A laugh with lunch

Here's a cute video of MP giggling at me pretending to cough. You never know what will make this girl smile! "Nana" was on the phone too - so she was also giggling at the phone. We've had a few tears lately (teething?...bored with Mommy?...who knows), so I am LOVE LOVE LOVING these happy times!

Another weekend...another window...

Well, Mike was at it again this weekend! His home improvement-kick has been in serious overdrive and we have the projects to prove it! He decided (actually before Mary Patton was born) to replace the window in the nursery, so he was out in the freezing cold, on scaffolding and everything making sure our little girl had a good strong window to keep out this COLD! Special thanks to our friend Craig for coming over and helping getting the window set! You are the best!Makes me queezy just to look up there!!

Daddy was working in her room, so Mary Patton decided to catch up on her reading. She likes books that taste good. :)

On Friday we had about an hour of SNOW! It was so pretty, but short-lived. Still, Mary Patton got to see a VERY small preview of the winter wonderland awaiting her in January!! Beaver Creek-bound BABY!!

I still love sneaking in after she wakes up from her nap and catch her peeking out of the crib. How cute is that??

Oh! And here is the 7-month picture! Can't believe she is already seven months old. Actually, we're closer to eight months now - sorry to be so slow posting the picture! I'll leave you with a hilarious video I had to take over the video monitor. She does her share of fussing, but lately she has preferred to make the "motorboat" sound rather than screaming and crying. It's SO cute - I had to let her carry on for a few minutes so I could share with you! Enjoy!

Happy December!

Mary Patton had her 2nd flu shot yesterday, so we did lots of cuddling and giggling all day. She had a little fever this morning, but nothing like last time. Needless to say, Mommy was so thankful! Here are a few shots after her nap - we are going to lower the mattress this weekend. She will be pulling herself up soon!!
Loving the view...
Precious pink "bug" slippers from Brandi that say "Don't Bug Me". Too cute!!!

The stockings are hung from the....NEW MANTLE!

My amazing husband strikes again! I had been saying that I wished we had a real mantle (all we had was an uneven stone ledge - no room for garland or anything - so....

...HE BUILT US ONE!!! We had so much fun decorating and then just sat back and admired Mike's handywork.
Mary Patton was especially proud of her Daddy!!
And Hobie enjoyed the view from his new favorite spot - he can see downstairs and upstairs - just the way he likes it!

Gobble Gobble!

Thanksgiving was bittersweet this year. We were overjoyed to celebrate Mary Patton's first Turkey Day EVER, but we sure were missing our families back in Alabama and Kentucky. Sometimes it is hard to be so far away! :( Fortunately, we have been blessed with an amazing Austin "family" and we were able to share the special day with them! We got together with Hal and Charlotte, Charlotte's mom and dad Harold and Lil, and our friend Amy, and we all headed down to the University of Texas's Conference Center for brunch. For you "foodies" out there, the executive chef is a guy named Josh Watkins who has been all over the country and even on "Iron Chef America"! Needless to say, the food was amazing.
But the real excitement in cuisine belonged to Mary Patton! She had her VERY first turkey! On Thanksgiving Day! Of course, her turkey was pureed, but she loved it. Our little girl is definitely enjoying new foods!
We posted several pictures and a little video from the afternoon. But I need to warn everyone - the video is rated "S" for "Spit-Up!" ...Just a little heads up. :)

My cute bib from Aunt Carin!

Playing with Aunt Cha's pearls!
"You taught me everything I know about exterior illumation..."

Great Weekend!

What a great, relaxing weekend at home. Mike and Mary Patton played on Saturday while I got my hair cut (yippee!), and then our wonderful friends Hal and Charlotte Croft took us to dinner at 34th Street Cafe. What a treat!! Today we visited a new church, then raced back home so MP could get a nap (which lasted only 30 minutes...oh well...), and then spent the rest of the beautiful day playing outside with Hobie and his friends Mace and Duke across the street. Here are a few pictures from the weekend, and a little video from tonight. MP had to make sure she got a chance to talk to you all!
Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving week ahead!
Love,
Laura

Mike took this from up in our tree! Hangin' Christmas balls. ...really :)

Bah..bah...birthday!

