One month old!

Wow! Time sure does fly by when you're having fun! Hudson is doing great, eating great, growing fast, and has just been a tremendous joy to Roy, Ansleigh, and I. I can't believe a month has already past. We love him more and more everyday.

Hudson and Spaghetti Head

Merry Christmas!

We had a fantastic Christmas this year! Leonette and Roy (Roy's Mom and Dad) came in from Texas and spent a week with us. They helped us with packing and moving, shopping and cooking. It was so nice and they were able to spend a lot of "Nanna and Papa" time with Ansleigh and Hudson!

Ansleigh "breaking in" her new pink bean bag chair from Nanna and Papa!

Ansleigh opening up a present with Nanna

Daddy and his little man

Ansleigh's new tunic from Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Jeff's trip to Greece!

Hudson looking fine with his new clothes from Aunt Steph and Uncle Jeff

A new book from Aunt Traci teaching me all about San Francisco

I love my new Dora Globe from Aunt Traci!

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Christmas Eve, we went to the early service at Mt. Vernon, and then headed over to La-La's house for some Christmas cheer! In the usual way, we ate tons of food and enjoyed opening up presents from Meme and the Weymouth family.

A Christmas Smooch-a-roonie for me! How lucky am I?

Ansleigh with her talking twins (aka...the Bride of Chucky Dolls) LOL

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Christmas morning was SO MUCH FUN! Santa visited us and Gogo, Big Daddy, Uncle Bubba, and Uncle Cody were here to watch Ansleigh and Hudson open their gifts. Ansleigh got way too many adorbale things. We had Christmas brunch at Meme Wiltshire's house (complete with the traditional oysters and quiche...and a TON more food) with the whole family, and that evening we spent Christmas with Meme and Papa Baldacci, Lynnie and Eddie (and puppies), Doug, Tami, Tyler, DeAnna, and Trever. A day of fun, family, and food! Happy Birthday Jesus!

I love Care Bears! *Christmas Morning*

Ansleigh's new binoculars! I wonder if she can see Daddy better now? Thank you Gogo and Big Daddy!

Santa brought her the PINK SWIMMING BABY she's been wanting! Bathtime made fun (and much easier now)!

And no Christmas is complete without someone passing out--sweet dreams! (Dad is going to kill me!! LOL)

Visiting with Auntie Sara

Sara came over to visit and she delivered some "Sara Claus" presents for Christmas. When she asked right before she left, "Do you want to come home with Auntie Sara?" Ansleigh said, "YES!!!"--which she's never done before, and proceeded to run to her room to get ready to go with Aunt Sara. She comes back to the living room, wearing her bikini!! It's December in VIRGINIA! Haha. It was way too cute.

They are dancing to Ansleigh's new favorite song "I'm Your's" by Jason Mraz (a few Virginian from Mechanicsville--AND for those that don't know, he went to Lee Davis HS too) and reading her new Dr. Seuss books from Sara.

Ansleigh...trying new things

I made brussel sprouts last night. Not a good choice...not only for Ansleigh, but also for Roy and I. They really were bad--maybe I overcooked them, but ewwh! Definitely, not my favorite vegetable. You can't put enough salt and butter on those to make them taste good. When Roy asked Ansleigh to try the "green ball" here's Ansleigh attempt. She wouldn't even pick it up with her fork, so she just leaned her head down and licked it. That's my girl!

What was I thinking?

Last night, after getting home from Aunt Jane and Uncle Carroll's Christmas party, I was exhausted so I went to sleep early with Ansleigh in my arms and Hudson in his pack-n-play. About an hour after laying down, in a complete daze, I heard Ansleigh fussing. Still asleep, I pulled up my shirt and put her to my chest...Roy, who had been in the living room, came back to our bedroom quickly to check on Ansleigh. He saw me trying to "feed" her and said, "CANDACE, what are you doing?" Slowly waking up, I looked down and realized, WRONG BABY! Whoops. Roy was dying laughing. She never latched on (so don't worry, she won't be scarred for life!) I was SO tired and confused. After I "came to" I told Roy, she did feel a bit heavier in that position than I had remembered! I can't believe I did that...and I can't believe I'm actually telling on myself! Moral of the story, when breastfeeding, make sure you're feeding the right person. :o)

Portrait Innovations!

Mommy and Hudson

Sleepy guy

Our family-Christmas 2008

You may be wondering why there aren't any pictures of Ansleigh...smiling. Well, she WOULDN'T SMILE! No matter what we did, she wouldn't laugh, wouldn't show teeth, we tried to bribe her with candy, ice cream, a blue baby (one she's been wanting for a while now) but nothing. I tickled her, nothing. Hudson on the other hand, slept the entire time. He didn't even open his peepers once! So, we got a bunch of "no smile" Ansleigh pictures and a bunch of sleepy-man Hudson pictures! Our first family outing to Portrait Innovations!

