14 Month Old Hudson Jon

Heart eyes for daysssssss 

Being a cute stinker at church

Love nutrigrain bars!

Puppy Hudson going face first into his breakfast

Things I want to remember about sweet little 14 month old Hudson:

- He loves to feed Jon + I food. Just recently he has been wanting to use a spoon all on his own to eat! He gets so messy but he loves it!

- He loves to give kisses! He will pucker up + even make a cute smooching sound! I must say they are the 2nd best kisses around (Jonny boy's are #1!)

- Still loves Zootopia + Hotel Transylvania. If I need to get some things done around the house, I just turn one of those movies on! I need to try different movies....any suggestions? 

- Whenever I feed him a snack, he will sit on my lap facing me + I just love it. It is the cutest.

- When he wakes up in the morning or after a nap he will carry around his soft blankets for awhile. He loves them!

- Has two cute little bottom teeth + one top tooth coming through!

- He loves to wear hats + you can tell that he thinks he is so cool whenever he has one on! Haha!

- His dance moves are the best! He just spins in circles + swings his arms back + forth until he gets too dizzy.

- If you ask him to show you his belly button he will lift up his shirt + touch his belly button + then he points at Jon + I wanting us to lift up our shirts so he can see our belly buttons too. It is pretty funny. He also knows where his nose is! (And recently we have caught him with his finger up his nose a couple times....he's gonna be a nose picker!)

- When Jon + I tell Hud to go get something or to go somewhere or to see one of us, it seems like Hudson knows what we are saying because he will listen + do as we say! Little smartie!

- He loves going places. Whenever we leave our home I ask Hud if he is ready to go + he bolts to the front door + starts saying "go, go go." He has especially loved going to the park when we had warmer weather. :)

There is so much more I could say about Hudson. He surprises me everyday with everything that he does. I have so much love for my sweet boy.  

Lately

- Right now we are transitioning Hudson off of breastmilk. When he turned one I was still feeding him about 6 times a day. He loves breastfeeding! But I always said I would stop when my kids started pulling up my shirt or when they started to pull my shirt down - haha I think we have hit that point. Hudson is a smart little guy. So a week ago I started weaning him off. I didn't really want to just go cold turkey + stop all together (for his sake + mine!) so I just started by taking one feeding out at a time in three day increments. We are down to three feedings now + we might stay like this for another week or two - at this point I am just focusing on Hudson + am trying to think about what would be best for him as I stop feeding him. I think the last three feedings will definitely be the hardest! Wish us luck!

- Jon + I are trying so hard to be healthier + to work out more. The food part is always so hard for me. Especially as a stay at home mom - I am constantly wanting to snack on something! I need some ideas of snack foods that will fill me up + are healthy! I will have an apple with peanut butter just about every day + that seems to fill me up for a little while. I also really like this smoothie that my sister in law told me about - it is super simple + tasty! It's 1-2 cups almond milk, 1 frozen banana, + 1-2 TB PB fit powder. It's way good + sometimes I will add in a little bit of Jon's Chocolate Whey Protein powder when I'm craving chocolate. But really those two things are all I've got right now....help this snack queen out! What do you eat for snacks?
As for working out...I used to run a lot + loved that + I still do run a mile or so whenever I go to the gym but I don't really love it like I used to. Right now I am starting over the Kayla Itsines BBG workouts + they are kicking my butt - I am only on week 2 but geesh I am shaking by the time I am done with each workout! It's nice because it only takes about 30 minutes to complete the workout + it's set up as a three times a week routine with your own cardio on the other days. I really love working out + the way it makes me feel afterwards. I always feel so much happier when I'm healthy.

- Jon + I went on a date the other night + it was so nice to get away just the two of us for a little bit. We definitely need to do that more often! But we went out to dinner + then went to the movies + saw Lion. Oh my goodness was that movie good! We would both recommend seeing it for sure + if you do go, bring some tissues! I cried at least 5 different times throughout the movie + all the way home in the car!

- We are really hoping that it will start feeling more like Spring over here soon! I want to get out of the house with Hudson + take him to the park! I have also been thinking a lot about signing him up for swim lessons sometime soon because he loves the water so much! Any thoughts from mama's out there? Have any of your littles taken swim lessons?

