GO Tigers!

 Hannah and Max had fun cheering on the Tigers in the Meineke Car Bowl, despite their loss.

Meeting Lindsey

Traveling back to the southeast warms my heart. In addition to seeing family, I try to squeeze in time with friends. Since I was home in December for 3 weeks this year (yay maternity leave!), I was able to maximize those opportunities: special time with Joanne, Time Drive in with Heather and Ben, the annual Seneca girls breakfast at SFR, hot cider and girl talk with Allison, and NYE with Kyle, Amanda and Hudson. It totally warmed my heart!

A few days after Christmas, one of my dearest friends and college roommates, Ali (Lindsey) Wells and I met up in Greenville for lunch. This was a special meeting for the two of us. We hadn't seen each other since Wes and I got married in 2008. Since then, we've both had babies! Ali had Lindsey in July, so the girls are really close in age.

Ali and I had great conversations during our pregnancies. She always gives such good advice and has a way of calming my fears about the next stage, whatever it may be. For example, everyone LOVES to tell pregnant women their most HORRENDOUS  labor stories..... hours and hours of hard painful labor complete with failing epidurals, dislocated limbs, passing out, and eventual C-sections. You name it, I more than likely heard it. Why, oh why, would someone tell me (pregnant with my first child) those stories? Ali was NOT one of those people. We chatted days before I gave birth to Hannah and she basically told me I was going to love every minute labor and delivery, not to be scared, and that the end result was worth every bit of struggle I might encounter. Ah, a breath of fresh air! And you know what, she was right! That's Ali! She's always been such a great friend!  

Ali was unable to make the Hannah's Sip and See shower, so she asked if we could meet up in Greenville with the girls to catch up over lunch. We had such a fun time introducing the girls and catching up with one another. I can't wait to meet up with Ali and Lindsey again!!! Here are few photos from out time together. 

 Lindsey reaching out a welcoming hand to Hannah.

I think they like each other! Look at Lindsey's gorgeous smile!

 Future Furman Roomies?

Hannah can't wait to see her new friend, Lindsey, again! 

Hannah's Dedication 12.26.10

Wes and I chose to have Hannah dedicated the day after Christmas along with Max and Megan. We couldn't think of a better time to dedicate our precious little girl to the Glory of God. We made a promise that day, a promise to raise Hannah in the church and to teach her about God and his Son. It's not a promise we take lightly and we will do all we can to make sure she has a solid foundation. We will nurture her growth and encourage her to ask questions and come to know God as we have.  

Christmas 2010 was special indeed! My spiritual battery has been recharged. I hope yours was too. 

Max, Megan and Hannah during the dedication. 

Rusty dedicating Hannah

Posing at the Chrismon Tree

 Sweet Hannah after the dedication

The entire Hubbard family

For those of you who couldn't make it and are interested in seeing all three babies being dedicated, this video is for you. Enjoy!

Christmas day 2010

Christmas was so much fun this year. We took full advantage of what is likely to be our last year with a relatively calm house for quite a while. Dad got up early and made pancakes. We all gathered around the breakfast table and took our time eating and talking before heading into the den to see what Santa had left for the kids.

Hannah must have been a pretty good girl! She got just what she asked for!

All smiles on Christmas morning

Daisy wanted to let us know she was still very much a part of our family, so she jumped in the picture too! HA!

We opened presents one by one. This is Hannah opening one of her presents with Daisy's help

Sweet kisses from daddy

The beautiful smocked dress from Mimi

Don't worry Daisy, we didn't forget about you. Santa left you a special treat too!

Wes got an Alabama helmet from my parents!

Hannah's first stocking

Wes got me a Tiffany bean necklace. I was sooo surprised! It signifies new beginnings and 2010 was certainly full of them for us!

Mom really outdid herself for Christmas dinner this year. YUM!

Christmas Eve

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. It always has been. When I was little, it was about Santa and the fun family traditions we had- Mom's amazing meals and baked goods, finding the perfect tree with dad, reading the Christmas story every Christmas eve as a family, caroling with the church, getting together with extended family on Christmas day, and so on.

There was something magical about this Christmas for me. For one thing, it was Hannah's first Christmas and I think that her presence made me think about Christmas in a way I'd never thought about it before. We attended the Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Service at FBC, Clemson. The Christmas Story was read, the sermon was preached and communion was served. At the close of the service, it's tradition to sing "Silent Night" by candle light. The music started, the congregation stood and gathered closer together as the lights dimmed and the candle light was slowly passed from one candle to the next. During the hymn, Hannah fell asleep in my arms and Wes stretched his arm around me and smiled. In that moment, I thanked God for my many blessings. As I looked down at Hannah, tears began to fill my eyes. What a miracle I was holding, what a gift God sent to Wes and me. I began thinking about what Mary must have felt like that first Christmas, many years ago. What did she feel like the 9 months she carried Jesus? How did she prepare to bring such a long awaited miracle into the world? Did she fully grasp what amazing work this child would do? I'd never really stopped to think about how Mary dealt with this miracle and the task she was charged with until my own child was born. What a brave woman!