We were debating going (since Ansleigh was so tired) and I'm so glad we did even though the pictures weren't the "best" ever! When we got there, I heard the receptionist answer the phone and say they are were booked up through Christmas! So, even though we have a little frowny face, I'm glad we went! I'm sure we'll be going back soon anyways....

Ansleigh and friends

She loves playing with the little puppies. She has proudly pronounced Lucy to be her favorite. However, Ansleigh is NOT Lucy’s favorite. Ansleigh runs around the house looking for “Lucy Lou”, as Lucy continues to hide from her. When she sees Ansleigh she runs and turns from what looks like a DOG into a deer-in-headlights. We’re trying to teach Ansleigh how to be gentle with her, as picking her up around her neck is not equal to our definition of gentle. She’s still learning!

Doggies haven’t even come close to Hudson. Their innate ability to recognize that he’s off-limits never ceases to amaze me!

My angels

Oh how I love it when Ansleigh asks me ever so sweetly, "May I please hold my little brother?" My heart melts. Whenever she can, she asks if she can help. When little brother is sleeping, she wants him to wake up to 'play'. She's always right beside us helping with his bathtime, his diaper changes, and his feedings. She's such a great big sister and she continues to impress me; the transition has been so smooth (so far!). I couldn't be more proud...of BOTH of my beautiful babies! I am one lucky Mom, and Roy is one lucky Dad!

Ansleigh's new found ability

Ansleigh has discovered...going to sleep on her own, anywhere she wants! It's amazing! New baby at home means Ansleigh can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, whereas before, we coaxed her into saying we were "cuddling", with never a mention of "NAP"! Also, she was very particular about rubbing my arm to put herself to sleep (it was her "lovey") but now, no arm needed--well, sometimes it's needed :o) It also means, she wakes up a LOT earlier than before, so her naps tend to be earlier in the day too, and earlier evenings as well! I am loving it!

Boys like the fresh air?

So, at first, I thought it was just coincidence, but I think it's no accident that little Hudson continues to pee-pee and/or have explosive poops that shoot off and happen to land on Mommy or Daddy...everytime. That little grin he shines gives it away everytime. Our little guy must think that's funny and Roy and I laughing hysterically after one of us gets blasted, probably doesn't help the cause. It's amazing how much power he has!! It can shoot clear across the room! Truly amazing. It's not so funny when you're the one in the line of fire, but it sure is hilarious when you're not. Everytime I get hit, I do a little "eeeekkkkk" dance and Roy is like, "What does that do again??". I have quickly learned that boys are different than little girls in this sense. Seriously though, it must have something to do with the temperature change because I don't think there has been a single diaper change where the fountain of youth hasn't gone off.

Teresa told me about the pee-pee teepee and I'm guessing we will need to make this small investment afterall.

One week old

And what an amazing first week it has been! When we got home on Tuesday, we realized that we have lots of 0-3 month clothes but everything was falling off of him! When Ansleigh was born, this was was never a problem, so obviously, it never crossed my mind to buy these small clothes for him, since our first little 9 Lb. bean filled out everything, I guess we assumed he would too! Well, our little man is so teeny, we went and bought a few new Newborn outfits, and Mom brought a few for him too--needless-to-say, he is one styling young chap. Kenan said she had a lot of Newborn clothes for Capri, and she asked if I wanted to borrow them.... but I refuse to put him in pink! Haha. Is she crazy?

Hudson's first doctor's appointment

We went to Hudson's first doctor's appointment today and it was very uneventful, which is just what we were hoping for! He's put on 2 more ounces and is growing nicely! The doctor said he won't need to see him for another month, so we have our next appointment on January 6th. No shots this time; he received his 1st Hep B shot while in the hospital so no sticking this time. Just a nice and easy well visit, and a time for Roy and I to ask any questions. His circumcision is healing nicely and no longer looking like a little cherry (poor little guy) and his belly button is looking great too; we're close to the ambilical cord falling off. We have a trade off in our house; Roy cleans the ambilical cord, and I get up at night with Hudson to feed and change him. Not to shabby, I would say. I just really don't like cleaning that thing--it makes me so nervous that I'm going to accidentally peel it off prematurely. Eek! So, once it falls off, Momma will be much happier!

While we were in town for the doctor's appointment, we made several stops and ran some errands. Hudson made his first trip to Meme and Papa's house. Ansleigh LOVES going to her Meme's house to "play". They are so proud of their two great-grandchildren.

