My baby boy is growing so quickly. He has reached 24 pounds and definitely looks like a 1 year old.

Hudson survived his second cold, which was much worse than his first cold. It’s so sad to watch your baby suffer like that and I just know he was so confused as to why he could barely breathe. But he recovered after a few days and he’s good as new!

He has moved up to size 4 diapers. The size 3 diapers hadn’t gotten too small yet, but he needed a little more room and absorbency. He still wears Pampers Baby Dry during the day and Pampers Cruisers at night. He had been having some leaks during the night and we’d find him soaked in the morning. So we knew it was time for the size 4 diapers.

Hudson wears 12 month clothes in most brands and is even in 18-24 months in Kissy Kissy outfits. Scary. ( I hope he can still wear baby clothes up until his first birthday. Y’all know how I feel about dressing babies like men!)

He has been really working on his two big top teeth for the past few weeks. And yesterday, we noticed that one of them had just barely broken through the gum. So they’re coming on down! He is a good teether. He hasn’t lost sleep yet and we’re so thankful. Hopefully these teeth will be in place by next week.

The dear boy desperately wants to crawl, but he’s more interested in doing it “his way” by staying in a sitting position and just pivoting across the floor. It’s quite the interesting way to get from point A to point B, but he’s doing it his way. He has mastered the fine art of going from lying down to sitting up. Because of this new trick, we had to lower his crib mattress to the lowest setting. We found him standing in his crib one morning chewing on the paintings on the wall.

But going from lying down to sitting up was a huge accomplishment and it makes our lives a little easier. He has gotten himself on all fours quite a few times and he kind of rocks back and forth and then gives up. He’ll get the crawling thing down one of these days!

He loves to jump! We’ve had the Jump ‘n Go hanging in the doorway for a few months now, but over Christmas we really noticed his tendency to jump and bounce. And he will sit in the Jump ‘n Go in the doorway and jump for 30 minutes at a time. It kills me every time.

He still thinks that Boudreaux’s low growl at the neighbor’s cat is the funniest thing in the world. He loves to play peek a boo with his mommy and cracks up anytime I say, “boo!”

The babbling has truly begun. Now the sound is the “D” sound and he is constantly saying “du-du-du-du-du-du.” I have a feeling that “Da-da” will come soon. And maybe even “dog.” The “D” sound is obviously easier to say than the “M” sound. Bummer for “mommy.”

I just love his cheeks in this picture

He is still sleeping from 6:45 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. and we’re still very happy with that. He takes about three 45 min-1 hour naps per day. I’d love a long nap, but I’ll take the shorter ones, too.

Hudson eats 8 ounces of formula every three hours and guzzles those suckers. He also gets his rice cereal and bananas every morning around 9:00 am. Then he gets his vegetable (peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, mixed vegetables, corn, squash) and another fruit (apples, pears, peaches, bananas) at night around 6:00 p.m.

He loves his bath time. Since he has been sitting up, we’ve moved him to the Munchkin inflatable duck bathtub and he loves it. The beak quacks and it makes him smile every time. He splashes in the water and I think it’s still his favorite time of day. After his bath, he takes his last bottle and goes right to sleep. No need to rock this boy. He just wants to sleep!

I’m still singing to him all the time. And I love to tell him stories. We like to read books to him, but as soon as he sees the book he starts kicking his legs and reaching for it. Then it immediately goes in his mouth. So we have to read really quickly!

We have a happy little boy on our hands and really cannot believe how quickly the time flies.

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

We had a really great 3 day weekend. It is so nice when Todd can take an extra day off work. When you work for yourself, you don’t really just take holidays off because it’s a holiday. If he has work to do it still has to get done. He took a week at Christmas and that was really wonderful. And he took New Year’s Day off, too.

We spent New Year’s Eve at home. We put Hudson to bed, then ate a delicious Barefoot Contessa pasta dish. Here’s the recipe if anyone is interested. It was so easy and seriously so delicious. If it was part of my “make healthy choices” resolution, we’d eat it again next week! But it’s not. And we’re not. But it is yummy and I’d definitely make it for a crowd. It tastes a little more like Spring or Summer to me, but it’s South Carolina. Anything goes, right?

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus 1 1/2 teaspoons
• 3/4 pound linguine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 lemon, zest grated
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
• 1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Directions

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

After dinner, we curled up on the couch and watched Shakespeare in Love (which neither of us had ever seen, but we did happen to own the movie. Still in its original packaging). When the movie ended, it was still only 11:00, so we watched some horrible New Year’s Eve programming and waited for midnight. Around 11:45 we went upstairs and got in bed and stayed awake long enough to give each other and kiss and wish each other a Happy New Year. Eventful, huh? But definitely cozy and just what I wanted.

