A day out with Thomas

This weekend we got to spend the morning at the Colorado Railroad Museum, with Thomas the train! We went for a 30 minute ride on Thomas (well, he led the train), then saw all the other trains and displays the outdoor museum had to offer. Hudson and Quentin had a great time on the train, and though some of the displays were still a little to much for our two year old, he still enjoyed the miniature train set they had, and feeding the goats and ducks at the petting zoo!

It was a perfect birthday present from the Jones' family, and they were great company to have there as well! After a weekend of packing and showing our house to possible renters (which we did confirm a renter), we were glad for the break and time for fun!

 Pals for life, Hudson and Quentin were twins for the day!

 You can see the blue train leading the pack - Thomas! And Hudson stopped in his tracks when he saw Thomas for the first time (He's in the black hoodie).

We are planning to move to our new house (rental also) this Friday, and are still amazed at how much stuff we have managed to put in our little townhouse! But i'll get some pictures up once we get the keys and can start moving things in.

 

We're having a....

GIRL! We found out last Friday that we are expecting our first little girl this January! I had a feeling it was a girl, but was still pretty surprised when she told us! I know Andy is already looking forward to his daddy/daughter bonding time!

We also made a big decision last week about our house. We found a place on the other side of our park that was much larger than our house, and was for rent - so we are moving in starting this weekend! It's twice the size of our current place, and there's a room for Hudson, baby, us AND a guest! Of course cost was a big discussion in making this decision, but it's truly a renters market, so we're hoping we can get a good price for our place (which we will rent ASAP) to help offset the cost at least a little bit!

So we are very happy to have received this exciting news, and look forward to having more SPACE for our growing family!!

In other news, a few things we're hearing around the house these days from our little prince (he's basically a human echo, but there are a few that he uses on his own pretty regularly):

"Through the tunnel!" (as he plays with his Thomas the train characters)
"I hold it!" (for every piece of food or drink that goes into his mouth)
"I love you!" (FINALLY)
"Mine"

Labor Day weekend

This weekend we enjoyed a nice long, warm weekend together, doing a couple things we don't normally do. Saturday we went to a place called Berry Patch Farms, where you can pick your own berries and peaches. Hudson enjoyed picking strawberries and eating them, of course. Otherwise he loved the animals roaming around - there was a pig, some chickens, cats and dogs. We also went to the Chatfield Reservoir, to do some swimming - even though it ended up raining most of the time, we still had a blast in the sand and water. 

 Hudson almost blends in with the tire on that tractor, but he was loving it!

We also did some painting, and topped off the weekend with a little whip cream! Hudson also decided to treat us to a LONG night of getting out of his crib. He was in our room at 12:30, and not back to sleep until about 2:30 (after i layed down in his room so he would stop climbing out of the crib), then was up again at 4:40am and 6am! Needless to say, today was more of a low key day for this pregnant lady! Hopefully we tired Hudson out enough to sleep through the night tonight! This kid has the energy of three grown athletes, i swear it. 

2 year stats

Last week Hudson went in for his 2 year check up!

Here's where he falls in the stats:
Height: 36 1/2 inches (92%)
Weight: 29.5 lbs (70%)
Head circumference (45%)

His weight changed, since he never gained back everything from the hospital, but he's so active I don't know that he could have! He's still healthy though, and still tall! Clean bill of health as well, so we're happy to have a healthy little toddler!

the case of the missing bear

On Monday night, after picking Hudson up and heading to the car to head home, I realized he was missing his bear. We went back inside to get it, and had no luck. No one knew where bear was, and after 20 minutes of looking myself, we went home without it. I knew the ladies at his daycare would continue to look for it, and though I felt very nervous to leave without it, I knew it would have to turn up eventually. I mean, it's a stuffed bear, where could it have "run" off to, right?

Well bed time arrived back at home, and we went to put Hudson in his crib to say goodnight at just about 7:30, his usual bedtime. He quickly realized Bear wasn't there, and spent the next 20 minutes crying for bear. He then decided to change his tactic, and figured out a quick way to climb out of his crib. Thus ensued the nightmare. We spent the next 2 hours trying to get this kid to stay in his crib and go to sleep — without Bear. Not only did he figure out how to hop out of his bed in 3 seconds flat, he was not about to go to sleep without his best friend. Finally, at 10:00 (i think the last time he stayed up that late he was less than 4 months old and hadn't figured out sleeping at night), I was able to get him to lay down in his crib, where I rubbed his back for 30 minutes until he fell asleep - probably from exhaustion more than anything. By that time, I had texted the woman from daycare several times, and she finally texted back at about 9:40 saying they had found the bear. THEY FOUND IT! Apparently someone (most likely Mr. "strong arm Hudson") had thrown it behind something in one of the rooms and it got stuck, so it never hit the floor. I see baseball in my son's future. So of course we drove the 30 minutes each way to get that bear, cause there was no way we were going to make it through the night if Hudson woke up and realized it still wasn't there.