So this morning I woke up to the sweetest birthday card from my precious husband, and little birthday "post-its" all over the house! He even put one in the refrigerator! That, combined with a big smile from my little girl, made for a pretty great birthday! She has started saying "bah bah bah" which of course we think is brilliant. It has been pretty cold here the last few days, so I made a fire this morning and captured some of what Mary Patton had to say about that. I also made sure to get the mega-tree in there. Not quite sure how I'm going to get the top of that thing decorated!!

Here's some of Mary Patton's comments on it all....

Pumpin' up the volume

She is learning how to be LOUD. Good times...

On any other day, she's over 2,600 miles away...

...But TODAY, she was in TEXAS! Our dear friend Pam Tautfest traveled all the way from St. John's, Newfoundland! Just to see us! (Not really.) She attended a Women of Faith Conference in Houston. Then she and our mutual Houston friend Dana drove to Brenham, TX (made famous because it is the home of Blue Bell!) and we met them for lunch. Brenham is really cute - all sorts of great antique shops, etc. Just wish we had more time to visit. It was wonderful to see Pam after over 2 years, and we've definitely got the fever for a trip to see them now. Chuck and Pam and their 3 beautiful kids are living in St. John's while Chuck is on a super-important-assignment with ExxonMobil. They won't be there much longer, so we need to visit them in Newfoundland while we can!

Pam, thank you for spending some of your time in Texas with us. We had so much fun, and so did Mary Patton! We love you and can't wait to see you ALL again soon. Big hugs to your whole crew! Love, Mike and Laura

Dinner-time talkin'

Mary Patton had a few things to say about her day. Thought you would all enjoy this!

Sittin' Pretty!

She's still really wobbly, but I managed to snap a few shots while she was vertical. I have to say, these days, that often seem to all run together with the same routine, etc., it is amazing how every day also brings something new - she literally changes every day right now. We are so blessed to be watching her grow!

The fish have found a home!

Only a year after moving into the house, we finally decided to hang the fish family above the fireplace (the oddly tall and narrow space that has never made sense to me - serious design challenge!) We found the hangers in the garden department at Home Depot - pretty sure they are supposed to hold some flowers - but ours are gonna hold some fishes! :)

Of course, we had to post a shot of kiddo here. She is so funny! She's loving that ExerSaucer!

We got our "Hudman" fix!

Kristen and Annie Kate came and spent Thursday night at Casa de Sykes! It was SO wonderful to FINALLY meet precious Annie Kate, and most of all, spend some much-needed time with my friend. We all went out to eat at PF Changs (YUM!), and I got a lot of great mommy advice. Kristen, we love you and can't WAIT to see you all at Christmas time!!

The hangar is closed!

I was wondering if Mary Patton was finished with her meal...now I know! :)

Sure wish I woke up this happy!

I tried to sneak in and take a picture of MP snoozing away on her tummy (a new development!), but she woke up! At least she had a good nap and was happy to get up and start playing again!

Happy Halloween!!

(Click the picture to enlarge)
Here are a few pics from Halloween night! Mary Patton was an adorable bunny, but she was NOT happy about it! We managed to get a couple of small grins out of her - but that pouty little face was cute too! As soon as we took those ears off her head, she was all smiles again. Hobie went as a "water dog" this year, and sported his yellow life jacket around all night. We walked up the street to see all the kids in their costumes, made a BIG pot of Mike's yummy chili, then we spent the rest of the night hanging out with Hal and Cha, and our neighbors Amy and Dan. Nothing like a cool night and a fire pit to lure the trick-or-treaters! As usual, there were too many pics to post, so I posted the link to Kodak Gallery for ALL the pics from Halloween and the last couple of weeks. All 152 pictures! I wanted to rotate all of them so it would be easier to view, but Kodak Gallery's website was sooooo......slooooooow.... Sorry about that!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=170786778703%3A420971396


This week we are looking forward to absolutely PERFECT weather, and a visit from my sweet friend Kristen and at least one of the three kiddos from her "pak." She has THE most adorable blog at http://thehudmanpak.shutterfly.com/ Her family is so precious!


