15 months

WOW, has it really been 15 months since this amazing person was born?! it's hard to believe, and watching him grow and change like crazy lately makes me feel like he'll be starting first grade before we know it. These days Hudson is chatting up a storm, and we officially have his first few words to report!

1. BYE. He will say bye to everyone and everything. Stranger, animal, car. Anything.
2. CAR. When we get in the car, when he sees a car, when we're walking out of daycare to go to the car. CAR. CAR. CAR.
3. BALL. Hudson loves to identify any round object that resembles a ball. Lots of fun.
4. SHOE. He will get his shoes, my shoes, and andy's shoes, and bring them to me saying "shoe."
5. UH OH. This one is more recent, like in the last week. He will throw food off of the table and say uh oh. He's learning quickly that he can do something, and use 'uh oh' as the reaction. Smarty pants, indeed.
6. Belly Button - this one he's still working on, but he if you ask where his is, he'll pull up his shirt and show you. VERY cute.

There are few other things he says, but these are the most common, and he's been using bye for over a month now. So i think his first official word is bye!

In addition to the chatter, he is "helping" more around the house - he'll put things "away" when i ask him to, and will let me know when he's all done with something so i can clean it up. He still loves hanging out on the stairs (see picture), and though he likes his pacifier to chew on, he loves his straw-lid sippy cup also. In the last couple weeks he has had molars on both sides of his mouth break through! He's been a bit more restless at night, waking up a couple times a night regularly to cry out, roll around, then fall back asleep. He's also been drooling more, so we've been eating pieces of ice to try and cool down our mouth (yes, i do this with him - what? I like eating ice sometimes…and popsicles). Thankfully he hasn't gotten sick yet this season, and I'm starting my prayers now that he won't be sick when we're traveling!

We have still been spending time almost every weekend across the street in the park. This is a great time to point out cars, airplanes (another favorite of his), and kick leaves around while we walk toward any dog we can see. I love this time, because he is free to direct his own path, and it's fun to see what he wants to do. Most of the time he's not really interested in the actual playground. If someone pushes a tricycle or wagon to the park, he'd rather check that out and push it around the perimeter. Which is always fun, asking the parent if it's ok if my son takes your son or daughters bike for a 'push' around the area. Thankfully all the parents around here are very friendly!

A few other fun new developments have been popping up as well - Hudson can now open doors, and will not hesitate to see what you're doing in the bathroom if you close the door. He will also go in and shut the door by himself, even with the lights out. Just hanging out in the bathroom with the lights off. That's our son. He's also enjoying riding on things still - we got him a choo choo train to push around the house, and that has been fun. Even if he only gets to push it for a couple feet before he runs into something.

We love the hugs and kisses we get from him now, and the fact that he can tell us so much better what he wants and doesn't want. He still loves seeing other people, and will smile and laugh at just about anything. We can't stop talking about how great he is, and how thankful we are for him. He's a character - and fits right in with the rest of our family! :)

halloween

Hudson was a teddy bear for halloween - one of his favorite things! They had a trick or treat parade with his daycare on campus, so I got to volunteer and walk the parade with him. No candy for him just yet, but that didnt' stop him from enjoying the wrapper of this twizzlers! I also couldn't get him to stay still long enough to get a good picture, so these will have to do. I was just glad he let me put the hat on! He looked pretty darn cute in that teddy bear outfit!

phone pics

 With the way today's phones are made, it's common to take pictures and videos on your phone just as much as you talk on it. So here are some i've taken recently, and a video clip from a few months ago that melts my heart. :)

 We went to the Four Mile Historic Park by our house to look for a pumpkin, and they also had horses!! Here Andy and Hudson are enjoying the horses in their matching jackets. :) Yes, i bought both jackets - though not at the same time.

 We spend a lot of time out in the park these days, and hudson loves looking up at all the planes that fly over!

neighbors

We have the BEST neighbors - and last week a few of us were outside at the same time so we got to visit! Mayjen is about two months older than Hudson, and she and her mom Monica were out as well - and Mayjen and Hudson decided to sit down on the steps together, so of course we all ran and got our cameras! 

Our neighbor Becky took a quick family pick for us as well! (even though i had no makeup on, yikes!) We definitely love our neighbors!

snow day!!

