First Dentist Appointment

Hudson had his first dentist appointment on Monday. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures to post because I had to participate in the process. We went to a really cool pediatric dentist that is located just down the road from where we live. The waiting room is decorated with fun cowprint, square bean-bag style chairs that the kids can sit and watch Disney movies from. Also, there were four video game stations and 2 of them had Guitar Hero. Dr. Jon came out and did his special hand shake with Hudson but Hudson was a little stand-offish since he didn't know where in the world he was! He became super clingy when we went to the back and he saw all of the dental chairs for the first time. It was as if he landed on another planet. It was weird for me to see that all of the chairs were completely flattened out like beds. Hudson didn't actually lay on the bed though. They had him sit in my lap, facing me and then lean back so that his head was in the hygentists lap while she brushed his teeth. There was a tv on the ceiling that was playing Bob the Builder and eventually his eyes found that to watch. He did really well and never cried. They didn't use the power brush on him...just a regular toothbrush. Mostly he was really curious about the girl next to him that had that thing you hold in your mouth that sucks up all of your spit. I could tell he really wanted to try it out so I hope he gets to next time! The Dentist did let him hold the little mirror instrument and he thought that was really cool! All in all he had a great check up...he still has 3 more teeth to come in and then no more teething!

Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's Day, we went to the Aquarium for lunch. We had an awesome time! Hudson LOVED looking at all of the fish and riding the train through the shark tunnel. We had a great time watching him take in all of the new things.

That evening, Hudson's daycare had a Parent's Night Out so they watched the kids while all of the moms and dads could have a date night. Hudson got to hang out with his friends, watch movies, & eat pizza and Valentine's cupcakes. We got to go spend the evening at the movies. It was a fantastic day!

Here is Hudson with his new Shark friend:



There was a really long line to get tickets for the train so Hudson and I took some time to pose for a picture in front of the fountain.


This is the view from our table. We had a really great meal. Jason and I shared a Valentine's special. It had a fillet, lobster, shrimp, and some yummy sides. I actually tried the lobster and thought it was pretty good! (I don't usually eat fish or seafood)
Checking out the fish while eating lunch....

Aghhhhh!!! It's a shark!!!

Checking out some sort of Australian coral shark...

There were 2 really cool eels...

Choo-choo!!! Here comes the train!!! Hudson had been looking forward to this the all day!

Here we are in the shark tunnel:

Valentine's Presents!

My Mom and Dad sent Hudson a box full of goodies for Valentine's Day! He was so excited to get it...we couldn't open the box fast enough! He really likes cards because they are like a book to him. Here he is reading it the best he can and telling us what he thinks it says.

He got a bubble pen, some flash cards for counting, a really cool ball, a coloring book and stickers, a sandwich cutter that makes the sandwiches a heart shape (I especially liked this!)....

Alright! A new motorcycle!

He loves his Cat in the Hat!

Thank you Papa & Gigi!! You guys are the best!! We love you and miss you very much!

Park time again!

The weekend before Valentine's weekend we spent the day at the park together. Jason wanted to go for a jog so Hudson and I road ahead of him on the bike.

Here is Jason letting Hudson listen to his Ipod. He thought it was pretty cool!

Hangin' with baby Eli

We went to Papasito's for Jeramy's birthday. Terrie let Hudson hold baby Eli and he thought it was the coolest thing ever! At first he didn't quite know what to think but as soon as Terrie picked Eli up Hudson reached out to ask to hold him again. He felt all grown up and told us all about it the next day. This was much better than their first meeting! Luckily, I think Eli has forgiven Hudson for hitting him on the head and now they are buddies! Thanks Terrie & Jeramy! : )

He even gave Eli a sweet little sugar on his head!!

