Hudson has hit a few milestones in the last 6 months:
1) He said goodbye to "green blankee". We had a conversation about how he's a big boy now and no longer needs it. We told him that we would give green blankee to a little kid who didn't have a blanket of their own.
2) Hudson is writing letters. He can write his full name legibly and is working on other letters in the alphabet. We are still working on the reading part.
3) Hudson started participating in a couple different activities that have kept him busy (mommy & daddy too). He started swim lessons at a private pool. (Aug-Sept) He was apprehensive at first to put his face in the water and blow bubbles. But eventually as he built up his confidence he started doing much better. Next we had an 8 week soccer season with practices on Thursdays and games on Saturdays (Sept-Oct). Hudson started out very shy and wouldn't go on the field. Then, he started playing goalie and by the end of the season he was on the field with everyone else. Next we picked up swim lessons (2X/week for 4 weeks) (Nov) again but this time at a public pool and Hudson has been a standout from the beginning. We'll probably re-up and add on another 4 week session through end of December. Then, we'll press pause on swimming while Hudson attempts skiing this winter. We bought him ski's and boots and he's super excited about doing something just he and daddy. It doesn't hurt that hot cocoa has been used as leverage.
Mommy/daddy have started to see dividends pay out. Hudson has started to do various chores around the house and gets $ in his piggy bank at the end of the week. He brings the dogs in and feeds them every night and sometimes in the mornings as well. He's helps take out the trash, set the table, unload the dishwasher, and clean up his toys. Mommy loves having a little more help around the house and Hudson loves being able to buy things with his "money's".
We recently celebrated Halloween and Hudson borrowed a hand-made Francesco Bernoulli costume that Xabi used last year. We added a little helmet and it was perfect. Beckett went as a bum. We went down to Emly's neighborhood to trick-or-treat and came back with boatloads of candy. We let him fill a large zip-lock bag full and left the rest @ Emly's to "got to kids who didn't get any candy".
Hudson continues to be our sensitive boy. He loves to give hugs and kisses and will frequently find mommy in the house and say, "just checkin' on ya". Recently for mommy's birthday he said he would give kisses all day long and there was even a foot rub offered when mommy wasn't feeling well. He's very tender and sensitive and becomes emotional when thrust too quickly into a foreign environment.
He loves to antagonize his brother which causes the volume level in our home to reach a new high. The other half of the time they play nicely together and Hudson often helps Beckett do things.
It's scary to think he'll be in school less than a year from now. We're trying to create as many intentional moments as we can in order to avoid each exchange feeling transactional. We head to Seabrook tomorrow for some quality family bonding time together!