Living Room Blizzard

In case you are wondering what can happen when I step into the kitchen for 2 minutes to talk to my dad on the phone...

"Uh-oh! I'm caught!"

"I'm so glad Mommy was nice enough (and DUMB ENOUGH!) to bring home her extra movie theater popcorn for me!"

"It's a good thing Daddy just got done vacuuming the whole house after Mommy took the Christmas tree down today..."

..."and I'm REALLY lucky that he just left to pick up a late shift at work, because he wouldn't be as nice about this as Mommy is being!!!"

(I took these pictures before I tried to clean up...that was BEFORE I tried to use the vacuum hose and got popcorn stuck in it, BEFORE I panicked and called Memaw and Aunt Allison to come down and help me, BEFORE Memaw took the vacuum apart, took a toothbrush to the inside of it, and used a knife to remove kernels, and BEFORE I nearly passed out with relief when she got it working again. Needless to say, we picked the rest up by hand and just vacuumed the crumbs. And I will not be bringing home any more popcorn for Holden for quite awhile. Ironically enough, the movie Jay and I went to was "Marley and Me," and this living room scene could have been straight out of it!) =o)

I have Brady's 2nd birthday, Christmas at Granny's, and Holden exchanging gifts with his girlfriend Natalie and "Aunts" Kara and Bridget, but I think you can see why I didn't get around to posting them this evening. You can see a really cute video clip of Holden and Natalie "kissing" on Bridget's blog site, which is listed to the lower right of my blog. Holden is in bed now so I have at least 10 hours before the next fiasco....

P.S. His right eye looks droopy because he came down with a case of pink eye today. I felt horrible because we dropped him off at Brady's and spread his germs while we went to the movie. We had no clue until we picked him up and Kam commented that she'd put a wet washcloth on it because it was oozing out nasty crud. This popcorn incident happened right after I had put in his first set of eye drops, which as you can imagine did not go over well with a 21 month old. I swear he has revenge in his eyes....

Still keeping busy...

Whew! This is my last post for the evening. I can't believe that my first week of break is already over. There is just so much going on. I don't think we've had one day where we haven't gone someplace. Luckily, Holden loves getting out and seeing people. He's a real trooper!

Last night, we went to visit Jay's sister, Stacy, her husband, and their 6 fun, giggly, rambunctious kiddos. We haven't seen baby Cameron since she was newborn. It's amazing how quickly they grow! Holden was excited to play with all of his cousins and loved all of the attention he received. Right before we left, I realized we'd been so busy (imagine that with 7 kids in one place!) that I hadn't taken any pictures. So we got the usual crowded couch shot. I started this couch shot when Jay and I were dating, and it was just Kaitlin, Bradd, and Haley. Fast forward 8 years, add three more siblings and a cousin, and here you have it! I am always surprised that we somehow manage to fit them all into one shot. =o) Holden was ticked off that he had his coat and hat on, and equally ticked off that he was confined. In case you can't tell by the scowl.

Jay and I took Holden to dinner at Godfather's Pizza. It has a pizza buffet/salad bar and we can usually find something that even he will eat. Of course the night we picked was not one of the buffet nights. Good thing I had pretzels, fruit snacks, and goldfish in my bag! There is a ball pit and I don't know if Holden or Jay had more fun. What a good Daddy! (I sat trying not to cringe thinking about the germs/what might be lurking under the balls.) They did have a great time together. And I pulled out the hand sanitizer the second they were done.

Just some randoms from yesterday and today. Memaw and Pepaw got Holden the "horsey." He can interact with the TV by bouncing on it and pushing buttons. It has a really cool setup that teaches him colors, numbers, words, shapes, opposites, etc. He loves it! As you can see, he is still completely enamored with his grill. He cooked all kinds of things for me today, including cars and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" book!? He loves playing "peek a boo" through the stairway railing. I never get tired of his little grin!

And the posts will continue...we went to Brady's 2nd birthday party today, and tomorrow after church we are heading to my Granny's place in Eureka. Stay tuned! Never a dull moment around here. (I think I may need a vacation from my vacation!)

