Saturday, March 29, 2014

That dreaded two letter word...

NO!

Hudson is only 7.5 months old, but we are already having to start being firm with him and say "No"... and to this sweet little face, nonetheless....

"Hudson...
no touching the stove
    no rolling on the changing table
         no pulling the monitor chord
no putting __ (insert foreign object name here)____ in your mouth
    no spitting while eating at the table
         no grabbing Vance's ear
no stinking your fingers in the door jam
    no rolling in the bathtub
         no pulling mommy's earrings"

He is certainly starting to pick up on our facial expressions, and if we laugh, then he will laugh and he'll know something is funny or cute. But sometimes it's so hard to have that stern face when he's doing something he shouldn't. We're having to learn early how to be firm and direct with him, and hopefully he'll pick up on that too.

He's such a sweet boy, and very curious about everything!! He sees something and he wants to explore and play with it, or simply get a better and closer look at it. I don't want to stifle his sense of curiosity; I want him to be an inquisitive little boy, but I also want to keep him safe, and to learn his boundaries. Unfortunately at this age, it's going to be hard to do until he does learn what "no" means.

Ages and stages. :)

God Bless


Monday, March 17, 2014

7 months

Happy 7 months to my sweet little boy - albeit a week late!
Hudson is doing great! He is growing like a weed (I've already had to put away a few 6 month clothes because he's too long for them!), playing more than ever, starting to move around, and enjoying the blessings all around him.

-he is sitting up! he can sit up and support himself for longer amounts of time, but will still topple to the sides or forward
-he is "army" crawling all over the place! he loves being on the floor and being able to move around! he isn't crawling on hands and knees, but that hasn't stopped him from getting to where he wants to be, or getting what he wants!
-he will get up on his hands and knees, though, and just look around, or rock back and forth; he just can't move on his hands and knees yet
-with mobility comes curiosity! well, maybe the curiosity came first and now the mobility has enabled him to act on his curiosity! he will move around the room (which ever we may be in) just to touch or look at something - like in the kitchen, he went for the floor vent and loved feeling the warm air on his face, or in his room he went to his dresser to feel and grab hold of the knobs, or in the loft he went under the bench to see the legs. it's so much fun to see him finally be able to explore his environment. i hope his sense of curiosity never dwindles!
-he still loves playing with his spoons and water bottles! however, he has started reaching for items off his shelf and will play with them, too. he likes banging things - it doesn't matter if it's a ball, a stuffed animal, a book, a spoon, or a soft block, he likes to either bang his hands on them, or bang them on the floor! maybe he'll be a drummer!
-his favorite place to hang out is still the door jumper! however, we actually had to move the jumper to a different, wider door frame because he'd actually walk over to the door frame and hold on to it, or he'd get swinging so much, he'd bump his head on it; so we had to move him to a bigger door so he wouldn't hurt himself! when he's in the jumper he'll actually stand up and take a few steps forward, and then let go and swing back ward! i think he swings himself probably just as much as he jumps.
-he really likes tags - and he'll find the tag if there is one to be found! he'll play with them between his fingers and hands, and then he'll "eat" them!
-he will help put on his clothes! he knows how to push his hands and arms through the sleeves
-still no teeth. he drools a lot, and rubs things on his gums or chews on things, but we still can't see or feel any teeth
-he's eating solids really well. we've since tried avocado, peaches, and peas. And he's "eating" broccoli pieces (not mashed or pureed broccoli), and apple slices - he mostly gnaws on them, but that's the first step for him learning how to hold on to, chew, and swallow finger foods
-he is VERY observant and will win any stare contest! when someone new or unfamiliar comes around, he will just stare them down, trying to figure them out! and he's constantly looking around at everything that is around him. he's very aware of his surroundings and all that is going on around him.
-his hair continues to grow, and is as soft as peach fuzz
-he hasn't started saying real words or sounds yet - Paul and I still try to get him to say "mama" and "dada", but so far, he hasn't picked up on it. he'll "talk" and "sing" all morning long, which i love listening to, but no real words yet.
-we have started baby sign language with him - we've shown him "all done", "more", "please", and "thank you". he won't be signing back for a couple of months, but you start by showing and doing the signs your self and then the baby mimics and uses the signs on their own after a couple of months
-and if you can't tell from the pictures, he loves to stick his tongue out! we're not really sure where or when this started, but he just likes to stick his tongue out! it's kinda cute actually! :)

It's hard to believe my baby is 7 months! This is such a fun exciting time and stage! He's active and engaged, and loves to play! I can already tell he's going to be a fun little boy!

God Bless

Sunday, March 2, 2014

just having fun...

Hudson will be 7 months in 7 days! And this is such a fun age right now! He is "mobile", and very curious about everything! He laughs, plays, explores, observes, and loves being apart of anything and everything! We have really enjoyed these past few weeks with extra days at home because of snow, and now the weekends together.

Gigi and Papa came to visit for a weekend! We had a great time hanging out, cooking, playing, walking, and singing!


We celebrated with Anna and Kevin the gender reveal of Hudson's future cousin - it's going to be boy! I wonder how much trouble fun Baby Jay and Hudson will have?!




 His new trick is sticking out his tongue! Don't know where this came from, but its so cute!
He is also getting on his hands and knees! He is SO SUPER close to crawling! He can army crawl and work his way across the room with no problem, but it won't be too long before he's really cruising and ALL over the place. Bring on the baby-proofing! :)

 These eyes - they melt my heart every time he looks at me!
 Spotted something and about to pounce!
 He loves water bottles! Forget real toys, put a water bottle in front of him and he's good to go! It keeps him entertained because as soon as he reaches it and "grabs" for it, he actually pushes it further away and will keep going after it!
 Playing with and exploring fluffy stuffed animals.
 I've started letting him hold on to sippy cups. He mostly chews on the mouth piece, but every once in a while he'll actually get some water. He just likes holding his big boy cup.
 He's also now playing in the pack in play while I get things done downstairs (dinner, laundry, cleaning, etc). Just put in a few choice toys (including a water bottle) and he'll entertain himself for a good 15 minutes!
 He is such a fun baby! I can't wait to watch him grow up and become a little boy! I can already tell he's going to be very curious about everything, and not content to just sit by and let the world go on around him. He's going to be right in the middle of everything!