family pics

We went yesterday to take Hudson's one year pics. Below is the link for the pictures! Hudson didn't take a nap before we went (of course) so I wasn't sure how they would turn out. As soon as we got there he started signing he wanted to nurse and I thought "Great! This is going to go real well!" It took him a little bit to warm up but he finally started smiling for us and we got some cute ones. We went when he was 3,6,9 and 12 months and this link has all the pics. Can't believe how much he changed between each one. Now I have to go through and pick my favorites to order - that's going to be hard!

http://gallery.me.com/michaelbankston/102738

fish face

It's so exciting when he finally picks up on something I have been teaching him - and, of course, really cute too!

water fun

I couldn't believe how long he stood up all on his own while we were at my mom's for Memorial Day - and I caught it on camera! He loves playing in the water. I took his sprinkler over to mom and dad's and he loved it. He loves grabbing the little antennaes on the caterpillar and playing with them and doesn't even mind when he squirts himself in the face! He also loves playing in the fountains that Gigi has at her house. Oh - and Gigi is also Hudson's newest word! Zeus, shoes, juice, cheese, and Gigi and he also has "mamama" down now as well.

mama's boy

Can't deny this boy is related to me, can I?!?! I asked 3 year old Garret who this was in the picture and he immediately replied "Baby Hudson"! This is my first birthday picture. My mom says the way he wrinkles up his nose when he smiles is just like how I did when I was a baby and he looks just like me when he does that.

eating spaghetti

My Montage 5/24/09

blowing kisses

fun in the sun

The water was REALLY cold at the pool yesterday but Hudson went right and in and loved it. He has started putting his face down in the water and trying to blow bubbles but usually ends up with a mouth full of water instead. But he thinks it's fun! We finally had to take him out of the pool when his lips started turning blue!

friends

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at Jerry's house and went swimming in their neighborhood pool and hung out and played. Our friends Ian and Kamra were there with their son Titus, who is 3 months older than Hudson. Jerry is Jake and Jennifer's son and he is 3 months younger than Hudson so they had fun playing together. We had a few tumbles when Hudson and Jerry kept trying to use each other to balance or hold on to since neither of them are walking yet but they all had fun playing together.
These are friends of ours from Kansas City - they all went to Cleveland together so it's fun to get together with them and reminisce about the old days - plus it's fun that we have 3 boys so close together!

Titus and Hudson sharing cheerios.

I think we might have a few problems with Hudson and biting. Normally he only bites me but yesterday I caught him doing this several times. He has also started giving kisses lately so maybe he was just going to give him a kiss. But I didn't let him get close enough to find out!

Hudson and Jerry. Jennifer cleaned out a whole cabinet and filled it with tupperware and toys for Jerry to play with and the boys played in there for quite a while.

talking

Hudson learned another word today - cheese! I have been making a more conscious effort to tell him what things are and ask him to "say (fill in the blank)". Today at lunch I was feeding him cheese and I asked him "say cheese" and he did! I was surprised! If you watch closely you'll also see him sign "more" and "food" a couple times! He's learning so much!

There's also video on here of him saying "Zeus" cause I don't think I have posted one of those yet. And as you will be able to tell, Jamie is the videographer on that one!


My Montage 5/17/09

road trip to see Aunt Christin

I'd been promising Christin all semester that Hudson and I would come up and spend the day with her and since this was the last week of classes we had to get up there! So Wednesday Hudson and I took our first road trip together (alone) and it went really well. Of course, it's only 45 minutes and I timed it so that it was naptime on the way out and then he was so tired from playing all day he slept the whole way home too! We had a picnic lunch and played at the park and sat out in front of Christin's dorm and played with bubbles and just hung out. It was a fun day!

He loves playing with rocks now. He would rather sit on the ground and play with the rocks than play on the swings or slides. That's all fine with me till he starts trying to eat them! Then I make him stop playing with them and he throws a FIT! Funny how as soon as he turned 1 he has started throwing fits when he doesn't get to do what he wants to!



