One year old!

 

At one year old, Hudson weighs in at:

Weight: 20 lb (15th percentile)

Length: 30 in (64th percentile)

 

Some recent journal entries:

My sweet little Hudson turned one on Sunday. Oh my goodness. His smile and laugh and dimples and  sweet personality just melt my heart. His skin is so soft. He cuddles with his head on my shoulder before his naps. He crawls around happily. He smiles at the kids. He laughs at them. They fight over who gets to play with him. Last week Judah said, “Mom, I wish we had 3 babies all named Hudson, that all looked and acted just like Hudson. Then there would be one for each of us to play with.” When he wakes in the morning, I bring him into bed with me and we cuddle. It is heaven on earth.  He has started making the cutest sounds when I read to him. He loves playing with balls and balloons. The kid loves food. Especially black beans and olives, of all things. And shredded cheese and yogurt. He throws pancakes/waffles/crepes on the ground the minute he sees them. He has a horrible habit of spitting the last swallow of milk out instead of drinking it, which means he either smells like rotten milk all the time, or gets a bib put on him every.single.time he takes a drink of milk throughout the day. I just love that little ball of softness and sweetness. I am cherishing everything about him since he is probably our last baby. I want to freeze him like he is forever.

 

 

Hudson started crawling in earnest on the 24^th of July. Chad was home early from work, we were all hanging out in the playroom downstairs, and Hudson took off. He hasn’t looked back since. He LOVES solid food and is nearly a bottomless pit. Last week he ate 2 peaches, ¼ cup olives, and a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. More than the other kids! When he’s full though, he immediately starts throwing his food on the ground. Super annoying when its cottage cheese or fruit or something wet, which is usually is. He also is in the habit of spitting his last gulp of milk out down the front of his shirt. SO frustrating. I have invested in a nearly full body bib to try to cut down on my laundry and his constant smell of dried milk. I am burned out from sweeping the floor 3-4 times a day. Let’s move on from this stage, shall we Hudson?

 

 

Gramsy and Grandpa surprised us and told us they purchased the Sundance cabin on your birthday! All your Hess cousins were there to celebrate! You were the life of the party!

 

 

 He is pretty laid back and puts up with a lot of affection and generally being clobbered from the kids. His dimple is adorable when he smiles. His hair was getting long and starting to curl, but he got a back-to-school hair cut along with the other kids and he is back to being just straight. He loves the train at the zoo and starts kicking and waving his arms whenever he is on it. He also loves swimming and being in water, however, as SOON as he gets in the tub he pulls the drain plug. He is obsessed. So baths are a battle. He also despises laying back to get his hair washed. Despises.

 

Stewart Falls

 

 

Nine months old

 

At nine months old, Hudson weighs in at:

Weight: 13 lbs (17th percentile)

Length: 28 in (70th percentile)

 

 

Hudson’s neediness has increased by about ten this past month. He is NOT content unless he is constantly being handed a new toy (which he immediately drops). He can only handle the Bumbo or exersaucer for about 5 minutes. He can almost sit up by himself but still tips over (onto the hardwood!) so I can’t leave him sitting unsupervised. I have started him on rice cereal and it takes forever for him to get anything down and with his arms flailing around trying to grab the spoon, we both end up completely covered in it. He is a full-time job. Consequently, I am suddenly feeling completely overwhelmed and irritable. I simply cannot keep up with the house. It is a constant mess. With THREE kids now making a mess while I am tending to the baby, there’s just more than I can get to

 

1)      I started making a list of things the kids have had melt downs over lately. It includes a screaming fit by Mara because she wanted to get out the other side of the van and not the side I opened. It also includes a tantrum from Baylor because he wanted the Ninja Turtle socks and NOT the moose socks.

2)      I also started listing reasons the kids give when they cry out at night for us to come down to their rooms. Baylor has recently stated, “I want another bop” (the paci with the fish picture on the front instead of whatever one he had) and also, “I want a treat.” Seriously? In the middle of the night? Judah honestly said recently, “My tongue hurts.” What? You woke me up for that?

3)      I jotted down a typical attempt to go get Mara from school. I’ve asked Judah a zillion times to get his shoes on and as I walk out the door I say, “Judah. I’m leaving now.” He starts crying because I am out the door and he is still shoeless. I get the stroller out and Baylor starts crying because he wants to ride his scooter (which he does at approximately 2 mph) instead of in the stroller. I settle Baylor down, Judah comes out with shoes on, and I run upstairs to wake up Hudson. He, of course, starts crying. I would too if someone woke me from my nap every.single.day. Anyway, typical 11:00 hour for me this year. Don’t love it.

