Long overdue

I highly doubt that anyone still checks our blog since we've been so bad about updating, but things are finally calming down in our house so I thought I'd sit down and write a little before bed. I haven't had many chances to sit down and do much of anything since Sawyer came along, so being able to now is nice. Our holidays were crazy with the arrival of a baby, exams and papers for three weeks afterwards, graduating, then Christmas, Hudson's birthday, and lots of illnesses thrown in for good measure (Hudson had the flu, Sawyer had some mysterious stomach problems for the first seven weeks of his life that just cleared up on their own, and Ben had a pretty awful sinus infection). Everyone is well now, though, and Sawyer has started sleeping through the night, so we're finally on a somewhat normal schedule. Here's what has been going on since I last posted:

I finally finished my degree. It may have taken 5 1/2 years and three different schools, but hey, done is done. I had five papers and three exams to write after Sawyer was born, which was stressful, but our families and friends really stepped up and helped us out a lot. My wonderful friend Lindsey organized meals three times a week for four weeks, which was absolutely amazing. I can't stand to cook on a good day, so not having to worry about it when I had 20 other things going on was fantastic. I can't even describe how great it is to not have to worry about homework and I love being able to focus all of my attention and energy on being a mum.

Sawyer had his first Christmas and Hudson had his first Christmas where he actually understood what was happening. He had fun opening his presents, but he wanted to play with each toy for a while after he opened it so Christmas lasted a LONG time. He's a huge Thomas the Tank Engine fan, so Santa brought him lots of new engines and buildings for his train table, which was a gift from my parents. Their gift and Ben's parents' gift of the Deluxe Roundhoue were definitely his favorites. They were my favorites too since he can play with them for hours without getting bored. They keep Ben pretty busy, too. He's become completely obsessed with figuring out the optimal track layout for the table. It's cute to see him spend so much time on little projects for Hudson.

Hudson spent his birthday getting over the flu, so he had a pretty low-key celebration. One of his big presents was a "guy's trip" down to Atlanta with Ben and my dad to see his first ever NHL game. Unfortunately, the Thrashers weren't playing the Devils, so he didn't get to see his Mummy's favorite team in action, but he had a pretty good time anyway. The next day, our families came over for cake and pizza and he opened his presents. He also had a few meltdowns from the combination of feeling yucky and just being overwhelmed by all of the parties and events that took place over the holidays. It was a lot for a toddler to handle in such a short amount of time, so maybe next year we'll have a half-birthday party in the summer when there isn't so much other stuff going on. Now that he's feeling better and things have calmed down a bit, he's back to his happy little self and has really started talking up a storm! He's also super affectionate and will give lots of kisses and hugs without any prompting. The toddler phase can be hard with tantrums and lots of defiant behavior, but I can honestly say that it is one of my favorite stages.

Sawyer is growing quickly and is heading into the sweet, chubby baby stage. He was a little over 13 pounds at his 2 month checkup and was 23.5 inches long. He's a much more intense baby than Hudson was - he's either extremely happy or very, very mad, but now that he's settling into a routine he's become a little less extreme. He hates to sleep and is constantly moving, so I'm sure he'll be very active and into everything when starts to crawl and walk. He's already learned how to roll from his tummy to his back!

Christmas card picture

Sawyer at 5 weeks

Christmas morning

Sawyer at 6 weeks

Hudson and Ben on their Polar Express train ride