Hope you're having a good start to your March!

February + 13 Month Old Hud

February was a great month! We celebrated Hudson + Jon's birthdays + the superbowl, Jon's cute sister came home from her mission so we spent some time up in Logan for her homecoming + we enjoyed some time together just the three of us!

We decided that we would just have cake + celebrate Hud's birthday on the Sunday after his real birthday, which was also the superbowl. It worked out great! I made this yummy banana bundt cake for everyone + a chocolate peanut butter cake for Hudson. I think Hudson liked squeezing the cake + frosting in his hands more than he liked eating it - but that's ok! He sill made quite the mess!

Jon's birthday was on the 3rd of February! I love the days each year that are dedicated to just celebrating him. He deserves to be celebrated every single day. I sure love him + am so incredibly thankful for all that he does for our little family. Anyways...on his birthday we went to Toucanos for dinner + spent the rest of the night regretting how much food we ate! It was a fun night!

Rachel came home from her mission a few weeks ago + it has been so nice to have her back! She is always so happy + kind - she has always been such a great example to me. It was so fun to be with Jon's family for a couple of days for her homecoming + it is always so nice to go back to Logan every now + then. We sure miss that place!

Jon planned Valentine's Day this year + it was really laid back - which was so nice! We ordered a pizza, got dessert from Kneaders, + we watched a movie! It was perfect. Jon also surprised me with some beautiful red roses + chocolate covered cinnamon bears - YUM!

Hudson is now 13 months old. Seriously where does the time go?! I am still in denial that my little baby is now a toddler! Hudson:
- Loves to clap his hands
- When you ask him where his nose is he will touch his nose or our noses
- He loves yogurt, fruit, bread, string cheese, nutri grain bars, juice, asparagus, pizza
- Pretty much sleeps through the night
- Still loves bath time....especially when bubbles are added!
- Loves walking around with no clothes on
- Has an obsession with hats + cleaning supplies (particularly brooms!)
- Will blow kisses + wave
- Loves freedom + hates when he can't walk around when we go somewhere
- Still has his cute birthmark by his eye
- He knows when he isn't supposed to have something + he will grab whatever it is + runaway
- Loves unrolling the toilet paper
- Has become very ticklish
- Cuddles with us more + more
- Has two bottom teeth
- Loves carrying around his soft blankets + has become pretty possessive of them

Life is good. :)

O N E

Happy 1st Birthday my sweet Hudson!

I can't believe that a year has gone by already! Time slow down!
We have loved this past year with Hud the Stud so so much. He has blessed our lives with so much happiness and love. I can't imagine a world without our happy little guy!

One year old Hud:
- Wears 6 - 12 month old clothes + size 3 diapers
- Loves his soft blankets + will hold onto them everywhere he goes
- Has been eating nonstop the past couple weeks. His favorites are pizza, mandarin oranges, bananas, scrambled eggs, yogurt, water, + any desserts + of course breast milk
- Has started to run around a little bit...his legs get going so fast when he is being chased or when he sees something he wants!
- Screams so incredibly loud - as in high pitched, cringe every time it happens loud
- When he doesn't get his way he has started to scream + throw little fits!! Like the other day he found our broom + started carrying it around + when I took it from him he had a little meltdown! Heaven help me!
- Loves loves loves bath time + walking around in his birthday suit
- Says mama, dada, kitty, bath, ball, car
- Loves to dance - it's the cutest thing ever!! His feet get moving pretty fast + he'll start shaking his head back + forth
- Loves watching Hotel Transylvania
- Smacks his lips when he wants to eat
- Points at the things he wants + won't stop until he gets them
- Has been walking up to me + grabs onto my legs (melts my heart!!)
- Loves his book, "Your baby's first word will be Dada" by Jimmy Fallon
- Loves watching other kids
- Has one tooth
- Thinks it's funny to show us the food in his mouth
- Still wakes up a few times each night but is learning to just fall back asleep on his own. (I always thought I would just have to sleep train my kiddos once + then they'd be perfect sleepers but it has been an on going thing over here...but it's getting better + maybe that's another story in itself!)
- Smiles all the time!


