19 months

Xmas is approaching and I think you are going to enjoy the festivities. You already love the tree in the living room and are doing a great job at not touching it or the presents underneath. You went to your first Xmas party with mommy/daddy last night and you looked very handsome in your new newsboy hat and shiny black shoes. Daddy took you in this week to get the H1N1 vaccine so you don't get the swine flu that has broken out. You continue to talk and say more and more words daily. You are getting bigger and hardly fit into your 18 month sleeper suits. I think it's safe to say that you pretty much take only 1 nap now instead of two. Daddy/I are planning to take you to see Zoo Lights tomorrow so you can see the animals and lights lit up. You are constantly learning and in motion and we get to see more and more of your personality all the time. We love you so much!

18 months (~25 lbs.)

We can't believe that you are already a year an a half. You are definitely a little sponge these days and hyper-alert in terms of learning new things. You are able to consistently eat your meals with a spoon & fork now but prefer the spoon. You have so many words and basically repeat any word we say to you back to us. Perhaps one of our least favorite words is "no". You seem to like this one alot and the louder the better. You are starting to count and can say "one" and "two". When you are in the car and see a school or city bus you scream "BUS"! You seem to be going through separation anxiety a little bit and want mommy/daddy to stay with you for a while during drop-offs. You love to act like you are working on the computer alongside mommy/daddy. You love to pull things out of their container and then put them back in. You still love to read and thx to nana and gma you have lots of new books. We are trying really hard to keep you on two naps a day but it's getting more and more rare. You were a hot dog for your first Halloween and this year you were a monkey! You seemed to love wearing the costume and we got lots of cute photos. We continue working on signing with you and you are able to consistently sign: "milk", "more", "all done", and "please". However, now that you are talking so much the signing may be on it's way out.

17 months

You had your first official haircut and it really changed your look from a baby to a little boy. You haven't seemed to grow much in the last month but you continue to amaze mommy/daddy with your new skills. You can point to every part of your body when asked, and know the sound of several different animals. You climbed to the top of a 8 foot ladder (yikes) and you have started to feed yourself with a spoon. You love to dance when you hear music and have several different moves in your repertoire. This week you learned to give daddy a "fist bump" following a high five. Very cute to watch! I think you know "tia" from her picture on the fridge. The daycare teacher at Little Smiles is going to have you join her preschool class so you can start learning how to sit in a chair by yourself, how to hold a pencil, draw & paint, and start to learn your colors and numbers. Looks like mommy/daddy aren't the only one's that think you're smart ;) One of your latest tricks is that you love to climb. You are able to climb up and down off the couch which is a little scary but you've got the hang of it. Halloween is right around the corner and m&d got you a monkey costume this year. We look forward to you showing us all the new changes the next month brings!

16 months (22 lbs. 6 oz. (10% weight) 33 1/4 " (95% height)

Hudson is at the stage that people talk about where he is doing something new every day. He has catalogued about 15-20 words with this weeks new words being "eye" and "shoe". He likes to put his foot inside mommy & daddy's shoe and walk around in them. He has also learned to climb a ladder (probably from watching daddy). He loves to read either with mommy/daddy or by himself. He still loves his blanket and taking dishes out of the drawers in the kitchen. He doesn't seem to last as long as he used to in the stroller...probably because he'd rather be using those little legs for running around rather than sitting stationary. Depending on his mood he likes to give hugs, kisses and high fives! Something he is NOT a fan of is the vacuum. He starts to cry whenever he hears mommy turn it on. We are starting to get him used to holding a spoon when he eats. He likes to hold the spoon but doesn't quite grasp the concept of scooping the food onto the spoon. He loves to climb up on his hi-chair and push it around the house.

15 months

So camp trip #2 was on par with camp trip #1. This time you weren't cold but were starting to get a cold and couldn't sleep at all. It's probably mommy/daddy's fault for taking you swimming that morning and dunking your head for the first time. You are getting more and more verbal all the time and your arsenal of words increases by the week. You now say "juice", "keys", "baby", "up", "down" "uh oh" and sometimes "woof". You and mommy played outside yesterday for the first time using sidewalk chalk. You were much more interested in holding as many pieces as your little hands could hold and carrying them around than you were in actually drawing anything. Your 15 month appt. should be scheduled so by your next blog entry we'll have a better idea of how big and tall you are. You are starting to dance when you hear music. You bend your knees and are starting to sway your arms...it's really cute! You are going to have your first long stay with nana/papa next month while mommy/daddy go on vacation to Maine. I know nana/papa are very much looking forward to some quality time with their "Hudson m'bud". G'ma & G'pa are coming to see you for Halloween. Hmmm...what will you dress up as this year? Last year you were a hot dog (see daddy's FB page). Your hair is getting out of control and needs to be cut but we can't bring ourselves to do it yet. You continue to be very sociable and like to play in the toddler room at church and with LeJune when you stay w/ her.

