Hudson's birthday party - ONE!

We celebrated Hudson's birthday on the Saturday before his birthday (his birthday was on Tuesday).  We invited many friends and family to come and celebrate our little guy!  I think we ended up having 43 people--which is a lot for the size of our house, but thankfully the weather cooperated and people could eat and play outside.  We kept the party pretty low key, since we had been out of town the Tuesday-Thursday before the party.  Thankfully, our friends Matt & Julie kept the boys for a few hours on Friday, and we were able to bake, decorate, clean, mow the grass, and get other party preparation done (without the boys). 

We followed what we have done in the past and had an 11:30am party.  It gave Hudson a chance to take a morning nap and then have a while before he would be tired again for an afternoon nap.  We also like to do a full meal when we are inviting that many people from out of town.  With family coming from Marshfield, Green Ridge, Rolla, Kansas City, Marshall, and Higginsville, we want to make it worth their time to come.  We decided to keep it simple by getting pizza, and then having fruit, chips, cookies, cake and ice cream.  We had lunch, hung out, and then sang 'Happy Birthday' and watched to see how Hudson would react to the cake.  I think he liked the cake part, but could do without the icing.  He kept trying to get the icing off his hands, or give it to me, but when he actually got a bite of cake, he enjoyed it.  Most of our friends left after dessert since it was coming up on nap time for their children.  So we opened his gifts after that with family...and then he went down for a nap!

We had such a great day celebrating Hudson!  I never take as many pictures as I wish I would have....but I do have some to share :)

 

Hudson hanging with Joe & L

the birthday boy with grandpa and grandma

the birthday boy with great grandpa and great grandma

the Barb boys with great grandpa and great grandma

Papaw and Cooper

Cooper and Clara

Leftovers for mom and dad :)

First Haircut

Hudson had been getting to the point of needing a haircut.  Everyone commented on his hair all the time... "Look at that hair!" "Wow, your hair is so cute!" "You have so much hair!"  I thought it was cute, but was starting to get pretty long over his ears and pretty shaggy looking.  So a few weeks ago, we decided to get it cut.  I think we had a little haircut regret when the lady was cutting it, but after a few days (and looking back at pictures), I love it shorter.

Cooper was sensitive with haircuts for a long time.  We took him to get it cut several times, and then Eric has been cutting it at home since.  He finally sits still and lets Eric use the scissors, clippers, and razor on it.  So we were nervous about how Hudson would react.  Especially if he acts anything like he does when I trim his fingernails!  The haircut didn't seem to faze him though!!  He did great with all of it. 

 

 

Happy Birthday Hudson!

This went even faster the second time around...and now we have a ONE YEAR OLD!  Hudson is no longer a little baby, but moving into being a toddler-- although he isn't toddling quite yet...more of a stander :) Hudson, you are such a joy and wonderful addition to our family!

Well here are the one year stats and let me just say-- growth spurt!  The first question our pediatrician asked was, "What have you been feeding this kid?" And really the answer is EVERYTHING!  At least I attempt to feed him everything.  He is a little picky and doesn't want to try all table food, but he has quickly found some favorites. 

Weight: 18 lbs, 2 ounces- 8% (from being off the chart)
Height: 28 1/4 inches- 5% (from being off the chart)
Head: 46.7cm
Teeth: 8 (all of his incisors)
Clothing: just started moving into 12 month clothes the last few days

Favorite foods include bananas, chicken, grapes, rolls, sweet potatoes, and yogurt.  If Hudson doesn't want to eat the food, he will kindly try to hand it back to you or just drop it off onto the floor!

Hudson doesn't say very many words.  He talks a lot about dada, but I don't know that he specifically says many other words.  He waves, claps, and can sign "more" (when he wants to).  He makes great "roar" noises for animals and makes the perfect car sound when playing cars with Cooper.  He gives affectionate (open-mouthed) kisses and hugs. 

We made it a whole year of nursing!  It has gone well and I've just accepted that I don't have high calorie milk.  After Hudson was first born, the lactation consultant told me that breast milk can range anywhere between 10-25 calories per ounce.  So after nursing two children that didn't gain weight very quickly, but were always satisfied with nursing and even spit up if they took in too much, I've realized that my milk isn't as fatty and I'm probably on the low end of that range.  Thankfully, both our pediatricians in Cape Girardeau and Jeff City let us continue nursing.  (And don't hear me say anything against formula-- it's just not really in our budget, and so I wanted to nurse the entire first year). I have just started weaning and Hudson has been doing well with that.  We dropped his late afternoon feeding a couple of weeks ago, and then dropped his lunch feeding last week.  So instead of feeding at 8am, 12pm, 4pm, and 8pm, we now only feeding at wake-up and bedtime (around 8am and 8pm).  We have started offering some whole milk in a bottle or sippy cup.  Hudson also drinks some water and pear juice, to keep all this new food moving through his system ;)

Hudson hasn't taken any steps yet, but he pretty much gets to whatever/wherever he wants to.  He stands up, pulls up, cruises everything, climbs, and has even started bear crawling.  A few days ago, I let go of him and he just stood in the living room for probably 5-10 seconds on his own. 

Some of Hudson's favorite activities include playing cars, playing at Cooper's train table, crawling and chasing Cooper around, playing peek a boo, bath time, snacks, and going on walks/runs (as long as the sun isn't in his face).  He got some new toys for his birthday, and he has started playing with some stacking toys.  He laughs and laughs after he knocks it over and is ready to stack it up again!

Hudson Christopher, how have you already been in our family for a whole year?  It's hard to remember life with just one boy.  Hudson is the sweetest little guy and loves to smile!  He does the cutest little side head lean, acting shy and flirting.  You love to snuggle and we love your adorable reddish hair and blue eyes. Hudson, you are such a joy to us!  We are so thankful that God chose us to be your parents and we can't wait to see all the new and exciting things that you will learn.  You love to play with your brother and we hope that you will be best friends!

(Since we had the party the day a few days before his birthday, we took him to Central Dairy to celebrate his special day.  This has become a little tradition with the boys!)

We love you, Hudson!  Happy Birthday little brother!



And a little flashback to Cooper's first birthday at Central Dairy :)