Once we finally got to bed ourselves, we had restless sleep, worrying that Hudson would wake up and treat himself to some "out of the crib time" alone. And at about 4:45am, he did just that. Thankfully I woke up, but sadly spent the next hour and 20 minutes trying to get him to stay back in his crib and go back to sleep. He finally fell asleep at about 6:15, and slept for about and hour and 15 minutes (and so did we). Once again we were greeted with his little pitter patter of feet, by our bed.

So that day I called in sick (i was exhausted and definitely felt sick), dropped him off at daycare, and set out to find a "solution" to this "phase" we had just entered. To my dismay, this year they recalled the crib tent due to accidents, and I could not find one anywhere. That's when dread set in. How would we ever sleep again? how would we ever get him to stay in his bed again? what were we going to do!?!?

Of course nightfall came, and a quickening heart rate came with it. — Enter, my amazing, even keeled, patient husband — It's typical for Andy to put Hudson down by himself (i leave during book time, because he's never happy when i leave and we found it was just easier if i wasn't there when he actually went to 'sleep'), so it seemed natural to have him try the normal routine, now that we had bear back. It took several attempts to keep him in the crib. Then something wonderful happened. Andy leaned down, and had a conversation with Hudson that somehow clicked in his little head. He patted Hudson on the head, said goodnight, and walked out of the room. And Hudson didn't climb out. He lied down, sang himself a song, played with his bear, and fell asleep.

So what did he say to Hudson? Stay in your bed and play with bear, then go to sleep. Mommy and daddy will get you in the morning so we can play, but you need to stay in your bed, ok? To which Hudson nodded his head, and did just that.

This, was an answer to prayer, and a moment of thankfulness for my better half.

Now, what do we do when this tactic stops working? it worked again tonight (took about 20 minutes), but what do we do when it doesn't work anymore? we didn't think he was ready for a big bed, but we have started to prep ourselves for that transition. We'll see what happens next I guess.

summer birthdays

 You can now ask Hudson to smile…and this is what you get, sometimes. 

 Golf lessons!

 This was pretty much how Hudson spent his birthday…not too happy with the fever, but happy enough to have his choo choos. 

 Water and Quentin - two of Hudson's favorite things! Above picture is our weekend in San Diego for Hudson's birthday, and below is pool time with his best bud, Quentin. 

2 years old

This last Friday, our little baby turned TWO years old. Instead of having a party on his actual birthday, we booked a trip out to San Diego to visit family. Oma, Opa, Auntie Abbie, Uncle Jonathan, and Uncle Josh and Aunt Jen were all there. We arrived Friday morning, and soon realized Hudson had a fever...of 102. His mood quickly worsened with his fever, despite seeing his Auntie and Uncle. So we most of the day on a bed in a small hotel room, resting. Not exactly the birthday we pictured for our little guy, but by Sunday he was coming around, and would let his Oma and Aunties hold him more.

On Sunday, we were driving around for something (can't remember exactly what) and we passed a breakfast place called BUNZ. Andy and I both read it out loud, laughing, and Hudson quickly echoed - saying BUNZ as clear as day. I'm sure you had to be there to appreciate it, but it was hysterical. So of course we repeated the name several times just to hear him say it again. Even writing this, want to hear him say it again - it was so funny.

All in all, it wasn't the birthday I imagined he would have, but because he was with some of his favorite people, I don't think he would rather have done anything else - even with a fever. Being sick didn't stop him from saying OMA, OPA, Auntie Abbie, etc. 50 times a day, at least.

Hudson's faves

A few of his favorite things...

• playing under the covers on our bed
• being a human fountain anytime he can get water in his mouth
• taking my hand and running back and forth from the living room to the kitchen, while making a "motor" sound
• Singing - him singing, me singing, both are equally as entertaining (typically it's the same song repeated 10-15 times)
• Ringing the doorbell
• hitting, then following up with a "soft touch" once he gets a look or reprimand from mom or dad
• his friends at school - Luke, London, Elias, Mela, Lena, Pinky, Andrew, Ben
• Thomas and Friends - he can literally name every single one of them
• rain - he loves when it rains, and says "raining" the cutest way possible
• TALKING - he is always talking! Putting more sentences together, saying new words all the time, and words we don't know how he learned as well! He picks things up so quickly now, and can hear words once or twice and repeat them back with excellent pronuciation.

