And Now We're Mobile

Hudson is officially mobile. He has been rolling and scooting across the living room for a while now, but this past week he has gotten a lot better at crawling. He can get across the room pretty quickly. Let the baby proofing begin.



All smiles for the camera ...





Hudson and Landon had fun swimming and playing with their cousins in Roswell. Christmas is going to be crazy when these two are running around together!



It was balloon fiesta week in ABQ. We didn't make it to the park to see the balloons, but one landed/crashed in the park outside our window. Everyone was ok ... I think. Too bad Hudson slept through the whole thing.



Hudson's favorite way to sleep. It doesn't look very comfortable to me, but he loves it.



If you look closely (click to enlarge), you can see his first little tooth peeking through on the bottom gum.



Poor kid. His mom likes to dress him up and take photos. I can't resist. He's too cute and fun.











Mia and D came to visit this weekend. We played outside and went shopping and had a great time. Mia caught this cute smile.



And here's Hudson drinking Mia's diet coke. Just kidding. No coke till your 16. Or dating :)



More dress up pictures.







Oh. And he's mastered the walker thing for sure. Watch out for your ankles.

Fair Time

We traveled to Lovington last week to visit family and friends and watch Uncle Clay rope. Hudson got to see all of his cousins and his friend Kobe. Here are a few random pictures from our visit.

Shelly & Kobe were in town from Tyler. I hadn't seen Kobe since he was about 7 months old. Such a sweet, smiley boy!

Hudson really loved his cousin Peggy. He gave her all kinds of smiles and laughs.

Landon is two months younger than Hudson, but they are almost the same size. Landon may even be a bit bigger. Cute healthy boys!

Hudson & his Dee rocking on the front porch. Hudson LOVED sitting outside on the porch.

He looks like such a big boy holding his own bottle.

He are some of the wonderful funny faces that Hudson makes these days.

Sweet Potatoes

Hudson was 15 pounds 2 ounces and 26 inches long at his 4 month appointment last week. While he is only in the 50th percentile for weight, he is a very hungry boy, so our pediatrician suggested that we start him on baby food. First up, sweet potatoes. He is getting better at eating from a spoon every day, but we still manage to get it everywhere.

He also went through this phase of sticking out his tongue all the time for about a week. It was so funny. He would stick it out so far for minutes at a time. I always wonder what is going through that little head.

He loves his seahorse. It sings lullabies and glows when you squeeze him. Today he woke up during his nap, grabbed the seahorse and then went back to sleep. I'm pretty sure it was an accident, but I was impressed.

He likes to grab his feet and all the hanging toys at the same time.

Hanging out with my buddies, Avery & Baby Chase.

Back to Work

I just realized as I sat down to create this post that it is the first time that I've updated the blog since going back to work part-time :( But don't you worry, we're still taking lots and lots of pictures of Hudson. It actually hasn't been too hard to go back to work considering that it is only two days a week at work and one from home, but I still miss my little guy! Hudson is staying with our good friend Carrie, who also has a little one that is four months older than Hudson. She'll be able to show him the ropes in no time. It's been a huge blessing that he is able to stay with someone that we know and trust!

Here are a few pics of Hudson with Nellie (Carrie's little girl).

Looks like they are going to hold hands :)

And here is the whole crew at Avery's birthday party.

(Sienna, Avery, Nellie, Cruz, & Hudson)

And another cute pic that Carrie took.

We went to Lovington a few weekends ago and were able to meet Hudson's new 2nd? cousin Landon and go to Janae's birthday party. Peggy took some great pictures of Hudson and Landon sitting on MaMa's (my grandmother) lap.

Landon is almost two months younger than Hudson, but he is catching him fast.

Uncle Clay came to visit and help out with Hudson while I was at work this past Monday. What a sweet uncle!

He hasn't rolled over yet ... or even acted like he might think about rolling over, but at least he doesn't cry instantly when I put him on his stomach anymore.

Hudson's latest discovery is that he can grab his feet and put them in his mouth pretty much anytime he wants. Oh to be that flexible again!

The video below is from Darren's phone so the resolution is pretty bad, but you can sort of see the little wiggle worm in action.

Memorial Day Weekend

We went north to Colorado for Memorial weekend.  Darren spent some time fishing and Hudson spent some time sleeping.  I think the altitude made him sleepy.

The lake was beautiful and green.

Hudson got in on the fish action with his own cowfish toy.  A fish that moos like a cow.  Poor kid, he's going to be so confused. 

I took some pictures of Hudson watching the Cavs game with his dad.  His eyes were so heavy, but he was trying hard to see the end of the game.  Check out his full belly :-)

   

Hudson went swimming for the first time last weekend too.  It was a little breezy, but he still had a good time.  He really loves the water.

He also started laughing this past week too.  It is so great.  I tried to get a video, but he won't ever do it while we have the camera on.  I did get some still shots that are fun. 

