Hudson Christmas

We have had such a busy week in Edmonton with the Hudson's. We are having so much fun.

On Christmas Eve, the family all got together for Korean food made by my mom with help from the rest of us and supplemented by take out. It is a family tradition to consume large quantities of yummy yummy Korean food on Christmas Eve. It was Rory's first time participating in this delicacy and she loved it. She ate at least two homemade wontons all by herself! That night we had dinner with our extended Hudson family and witnessed the children reenact a annual, if not irreverent nativity. This year the wise men gave baby Jesus gifts of homemade root beer.

When we got home Rory was able to open one present before going to bed.

Opening a gift on Christmas Eve.

You guessed it, Christmas pjs!

A surprised Matt got some too!

Christmas morning. With ten people, Santa had a lot of work to do in one night!

Santa brought Rory a new Elmo!

She was very happy. She loves Elmo!

She also got a musical book, a recorder and maracas.

She dutifully peeled every piece of wrapping paper off each gift before she would even look at them. This one was a tutu and fairy wings from Grandma.

If she couldn't do it on her own, she would bring it to me for help. I was pleasantly surprised how well she caught on to what was going on. She was having a blast.

Christmas morning is hard work. At some point you gotta take a breather! Rory found a nice place to take a break before diving right back in.

I had one of the most wonderful Christmas mornings in memory. My family isn't super materialistic so gifts were small and spread out evenly among everyone and for the most part just watched Rory open up her books and toys. She loved everything she got. As did I. At the top of the list for me was Wicked tickets from my mom and a new piano (digital) from my loving husband. I can't wait to get home, set it up, and play!!

I got Matt a remote control helicopter (which he really wanted). It seemed like a good idea at the time, but after breaks and engine failures, it proved to just not be worth it. He returned multiple different ones in the hopes of getting one that worked. Eventually he gave up and got a blu-ray player. I'm pretty sure he made a good choice there.

Mostly I just love spending time with my family. Rory is in high demand when we visit and I don't get a lot of quality time with her. This trip, we have been putting her to sleep on a little pull-out toddler couch as she is getting too big for a play pen. She was a bit unsure about it at first, so I cuddled her to sleep. This quickly became a bed- and nap-time ritual. I don't care that other moms say that this is bad habit, I LOVE it. It was so nice to have a calm, peaceful moment together. I have no intention of making it a permanent thing, but it can be a bit unnerving to sleep in someone else's house, and I have no problem helping her to sleep. I love her so much! She is so precious!