On New Year’s Day we watched a good amount of football and I spent most of the day psyching myself up to prepare my first traditional New Year’s Day meal of black eyed peas, collard greens, and pork. I turned my black eyed peas into hoppin’ john and I soaked my collard greens in bacon grease and added bacon to the pot. Also not part of “make healthy choices,” but both of the traditional dishes were tolerable, if not delicious. I made a pork tenderloin. My favorite. And we really enjoyed the whole meal. I was actually quite surprised at how well everything turned out for a first-timer.

I think it’s pretty remarkable that Hudson has been alive in two different decades and he’s only 7 months old. He turned 7 months old  today! So you know what that means.

Monkey pictures tomorrow! (and tonight I’ll be watching Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs so I can share it with all of you!)

 

My friend at In No Simple Language did a great post about the 12 books that she read in 2009 and I’m going to tell you what I read in 2009 and let you in on my goals of the 12 (minimum) books I want to read in 2010. Now, remember, I have a serious problem with buying stacks of books and then buying more stacks of books before I finish the previously purchased books. One of my 30 things to accomplish before turning 30 goals is to read every unread book in my house. But this list for 2010 could change. Because we all know I’m capable of running out and buying a book and completely abandoning the others. (Hopefully all of this reading will keep me from shopping!)

2009 Books: (books marked with a * should be added to your “must read” list!)

Same Kind of Different As Me*

The Help*

My Sister’s Keeper

The Last Song (movie coming out soon and wanted to finish before then)

Dear John (ditto about the movie coming out soon)

The Lucky One*

Mercury in Retrograde

The Shack

Vision in White

2010 Books- I chose 13 books. One for every month of the year and an extra in case we go on an amazing beach vacation:

January- Firefly Lane- I’m currently reading Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah and it took me a few days to get into it, but now I’m going strong!

February- Something Borrowed- Believe it or not I haven’t read a single book in Emily Giffin’s series. I’ve had them all on my shelves for a long time and I’m finally starting.

March- Something Blue

April- Baby Proof

May- Love the One You’re With

June- South of Broad- Pat Conroy. Charleston. Definitely excited.

July- The Nanny Returns- I loved The Nanny Diaries and I’m excited about the sequel.

August- The Real Real- Another book by the authors of The Nanny Diaries.

September- Bed of Roses- Nora Roberts’ second book in her wedding series.

October- Return to Sullivan’s Island

November- The Glass Castle

December- The Overnight Socialite

One to grow on- American Wife

There it is! At my friend’s recommendation, I joined Goodreads and it is so helpful!

What are you planning on reading this year? Or maybe just this month? Have you read any of my choices? What’d you think?

For those that are wondering where I find the time to read when I have a 7 month old… A handy dandy book light came with my birthday Snuggie (that has since been replaced by the Brookstone Comfy) and I read at night right before I go to sleep with my book light. I try to read at least 2 chapters. I often read more– especially if I’m really into the book.

I would like to set myself up for success, so I tried to make a list of plans and resolutions that are realistic and achievable. I put enough pressure on myself for everything to be perfect as it is, so I definitely don’t want to add any stress to my life.

image via here

Resolutions

1. Run the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston with another bloggy friend at the end of March. (Better get started on this!)

2. Visit the gym (I joined today!) at least four times per week.

3. Make healthy choices. This should benefit Todd and me.

4. Become a better wife and mommy. My boys are the most important people in my life, but I need to start doing more to show my appreciation. This includes making dinner more often– and healthy dinner, of course!

5. Continue to grow Blue-Eyed Bride.

6. Figure out a way to create more space at our current home or begin the process of moving to a larger home– in the suburbs.

7. Be less critical and more spontaneous. I’ve come a long way with being less critical, trust me. Spontaneity is more difficult with a baby that goes to bed at 7:00 p.m., but I’m sure I can figure it out!

8. Take some cooking classes so I can become more comfortable preparing things that are a little out of my comfort zone.

9. Join the choir. It’s the right time!

10. Become more aware of who I am and who I am supposed to be. I change a little bit every year and a huge piece of my life changed this year. I like to think that I’m the same person, but it’s hard to be the same person when so much of your life and your time is spent caring for another. I am a child of God and that will never change.

Plans

1. There is a fun Charleston trip scheduled for the end of March! I will be meeting other bloggers there again, and will be running the Cooper River Bridge Run.

2. Todd and I are going to NYC and Boston in May for our two year anniversary. I’ll have to cowgirl up and leave Hudson behind for a few days. I’m sad just thinking about it.

3. I am so excited about attending BlogHer in NYC this year with some of my favorite bloggers.

4. I’ll be having another surgery in early 2010– and hopefully all of this will be behind me.

5. A mommy/baby blogger meet up is in the works for 2010 and I’m so excited. These three women have been such a source of encouragement for me this year and it’s about time we met each other and arranged the marriages of our children!

6. I mentioned yesterday that I’ll be chairing my JL committee this year. That should take up a hefty chunk of time.

 

What are your resolutions for 2010? Anything exciting planned?