All tuckered out!

My Montage 5/16/09

mowing the lawn

I just have to brag a little because I mowed the entire lawn all by myself yesterday! That's the first time ever that I have done that. Well, technically my dad showed up when I just had the front yard left but he weeded and I finished mowing, so I did mow the whole thing. And that was a lot of work! With all the rain we have been getting the grass was pretty high and the mower kept clogging and dying on me. I bet I restarted it 20 times. I was sure my shoulder would hurt today from yanking the pullstart so much but so far my only injury is the blisters on my hands from pushing the mower! And Jamie was VERY happy to see it was done when he got home last night. I knew he would fret about it all weekend cause it needed to be done and he is not feeling up to doing it himself. Plus it rained again last night so it's probably too wet now anyways.

Dad brought his mower over and it was on a lower setting so I used it to mow the front and man that thing was hard to push! I was about to give up after 2 rows when my dad pointed out the self propel handle I needed to pull - then the thing about took out from underneath me and I could hardly keep up! But I finally got a handle on it and got the front finished!

I guess I should also mention that I broke the handle on our mower which was why I had to use Dad's...but we don't need to talk about that! :) Jamie probably thinks he's getting a riding mower now...which I have to admit would be nice after spending 2 hours mowing the lawn!

12 month checkup

I took Hudson to the doctor Thursday for his 12 month checkup. He weighed 19 pounds, is 27.5 inches tall and his head is 48.25 cm. That puts him in the 3rd percentile for his height, 2nd for his weight and 93rd for his head circumference. The boy has got a HUGE head! Jamie says it's cause he's so smart.... :) Doctor says not to worry - he will grow eventually!

We also found out that Hudson is a little bit anemic. His hemoglobin was only 9.7 (It should be 11 or higher.). They tested that at the doctor's office with a little toe prick, which wasn't too bad. Hudson quit crying once she put the spiderman bandaid on. But since it was low the doctor sent us to the lab to have some more bloodwork done. I drove over there thinking there's no way I can hold him down while they draw blood from his arm but the nurse told me it was just a finger prick. I was trying to wait for Jamie so he could be there to help (He was on his way over to have his blood drawn- that's a whole different story I'll get to in a little bit.). But it was getting close to lunch and the nurse wanted to get it done so we started without him. He screamed and cried and got blood everywhere. He pulled the bandaid off as soon as she got it on. Jamie showed up about then and we took him outside and distracted him with the rocks in the landscaping till the bleeding stopped. We never were able to keep a bandaid on his finger. But he kept the one on his toe all day and when we would ask him where his "owie" was he would point to it.

The doctor's office called yesterday and said the results of that test were 10.3. So it's still a little low so we just need to start giving him a multivitamin with iron in it and feed him iron enriched foods. Although I looked up a list on the internet and except for red meat which he still doesn't like, and oysters which I am NOT going to feed him, Hudson eats a lot of things on that list. But we'll just feed him more I guess.

So now for Jamie's story - he hasn't been feeling well since Monday. At first he thought it was just because we ate a lot of red meat over the weekend which we aren't used to and his stomach was just complaining about it. But Wednesday night it got really bad and he was in a lot of pain. He started throwing up too - so then we started thinking appendicitis - uh oh! So we debated all night if we should go in to the ER but he started feeling better once he threw up so we weren't sure what to do. That could just mean his appendix had ruptured and that's why he was feeling better. But he made it through the night and went to the doctor the next morning to have it checked out. The doctor didn't think it was appendicitis but said just to be safe they would draw some blood and check his white blood cell count. If that was high then he would have to go have a CT scan to look at his appendix. The nurse calls an hour later in a panic and says you need to get to Wesley right now. His white blood cell count was double what it was supposed to be! But in the end everything looked all right but the doctor said he must have a viral infection in his intestines. So he STILL isn't feeling well but isn't in pain like he was Wednesday night so he's living with it for now. Hopefully it won't last much longer - and hopefully Hudson and I don't get it!

