10 months with Stella

Now that stella is crawling everywhere, she and hudson have moments when they actually play well together. Hudson loves having Stella in the train with him, and she loves crawling in and out just as much as he does. The hard part is them crawling over each other to get out the same exit...but it works for most of the time. ;)

Hudson has taken to asking me to take pictures of things these days, when he feels like he does something that needs to be recorded. He and Andy were both sitting with a blanket and a stuffed animal, staged by Hudson himself. Once he sat down he immediately told me to get the camera and take a picture of him and Daddy. So funny!

This is another Hudson orchestrated photo - he was getting out of the bath and stella was prepping to get in, so he suggested I take a picture of both of them naked. Stella currently loves holding on to the bathtub like this, so i just had Hudson stand with her for the pic. Not much padding on either kid, but the buns are my favorite!! This was how we wrapped up our Thanksgiving Day here in Denver. The turkey turned out good, we had beautiful weather, and you can't complain when you "end" a day like this!

Our Stella is 10 months old!! Hard to believe we are two months from having a one year old. Time has definitely gone faster with her than it felt like with Hudson. They both keep us quite busy, and Stella has taken off with her crawling and getting into things! By the end of the work week i'm fully ready for a couple days to relax, clean, and bond with these kiddos!

A few things about our sweet girl:
1. She loves her solid foods! She's still eating between 26-34 ounces of milk a day (usually), and now has three meals a day plus snacks also! She loves any finger food she can feed herself, so i'm always trying to introduce something else. It's funny though because she almost doesn't like the spoon as much because she'd rather feed herself! So far she loves her fruits, green beans for sure, and though she makes a funny face with things like hummus, she still eats it! She still has her days of small eating, and she is by no means a big eater, but she's enjoying all her new options!

2. Crawling - well she was a few months later than Hudson in the crawling department, but she has taken off! She's working on stairs right now, and though she likes crawling she also loves walking! She loves when you hold her hands so she can use those feet - so we are wondering if she will be crawling by her first birthday?? Maybe by Auntie Abbie's wedding in February! Either way, it's fun to watch her get herself around, even though everything needs to be babyproofed again!

3. Stella typically sleeps from about 7/7:30 - 5:30/6:00. She goes to be very easily, but ideally we would love for her to sleep until about 6-6:30! Hudson often wakes up at this time too, so we think we may be doomed to have early risers.

Our little princess is getting better and better at letting us know what she does and doesn't want - and she really only cries when she's hurt, so that's great! She loves to be where brother is, and still likes to look around an observe rather than be part of the show (unlike her brother). She doesn't take great to strangers, but if mommy is holding her she can usually do ok. She is doing great at daycare, and now loves to play peek-a-boo, patty cake, and just loves clapping and dancing in general. I've found her playing the tamborine quite a few times at daycare! So maybe she'll be a little dancing musician?

She is a wonderful balance with our boy, and though she's not the biggest snuggler, she will give you hugs and kisses if you ask, and when she's tired or hurt, mommy is the comfort winner. Which is fine by me!

visit from Sandra, a weekend with the God Daughter and Doctor Hudson

This last weekend we had a visit from my friend Sandra - and we all had a great time with her!

Hudson had a special day going to see Sesame Street Live with Sandra and I - and has been good at getting his doctoring skills refined lately too!

Our Dr. Rosdil - making sure he has his glasses on before he takes your blood pressure or checks your eyes out! He just may have a future in this...:)

around the house

Our evenings and mornings are pretty routine, but it's becoming more fun with Stella now getting around on her own (at least more fun for us…not always for Hudson now that she's getting to his toys!)

 Our little girl loves her peak-a-boo!

Birthday fun

On Andy's birthday, we didn't have day care, so i took the day off to be with the kids. Andy also happened to have his "topping out" party at work, so we were able to go see him for part of the day and celebrate the highest point of his building being reached! A Boulder birthday!

CRAWLING

OK I know i just wrote an entry saying Stella was almost crying, and it probably took two days from then to finally figure it out - cause we've got a crawler! she is so adorable, she has quickly mastered going from laying down to sitting up to crawling and back! She also loves pulling herself up and standing - and would prefer you hold her hands so she can walk!! So who knows, but i wouldn't be surprised if she is walking before she's 1…just because she wants to motor!! 

Hudson

 our Hudson is growing up so fast!!! He now knows all his letters, is learning to write them, can count to 20 and almost count backward from there, has a wonderfully growing vocabulary, and continues to be challenged by his sister so his learning to share is on a big curve as well. :) He still takes about a 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon, sleeps from around 7:30pm to 6(ish)am, and typically sings himself to sleep each night. He has started singing along to any song he knows, which is so awesome to listen to. He has mastered riding his strider bike, and loves throwing the ball and playing in the backyard. He's loving the fall and winter seasons with the holidays, so we talk a lot about halloween, thanksgiving, and Christmas! Still a very happy, social guy, this little extrovert will always jump at the chance to be with other people (wonder where he gets that??) What an amazing person you continue to become Hudson!! We love you very much!~

9 months

Our baby girl is 9 months! She is an AMAZING smiley little thing! Here are the stats:
Weight: 17 lbs 3 oz (25%)
Height: 28 1/4 inches (75%)
Head: 17 3/4 (75%)

