andy's project

Last week I got to see andy's project, and managed to take a few pictures! it's looking awesome!!

and this is what Hudson was wearing that day - i got this jacket on clearance - he looked so cute I had to try to take a picture, but couldn't get him to stand still!!

13 MONTH new favorites

Our loving, adorable little Hudson has been discovering some new things to do lately…some of which are adorable, and some of which are NOT adorable. This picture is one of the latter. And he does this ALL the time. Go into the kitchen, pull everything out, and find the best things to chew on. One good thing: it's helped me clean out my cupboards!

Other things this marvelous little 13 month old does:

1. He loves making two specific animal sounds - monkey and lion. He will make these two noises throughout the day, and loves when we make them as well. It's very cute. 

2. He loves pushing things around on the floor - anything he can push, pretty much. Wheels, no wheels. Mobile, not mobile. Doesn't matter, he wants to push it across the floor. This presents several problems, however. 1) Our house is small, so there isn't a lot of floor space to push things without running into something; 2) not everything is meant to be pushed. Both of these often result in a frustrated Hudson, which is not fun for anyone. 

3. This little boy LOVES walking! I'm sure this is common among walking one year olds, just as i'm sure the challenge of picking them up when it's time to stop walking is common. We love going outside to the park with Hudson, and he loves walking around (wherever he wants to go at the moment), playing on the playground, and meeting new friends to play with and steal toys from. He does NOT like when it's time to go inside. So we just accept that the neighborhood will hear our screaming child for a few minutes after play time. 

4. Hudson has started stomping and dancing when he gets excited about something. I love this! The other morning I asked him if he wanted a bite of banana, and he did a little happy dance - stomping, clapping and making a little happy noise with a big smile on his face. It was hilarious, and so sweet - his sincere little personality was beaming through at that moment. I can't believe how much he's growing up - and how much fun it is to watch him become Hudson. 

5. Toothbrushing. Yet another thing this boy loves doing. He will let me brush his 7 little teeth for just a brief moment, then he takes over. He'll move the brush around in his mouth quite a bit (on his gums), and will proudly walk around the bathroom showing of his brushing skillz. 

6. Laps: Our upstairs is all connected through the hall and bathroom, so Hudson can do loops starting in his room and going through our room and the bathroom. Lately he has been grabbing any number of items (andy's laundry basket is the favorite right now) and pushing or carrying them around the loop - at least 10 times in a row. He will just continue to walk/push from his room to our room to the bathroom and back to his room - having a ball. Silly guy. 

7. This little boy has always liked books, but lately he has decided that he wants to sit in your lap while you read him a book. He'll pick one out, walk over to you with it, push your legs if they're crossed and plop down (facing out) so you can read him his book of choice. His determination to sit on my lap for a few minutes is fine with me. :)

8. Other fun facts: He loves his milk, and drinks out of a sippy cup all day except at bedtime and first thing when he wakes up. He loves food! He almost always eats everything we give him, and is getting much better at eating with the spoon! We are pretty sure he's gained weight since his 12 month check up, cause he's feeling very solid these days…still wearing 18month - 2T clothes mostly, his gap pants are 12-18 and they're almost too short. He laughs a lot, loves puzzles, has just figured out how to close doors - and actually is tall enough to OPEN the doors in our house now, which he did while i was in the bathroom the other day!!! In general he is VERY social, loves people, smiles at everyone, jabbers all the time, enjoys a pacifier while he's in the car, takes one nap a day (about an hour and a half, which is too short by day care standards so he's a bit of a "project" in that way), goes to bed about 7pm and wakes up around 6-6:30. He is a LOT of fun, gives great hugs, can point to my nose, mouth and eyes, and seems to be learning something new every minute of the day! We love him so much - Hudson, you enrich our lives beyond what we could ever have imagined. 

my first vegetable

I'm not really one to have a green thumb, but i received a tomato plant as a gift a few months ago, and had to share what became of it…

It may be small, but i couldn't be more proud of my first home grown tomato. 

Labor day weekend.

 This labor day weekend the mornings have been cooler, so we've spent some time in the park and on the playground. And had some daddy/son picture time too!

 I love this picture idea…and this one turned out good!

Hudson had green beans for dinner last night…can you tell?

Happy boy

 Hudson has always been a mover, but  now that he's walking, it's a LOT harder to get a picture of him that's not blurry! This little series was taken with not quite enough light, but he's wearing a little suit i picked up at a garage sale the week he was born for $1.00! It's a Kenneth Cole pin-striped suit, and it fits him perfectly now. I tried but couldn't get a good picture of him cause he kept walking up to me - and he's getting fast! Soon he'll be in the all out run, i just know it...

 Such a happy 1 year old...