Christmas night

On Christmas night, we drove the four doors down to Jay's parents' house. Yes, it was that cold and icy! There was just no way we could walk safely. Which is crazy, because today it is in the 60's and all of the snow melted! That's Illinois weather for you. Tami cooked a yummy ham dinner, and between her and Betty, Jay's grandma, there was more than enough good things to fill our stomachs with! (Holden ate french fries and fruit snacks. The kid doesn't know what he's missing!) Then we opened gifts downstairs. We again got completely spoiled, especially Holden. All I could think that night was, "Where on Earth are we going to fit all of this stuff? And how are we ever going to fit more toys in the future?"

Our Christmas group shot turned out much better than the Thanksgiving one! Tami is still trying to send that one to the Ellen show. Apparently she shows funny pictures that people send her.

Some fun pictures from the evening. Holden sure had fun playing the Wii with Aunt Allie! As usual, Jay and Allison found new ways to torment each other and to give me blackmailing photography opportunities. =o)

Christmas morning!

Christmas morning with Holden was how I had always pictured having a small child at Christmas would be. While he was such a precious baby last year, this year was SO fun as he really "got it!" I'm not sure if he still comprehends the whole Santa deal, although he does talk about him and refer to him as "Ho-ho." But he definitely understands what presents are now! The joy and excitement on his face that morning was priceless.

Jay had to work this year, so we got Holden up early so that Daddy wouldn't miss him opening his gifts. He was very tired and crabby when I carried him down the stairs, blankie in hand and rubbing his eyes. Then he caught a glimpse of the tree, or more importantly, what was under the tree. His eyes were wide as saucers, he got a huge grin, and almost bounced out of my arms as he yelled, "A GRILL! A GRILL!!" We didn't even know that he could say that word. This summer he loved to "help" Jay when he cooked out. Apparently he hadn't forgotten! His two big items under the tree were the grill and a Home Depot tool center. He was delighted with both. We had to really coax him to go downstairs to our lower family room, where the train table was, as he didn't want to leave his new toys. When we finally convinced him, he took one look and started screaming, "CHOO CHOO!!!!!" In the top left picture of the collage you can see his lips forming that phrase, which we heard a million times throughout the day. Right after he saw it, he ran over and gave Jay a big kiss! It was so sweet. There are some tiny pictures on the collage, so make sure you click to enlarge it. I love the one of his with his Home Depot goggles, using a hammer at the grill. He combined the two toys to make his own little cooking/pounding center.

Later in the morning, Paul, Tami, and Allison braved the icy street to walk down to our house. We were getting together with them later that night, but Allison couldn't wait to give Holden her gift. He loved his new Magna Doodle! He plays with it every day now and will announce, "Color!" and tell us what he is drawing. It cracks me up that the scribbles are, in his mind, different things. He informed my brother that he had made a choo choo. Later, Eric drew a train for him. Holden frowned at it, took the triangle stamp that goes with it, stamped it on the top, scribbled a little, and said, "choo choo," looking very satisfied. I guess Eric needs to learn a thing or two about how to make a train correctly! ;o) My parents and Eric came by for breakfast, and Jay and his intern were also able to stop in to eat and see Holden with all of his new toys.

Tami is going to kill me for this picture of her in her pj's, but I love this series of her and Holden on the stairs. He loves to sit in Memaw's lap and slide down, and on Christmas he decided he was big enough to do it on his own. (After making her do it with him about 10 times; each time he'd beg she'd say, "Okay, just one more." Yeah, right!)

A few pictures of him with his grill. It was the first present he went to, and it's just a little cheapo plastic thing, but he just loves it! There's also one of Eric with the helicopter he got him. It flies up to 80 feet in the air! Just what we need in our house. That's what uncles are for; buying you things your parents never would. Unfortunately, part of the wing broke on one of its many airborne excursions (which I captured on video but not in a picture) so my dad is planning to work on it with some Superglue the next time he's here. =o)

Christmas Eve

Hi everyone! I'm back! We had a wonderful Christmas with our families. (Actually more than one, as you can see by all my posts!) Jay took Holden to a hockey game with Pepaw (Jay's dad) tonight, so I was able to steal some time to clean the house and catch up on the blog.

