Christmas decorations and a some pictures by the tree

I have had so much fun decorating for Christmas. In fact, I am embarrassed to say this is the first year in the six Matt and I have been married that I have truly decorated. We always had a tree but it pretty much ended at that. I always knew we would be moving soon and then we were in a rent house and it was hard to get really excited about buying decorations (that are not cheap!) Anyway, we got a new Christmas tree and lots of new decorations this year and I am loving the winter wonderland we are currently living in! Matt and I have commented on how much we love our house with all these decorations up and how empty it will feel again when we have to take them down.

So here are some pictures of some of my favorites:

Since we don't have a live Christmas tree at least some fresh flowers and evergreen make the house smell good
Entry table

This might be the best idea given to me. PAPER RIBBON. It is easy, makes the presents look pretty, and we don't have to have a pair of scissors sitting nearby to cut ribbons off packages on Christmas morning.

We could not have gotten luckier with a one year old and a Christmas tree this year! We thought Hudson would be a complete nightmare with a tree and had actually contemplated putting a tree up and no ornaments this year. The night we put up the tree Hudson had his shirt off, ran into the tree, hated the bristles hitting his tummy, and has since been scared of the tree. He started by doing this little move when he got close by but has gained a little more nerve as the weeks have gone by.
Love this picture of Hudson checking out the tree

Hadley could not have been more excited to take pictures in front of the tree. This is, by far, the most exciting Christmas yet and Hadley has had the countdown going for a while now.

She also kept track of how many of the presents were for her!

Can't get by without a silly face.

Hudson was NOT having any Christmas pictures! He threw a fit anytime I turned on the lights on the tree and put the camera in front of him. Therefore, I only got a couple...when he wasn't paying attention. Maybe next year.

Checking out the tree:

15 months old and the poor kid can't even keep his 6-12 month jeans up. He's really contemplating tearing into the presents!

"I said, NO PICTURES!!!"

Hetrick and Holloman office party

Matt and I hosted our first office Christmas party. I had a lot to live up to as Matt's partner and his wife have always hosted before and can throw a fabulous party. But it turned out great and everyone had a wonderful time!

Friday night I came home from work at noon to barely make it in the door before I was blasted with the vicious stomach bug. I can honestly say I have never been so sick (in a 24 hour period) in my life. Anyway, I will spare the details but I can say setting up for the party and disinfecting the entire house after a full day of throwing up is more than difficult. Thankfully, I have an incredible husband that took on most of the load so that I could recover.

Moving on...

We decided to have Big Truck Tacos cater the party which was the best decision we made. They pulled their truck right outside our patio door where everyone went outside to order their tacos, and they provided lots of tasty appetizers and sides. I wish I had gotten a picture of the truck but you will just have to take my word for it that it created the greatest atmosphere!

Here are some of the pictures of some decorations:

As you can tell, this office knows how to have fun and we had to be prepared.

Gift exchange with all the girls.

We feel incredibly blessed for Matt to have such a wonderful office staff. They care about each other, care about the patients, and they were such a big part in making 2011 such a great year for Matt and Chuck.

Morning giggles and a popcorn bucket

Hudson has never been a great eater and we often have to get creative to get him to eat. Hadley is an amazing helper with this and loves to make it her mission to "trick" him into eating! Anyway, here are a couple pictures of her, once again, being the best big sister and making Hudson laugh so he would stay in his chair.

Hudson laughs at just about anything Hadley does which only encourages her to keep the sillyness going...
One night while I was wrapping presents Hadley and Hudson got ahold of a popcorn bucket and started throwing it all around the room. Hadley then decided it would be funny to put it on her head and run around bumping into things.

After watching for several minutes, Hudson decided it was his turn. This carried on for about 30 minutes and the kids had so much fun playing together.

Love this little belly!

Silhouettes

I found a lady on the internet that does original silhouettes, where she looks at a picture and cuts out a piece of black paper using tiny scissors. I took a picture of Hudson's profile and then looking back through our millions of pictures, I found a profile picture of Hadley at the exact same age (14 months). I mailed them in to her and got these back about a week later:

They are perfect and brought me to tears! The silhouettes show how much they really look alike and the sweet innocence of a one year old. It is fun to see Hadley's picture and remember her with her short hair and tiny bows always on her head. I have already taken another profile picture of Hadley and when Hudson turns 4 I plan on taking another one of him and adding to the collection.

Santa Video

Santa sent Hadley the greatest video...all the way from the North Pole! He emailed it to us and after bathtime Matt and I surprised Hadley with her very own video. Her reaction was priceless! I am not sure I have ever seen her so surprised and excited.  She has wanted to watch the video every day since. Santa talked to her about being four and going to school. He said he knows she has been very good, to which Hadley responded, "Aiden must have told him!"

Hadley has been working really hard at not sucking her thumb but when she gets tired it is still just a little too hard. Santa reminded her to keep trying and her eyes got SO big! We have since had a few days in which Hadley has been in some tears because she wants to make Santa happy so bad. We finally had to tell her it is ok to suck her thumb sometimes and Santa will understand.

Here are a few pictures of Hadley watching the video:

She kept getting closer and closer to the computer