1st Fishing Pole

I had my scrapbooking class a couple of Saturdays ago so Hudson and Daddy spent the morning together. First Jason had to go to work for awhile. On the way to drop Hudson off with Jason, I told him all about how they were going to buy a fishing pole and spend the day catching fish. He was really, really excited. He talked about it the whole way to Jason's office. After I left, they started out the day going to Lowes and getting the car detailed. There is a fun play area at the car wash so Hudson wore himself out playing there and fell asleep on the way to Wal-mart. Jason called me and asked if he should wake him up or if he should wait until after his nap to take him. I suggested he let him get his nap in so he would be able to have more fun fishing. They headed home but as soon as they arrived and Jason went to unbuckle Hudson, he opened up his eyes really big and said, "Fishing pole Daddy?". Jason felt like he was breaking his promise by not getting his fishing pole so they drove back to Wal-mart and got a super cool Spiderman fishing pole with a backpack, tackle box, & sunglasses. Hudson was SO excited!! They went to the pond and fished for awhile and then they had fun playing on the playground until Hudson could no longer keep his eyes open.

Later that night is when we went to Jeramy's birthday diner at Papasito's and we got home late. Here he is the next morning...you can see that he woke up with his fishing pole on his brain. We had fun casting it down the hall and realing the fishy in!

After we were done playing with the fishing pole Hudson helped me vaccum all of the crumbs off of the couch.

Tidbits

Here is Hudson starting off his morning. He is a man of routine. He wakes up calling for me by saying, "Mama, where are youuuuu?" over and over and over until I get to his bedside. He only wants me to come get him since I'm the one that usually gets him. If Jason tries to get him so I can sleep in, Hudson crawls into a pouty ball and says, "No, Daddy! Mama.". It always hurts Jason's feelings but Hudson just has his routine and doesn't like it to be disrupted by something different. So, I get to his bed, he grabs his blanket, he crawls into my lap and asks me to take him downstairs. We go down to the couch and chit chat, eat a breakfast bar, and watch Mickey Mouse. He can almost spell Mickey Mouse thanks to the Mickey song. After Mickey, I get him dressed and head off to work while Hudson and Daddy finish off the morning routine.
Here are the Happy Grams we got this week! The first one says Hudson counted to 12! He has actually been able to count to 20 since his 2nd birthday thanks to his Papa. They counted our stairs everytime they climbed up and down. Now Hudson counts the stairs everytime he climbs them! The second one is about Hudson being more chatty at school. He has been quite the talker at home for some time but now he is really starting to talk more at school too.

Here he is eating his after school snack while I look at his weekly artwork! I love getting his artwork!

Just to make a note more so I don't forget: Hudson knows all of his colors. All of his shapes. He loves music and sings many songs by himself. He even makes up his own songs. Just yesterday he made up a song about throwing the trash in the trashcan...and it was really catchy!

Patty

I don't have any pictures of Hudson yet for this week so I thought I'd highlight our fish. After all, he is a solo fish in a bowl and is limited on the love he receives. This is the fish I bought for Jason's birthday last year. It was supposed to be for his office at work but he was afraid it would get neglected there so it has made its home on our kitchen counter.

After an entire year, I have finally given it a name: Patty! This is why-If you look back on my postings, August 10, 2008: Splish Splash Sunday, this was a miracle day for Patty. Jason was cleaning the fish bowl out and put the fish in a blue cup. He left the fish in the cup on the counter so that the water in the bowl could get to room temperature. Mike and Lindsay invited us to go swimming with them so we left the fish in the cup while we went swimming. When we got back home, we started cooking dinner and I realized I needed to run the dish washer so we would have more clean cups/glasses. I was hurrying and without realizing I dumped out the blue cup of water (and the fish) down the drain...the side with the garbage disposal!!! I never even noticed the fish pour out of the cup. I finished loading the dishwasher and started it up. Once dinner was finished and we started eating, Lindsay reminded us to put our fish back in his bowl. All of the sudden it hit me that I dumped him down the garbage disposal! Jason quickly ran to the sink and felt around for the fish...luckily I never used the disposal. The fish was still alive and flopping. Jason was able to grab it and toss it back into its bowl. It swam around as if nothing ever happened. So because of this day, I think this fish has some crazy good luck to survive about 15-20 minutes in a garbage disposal. I didn't want to call him "Lucky" b/c that is too common. I got Patty from the lucky St. Patrick.

Patty story #2: My parents were here visiting and I made a crab quiche for breakfast one morning. I was helping Hudson eat his and said, "here, take a bite of fish (i.e. crab)". Hudson suddenly started getting upset and said, "No fish! No fish!". He started crying and pointing to the fish bowl. He thought we were feeding him poor little Patty! I've been careful not to talk about eating fish ever since.

