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!

more 11 month pictures...

eating by himself

Hudson has started using the spoon! he doesn't get much food onto the spoon before he gets it into his mouth....but he's on his way!

11 months!

It's hard to believe we're planning Hudson's FIRST BIRTHDAY. He is still growing by the second it seems, and acting more like a little boy every day! 

A few highlights:

1. We have started the transition to more milk (formula) in the sippy cup and less in the bottle. This has been hard for me surprisingly...thinking he will be too old for a bottle soon doesn't seem possible. But he loves that sippy cup, so he is doing really well! He only has milk with breakfast and snack in the cup, otherwise he's still loving his water and bottles. He eats three meals a day with a snack, and is growing more interested in what we eat all the time!

2. We are SO close to Hudson taking his first steps. He is standing on his own, reaching across to things  that require him to move one foot to get there, and is just cruising on everything. I think it could be any day...

3. We have words! Hudson is saying more intentional words (or sounds), and it's awesome! He will say MOO when he sees a cow, stop (sounds like DOP) after we tell Lego to stop licking him :), he is saying mama and dada, and a few other things like that. Still not sure how intentional they all are, but he is definitely learning his animal sounds! 

4. Our boy is in a cuddle stage! He gives hugs and kisses, and now favors his stuffed animals over his other toys. He will talk to them, hug them, and carry them around - and it's adorable. He recently received a large stuffed tiger from a woman at daycare, and that is by far the best snuggle buddy.  He's also taken to being on the couch! He will jump, roll, walk, lay down, and just sit and relax for a long time! He LOVES being up there!

5. THis boy is a water baby through and through! He cannot get enough of it! He loves his splash time at school, kiddy pool at home, and the big public pool - he will stay in the water until he's exhausted, then he will sit in the shade with his bottle or snack and just watch everyone else in the water - happy as can be. 

6. We have graduated to our 12-18 size clothes, still wear size 3 diapers, have about 28-30 oz formula a day plus meals, and still takes two naps a day. Day care will be transitioning him to one nap a day and no bottles soon, so he can move up to the 1-2 year class room after his birthday. Crazy!

Overall Hudson's personality is shining more each week. He loves being around people, being outside, and especially the water. He is so much fun to be around, though we've had to start working harder to keep him out of things he shouldn't be getting into (like Lego's food). This weekend I plan to leave him for a couple days with Dad to have some girl time with friends...so we'll see how that goes! Andy does a great job taking care of him, and aside from the house looking like a disaster when i get back, i'm sure they'll have lots of fun boy time!

a night with friends...and kids!

Over four years ago we started hanging out with this group of people. It started out as eight adults, having dinner out and getting to know each other. Last night we had them all over to our house for dinner. Only this time, there were FIVE kids there with us! Between the four couples, we now have five children. Needless to say, dinner is now very different than it used to be! There's a 3 year old (Malaya) and her little sister Cadence (4 months), Cannon who's now 1 1/2, Casey Jr who's just three weeks younger than Hudson, and of course the social butterfly who couldn't have been more thrilled to have his buddies over, Hudson. He was LOVING it. And we had a great time with the friends (and their kids) we've gotten to know here in Denver. Fun times!! 

 Paul and Malaya...Malaya wasn't too big on smiling for the camera...

 Cannon is a hugger....hugs all around!

 All the kids loved this chair (Malaya brought it) - and you can see that Hudson made himself right at home when it was his turn. Such a ham!

 Lindsay, Chris and Lina - three lovely ladies!

Chad with Cadence - she looks JUST like him.