Baby's First Christmas!!

As usual I've been slacking in my blog updates..but it's been a busy month! With all the preparations for Christmas, working full time and enjoying Hudson I haven't found time to blog. But I am done training at work for now so I will update here when I have the time. Prior to Christmas Hudson turned 9 months!! I swear time just keeps going faster and faster. I can't believe his first birthday is right around the corner. It's time for me to start planning!

Lets see ....at 9 months Hudson can:
-Army crawl to get where he wants to go
-Climb over the legs of chairs, our legs, toys, etc.
-Eat 'finger foods' and raw fruit such as apple slices, pears, etc.
-Clap
-Wave (a little after 9 months .. he did this for the first time on Christmas Eve)
-Talk up a storm!
-Laugh at Maverick constantly
-Sleep through the night (usually..)
-Drink less formula and eat more solid foods
-Pick up small objects (such as pine needles off the carpet ..ugh!)

The weekend before Christmas, Hudson took his first plane ride to visit The Bloom Family in Spokane!! He did great on the plane sleeping the whole flight (although it was only an hour each way ..) We were so relieved he didn't have any problems since he had been diagnosed with an ear infection a few days before leaving. I guess the antibiotics and ear drops helped! We had a nice visit with the family, but as usual it went WAY too fast since we were there less than 2 days. We had a family dinner and gift exchange at Katie and Kyle's on Saturday, then Sunday we went and visited Grandma and Grandpa Bloom at their new Assisted Living home. We hope to make it back over to the East side soon .. once all the snow and cold weather lets up! :)

Christmas came and went much to fast, as it always does. We spent Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family and my Aunt Gail and Uncle Dan's house in Montesano. All the McIntyre's were there as well as the Ayres', Grandma Patty, Steve, Hudson, Andy and I. My dad and sisters didn't make it this year because they were on vacation in Oahu! Lucky ducks!! We had a fun day playing the annual "Christmas Challenge" my Aunt Gail creates, eating a delicious dinner of crab salad, Prime Rib (for the non vegetarians!), Sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, potatoes, Berry Pie and a variety of Grandma's Cookies and sweets! We then opened our gifts. Hudson got the Fisher Price Lil Zoomers Speedway, A Christmas story book, Corduroy book and I'm sure some others that I'm forgetting about. On our way home, we stopped at Nancy and Kenny's to say hi to everyone there where we stayed WAAAYY past Hudson's bed time. Luckily he had napped in the car, because by the time we got home and got him to sleep it was close to 11 p.m. On the plus note, he slept through the night until 8 am Christmas morning...a gift in itself! :)

When we awoke Christmas morning, Hudson, Andy and I opened our gifts to eachother and from Linda and Steve. Hudson then ate his breakfast while we waited for mom and Dean and Nancy and Kenny to come over for brunch. Around 11 they all came over and we had a delicious brunch and opened more gifts!! Hudson was such a spoiled little guy this year. Some of his gifts included: Rocking horse that neighs/winnys, Ride-on Fisher Price Ice Cream Truck, Busy ball popper, lots of books, a few wooden puzzles, Fisher Price trucks, fire truck and police car, Fisher Price Mailbox, Inchworm, Ugg boots, Lily and Jack boots, several pairs of PJ's and a couple of outfits. Of all the gifts he received I think he was much more interested in the boxes, paper, ribbon and bows! Although, that's pretty much what we expected! :) We had a pretty low-key Christmas day, everyone left in the early afternoon and Hudson napped while we got things cleaned up a bit. After he woke up we went on a family walk, then I got a few side dishes ready and we went to my mom and Dean's house for Christmas dinner. Overall we had a wonderful Christmas and I was so thankful to finally get the day off after having to work it the past 4 years!!

Hudson's First Thanksgiving and SNOW!

This "Winter" came early, just as everyone expected. We had our first snow Thanksgiving week!! Hudson didn't really go out in it much, just enough to snap a couple cute pictures. I don't think he was too fond of it..mostly because I hadn't gotten him mittens yet so his poor fingers were cold! The snow lasted about 4 days then luckily melted off enough for us to make the trek up to Shoreline for Thanksgiving dinner at the McIntyre's house! Hudson was the center of attention and he seemed to enjoy that :)

We enjoyed a wonderful day with my dad's side of the family and Hudson even tried a little piece of turkey that daddy snuck to him :) He also had a bite of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and cranberries.

8 months old!!

I swear each month passes faster than the last. I can't believe my tiny baby is already 8 months (well..8 1/2 now..)!! He is growing and changing daily and bringing Andy and I more joy and happiness than we ever knew existed. He is such a wonderful baby!