 The weather in Colorado is typically all over the map this time of year, and today was no exception. Yesterday we were about 60 degrees, today we got almost ten inches of snow. The up side to this was that Hudson got to go out and experience it - last year he was pretty little, so it was fun to take him out and watch him absorb all the "white" outside. His thrift store snow suit is a little big, but it does the trick!

The last couple weeks we've noticed a few big changes in this little guy, causing him to seem more and more like a toddler every day. He has started saying "bye" - and uses it every time someone is leaving (including himself), saying goodbye on the phone, or if he wants to go outside. He will now go get his jacket (if he can find one), bring it over to me and hand it to me while saying "bye" - quite clear communication! He loves going outside, and if he hears an airplane in the distance he will stop and look up in the sky until he can find it. He is picking up speed with his walk, and we know the run is not far away. 

He's also been communicating more with sign language, and is trying to say more words as well. Right now he will sign please, more, all done, and he'll say ball (ba), bear (similar to ba, but he'll point at the bear), dada, more, occasionally he'll try saying please, and more and more he'll try repeating most words we say to him. It's been so fun to actually understand some of the things he's saying, since he has been a big talker since day one!

This kid loves to dance, and will stomp his feet, bend his knees and clap his hands when you say the word! He's also started climbing on everything…which can be tricky when tries dancing on the tables and chairs!

He loves to laugh, loves people, smiles at every one and everything, and is still so much fun to be with. We can't believe he's 14 months, yet he's grown up so much since his first birthday! He weighed himself the other day (yes, he loves the scale), and it said he was about 26 pounds!! That with a size 6 shoe, we're thinking he's grown in height a bit as well - we'll find out at the next doctor visit!

pumpkin fun

Last weekend we took Hudson out to visit grandma and grandpa Reeves, uncle Josh and aunt Jen, and Great Grandparents! We had a great time - and Hudson enjoyed the dogs, water, and company! This 14 month old loves to walk, play, eat, laugh, and experiment! 

Today we took a trip to the pumpkin patch with our friends Sarah, Chris and their kids, and we had a great time! Hudson walked through the corn maze, played with the pumpkins, and rode on a tractor pulled hay ride! He loves tractors right now, so that was a real treat!

The sun was also starting to head south, and it was perfect for picture taking!

The zoo!

Last weekend while Andy was in Chicago, Hudson and I got to go to the zoo with our friends Lindsay and Cannon. We went first thing in the morning and it was great - all the animals were out! Hudson really loved seeing the animals in motion - a couple times he almost fell out of his stroller. A kid after my own heart - an animal lover!

Late sleeper?

So, Andy is in Chicago this weekend, and Hudson and I have been having some mommy-son time. Of course it's been great for me - i love this little guy to pieces. But i know Andy is going to be disappointed when he learns that i am writing this post at 8:20am, and Hudson is STILL sleeping. Yup, this has NEVER happened. He woke up at 6:00, (woke me up), rolled around for about 20 minutes, found his pacifier, and fell back asleep. He has done that before, but never for this long!! Wow, too bad I'm not a late sleeper or i would be asleep right now (like Andy would).

hoola

When I picked Hudson up from daycare this week, he was outside - playing with a hoolahoop! He was having a great time with that thing! 

Hudson and the water hose

 Lately Hudson has been getting bad diaper rash - we think it has something do to with the food he's having a day care. So each night after bath, we're giving him some "free" time to air things out. :) You can see he is uninhibited, and still loves to read. 

 Even though it's October, the weather has still be in the 80's. This particular day, Hudson was "helping" me water the plants…and quickly discovered he would much rather just play with the hose. We were out there for at least 15 minutes doing this - and he was having a serious good time. There were no smiles, just Hudson and the hose. 

First celebrations

 This weekend we went to one of my staff's daughters 1st birthday - Minnie Mouse, hot pink and zebra print theme! She is the cutest little thing - and I think she should be Hudson's first girlfriend. :) Arayah and Savanah took a picture with us to commemorate the occasion!

 Hudson was checking out Arayah's birthday present - the chair - and I think he might appreciate one of his own…He spent quite a bit of time on that thing. 

love

Hanging around

 Does this picture make you want to say "The End"?  They were watching the rain come down outside...

 Hudson loves pushing trucks (and anything else) around the house! This one came from Grandma Rosdil for his first birthday!

 Teddy bears are a boys best friend - at least at this age! Hudson has a few teddy bears he likes to snuggle with, and tonight he found TWO and carried them around together!

Snuggle time with the Teddy bears. 

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.