Hud is just the happiest (for the most part), sweetest, + cutest little one year old. I don't know how we got so lucky to have him in our lives but like I've said before...I will be forever grateful to have him.

His new favorite spot! Haha - I found him here a few times today!

He stood there like this for about 15 minutes just watching Hotel Transylvania

Birthday present!

Already a pro! 

The day after his birthday he had his 12 month check up. He was loving the little kid chairs!

Thank you Hud for making me a Mama one year ago! I love you to the moon + back!


Also, if you read the last post you know that we had to go to Primary Children's to get a CT Scan done on Hudson's head. It was a really scary experience but we had so much support and love and everything went so smoothly! The results came back earlier this week and Hud is normal and healthy so that is such a big blessing! Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers.

2017!

So it has been quite the eventful year already!

- Right at the beginning of the year Jon's dad got admitted to the hospital and he has been there ever since. It has been kind of a crazy few weeks for Jon's family. I don't know if I should really go into details on here but I'll just end by saying that he is improving every day but he still has a long road ahead of him!

- At Hudson's 9 month appointment our Pediatrician told us that he wanted to have us come in again in a month to check up on Hud's weight gain and to see if his head had gotten any bigger. So we came in again in November and nothing had changed so he wanted to see us again in December! So we went in again and he gained a pound but his head was still the same!!!! So again we had to come in a month later to get him checked. We went in last week and his head and weight were the same!

Since his head is not growing as it should be, our Pediatrician told us his concern of Hudson having craniosynostosis which basically means that the bones in your skull fused together too early not leaving enough room for the brain to grow. Scary right?! Because Hudson is pretty advanced developmentally our doctor isn't super concerned right now but he wants to stay on top of it and if there is a problem he wants to know about it before anything could happen - which I am thankful for.

But anyways...Hud is getting a CT scan on Friday at Primary Children's to see what is going on with his little skull. And I may or may not be freaking out a little bit. Okay....I am freaking out a lot bit and I can't help but worry. I just can't imagine anything being wrong with my little baby - he's just so perfect and innocent. Please keep him in your prayers.

- I also celebrated my 26th birthday this month. It was really a great day. I love when your birthday falls on a Saturday. The day was filled with family, food, relaxing, more food, and ice....lots of ice. We went to the Ice Castles up in Midway and it was so magical and cold!
I am excited to see what this year brings, it's already proving to be very eventful!  

- I decided to give up social media for at least a month. I always go through these phases when I say that I want to give it up but I never go through with it because I love going on to see what my friends and family are up to. But now I really am going to give it up for a little while. I struggle a lot with comparing myself to others and it really does no good to my already low self esteem. This next month I am going to focus on building myself up, finding happiness with who I am, and just being present all the time with my family and friends.
Since I won't be on Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat I am going to try and get on here a little bit more to document what we are up to.

Hats, Oranges + Playing with Dad

Hudson has been growing and changing so much this month and I want to remember every little thing!

- He has this obsession with hats and can play with them for the longest time! He's a little crazy but he will get a hat and then put it on his face so it's covering his whole face so he can't see then he will walk around - that little dare devil! He has the biggest grin on his face the whole time too.

- He LOVES mandarin oranges, pizza, yogurt, yogurt melts, cheerios, cookies....he has just been eating like crazy the past few weeks.

- Whenever I am in the kitchen or getting some things done around the house he will come up to me and grab my legs....it melts my heart every time!

- He finally has one tooth! It has taken almost a month for the little bugger to come out! Teething has been quite the adventure.

- Hudson has been really talkative lately and has been making all sorts of new sounds. It sounds like he says "car" over and over again. He says "Mama" a lot more too! He also tries hard to say kitty, bath, and ball.

- He loves any kind of attention that he can get! When we go out to the store or out to eat he will stare at strangers until they look at him then he will hurry and look away with a big grin on his face and then he'll do it all over again. He has the cutest little personality - he is so fun!

- He loves playing peek-a-boo and just recently started playing by putting his own hands up over his eyes.

- He has become more and more of a Mama's boy....he LOVES nursing (I don't know how he'll do when we start to ween him off here in a couple of weeks! Eek!)

- Whenever I feed him when we aren't at home, he gets so excited! He'll pull the nursing cover up over him and he'll make excited noises until I'm ready for him.

