Hudson is ONE!

I CANNOT believe a year has passed already! Well, in some respects, it does feel like an eternity in that it seems like he’s been with us forever! And since I’ve been pregnant for 9 of those months, I’m certainly happy to know that time is indeed passing.

As I look back over the time we’ve had with Hudson, I can’t help but be so thankful for this little BIG blessing God has given to us!

I love looking at pictures of those first few days he was with us and to remember the excitement, joy and fear that captured us as we realized he was ours for keeps! He was so new and such a blank slate ready to be written on, and it was our job to come alongside the Lord in molding this little boy into who he will one day be. (Ok, that is still such an overwhelming thought!)

We have utilized the book On Becoming Baby Wise those first few months. Now there has been a lot of controversy in the baby world about that book, but BJ and I found its tips and instruction to be very helpful for us all the while meeting the needs of our baby. While we didn’t go by everything in the book, we took the parts that fit into our framework and we feel like it really paid off. Basically, we followed an eat>play>sleep schedule to help Hudson’s body to adjust to regular feeding intervals and we let him learn early on to soothe himself and put himself to sleep without the use of sleep props (like rocking, nursing, passy, etc.) Both of those things helped me feel confident and Hudson feel secure in routine and structure. (Though I was always willing to break routine if he was hungry or tired at a “non-scheduled” time). For us, it worked. For some, it may not.

As the weeks and months went by, we found ourselves jumping for joy whenever Hudson would accomplish some milemarker….. such as sleeping through the night, smiling, rolling over, sitting up, crawling, standing and finally walking – which seemed like the pinnacle. I have loved watching him be so proud of himself as we praised each achievement.

I can think of so many things that have made me laugh over this last year. For starters, the first time he had a blowout. Ha! That was an INCREDIBLE blowout… A yellow-y mess all over me, the couch and a fully clothed and diapered baby! I remember thinking, how did that even happen? After cutting his clothes off of him with scissors (I felt it was unsanitary for that much poop to go over his head) and throwing both of our clothes away, I remember thinking “what have I gotten myself into?!”
BTW – the only other (really bad) blowout we’ve had was when he was in the exersaucer one day watching Praise Baby I’m sure, and I looked down to find literally the whole bottom panel of the exersaucer being used as a canvas as Hudson proceeded to “finger feet paint” in A LOT of poop that had somehow made its way out of his diaper. Ok, enough about poop.

Another more recent thing that has kept me laughing usually happens while he’s in his high chair eating. He does this thing (Can I even describe it?) where he stiffens his jaw and clenches his hands and makes this face that looks like he’s having a seizure or something just to get a laugh – which of course he does. I’m sure he’ll do it in public one day and I’ll have someone ask if he’s alright or something. It really is funny...

He now has several words or phrases under his belt.
1. “I see.” - We say “I see you.” all the time and for some reason the “you” didn’t make it into his vocabulary yet.
2. “Uh-oh.” - Actually it comes out “ah-ah”
3. “Gone gone.” - Which is more like “guh-guh”
4. “Cookie” or “ck-ck” - and actually this is only sometimes.
5. “Mama” and “dada” are said often but not in context usually and not directed to either of us.
I’m also just as excited about what I’m noticing him understanding even though he can’t verbalize…. Today I told him to put the ball in the bucket that was a few feet away and he did it right away. He understands snack, nap, come here, no, yay!, book, more, look, do you want this?, cup, movie, ball, medicine and probably way more than I even realize.

Speaking of medicine, since October we’ve been battling with his ears. He’s had a constant infection in either or both ears since then, and after having been to the doctor what seems like 100 times and having tubes put in and an adenoidectomy, we still have not gotten things resolved. AHHH!!! Bless his little heart, he loves his tasty medicine including Tylenol, Motrin, and any kind of antibiotic that he may currently be taking (which up till this point hasn’t fixed anything.) And he certainly has been a trooper though it all. We go to see the ENT again next Friday to see what the plan of action is from here.

He has 6 teeth at this point… little chompers really. He LOVES to eat! He’s quite the little beggar actually. Anything we’re eating, he wants a bite or two or three.

He absolutely LOVES…
1. Praise Baby DVDs or kids music DVDS of any kind.
2. Things with handles
3. Yogurt melts
4. Swinging outside
5. Being outside at all and having the wind blow in his face
6. Being chased
7. His wagon
8. His “blankies”
9. The “bear” book
10. Water in the pool or bath.

My little man is definitely a joy. I love him SO much! Some days though, I am worn completely out! (Infact, right now I’m at Panera BY MYSELF for some peaceful reading time while BJ is with Huds). Hudson is going through that special stage where he wants my attention 100% of the time. Being almost 100% pregnant (ha!) makes that difficult most of the time, but I’m reminding myself often how quickly the time passes and how much I want to relish every second of it.

Looking back over the last year is kind of surreal…. Had a baby in March. Moved from Little Rock to Tuscaloosa in May. Helped start a church throughout the summer. Found out I was pregnant again in August. Got bigger and bigger through the fall and winter. Moved to a different apartment and celebrated Hudson’s first birthday this month and will have a brand new baby boy, Greyson, in a couple weeks!!

What a privilege it is to live the life I’ve been given.