Let's see..this past month he has started "army crawling" (pulling himself with his arms), pulling himself half up onto things (like the dogs toy basket), rolling all over the room to get to what he wants.

He is still enjoying most of the new foods we've introduced to him, some of which include: asparagus, potatoes and Mum Mum crackers.

He is sleeping through the night most nights but waking up by 5:30 a.m. to eat (which is hard for me working nights..)

I will attempt to be better at keeping this blog up to date but this whole working mom is a lot harder than I expected it to be and I'm having trouble finding time to get anything done lately!

Happy Halloween:

Milestone: Clapping!

Within the past week Hudson has started clapping! He mostly does it when we do or if we say "yay" ..it's so adorable!! Check it out:

7 months old!!

Sorry for the delay in posting ..it's been a crazy, busy month!! :) I started training a new dispatcher at work, I've been trying to visit friends/family on my days off, keeping up with the daily household tasks and enjoying as much time as possible with my baby boy ...all of this has kept me pretty busy!!

Well..last week Hudson turned 7 months!! As I say every month, I can't believe how fast he's growing up. He's now pretty mobile..he rolls all over the place to get where he wants to go. He started pushing up a little more so I'm sure he'll be crawling in the next month. He is also finally breaking his first 2 teeth!! The past couple of days both his center, bottom teeth started poking through :) And lucky for us this hasn't really changed his happy mood and he is now only waking up once at night instead of not at all :)

We've been having so much fun watching our little man grow up and develop his amazingly happy personality.

I'm not sure of his exact stats this month, but I think he's pretty close to where he was at 6 months..almost 29 inches long and about 18 pounds. He's growing right out of all his 6-9 month clothes and will soon be wearing all 12 month stuff I imagine!!

Some of Hudson's favorites at 7 months:
**Giggling when daddy's beard touches his face**
**Laughing when Maverick makes noise or licks his face**
**Grabbing anything and everything he can get his hands on**
**Sitting up in the stroller and shopping carts so he can check out the world**
**LIGHTS! He LOVES looking at light fixtures and lights and is constantly looking up**
**Sophie the teething giraffe**
**Jumping in the jumperoo**
**Sitting up in the bath (we still need to get a bath ring or something for this)**

Sorry no pictures yet .. I will update them as soon as I'm at home on the computer that has all the pictures!

6 months ... 1/2 a year already ....

6 months..half a year...where does the time go??!! My baby is growing and changing so much every day. He has learned so much in the last 6 months and I'm enjoying every minute watching him grow. Here are some things he's learned/done in the past month:

-"Scooting" when on his tummy on the floor (he pushes his legs up like he wants to 'army crawl' and then scoots forward)
-Rolling all over the place constantly!
-Teething (one bottom tooth was starting to poke through but went back down for now)
-Become very interested in his toys, especially ones that make noise when you press them!
-Laughing hysterically at Daddy/Maverick and anyone that makes funny faces/dances, etc.
-Started eating many different solid foods (and this boy LOVES to eat...he's gonna be an expensive teenager!!lol)
-Grabbing at everything (toys, hair, clothes, books, blankets..)
-Almost too big for his infant carseat
-Sitting up on his own for about a minute or so
-Grabbing his feet when lying on his back

Here are all of the foods Hudson's tried so far:
-Grains: Rice cereal, Oatmeal
-Fruits: Avocado, Banana, Pears, Nectarines, Applesauce
-Veggies: Yams, Butternut Squash, Peas, Green beans

So far I have made all his baby food homemade except the applesauce and cereals (which I did buy organic). I am having a lot of fun doing this and I love knowing that he's getting food without any additives/preservatives/chemicals. I am going to try to continue to make his food as long as I can and start introducing him to more 'people food' the older he gets, especially once he gets teeth! I figure there's no reason to feed him bland tasteless babyfood when that's not what he'll be eating when he's older, might as well start him young :)

Photoshoot with Aunt Katie

Aunt Katie had a fun day hanging out with Hudson and taking lots of pictures..check out the slideshow:

Click here to view these pictures larger

5 months old!!

Wow, the past 5 months have FLOWN by. It seems like just yesterday that I was in the hospital giving birth to my baby boy, now he's laughing/smiling/"talking"/rolling..it's amazing how fast babies grow and change. Hudson has brought me more joy in the last 5 months than I ever imagined was possible, I love this little one SO MUCH! :)

Here are a few things Hudson is doing at 5 months:

-Eating solid foods (rice cereal, avocado and applesauce so far!)