SO she is still our tall string bean! Our bean just fills us with so much happiness - she has the sweetest disposition! Laid back and relaxed, until she knows what she wants! She loves to smile and laugh, and still loves her big bro more than anything! Right now she is eating between 26-32 ounces of milk a day, with 3 small meals along with that - she loves peas, peaches, and trying whatever we are eating! Her tummy doesn't love trying new things, but hopefully she will outgrow that! We still deal with her laryngomalacia, but it has certainly gotten better over the months. And it absolutely does not get her down!! She is ALMOST crawling now, and is totally frustrated when she can't get to what she wants quickly. SO, like most babies at this age, she has figured out her own way to get there. She also loves standing, and is pulling herself up any chance she can get - not totally stable yet, but we are thinking she'll be going from 0-60 by thanksgiving! For now i'm relishing the last weeks/days of not having to worry about everything Hudson leaves on the floor...

Fall walks and big changes

 Hudson rides his Strider like a champ these days! I think he'll be more than ready for a regular bike next spring!!

 Stella knows how to read already!! What? The book is UPSIDE DOWN?? oh. OK well at least she's trying!! :) Below you can see she's wearing an adorable little hat one of my students made her - so cute!!

 After spending 10 of it's 17 years in existence with Andy as it's owner, it is finally time to say goodbye to the Impala. About two weeks ago Andy found and bought his next car (seen below) the Pontiac GT G8. It's a 2009, and the guy he bought it from treated it like a trophy - keeping it in almost brand new condition! So it's a great find and I know Andy will likely drive it into the ground, just like the Impala. I do have to say though, i'm glad to see the boat go!! :)

 Our big girl is growing so quick! She's been struggling with her eating again lately, and we were at the doctor twice last week (once for her 9 month check up) just to make sure she was doing ok health wise. She still needs her meds twice a day, and has been eating less than before for some reason. She's still very happy, and sleeps fine, but the food is just a bit of a stinker! She weighs in ok at the doc, so we're not overly worried, but it's not always easy!

 It's been a beautiful fall here in Denver, and we've been loving our weekend walks/bike rides through the neighborhood! One thing's for sure, when Colorado has fall (without going straight to snow and cold from summer) it sure is nice!

halloween

 Well, this halloween costume decision making process did not quite go how expected. We wanted Stella to be a mermaid, since she wakes us up with her legs flapping on the bed like a fish every morning. I wasn't able to find one that would work for her (and was up to my standard), so we ended up going with the lady bug. There were lots of lady bugs (cute as well) around for this holiday, but our bugs were pretty darn adorable! Hudson was a spider…to keep with the bug theme, and this was perfect for him. He loves bugs right now, and this costume was easy to take on and off (which is required for most three year olds…or at least mine). 

 Last year around this time we had just moved into our rental, in expectation of our expanding family. So we met our awesome neighbors then, and they invited us to trick or treat with them. This year we joined them again, and took a photo on the stoop again with all the kids. We have great neighbors - on both sides!

October days

 Yes i'm a bit late, but we have flown three times in the last six week so i'm still catching up! :) here are stella's eight month official pics (if you can call them official). She's getting so big!!

Being three, and all it's greatness

My three year old is so smart. Yes, i can hear my dad telling me that every mother thinks that of their child. But right now i want to say that i think my son is different. And yes, i hear him again (in my head, or out loud when he reads this) saying that every mother would say their child is different, better than the rest. And yet, i continue.

Hudson turned three, two months ago. He knows all his colors, counts to 20, knows his alphabet, days of the week, and is learning months of the year this week. He's started to spell, and can identify pretty much every letter in the alphabet. He's also been learning some german, has a wonderful vocabulary, and suprises me almost daily with the innovative thoughts and ideas he comes up with.

Tonight, a few minutes before going to bed, Hudson wrote an H in the carpet. He then pointed it out to me and said, look at my H. 'H' is for Hudson.

Sure, much of this is "common" for his age group. But to me, my Hudson is amazing. Though there are moments I watch him throw a fit for no real reason and wonder what happened to my sweet little boy. Absolutely I ask myself every day when he'll stop crying when he gets dropped off a daycare. But at the end of the day, my little guy is one of the greatest things my life will know, and I feel lucky, thankful, blessed and excited to live life wtih him.

8 months

My sweet little Stella Bean. Still not crawling, but taking in everything happening around her without missing a beat. She is absolutely an introvert, though her smile shines no matter if she's with a group of people or just with me. She is mastering picking up her puffs with her adorable little fingers, and has been enjoying some new foods! Fruit is a favorite, but she chewed on a piece of sour dough bread for about 20 minutes the other day and seemed to love it. She still has a bit of a sensitive stomach, so new foods may take a little longer to introduce so she doesn't have to deal with the tummy/diaper rash issues. But she is very interested in food, and i'm sure we'll be feeding her just about everything in no time! Not sure when she'll take an interest in getting around herself, this kid will need to spend more time on her tummy if she's going to crawl any time soon! For now she prefers to be carried around, and can lay on her stomach and roll around with you as long as you're willing to hang. Nowadays she gets very excited when i get to daycare to pick them up - flapping her arms and legs around while making an excited noise. There is nothing better than having her and Hudson greet me with big smiles and hugs after a full day at daycare!