Amazing, I tell you. This little terrible two year old is amazing.

Ding dong

HUDSON

At almost 2 years old, Hudson has started speaking about himself by name. Not sure when he first said his name, but he now uses it to describe different activities he does. He'll identify himself in the mirror, let us know where "Hudson's shoes" are, and has also told us when "Hudson happy." Today he used the word 'go' in a sentence, and is using more connecting words every day. It's so awesome to have more conversation with him! Our little boy is growing up! When we see friends or family, the following days are full of repeated names  - OMA, OMA, OPA, OPA, QUENTIN, QUENTIN. We have ourselves a social butterfly!

A few more from our trip

 Hudson had his first taste of ribs, and he liked them a lot!

 The hose was the highlight of the trip - that and the fountain, the beach, the dogs, the family...

 We took a trip to the nursery with Opa - lots of flowers to grab and pull on...

It took Hudson about an hour to start saying BRULEE and Shammy, and Bru was most certainly a highlight for him. Not sure why he's pointing and laughing at her, but the next shots i took were of him laying on her (see previous post). So it's safe to say he had nothing but love for Bru. 

Family summer

Grandma time!

 The weekend before the 4th of July, we got a visit from Grandma Rosdil! Andy was out of town in Vegas with his friends, so grandma, mom and Hudson got some good quality time together! That week before her arrival, Lego was hit by a car out in front of our house. Miraculously she survived with no broken bones! She was pretty banged up, and spent the night in the hospital (you don't want to know how much that cost), but she recovered over the next week or so and is pretty much back to herself. Her demeanor is different when we take her out front now, but i'm sure she'll soon forget and be back to her spunky, zooming self. The accident gave us quite the scare though!! Hudson started saying Lego a LOT after that happened - so we are glad she is still with us!

 Hudson still LOVES his choo choos, and his tracks do not discriminate when it comes to cars and trucks going for a ride as well. Sometimes when he's really into his tracks, he'll lay down like you see in this picture, to just relax and enjoy. I think this is probably the only time he is still like this, other than when he's sleeping. 

words words words

Hudson's vocabulary has been exploding lately. It seems like he's saying a new word every day! "watch - more fishies please - birdies - purple cars - big belle blue - clean-up - yea - pool - zoo - hotdog - Mater - rocks - bugs - bees - socks - choo choo shirt - turtle - bear lie down - doggie poopoo" are just a few of the words we are hearing. He's still putting more words together as well - three and sometimes four words! If you say a word, he will try to repeat it - so fun!

Since his daycare is closing (next week is the last week), he has been in the 2-3 year old room due to so many kids leaving before the last day. It's been the best experience for him! He LOVES being with the big kids, in the bigger room, and with all the new activities. We think this is part of the reason his vocabulary is growing so quickly as well. He is soaking up all his time with these kids, and we will be sad when he goes to his new daycare as the oldest one. :( But we are thankful he will be in a home day care where we trust the teachers!!

what we do

 Since we live across from a park, and we have no yard, we spend a good amount of time across the street. It's not uncommon to be there once or twice a week, sometimes more. Park time can include playing with trucks (sometimes other people's trucks, such as this picture), taking a "break" on the bench - with bear of course, and we can't forget the leisurely walk back to the house when it's time to go home. Yes, he took the truck home. I think it was abandoned. We were the only ones at the park, and after much one-sided conversation with Hudson about not taking other people's toys, he carried it all the way home. Don't worry, we took it back. 

 Inside the house play time doesn't change much, despite the lack for room. Bear is still present, energy is up, and the house becomes a disaster quicker than i thought humanly possible. This kid is definitely a toddler.

 Speaking of toddlerhood, we have started the implementation of "time out." The picture below is a reenactment of the time out we had just today. I put Hudson on the chair (without bear), and walked away to let him sit in his time out. When i walked back in from the kitchen, maybe 20 seconds later, he had wrapped himself up in the blanket and sat there with a big smile on his face. Yea, time out is working real well so far. Sometimes it works more than others, and there are a handful of times he will stop crying, screaming, kicking or throwing if we threaten a time out, so i think that's saying something. Oh the joys of a two year old boy. Yes, i know it's only the beginning. Many laughs, joys, and grey hairs to come, right? 

summer time fun

 95 degrees on this warm Father's day, so we're celebrating with some pool time! 

Hudson has taken to running around the courtyard to burn off steam. This kid has a lot of steam, so it's actually nice to let him do this…and it's entertaining as well.