Happy 9 months Foster!

Little man is 9 months! How can this be?! 

He is full of personality and spunk! 

 He has learned how to climb and will climb on anything and everything. Nothing can stop him or get in his way.

 He loves to crawl and play under the table. Its like a fort for him. He's almost too tall though!

He has mastered climbing stairs...at the park nonetheless. He loves climbing them and then we slide down the slides together. If he could do more on the play equipment, he would! He enjoys chasing after Hudson and trying to keep up with him.

The tunnel is his favorite! He will just go back and forth, up and down. It's one thing at the park he can really do on his own. I'll play peek-a-boo with him in the small circle cut out windows, and he just laughs and laughs.

He's pretty much done with pureed foods. I started him with bananas, pears, and puffs, and then once he mastered chewing and swallowing we moved on to other things. And he loves being able to feed himself and choose what he wants to eat. And there's not much he won't eat! He does love fruit the most - pears, apples, and bananas never last long on his tray.

A before and after plate! Bread, roasted sweet potato and carrots, peas, and cottage cheese. The kid can eat!

 One of his favorite "activities" is pulling things off the shelf (and leaving them there of course). Whether it's a box of snacks, or a bucket of markers, if it's within reach, it'll be on the floor!

He's starting to get more "vocal" about what he likes and doesn't like. For instance, one afternoon I was pushing him and Hudson outside on their little car, which he loves, but was not happy when we stopped.

 He enjoys going for walks in the stroller or in my carrier. Just being outside makes him happy. I foresee a wonderful hot summer spent outside all day with these two!

Standing up and playing with Hudson is always a fun time. He's starting to walk around while holding on to things!

He almost always has something just in his mouth...not necessarily chewing on something, just holding it there!

Playing in Gigi's tuber-ware cabinet...again pulling out anything within reach

Playing outside at Gigi and Papa's! It felt like summer and he loved it! We can't wait to have our own big back yard soon!

 First bicycle ride with Papa!! He loved it, of course!

He's starting to talk more. He mumbles and squeals, but no mama or dada yet!

He's finally starting to sleep longer at night. He had been getting up every 3-3.5 hours even at night. But just recently, he's been going 6-7 hours, which has been amazing!

He's still taking 2 naps during the day, but I can see him consolidating those two naps into one by the time he's one! Usually his morning nap is only 25-30 minutes and his afternoon nap is 1-2 hours. Mama needs nap time, too!

He has two bottom teeth already. Maybe more to come soon?!

Happy nine months sweet Foster! We love you so much!!

My handsome little man

It's hard to believe this little guy will be three years old in only four months!

He has grown into such a little boy - and is still ALL boy, at that!

With growing up into the twos, and now almost threes, comes joys and struggles.

While I imagined raising a young boy that always listened, sat still when needed, listened and obeyed the first time, and used his polite manners, life showed me reality. Hudson is full of personality, strength, independence, strong will, and character. He knows what he likes, knows what he wants, and knows how he wants it done. And these things do no always line up with I like, know, or want done. I've had to really learn and stretch myself with Hudson.

However, he also has a sweet, funny, loving personality. He adores Foster, whom he lovingly calls Boppy, and has truly embraced the role of big brother. He loves helping with Foster, whether feeding him, changing him, playing with him, tickling him, or getting things for him. Just today we were heading to the park, and Hudson grabbed his own bag and put two of Foster's favorite toys in it just in case Foster started crying while we were in the car (enter melted Mama heart here).

He wants to do things on his own and to be independent, yet still wants and needs Mommy and Daddy for a lot.

He has a language of his own - and there's no other way to describe it. For example:

• star - "uppa aye"
• bus - "abu-doh"
• shoe - "ee"
• boat - "row row"
• tractor - "E-I-E-I-O"
• cat- "eow"
• dog - "oof off"
• eye - "audi"
• clean up - "ee - uh"
• park - "wee"

He loves trains, tractors, Elmo, playing on the IPad, looking at/watching pictures and videos on our phones, playing at the park, building forts with blankets, making hand print pictures, going on walks and collecting rocks/sticks/bugs, chocolate, and playing in the water (aka the kitchen or bathroom sink!).

He has just really started to develop a sense and a curiosity about God ("Deda-Gaw"). We read his toddler Bible at nap and before bed. His favorite stories are Daniel and the Lion, Jonah and the whale, and Jesus and the 10 men with boo-boos (the 10 Lepers). 

First well visit with the dentist and teeth cleaning

Hair cut day! Fresh spring hair do

Holding sweet baby Ellie. He woke up early and when she came upstairs, the first thing he wanted to do was hold her! He has a soft spot for babies!

On one of our walks. He usually brings his lawn mower with him, and this day he also found a big stick and a rock. 

He's such a good helper - helping to clean Mommy's teeth. 

When we got here, he decided to start boycotting naps. Most days he'll just play with his stuffed animals, or I'll give him some books to read after about an hour, but some days, he'll finally wear himself out and crash. 

We visited Discovery Place Kids Museum and he loved playing in the firetruck...

...and on the tractor!

Look closely at his left hand - he know loves his little "sass" friends (inch worms)

Hand print painting day. He LOVES to paint, but especially painting his hands. We look at Pinterest and find ideas, and then create what we can. 

We enjoy visiting the Children's Museum. One of his favorite stations is the kitchen. He likes to pretend he's cooking and serving me and Foster. 

He loves baby brother. He loves playing with him, tickling him, trying to hold him, feeding him.

Playing at the park. Anything outside and he's ok.

He loves to help clean up! Vacuum, sweep, and especially mop! 

And probably his favorite is playing in the sink. He loves playing in the water. He will one by one pull all of the clean dishes out of the drying rack and "wash" them again for me. I think when we finally move into our permanent house, I'm going to get him an outdoor water activity table as a welcome home gift! 

Hudson brings joy where ever he goes. I know the Lord has big plans for this little guy, and I can't wait to see what his life will bring. 

God Bless