14 months

7/12/09: You are now starting to say a couple more words. You say "nana" for banana and "eye-a" for Ajax. You sometimes say "upup" when you want up. You use sign language to indicate "milk" and "more". It's so cute watching you learn and communicate. You have really started to enjoy books. You love to pull them out of the basket and sit w/ mommy or daddy while we read to you. It's been pretty warm lately so we've been spending a lot of time in the pool. You love it and can get in and out by yourself. Mommy's had a couple long weekends so it's been so great to just be with you and bond. You love the doggies, reading, and playing in your pool. You also love for mommy/daddy to chase you around the house. You laugh and giggle as you go around each corner trying to escape. You continue to love bananas but we've been feeding you strawberry's and raspberries from the garden and you seem to like these even more. Surprise surprise somebody's a sugar monster. We may be going to Reese's (cousin) 4th birthday party this weekend and then camping on the way home. We'll see how you do on camp trip #2. You seem to be extremely attached to your blanket lately and will go into your room and start hollering. When mommy/daddy shows up you are trying to pull your jungle blanket (nana made for you) out of your crib through the slats. Once you have it you wander around the house like Linus just clutching your blanket. You are SO CUTE. We feel so incredibly lucky to have such an amazing child.

13 months

6/13/09: We are enjoying a weekend @ nana & papa's house. You had a ball w/ nana yesterday as she watched you while mommy & daddy played tourist and stayed overnight at the Rio Vista (mommy's first night away from you). You say dada and mama but I don't think you know who that is yet. You say "d-d-d" for dog and make a closed mouth "mmmmm" sound to indicate cow. Perhaps your newest word and one you understand is "no no no". You look so cute when you say it. You went camping for the first time a couple weekends ago and you did pretty well. You liked playing in the dirt and eating rocks. You got cold @ night so we brought you into our sleeping bags. You just keep getting more and more fun and mommy & daddy love you SO MUCH! It's summertime and getting warmer so you've enjoyed splashing around in your swimming pool. You continue to be a very good and easy baby. You are pretty flexible and accommodating even when your sleep schedule and location get interrupted. You love riding the lawn mower with daddy and are definitely daddy's right hand man these days. We love you SO MUCH!!!

12 months (20lbs. 5oz. (20% weight) 30" (50% height)

5/10/09: 
You are now walking exclusively and seem to love the freedom that comes with it. You have a 5th tooth coming in and are completely weened. You now drink whole milk and eat the same food as mommy & daddy most of the time. You love blueberries & bananas and anything sweet. We're going to turn your car seat around now that you'll be 1 year old and 20 lbs. Mommy takes you to the doctor on Tuesday for your 1 year check-up. I can't believe it's already been a year. You still have bad diaper rash so we'll see what the doctor says on Tuesday. You have started a new trick of getting your limbs stuck between the slats of your crib. You are such a joy in our lives and we only hope that our next baby is as easy and cute as you. We had a little b'day party for you a couple weeks ago when nana & papa were in town. You had your 1st cupcake and seemed to love it. I made some more so that you can have another one on your actual birthday. Mommy & daddy love you SO MUCH!

11 months

You have started to take steps. You aren't super confident and still prefer to crawl but you're starting to attempt walking more and more. In addition to waving and shaking your head you now can clap your hands when asked to and look toward the mudroom when we talk about the doggies. You say mama and dada but aren't sure who that pertains to. Today was your first Easter! Mommy & daddy can't believe that you're 1 year birthday is coming up. You seem to be a very happy baby and very easy most of the time. You've had a had time w/ diaper rash lately but that's mommy & daddy's fault. You are eating less baby food and more food that mommy & daddy eat. You are SO CUTE and both mommy & daddy feel so lucky to have such a good, healthy and handsome son. You are the center of our lives and we LOVE IT! We love you so much.

10 months

3/15/09: You are doing two new things in the last month. You have started to wave and shake your head no. I don't think you know what it means yet which is a good thing. I'm still waiting to hear you say "mama" and to distinguish between mama and dada. Daddy says you've taken a couple small steps and I'm sure you'll show mommy soon.

9 months (18 lbs 13 oz; 90% 29"; 90%)

2/14/09:
You can now stand for up to 30 seconds w/o holding onto anything. I don't think it will be too long before you take your first step. You have your 4th tooth coming in so you'll have 2 on bottom and now 2 on top. You are starting to say words instead of babbling syllables. Daddy & I don't know what your words mean but you are definitely trying to communicate. You are still eating baby food although we have you on #3 and are feeding you bites of our food as well. You really like butterscotch cookies. You typically take 2 naps a day and are in bed for the night @ 7:30pm. You just had your 9 month check-up and you are in the 95% for weight and 90% for height so you're filling out. You weigh 18lbs 13oz. and are 29" tall. You enjoy watching cartoons but no for very long. You continue to be very curious about the doggies and love watching daddy play w/ them. You are going through a phase where you and daddy are pretty tight. You always look for him and ore often want to go to him rather than mommy.

