potty time

Today was a hilarious, awesome, funny, and sort of breakthrough night for Hudson and his big boy potty. We've (more so I) started singing a little potty song to him, and asking him if he wants to sit on his potty and go to the bathroom. Tonight, after his bath, we began the routine, and Hudson sat down on his potty and peed a little bit (he had to scoot himself back so he could actually pee IN the potty, which was hilarious to watch). Upon doing this, Andy and I started clapping and applauding his success. This encouraged him to sit down and repeat his short potty time. Which resulted in Andy and I applauding him again with clapping, yelling, and high fives. Which resulted in him repeating the potty time again. And so the applaud repeated, and the mini potty time repeated, and so on. This routine happened probably 10-12 times. And every time, a mini pee time took place in Hudson's little potty. It was awesome.  I finally went to get my phone to video this activity, and unfortunately that was the end of this potty time party. The great news is Hudson seems to have had a little breakthrough with his potty. Or at least he's a step closer to understanding the point. Maybe. Either way, it was a fun moment for our family - our little naked boy is the best.

a wave goodbye

So today, when i dropped Hudson off at daycare and went to leave, he looked at me - waved goodbye - and went on playing. This may seem normal to some people, but in the 17 months this child has been at daycare he has NEVER been ok with me leaving. He's always put up a fight, a cry, or tried to follow me out the door. But not today. Today, he was ok with me being gone...my little independent man. Growing up too fast...

thank you, Easter Bunny

Every year the park across from our house has an Easter egg hunt. Last year, Hudson wasn't walking yet and had a bad double ear infection the day they had the hunt. This year, we got there about two minutes too late, and all the eggs had been snatched up by the hundreds of other little kids there. We did manage to get a picture of Hudson with the Easter bunny - and he played in the box of "recycled" egg containers to get his egg fix. :) It's a gorgeous day out though, and we are all healthy, so it was still a perfect day to go out for the annual egg hunt!

Here he was last year…same bunny, much 'fuller' Hudson face! :) 

Chatter box

Latest words:
Tractor
Heart
Help
Oh no
Helicopter (this one needs interpretation)
Apple
Ice
Juice

Sentences: Hudson is using more and more words together, though it's often hard to get every word clearly.
Regular sentences include things like; mama and car go take bath. Mama lay down. Bye dada car go bye bye.

daddy and me

my two favorites. 

the happiest kid on the block

Since we've been home from the hospital, Hudson has seemed to smile and laugh more than ever before. He's also throwing more fits when he doesn't get what he wants, but the smiles and laughs by far surpass the other challenges. Tonight we sat out on the patio for a bit, and Hudson found himself loving the lounge chair…

In other news, we bought Hudson a little potty last weekend, since he's been telling us when he has to pee and poop lately. So we have been "trying" out the potty in the evenings after bath, and this kid has successfully pottied in that toilet almost every time! He doesn't go much, but he knows what to do when he sits down, and tries his hardest to get something out. It's funny, and awesome at the same time. not sure we're ready to go full force with potty training yet, but it's a good start i would say!

more park time

Another trip to the park…another great experience. This time, Hudson approached and hugged a girl without her even seeing it coming. What can i say? The boy's a hugger. And i'm ok with that. 

 Poor thing, didn't see it coming. But didn't seem to mind, either. :)

Hudson has also figured out how to go down the bigger slide by himself! 

a beautiful evening for a walk and some grub on the patio!

Today was almost 80 here in Denver, and we took full advantage! A fun day with Julie, Braddock and Josiah Musilli in Colorado Springs, then a walk in the park and some burgers on the patio! Oh yea, and of course THOMAS was there, in multiple aspects. Thank you to the Helbigs for the shirt! And to the hospital for the book! And to the Grandma's for Toby the Choo Choo! :) We had a great day - choo choo's and all!

 This picture reminds me of a magazine.

 The book had to go outside with us…

 A moment to get the shoe back on…and catch a pick of the boys in their sunglasses

 Mid-jump/run! Hudson was HAPPY to be outside and running around!

Chatting with Oma

From our skype chat today…

18 month stats

Because of our hospital visit, we missed our 18 month check up with the doc, so we went just before he turned 19 months old. We know he lost weight during everything the last couple months, so we expected his weight to be lower. He will hopefully get back on his trend and average percentage by his 2 year check up. Otherwise, he's STILL the tallest kid in class, and his head circumference is just about in the middle.

18 Month Stats:
Weight: 26 lb 14 oz (60%)
Height: 35 inches (97%)
Head circumference: 18 3/4 (45%)

They also had us answer a bunch of questions about Hudson's development, and he passed with above average answers! The doc said he is above average, and one smart cookie! Not that we didn't already know that…but it's nice when your doc says it too! He is saying a lot of new words, and is communicating so well - tractor is my current favorite, because he says it in such a cute way - so enthusiastic! He's gotten very good and pulling and pointing you where he wants you to go as well...

Hudson continues to do well with his recovery, and is loving food, play time, choo choo's and cars more than ever. He is sleeping well also, and has started warming back up to taking baths by himself again - which is nice for me! Today we went out to the park TWICE (it was in the high 70's!!), and he had a ball playing in the sand, watching the other kids, going down the slide, and checking out some of the plants and curbs along the way. He also made sure to stay hydrated with his cool new CARS sippy cup!

hair cut!

19 months old and he finally got his first official hair cut…well, sort of. We took the clippers to his moving target - i mean, his head, and I tried my best to cut as many hairs as possible! We took off close to two inches, so he was in need of a trim! I'd love to grow his hair out, but it just wasn't looking right, so maybe this trim will do the trick for a nice grow out. Either way, he's still adorable.

new tricks

Since coming home from the hospital, Hudson has picked up a few new tricks to keep us wildly entertained.
#1. He has figured out how to raise his eyebrows, and it's hilarious. See photo.
#2. He loves eating food so much that he does a happy dance when he really likes what he's eating. Again, hilarious.
#3. He has discovered a love for sunglasses - completely adorable, and hilarious at the same time. See photo for proof. This, combined with his current affection for Choo Choo's…yes, I know.
#4. He enjoys playing hide and seek - with hands, feet, blankets, countertops, etc. Even if he can see you the entire time, the "peek-a-boo" phrase is sure to get a laugh out of him.
#5. New words - he is quickly expanding his vocabulary, often with sentences we are unable to interpret. But he does say some new things like: star, oooh, off, out, all done mama or dada, pacifier (which sounds NOTHING like the word, but somehow we understood him), cracker, truck, i'm sure there are more but of course i can't think of them right now.

We are VERY thankful and blessed to have our little boy back. And though he is extremely clingy to me right now…I am ok with it. So long as i get a break sometimes, too.

The smile that melts our hearts…

Life after the hospital

 Though he lost a bit more weight in the hospital, he's not too thin, and we think with the way he's eating now he'll gain back at least some of that weight fairly quickly! It's so nice to see that adorable smile all the time again!

 The weather has been a bit warmer, so we are trying to take advantage and get outside!! - with a choo choo, of course. 

While we were in the hospital, we watched a LOT of Thomas the Train on youtube. We also played with trains, read about Thomas and friends, and said choo choo a hundred or so times a day. So when Grandma Rosdil pulled out her Ipad, she was doomed to watch "choo choo" with Hudson for an indefinite amount of time. We are still trying to ween him from the severe choo choo kick he had gotten into...