Friday, December 11, 2009

December Fun

A Christmas story...
So many Christmas decorations, so much to touch! Silly Mom thought decorating the Christmas tree would be such fun this year with Hudson. He would help me hang the ornaments and marvel at the lights. Not exactly how it went down. Hudson was fascinated alright, but his idea of fun was banging the Christmas ornaments together. We struggled as I decorated the house and then in the next few days as I reminded Hudson not to touch the new decor. However, one wonderfully bright spot was the moment I got out the nativity set. When we were first married, we picked out a beautiful plastic set knowing that we'd have little hands around one day. It's perfect for Hudson to play with. I've put it on the coffee table, and Hudson has had such fun moving the sheep around and exclaiming, "Sheep eat grass!" I've tried to encourage him to keep Baby Jesus in the manger and explain that He is special. It's provided me with several teachable moments and distracted Hudson from all the other things he can't touch. Oh, and I must share this...when I got the set out, Hudson was looking at the one goat. I told him it was different from the sheep because it had horns. He thought a moment and said, "beep, beep!" He was thinking about a horn on a car. Priceless.

A few other pieces of news...
One of Hudson's newest feats includes counting to 10. Never thought he could do that so early. It encourages me to continue to present new concepts to him and see what sticks. His love is still for Thomas the Train. He continues to sleep well with about the same routine he's had for the past year or more although I fear his nap is slowly shrinking. He's stayed in his crib for now. We plan to convert it to the toddler bed after all the Christmas gatherings. One thing we love to hear right now is Hudson talk as he falls to sleep. He will lay in his crib and chatter about the day, repeating new words that he enjoys saying. A recent favorite has been saying our "real names." I love hearing him say Jennifer Lynn, James Edward (not Edwin), or best of all James Hudson Felker. A new potty was Hudson's most exciting purchase of the week. We're still mostly just playing when we sit on it, but he is very interested in the idea. We'll just see what happens.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

A Time for Thanks

Helping Susu in the kitchen wearing his own turtle apron
Cheering on the Bulldogs wearing a real big boy jersey

Despite each getting a cold over Thanksgiving, we were grateful for a restful and refreshing visit with the Felkers in Starkville. We've decided that whenever possible we should make extended visits to Mississippi since it's such a long drive. Hudson does his very best in the car, but he is only two. It was so hard trying to explain to him why we couldn't let him sit in my lap while we were driving (and I must confess I did let him sit with me for a minute in the back seat which was a horrible idea...he then couldn't understand why he couldn't get out again). Jay had the opportunity to tour David's new stomping grounds in Jackson, Susu took us shopping in Tuscalosa, we ate and ate on Thanksgiving, and we cheered to the Bulldogs to victory at the Egg Bowl. As Hudson would say, go Papa's team! :)  Hudson wasn't much of a Thanksgiving food eater.  Not a surprise to those who know our picky toddler well, but I think he was thrilled with all the family around and new toys to play with.  We are thankful for many blessings, including our wonderful family.  

Spider Mania


Whether we call it the Pumpkin Party or Fall Carnival (no one name has stuck just yet), Pa and Gigi's second annual gathering was incredible! I think some public festivals don't even have as many activities as this did. Tractor rides, fishing booth, bowling, and most every other type of carnival game you can think of were the kids' options. And, of course, there were plenty of yummy treats to be had. We didn't even get to the pumpkin carving, but they did paint pumpkins. Hudson loved the bowling and the tub of balls.

We spread out our celebrating throughout the week. We enjoyed Stillwater's Downtown Festival on Tuesday, did a little trick-or-treating and candy distributing on Thursday (yes, Stillwater moved the official celebration due to football games), and then finished up the week with the grand Pumpkin Party on Saturday. Hudson was the best looking spider I've ever known. His costume choice was his idea, so it made it even better.

(P.S. So I realize it is December as I'm posting this, but I felt it was necessary to chronicle our Halloween celebration. I tend to blog in clumps. I just can't help it!)

