So after a whole year of taking video of Hudson, I’m finally sharing some on the blog. Here’s the thing: we mistakenly purchased an excellent video camera that is not Mac-compatible. Whoops! So we have all these videos without a way to put them on our computer or the blog.

I had to come up to TC’s office to use his computer at work so I could share these with our family and with all of you, our friends.

Hudson says “bye bye”

This is one of Hudson’s favorite things to do every day. He stands at the door and waves goodbye to Todd. The lighting isn’t very good in this so you can really only see his silhouette. I forgot to turn the lights on. But I think this video is hilarious!

“Jump!”

For the past few weeks at The Little Gym, Hudson’s class has been working on jumping. Babies aren’t really able to jump with both feet off the floor until they’re 2 years old. But Hudson obviously understands the concept and wants to jump so badly!

(Note: you can hear me say “they ruin everything” about the dogs. I was jokingly making a “hopeless” remark. We love Boudreaux and Fiona very much– even though they hate it when we jump and dance around.)

Dear Hudson,

On June 5, you turned 13 months old. An entire month has passed since your birthday celebration and it already seems like you’ve changed so much since then. You’re still a wild man and are kind of all over the place, but now you’re just moving faster. And we struggle to keep up with you and still manage to get other things done during the day.

You absolutely love being able to walk. This month, I considered documenting your second year of life next to your big stuffed giraffe instead of the trusty monkey. But you wouldn’t stand there next to the giraffe, so you had to go back to the old rocking chair. It has become harder and harder to take your picture, too.

When it comes to food you have tried almost everything and you love everything. We’re still waiting to feed you peanut butter and shellfish, but you like fish and you just got to have eggs for the first time and loved those, too. I don’t think we ever doubted if you would be a good eater!

You don’t love sitting still in your high chair for too long, though, so sometimes I think you get bored while you sit to have your meal. Our pediatrician told us not to worry if you don’t eat much at one meal because you’re likely to make up for it at the next. I definitely want you to only eat what you want to eat and not to feel like you have to eat. Somedays you love spaghetti and somedays you want nothing to do with spaghetti. I’m just glad you’re able to let us know that you’re not interested.

You’ve begun to do the sign for “more” and you say “mmmm” when you want something. You’ve been going to the pantry and pulling out the boxes of Goldfish and Teddy Grahams. I think you may even turn into a little Goldfish someday if you keep eating them so much!

You absolutely love everyone. When we’re at Little Gym, you’ll sometimes walk up to another baby’s mommy and give her a big hug and lay your head on her shoulder. I’m so happy that you’re such a lover and so willing to go to  people.

You still love Boudreaux and Fiona (or “Boo-doh” and “Nona”) and love calling their names and patting them on the head. Sometimes, though, when they start barking you’ll jump up and run to me as fast as you can. That’s really the only time that you attempt to run. The barking can startle you when you’re not expecting it. And you’re not so sure about other dogs that bark. But we’re working on letting you know that you don’t need to be afraid when they bark all the time. Sometimes they’re just saying “hello” to you.

You’re still very into sorting and gathering up your toys and then taking them and collecting them in one area. Then you pick them up again and take them back to where you found them. I hope you’ll start helping me clean the house someday!

Your other favorite activity is just sitting on the floor with your books. You could flip through the pages of your books for hours and just “read” to yourself. We think you’re very smart!

Your vocabulary continued to increase every month and you recognize more and more songs and try to sing the words or do the motions with them. You’re catching on to “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” You still sing “Old MacDonald” all the time. It’s by far your favorite.

Our favorite new thing that you’re doing is “roaring” when we ask, “Hudson, what does the lion say?” So cute, you are!

We love you so very much!

Mama

13 month Stats

Size: 32.5 inches long and 29 pounds

Clothes size: 24 months

Diaper size: 5

Shoe size: 5

Foods: loves grilled cheese, applesauce, corn, popsicles, and peas

Drink: Loves whole milk- rarely wants to drink anything else

Naps: Still loving his two naps per day. The first nap is 2-3 hours and the second nap is 1 hour

Words: Bye, Hey, Boo-doh, Nona, Daddy, Da-da, Mama, Mommy, Baby, Book, Dog, No-no-no, Ball, Bubble, “mooooo” (what does the cow say?), “roar” (what does the lion say?),

Songs: Old MacDonald, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Itsy Bitsy Spider, A-B-C song

Favorites: The pool, Baby Einstein videos, dancing to any music, picking up his fake cell phone and saying “bye”

12 months! One whole year! Seriously, where does the time go?

I’ll be posting pictures from his party all week, but I wanted to do this first for my little boy.

Dearest Hudson,

What a year it’s been! You came into our lives on June 5, 2009 and nothing has been the same since. I mean, we’ve continued to love life and maintain a majority of our pre-Hudson lives, but everything has honestly changed for the better.

You are such a sweet face to see every morning. I can’t wait to see you when you wake up every morning to see what you’re going to say or what you’re going to do. Your face lights up every time you enter a room and see the faces around you. You love everyone and want to make sure they know it. You don’t know yet how great a feeling it is to get that kind of welcome from someone, but I’m sure you’ll always make people feel good about themselves.

The days with you have flown by and some of those early months are a blur. You’re such a different little guy now than you were then.

