Last post of 2010

Time sure does fly! 2010 has given us so much to be thankful for. As we ring in 2011, I wish each and everyone a happy and prosperous new year.
Since this is my last post for the year, I fiqured I should go out with a bang and take a walk down memory lane. Where did this little bald headed, roly poly, butter ball go?

January 5 months

February 6months

March 7 months

April 8 months

May 9 months

June 10 months

July 11 months

August was the big first birthday month

September 13 months

October 14 months

November 15 months

December 16 months

Merry Christmas and 16 months

Merry Christmas! I hope that each of you are enjoying this time with your family and friends. Today is a special day for us to not only open presents and eat good food, but to pause and think about the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Little Man turns 16 months today.

The main changes in Hud this month are a growing vocabulary. He continues to say new words pretty much daily. Some of the new ones this month are: cup, water "wa-wa", snow (which he got to see last weekend in NC), door, eat, BOOM, bird, night-night, and uh-oh and others that I can't remember right now.

His favorite thing to eat is still cheese, and he's still a great eater.

Still loves to be around people, and waves and says "hey" to everybody we pass.

Still loves dogs.

12 teeth

Teething still does not phase him.

If you hand him something and ask him to go put it in the trashcan, give it to daddy, take it to his room, etc...he will do it. He'll go get his monkey, sheep, etc...when you ask him "Where's the ____?".

The best thing that happened this month was the wonderful news we got from his last appt. with his ped. urologist. If you haven't read my previous post, check it out here.

Here are a few pictures with his friend Ila when we went to see the lights, and just some of him being silly.

This has been a fun Christmas season with him. We took him to the Christmas Eve service at chruch last night, and he even went down front (with Dave) for the children's sermon. I'll post more pictures of Christmas later.

We've waited so long to hear these words.

For the past 21 months we have known that Hudson had a serious problem with his renal function. It was monitored weekly when I was pregnant, and ever since he's been born.
I remember a while back sitting in the lobby at Doc. Donohoe's office and over hearing a mother who was also waiting with her son. The little boy was about 2, and the mom was on the phone. She had just finished in radiology with her son and was waiting to meet with the doctor just like us every time we've gone. She was elated with the news she had just received that her son was no longer refluxing urine. An amazingly happy feeling came over me because that made it real that there was light at the end of the tunnel. I wanted to be that mama receiving the good news.
I know it sounds really crazy to the average person, but so much rides on your kidneys working properly. Reflux is not good and must be corrected if it does not go away on it's own by the time a child is around one year. We approached each of Hudson's appointments with the same hope and anticipation..."Maybe the reflux has downgraded, or maybe it's even starting to take care of itself and go away."
I remember longing to have that same news to spread about Hudson. I knew we had a long road ahead, and for a minute I think I even felt a bit jealous. I wanted MY baby to have a good report from radiology. I wanted to hear those words....."He's not refluxing ANY urine!". At this time he was refluxing at a grade 4 out of 5. We have had to remind ourselves all along this journey that this was no accident. Hudson was fearfully and WONDERFULLY made. This was all God's plan.
Today, Dave and I got the best Christmas present we could have ever hoped for. We finally got to hear those words that we have wanted to hear for over a year now. As we finished with the VCUG test (which was pretty AWFUL), the doctor that was doing the test turned to Dave and said "I don't see any reflux." I looked at Dave and said "WHAT did he just say?". He repeated himself and it was all I could do to contain my self from jumping up and down and screaming at the top of my lungs. Dave was crying, and I was trying not to cry. BEST NEWS EVER!!!!!!
What a blessing! After the test, we met with Doc, and he was very pleased too. He wants to just monitor now, so we go back in 3 months for an ultrasound. We even get to discontinue the antibiotic when he finishes the bottle that we are currently on. It will be so strange to not give him medicine everyday. He's had his daily dose since the day he was born. Hudson gave Doc a card, and he was so touched. He couldn't believe that we would "remember" him. Are you kidding me, Doc? Your hands saved my baby! You will be on my Christmas card list forever and ever. There is nothing that I could do to thank you for that.
I want to thank all of you too. Your prayers through this whole journey have really been felt and have been so encouraging. God is good and we are so grateful that he chose US to be Hudson's parents. Hud will always have hydronephrosis in his one kidney, (enlarged kidney) but his prognosis is great! You only need one kidney.