On Christmas Eve, it was great to be able to go to a candlelit service at our church with both of our families. My parents and my brother, Eric, and Jay's parents and his sister, Allison, joined us in celebrating Jesus' birthday. Holden made it through the first song and was ready to go play in the nursery! =o) I was counting my blessings for that when we started lighting the candles. They handed them to us when we walked in, but we didn't light them until towards the end. While waiting for the service to start, Holden had Eric and Jay's (is it a surprise that those are the two that handed them to him??) and he was using them as swords. Lovely. I can't imagine if he would have been around when they were lit. It was a beautiful service and we felt blessed to be together as a family. (Even if it meant going out in -20 degree temperatures!!!)

After the service, Jay, Holden, and I headed to my parents' house for dinner. Mom made a roast, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, and loads of other yummy side dishes and appetizers, plus dessert. It was delicious! (For those of you wondering, Holden ate....drum roll here....crackers and apple slices! Surprise, surprise!) Ha! Then we headed downstairs to open presents. A common theme this year for Holden was vehicles, apparently the louder and more obnoxious, the better. He loved it!!!!!! Our little family was very spoiled this year. Below are a few pictures.

Group shot! Now that he is retired, my dad still enjoys driving his school bus route twice a day. Mom got him a bus ornament and apparently he thought he needed to include it in the picture. He is always doing something goofy!

I finally got my family picture. Of course by now it was way past Holden's bedtime, and he wanted to be playing with his toys. Oh well, at least he's looking at the camera!

Christmas Eve collage. I love the one of Holden and Uncle Eric admiring his new car.

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas! I hope today was filled with family, new memories, and reminders of the true reason for the season. We feel very blessed at the Hobson household. I will be posting lots of new pictures soon. Holden's face this morning was priceless. For now, sending "good tidings of great joy" your way.
Much Love,
The Hobsons

Holden's first gingerbread house!

As a frequent flyer of Walmart, for years I've seen their gingerbread house kits and though, "Someday I want to do that with my kids!" I was thrilled when Jay and I were shopping the other day, and they had them for only $2.68! The kit came with all the house pieces, a chimney, gingerbread people, and a gingerbread tree, plus all the candy and the bag of frosting. It also had a tray with grooves in it that made the construction part fairly easy. Holden loves helping me cook (even if he doesn't like to eat much!) and he was so excited! I had all the candy in a bowl, and as you'll see below, his favorite way to "help" was to eat it! He did like putting the candy on the house, but he also thought he was entitled to then pull it back off and eat it, so I had to keep an eye on him. We had a fun morning creating, and I don't think it turned out too shabby!

Here is Holden hamming it up with his finished house.

Our creation process. (Click on the collage to see the pictures bigger.) The one of him on the floor with his candy bowl is how I kept him quiet and in one place while I cleaned up. His teeth may fall out, but it did serve my purpose! =o)

Our gingerbread house. It kinda reminds me of the Hansel and Gretel story. The one on the box is a lot prettier, but I was just proud it stands on its own!

Kids' Christmas party and the train table fiasco!

Yesterday Holden and I were invited to a Christmas get-together for kids and Mommies at the Polletts' house. We were excited to have somebody to play with/people to talk to on another day full of freezing rain and frigid temperatures. Jay still had to drive us down the street because you could literally ice skate on our street and sidewalks right now! The kids played, the Mommies enjoyed each other's company, and we had a yummy lunch and of course, desserts. Thanks for having us over, Kam!

Mommy and Holden posing in front of our tree before we left for our party. (As you can see, he's getting a lot of use out of his cute little Christmas outfit. He's wearing it again tonight for Christmas Eve service/dinner at my parents' house. It has been through the wash quite a few times this month!) =o)

We got some group shots of all the kiddos and chose the best one to print out and put in little snowglobes that Kam got each of the kids. What a cute idea! I didn't think we'd ever get all of them to sit still and look at us, but we pulled it off! What a cute group! The back row is Holden, Bella, Brady, and Addy. The front row is Kylie and Ellie (Addy's sister.)

