Hudson - 10 months

I can hardly believe that I'm about to write this, but Hudson is 10 months old today!  As I mentioned in my last post, he started crawling over the weekend and he's figuring it out more and more and starting to crawl further distances now.  He does it most when he's not thinking about it like when a toy rolls away from him he wants to get.

 One of his favorite things to do right now is move these tiny books we have from the box they belong in to an empty swiffer box.  So random, I know, but this past weekend I was letting him play with the box and it wasn't until I started to clean up that I realized what he'd done.  Now it's a little game of his.

Another game of his is throwing his pacis out of the crib when I put him down for a nap or at night. He cries until I come back in and give them back to him.  The other day I could not find the one he'd thrown out and I couldn't even find any of our back-ups (he usually has 2 or 3 in there with him).  Then he started looking over the back and I finally moved the crib only to discover a little stash of about 6 hiding out back there.

He's telling me: Mommy please!!!  Just look back there...that's where all the pacis are and I NEED one right NOW!

He got to spend his day hanging out with his buddy, Parker.  I watched Parker for a little while this morning and the boys had fun on a walk together.  So much fun that Hudson didn't fall asleep like he normally does on our morning walk/run.

Tonight we celebrated our big 10 month boy with popsicles for everyone.  To say he enjoyed his first popsicle would be an understatement.  He and Parker split one, but I think next time Hudson can definitely finish off his own.

At 10 months Hudson:

• loves books and gets so excited when we sit down to read. 
• seems to be starting up with separation anxiety again and is happiest when he is in someone's arms or very close by.
• has really started using toys the right way and loves trying to figure out how things work (opening and closing containers, stacking blocks, putting on the stacking rings, etc.). 
• has started to try to pull up on chairs or the side of the bathtub. 
• is eating mostly finger foods now and I'm trying to slowly get him off of baby food.  His favorite foods right now are macaroni and cheese and yogurt. 
• is getting more teeth...I think some of his molars are starting to come in.  

Hudson's crawling! (and Mother's Day)

Well I certainly didn't intend to take a blogging break, but that is exactly what happened this past week.  We've been busy with the end of school year stuff and I guess that just made me too tired to blog at night. Anyway, we've had a lot going on and the biggest piece of news to share is that our little buddy is finally crawling!  He was getting up in his hands and knees all last week, but this weekend is when the crawling actually began.  He's still pretty slow right now and keeps within a couple of feet of his starting spot, but I know if we give him another few days he will be all over the house.  He has already figured out how to get into things he has probably been eyeing for months, like the magazines, and the new stuff that is within his reach, like the princess art easel that was sitting under the kids table in the kitchen (it won't be there much longer because, as you can see below, it's quite the attraction for him.)

We had planned to spend this Mother's Day weekend at the lake, but the weather wasn't cooperating, so we ended up coming home late last night.  Today we just had a lazy, rainy day around here.  Robby did vacuum for me this morning and I didn't even have to thank him because Harper spoke my feelings for me.  As soon as he was done she gave him two thumbs up and said, "Great job, Dad.  Awesome!"  Later this afternoon, Harper dumped an entire bag of Cheez-its on the floor.  While trying to clean them up she managed to smash half of them into tiny crumbs in the carpet.  That was not so awesome, but when I started getting upset at her Robby came running to the rescue, vacuum in hand, to clean it up for me.  That was pretty awesome.  If only he could keep this up everyday...not just on Mother's Day. :-)

After being cooped up inside all day we decided to get dressed and head out to dinner.  I just had to wear my Mother's Day gift from the girls, which needs a little explaining.  Earlier last week, Gigi took the girls to the movies and on their way home they stopped by Target so she could let them pick out a gift for me.  As soon as they got home I went out to help get them out of the car and I saw a gift bag in the backseat.  Handley grabbed it and ran inside and must have hidden it.  As I got Harper out of the car she looked at me very seriously and said, "We didn't get you a Mother's Day gift."  All week long the girls kept telling secrets to each other and then Harper would always look at me and say, "We didn't get you a Mother's Day gift."  Well, surprise, surprise...they did get me a gift and before I opened it Gigi explained to me that this gift was 100% their pick.  She told me they were just precious holding hands, walking around Target and picking out what to get me.  Gigi had suggested some lotion and a few other things, but apparently Handley told her, "No, Mommy likes tank-tops and jewelry."  And that is exactly what I got.  A sparkly tank-top in my favorite color, turquoise, and some earrings and a bracelet to match.  They were SO proud of themselves as I was opening it.  The sparkles may have been a little much for BBQ at Jim-n-Nicks and frozen yogurt at RT tonight, but there was no way I wasn't going to wear their gift on Mother's Day.  As soon as Handley saw that I had put it on, her face was glowing and she kept telling me how pretty I looked.  It was the perfect way to end this Mother's Day.  

Field Day

Today was Handley's first ever field day!  I was excited to get to volunteer for the day and be there with her.  Unfortunately, when I woke up and heard the rain I was worried that the days events might just be cancelled and I knew it would be a major disappointment for Handley.  However, they moved the games indoors so the fun still got to go on.  I was helping at the sack races and Handley's group got to us as their last station.  I could only catch glimpses of her at the other stations, but I loved what I saw.  She was giggling with friends, having fun with all the activities (three legged races, hoola-hoop hopping, ring-toss, etc.) and displaying a friendly, competitive spirit that reassures me that she is turning into a confident and independent little lady.