-Rolling from tummy to back and back to tummy...ALL.THE.TIME (after just rolling from his back for the first time last Thurs (8/13))

-Laughing when we make funny faces/noises or when Maverick licks his face or gets close to him

-"Talking" and jabbering all the time

-Still wearing mostly 3-6 month sized clothes and a few 6-9 month depending on the brand

-Weighs around 17-18 lbs

-Length is about 27 inches

-Usually sleeps through the night (from about 8pm-5am) or wakes up once to eat

-Eating about 4-6 oz of formula/breast milk every 3 hours during the day

-Still working on grabbing his feet, but he's always reaching for them and rolling around when he's on his back.

Milestones

This has been a week of milestones for Hudson! The first was on Sunday (August 8th) where he had his first taste of 'solid' foods! We decided to start with rice cereal..since that's what our pediatrician recommended. He did ok with it, although he still has a bit of what is called the 'tongue thrust reflex' so he pushes a lot of it back out of his mouth. I think he's slowly getting the hang of it though and we're thinking of introducing a new food in the next couple of days, maybe avocados!



This week Hudson has also started rolling over from tummy to back more. He did it over a month ago a couple of times and then not again until this week. The last few days he had really been rocking side to side and laying on his side when put on his back also. Then Thurs night while Andy and I were eating dinner, Hudson was lying on the floor and rolled from back to belly!! He did it a couple more times after that as well. We were so excited that we both were there to witness this milestone :) (Edit: I found out he had done this for my mom earlier in the day, which I suspected)



As you can see it's been a busy week for the little guy. All these changes have made him pretty sleepy as well, he seems to be sleeping longer stretches at night (or through the night..just not consistently every night), although his naps are still pretty sporadic and not on a very good schedule-this is one thing I'd really like to work on.

Well...I have about 5 more hours of work, then I get the next 3 nights off! I am so excited to spend some time with my baby boy...this being a working mom thing is tough .. I will post pictures soon!

10 day pledge against processed foods!

Someone at work posted a link to the "10 day pledge" against eating processed foods. This intrigued me and I read this blog that she linked to. I have been interested in eating healthy for the past few years, but this takes it to a whole new level cutting out all the processed and 'fake' foods that are present in the typical American diet. It also places an emphasis on eating more Organic, whole foods and more fruits and vegetables. As soon as I read about the 10 day pledge I knew that I wanted to participate. Of course I had no expectation that Andy would agree to join me, considering his diet consists mostly of processed and fast food. When I told him that I was going to do this, he agreed without me even asking!! So, on Sunday we will officially start the 10 day challenge and won't be eating any processed foods, sugar, fast foods, etc. I have created a 10 day meal plan for dinners and a list of other approved lunch and snack foods. I went through our fridge and cupboards reading labels and throwing out or bagging up many items that contained high-fructose corn syrup and more than 5 ingredients (this generally means the food is highly processed).

Sunday morning I will make a trip to the grocery store to stock up our fridge and cupboards with healthier foods --fresh fruits/veggies, dried fruit, nuts, etc. I can't wait to officially start this challenge and see how much better both Andy and I feel after 10 days of not eating 'crap'. I think the hardest part will be no sugar at all (except natural sugars found in fruits), but luckily I eat generally healthy anyway, this will just force me to branch out and start cooking a lot more!

I just wanted to share our first step to a healthier lifestyle....feel free to take the 10 day pledge yourself, or just make a few changes to your eating habits to make them healthier!! I will be sure to update with the results of our 10 day challenge and how we continue to make healthier choices.

July update-4 months old already!

It's been a busy couple weeks with both Andy and I back to work full-time. We are trying to spend as much time as a family as we can, but it's been hard having opposite shifts and days off. And unfortunately we're going to be doing this until at least next March. I just bid for my new shift at work that starts in September and I will be working the same shift (10pm-8am) but my new days/nights off will be Weds/Thurs/Friday. So at least I will have Friday nights and most of Saturday off before I have to come in to work. And since Christmas Eve and Christmas are on Fri/Sat this year, I will get to spend Hudson's first Christmas with him! So I am very excited about that :)

Lets see...since the last post I had another birthday...the big 27! I feel so old..I can't believe I am already 27..how did this happen?! I got home from work that morning around 8:30, slept for about 4 hours, then got up to enjoy my day. I went and got a pedicure while Hudson was napping, then we headed to Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse where we met Sally, Alysha, Joy and Hayden for dinner. The food was delicious and I think both the boys enjoyed looking at all the decorations inside the restaurant and watching the chef cook for us. Andy and Hudson spoiled me for my birthday buying me a new point and shoot camera (so I don't always have to lug the huge one around!) and a new hair straightener.