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Hudson's Quotes

Hudson is my little entertainer. I find myself laughing aloud with him all the time. As he learns more, he says such funny things. Often he doesn't get the sentence structure correct or the pronunciation, but we kinda like it that way.

Some of my favorite recent sayings:

"Go Team!" with a big fist pump whenever he sees a football game on TV. If he's got Papa on his mind, he'll say "go dawgs!"

Driving past a dog eating grass on the side of the road, he said, "dog, I eat it grass" to explain that the dog was eating grass.

He has very much enjoyed out visits to Keely and Kim's house to meet their babies and has remembered those clearly. Right after we came home from visiting Keely, he started to say, "no, I Kee-yee's house" over and over again. He'll just say it randomly while we're driving and repeat himself over and over.  I think he's telling me he wants to go back to Keely's house.

He's also taken to self discipline. Often times when he has done something he's not supposed to, he'll choose to sit himself down right where he is. At first I thought he was mocking me or something along those lines. Then I realized from the pure look on his face that he had realized there was a consequence to his action. It didn't necessarily stop him from doing it, but he realized that!! A great ah-ha moment for Mom!

I'm also so delighted at the new concepts he's learning. He has continued to learn colors and shapes. My favorite to hear him say is triangle. I honestly didn't think he would be ready for shapes for awhile, but he's started to say them as we're playing with puzzles and shape sorters. He moves more quickly than I'm ready for sometimes.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Fall Means Football

To his father's delight, Hudson has come to learn about many sports, including football. At the first Stillwater home game, Hudson started to say "football game." If you know Hudson, you know when he talks he often draws things out and kinda sings them. This phrase is the same way. Very funny.

We've been to several Stillwater Pioneer games to watch a few of our youth boys play. Hudson has enjoyed all the action and the lights. When we went to the Stillwater-Union game, we cheered for Stillwater, but I did try to teach him the Union fight song. :)

We also made a trip to Nashville to see Jay's side of the family and watch Mississippi State play football. As usual, Susu had a great outfit for Hudson to wear to the game. We got to stay at Opryland and enjoyed the visit with family. The Bulldogs won, making the trip even better. Way-to-go, Papa Rock!
This past weekend was OSU homecoming, so we participated in several of those fun events. The Pattersons came up and filled our house with activity for a night. Hudson was just so excited for them to be here! We went to Walk Around with all the crowds of people. Hudson and Spencer were not so sure about the event. My favorite q uotes from the night were: Spencer, "This is not fun!" and Hudson, "No! No! No!" as we walked away from one of the first house decs. They did warm up to the concept as the night went on. We also enjoyed the OSU parade. Hudson's favorit es were Pistol Pete, horses, and the fire trucks. He kept asking for "Mo Pete-Pete."
Hudson watching as Pistol Pete drove by!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

October 7, 2009, Hudson turned two years old! We have so many great memories of Hudson in these two years, giving us many reasons to celebrate.
So...we celebrated over several days. The morning of Hudson's birthday we started by enjoying chocolate chips muffins complete with a number 2 candle. Hudson loved the "party song." He liked it so much so that he asked us to sing it to him several times that day. He opened a few presents from Mom and Dad. Then we spent the morning at the Tulsa Zoo. He loved the monkeys and the train! His memory is getting so much strong. We've only been to the zoo once before, but he knew where we were as soon as we crossed over the bridge. We then had lunch with Pa and Gigi afterwards. Hudson was delighted to see them. He got a cool fire truck and a great cookie, then a balloon from the hostess. That night we went to church, a fun place for Hudson. He got a few more yummy goodies from sweet friends and lots of birthday wishes.The celebration continued on Saturday with Hudson's birthday party. It was a special day because so many of our favorite people were there. Susu and Stephen drove all the way from Mississippi, and the cousins/my sisters came despite feeling a little sick (germ-x should have been given away in the favor bags!). Fire trucks were the theme, and they were everywhere! We even had 2 great fire truck birthday cakes. Hudson didn't like opening his presents much more than last year. He opened a present of matchbox cars from Uncle Stephen before the party started and really just wanted those. Hudson received some great gifts, even a new swing set. One of the highlights was seeing Hudson's face light up as we sang him Happy Birthday and brought him a cup cake. This year he blew out his candle on his own. He did try to touch it again though. Maybe we'll be better at that by next year. Somehow I don't think so!
We love you, Hudson!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Who Does He Look Like?