4)      I also wrote down our experience walking home from school after arriving home one day. The school is ¼ mile from our house. Should take 5 minutes. Over the course of that short distance, we stopped to fix Mara’s dress which was catching on the tires of the balance bike, we stopped because Baylor was screaming that something was in his eye, we stopped because Judah’s shoe fell off, we stopped when Mara dropped her backpack, we stopped for Baylor to get out of the stroller and walk across the “balance beam” (curb) at Eggs in the City, and all the while Hudson is getting hungry and wants the stroller to keep moving and therefore breaks down crying every time it stops. Four kids. Wow.

Six moths old

 

At six months, Hudson weighs in at:

Weight: 15.4 lbs (13th percentile)

Length: 27 in (74th percentile)

 

 

 Trip to San Francisco/Santa Rosa. Hard to tell, but you're riding on an SF trolley!

 

Hudson is getting so big. Six months old. Half way to a year. It’s super cute and super sad all at once. He is getting so interactive and responsive to the kids. They can all make him smile and laugh. I sometimes let Mara carry him short distances, they love to put his paci in, read him books, or do a dance for him. It’s so fun to watch their interactions. 80% of the time, Baylor refers to Hudson as “Hudsy Budsy” in a really loud voice. When I put Baylor down for naps and ask what song he wants, he invariably says, “I want the Hudsy song.” (which is “I love Hudsy, he loves me, we love Baylor, yes siree,” etc.) Hudson is so smiley. He will smile at anyone or thing that smiles at him. And he laughs out loud all the time. Just a sweet, happy soul. He already sleeps beautifully unswaddled, he nurses well, he doesn’t seem to be demanding solids yet, he only cries when he is tired or hungry, he is just a dream. He is starting to always want a new object in his hand to inspect. He is also starting to mumble, “dadadada.” And, oh yeah!, he rolled from his back to him tummy a few weeks ago. That’s a game changer. He is happy for a while with the new perspective, but then his muscles get tired and he starts fussing to be rolled back over. It also means I can no longer just leave him on the couch or a bed unsupervised. Ugh. Some things about growing up make life so much more complicated. However, this past week, I have truly been able to leave him in Judah or Mara’s care and they will cuddle him or dance for him or make funny faces at him to keep him entertained for me. It is SO HELPFUL! Having older kids is so much fun! (and having a baby is heavenly too)

Four Months Old!

At four months, Hudson weighs in at:

14 pounds (29th %ile)

26 inches (84th %ile)

You are getting tall!

 

The big milestone for a 4 month old is that they can roll over. Can you roll over? Yes. You have rolled over before. Do you roll over? Hardly ever. Mainly that is because I never put you on your tummy and it’s much easier to roll from your tummy to back than back to tummy. My fault.

Here is my journal from when you were 4 months old:

Hudson was INSANE for 2 weeks at right about 4 months old. He started waking up screaming from every nap after about 30 minutes. He started waking up every hour through the night screaming. He was fussy when he was awake. I was holding him all day. I started feeding him every 2 hours just to calm him down. It was super frustrating because he had previously been such a good baby. And I was getting nothing done. And the other kids were getting frustrated with my inability to give them any attention. 

 

Two weeks into it, we had Lee and Rachel Dial and their kids over for dinner. (I couldn't stop thinking about them so we invited them for dinner) As soon as they walked in, Rachel immediately began to tell me about their baby Trace's acid reflux and how he suddenly became irritable and how dramatic an improvement he made with the medications. The story sounded so similar to Hudson, that I started Hudson on prevacid that night (happened to have some from my pregnancy). It worked! He was instantly so much happier. Since then, he has quickly progressed (or regressed?) to his old happy, content, eating every 4 hours, taking long naps self. Whew! It's great to have him back. Makes me appreciate his good nature even more.

 

He is so smiley and talkative. He will just sit and coo to himself, suck on his hands or sleeve, and smile at whoever walks by. He puts up with a lot of hands-on love from his siblings but is typically a good sport about it. Everyone who  meets him loves him because he instantly gives them a smile (dimple and all) and will giggle or coo on demand. He really is so adorable and only getting cuter.

 

 

The problem is he is getting so big so fast! Slow down my baby! He has grown out of so many adorable little outfits and is even too long to fit in a lot of his blankets. Makes me so sad whenever I think about it. He has already been in our family 1/3 of a year! How is this possible? Wasn't he born yesterday? I just cherish every moment I get to hold him.

First Christmas (see shirt)

 

Some mornings, I will be on the couch with him and he will fall asleep in my arms. I am utterly surrounded by chaos and clutter. I know I should set him down and start picking up toys and washing breakfast dishes. But instead, I just stay where I am, staring at the little guy, feeling him on my body, and loving him so much. How I wish I could freeze time and remember those moments forever. He is so precious. We all love him so much.