- Hud loves to walk and explore - he has become very independent besides when it comes time to eat or when he is tired.

- He loves being chased around by his Dad - he squeals and tries to run away every time!

- He hates getting his fingernails clipped....it is always quite the ordeal! I should try and do it when he is asleep but I am always afraid of waking him up.

- With teething, the holidays, and some family things that have come up he no longer sleeps through the night. He is back to waking up 1-3 times every night.



Only a couple more weeks until my baby is  O N E !!

And just like that my baby is 11 months old

11 month old Hudson Jon:

- Wearing size 3 diapers and clothes ranging anywhere from 6-18 months
- Eating anything we give him but his favorite thing these days are yogurt melts
- Does not like apple juice at all but LOVES drinking water
- Loves bath time!!! When we tell him it's time to take a bath he starts walking towards the bathroom and even says bath - it is the cutest!
- Loves being chased and played with
- Loves playing with his jazz ball and whenever he sees a basketball or a bigger ball he gets so excited, points at it, and sometimes it sounds like he even says ball
- Points at everything
- Gets into everything. I close all of our doors in our condo so when I'm home with him he only has access to our kitchen, living room, and the hallway - and that leaves him plenty of things to get into!
- He's starting to sleep through the night - sleep training is the pits! But it is nice to be getting more sleep for him and me both!
- He loves his sippy cup
- Still loves his soft blankets and binky
- He is super ticklish! His little giggles are the sweetest sound I have ever heard!
- His percentiles are still really low...his head his below 5%, height is at 15%, and weight is 18%. We are continuing to go see the doctor monthly to keep an eye on his growth.
- He loves watching Hotel Transylvania
- He hates it when he can't walk around when we go places - especially church! (That has become a major challenge for us)
- Hudson is so determined, once he sees something that he wants he doesn't forget about it and he does everything he can to get it.

I can't believe it has almost been a year already since Hudson joined Jon and I! It is definitely bitter sweet. But I just feel so blessed to have this amazingly sweet and happy little boy in my life. I can't believe that Heavenly Father has put his trust in me to raise him and be his mom - I will be forever grateful. I love Hudson so incredibly much!

Holidays with Hud the Stud!

The holidays were so great for our little family. Having Hudson there with us made Thanksgiving and Christmas so much more magical and special.

For Thanksgiving we went to Jon's parents house in Logan for a few days and then on our way home we stopped by my parents for a few hours and visited. Hudson loved playing with his cute cousin who was born only a few weeks after him. They always ended up in the same place and they especially loved pushing our cooler around the kitchen. We had such a good time with family. We ate lots of yummy food, played games, watched movies, had a pie contest, the boys played basketball, and we did a little bit of black Friday shopping. I made this yummy salted caramel apple pie....it was delicious!

On Christmas Eve we headed to Ogden to spend time with my family. My brother and his cute family came to town from Missouri for the holidays so it was so great to see them and just be together as a whole family. I love my family so much. My parents have always been so supportive, loving, and just all around awesome people. I lucked out with them that's for sure!

Hudson was a little night owl on Christmas Eve. He was up until about midnight just walking around and playing. Haha he is just the cutest and happiest little boy. But since he was up late on Christmas Eve, the next morning when we woke up to open presents, Hud was so sleepy and out of it. It was still so fun to experience it all with Hudson for the first time. We helped him open up his Christmas presents and then he just sat and played with the wrapping paper and a couple of his toys for a little while. The rest of the day was filled with family time, church, yummy yummy food, Christmas movies, and more yummy food!

After Christmas day we headed up to Logan to see Jon's family. It was so great because they planned to celebrate Christmas a couple days later so everyone could be together and it was so fun. We did a white elephant gift exchange, opened presents, had an appetizer contest (we made the winning appetizer....click here and here for the links), ate some more yummy food, played bean boozled, watched movies, and just enjoyed each others company.

This Christmas is definitely one for the books - it was wonderful!
Christmas just goes by way too fast!! We look forward to it and plan things for almost two months and then it just goes by in the blink of an eye!