More pictures in the days ahead! Have a great week!

Love from us,

Laura

She's a whole HALF!

Mary Patton is already 6 months old!!

The last 6 months have gone by faster than any 6 months I can ever remember. We already find ourselves wishing we could freeze little moments. Our last trip to Alabama was incredible. We celebrated Mike's 40th birthday with a surprise birthday party at Dad and Joan's house (thank you guys SO much and thank you Mom for all you did to make the party so special!!!) Mike was totally surprised and so happy to ring in the next 40 years with family and friends. If you all only knew how much we miss you every day!

One of the highlights of our trip was MP's first photo shoot! Ashley Laird (a FABULOUS photographer, and thankfully, my family member!) came out and took some priceless shots of our little doll. Here's a link with a sample of all the photos - there are a lot so be prepared!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=329771948703%3A1810067879

Mary Patton was baptized on October 4th. Again, friends and family packed the church and we all celebrated afterwards at the home of the BEST Godparents a little baby could ask for!! Lara and Jason were gracious hosts to the whole crowd (you guys rock - thank you!) and we had so much fun relaxing and eating...and eating...

Then it was off to the beach for the rest of the fabulous week! Thanks to our ultra-cool sista-in-law, we stayed in the Hinkebein's new pad at Seacrest Beach. What a palace! If any of you are ever looking to rent the greatest most beautiful condo with a wicked-awesome pool and INCREDIBLE balcony, we have the place for you! We introduced MP to the beach, and of course took a picture of her first dip in the Gulf. ...Okay, it was just her toes...she has a nervous momma. :)

After getting back to Texas, we unpacked, did LOTS of laundry, and then had the pleasure of hosting Mike and Peggy for the weekend! Having them here with us was so much fun - we literally watched 12 hours of college football on Saturday. That's my kinda Saturday!

Now we are gearing up for Halloween and enjoying this cool Fall weather - finally! More to come in the days ahead. For now, I've uploaded a kagillion pictures to KodakGallery from the trip to Alabama and the beach - here is the link for those who have time! Enjoy!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=929771948703%3A2120651064

Love to all!

Laura

Sweet Potatoes are GOOD!

Mary Patton had her first taste of veggies tonight with a healthy dose of some sweet potatoes! She LOVED it! Ate half the container! We have been enjoying Mike and Peggy being here with us since Friday night. We cooked pizza's on the Egg tonight, and plan to take them down to Kirby Lane in the morning for one of the best brunches in Austin! Having family here is the greatest - come one, come all to see us!! :)

Gimme that SPOON!

We gave MP her first taste of some real food (tastes like cardboard), with instant cereal last night. We got the whole event on the video camera, but here's a small sample of the fun. The hardest part was getting her to let go of the spoon! I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship...MP and food. :)

Four Months, Feet, and Fun!

Here is a (small) sample of MP's last photo shoot... This month brought ALL sorts of new discoveries!

For example, I discovered that these month-by-month pictures will be a bit more challenging now that she understands that she can not only peel the sticker off her clothes, but she can crumple it up and eat it! Yum! :) Here are a few of the "frustrating" shots that I will treasure forever and ever...

NOW THAT I FOUND YOU I CAN'T LET YOU GO!!

She officially discovered her feet the other day. Now she has to hold on to them just to make sure they aren't going anywhere.

She holds them in the car seat...

She holds them in the bed...

She holds them when she's wearing pink...

She holds them by her head!

Okay, so maybe I've been reading too much Dr. Seuss...

Here's another great one. She LOVES looking at herself (and me and Mike) in the mirror. Just when I was running out of tricks in my entertainment bag - this one has been hilarious!

More to come in the days ahead. Hope you all are well and enjoying these dog days as much as we are. One more week until FOOTBALL season! Can't wait to get our little munchkin dolled up and ready to whoop up on Louisiana Tech! Stay tuned for more! Love, Laura