Aquarium

Last weekend we checked out the Denver Aquarium...where we saw this huge tiger. Yes, this is not a typo. There was a huge TIGER exhibit in the aquarium. And it decided to come right up to the glass, which was very cool!

 Nothing like a walking naked boy...

ONE YEAR STATS

Hudson went for his 1 year check up today!

The results:

Height: 32.5 inches (97% percentile - yes, he's still TALL)
Weight: 24 lbs. 6 oz. (75%)
Head circumference: 18 3/8 inches (50%)

So we have a healthy little one year old boy!

An evening in the park

Tonight our friends Sarah and Chris came over with their son Quentin, and their new twin little girls. Quentin is just about two years old, and since Hudson has now started walking, we took the boys over to the park after dinner for some play time. This was the first time Hudson has played at the play set we have in the park across from our house (aside from swinging in the swings), and he had lots of fun! It was hard to get a picture of him because he's on the move so much! We had a great time with the Jones' and look forward to more times playing together!

Both boys were having a blast!

Birthday firsts

For his birthday Hudson tried on his first Pith hat! That lasted about long enough to get this picture...

Other things he checked off his list the week of his first birthday include:

1. Pooping in the bath.

Isn't that enough?

ONE YEAR

One year ago today, my little Hudson was born. He said his first hello to the world, peed on me, cried, then won our hearts over forever. It's strange to think about everything that's happened - in some ways it feels like it's lasted a long time, in other ways it seems to have flown by. I still think the first few months were the worst...but some of my favorite memories from this last year were in those first few months. His first smile, watching him figure out that he can control his hands - and get them into his mouth, the first time he rolled over on Christmas Day. And these memories were only a few months ago! Yea, time is a strange thing. 

Well, I want to make sure I capture who this one year old is as best as I can in this blog, so we can all look back on it and remember some of the little things that warmed our hearts so much and made us laugh. So here goes. 

Who is Hudson, the one year old? 

He is a boy who LOVES: 

• Water
• Laughing
• Being with people
• Pointing
• Lego
• My cell phone (yes, he knows how to unlock it and hand it to me to get his game open)
• Jumping on the couch
• Hugging his teddy bear
• His pacifier! After 11 1/2 months of NOT taking a pacifier, now he loves it. 
• Watching video of himself (our favorite dinner activity)
• Reading (he flips through the books and reads to himself)
• Being outside
• Playing Peak-a-boo
• Eating with his hands, and trying to eat with the spoon
• Chewing on his sippy cup, and occasionally drinking out of it
• Family - it's clear this little boy LOVES being with his family
• Dancing (even when you say the word he bobs up and down)
• Climbing - then jumping on whatever he climbs on
• Light switches
• Laughing
• Water (yes, these last two definitely needed to be repeated)
• And of course so much more...

At one year, Hudson wears 12 month to 2T clothes (depending on brand), size 5 shoe, goes to bed at about 7pm and wakes up between 5:30-6:00, eats three meals a day plus about 30 oz of formula and water, takes one to two naps a day depending on what's going on and who's around that he would rather spend time with than sleep, and still doesn't like riding in the car - unless he has a pacifier, which extends his tolerance by a good amount. 

He is a HAPPY boy, smiling and laughing easily at those he interacts with. He is fascinated, focused and determined - interested in the world around him and seemingly excited to learn the who's, how's and why's in his little life. He lights up when he sees his mommy and daddy, which sparks a feeling in my heart I have never felt before. He will play by himself, but prefers the company of others. He's learned to swing his arms and hit, but knows how to give "gentle touches" as well, when he wants to. 

Hudson started walking at 11 1/2 months, but still hasn't mastered the art of it, so goes back and forth with a crawl/furniture cruise/walk technique. He is amazingly quick to pick up on things, and we currently anticipate that he'll be excellent at everything he tries. :) Of course we do, we're his parents. But in all honesty, even the doctor told us he has excellent motor skills. :) 

The bottom line is, he is a fantastic child. He's the best part of our lives. And though we are often wiped out at the end of each day (especially when you add in the full time job part), I can't wait to walk into his room the next morning and see him sitting there smiling at me. 

I love you so much, Hudson. Happy Birthday little monkey. 

Birthday weekend

 For Hudson's first birthday we had a jungle themed party out in the park across from our place. Lots of our friends and Hudson's friends, along with family came to celebrate! I worked for hours on his birthday cake...and you can tell from the pictures he liked it ok. :)

 Hudson got this really great shirt from his Great Auntie Susie and Uncle Rick for his birthday - and it fit perfect for his big day! We all missed you!

Hugs from Oma and Opa!

 The lion on top was made of fondant, and it took several hours to make. It definitely "made" the cake though!