Zzzzzzz

Sleep has become overrated in my life + that's ok...it's overrated but I definitely still love + crave a good nap or a good nights sleep! I remember in high school + even in college when I wasn't married I could sleep in until noon! Now sleep has become an inconsistent treat! 

When I was pregnant with little Hud, I had the hardest time with sleeping + it was rough! I felt like I couldn't get comfortable + when I did get comfortable I would have to get up to go to the bathroom so often during the night! But I was ok with it because I knew that being sleep deprived was so worth what was coming our way + I always told Jon that Heavenly Father was just prepping me for the nights ahead with Hudson.

Hudson has been a fairly good sleeper...although he still does not sleep through the night consistently. But you know that's alright. I love being with Hudson + I love seeing how happy he gets when he sees me! I have also come to terms with him waking up in the middle of the night because I know that he will eventually grow out of it + then I will wish that I could cuddle him in the middle of the night. 

I am definitely not perfect though - some nights I get frustrated + impatient - but I try to remind myself that Hudson is just a baby....a really cute baby :) 

Even when Hudson does sleep through the night, I find myself waking up + not being able to go back to sleep. It takes me probably 1-2 hours to go back to sleep. GAH! I've looked into different things that could help + here's a few that I have found helpful....

- Exercise - I am trying to be more consistent with this. I do know that I always sleep better at night when I do workout.

- Reading - but don't read on your phone or tablet. I feel like anytime I pick up my phone or look at a screen it just stimulates my eyes + brain...if that makes any sense at all?!

- Mind Mapping - click here for a helpful website to get you started! Most nights when I can't go back to sleep it's because I have all of these thoughts racing through my head so when I mind map it helps me take my thoughts + put them on paper + then I can rest easier!

- Hot Milk Drink (YuM!) (Here's the recipe) It's the Sleepy Time recipe! :)  

Hope you + me both have a good nights sleep tonight! 

October Love

This has been a really great month. It helps that I already love October so much! Cool weather, pumpkin everything, fall decorations, changing leaves, soup, + pulling out my sweaters + cute boots! How could anyone not love the fall?!

Anyways...I feel like we are finally finding our place here in Utah County. I am not going to lie...it was a hard adjustment for me! The first month was particularly hard because I didn't know anyone in the area, I wasn't familiar with what was around me + we were pretty much broke. But Jon + I have made some new friends + we have been able to get out + go places so now we know where things are + about how long it will take us to get there. We have two Target stores + Ikea that are all 15 minutes away....now that was easy to get adjusted to!

Ever since Hudson was born I have struggled with getting into a routine + actually doing things besides binge watching TV shows on Netflix. But this past month I have tried harder to plan things throughout the week + I made a little weekly cleaning schedule + since I've done that I have felt a lot happier + more productive. Another thing I added to my routine was exercise (I AM SO OUT OF SHAPE! Seriously though, I've been doing some push ups...on my knees...for the past few weeks + my arms still shake when I'm doing the last few hah!). But I have been trying to get a little bit of exercise in at least three times throughout the week. I am debating about getting a gym membership here too but if I do that we would probably sign up for daycare + I worry about little Hud getting sick. I might just be a paranoid mama!? What do you think? How do you feel about gym daycares? I think I might just be thinking about it too much.  

Hudson is such a fun little dude. I love being able to spend everyday with him + I love watching him pick up on new things. He has started waving at people + it is just the cutest thing. This month Hudson...

- Has been walking around as he holds onto our furniture
- Has been such a curious little guy who never stops moving!
- Eats lots + lots of food. He loves anything with sweet potatoes, pears, apples, pizza, mac n cheese, + of course anything that we are eating. He does not like oatmeal, rice cereal, baby food veggies, + he still won't drink through a bottle.
- Says "dada" ALL the time + we love it!
- Loves being in our kitchen + bathrooms (he loves flushing the toilet + unrolling the toilet paper!)
- Learned how to open cupboards + drawers
- Sleeps alright....we probably get 2 maybe 3 nights a week when he'll sleep through the night. Other nights he'll wake up about 2 times. When he does wake up he is super super grumpy + he Hates...yes hates with a capital H....when we change his diaper in the middle of the night. I feel bad for our poor neighbors down stairs....

I sure love our sweet Hudson. He has been such a good babe.