Well hello! I really can't believe how long its been since I posted :( My baby boy is now 8 months old and I started looking back and realized how much I missed blogging! I could kick myself for not having all the little details written down that I did with Chandler so here I am! Its a new year and I PROMISE I am back to blogging. I hope to be able to print this blog out one day as a keepsake and if no one else ever reads it at least I was able to keep all these precious memories, as the days are really flying bye. The Lord has blessed us so richly in 2011 so I wanted to go back and at least hit a few of the highlights of the summer, the birth of my sweet Hudson, Chan's second birthday and the wedding of my sis just to name a few. Here goes..Hold on this will probably be an extra long post!
 |
| Chris and I at the Shrimp Festival in Fernandina Beach back in May..One of my only family prego shots! |
 |
| Us gals on this very hot day for MAY! |
 |
| A special privilege to be with my sister on this day to help her pick out her wedding dress. The dress she picked suited her perfectly and looked like it was made for her. She was there for every bit of my wedding planning and I wanted to be a part of hers as much as I could. More on the wedding later but she did a fantastic job! |
 |
| Chris' 30th birthday dinner at Bonefish, one of his favorite places. I can now joke that I am the younger woman, still being in my 20's..not for long though, whew! This was actually only a couple of weeks before Hudson was born. |
 |
| Some of our favorite couples helped celebrate the evening. |
 |
| The big brother right before Hudson made his arrival, he had absolutely NO idea what he was in for :) |
Hudson made his debut on June 27th, four days before his due date. I was so shocked to actually be going into labor on my own since I was induced at 42 weeks with Chandler! I had a scheduled appointment on that Monday morning and had been having contractions on and off for the week before. That morning I got up and noticed the contractions weren't stopping and slowly getting stronger so I knew there was a possibility they would admit me at my appointment. Originally I thought it would be best to go home and wait out some of the labor but I live a good 30 minutes from my hospital and also being positive for Group B Strep, the doctor didn't want me to miss the chance to get the full round of antibiotics. So they admitted me and not even 4 hours later precious Hudson was ready to come out. Boy was he.. I only pushed 1 time and he was here. He was beautiful just like his big brother weighing in at 6lbs 14 oz and 19 inches long. I quickly noticed he was not crying really at all and fear crept into my heart as this was also how Chandler entered the world and needed a week in the NICU for pneumonia. Sure enough the NICU team came in after a few minutes of trying to clear his lungs and told me they needed to find out what was going wrong and do some Xrays. To make a long story short Hudson had respiratory distress and the beginning stages of pneumonia and would need antibiotics and a few days in the NICU as well. God was merciful though and because I had been thorough this before I think I handled it a little better. Although, it is never easy to watch your newborn being wheeled away from you after being able to only hold him for a few seconds while they give you the bad news. What a terrible feeling! There is a happy ending though and our Hudson was able to leave after a few days and was good as new!
 |
| Chandler's first visit to the hospital to see me. He couldn't see Hudson until he was well but I was thankful someone took these pictures because it was such a sweet time with him. He instantly looked so grown up to me that day as I realized he was no longer my little baby! |
 |
| Sweet Hudson! |
 |
| After several failed attempts at IVS they had shaved the sides of his head thinking that was their next option but at the last minute they got IVS in his feet and I was sooo thankful for no holes in his precious head. It did take several weeks for some hair to grow back though! |
 |
| Going home! The best feeling ever! |
 |
| His first days at home |
 |
| Daddy and his boys. Chandler did so well with him from the start. With only 22 months between them I was worried it would be so hard for him but he did so well! He is pretty independent by nature so I think that helped a little bit |
 |
| He slept CONSTANTLY those first few months. When people would come to visit he would always be passed out! |
 |
| My sister came to take some newborn shots for us..here are a few of them. These are just the amateur shots on my camera though :) |
 |
Happy to just have my little man home!
Here are a few highlights from the rest of 2011!..... |
 |
| At The Brick for my mom's birthday |
 |
| One of our first family outings as a family of four! |
Chandler turned two in August and we celebrated with the family at our house with a Woody cake :) I could hardly believe how fast his first two years had flown by. He is such a joy and is amazing us everyday by the new things he has learned.
 |
He really enjoyed his cake and the attention!
I had a little fish by the end of the summer. We got this vest that allowed him to pretty much be alone in the pool and he just took off! |
 |
| A trip to the MOSH |
 |
| Hudson on July 4th...he got big fast! |
 |
Chandler jumping in
|
We finished off the summer with a tradition that has been a trip to Destin with some of our good friends. It was a very different dynamic this year with two kids but we had a blast and I wished we could have stayed longer! Last year Chandler wasn't even walking yet and this year he was running around building in the sand. It was so fun to watch him. (isn't it great experiencing things for a 2nd time with your kids??)
 |
| Playing in the sand |
 |
| Each of the boys caught sharks off the shore. I guess many of the people on the beach that day had never seen sharks up close because it started to generate a crowd (this Florida girl chuckled ;) |
 |
| Family sunset pictures on the boardwalk. |
 |
| My "thinker" |
 |
| The mommas! |
 |
| Our last day on the beach (Hudson was asleep of course under the tent!) |
 |
| But here he is, getting so big already by that time! He was 2 months old here |
Here are a few of the highlights for my sisters wedding. She had a fun orange and blue couples shower at the Party Barn.
 |
| Big and little brother! |
November started with a surprise bachelorette weekend for my sister! We had a blast, and she had no idea:) We started off with what was supposed to be a day of biking Jekyll Island but it was FREEZING so we rented these little carts that seated up to 6 people and drove them around the island honking and shocking people :)
 |
| The bride in her biking veil helmet |
 |
| Tying cans to the back of her chariot |
We then headed to Savannah for rest of the weekend...
 |
| Dressed up for dinner in downtown Savannah |
 |
| We ate at the Sapphire grill, it was delish but we did not get seated till around 10 and we were all beyond starved. We didn't realize there was a big marathon there in town that weekend and everything was very booked. |
 |
Shopping the next day
|
The Williams family and a few other family friends hosted Katie's bridesmaid luncheon complete with hats! We had ball!
 |
| there The bridemaids and flower girls |
I was only able to take a few pictures the day of the wedding from my camera but here are a few..
 |
| Me giving my maid of honor speech..I was extremely nervous about this! I do not enjoy public speaking! |
 |
| My handsome guy in pink :) |
 |
We had been secretly planning a bridesmaid dance and were thankful it went off without a hitch! I danced more that night than I have at any other wedding and we all had a ball, Katie was GORGEOUS and the wedding was a day to remember and above all Christ honoring. I was a proud sissy that day!
|
Here's a few pictures of our holidays..My camera decided to break right around Christmas though and I don't have many from that :(
 |
| My big boy! 5 months here |
 |
| Thanksgiving at my in laws |
 |
| The family picking out a tree! We told Chandler he could pick it out and we left with the one he picked! |
 |
| Hudson and I |
 |
| Chandler being still which doesn't happen too often these days. He's gonna be a heart breaker for sure. Those eyes get me every time! |
 |
| Our family Christmas photo |
And there you have it! My first post of the new year and I have a few more updates coming for 2012. We are so thankful for our 2 healthy boys and God sustaining Chris' business enough so I can stay home right now. How merciful is our God?