She was SO fast at the sack race. 

It actually ended up sunny by afternoon, so after lunch the kids went outdoors for the water part of their field day.  They turned on the sprinkler system on the ball field and let the kids just have at it.  Oh my word did they have fun!  I wish I would have video taped because it was so simple, but the squeals and screams coming from all the kids were just precious.

Matchy-Matchy

It's no secret I love my kids to match and coordinate.  The girls are having just as much fun as I am picking out their new summer outfits each day.

Today was the first time in a VERY long time that we had absolutely nothing planned after school.  I loved it and needed a day like today.  Hudson's new routine includes taking a short cat-nap in the stroller while I run and then taking a 3 hour nap in the afternoons.  It's wonderful, but usually I have to wake him up so that we can get to ballet, soccer, playgroup, etc.  Today was nice though because he could just sleep and sleep.  After he finally woke up we made our way outside to play a little. The girls stayed entertained with their Polly Pocket pool set.  They had fun helping the little dolls splash around.

Tomorrow Harper is going to get to splash around a lot.  Her class is having "water day" at school.  To prepare I had her try on her bathing suits to decide which she wanted to wear.  Unfortunately, almost every single one of the 3T suits I had for her are too small.  Thankfully, all I had to do was head down to the basement and pull out Handley's 4T suits from last summer and most of them fit much better.  As Harper was trying them on she informed me that she likes ones with ruffles and that show her belly.  Then she wanted me to take her picture.  She's sassy, sweet, and going to be a handful when she's a teenager. :-)

One other little note I want to remember.  After I'd put Hudson to bed he wasn't going to sleep right away like he normally does.  Handley went to check his video monitor and came running it with it laughing.  She was so tickled that he was sitting up just looking around and holding his lambie.  He's just figuring out how to get to a sitting position by himself, but this was the first time he's done it in his crib.  When I went in to lay him back down, he seemed confused and not quite sure why he was sitting up in the first place.  After that he went right to sleep.

Handley's first dance recital

Get ready for a serious picture over-load, but I am one proud mom!  


Yesterday was Handley's first ever dance recital!  She takes at the community center and they perform outdoors at the city's spring festival as their recital.  Handley was so very excited for this day and I had so much fun helping her prepare for the big event.  We practiced and practiced her dances and she was as ready as she could be.

Handley and her friend, Avery, before they performed. 

Handley with her teacher, Miss Christine. 

 Saturday morning she also had a soccer game.  We have pretty much determined that soccer isn't going to be her sport.  Poor thing just is afraid to get in the mix of the crowd with the ball.  She backs away if someone comes near her, although she does try to run and and keep up with the ball.  I told Robby that she might not be a soccer star, but that she was going to shine up on the stage dancing and SHINE she did!!!

We were SO very proud of her and she was the most beautiful little ballerina.  She danced her heart out and I was pretty impressed with how well she remembered the dances and remembered to smile.  Her first dance was the ballet routine and then they switched shoes and did tap.  

After her second dance she got a trophy, which was a total surprise to her and a REALLY big deal.  It's her very first trophy and she hasn't let it out of her sight.  She's been holding on to it tight and has taken it with us everywhere this weekend.  (She even wanted to bring it to church this morning). We also gave her flowers so she felt so proud and happy carrying them around.

There were a lot of people at the festival so lots of people passing by stopped to watch the show.  We also had several of our friends/family members there watching.  Every time I saw someone I would run over to tell her and she got a huge smile on her face knowing that she had supporters there.  

It was really hot yesterday so after she was done we made our way to the new RaceTrac for frozen yogurt to help us cool off.  You better believe that trophy came in with us. :-)

That night Robby and I attended a UGA Alumni Gala so Gigi and Papa stayed on for the evening to babysit.  It was fun getting all dressed up.

Today, Hudson got to try out the bike trailer for the first time and the report was that both he, and Harper, were so comfy in it that they took naps on their ride.

Here are the links to her dance videos if you want to watch. :-) In both videos she starts off on the far right, but in tap she ends up a few over.

ballet
tap

Joyful

After dinner tonight Handley was being extremely silly and making Hudson laugh.  He was really cracking up and Handley told him, "Hudson, you sure are joyful tonight."  I don't know why, but that comment of hers got me so tickled.

Ignore Handley's sweaty hair.  We'd just come inside from playing out in the heat and her bike helmet must have made her really hot.  I'm not sure exactly what she was doing here, but he loved it. 

There is something about the after-dinner/pre-bath time that gets my crew all wound up.  At that point they all got pretty joyful.

Another comment that made me smile today came from Harper.  We were riding the car to meet some friends for lunch and she was playing with Hudson in the back seat.  All of the sudden she said, "Hudson, God is in your heartbeat."  I think she meant that God was in his heart, but I just thought it was so sweet she said heartbeat.

A little update on Hudson and his movement. He is now getting up on all fours.  He isn't doing the traditional pre-crawling rocking back and forth yet, but I feel that will probably come next.  What he is doing is getting extremely frustrated because he really wants to move.  We've also been trying to help him (force him) to pull up to stand.  He's working his little legs like crazy and doing a good job.  I decided it was time to get out the activity table so he could practice standing while playing with a fun toy.  He's still wobbly and I don't trust him to stand alone without falling right over, which is why you see Handley in these pictures.  Her "job" was to keep him from toppling over. :-)