Hudson - 15 months

Hudson turned 15 months this week.  All the other moms I talked to that has had "late walkers" all said their kids started walking at 15 months.  A week ago I kept telling Hudson he only had about a week left to make that deadline, and while he isn't off and running just yet, he is walking some and taking more and more steps each day.  I can also see his confidence is increasing on his feet.  We usually cheer and clap for him after he does it to keep encouraging him and now he's started to clap for himself after he reaches the destination he is headed for.  It's so funny, but I love that he is happy about his accomplishment, too.

I took him for his 15 month check-up yesterday.  I usually LOVE taking my kids to the doctor. I think it is fun to see how much they have grown and know that they are hitting all the milestones they should be.  I also am a proud mama when the doctors and nurses comment on how sweet and well behaved they are.  Well, Hudson showed out his true colors while we were there and it wasn't pretty.  He was being sweet and was happy as could be when we first arrived, but I made the mistake of taking his snack away when the doctor came in to examine him and that just pissed him off.  He started pitching a fit and there was NOTHING I could do to snap him out of it.  I gave him the snack back, but at that point he was so over the edge that even what started the whole fit wouldn't reel him in.  It was embarrassing.  I know that the doctors are used to kids not behaving well or not liking the examination, but for me, this was a first.  When the doctor had first walked in she immediately commented on his teeth and how she could tell he used a paci.  I talked to her about the fact we limit his use at home to in his crib, but that I feel like when we are in the car or out and about there are times I just have to give it to him to be able to get done what needs to be done with the girls.  She was totally understanding (having been through a similar situation with one of her kids), but gave me a few tips about not adding to his obsession.  During his outburst she made me laugh, though, when she said, "I see why he is a paci kid."

At 15 months Hudson:

• has become an incredibly picky eater, but can put away some gummy fruit snacks or cookies. 
• is extremely stubborn and when he knows what he wants, there is no deterring him. 
• knows about 15 words (see list below)
• loves to walk holding one of my hands, but is becoming braver to take steps independently.
• has a love of books.  He gets so excited to read books each day and definitely has his favorites.  Even when I'm not reading to him, he will sit and look at books for a long periods of time and he really studies them, pointing to the pictures, noticing details in the illustrations, etc.  
• sleeps about 11 hours at night and naps for close to 3 hours each day. 
• can play simple animal games on my phone or on the ipad and loves it.
• understands pretty much all of what I say to him and follows simple directions. 
• looks so big to me when he stands up because for so long I'm used to seeing him on all fours. 
• is super sweet and loves to cuddle and snuggle with us.

Hudson's word list: 

ball, dog, car, more, that, there, Harper, Dada, Mama, jump, cheese, uh-oh, duck, baby, bye-bye, hi

His stats from his appointment: 

head- 18 3/4 inches (60th percentile)

height- 31 inches (50th percentile)

weight- 24 lbs. 4 oz. (50th percentile)

Gigi came over to watch Hudson and Harper after his appointment so Hudson could get a good nap instead of tagging along to Handley's gymnastics class.  Can I just say that she is the BEST!  Not only did she come over for the afternoon, but she also offered to stay all evening and entertain the kids while Robby and I met with a realtor.  And she didn't come empty handed.  She brought over pumpkins and these adorable kits to decorate the pumpkins. A HUGE thank you to Gigi!