ONCE (that's eleven, in espanol) MESES!

Well, my motto for this last year continues . . . better late than never! My sweet boys turn ONE tomorrow, so I figured I'd better go ahead and post their 11 month pictures! (For those who know me well, you know that their turning one is not happening without some tears on my part. How are my babies already so big??) This last month has been SUCH fun . . . we are seeing their personalities sprout at every turn (and there are literally many turns that these mobile boys are making these days!) Both boys are crawling like crazy, although Hudson is especially good at speed-crawling and you can hear his fat little hands smacking the wood floors before you see him! William is standing more and more without holding on . . . it will be a toss-up as to which baby takes his first step first! Both boys are babbling and talking a lot, and Hudson is signing "all done" beautifully while William prefers to wave (not always on cue, or even in the right direction, but wave he does). I would tell you how late they have been sleeping (8am! Oh, I love these boys!), but surely that will change before we know it . . . They each boast 8 teeth (4 up/4 down) and I wonder if they are working on some more. While their teeth coming in is painful, they will surely help them devour their favorite foods pizza and quesadillas (are these our children or what?), and they are SURE to love some CAKE on their Big Ole Birthday!

Enjoy these pictures from their 11 month shoot . . . more to come of Thanksgiving . . . and, then, BIRTHDAY!

Newborn

3 Months

6 Months (Oh THE CHUB!)

9 Months

11 Months (we had to get creative to get these mobile boys to look at the camera TOGETHER! . . . hence the change of scenery and the props!!)


Here are the boys playing with dangerous toys (which, by the way, are their favorite kind of toy--dangerous things that are not actually TOYS!) . . . the cord from the blinds (fear not, they were supervised!)

Hudson

William

Handsome HUDSON HALL . . . my sweet boy! (check out his cute little angel wings behind his ear!)

Daddy was blowing in his face . . . so funny!

Playing with Daddy (and his hat--mmm, tasty)!


Hudson has such a sweet face! I love it! And the HAIR! Where did it come from? OH, so cute! (if I do say so myself!)

My precious little WILLIAM JEFFREY

Trying his best to get Mommy's camera!

I love this baby's profile (even with that ole hemangioma! WHICH, by the way, is GOING DOWN! PRAISE the LORD!!)


Close Ups!

Hud

Will

Loving Leaves!

These pictures were taken two weeks ago. We had gone to church with the boys and they called me back into the nursery because Hudson was crying and they couldn't get him to stop. They told me that they thought he needed me, which was sweet but unusual . . . turns out, Hudson was hungry. Very hungry! I fed him, and he speed crawled away (he is very fast!) We took these pictures after the boys woke from their naps. William often has crazy hair after his naps, and this day was no exception! [We laugh every time we see this picture!]


When Hatch and I lived in Nicaragua during our first year of marriage, Hatch declared that he really missed the fall and he really didn't think he could permanently live in a place that did not have "fall" as one if its seasons. This year, I knew that I wanted to get some pictures of the boys in leaves, but I had to wait for some help . . . I knew that I couldn't handle two moving babies who were simultaneously trying to shovel leaves into their mouths! Since my ever-on-top-of-things husband had already raked the leaves in our yard, we headed across the street to our neighbors' yard. The boys had a great time playing . . . Hudson liked speed crawling through the leaves, and well, William just wanted to eat them ALL! Enjoy the fall fun!

This may be the only pictures we have of them both sitting still! (note: will has a tiny leaf in his mouth!)

Hudson . . . he has such a sweet little face, and I just love his expressions! I think the last picture of him in this series is my favorite (he is looking up at me)! He loved grabbing the leaves and crushing them in his hands, dropping them, and starting all over again. Hud had a great time playing outside! He ate a few leaves, but mainly enjoyed crawling through them! So cute!


YUMMY!


We share leaves . . .

William . . . well, my Nana calls him "Gorgeous" and most people ask me if he is a girl! (I'm serious!) If you look closely, you will see a leaf or two in this baby's mouth. He could not keep from eating them! It was hysterical! I love the ones of him with his hands in the air--so proud of himself! The last picture is of him pulling up on his Daddy's leg. Sweet boy!





Daddy and William . . . do these two know how to work a camera, or what? Look at their heads tilted toward each other!

Mama and Hud

My Nephew Charlie!

As you know, my sweet sister, Katie, and her hubby, Brett, have been waiting for the arrival of their precious Charlie. Sugie flew out to San Fran on Friday to help "wait" for the baby to come. On Sunday morning, we were getting ready for church, and my phone rang . . . Katie's water had broken and the baby was on his way! I started to cry! Hatch and I sat down, we prayed for the baby and his excited parents, and we began to look up flights. My wonderful, WONDERFUL husband found me a flight and said "Just book it! GO!" So, I bought the ticket and as he fed my boys lunch, I packed my bag, and we hopped in the car to head to DC. I got on the plane, flew to PA, and then to San Fran. For the first time ever, I couldn't sleep a wink on the plane--I was so excited! My flight arrived an HOUR early and I quickly found out that Charlie was still on his way . . . So, I began running through the airport, I jumped in line for a taxi in front of about 10 other people who were waiting (I was screaming "My sister is in labor! I. NEED. A. TAXI. NOW!"), and I made it to the hospital just in time for Charlie's grand arrival!

I have LOVED being here with sweet Charlie, Katie, and Brett. Charlie is just so adorable and so precious! I am his only auntie and he is my only nephew, and I just love him so much! I am headed home in the morning, but I just had to post a picture or two of the little man.

Charlie's Uncle Hatch and cousins Hudson and William CANNOT wait to meet him! (and, a special thank you to Nonna for swooping in at a moment's notice to care for our little rascals!)