Mr. & Mrs. Brian Miller (and a prayer request)

Congrats to Aliceson and Brian! We traveled to North Carolina this weekend for their wedding. It was a beautiful "Winter Wonderland" theme. They even had snow all day on their wedding day...Perfect!
Hudson had so much fun at the reception. He talked to everyone, enjoyed his dinner, and had lots of people laughing most of the night. He's definitely a people person and loves to talk to everyone. He made lots of friends, and had several girls chasing him. The boy can DANCE!!! He broke it down on the dance floor. We had a hard time getting him to leave.
This was the first wedding event that we've taken him to, and I must say that he did very well. It's a lot more work of course, but was worth it.

Prayer request... Hudson has to go back to CMC tomorrow for a VCUG test to check up on his bladder, kidney, and ureter since the surgery. Please pray for NO REFLUX and NO OBSTRUCTIONS. Since his ureter was tapered, the reflux should have down graded or hopefully will be gone.
Also, please pray that he will not be uncomfortable for long and that it will not be too painful.



The "Winter Wonderland" cake

Mr. and Mrs. Brian Miller

This is little Maggie. She was a precious little flower girl who loved her some Hudson. She chased him all around and he loved it. She would catch him every now and then and grab him. She wanted him to dance with her so bad.

The "older women" were after him. They were so cute.

Hudson with Nana

Hudson with Papa

Here's a little clip of him breaking it down.

Merry Christmas from the Sorrells Family

Call me crazy...go ahead, really...it's alright. While you're at it, call me indecisive too. Since I am SO indecisive, we ended up with 3 family Christmas cards this year. That, and the fact that I had some great credits and free cards to redeem from several online companies. Thank you to Haley Lamb, Amber Herlocker, and Ashleigh Dees for the wonderful pictures.

Card #1
Card #2...This may be my favorite...it was created by Amber
but I really like this one too...Card #3 is a folded and inside is a head shot of the boy.
Sorry that the photo quality is not the best on here.

Christmas Spirit

There's no doubt that Christmas has come in full force. Before Halloween, many of the stores already had Christmas goodies stocked on the shelves. This time of year comes and goes so quickly. I wish there were more time to just sit back and enjoy it. I want more nights to enjoy our Christmas tree, and more time to just think about why this time of year is actually a celebration instead of the commercialism that it's turned into. I want more time to spend with friends and family and less time worrying about what presents I still need to buy and what I need to prepare for this party or that party.
Back at the beginning of November, we bought Hudson the Fisher Price"Little People" Nativity set. It's my most favorite toy yet! It has the manger, Mary and Joseph, Baby Jesus, 3 Kings, and the animals. He loves it and it's a wonderful way for us to begin teaching the TRUE Christmas story to our son. Although he will say "Jeesh" for Jesus, his favorite character is the sheep. When we ask him what the sheep says, he gets a kick out of saying "BAAAAA" with a big smile.

This morning our church had a beautiful Christmas musical. It was great to just sit back and get to enjoy the sounds and the Christmas message.
Even though it's coming quickly and will be gone before we blink, enjoy this special time of year. Remember the real reason for this season.

Here's a few recent pictures of Hudson (and Claire) this Christmas.

Trying to stay warm inside Nana's car before the parade last weekend. It was FREEZING!

Two little monkeys un-decorating the tree I love this precious boy!

Mom took him to get these made last week as a surprise for Dave and I. We love them!

This one cracks me up because I know what he was thinking.... He wanted those cookies BAD! Mom said he tried to take the whole plate out of "Santa's" hand.

I love that sweet little smile.