Silent night, holy night!

All is calm, all is bright.

Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child.

Holy infant so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight.

Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,

Christ the Savior is born!

Christ the Savior is born.

Silent night, holy night!

Son of God love's pure light.

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus Lord, at Thy birth.

Jesus Lord, at Thy birth

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

3 Month Post

December 24th, 2010

Dear Hannah,

You are 3 months old today! It is Christmas Eve and Daddy and I already have the best gift possible, YOU!

You took your first flight on December 10th. You did very well!  Several friends advised me to feed you during take off and landing to help your ears pop. We sat down on the plane and you began to scream. It was already 30 minutes past meal time for you and you were cranky. I went ahead and fed you and hoped for the best. You fell asleep right before take off and woke up on our initial decent into Atlanta. Ah, sweet relief. I was so proud of you!

You met a lot of the Hubbard side of the family this month. It was fun to watch you when you met your cousins Megan and Max. You were fascinated by the other babies in the room. We spent the night with cousin Max. The two of you had "coffee talk" in the mornings. We sat the two of you facing each other. You were mesmerized.  You hadn't been around many other babies and certainly not for any extended period of time. You were very interested in Max.

You can now successfully sit in your Bumbo chair. We tried you in it at 2 months and you screamed when we put you in it. This month, you really like it. It's nice for me too, I can sit you in it while I go through boxes and unpack.

You found your hands this month. You can't keep them out of your mouth and you're perfectly content sucking on your fingers if your paci falls out.

Your personality is really shining through this month. You like to be carried on the hip and facing outward. You no longer like to be cradled when you're held. You have too much to see! If we try to cradle you, you pitch a fit. You've started playing games when you nurse. You drink, pull off and look up and me and smile, then you quickly turn your head and relatch. You are an eager nurser. I can put you into the cradle position to eat and you start to get excited. Your mouth is wide open, your eyes get big and you make the cutest little squeels of delight as you approach.


You stay awake for longer periods of time these days. Play time this month consists of singing songs, reading books, walks (when it's warm enough), time on your play mat, you've started expressing an interest in toys and the newest addition,  the jumparoo. Grandmommy had a jumparoo you played in when we visited. Even though your feet barely touched the floor, you loved it! You would play in it for at least 20 minutes, which is big for you. You are getting much better at grabbing toys.

You are a quarter of a year old. We can hardly believe it. We say it every month, but time really is flying by. You are growing and changing so much every day. We can't wait to see what this next month will bring.

Sip and See

Over the holidays, a few of my very best friends (Allison, Amanda, Lauren, and Dana) threw a "sip and see" shower for Hannah and me. I was unable to travel long distances towards the end of my pregnancy, so we opted to have a baby shower for Hannah after she was born. It ended up being PERFECT! Close friends had the opportunity to meet Hannah in person. It was real treat, since Wes and I live so far away. It was a wonderful day!

Hannah all dolled up in her party dress. She was giddy to meet everyone!

Amanda brought Hudson to join in on the fun. Hudson was born 3 days ahead of Hannah! We already have big plans for these two.  They were so excited to meet one another.

Love at first sight???

 The hostesses did a wonderful job with the decorations and tasty treats!

The hostesses minus Dana (we missed you my little!!!) Dana was unable to make the trip, but she got to meet Hannah on our drive from Denver to Chicago back in late October. These are the best friends a girl could ask for.

Hannah and Dana in Lincoln, NE

Mimi drove all the way from Gadsden for the shower. Hannah was thrilled to spend some quality time with Mimi!

Aunt Bess also made the long trip to SC.  Hannah loves her Aunt Bess!

A few of the guests... Mrs. Warner and Heather.  Heather got Hannah an awesome book about Boston! Are you trying to tell us something??

Sweet Ashley got tickled!

Jody and Mrs. James

Little Hudson and Mrs. Royal

Good thing Hannah had two party dresses. She had a big blow out in the middle of the shower. LOL! I think she did it intentionally so that everyone could see dress #2.

My Jo jo came from Boston to meet Hannah and shower her with love. Joanne is now a little over 20 weeks pregnant with her own little one. Speckle will make HIS appearance in May!

These pictures are fun! Joanne came to visit me in Denver when I was 39 weeks pregnant with Hannah.  Actually, now that I think about it, we were both pregnant in the Denver picture, she just didn't know it yet :) 

Loving on Speckle!

Thank you so much to all who made the "sip and see" so special. It was wonderful to catch up with and introduce Hannah to such amazing people!