What's wrong with this picture?

I have all of our Christmas decorations up, but where are the stockings? Aren't they supposed to be all lined up hanging from the mantel? Not in this house of a one-year-old! Porter is old enough to understand when I tell him not to touch things, but Hudson is another story. He had been walking for 4 months now, and has gotten really good at climbing, reaching, and getting into EVERYTHING (and he just barely turned one!) I had the stockings hanging on the mantel and he kept pulling them down. The problem is that our stocking holders are really heavy, and I was worried he was going to get hurt. So I decided to make some sacrifices and hang our stockings here instead:
We got out Christmas tree put up and Porter and Hudson were so excited to help. Last year we didn't have a Christmas tree because we were moving into our new house during Christmas, so it was extra exciting to get the thing put up this year.
When I said Hudson was having fun helping us get the tree up, that wasn't exactly the truth. He was actually having fun playing in the big box the tree came in!
Once again, I am making sacrifices because of a cute little one-year-old that resides in this house. I have decided not to even attempt putting presents under the tree. I know it would just be a battle the entire time! Instead, the wrapped presents are staying safe in our locked office!
I am so excited for Christmas! I always love this time of year! I am excited because my family is coming to visit and this year, they won't be helping us move into our house. We will just be able to relax, play games, do puzzles, watch movies, and enjoy spending time together as a family:)

THANKSGIVING

We had a very different Thanksgiving this year. All of Brandon's family, except for his parents, had other plans so we didn't do a traditional family Thanksgiving get-together like we normally do. I decided instead of cooking for such a small group, we should go out to eat. I like traditional Thanksgivings, but honestly, it was nice to just relax all day, eat yummy food, and not have a single dish to do after wards! My Aunt Deb came to visit me during Thanksgiving, also, and that was super fun to have her here! She even went with me to the Black Friday Sales (which was totally worth it! I got so many great deals. Plus, now I am almost completely done with ALL my Christmas shopping!) We went with some of our friends and their family, so it was a fun group! I decided every once-in-awhile going out to eat can be a fun thing to do! I am definitely looking forward to a traditional Thanksgiving next year, though, b/c my family is coming up from Utah:)

Some random pics:

Porter and Hudson pretending to exercise, just like mommy. Love the shoes, Porter! A couple months ago I made the goal to run at least 2 miles every weekday. I have done well so far. I have only missed a couple of days. I feel so much better when I excersize and I want to keep it up! It's a good way to start my day, and I am done and showered before I get the boys up.
I had a small pumpkin that I used for decoration during Halloween. Afterwards, I decided to make a pumpkin pie with Porter. I wanted to use an actual pumpkin, instead of pumpkin from a can. That way, it was a more meaningful and educational experience for Porter.
Porter was so excited to try the pumpkin pie that he helped make. He liked it, surprisingly, and I think it had to do with him helping me make it. Now he asks for pumpkin pie all the time!
Just a cute picture of how my two boys play together. They definitely are best buds and it is so fun to watch them interact and play together as they grow up with eachother.

Hoopes Family Pictures... aka CRAZINESS!

As much as I LOVE pictures, I always dread getting them taken because kids are so unpredictable! My friend Tish did a great job of being a spontaneous photographer. And I have to note that my kids were decent, not perfect, but good enough. These were my favorites, but it was hard to select just a few!

Hudson's Halloween 1st Birthday Party: The Cake!

Like most one-year-old's when plopped in front of a cake, Hudson didn't know what to think or do at first. At first he just looked at it. Then he couldn't resist to stick his finger in it. After he would stick his finger in it, he would wipe the frosting off on his tray!

It didn't take him long to realize that this was some good stuff, though! He looks like he's pretty much in heaven right now!

It got to the point where digging in with his hands wasn't enough! He tried to pick up the whole cake!

Enjoying the gooey, sugary, stickiness. Hudson, I hope you enjoyed it, because I am not letting you get so messy every night!

Hudson's Halloween 1st Birthday Party: Opening Presents

Hudson didn't know what to think about opening presents. His big brother was very helpful in showing him how it's done, though!

Hudson opening Grandma and Grandpa Perry's gift sent from afar. Hudson was so sad he couldn't have them come to his party.

The very last gift was from Mommy and Daddy. By then, he knew what he had to do...

I love his stone face he had the whole time! It was a long busy day, and there was a lot for a one year old to take in!

That night, we also played ring-the-pumpkin, and we had a game for the adults. I filled a Halloween jar with m&m's and the person with the closest guess won the jar. We had some good guesses and Mike Winz was the closest. He was only off by a few! Good Job!

Hudson's Halloween 1st Birthday Party: The Birthday Boy!

"It's my Party and I'll cry if I want to!"

This is a good picture of Hudson's teeth. He's got 6. If only his eyes would have been open...

Havin' fun at his party:)

Getting ready to eat some cake!

Hudson's Halloween 1st Birthday Party: The Food

A proper Halloween can't begin without eating Halloween Captain Crunch. It starts the children on a sugar-high early in the morning. And the best part is the ghosts turn your milk green!

This is Hudson's personal cake:

This is the yummiest chocolate cake I have ever had! The adults enjoyed this.

These are the spider cupcakes I made for all the kids. They LOVED them!

Since this was a family party, we had taco soup for dinner. I made Halloween-shaped sandwiches for the kids. And I made "Swamp Juice". I meant to get a picture of it, but it was a concoction of kool-aid, oj, ginger-ale, and orange sherbet that looked disgusting, but was surprisingly good!

Hudson's Halloween 1st Birthday Party: The Decorations

I had a ton of fun decorating for Hudson's Halloween party. I love decorating in general, but it was so fun to deck everything out for a Halloween party!
One of the games we played was called The Spider Web. I set it all up the night before. The kids had to follow their string through the "spider web" and at the end was a prize. It was fun to set up, but by the end it was really hard because I had to maneuver through all of these strings!