Happy 9 Months Hudson Paul!

So Hudson turned nine months old over the weekend.

First, I can hardly believe it - it really is true that time speeds up for the second child, and I would imagine every child thereafter too.

Secondly, I've been feeling a bit of mommy guilt about the many empty pages of Hudson's baby book. I know this is the curse of the second child, and that many second, third, fourth children do not have the baby books that the first child does - flowery love letters and play by plays of every milestone. I'm trying to catch up, and luckily I tried to make a mental note of the big milestones so I could record them later.

So I thought to make up for some of those empty pages, I would celebrate Hudson's ninth month here.

Hudson, you have taken off ever since you hit eight months! You started crawling on Christmas. All of the crinkly wrapping paper and colorful bows were just too much for you not to get your hands on! Now you hardly hold still. Your favorite places to explore are the bathrooms, behind any door, closets, under the table, and anywhere I try to stash the vacuum cleaner your friend Mr. Vacuum.

You're excited to finally be able to get a good look at your brother's train table. You love to dismantle train tracks. You often make quite a mess out of the latest rail system that your brother's designed, but Daddy and I cover for you when he demands to know what happened. You even sometimes manage to get your little hands on a train or two. They're usually the ones your brother has cast aside, but you are happy as a clam.

You and Phinn are starting to make up some of your own games. You crawl over to the pack and play and press your face up against one side while banging on it with your chubby little hands. Phinn will go to the opposite side and pop up and say "Peek-a-boo Yo Yo!" The two of you will laugh and do it over and over again. It absolutely makes my heart overflow with joy to see you and your brother becoming buddies.

You are beginning to really enjoy eating. I pretty much give you a little bit of whatever we're eating, and you seem to prefer it that way. You were never a fan of the purees or having someone else feed you. I think we are either entering a growth spurt or all of your crawling has really increased your appetite, because I can't seem to get the food on your tray fast enough.

You absolutely love bath time. You pull yourself up on the bathtub and eagerly bang on the tub and squeal excitedly as I fill it up with water. You love to play with the bath letters and cups. I have to keep an eye on you, though, because you are always trying to drink the bath water. You even surprised me the other day by sticking your face in the water and blowing bubbles! During your first bubble bath, you seemed to be a little confused by this stuff covering up your bath water, but you figured out in no time that you could splash right through it. I'm beginning to think that between you and your brother, I am going to need to start donning my raincoat and boots when I have you two in the tub.

Hudson, you are a sweet, easy-going, happy little guy. Even though I feel like your baby time has been passing faster and faster, I make time each day to savor your babyness. Sometimes you make sure I get a good dose by waking up for cuddles in the middle of the night. I love your new toothy grin and the fits of giggles that go with it. Your chubby little cheeks are so precious, I can't seem to kiss them enough. You make us all laugh when you shake your head "no."

Nine Month Recap:

Weight: ~ 21 pounds. I am ball parking this because you don't go for your nine month check up until next week.

Sleeping: Still waking up once to cuddle with me for a little bit and then happily go back to bed. You do your best to grab a little morning nap as we drive, but you do an excellent job taking an afternoon nap usually lasting a couple hours.

Teeth: FOUR!! Two top and two bottom! You got them all at once. You were such a trooper.

Hair: LOTS! You still have so much hair. I think we may be taking you for your first haircut this month. Daddy will be happy, but I will probably cry.

Favorite Foods: Blueberries, mango, sweet potatoes, yogurt.

Favorite Time of Day: Tubby time!

Favorite Toys: Anything with wheels. You love pushing around cars and trucks, and you even sometimes make a little motor noise to go with it!


Hudson Paul, you've changed so much over this past month, I can't wait to see what you will be up to next!