Jay has always told me that Hudson has my face shape, particularly my chin. I think I believe him now after looking at this picture. I take it as such a compliment that my beautiful little boy might resemble me!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

I Diddd It!!

(No, I didn't misspell "did;" that's just the way Hudson says it!)

After accomplishing great feats such as putting a piece in a puzzle or some equally daunting task, Hudson loves to say with pride "I diddd it!"

There seems to be an internal clock within him telling him that it's time to make some changes now that he is almost two. I recently started a book about two year olds (Making the Terrible Twos Terrific...very good read, thanks Susan), and it seemed the next day Hudson was exhibiting some of those two year old behaviors. He would insist on independence one moment, and then frantically chase me down the hall wailing the next moment because I tried to walk out of his room. I wondered if maybe he read the book while I wasn't looking.

Part of me must be a little crazy because I have actually enjoyed hearing Hudson use the word "no." It has tickled me to hear him begin to exercise his opinion. He does not like putting his head in the water during a bath, so when we've asked him to do so recently, he shakes his head and makes a little noise for no. His "no's" are usually just a polite refusal. Of course, there are times when I have to go against his request of no, but he has handled that okay so far.

Growing up will bring some disappointments for us as parents as we have to let Hudson be more independent, like today when Hudson decided to read books to himself before nap instead of letting me read to him. But it's also so wonderful to watch him grow and develop. We've had so much fun these past 2 weeks letting him fill in the blanks to songs and books. We were shocked at what all he has memorized. It's amazing how much knowledge he has been storing in his little mind...and a warning for us as his parents to realize how much he is soaking up of what we say.

I love watching Hudson as he gains confidence in new tasks and will say triumphantly, "I did it!"...even if is just a puzzle piece.

Meet Baby Zachary


On Tuesday, August 4, Zachary Ryan was born. We were all quite surprised as Teresa had a c-section scheduled for two days later. Zachary still would have been about 2 weeks early then. He decided that wasn't soon enough, I suppose.

Hudson enjoyed meeting "Baby Zach." Uncle Seth gave him a toy to play with while Mommy held the new baby, so he wasn't not bothered at all. The cousins/big siblings all got to wear cool matching t-shirts thanks to Aunt Kandace.

Zachary will be a special baby to our family as he would have been such a close cousin to our Eliot. They would have been about 6 weeks apart.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

My Favorite Friends...


After Kelly's wedding last weekend, Hudson learned the names of some of my friends. Here is Hudson naming off the other girls of the Fab 5...love those girls and love this boy! :)

Saturday, July 4, 2009

These are a few of his favorite things...


Right now Hudson's most favorite book is one about trucks. It simply displays pictures of all types of trucks and lists their names. That's it. And yet he loves to read it over and over. Tractor is about the only type of truck name that he can say right now. For the others he points at the truck and says "ba," which we believe means "tell me the name of that one." He really doesn't even need us to name the trucks for him. We were shocked one day recently when we put his knowledge to the test. He was able to identify almost all of the trucks in the book...backhoe loader, track excavator, lifter, street sweeper, and on and on. He could even tell the difference between types of fire trucks. We grow tired of reading this book to him so much, but it's really amazing to see how much he has learned from this one book.

