It's playoff time!

Hudson is truly part of Steeler Nation! Check him out watching the game intently with his Dad and clapping....

....or cheering with joy over the Steelers victory!!

Much to Daddy's dismay....

...Hudson shares his mother's love for jewelry. Thanks to Megan, I have more jewelry than I can house. My wonderful husband bought me a big jewelry armoire (although I need about 2 more to fit everything that I have!). I was going through all of my old stuff, trying to figure out what to get rid of and how to organize what I was keeping. Hudson decided that he wanted in on the action.

Delicious and easy!

Any meal that can be described by those two adjectives sounds good to me!
I made this the other night and thought it was fantastic! I cut the amount of chipotle and adobo sauce drastically (I'm not a fan of spicy food).

Sloppy Chipotle Joes

I actually thought the leftovers were even better than the first day!

Christmas in review

Christmas was a bit different for us this year. It was the first time we spent it without our families. Both sets of our parents couldn't make it to Maryland, so we spent the day with just the three of us. I was really sad about it, but we ended up having a great holiday.

On Christmas Eve, we watched Christmas movies and had a nice dinner at home, while we waited for "Santa".

Hudson on Christmas Eve looking like an angel...and a devil!

On Christmas morning, we opened presents, went to church, and came home to make a champagne brunch for 2 (we're trying to limit Hudson's champagne intake until he's at least 3).


We just hung around the house and played with all of the new toys (although Hudson seemed more interested in the OLD toys!).

Hudson started a new trick of bending over and waiting for someone to flip him forward in a somersault.

That evening we had brisket (yes, a Jewish meal on Christmas - Ryan won't let me forget that one!), sweet potatoes, and broccolini.

The following Saturday we drove up to New Jersey to see Ryan's family where Hudson added more toys to his never-ending collection. He also became quite obsessed with his Pop Pop's asparagus cooker.




We all drove up to Connecticut to visit Ryan's aunt, uncle, and cousins for New Year's Eve. There, Hudson made friends with Bear, the dog.


















He also became a fan of the pool table. Not playing pool, per se, but rather standing on the table and kicking the balls.

And learned how to order a drink at the bar.

CHEERS!

Please forgive me!

Okay, so I've been reprimanded by many readers for my lack of posts lately. The holidays combined with Hudson's refusal to sleep, holiday travel, that pesky dissertation, and (currently) new TV shows have kept me from my computer at night. Alright, so you don't want to hear my excuses? I know a way to make you forgive me....

There! How can you be upset after seeing that adorable smile?!?

So time to catch everyone up...

Child abuse?

My good friend Jodi saw these pictures and called them child abuse. I guess I could have emotionally scarred my son with these pics, but they're too cute for me to care!

"Uhhhh, Mom, the snowman is on BACKWARDS!"

"These pictures are going to come back and haunt me one day, I just know it!"

"Let me just smile and get this over with"

Our first hematoma

I have obsessively documented all of Hudson's firsts, from first foods to first steps. This weekend brought a new one...his first (and hopefully last!) hematoma.

On Saturday evening, after his bath, Ryan asked me to look at Hudson's gum in the back. There was a big purplish bump on it. In fact, it looked a little like this (disclaimer: this is NOT a picture of Hudson):

A bit panicked, I called the on-call pediatrician. As I explained the lump, she automatically diagnosed it as a hematoma due to his 12 month molars coming in. She explained that sometimes the tooth bursts a blood vessel before erupting through the skin and forms this hematoma and that it's nothing to worry about. She advised against her grandmothers method of healing a hematoma - rubbing the gum with a golden thimble (I have no idea why it was a "golden" thimble - I was too horrified by the thought of this to ask.)

It looks like a little molar is making it's way through now. After a few weeks of long, sleepless nights full of crying (usually by me...it was that bad, seriously!), I think we're on the road to quiet nights. After almost 13 months of multiple awakenings, Hudson only woke up ONCE on Friday night. Saturday night wasn't as good and Sunday was a step in the wrong direction, but I'm holding out hope!