8 months

1/7/09: You are not only crawling but pulling up on everything and standing up on your crib, against the desk, anything nailed down. You now have your 3rd tooth coming in and love to babble. You really seem to like LeJune and playing w/ Spencer. You are eating a ton right now so we think you're growing. You are eating #2 baby food 2-3 times a day and are migrating from 3 naps to 2 a day. You're poo has become more solid now that you're eating food.

6 months

11/18/08: You now have two bottom teeth and they are sharp! You still have yet to crawl but you're definitely mobile. You flip, twist, and scoot backwards. You get on your hands and knees and rock back & forth and every time I think you're going to crawl. You're so close! You've started eating a little bit of rice cereal w/ your bottle right before bedtime. Mommy is starting to see her "little boy" emerge as you take your toys and wack, wack, wack on things. You've discovered your penis and always try to grab it when you're getting your diaper changed. You also try to take off your diaper by pulling at the sticky tabs. Next week is Thxgiving and nana & papa are anxious to see you.

12/1/08: You've had a very busy month! You got your first cold that has lasted about 10 days. It's so hard for mommy & daddy to watch you being sick. You cried so hard one night that your little voice was hoarse for the next 3-5 days. On another note, YOU ARE NOW CRAWLING! Not only are you crawling you have started to pull yourself up on things to a standing position. You had your 6 month appt. and same as your 4 month you are in the 50% for weight and 95% for height. You also just started eating solids! We had been giving you rice cereal twice a day but now we're doing food twice a day. We started w/ pears and then we'll try applesauce and sweet potatoes. You got to see nana & papa over Thxgiving and they had some toys for you and we got a really cute Xmas picture of you and your cousins. We go to G'ma & G'pa Chambers later this month for Xmas!

5 months

10/18/08: You are now 5 months old and not a tiny baby anymore. You scoot all around the room and your crib and are really good at going backwards. We think your frontward crawl will happen any day. You love to be outside or just look outside especially @ the doggies. You are about 16 lbs.

11/2/08: Monkey (that's what daddy calls you) You got your first tooth about 2 weeks ago and then about a week later we noticed you had 2. They are right in the middle on the bottom. G'ma was just here visiting and bought you an elephant toy & a couple outfits.

4 months

9/20: You just had your 4 month appt. and you weigh 15.4 oz. You are in the 50% for weight and 95% (to be debated at a later appt) for height. You are very alert and love to be outside. You are ticklish around your neck and tummy and mommy can make you giggle by tickling you. You are back to flipping over front to back and back to front. You have good dexterity and are able to grab and hold things. You are drooling alot and love to put things in your mouth. You met your new cousin Gabriel 2 days ago and you are SO BIG next to a tiny newborn. You seem to be a very content baby. You are so good and rarely have meltdowns w/ mommy. You love to talk and play with our feet. You grab them and put them in your mouth. When you sleep you tend to pull your blanket up over your head. You recently developed a tiny cough but it doesn't seem to bother you too much. We're going to Moyer's bbq tonight to see all your friends.

10/1: I am working from home with you today and I've been busy putting the kitchen back together and cleaning and I haven't had to worry about you at all. You are pretty self-sufficient and keep yourself entertained. You recently started leaning forward in your swings so mommy has to keep an eye on you more often. You flipped over on your changing table for the first time last week so you're definitely getting more mobile. Daddy things you'll be crawling any day. You are able to scoot backwards right now. Your dexterity is getting so good. You can reach for things on your own, pick them up and...put them in your mouth. You always pull off your socks so you can play with your toes. You are SO MUCH FUN! Mommy & daddy love you so much.

3 months

You now flip from your back to your tummy all the time. So far, you always go to your right side. You fell asleep on your tummy while home with daddy. You hold onto dangling objects with both hands and continue to love both of your swings. You had stopped flipping over until today (8/28/08) when you did it several times while on your mat. You are starting to make little race car noises with your mouth by pursing your lips together. You also are at the beginning stages of a giggle.

2 months (10 lbs. 15 oz.)

You had your 2 month check-up today. You weigh 10lbs 15oz and the doctor said you are in the 25% and would like to see you above 50%. You are growing out of your smallest onesies and smiling alot. You still sleep with mommy & daddy but we're hoping you start sleeping in your crib. Daddy says we're cutting the cord @ 3 months. You don't always like your swing and would much rather be held. You don't like to be alone and seem to be warming up to daddy more and more.

1 month

hudson,
you are asleep in your swing. You love your swing and it's the one place I can put you to keep you close by. I love watching you sleep peacefully! I love you
mommy