Family Photos

Seems like the last two weeks have just flown by.  Hudson has been growing and changing so much it is hard to keep up.

A good friend took some family photos of us to give to our moms for Mother's Day.

And we dedicated Hudson at our church on Mother's Day.

He slept in his own crib for the first time.  Doesn't he look so small in his crib.

He learned to play with his rattle.  Well, really we just put it in his hand, but he moves his hand around and it looks like he is playing with the rattle.

And he can sit up in his bumbo seat and hang out with mom & dad in the kitchen.

He can wear this cool hat from his uncle Clay.  Hopefully his head won't be too big for it by winter time.

And a big smile to show off his chubby cheeks!

Good Morning Video

Hudson is always so sweet and all smiles in the mornings.  I keep trying to catch him smiling with the camera, but it is hard to catch and I usually have to be talking or singing to make him smile. So, this morning I broke out the video camera to capture the moment.  Sorry about the ending, but I don't know how to edit the video yet so you get to see it all :-)

Two Months Old

Hudson is two months old today!!  He had to go in for his two month appointment at the pediatrician's this morning.  He has gained over 4 pounds and grown almost 4 inches since our last visit.  Time goes by way too fast!

This is what we think of our two month shots ...

Hudson just started smiling all the time, and we love it.  How can you have a bad day with a face like this smiling back at you ...

Mom takes lots of pictures :)

Easter and more ...

We stayed here in Albuquerque for Easter this year.  The Easter services at our church were really great.  Then, we went to lunch in the east mountains with some friends.  It was nice to get out of the city for an afternoon.

I was watching the news after Easter and they were reporting on a religious tradition in Mexico were they make a pinata to represent Judas.  Much like those taking their shots at the pinata of Judas, I have often read Luke 22 and the other gospels and wondered how could Judas betray Jesus after all he had seen and heard.  However, I was reminded in our Easter service that we are all pretty much a Judas ... we are all in the crowd choosing Barabbas ... we are all the criminal on the cross next to Jesus desperate for a Savior.

I love the third verse of Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

O to grace how great a debtor

daily I'm constrained to be!

Let thy goodness, like a fetter, 

bind my wandering heart to thee.

Prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it,

prone to leave the God I love;

here's my heart, O take and seal it,

seal it for thy courts above.

Here are a few pictures of Hudson.  I love his little sweater vest for Easter.

Mom took one too many pictures :)

Also, Darren's parents and sister from Montana came to visit Hudson a few weeks ago.  We had fun catching up and playing with the baby.  Yes, he can play.  He lays on the floor and looks at his stuffed animals.  He is also getting pretty good at holding his own head up these days.

Aunt Terri

Looking at Grandma Leslie

Playing with my horse puppet

Here is a good picture of Darren's cousin Jamie who also came to visit with her kiddos.

Cute pic in my guitar shirt!

Hanging out in the bathtub.  He loves to float and kick.

First Timer

Sorry it has taken us so long to post again.  We were experiencing some technical difficulties, but after replacing the hard drive and operating system on our laptop we are good to go.

Hudson had a series of firsts over the past few weeks, but then again everything he does is really a first.  But, we still like to get pictures of as many first moments as we can.

First Bath ...

He looked so terrified, but now he loves bath time.

This picture was after a bath in the sink at my parents house.  They just finished remodeling their house, and they put in a huge sink for bathing Hudson and future grand babies.  He got the royal treatment at their house.  A heater next to the sink to keep him warm and a towel straight from the dryer waiting for him after each bath.

First Time Meeting Uncle Clay

    

Mom and Clay came to visit for a few days.  We didn't do much but hold and stare at the baby. They would fight over who got to change his dirty diapers :-)

First Road Trip to Mia & D's House

       

On the way down to Lovington, we stopped in Roswell at cousin Major's Indiana Jones themed birthday party.  It was super fun with a rope swing over a snake pit (rubber snakes in a kiddie pool of sand).  Hudson got to meet lots of family there.  And in Lovington, he hung out with his Mia and D (Dana's parents) and met his great grandmother, MaMa.  He also took a long nap with cousin Willie.  

First Baby Shower

Also in Lovington, we went to a baby shower for Shelly and Kobe.  I grew up with Shelly, and her baby boy, Kobe, is only a month older than Hudson.  I don't have any pictures from the shower yet, but we got to hang out with Shelly and Kobe the night before the shower.  There were so many babies at the shower (6 or 7 at least).  It was fun to see and visit with friends that I haven't seen in many years.

And last, but certainly not least ...

First (Almost) Full Night's Sleep

Last night, Hudson slept from 10pm to 4am ... that is six full hours.  He usually eats every 3 hours like clockwork, so I usually feed him at least a couple times a night.  Needless to say, we were happy to have 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep.  We tried using a swaddling outfit, basically a straight jacket for newborns.  He didn't like it at first because he likes his hands up by his face.  But after five long minutes of crying, he slept like a champ for 6 hours.