People tell us what they hope you’ll be when you grow up, but honestly, I just want you to be happy. I want Jesus to live in you and I want you to be happy.

I don’t look at this first year as if it’s the end of something. This is just the beginning of a fantastic life ahead of you! The possibilities are endless and we want you to know that you always have our love and support.

You are the happiest boy I know and you surprise me every day with how much you know and how much you’ve changed. A few more words every week and a few more steps every day. There’s no stopping you!

Our biggest goal right now is working on getting you to be content without your daddy or me in the room. We’ll always come right back, so you don’t need to worry.

Twelve months ago we were getting ready to come home from the hospital with a brand new little person. We had no idea what we were going to do and to say we were terrified is an understatement. We helped build each other up and I got a whole lot of help and confidence from your KK. She wanted to help me, but she also wanted me to know that I could do it without her. I know that you’ll grow up to be the kind of parent that your grandparents are to your daddy and me. Those relationships will always be special.

We’re so excited to see what the next year brings. We love you so very much and plan to hold tightly to each little moment with you!

Love,

Mommy

Height: unknown- 12 month doctor appointment in a couple of weeks

Weight: 27 pounds? – waiting to confirm at doctor appointment. Birth weight was 9 lbs 6 oz

Food: Completely done with formula and we’re officially now only giving you a bottle a bedtime. You drink whole milk through your straw sippy cups (Nuby brand). You’re now exclusively on table food. I emptied all of the baby food out of our pantry last week. It’s hard to find things that are safe for you to eat– it’s hard not having molars– and it’s more work for us, but it’s fun watching you try new things. You love cheese!

Words: Mama, Mommy, Da-da, Daddy, Nona (Fiona), Boo-Doh (Boudreaux), Poppie, Bye-bye, Baba (bottle), no-no-no, e-yi-e-yi (when singing Old MacDonald), tay too (thank you), doos (shoes)

Activities: walking 20-30 steps at a time, crawling less and less, loves the baby pool in the backyard

Clothes: some 18 month, mostly 24 month

Diaper: size 4 during the day, size 5 at night

A look back at the months– we didn’t start the monkey pictures until he was 3 months old

1 month

2 months

3-11 months

(3 months, 6 months, and 9 months are my favorites! He’s so goofy!)

12 months

Dear Hudson,

You are 11 months old! Time flies by so fast. You turned 11 months on the day we returned from New York City.

I can’t believe how fast these 11 months have gone by. You’ll be a year old in just a few weeks. You become more and more hilarious every month. It has been such a joy to watch you grow and change. I’ll say it again- I am so torn! I want time to stand still with each stage with you because each new stage is my favorite. But then I know that the next stage is going to be even better than this one. (Remind me that I said this when you turn 16 and you don’t want to talk to me!)

You spent more than two nights away from us for the first time and I’m confident that it was harder on me that it was on you. I really did miss you and knew that I was missing so many of your laughs and smiles.

You took two steps a couple of days before your daddy and I left for our vacation! It was so wonderful to get to see that and since then you’ve only taken two steps a handful of times. You know that you can get around really quickly if you crawl. And that’s fine with me. I’m not in any hurry to have a walker in our house. You’ll be running soon and I’ll never be able to catch up with you!

You’re really discovering words! You say “ba-ba” (bottle), “buh-bye” (bye-bye), “mama”, “da-da”, “Boo” (Boudreaux), “do” (dog), and “ba” (ball). You’ve even really started getting that “n” sound down and when you shake your head back and forth like I do, you also say “na-na-na” (no-no-no). It’s so cute!

When I say, “Hudson, what does the cow say?” You say, “mmmmm.” You can’t quite make the “oo” sound come after the “m” sound, but you’re getting it and you definitely know what the cow says! Just today when I started singing “Old MacDonald had a farm,” you said “e-yi-e-yi” and I didn’t know what you were saying. Silly me, you were singing “e-i-e-i-o.”

You absolutely love books. I mean, you love cruising around the house and playing peek-a-boo constantly, but you really love your books. You crawl over to your book basket every morning after your nap and pull out the books one by one. And you read them one by one. I hope that you’ll grow up to love books as much as I do.

Since we returned from our trip, you’ve been much more strong-willed than usual. You make it very clear when you don’t like something and when I tell you “no” in a stern voice, you have a full-blown meltdown on the floor. Hopefully we can figure out a way to correct this before it happens in public.

Your personality is really coming through every day and I absolutely love it. You have such a sweet spirit, but you are 100% boy. You make sounds like a truck and your KK calls you a little bull. You run into the couch cushions with the top of your head and plow through the room like you’re on a mission. But when you’re tired, you crawl over to my lap and climb up, pop your thumb in your mouth, and rest your head on my shoulder. There are few greater feelings than the one I feel when I recognize how much you need me right then.

Your daddy and I love you so much and we are going to cherish this last month of having an infant! The toddler days are right around the corner!

Love,

Mama

Stats for this month:

Weight: 27 pounds (you haven’t gained in a while!)

Diaper: size 4 Pampers Cruisers (daytime) and size 5 Pampers Overnights (night time)

Clothes: 18-24 months

Food: 32 oz of formula during the day (8 oz per bottle) and 3 meals at the high chair. You love your vegetables and Yogurt Melts. We only have one more month of formula!

Teeth: 8 teeth!

Sleep: 7 am- 7 pm with two naps during the day. We love this!