Christmas in Pictures

Christmas morning started very early in the Hutson house. Magnolia Pearl woke up at 5 am for a feeding and I discovered she had a massive leak so I had to change her outfit and bedding. After all the excitement she was awake for the day. We went out to the living room and discovered that Santa had visited the night before. Boy, was he good to us this year! MP loved opening gifts. 6 months old is a good age for Christmas morning. We are very excited to see what Christmas morning will be like next year! 

She was yawning when she opened her new diapers. I thought for sure they'd be a hit!

These teethers were the favorite of the day. Thanks, Aunt Kirsten!

Too much Christmas fun!

Later in the day we had some friends over. 

Just before bed. What a wonderful day! 

The day after Christmas was a white one for Coastal NC. 

Being Florida girls, we enjoyed the snow very much. It was Magnolia Pearl's first snow. It is still on the ground today. We are going to gear up and head outside for some more snow fun in a little bit! :) 

Holiday Cheer!

This holiday season is really turning out to be better than expected. I have been expecting Andy home late tomorrow (Christmas eve) but that will not be the case! He called me about an hour ago and told me he was very very close to home and his ship will be pulling in any moment now. This made me jump into gear, turn on the holiday tunes and get to cookin' some fudge! It's just not Christmas without it. I made my stepmom's recipe but jazzed it up a bit. I made Chocolate Cherry Dr. Pepper fudge. Oh my, I cannot wait to taste it. (Ok, I did already taste it but I can't wait until it hardens and I can taste it again) More importantly, I can't wait until Andy tastes it. Not only is my husband going to be home, my sweet Magnolia Pearl is currently playing happily with her books and toys. Little does she know, she will have double the toys very soon. The grandparents really spoiled her this year! There is hardly anymore room under the tree and I still have presents to wrap. I really cannot wait to share Christmas morning with her. 

Speaking of Magnolia Pearl, she is becoming very vocal. This week she has started saying "Yaaaaaaayyy!" (Her unofficial first word!) Today's word of choice is "Bah" as in "Bah bah bah bah bah" She ended up sleeping in bed with me last night and I awoke to her sweetly whispering "Bah bah bah" Later, the whisper turned into a squeal up and down the isles of the grocery store. A very pleasant squeal that put a smile on everyone's face.. or maybe it was the panda hat. 

Our gift to you this holiday season is a video showcasing the 'Squealy Bahs'

Merry Christmas!

Cloth Diapering Just Got More Complicated

**Warning This Post is TMI** 

Tonight, after 48 hours of no bowel movements, my Magnolia Pearl finally pooped.  This is two days after starting peas. Tonight was her first 'real' poop. The story goes like this: 

     It was after dinner time and after bath time. We were about to start getting ready for bed when Magnolia Pearl started crying out of nowhere. I picked her up and cuddled her close. About once every 60 seconds she would squeeze my shoulder, turn red and then start crying. I thought she was just starting to feel the effects of being constipated. I felt bad. I could tell she was in pain. Eventually she stopped tensing up and began to fall asleep on my shoulder. It was almost bed time so I started to get a fresh diaper on her so she could be put down for the night. That's when I saw it- the turd. Squished into her poor cloth diaper. It looked like a real poop and certainly smelled like a real poop. It brought back memories of being in the hospital and changing the very first poop. I'm sure I had the same expression on my face- you know the one you make when you know you have no idea what you are doing. 

This is a game changer, people. I now have to get a new system for rinsing and storing my used cloth diapers before they are washed. Unfortunately, I'm sure I will have plenty of opportunities to figure out then practice and perfect my new method over the next few weeks. 

Full of Firsts

Friday was full of firsts in the Hutson House.

Our First Christmas Tree:

Magnolia was in complete awe of the process. I'm glad she was born in the summer so she could appreciate her first holiday season. I had no idea that at six months old she would be so into it. The holidays are so much more magical when you have a child to share the experience with.


Her First Baby Puff:

We decided to go with Happy Baby Organic Puffs in the "Greens" flavor.  She was not sure about them at first but opened up to them after she figured out what was going on. She seems to enjoy them now. I have been looking forward to buying puffs. Every time I pass through the baby food section at the grocery store I would look at them longingly, read the labels and picture her first time trying them. I thought it would be a while longer before I could let her try them, but the doctor told us she was ready at her 6 month appointment. As much as I want her to stay my teeny tiny newborn forever, watching her grow is so much fun. 

First "Real" Food:

Sweet potatoes! We steamed them in our new Beaba Baby Cook. She is just like Ma and Pa, in love with food. She ate more than I ever thought she was capable of. The Beaba is a miracle machine. It makes baby food cooking really easy and fun. Andy and I both highly recommend it. 

There you have it, three firsts in one day! What a wonderful day for our little family. 

A special video for Magnolia's six month birthday

Happy half birthday to Magnolia Pearl! I honestly cannot believe she has been with us for six months now. It's baffling. She is going to crawl any day now, has just about mastered sitting up on her own, smiles with two big bottom teeth, reaches her arms out to me when she wants to be held and helps me appreciate the teeny tiny stuff every day has to offer. Andy and I ate half of a birthday cake to celebrate last night. (Stop judging- it was a small one) We are so blessed to have such a sweet, wonderful, healthy and intelligent little lady in our lives. I love her with everything in me.

-A.

Cozy Night Cuddles

I've tucked my tiny one into bed and now I am cuddling up with a blank page. My heart is bursting on this monday evening and I must share my weekend excitement! Saturday I had some work done on my left arm  (which is coming along very nicely, might I add) and my dear husband took the tiny one out for the day. It was the longest amount of time they have ever spent together without me. It was also the longest amount of time I have ever been away from her. They seem to have had a great time together and nothing makes me happier. I love love love being the center of my daughter's universe, but I also know what it is like to have an awesome father and I am so proud she can relate to that. I may have made some poor decisions in my time, but I regret nothing. Every 'mistake' I have made has brought me to this point and there is nowhere else I'd rather be.

Cut to Saturday night- just as we were finishing dinner I was trying to get a smile out of the little one and I started jumping up and down and making quite a noise as her father held her. She let out a burst of laughter which in turn made me laugh so hard I could no longer jump around like a fool. Her father then chimed in. Here we are, a family of three standing in the kitchen laughing until tears filled our eyes. I can honestly say that moment was the happiest of my life.

Sunday the Husband and I were a couple of layabouts. Television watching is a rarity in our house, but we took full advantage of streaming the 5th season of Dexter online. The weekends are usually so busy, it was nice just to lay around, grip each others hands until our knuckles turned white and yell at the poor decisions Dexter made. We did accomplish a few things like (finally) getting around to setting up the living room. We've only lived here for 5 months and we have never had a functioning living room until this weekend. I am excited to shop for a few finishing pieces of furniture. The tiny one seems to be enjoying the new set up. Her play mat is front and center so all eyes are on her! I also cleaned out the pantry and organized the kitchen.

Today the day flew by as Magnolia and I were Christmas shopping. Dad was home in no time! Shopping is surely the way to spend those agonizing hours waiting on Dad to get home. Our famous Kabobs were on the table at dinner time. Thank you, wonderful husband, for grilling in the 29 degree night air. My tummy very much appreciates it! Now it is off to cuddle close to Andy, but not before I share a few photos of my goofy girl and I.