Hudson is 1!!

Our little guy is ONE!

He is such a sweet boy - and growing so much!
He's walking ALL over the place!
He's "talking" more - and saying "mama", "dada", and "uh-oh".
He still loves playing with his truck, trains, and cars.
He is very smart and will mimic things that we do - like drinking from a cup, stacking blocks, and hiding toys.
He likes playing Hide and Seek!
He's eating a lot more foods - I'm still trying to make as much as I can, but with school starting, we'll just have to take each day and week one at a time. He really likes blueberry muffins, cottage cheese pancakes, veggie nuggets, banana bread, spinach and fruit smoothies, hummus, cheese, bread, and fresh fruits.
He can clap! It was fun watching him figure it out!
He's still napping well, but with school about to start, that will probably change since he doesn't usually sleep well there.
He is developing quite a sense of humor, and loves making people laugh! And his laugh is the sweetest sound I've ever heard! It is just precious!
He loves being outside! Now that he's walking, he just likes walking around the yard or the driveway, looking at everything, picking up everything, exploring it all with the ease of mobility.
He loves climbing on and over things!! Stairs, pillows, quilt racks, boxes, anything he can get over!

We took Hudson to our friend's farm and took some One Year Old pictures! He did great! How can you not LOVE this face!  

 We celebrated his first birthday on his birthday, which was fun! It was "If you give a baby a first birthday" themed - based on the book series by Laura Numeroff (If you give a mouse a cookie). I had a lot of fun planning, baking, preparing, and celebrating with family and friends!

 He wasn't so sure about the smash cake! He tried a little bit of it, but got caught up when his hands got dirty and he didn't know what to do!

 My grandfather celebrated his 85th birthday on the same day! These are the two birthday boys sharing birthday secrets!

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for this little boy, supported and encouraged us through all the joys and concerns, and who have loved him every day! He is truly blessed!

God Bless

The magic of technology

While I don't usually like technology (I think it's taking over our lives in a not so positive way - but that's another soap box for another day), I will say there are times when I am very grateful for my phone. It has a camera and a video camera, and I use both probably daily capturing special moments with Hudson.

I think about my Dad when I was a little girl, having to pull out our huge video camera with the light on top, and sitting it up on his shoulder just to video us for a few minutes. Thanks Dad, for capturing those moments for us, but I'm so glad we've come a long way since then!

What's even better? I can take a picture or video and send it to Hudson's family all over the country in a matter of seconds! And then they can send it to other family members to enjoy as well!

Or even better?! We can FaceTime any time we want, with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that we only see a couple of times a year, and Hudson can talk to them and see their faces, and not forget who they are! Plus he likes seeing himself on the phone! :)

So here are just some fun photos from this summer that I took with my phone!

First plane ride to Cleveland. 

First day of weaning and holding the bottle by himself

Climbing the stairs! Beware of silence!! 

All boy - anything he climb on or through...

Frozen smoothie bites. AKA - yummy hidden veggies and fruits

Watching Daddy cut the grass

Walking in Daddy's new shoes

Its not about what comes in the box, its about THE BOX! 

Found him like this - he crawled up into the basket and snuggled with his stuffed animals

Playing with bubbles in the sink 

Homemade smoothies in a reusable food pouch

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good" (or just playing with his monitor) 

Never a dull moment at the table!

He's very photogenic, and loves having his picture taken! He also just likes playing with my phone! Some day, probably sooner than I think, I'm sure he will be taking picture of me with it!

God Bless