 Because it was a hot summer day, we brought out a couple pools for the little tikes. They were a big hit! I think Hudson spent about an hour in the pool - and he played nice for a minute, then he wanted the pool all to himself so he'd start trying to push the other kids out (poor Quentin!). This kid LOVES his water!

 Chris and Casey Jr. came to help make cupcakes on Friday after Abbie arrived - they're 3 weeks apart and already good friends!

 We rented a house for the weekend near the capitol, and it's been great having everyone together, and having a second "home" to go to and hang out. It was a Victorian style house, built in 1900 - so lots of character!

 He wasn't sure what to do at first...

 But he figured it out.

 We couldn't get him to keep his safari hat and glasses on, but he sure was CUTE in them!

 Patty cake

Grandma Rosdil gave him one of Andy's old trucks from when he was a boy.

Overall there were about 25 guests (plus kids), and we had a great time! We're blessed to have met some great people here in Denver, and thankful many of them also have kids so Hudson is starting his second year of life with some great friends!

Andy's project

For the last year and a half Andy has been working on a project up at the CU Boulder campus - building a large lab. This week he took a picture from the top of the building, showing an amazing view of the campus and the Boulder foothills. The project is expected to be completed by February/March. It's amazing to see how it's developed from nothing - Great job Andy!!

sleepy time

Hudson has taken to sleeping in strange positions lately - and it's hilarious to walk in and see him zonked out! Sometimes his legs are through the bars, or he's curled up into the corner. But he typically ends up snuggling with something - his teddy bear from Great Grandma Fluckiger is the fave! I'm pretty sure he moves a lot in his sleep a lot!
This week they are starting to transition him to just one nap a day, and only sippy cups to drink out of (no bottle). So far he is doing well (yes, today is the first day, but that's what they said). He loves sippy cups already, so i didn't expect that to be hard - so long as he doesn't take a big drink then let it fall down his chin. :) I'm sure that's normal, but it's not very fun for me. He loves doing it. And I went to see him at 12:30, not realizing he would be getting ready for his FIRST nap of the day! He was a mess, as you would imagine. So, needless to say, i'm not as thrilled about this part of the transition. I like the two naps a day routine - and as of right now, he really needs that morning nap! So pushing him until lunch is a big stretch...and I think it may take some time for both of us to adjust. Yes, i realize that part of me just doesn't want him to grow up.

Headstands and more

Hudson has started doing headstands - and it's adorable! Typically the headstand is followed by him standing up, and taking a few steps! That's right! 11 1/2 months old and this boy has started WALKING! He has taken about 7-10 steps at once, but is a determined little guy, so we know it won't be long before he's running!

It's hard to believe he's going to be a year in a couple weeks! I can honestly say that time has gone by fast the last few months - almost too fast! With the school year right around the corner, things will start picking up at work again, and our summer days will begin to shorten. But I am SO thankful we will have beautiful warm weather to celebrate his birthday with family and friends!

play time

 Hudson has started testing the waters with the stairs - hasn't actually taken the leap and tried to go down...yet. But we don't ever leave him alone there...just in case! I know it's coming soon...

 This kid is a great little drummer already - aside from being 90% fish (yes, he loves the water that much), we see a future for him as a musician. And no, that does not mean we want him to get a real drum set...i've heard stories about those things. Cool for about 10 minutes, then they're just loud.

 We're nearing the end of the bottle...:( but not ready to say goodbye yet! In a couple weeks we'll start transitioning to only a couple bottles a day...then none at all. He does well with the sippy cup (when he's not throwing it on the floor), so we think he'll do fine with the transition. It's me I'm worried about - my little baby is growing up so fast!

Every summer there's a huge garage sale about 10 minutes from our house - and i mean it's huge, like 300 homes participate. And most of these homes have little kids living in them. Yes, this = jackpot for us! This year i was out of town when it happened, so Andy was on his own (with Hudson) as far as shopping for bargains. He came home with this great little "house", which Hudson loves, for only $2! He also got a McLaren stroller and a high chair! So once again, the Stapleton garage sale has served us well!

Girl time

This last weekend I was able to take a trip out to Los Angeles for the weekend without Hudson to spend some time with a few of my closest girlfriends. We had a great time!! It was hard to be away from Hudson for almost three days, but Andy did an amazing job with him, and we got to skype a couple times too! I had a wonderful time catching up with my friends, sleeping in (and staying up a lot later!), and just being together. It was awesome!!

 Sandra, Melissa and I went to one of the only remaining wineries in Los Angeles! We took the tour and learned some interesting things about the history of the City of Angeles!

Beach time with Chiraphone - one of our favorite things to do together!

Riding in the back of Sandra's car on a beautiful summer day - definitely a weekend I will remember!