We've also seen his imagination flourish. He is beginning to play more independently as a result. He loves to take little cars or trains and just drive them all over. I have also found him taking objects and pretending they are something else. At the youth house, he loves to play with markers in the tray of a marker board. He lines them up and says "choo, choo" as he pushes them along. This has been an exciting milestone.

He still loves to watch videos of himself. I've been showing him little clips on the computer. We had so much fun this morning watching videos from his first year. My, has our little baby changed!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Beach Fun



Last week we got 4 wonderful days at Sea Grove beach with Jay's family. The whole vacation took over a week as we took a few days to travel down to Florida, stopping in Mississippi to meet up with more Felkers.

This was Hudson's first trip to the beach (I don't think it counts that we went when I was pregnant). He enjoyed the sand, but not so much the ocean. I think the sound and movement of the ocean waves was overwhelming to him. It took us a few days to figure out to take him down to an inland part of the ocean. That was so much better. He even stepped in the water on his own. The next two days were much more fun even if our view wasn't quite as nice. Life is better when Hudson is happy. He enjoyed splashing in the water and looking for fish. We were thankful for time away with family to enjoy the beauty of the beach!

Here is the magical moment when Hudson on his own decided to brave his way into the water. A few moments after the video ends, he was down in the water splashing around. Such fun!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Hudson- 18 months




Note: For all of our blog followers- this may not be the most exciting post for you. This one is more of a baby book type entry so I don't forget what Hudson was like at this age.

Little Hudson has quite a few favorite things right now. Most of all, he loves to be outside and to listen to anything with a good noise...trucks, lawn mowers, buses. His favorite words to say are imitations of sounds, animal or transportation. He enjoys looking for these things when we're outside or reading books about them inside. He also really enjoys playing ball of any kind.

He's got a great sleep routine! He takes one good 2 hour nap after lunch and then usually sleeps from 9 at night to 7 or 8 in the morning. He falls asleep on his own very easily, well with the help of a pacifier. We read him a few books and then lay him in his bed. Mom takes care of the daytime naps, and Dad puts Hudson to sleep at night.

As for eating, Hudson doesn't do so great. He is such a picky eater, but we get by with bread, fruit, and well...vitamins. He has 10 teeth now. Although we're still behind most kiddos our age, we catching up!

Hudson does not have too many fears. He seems to be a pretty brave, adventurous kid. Although it may take him a little time to warm up to new people, he usually is ready to play in just a few minutes. He has done very well in our church nursery, which is great since we're there so much. Loud noises excite him rather than scare him. When Jay mows the lawn, Hudson goes straight up to the moving lawn mower to check it out. He loves to climb and stand on furniture (we're working on that one!). His one great fear so far has been a pool of water. He did not like that one bit when we were at our hotel on the ski trip. Maybe he'll change his mind this summer.

We love this little guy! He continues to bring such joy into our life, and we are thankful for him now more than ever. Children are such a sweet, sweet gift from the Lord.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Our Baby Eliot

In January we found out that we were expecting another baby and quickly became excited about the thought of a little sibling for Hudson and another baby for us to love. This little one was due in September, just days before Hudson's second birthday. I spent so much time thinking about how I could get Hudson ready for this new sibling.

For reasons we will probably never know, our second little baby boy did not make it. I was in my fifth month of pregnancy when we discovered that his heart had stopped beating. Although we never met this baby while he was still living, we were able to hold him, name him, and pray over him before saying goodbye and giving him back to the Lord. We named him Eliot.

Usually, this is a place where I get to record Hudson's achievements and exciting adventures. Today I'm recording one of our greatest heartaches, but I think Eliot's name deserves mentioning on Hudson's blog. One day we will tell Hudson of his little brother and share his sweet footprints with him.
Eliot's Footprints

Monday, May 4, 2009

Happy Easter

Easter Egg Hunt and Celebration at Countryside

Hudson had a blast during our Easter photo shoot

Celebrating our Risen Savior!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

More Words

Since my last post, Hudson has added a few more words...

