Christmas, Birthday, and a New Year.... Oh My!

What a crazy couple of weeks it has been! We traveled to Louisiana to have Christmas with Jeremy's family and had a great time visiting with all of them. We had Christmas at Grammy and Gramps' house and enjoyed YuMmY Gumbo. Then all of The Hoods went to Houston to see Transiberian Orchestra (an annual tradition for me and Jeremy since we started dating, so it was nice to go with his family). We celebrated Andrew's birthday at Nanaw and PawPaw's. On Christmas Eve, we had lunch and Christmas at Mama and Papa Hood's house. And the finale, was Christmas at Nanaw and PawPaw's. All three of us were showered with gifts, love, and attention while we were there. We packed A LOT into the week we were there!

However, this is definitely a Christmas we will never forget... for several reasons:

~It was Andrew's 1st Christmas.

~Many of J's family met Andrew for the 1st time.

~The Hood HumBug Virus spread rampant through the family while we were there. Jeremy caught it the night of December 23rd and was sick through December 26th. Andrew caught it December 25th (and vomited through the night as we traveled back home) and had it through December 28th. I caught it December 28th and had it through December 30th. Almost everyone in the Hood Clan had it... it was awful. I haven't been that sick in a long time!

Poor Andrew was not really 100% on his birthday, and I was in bed all day with The Virus, but he did get to have some cake and open his Christmas presents from me and Jeremy the next day.

I feel like Andrew has grown so much through the month of December, physically and mentally. He is walking around holding on (but getting braver as he does so and letting go sometimes, just leaning against things), he says a few words (Nana for Banana, Elmo, Mamamama, and sometimes Hey... but that doesn't seem to really be at the appropriate time). He is really becoming a Mama's Boy, and likes for Mama to hold him and take care of him. He is very ticklish and laughs so hard. He now points to things that he wants, which is helpful to us. He enjoys turning on light switches, playing with cords, opening and closing doors and drawers, and taking things in and out of boxes or drawers. He got his first haircut in Louisiana by his Aunt Mamoo (Jeremy's sister). It was very traumatic and he screamed bloody murder the entire time. But, he looks very handsome now! He is eating almost all real "people" food now, which is so nice. He still loves to eat, especially fruit and bread. He is becoming quite "plump" in his belly. =) He is such a sweet and loving little boy, and we are so proud of him and continue to feel blessed to be his parents!

Now it is December 31st, New Year's Eve, and I am reflecting on the Year of Blessing that is ending, and the New Year to come. This has definitely been an AMAZING year, as we have watched our sweet, precious, little boy grow up. It has also been the HARDEST year of my life, as I have learned, through trial and error, to be the best parent I can be, and to take care of a little one. I am filled with joy, thankfulness, and love for my family (ALL of them), my career, my home, my health, and the many blessings that the Lord continues to pour on us, even though we in no way deserve them.

Happy New Year to all of you!

Love,

The Hoods

Eleven Months!

So I am late with this post, but things are busy in the Hood Household! My sweet Little Man is growing SO fast, it's hard to keep up with him (literally). He is crawling all over the place these days (still army crawling) and even pulling up on the couch and tables. He is such a good baby, eats well (pretty much all table food now--with the help of the baby bullet), sleeps all night (sometimes 12 hours on the weekends), loves to play and take baths, and laughs and smiles all of the time.

He is saying a couple of things right now, such as "Mamamamama", "Oh Oh Oh" when asked what Santa says, and "uuhh uuhh" when asked what a doggy says. He can also wave Bye Bye when asked to. I am amazed at how well he remembers and follows his routine; for example, after his night bottle, he reaches up to get his blanket from the back of the rocking chair, reaches for his paci, lays across me with his head in the crook of my arm, and goes to sleep with very little help (he listens to music and I rock him). He does have to "calm down' sometimes if he wasn't able to get all his energy out with play time or bath time, but for the most part, by about 7:30-8:00, he's pooped and ready for bed. He plays hard during the day and sleeps hard at night. I am SO thankful for that! He recently went through a spell where he would fight sleep and it would take me a while to get him settled and asleep, but he's doing very well now.

I can't believe how much upper-body strength he has. He can pull himself up almost anywhere, walks around a little holding on to things, and walks around the room with someone holding his hands. I don't think it will be too long before he is walking on his own. SO hard to believe!

One of his favorite toys right now is a red car that he can either ride on, or walk behind and push (which he can't do yet). He loves to have me push him around the house on the car, and he dances as it plays music (so funny). It has a seat that lifts up, so he will store his toys in there and take them in and out.

So far, Andrew has done really well with going out to eat. He can be a little loud sometimes if he is needing my attention, or if he doesn't have the food he wants in front of him.

Favorite Foods:

hot dog, applesauce, banana, bread, cheerios, sweet potato, corn, yogurt

He is really a good eater and isn't as picky as he was when we first started with table food. There are some staples that I know he will eat every time, but for the most part, he'll eat whatever he's given. And he WILL let you know when he's done by throwing it on the floor!

It's so hard to believe that in 20 short days my sweet little boy will be 1 year old. What a year... but more about that in the next post! Happy Holiday everyone. Love, The Hoods