Hudson also got his first bath at home yesterday. That was fun...yes, I'm serious. He's so easy going, as long as we were spooning warm water over him, he was as happy as a pickle! I love his little fuzzy head after his hair gets all squeaky clean. Errrr, I could just bit his little cheeks, he's so cute!

Welcome to the World!

Master Hudson Zane Toone was welcomed into this world on November 30th, 2008 at 1:19 p.m. weighing 7 Lbs. 1/2 oz. and he was 20 inches long. His birthday is so special because he shares it with my Grandpa who turned 78 on Sunday! Our little man was quick to arrive and decided he didn't want to be a Christmas Baby after all (as many of you know, he was due on Christmas Eve)! He wanted to be with us for the ENTIRE month of December and of course didn't want to miss visting Santa with his big sister, Ansleigh, our upcoming family pictures, and lots and lots of yummy Christmas food!

What an exciting day it turned out to be. Arriving a little over 3 weeks early, he was such a suprise and a wonderful early Christmas present. Saturday evening (11/29), after a full day of racking leaves with Roy and Ansleigh, smoky clothes from burning the leaves, and muddy fingernails from cleaning out the garden, we all showered up and got ready for bed...way earlier than normal. After an exhausting day, I fell asleep around 9 p.m. with Ansleigh in my arms while watching a movie on TV. Roy woke us up and we relocated to our room and fell back asleep there. I woke up around 11:15 p.m. and realized that I was soaking wet (so much for a nice long rest after picking up a million leaves!). I had not experienced my water breaking with Ansleigh's birth, so I wasn't quite sure what was going on! Had I just gone to the bathroom on myself? Or was I going into labor? I contacted my OBs office to see what the plan of action was. The doctor on call, Dr. Billett (not my regular OB) said to come on into the hospital to get checked out.

Roy and I immediately started running around here like crazy, throwing things in bags, and looking at each other in disbelief! I thought we had a few more weeks! I had already prepared a very detailed list of "things to do/grab/pack" in case I went into labor and Roy or Mom had to come back to the house to pack for me. Highly recommended. If it weren't for that list, I can't even begin to tell you the things I would have missed and forgotten! Fortunately, I had already put several things together in a suitcase "just in case"...and I was fully equipt for my Christmas Baby, with red everything....from my Christmas socks to my snowman pajamas!

Kenan came up to the house to watch Ansleigh while she snoozed. Roy and I rushed to the hospital, however, I wasn't feeling any consistent contractions yet. We arrived around 12:30 a.m. and I was able to sit at the registration desk, fill out all the forms myself, and walk to the Labor and Delivery room where I would deliver Hudson. It was way different than from my L&D with Ansleigh.

Contractions started around 3:30 a.m. and were pretty sharp. They were about 7 minutes apart and I was starting to feel the need for a little pain management, otherwise know as THE epidural! Thank God for this amazing science! Around 5:30 a.m., the sweetest little man, named Dr. Ellis, came in and administered the most wonderful drug ever. My blood pressure dropped significantly after this, but picked back up after a few hours. The L&D nurse said it was the lowest she'd ever seen in the delivery room, but it just made me feel a little faint and queasy (much better than the feeling of the painful contractions). After my epidural, the contractions slowed down a bit due to my relaxed body, so to pick up the intensity, I was given some pitocin around 7 a.m. to get this party started.

I started calling friends and family and telling them that we were in fact in labor and we'd be having a little boy TODAY! What a suprise! The next few hours were a breeze. Roy and I chatted, Roy took a nap, I talked on the phone (I couldn't bear to sleep through all the excitement!), watched a little tube, visited with Sara Chabs, took pictures with my family, and shortly after the visitors left the room, the bottom of the bed dropped, my legs went up and out came Hudson with just a few pushes. The entire experience was amazing and so joyous. I had all of my family there with me to celebrate and my heart was filled with so much support and love. Roy and I could not be more blessed! He's just gorgeous and immediately, we were crazy in love with our beautiful son.


He's a relaxed little man, night and day difference from our first little spit-fire, Ansleigh. She was always so particular about being swaddled, eating, noise, just about everything. This little guy is so chill and laid back. He loves to sleep and eat and (knock on wood) doesn't cry hardly at all. He was so active when I carried him, I guess he's just catching up from some missed sleep while in utero! I love him so much and feel so fortuate to have him here with us. Ansleigh is the best big sister ever and loves her little brother so much. She loves to hold him and pat him on the head. She loves comparing her feet and hands to his little feet and hands. She keeps saying, "He's so little and so cute! I love my little brother!". So far, everything is going so smoothly, it was like we've never even skipped a beat. Ansleigh, Roy, and I continue to fall deeper and deeper in love with Hudson each and every day.