2 years old

You always hear parents say, "where has the time gone?" and I think I have to join them in this questioning.  It seems I blinked and my little baby turned two.  Somedays I really wish time would just stand still and he would be this cute, curious bundle of joy forever, but then I realize how much happiness I get from seeing him grow up, learn new things, and progress.

We had a low key celebration at home with the three of us and it was perfect.  We woke hudson up in the morning so he could open gifts before dad headed for work.  We dragged him out to the living room and he was in heaven--there were 5 blown up balloons!!  We should have known he would love those and we could have called it a day.  But, of course being the first child and first grandchild, there were plenty of presents for him.  It was so fun to watch him open the gifts.  He understood it so much more than last year.  He would want to tear the paper off all on his own, and would hand each piece to us saying "trash." if he couldn't get a piece off, he would repeat, "push, push" trying to get it off and away.  He was excited about each toy and would play for a minute before Colby coaxed him onto the next gift.  We ate german pancakes or "cake" for breakfast, and stuck a candle in it for Hudson to blow out.  He loved it and kept asking for "more [f]ire" so of course he got more and blew out that silly candle 5 times for breakfast.  He spent the morning playing with all his new toys, and watching all 3 garbage/recycling/green trucks come by--couldn't have planned that better!  I had plans to take him to a nearby park with a train in it or possibly the zoo, but after seeing how content he was to sit and play, I realized he was more happy here.  He wouldn't feel neglected that I didn't take him somewhere special for his birthday, because he was in heaven as it was.  I brushed the plans off and decided to do those things in the days and weeks to come.  We got a FaceTime call from Grandma and Grandpa Jergensen, and they seemed to enjoy Hudson showing off his new things--and playing with the balloons--just as much as he enjoyed showing them.  

We ate a quick lunch, complete with more "[f]ire" and Hudson went down for his nap.  We played more in the afternoon and were excited when Dad got home.  Dinner consisted of Pepperoni pizza twist which hudson could dip in pizza sauce--because at this point in his life everything is better when dipped in sauce--and salad with ranch.  apparently Hudson became a salad lover over the past month.  We took the party outside in our nice little backyard and sang happy birthday, blew out candles, and ate ice cream an d a pretty awesome train cake.  My amazing Mother always threw together awesome "shaped" birthday cakes for us growing up, and the train cake made an appearance many-a-birthday.  With Hudson's love for trains, and my itching to work on something creative, I went to town creating a train cake for Hudson, which turned into a Thomas cake.  I spend way too much time on it, but had so much fun.  My day was made when I revealed it to Hudson after his nap and he smiled and said "train!" "Thomas!" "Cake!"  Over the next few days the leftover cake was on our counter, and he requested it at least at every meal.  

We stayed outside until dark, just visiting and enjoying the weather, and then it was bath, stories and bed for our birthday boy.  It was a fun day and we are excited to have a rambunctious 2 year old in our family.

here is MAJOR picture overload, but I want these for my records, and I'm pretty sure there are some grandparents who will enjoy seeing these. :)

Some notable things Hudson does at this age are:

• Sleeps in a "big bed" since he crawled out of his crib the beginning of July.  It's been a rough transition getting him to stay in there, but we are making progress.  When he wakes from bed/nap, he is so excited to show us that he slept in his "big bed."
• He is super tender-hearted.  If he sees Colby or I are upset or sad, and especially if I'm crying, he drops whatever he is doing and comes and gives the biggest hug without being asked.  
• He LOVES water, swimming, the pool and all things related.  He got a blow-up pool for his birthday and requests it daily.
• After a really bad experience at the car wash, we have since been back and it somehow is his new favorite thing, or at least he thinks it is…we haven't been back yet.  But, he says "Car wash" clear as a bell and will mention it or ask to go at the most random times.
• His vocabulary is growing tremendously and he is beginning to put words together.  He can pretty much repeat anything we say, and can identify most objects on his own, such as if we point to a dog and say "what's that?" he will say "dog." He interacts more with his stories now and remembers parts from different pages and will repeat them occasionally.  
• He still loves eating Dad's cereal in the morning, and we have even given him his own bowl of it a few times--which he loves!  If we ask what he wants for breakfast, he usually says "cakes" meaning pancakes.  He downs them, eating 3 or so with a side of fruit.  This kid is an eater!
• He is full of energy and seems to never tire.  On the days he refuses his naps, which unfortunately has become more frequent with the twin bed, he just keeps going like the energizer bunny past bedtime.  You would think he would be more tired, but the lack of sleep just fuels him.
• Colby got him a little strider bike a few months ago, and now that we have a cement patio in the backyard, he has taken off on it.  We go on walks around the neighborhood at night and Hudson takes his bike and does so well.  Its amazing to see the things these little kids are capable of. Oh, we also have my old razor scooter he, and he loves having Colby follow him on the "shoo-ver." If we are in the backyard sitting while he rides his bike, he will come pull on our hand and beg us to ride behind him.
• He is 6 months into nursery and loves it.  He now requests nursery right when we get into church and happily starts packing up his things at the end of sacrament meeting, because he knows nursery is next. 
• he's obsessed with Thomas the train and will constantly ask for the "touch" (couch) "tv," "show," or "Thomas," all in an effort to watch an episode or 7 of Thomas and Friends.  These days it's become all too easy to give in, but I do try to limit how often he watches. He also will entertain himself for quite some time building train tracks in his room and driving his trains all over them.  Often he will come grab either mine or Colby's hand, and while dragging us into his room saying "Track" and then "ground, " meaning he wants us to sit on the floor with him and build tracks. 
• He calls himself Hud Huds. It melts my heart.  We correct him and sometimes we get a Hud Hudson, back, but it's pretty consistent with Hud Huds.  I know he will get it one day, so I'm just enjoying his cute little name for himself right now.