the roads were not too bad. I have to admit it looks really pretty outside.

front of our house

Backyard

snow covered picnic table

more snow covered trees

around the cul-de-sac

on the way to the doctor's office

still on the way to the doctor's office

White-Orange Belt

Ethan tested for a new belt today. Not only did he have to learn the stances, kicks, and punches, they were also looking to see if the kids displayed respect and focus. I would have to say the focus part is Ethan's biggest struggle. A couple of times I saw a little hand go up and that familiar voice say "Excuse me". I would have to look away because I was scared to death to find out what random question Ethan was going to ask next. But when it came time for the current white yellow belts to actually test he focused. He completed all the necessary steps to move to the next level. Although I think he was more impressed with the certificate.


Front Kick


Practicing punches


Upper Block

removing the white-yellow belt

receiving the white-orange

Ethan was so proud

He could not stop talking about the certificate

The Karate Kid

First Christmas Play

Last night Mom and I attended Ethan's first Christmas Play. It was very cute. It was standing room only as all the parents, grandparents, and other relatives piled in to hear the Kindergartners and Pre-schoolers sing Christmas Carols. Earlier in the week Ethan had refused to practice the songs. When I questioned him about it he replied "It's boring." I tried really hard not to laugh. Then two days later we had a discussion about even though it was boring he needed to listen to the teacher and practice singing. He replied "Well, I just don't like that song WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS. Not sure how I kept a straight face because I have to admit that is one of my least favorite songs too. Thankfully he sang when it counted most at the actual performance. Like most boys he couldn't sit still and lost focus a couple of times. But he put is whole heart into the last song called the Reindeer Pokey. Here are a few pictures from the play.


Reindeer Pokey

You put your antlers in......

And you shake them all about.......

Do the reindeer pokey and turn yourself around, that's what it's all about.

uno,dos, tres Santas

one of those losing focus moments

singing Rudolph the Red nose reindeer

notice his motions are different from the rest of the class

still different than the class but at least he is singing!

Awwwwww!

It is a rare occasion that I can get both boys to stand still long enough to take a picture. I am shocked that Hudson let Ethan put his arm around him. You know how that brotherly love can be. Ha ha! So here they are sporting their Eskimo Joe's sweatshirts in front of our Christmas tree. For those of you that don't know Eskimo Joe's is popular hangout/restaurant near the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater, OK.

Three Kings Day

This is normally celebrated on Jan 6th. But we chose to do it early since Mom was here visiting this week. In Puerto Rico, it is traditional that children collect hay, straw or grass and place it in boxes or containers under their beds. This gesture is a gift of food for the Kings' camels while they rest in between deliveries. If a child is good for the past year he will receive candies, sweets or toys. If the child was misbehaved or naughty he would instead find a lump of dirt or charcoal in his box. Ethan was very interested in the story but he thought it was really sad that Santa did not go to the island. The boys had fun filling up the boxes with leaves(we didn't have any grass but had MORE than enough leaves). The Three Kings left presents and Ethan thought that was really cool.


Hudson kept dumping out the leaves and we would have to start over


Looking for the perfect leaves....

Ethan was so proud that he filled up his box.

of course they love to play in the box

I have no idea what Hudson is doing

that would be a Kung Fu Panda movie

Hudson will not put down the Backyardign movie