Some random shots from the day. Holden is quite enamored with Bella at the moment. Her mom and I joke that they could be twins...both came a month early, are blondies, picky eaters, and even weigh almost the same exact amount. He kept giving her kisses, and my camera wasn't quick enough to catch them! In the one in the collage, you can see him moving in on her. =o) Don't worry, Natalie, you're still his favorite though! I was excited to see him so into Brady's new Home Depot tool bench because I have a feeling Santa might be bringing him the same one. ;o)

Okay, so the train table story in the title: Santa brought Holden the Imaginarium train table. He brought it to our house a little early since he knows it has a lot of parts and might take Daddy and me awhile to put together. (He explained that the elves have had to start commissioning out some of their work since there are so many children in the world now.) During Holden's nap yesterday, we brought it up from the basement and started working on it. Let me just say as a side note-neither Jay or I were blessed with building skills. In fact, when we put together Holden's nursery furniture, it's a wonder that a) it got done and b) we didn't separate over it! Not our forte. So I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was going. We were using teamwork, and the frame was almost finished. When I commented on it to Jay, he grinned and said, "Better knock on wood!" Literally a few seconds after that, we went to put the final back portion on and discovered that the two boards that we needed to attach were missing the holes they were supposed to have! We double checked every piece and since they are labeled with numbers, we knew we had the right pieces. Now what?? This is Holden's biggest gift, and two days before Christmas here we sat with it two thirds of the way finished and no way to complete it. When I called the hot line, the automated voice said all helpers were busy, but I could leave a message and they'd respond in two to three business days. Ummm....no. So I called Toys R' Us and they said they had no tables left. Then they put me on hold for 20 minutes. When I finally got another person, they said they actually did have one, and they'd hold it if I came right out. I asked if instead of taking apart the whole thing, I could just bring back the two faulty pieces with my receipt and trade them out. They very politely said, "NO." So my dad came and picked me up and we loaded the partially finished product into his back seat. We were not about to waste time taking the whole thing apart again! Jay did confiscate a few of the screws in case we were short in the next box. =o) The Toys R' Us customer service counter is a nightmare two days before Christmas. One man had brought his own screwdriver and was standing there taking batteries out of a broken toy. Another was yelling about his duplicate DVD's that he couldn't return without a receipt. I did feel sympathy for the workers. Until they told me they didn't have a new train table, and why did I think that???? Fortunately they were just misinformed, and a manager came out carrying my box like it was the holy grail. I made him open it and let me check the boards before I took it home. When I returned, Holden had woken up, so Memaw graciously let us drop him off at her house while we worked. 5 hours after the ordeal started, we have a completed train table hidden in the basement. Tonight we have to put it upstairs and put together the million and one tracks and buildings. And the Home Depot workbench and the toy grill that Santa also dropped off. I'm a little scared. I think next year I need to hire these jobs out to someone. Any takers????

Christmas #1!

I am posting several Christmas get-togethers tonight, so make sure to scroll down and check them all out! Over the past three days we had our first Christmas at Jay's grandparents' house, went to the Polletts for dinner and playtime, and then today I had a girls' lunch and gift exchange at my friend, Susan's house. 'Tis the season to run around town!

Grandma and Grandpa Kerber, Jay's grandparents on his mom's side, had the family over on Saturday night for our Christmas get-together. The family just keeps growing, and it was quite the full house. I tried all night to get a picture of Holden, Jay, and me, but I couldn't get Holden to slow down for a second, so I ended up just getting Jay and me, and a bunch of cute action shots of the little guy.

The younger kids, Morgan, (2), Holden, (21 months), and Emma (1) were in perpetual motion all evening. They were fun to watch and definately loud enough to hear throughout the house! Cousin Chelsey (3rd grade) was a big help with them. She helped open presents, played with them, watched them on the stairs, and was very patient. Thanks for being our helper, Chels! I seem to see a common theme of sippy cups in this collage...

