beep beep!

        

I just started to sift through our hundreds of pictures from Christmas break and came across these gems of Hudson riding on the school bus at Kyle's parents house. He would hold on tight & squeal with delight as we would push him around the room over and over again. I never get tired of hearing those sweet little baby giggles or seeing those smiles from my happy little guy.

Tonight I had a bittersweet moment just realizing that time goes by so quickly. Before I know it, my little buddy won't be little anymore. He won't cuddle up in my arms forever or want to hang out with me all day long. 

So, for now, I am just going to soak up every minute of time with little baby H- 

The mornings when we snuggle in bed because it just seems to cold to get up and get the day started. 

The days we just sit at the table for meal time and share bites of bananas or yogurt or mashed up real people food for way longer than mealtime should ever last. 

The times I feel like a broken record repeating movements and motions and silly little games like peek-a-boo just because I want to hear that little laugh one more time. 

Picking him up and saying "hi" or "goodbye" just to see his little hand start waving up and down. 

 Even the nights when he wakes crying in the middle of the night again and again and it wakes me up and I am so tired and so exhausted that I can barely keep my eyes open. And when the only thing that will calm him is being in mama's arms for minutes or hours...until he falls asleep again. 

Yes, even those times. 

Especially those times.

ice hockey

Kyle Poll, Ice Hockey Legend. 

Well, maybe not exactly, but he did started playing in an ice hockey league. Shocked? I was too when he first pitched the idea. Guess there's a first time for everything, right? Turns out they conveniently play right across the street in Central Park & Hudson has been dying see him in action. After much begging and pleading by me, Kyle finally relented. 

So, we bundled up & went to cheer on daddy. Hudson loved getting to stay up late, see the bright lights, and hear the sound of the skaters on the ice. And our #6 was amazing. He didn't fall even once and had a couple of decent hits-on the puck, not the other players. I even managed to snap a few photos just in case no one ever believes us. We've got proof. 

But the moment that really took our breath away was just minutes before the game ended, when a puck flew right past us, narrowly missing both Hudson and myself. That was scary. Needless to say, we watched the rest of the game behind the high high fence just to be safe. 

Look at that adorable face & those eyes. So alert and intent on the every little move on the ice. 

 

traces of christmas

The end of the Christmas season is always a little bittersweet. 

I love the fresh start of a new year, but I hate knowing the holidays are over.  

With all the craziness of December, we finally got around to snapping a family photo by the tree--

just in time to un-decorate and toss 'er out on the street. 

And that is that. 

The holidays were magical, but now it's on to the New Year!

goodbye 2012

if you look closely, you can see we are making a "2013." pretty cool, right?

a run down of our new year's eve 2012:

1 early morning 5:30 wake-up call

2 pushes of the snooze button

3 of us & our 5 pieces of luggage crammed in our tiny rental car

1 bittersweet goodbye after an amazing holiday visit

hundreds of delicate snowflakes falling slowly during our drive to the airport

1 first class seat (for huds & me), 1 coach seat (for kyle)

3 squeezie pouches of baby food, 1 wardrobe change for huds, 1 in-flight movie, 3 subway transfers, & a strong kyle carrying our 120+ lbs of luggage simultaneously up the subway stairs with his bare hands (it was an impressive sight) & we were back.

home in nyc.

we spend hudson's first new year's dressing up in our holiday best & dining at dean's with our good friends. then, we boycotted hudson's bedtime & rang in the new year with a spectacular firework show in central park over the lake. well, truthfully we rang in the new year on our way to central park with our cabbie, dalgeet. yes, we were in a cab when the clock struck midnight. our timing was a little bit off. but, that didn't keep us from loving the moment. we were stopped at a red light (dalgeet was a very slow and cautious cabbie) and we all yelled out excitedly. even dalgeet joined in the fun. oh dalgeet. i will never forget the big smile on his face as he screamed along with us and oohed and ahhed at the fireworks we could see peeking at us from the night sky. good times.  we were only a few minutes late to the celebration as thousands of new yorkers gathered to say hello to 2013. we bundled hudson up, threw on some reindeer antlers and jumped in the midnight run yelling out "happy new year" all through the park. we passed people dressed in santa suits, santa hats, charlie brown + friends attire, capes, jean cut-offs and suspenders, and even a homemade brooklyn bridge costume. everyone was festive and happy & so excited for the new year. and even hudson loved it. his bright eyes gazed at the fireworks and he smiled from his stroller throne as we jogged along. what a trooper. we didn't make it home until nearly 2am. 

2012 was wonderful. a new job for kyle & our new baby's arrival & plenty of memories we will always cherish.

but here's to 2013. a fresh new start for the 3 of us. 

happy new year!