Thanksgiving Fun

  So I know this is a little late, but I've just now finished recovering from our Thanksgiving week.  We had a busy one.  My sister and her boyfriend arrived Wednesday along with my brother-in-law Matt and his girlfriend Erin.  We made a delicious meal and hung out most of the day, and then Matt and Erin left.  Laura and Mitch stayed through the weekend, and T.J. got Mitch to help him build a gate for the end of the drive.  They worked on it most of the weekend.
  Then on Thanksgiving day we got up early with the boys and started the cooking.  T.J.'s other brother Monty and his girlfriend Stephanie showed up mid-morning and we had a great day visiting.  Nate enjoyed all the attention, and it was nice to be able to cook without someone clinging to me.  Monty and Stephanie left late that night.
  I worked Friday, and T.J. and Mitch went out fishing.  This left Laura to babysit the two boys and she says she only cried once.  Saturday T.J. kicked me out of the house and I dragged Laura with me.  We spent the day Christmas shopping and running errands.  That night T.J. and I went to get our Christmas tree.  It was nice to be able to get so much done in one day.
  Sunday we had Hudson baptized and T.J.'s brothers came back to town.  We ate the rest of the leftovers and had a great day.  Then Sunday night T.J. and the boys and I decorated for Christmas.  It was a very eventful and exhausting week, but it was great to see everyone.

Nate and Erin wrestling on the bed in the spare bedroom.

The most perfect pie I've ever made.

Nate taste testing the mashed potatoes.  I think he liked them.

Laura was anxious to get the festivities started.

My Thanksgiving fail.  This was supposed to be gravy.

Monty Blue and his new lady.

Our new gate.

Hudson and his sponsors.

The whole crew.

Our Christmas tree.

Amarillo by Morning

Saturday morning we left bright and early for the Austin airport and from there to the Amarillo area to visit T.J.'s family.  We spent the long weekend driving around the Panhandle to visit T.J.'s Granny and Grandad, his Dad and Stepmom, and his Mom and Stepdad.  We had a great time and a relaxing visit.

Sick Baby

This week for the first time in his short life Hudson has been sick.  Coughing, runny nose, croupy sounding lungs.  My sweet baby has not been sleeping well, which means T.J. and I have not been sleeping well.  This morning for the first time he seems to be on the mend.  Oh the joys of sending your kids to daycare.  At least this means he won't be as sick when he gets older.

Firsts for Hudson

Hudson has had a lot of first in his short life, but two of them happened this week.  He had his first taste of cereal (homemade by his perfect Mama :)), and he had his first time in the activity chair.  He loved both-note his reaction to the toys on the activity chair.

Halloween

Every year since Nate was born I've worked on Halloween.  This year wasn't any different, but I did luck out and was able to leave early.  I got home and we got the boys dressed and headed out.  Nate did not enjoy the hood on his lion costume when we were out walking around because he couldn't look side to side.  He did enjoy the candy though.  We had a good time and I'm sure Nate can't wait until next year.

Cousin Fun

So life had been slow lately until this past Wednesday when my sister Anna and her almost 2 year old came to visit.  Needless to say Nate was very excited to see Reilly.  I left Hudson at home and took Nate to the airport with me to pick them up.

Nate and I were both really excited to see them, whereas Reilly just wanted to tell his mom where to pick up their luggage.

We spent the first day hanging out at our house where the temperature was in the 80's and it was sunny out.  The boys enjoyed spending some time jumping on the trundle bed and swimming in the pool.

That night we took baths and Hudson hung out on the changing table listening to the boys scream and splash.

Then Thursday afternoon we headed to Laura's apartment in San Antonio where we had a surprise waiting for Anna and Reilly-a surprise 2nd birthday party with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme.  Cupcakes were made, decorations were hung, and Anna and Reilly were completely surprised.  I'm pretty sure Anna thought we were going to ignore Reilly's birthday while she was here.

 Reilly's birthday pin,

 and his candles.

 Reilly was trying to be a good cousin and share with Nate, but he wasn't having it.

Reilly did not enjoy the Mickey ears, but Nate loved them.  We also spent a lot of time at the playground at Laura's apartment complex.  The boys had a blast, and Hudson hung out in the sling watching the boys.

Reilly goes to bed earlier than my boys so they had some bonding time while Reilly went to bed.

And finally, a sisters picture!

Life Lately

Things have been busy in the Muir household lately.  Last Wednesday after much research and debate I bought a new camera.  I was inspired by my sister Anna's ability to take beautiful pictures and capture everyday life, and I invested in a Canon T2i.  So far I love it.  When I finally get some free time I plan to take a basic photography course so I can get the most out of it.  On that same day Nate went with me to run errands (including buying the camera).  He was a real trouper, and we picked out his Halloween costume.  This is what he did when I took him to the mirror so he could get a look at himself:

Aunt Laura (my sister) also came to visit this weekend.  We decided it would be a good time to take the boys out to Dewberry Farms in Brookshire.  Dewberry Farms is like a pumpkin patch times 100.  We thought we'd be smart and get there right when they opened.  Apparently so did everyone else.  We ended up waiting in a line for about 20 minutes to get in and neither boy was excited:

After we got inside things improved and the boys had a good time:

Nate got to play on the slides with his dad, feed the goats, play in the flowers and much more.  The rest of the weekend was more relaxed, hanging around the house with Laura.  Right now Nate and Laura are in the process of making cookies.  I can't wait to taste the results!