More family pictures! Jay's cousin, Tim, and his wife, Katie, just found out that they are expecting. They surprised Grandma and Grandpa with a card signed from "baby Mann." I love the expression on Grandma's face as she realizes what that means! =o)

Little Emma turned 1 on the 19th, and we celebrated her b-day with a Backyardigans cake and of course more gifts. She definately understood what the cake was for and was not bashful about it! Holden and Morgan tried to blow out the candle for her, and Stinker Pants Holden got several swipes of the frosting as we were singing! He finally made off with one of the Backyardigans pieces and licked every last bit of icing off. Somehow he's not picky with sweets!?

Fighting cabin fever with the Polletts!

So seriously, Illinois right now is not far off from the North Pole. We have had snow, freezing rain, and subzero temperatures for the past several days. It is sooooo cold that it literally takes your breath away when you step out the door. Everything is iced over, which is really pretty but not condusive to doing anything. We have been cooped up indoors and I think all three of us are starting to go a little stir crazy! Our good friends and neighbors, the Polletts, invited us over for dinner last night. I kid you not, it was painful just walking down the street to their house. The street and sidewalk were sheets of ice, the wind was blowing in 30 mile an hour gusts, and the temperature was -5 (that's before the windchill; I'm sure it felt more like -15!) We braved it for the sake of sanity and we all had a fun time together. The boys were so happy to play, lil' Miss Kylie was full of dimpled smiles, and Jay even gave them a new tree-topper. (We have a Cubs/Cardinals feud going on that's not far off from the Hatfields and the McCoys!) =o) We are so blessed to have good friends so close by!

Elfsters!

I have a great group of girlfriends that I get together with monthly to watch Grey's Anatomy, talk, eat, laugh, talk, eat, laugh, talk, eat, laugh....do you sense a pattern here?! I have been best friends with Bridget and Kara since Jr. High, and now that they work at the same school together, they have connected me with a whole network of wonderful girls: Susan, Stacy, Lisa, and Heather. There's nothin' like girlfriends! It's nice that we all teach because we just "get" each other. We have started a yearly gift exchange, and this year, Kara found this cool website called "Elfster." It invites everyone to participate, and once we've all accepted, it randomly assigns you someone in secret to shop for! It was really fun because we could make a wish list and ask each other questions, and Elfster kept the names a secret. Today Susan was the "hostess with the mostess," and we got together for lunch and our exchange. As usual, we had a great day together!


Do you recognize Holden's girlfriend, Natalie? (Bridget's baby girl) Look how much she has grown! Do you see why I want her to be my daughter-in-law someday? How beautiful is she?! I thought she deserved a collage devoted entirely to her cuteness.

Susan goes all out when she hosts. She got out her good china and set us up in the dining room for our Avanti's lunch. Here's the whole group: (from left) Stacy, Bridget, Lisa, me, Heather, Susan, and Kara.

Party girls!

Gift time! Kara is expecting a little girl in April. I am sure she will be thrilled with the shot of her modeling her new pj's! I love my new hot pink slippers and my cute new shirt, Bridget! As you can see, I spent a lot of my day getting my baby fix with Natalie. I just miss that stage where they are so cuddly and like to sit in my lap. I think I am getting the "baby bug" again....

Merry Christmas to "my girls!"

My snow baby

Here is a video clip of Holden in the snow today. We are actually in our neighbor's yard because it was so slippery that once we got down there I decided to stay put for awhile! Remember to pause the music so you can hear it. =o)

Hockey game and a SNOW DAY!

I woke up today feeling hungry and full of energy...the flu is gone! Woo hoo! To further my delight, school was cancelled due to some major ice that we got during the night and morning hours. It was my last day before break, so I'll have to go into my room sometime and get all of the Christmas decorations down, but I don't give a hoot today. =o) Holden has been wanting to use his new boots from Memaw, and as soon as he woke up today he started saying, "SNOW!" and "I GO OUTSIDE!" So we bundled up and headed out for a little while. It was very slippery, and the snow was a heavy, wet snow with all of the freezing rain we'd had. Holden could have cared less. He clomped around in his boots, had fun punching the snow with his mittens, and waved to anyone he saw. When his nose started getting red we headed in. I need one of those face masks for him! It was fun seeing him so excited. It's the simple things!