Susu (doesn't have the "s" well, but we know what he's saying)
Pooh (as in Pooh Bear)
Ice
Bubbles

There were a few others I left off the list last time: teeth, ears, and eyes.

I'm sure there are a few others I forgot, but this is basically the list for now. His vocabulary is just growing everyday, so I'm sure I won't be able to keep up with a list for long. This is such an amazing time to get to spend with a toddler!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Hudson's Good Buddy


After we got back from our youth ski trip, Hudson decided that he wanted to be with his daddy pretty much all the time. He even decided that Jay was a worthy comforter when he gets hurt, which has always been a Mom job.

Here's a picture of Hudson helping Jay mow the lawn. He wouldn't even let Dad be gone long enough to mow the lawn on his own.

Last night Jay was putting him to bed as usual. Hudson came to give me a kiss and then told me bye, bye. I needed to put some medicine on his arm, so I had to stay in there a little while longer. He seemed disturbed that I was still in there intruding on his time with his Daddy. He then told me bye bye over and over.

Jay has always been a really active parent, and Hudson has been close to him. It's great seeing the two of them bonding even more. Just so long as Hudson still loves his Mommy.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Hudson's Favorite Words

Hudson is learning new words, or at least parts of words, all the time now.  It's really fun to hear what he'll come up with next.  We have a doctor's appointment this week since Hudson will be 18 months, so I've been trying to count how many words he can say since that's a question the pediatrician always asks.  Here's what I came up with.

His early words were Bayee (Bailey), Dada, Moma, Bye Bye, Gigi, Ba (Pa), Baba (Papa), Ba (ball, bath, what a sheep says, really almost anything).  Notice the "b" trend??

Then he added a few more: Bee (tree and shoe/feet?), Bee Bee (beep, beep), Ah Ah (arf, arf), Chee (cheese), and Haa (hot).

Last week he decided to really work on his vocabulary and added two new words.  He said Moo (moon) and Ayee (Ally).  We're working on Susu as well. 

Despite the new words, hot is still his word of the moment.  We'll hear him wake up and lay in his bed saying "haa, haa."  I have no idea what makes him think of hot, but he loves to say it.  In fact, I think he'll eat something just because it's hot.

We're amazed at watching our little man learn so much!  

Crested Butte Ski Trip

Last week was our youth ski trip, and Hudson made the journey again this year.  How many 1 year olds have been on 2 ski trips?  The kid is a trooper!  Papa Rock and Susu joined us this year, which was a lot of help for me.  The car ride was a little rough, but Hudson did as good as could be expected.  He really enjoyed the time with all the kids.  Giving high fives was the hi-light of group gatherings for Hudson.  He enjoyed walking around the hotel and looking at the pool, but not actually getting in the pool.  Our favorite activity was riding the bus to the base of the mountain.  Once we got there Hudson enjoyed sledding, throwing snow balls, pretending to ride a snow mobile, "skiing" with Daddy, and sliding on the snow.  
Jay took Hudson for a short ride on his skis
Hudson loved sliding down the snow on his bottom
Hudson was fascinated by a garbage truck
A quick family photo

Throwing snow balls with Sarah and Haley...such fun girls!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Jay's Ordination and More!

Two weeks ago Jay was ordained at our church. The ceremony was so special, and the church leadership was so gracious to us. It was made even more dear to us as so much of our family was able to be here (even some of our Mississippi/Tennessee family).
That week Kandace and baby Jackson stayed in Tulsa, so we made several trips over there to visit. Here are all the cousins together! They didn't get to spend Christmas together as Jackson came a little later than we thought he would, but we still got together for a Christmas jammies picture!

