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. 

Fourth of July--a perfect day for Hudson's first popsicle

We had a low key and fun fourth of July holiday.  We had a brunch and carnival with friends in the UCLA pavilion, took quick family pics and attempted (and failed) a photo of Hudson, let Hudson take his nap, then gave Hudson his first popsicle and finished up with some tasty grilling.  Perfect day? I'd say yes.

17 months

Here is a little snapshot of Hudson at 17 months:

Weight (based on our bathroom scale): 28 lbs, which according to the world wide web, puts him above the 95th percentile.  No wonder he is seeming hard to carry!

Still wearing size 4 diapers. One afternoon nap from 1-3

Words: mom (Ma), dad(Da), grandma (mama), grandpa (papa), lindsey (De Dee), up (bup), no (no with head shake), ball (ba), train (tr), light (zz), choo choo (choo choo), mmm (done when eating or smelling flowers, banana (nana), done, thank you

Loves: trains, cars, the beach, being outside, the playground, his dad coming home, airplanes, the moon, and more recently, his books, hide and seek

Bad Habits: throwing food from his highchair, waking up occasionally in the middle of the night screaming, eating chapstick...which I just found out was inherited from Colby's time as a child...

Memories to Remember:  Is mama's boy at bedtime.  He will sit still for me to read and sing, but not for Colby.  He runs to me.  However, during the day, he prefers Dad.

We have taken him on two bike rides recently,  both trying out bike seats for him and he LOVED it.  We drove to the beach yesterday to test the iBert out, and since it was such a nice day, we drove with the windows down.  He was so excited to have the wind blowing on his face.  We rode bike along the beach, then walked down to the beach during sunset.  He had the time of his life.  He walked across the sand alone, but on occasion would reach for Colby's hand...something he never does.  He would let go, then grab it again.  It was the cutest thing.  Down at the water, the tide was as low as I've ever seen it.  It left a flat, damp sandy surface for Hudson to run and splash in.  He loved every moment.  As we headed back up the beach, he put out his hand for someone to hold. I grabbed it, and he quickly pulled away and reach out to dad's hand and took it.  It was so cute.  He really loves the time he gets to spend with Colby.

We have brought Hudson into bed with us occasionally in the night when he wakes up, because in my delusional state, it's the easy thing to do as I know it will get Hudson right back to sleep (and therefore me too).  I of course don't think about the morning.  Some mornings, he will wake before us, and seeing our eyes closed, he will poke our eyelids (hard) until we open our eyes to play with him.  If I were him, I'd want to sleep in our bed too.  It guarantees a playmate first thing in the morning.

We have pulled out the fisher price car that we found for Hudson, and he is loving it.  He crawls in and steers, honks and turns the key, but gets out and pushes the car to get from place to place.  He hasn't figured out how to move in it while sitting.  He can turn that car on a dime and is super quick.  It's fun for me to watch.  If we are walking somewhere without the car, he will do his own thing and often go his own way, but with the car, he follows me exactly.  If he's ahead of me and I turn one way and he's gone the other, he quickly turns around and gets back on my path.  This is especially handy when I'm doing laundry and don't have free arms to redirect his exploratory state of mind when he's walkin g on his own.  I have learned through him pushing the car that he doesn know wherre home is.  If we are coming home from the playground, etc. and he is walking ahead of me, he will walk right up to our door.  Another funny car story--he's become a little posessive of it, but only with younger kids.  Our ward member Cal, who is 3 months younger than Hudson, saw us with the car and came up to try and play.  Hudson had stepped away, but the moment he saw Cal with it, he started throwing a fit and trying to take it back.  However 20 minutes later when we were at the playground and 2 other friends, each 1-2 years older, wanted a turn with the car, Hudson backed away and found something else to do. He must've realized they were bigger. Ha.  Once those kids left the playground, Hudson was quick to take back over the car.

He's started throwing tantrums.  I currently think they are hilarious, but I can see how they will get old, quick.  He throws his body to the ground and pouts until he realizes I'm not paying attention, then he goes on with life.

He is understanding so much more--we now can have little dance parties (oh, sidenote, he LOVES dancing now.  Whenever music with a strong beat is on, he stands and starts bending his knees and bouncing, or turning in circles.).  I will raise my hands in the air and instruct his to do the same and he follows.  He will rest his hands on his head and it's adorable.  I will then motion and say put your hands on the floor, to which he'll touch the floor, then fall over and laugh.  He will also spin around if I direct him to do that.

Over thanksgiving, mom took Hudson outside to smell the roses.  He didn't seem to catch onto it at the time, but has since found much joy (and we've found much entertainment) in him stopping at flowers, biting/licking them, and saying with enthusiasm, "MMMM." It's quite adorable and we have some great videos of it.

At the Grove, Saturday, Jan 25:

playing with toys...and mom's pillows

Playing with Dad. I told you he loves him. 

bathtime

kind of obsessed with his new car