Auntie Shannon with Master Charles Christopher Larson (7lbs; 19.5 inches, born at 10:08pm on Sunday, November 15, 2009, in San Fran!)

Sweet little man, Charlie

Katie is a great mom--and one of the only ones I know who arrived at the hospital with a birthday cupcake and candle for her baby!

I just love this picture because Katie is just staring at Charlie, and Brett is just beaming watching Katie! So sweet!

My sweet little nephew!

Giggles!! (times two!)

Hudson and William, much like their parents, are VERY funny . . . these boys love to laugh and they are learning to perform. It is so much fun to watch their little personalities develop! They are now saying "uh oh" ALL of the time (I heard Hudson say "uh oh . . . uh oh!" while in the other room, and I thought "oh, how cute!" . . . then, I realized "HE IS DOING SOMETHING, AND HE KNOWS IT! I need to go in there!" Well, it wasn't that bad . . . he had dumped the entire bucket of shower toys onto the bathroom floor while "playing" and was saying "uh oh, uh oh" as they were falling! I used to tell myself "no no no Anna E!" (aka: shannon leigh) when I was doing something wrong! . . . and, SO, it begins!) They "baa," say "ma ma," "da da," "ah ah" (that is no for the dog), and "a choo!" Of all of the sounds they make, their laughs just warm my heart! Lately, they have been playing in their cribs after naptime and laughing and giggling at each other. I'm not exactly sure what they are doing up there, but it appears to be pretty funny! :)

[Note: I just played the videos to be sure they were working, and the boys watched them and laughed outloud at themselves on video! Hilarious!]

Enjoy these videos from this past week!

Hudson and Mama singing "boop boop didum dadum waddum chooo!" (which Nana taught us!)



William laying on Daddy's legs with some stinky feet!

Wahoo WA!

We took our little Wahoos to UVA for Halloween with my roommates (the Garth House Girls!), and we had a great time! Here are some favorite pics from our time in Charlottesville . . .

Prior to leaving for the 'ville, the boys cruised around in their diapers and new Wahoo Wa T-shirts that Summer had made for them (you can't see them here, but you will see them!)

The babies' first tail gate! Mamas and bebes . . . (Can you see the cute shirts? Summer got them from her friend who makes them to raise money for their adoption! Visit her site and help support them!) Al with William, me with sweet baby Kate (who is PRECIOUS), and Claire (Kate's mom) with big Hudson! Baby John and Hudson "getting to know each other" We ALL love Auntie Al! :) Although we hadn't planned on it, we were able to catch the first few minutes of the UVA game! The boys were fascinated by the band, the game, and all of the noise! Hatch teaching Hudson the rules of the game And, what we'd all been waiting for . . . ALL of the Garth girls (with babes) together, WITH Bodos shirts (courtesy of 2 year old Molly Streit), IN Bodos, taking a big ole group picture! (and, YES, people were pointing and staring at us!) Starting in the back, L to R: Meghan Fleming Streit with less than 2 week old Dorie, Summer McCoy Ellis with John Jr., Mary Andrews Liles Front Row: Meg Ridley Hooper with a very thrilled William Reppard, me with Hudson [Please notice how one of my children is screaming bloody murder and the other is smiling!], and Allison Hudson with sweet Molly Streit! Are we cute, OR WHAT?

Prayers for William: An Update

Many of you have been praying for little William and his hemangioma. Thank you for continuing to join us in prayer for Jesus to heal Will's eye. A few weeks ago, we met with the Elders at our church and (as is done in the book of Acts) they anointed William with oil and prayed for his healing together with our family. It was such an encouraging time of prayer for us. One of the elders prayed that God would heal Will's eye and use this as a testament to His love, power, and faithfulness in William's life . . . since I am so concerned with it "hurrying up and going away," I had never even thought of that! What an encouragement!


This fall, Will has been battling ear infections and due to the fluid in his ear, he failed a hearing test. We were concerned that the hemangioma was somehow (internally) affecting his ability to hear out of his left ear. We have been waiting and waiting for the fluid to go away. We were excited to find out last week that the fluid seemed to be gone! Today, we went in for his follow-up hearing test, and we found out that William can HEAR! We are thrilled and SO very thankful for this great news! (Like the "I can fly!" song in Peter Pan, I keep singing in my head "He can hear!") We also went to the pediatric dermatologist last week and in comparing pictures that she had taken, it does appear that the hemangioma is, perhaps, a tiny bit smaller than in August. Again, we are so grateful for this! The pediatric dermatologist gave us a "best guess scenario" for the progression of the hemangioma . . . that by age 1 it should stop growing, by age 2 it should have reduced in size (and lightened in color) by 1/8 to 1/4 (at the most), and by age 3 it should be reduced in size by 50%.


Would you please join us in continuing to pray for the following?
-for Jesus to heal William's hemangioma--that it would stop growing completely and that it would get smaller and get smaller faster!
-that God would protect William from any other potential "side effects" (ie: eye sight issues, hearing trouble, or anything else that affects the left side of his eye/face)
-that we would continue to be fervent in praying for William his healing
-that God would, indeed, use this as a way for William to look back and see His work in his life


ALSO . . . many of you have joined us in praying for our friends, the Stones. We are THRILLED to tell you that John was 8 weeks seizure free as of last Friday!! Praise God! Please continue praying for John's development and for his full healing. You can find out how to pray specifically for John here, and you can also leave the family an encouraging note letting them know you are praying for them on their Caring Bridge site.


Thank you, thank you for praying with us for our sweet boys!