Hudson's First Hair Cut

January 31-
Here is Hudson before the hair cut...check out his little wings!
He did so great. I really think he didn't realize he could move under the cape.
This is Cindy finishing up the hair cut with Gigi stepping in to help.
Cindy did a great job and was able to clean up hi
I love that you can see Jay in the background on the phone.
I believe he was keeping Susu posted on the hair cut.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Weather Outside is Frightful

This week we had our first blast of winter weather this season, so we had to get outside and have some fun in the snow. Thanks to Papa Rock and Susu, we have a great sled to play in this snow and ice. We couldn't stay outside long, but it was a lot of fun.

Today Jay went back to work, so it was just Hudson and I stuck in the house. I decided we had to do somethings a little different so we made play dough this morning (thanks for the suggestion Gigi). Hudson loved it! We played for almost an hour, which is a long time for a little guy. He tried to keep it mostly in the bowl. He seems to like things in order.

Side Note: Several times recently we have started to get on to him for playing with Bailey's dog bowls or touching something breakable when we have realized that he's not actually "playing" with them. He has gone over to straighten it up because it wasn't in the right place. So funny! Who knows where he could have gotten that from?? :)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Our little genius!

Hudson is learning to point to all his little body parts, and we think he's such a genius...or at least a good entertainer!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Reflections on 08

This time of year gives us a great opportunity to reflect on what's important in life.  We have so much to thank God for.  Hudson has blessed us with so much good and taught us about ourselves and our relationship with God.  

2008 was our first complete year with Hudson.  During the year Hudson accomplished so much.  In January we cheered him on as he learned to roll over, by March he was sitting up,  in the summer he began to walk and crawl at the same time, and he was saying words by his birthday.  Currently, his favorite words are Bailey, Dad, bye, and ba-ba (pacifier).  One day he'll say Mom...one day!  We enjoy our time together; talking walks, playing with Bailey, reading books, Bible story time, going to church, or visits with our extended family.

He is our sweet baby.  We love seeing his personality and watching who God made him to be...some of it's Mom, some Dad, and some just Hudson.  He enjoys helping out at home; throwing away trash, putting up his dishes, or getting out his shoes.  He loves to be held, but not cuddled when he's trying to sleep.  He pushes our legs when he wants to be held, especially in the kitchen.  He is silly with a contagious laugh.  He likes to dance and play chase.  He loves to wave at people, even if they're not looking.

This year was very different from last year.  We are home early every  night, and we don't go out as much, but we wouldn't want our life to be any different now.  Hudson is our special gift, a treasure entrusted to us by God.  We hope to have more children like him, but know that if God only gives us one it will be enough.


Christmas Celebrations

This year Hudson celebrated Christmas for the first time at the Felker's in Starkville. The bowl game was fun last year, but this was great. Hudson enjoyed lots of affection, learning new dance moves from Uncle David, chasing Shep the dog, and eating off of everyone's plate. Jay and I enjoyed the time away with his family and especially treasured Christmas Eve night with the TV off. As usual, we were spoiled with way too many gifts, but it was a lot of fun opening them. Hudson was not very interested in opening the packages, but was eager to play once all the unwrapping was over.

We had an extra bonus the following week. Since Kandace still hadn't delivered baby Jackon, Hudson and I stayed a few days in Starkville with Papa Rock and Susu, while Jay returned to Stillwater with his brothers. We even took an extra trip up to Brownsville.

After a long labor, baby Jackson Lane Thompson was born the evening of December 31. Hudson was very excited at the first meeting. All he kept saying was "baaa" and wanted to get ahold of Jackson. Congrats Thompsons! :)

Thanksgiving Togetherness

Thanksgiving at Kandace's house

We spent Thanksgiving in Memphis with my family. My sister's family, my parents, and our crew journeyed over there to celebrate the holiday with my very pregnant sister on bed rest. It was a different way to spend Thanksgiving, but a great example of how grateful we are for one another. We did all pass the stomach bug to one another, which originated from Hudson, so maybe next year we won't want to be that close together. :)
After we got home, Hudson had one of first temper tantrums...I thought it was a milestone