Big Boy Bed

A week or two before Christmas we decided to turn Hudson's crib into a toddler bed. I had been holding out as long as I could because we have pretty dangerous stairs that I didn't want him to be climbing down in the middle of the night. However, one night it became appearant that it was time to make the change. I put him to bed after our usual routine and went down stairs to clean up the kitchen. I turned around and there was Hudson standing quietly at the edge of the kitchen holding his blanket. It scared me half to death because I wasn't expecting to see him standing there! I carried him back up stairs and laid him back in his crib. Before I made it to the stairs I heard a thump and the pitter patter of little feet running out of his room. After the third time, he finally remained in his bed and fell asleep. After witnessing his escape I noticed how easily he could climb over the railing. It was like it wasn't even there! Now that he had discovered how easy it was to get out, it had become impossible to keep him in the there.

When the weekend arrived, Jason got busy transforming the crib into a bed. I was sad and nervous. It's hard to believe its alread time to say good-bye to the crib and accept that Hudson is no longer a little baby. : (

Hudson, however, was excited beyond words about his new bed!! He LITERALLY did a summersault into the bed! I think it was probably the best Christmas present we could have given him. It now has multiple uses. His imagination doesn't just see a bed...it sees a car, a bus, a train, a plane, a trampoline, and a million other fun things! He will jump and jump and jump and crash all over in his bed. He tumbles and rolls. And he drives!

It is hard to catch on video because I always have to be a participant but when he pretends that he is driving his bed he will go to the open part of his bed , pat it, and tell me, "sit mamma.". So I sit and he buckles me in. (it's like we switch roles) Then he will go sit on the railing and steer his car and before I know he says, "school mamma!" and we have arrived at school. He will come unbuckle me and one time I even had to pretend that he was carrying me to school. "School" is the part of his bathroom where his sink is. Then he picks me up and asks me about my day and we head home! It is awesome! I love watching him pretend! One day the part of his bathroom where his bathtub and toilet are was my parents house. He was holding my hand and walking me over to the door when he said, "Papa's poorch!". Then he knocked on the door and called out, "Papa? Gigi?". He opened the door, we walked in, and he gave imaginary Papa and Gigi hugs! It was so cool to see all of that come out of his little mind.

Here are a few videos of Hudson playing in his bed. He was distracted by the camera so I had to keep prompting him and it just wasnt the same. At least you can kind of get the jest though. In the last video, Hudson is taking me and his snake to his playroom (you can see the new doors Jason put on) which he is pretending is the toy store. We still have to paint the playroom and add some shelving but it is finally coming along. Jason has lots of ideas for it. He gets to decorate the playroom since I decorated Hudson's bedroom. He wants the playroom to have an airplane theme since that is what he originally wanted for Hudson's bedroom.

Fish Face!

These are my favorite new pictures of Hudson. He was just being silly after eating dinner the other night and was making fish faces! (The big scratch on his face is from playing "Bear Hunt" at school)
He is like his Dad and he cracks himself up!

In this one he is trying really hard not to laugh so he can keep his cheeks sucked while making his face.

While I was loading clothes into the washing machine, Hudson decided to open the dryer and climb in! Don't worry I don't let him play in there...I did have to take a picture though because he was so giggly and it was awfully cute!

Hey Calvin Klein...

There's a new underwear model in town! Move over David Beckam and Mark Walburg...Hudson Holladay has arrived. : )

As of the New Year, Hudson is officially pottying traing and doing awesome! He always comes home with stamps on his hands and great notes telling us what a good job he is doing at school going potty. He is so smart that sometimes he even tries to use it as an excuse to get out of time-out...agh, but we have caught on! He is also becoming Mr. Independent with going potty. Now he wants me to stay out of the bathroom once I take his pants off. He wants to pull his underwear down, close the door, put the toilet lid up, put himself on the potty, wipe, flush, & put the seat down all by himself! How did he get so big so fast???? : (

Here he is sporting his boxer briefs:

Look at those abs ladies!

This was his first time to try on his big boy underwear! He has all of the super heroes and lots of Cars undies.