Last weekend we went to a Prairie Thunder hockey game with Grammy and Papa. (My parents.) Holden looks so serious in these pictures, but he was really happy and had a great time! He couldn't take his eyes off the players, and all the action. He loved dancing to the music, yelling "Go, go!" and clapping with everyone. Daddy introduced him to his first taste of Dip n' Dots, and as you can see it was a hit. =o) The only traumatizing experience was the mascot, Chip, who is a bull, and seeing Santa sitting in our section of seats. Let's just say we won't be going to Disney World anytime soon!!! We have a bit of character phobia at the moment. I need to scan his Santa picture from the mall so that you can see what I mean. He likes him in the books, but not so much in person!!

Song List

I have been wanting to add songs to the blog for awhile and finally got around to it. The three of us love music (even if we can't sing or dance to save our lives!) and I know Holden will enjoy it. All of you who know him will know why Shake It had to be added to the mix even though it can get obnoxious after awhile. No matter where he is, if he hears that song, he will drop everything and start dancing, hands over his head, big grin in place. Most of the others are ones that have special meaning to our family. A lot of them just remind us of Holden. =o)

"Santa? Is that you???"

Look who I caught peeking out the door in his Santa hat...

hoping Santa will bring some presents his way???

Sick Day

I am home with the stomach flu, bummed out that I am missing my kids' Christmas party and their program this evening. I am feeling much better today but just very weak; didn't think I could manage a whole day of activities with 25 active first graders! Jay has been wonderful today. He took the day off and took Holden out all morning so I could rest. I have done a little updating on my blog this afternoon since I am going stir crazy! The buttons on the top right are two blogs that I am following. I found MckMama's blog this summer when she was dealing with a complicated pregnancy; her son, Stellan, was predicted not to live once he was born. I am happy to say that through many prayers and God's grace, he is a healthy 7 week old! She has a huge following and her posts can be controversial, but she also has a huge heart (and a hilarious sense of humor!) and I always love checking out her new posts and her awesome pictures of her little ones. The website about baby Kayleigh is a new one that I found through MckMama's site. It absolutely broke my heart and took my breath away with just the opening picture of the wedding band on that tiny little wrist. Her life is really hanging in the balance right now, so I added the button in the hopes that more people would check in and pray! I have also added a new blogger to my list. Adrienne and I have never met in person, but have become friends through the blogging world. We both have adorable (I'm not biased at all!) blond little boys, and while our journeys to motherhood are vastly different, she is someone I really relate to in the daily joys and sorrows of motherhood. Adrienne recently had a failed adoption and I have been so impressed with her incredible grace and faith as she handled it. Lastly, I finally figured out how to add some cute little counters to the bottom of my page that I had wanted to do for awhile. One is counting down until Holden is 2......not so far away! My baby is growing up! The other counts how many hits my blog gets. Although I think a lot of them today are from myself trying to check in and see if I got everything working how I wanted! ;o) I will post new pics of Holden soon from our trip to the hockey game Sat. night with my parents. We had a great time!

PS Heidi and Mark are friends of my friend, Ali. (If you followed that!) =o) They have a very sick baby girl at the moment and could really use your prayers.

To keep updated, please check out their blog... http://dekorne.blogspot.com/2008/12/sad-day.html
Hospital care page... http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Kaiya (you'll have to create an account)

December fun

My staff Christmas party was Friday night. I took way too many pictures, many of which would get me in BIG trouble if I posted them here! Let's just say everyone enjoyed themselves. ;o) Here are a few that won't land me any revenge! (We went to dinner at Gill St. and then bowling. A lot of people went out after that but Jay had to work and I had to get up with Holden, so we called it a night. We're old!)

Holden adores lights, so he is enthralled with the tree. Here are some shots of him "helping" during my wonderful lighting difficulties of last weekend! I am now able to post them and laugh.

His latest obsession is shoes! He really likes to put mine or Jay's on, whichever are by the door. (So that means usually mine) =o) Then he clomps around in them. I love how seriously he takes it!