Dear Hudson,

You turned 14 months old on August 5. I could go through a list of overused phrases such as 1) time flies so fast with you and 2) each month gets more and more fun and they would all be true.

It is so remarkable how much you can change in one month. You are such a sweet little boy and your heart is full of love for everyone you come in contact with. You are very obedient and easy-going.  You want to please and you know when you’re about to do something that you’re not supposed to do.

We’re working on trying to get you to be more patient. You know what you want and when you want it, but the grunts and whines aren’t the best way to get it. We’re working on “please” and getting you to just ask for what you want. You always say “thank you” though.

Hudson, I can’t even begin to describe my love for you. I was away from you for about five days and I missed you so much. I didn’t want to miss a single moment with you.

You are so good about just hanging out and reading or playing. You really like to sit and entertain yourself. And then as soon as you want some company, you come climb up in our laps and give us a hug. Or you ask us to read “‘Night Moon” to you.

You’ve started walking to your room when I say, “let’s go change your diaper” or “let’s take a nap.” I’m just so amazed at how much you understand and how fast the time flies. I say it over and over again, I know. 14 months ago, you were basically sleeping all day every day and weren’t doing much of anything at all.

If I could guarantee that every baby would be just like you I’d have 10 more! We love you so much!

Mommy (and Daddy, too)

Words and phrases: “night moon” (Goodnight Moon), “Melmo” (Elmo), bubbles, mommy, daddy, Boo-doh (Boudreaux), Nona (Fiona), cheese, shoes, juice, milk, book, turtle, meow, dog, moo, bye bye, woof, cow, hey, chicken, baby, thank you, touchdown, banana, uh oh, ball

Tricks: he has started making more and more animal sounds like meow, roaring like a lion, making “woof” sounds like a dog and imitating a monkey. He also does the signal for “touchdown.” And just this week he puckers up and makes a kissing sound if you say “give me a kiss” or “give the monkey a kiss.” (see above)

Food: grilled cheese, peas, carrots, green beans, apple sauce, bananas, blueberries, chicken nuggets, salmon, cheese, oranges, kiwi, oatmeal, strawberries, pancakes

A few days ago I was going through all of the magazines in my house and tearing out things I liked. Recipes, home decor, articles. And then I filed them all away in page protectors and put them in binders.

I think I threw away about 35 magazines. I try to do this every year, but I always like to hang onto the issues of Southern Living magazine. When I was flipping through the magazines I found this great article and knew that Hudson would need to see it someday. Because someday he’ll take a girl out for pizza and a movie. And someday he’ll take a girl as his date to a football game– hopefully an SEC football game. And I want him to have an idea of what she may be expecting from him.

I thought I’d share it with all of you to share with your sons and daughters, if you haven’t already.

If you’re not a southerner you may not appreciate it the way I do, but I like it enough to put it on my blog. I like chivalry. I like to think of myself as independent, sure, but I also like chivalry. And I want my son to treat his future wife, girlfriends, dates, and friends the way that we’ve always been taught that a man should treat a lady. Especially in the South where traditions don’t die easily.

15 Ways to Charm Her

Southern Living, July 2009

By Amy Bickers

“Want to impress a Southern girl? Just think “What would my grandfather have done?”

Number one: We still expect you to give up your seat for a lady. On a bus, at a bar, on a train. . . we don’t care where you are. Unless you are at a restaurant and the only lady in sight is the one taking your order, stand up. Now.

On a recent Friday night at a bustling restaurant bar, two friends and I waited for our table to be called. The barstools were occupied so we stood patiently, sipping wine and chatting about the workweek. When a couple nearby stood up, another woman – who had been there less time than we had – swooped in, reaching across us to put her purse on the stool. This isn’t the worst part. It’s what happened next: Her male companion then slid onto the other barstool.

Hang on while I do a geography check. Are we not in the South? If ladies are waiting for a seat and you have a Y chromosome, do you sit down? No, sir. No, you do not.

We know modern life is confusing. The roles of men and women have evolved over the years. As Pink once sang, “Shorty got a job, Shorty got a car, Shorty can pay her own rent.”

But come on, let’s keep some things old-school. My late grandfather- he of the East Texas upbringing, U.S. Navy captain status, and Cary Grant good looks – would never have allowed a woman to stand while he sat. And if you want a Southern woman to love you, neither will you. So, men, here’s a short list of things Southern girls still expect from you.

We still expect you to…

1. Stand up for a lady. Actually, this doesn’t just involve chairs.
2. Know that the SEC has the best football TEAMS IN THE NATION. Big 12 fan? Hmm, perhaps you should keep walking.
3. Kill bugs. Delta Burke as Southern belle Suzanne Sugarbaker on Designing Women said, “. . .Ya know, when men use Women’s Liberation as an excuse not to kill bugs for you. Oh, I just hate that! I don’t care what anybody says, I think the man should have to kill the bug!”
4. Hold doors open.  This goes for elevator doors too.
5. Fix things or build stuff. I once watched in awe as my stepfather built a front porch on the house he shares with my mother. He knew just what to do, cutting every notch, hammering every nail. The project was complete by sunset.
6. Wear boots occaisionally. Not the fancy, l-paid-$l,000-for-these kind. We’re talking about slightly mud-crusted, I-could-have-just-come-in-from-the-field boots.
7. Take off your hat inside.
8. Grill stuff.
9. Call us. If you want to ask us out, don’t text and don’t e-mail. Pick up the phone and use your voice.
10. Stand when we come back to the dinner table. “Just a little half-stand is enough to make me melt,” my friend Stephanie says.
11. Pull out chairs. Wait, that’s not all. Scoot them back in before we hit the floor.
12. Pay the tab on the first few dates. “If you ask me out, you pay,” Stephanie says. “If I ask you out, you should still pay.” Listen, guys, it’s just simpler this way.
13. Don’t show up in a wrinkled, untucked shirt. Care about your appearance but not too much. Don’t smell better than we do. Don’t use mousse or gel. You shouldn’t look like you spend more time in front of the mirror than we do.
14. Never get in bar fights. Patrick Swayze might look cool in Road House, but in reality, bar fights are stupid and embarrassing. You don’t look tough. You look like an idiot.
15. Know how to mix our favorite cocktail JUST THE WAY WE LIKE IT. Fix your favorite too. Sit down on the porch (it’s okay if you didn’t build it), tell us how your day went, and we’ll tell you about ours.

We’ll leave the long list to the girl who falls in love with you.

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”