Birthday dinner @ Tokyo


Hudson is now 4 months old! We had his 4 month appointment on July 14th (the day before) where he was weighed/measured and also given 2 shots and 1 oral vaccine. He did great and only cried for a minute after the shots. The dr. said everything looks great and gave us the OK to start rice cereal and solids. We have decided to wait a little longer to try them though..maybe when he's closer to 5 months, unless he starts showing more readiness signs soon :) Here's Hudson's 4 month stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 3.5 oz (50th %)

Height/Length: 25 1/2 inches (75th %)

Head Circumference: 17 inches (90th %)

Hudson is becoming such a fun little guy. He is a VERY happy baby, he loves 'talking' to us, giggling/laughing and smiling :) We started putting him in his jumperoo which he is getting the hang of, he still loves batting at his toys in his bouncy chair/activity mat, he loves going on walks and checking out the scenery and his new favorite toy is "Sophie the giraffe" that I just bought him. It's a wonderful teething toy that fits in his little hands perfectly!

Hudson with "Sophie"-his new favorite toy

Hudson is still working on rolling over. He did it twice when he was just over 3 months old (from tummy to back) but has yet to do it since then! Sometimes he rocks back and forth like he's going to do it, but never makes it all the way over! He has been rocking more on his back too, so maybe he will start rolling that direction soon!

We are still working on getting Hudson on a consistent nap schedule. It's been hard to do since each day is different with me working nights and Hudson being with Nancy or my mom watching him on my work days. We're hoping to break him of the habit of sleeping in his swing, which has proven difficult, as he generally doesn't nap very long in his crib. Hopefully this will change soon and we will have a good napper. Luckily his lack of good naps doesn't usually affect his mood, he stays pretty happy and content most days and has been sleeping pretty good at night, usually only waking up once, or not at all until 5 or 6 am.

Well, we don't have too much planned in the upcoming couple months except for a few weddings, but I'm sure Hudson will keep us plenty busy and we will find lots to do with the little guy! I will post pictures soon (although my computer has been having trouble uploading..so not sure when it will work!)

Back to life..back to reality...

Last weekend was our last weekend off as a family. I started off the Fourth of July by running my first 5k!! I ran the "Cityblast 2010" that started at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. As much as I never have enjoyed running, I really had a good time and can't wait to run my next race!! I paced myself pretty good and ended up finishing the race faster than I expected. My official time was: 32:31.4! So my pace was a 10:29 mile and I placed #16 in my age group (females 25-29)...not too shabby for my first race. After the race I headed home to get our house ready for the BBQ.

We had my mom and Dean, Nancy and Kenny and Joy and Hayden over for burgers, salad and lots of other goodies. We mostly just hung out and chatted. Since Hayden and Hudson had to get to bed everyone left before we watched any fireworks. Our neighborhood got pretty into fireworks this year though...it sounded like we were in a war zone! Somehow Hudson slept through it all :)

Monday we attempted to go on our first family hike. We drove up to North Bend and got Hudson all situated in the new backpack we bought for hiking. We barely made it onto the trail before Hudson started fussing. We thought maybe he was still hungry since he didn't eat much before we left the car so we tried to feed him some more of his bottle. He didn't take much and seemed content so we started off on the trail again. After a couple more stops, adjustments to the straps, his blanket, etc. we decided he wasn't going to cooperate and headed back to the car after only making it about a half mile in on the trail! I think he was uncomfortable in the backpack and wanted to sleep...so we will have to take him around the neighborhood a bit until he gets used to it...or use the front carrier for hiking next time :)
Wednesday marked my first night back to work. I spent most of the day an emotional wreck...crying off and on and trying to take naps so I could stay up all night. Once I got to work I felt a little better and it was actually not too bad getting back into the swing of things. The only rough part was trying to sleep when I got home at 8 a.m. I fell asleep just fine but after about 3 hours woke up...went back to sleep for another hour and just couldn't stay asleep. I was really missing my baby boy since I didn't get to see him when I got off in the morning. So I called Nancy and she said he was napping. I cleaned up a bit and ran to the store on my way to pick him up. I was so excited to see the little munchkin..even if he was asleep! He slept most of the afternoon but I was just happy to be able to hold him and kiss him :) I know it's going to be hard being back to work full time, but I also know how lucky I am to have such great child care for him and to get to see him as much as I will (even though it means a lack of sleep for me). I am just finishing up my 2nd night back and can't wait to hop in bed in about 3 more hours...I am exhausted after only getting 4 hours of sleep yesterday :-/!!