Tennessee Christmas

This was our year to be in Tennessee for Christmas with my family, so we headed down Monday and came back Friday. It was great to be there for a few days so we could get in all the time we needed to hang out with family and friends, instead of rushing around like we usually do! Jude did great in the car (he always immediately sings a song to himself and then falls asleep when he's in the car). One of our family traditions is wandering around the Opryland Hotel at Christmas, because they decorate like crazy with a zillion lights. In the center of the hotel there's an enormous courtyard with winding brick paths and you feel like you're in a jungle, with plants and trees and ponds with huge fish. Jude really loved it, although we got lost a couple of times trying to get out!




We got in some great quality time with the cousins too. Jude is seriously enamored by Tyson, and watches every move he makes. If he ends up acting like him in the next few months, get ready for insane giggling and running around in circles like a madman! Tyson loves to push things....grocery carts, strollers, whatever. He practiced his moves on Jude, and pushed him around the lobby of the hotel in his stroller, looking straight at the ground the whole time. Jude survived. Barely:) Ty was also extrememly busy "talking" on the phone while we unwrapped presents Christmas morning. Speaking of the Orbison family, my sister Lauren announced a few days ago that she is pregnant again, expecting in late August! We are all so excited for her! The kids will be 25 months apart, which sounds like so much fun. Congrats, Lauren. We can't wait to meet the newest Orbison!

Ted and I took advantage of our babysitters, Memaw and G-daddy, and went out with our friends one night. It was great to be "us" again for a few hours!

The best part of the trip for me was the day we went down to Alabama to see my Grandma. She hadn't met Jude or Emily (Renee's daughter) yet, so it was really special to see their introduction. My grandma was recently diagnosed with Alzhiemers, so its important to me that we get down to see her as often as we can. We went out to lunch at Cracker Barrel, one of my favorites because you can order an entire meal of fried stuff with gravy on top! I try to eat well at home and be a good example to Jude, but something about visiting my family brings out the junk food junkie in me! I guess you can take the girl out of the South....

We spent some time with Ted's side of the family before and after Christmas. Jude and Annabel exchanged gifts, and he was very excited to receive his Flava-Flav hat! He's worn it on several occasions, although he still needs teeth in order to sport a "grill." Maybe one day. We also met up with family yesterday for the Colts/Titans game.

And finally, Jude is sitting! He still wobbles some and crashes eventually, but the other day we sat in his room and played with a new toy from Beth and Ross, and he sat all by himself for 5 whole minutes! I was even comfortable enough to go grab the camera and take a few pictures without fear of a face-plant. He still needs more time and practice to be a completely independent "sitter," but he's well on his way! My sisters and I got together and had a photographer come over to our house while we were in TN for family pictures as a gift for my parents, and we tried to get a few shots of Jude sitting on the grass by himself. (it was like, 65 degrees). We got a little overly-confident, and scooted away from him during the picture, and he tumped straight back into the ground and was angry at us for a while. I found a tick running across his head later that morning, poor thing! (bad mommy!) Anyway, hope everyone had a great holiday and made some good memories with family and friends.

xoxo