Birthday Video

My Montage 5/12/09

1st Birthday

Hudson had a great first birthday and we all had lots of fun celebrating. His birthday party Saturday was at the zoo. He was not too sure about all the people watching him eat his cake, but he did end up getting dirty. He didn't actually eat much cake though! He got lots of wonderful presents (Thank you everyone!) and had a great day.
His birthday was actually Sunday and it was weird to me all day Sunday because he seemed older. It just felt like he was a toddler now instead of a baby. I honestly think it's because he is wearing shoes now. Just makes him look older. Aunt Lesie bought him some sandals for his birthday and he loves wearing them. If he doesn't have them on and finds them he sits down and tries to put them on. Or if they fall off while he's playing he stops and tries to put them back on!
He has started doing so many new things these past couple of days too. He can point to different animals in books (When I ask "Where's the bird? for example - although that one is confusing because first he points out the window!). There is a book I read him that I always do some hand gestures with and he has started doing some of those when I turn the pages. He has started "clicking" his tongue and blowing kisses too. His official first word is going to have to be "Zeus". He says it all the time although he calls everything "Zeus" not just the dog. Yesterday we were looking at a picture of him and Jamie and he pointed at Jamie and said "Zeus". So he's a little confused with that one - I think he just likes the sound it makes when he says it! He also has really started picking up on the sign language I have been working with him on. He now signs "more" when he wants more food - although first I get lots of grunts and pointing, but eventually he'll sign "more" for me. He also signs "milk" and "food" when he wants to nurse or eat. Too cute! He has also started standing for a few seconds on his own so I would guess walking is not too far in the future but I'm not putting any bets on it - he didn't crawl till he was 11.5 months old!

Mother's Day

This was technically my 2nd Mother's Day but I don't really count the first one since I had just given birth a few hours earlier and could hardly get out of the hospital bed! Cecil, Nona, Aaron and Jenni were all at our house Sunday for Mother's Day. The boys were in charge of lunch and they did a good job - steaks and potatoes - with only a little help from the women. For dessert Jamie had ordered an ice cream cake from DQ~ yum! And then the boys cleaned up lunch as well. They also bought us each a dozen roses - although I lucked out because Nona and Jenni left theirs here instead of taking them to Iowa so I have 3 dozen beautiful roses on my dining room table this week!

The boy's cleaning up - and yes, Jamie is showing off his guns!

I'm a Big Boy now!

We switched Hudson to a forward facing car seat the other day. He wasn't real sure about it the first time we went for a ride. He was either feeling carsick or in a trance watching everything go by! But I think he is getting used to it now and likes it. Yesterday I was out running errands all day and kept reaching back giving him snacks and his sippy cup, so that works out well. But it is a hassle getting him in and out of. Hopefully I just have to get used to it. I am also having a hard time with one of the latches which is frustrating when you can't get your kid out of his carseat!

Whoa Dad - slow down!

Feeling a little quesy maybe?

This isn't so bad!

TEETH

I am happy to report that Hudson is teething. Happy because I am hoping that is the cause of all of our night time sleep problems. I can hope anyways! Naps have been going really well lately (knock on wood) and nights are getting better because he is starting to sleep for at least a 4-5 hour stretch. But he is still waking up lots either before or after that stretch. Usually before. Two nights ago I put him down at 8:15 and he woke up at 9:30, 11:00 and 11:30. Whew!
But I can now see his lateral incisors coming in and his first molars up top - so he's working hard!

I didn't know he could do that!

So a few days ago I was playing with Hudson downstairs and he was playing really well by himself so I thought I would try to work on my scrapbooking some while he was playing. (It was my goal to have his first year scrapbooked by his birthday but I am not going to make it. I am to about 9 months and only have 5 days left. And I have way too much work to do in the next 5 days to finish it.) So anyways, I left him downstairs playing and ran upstairs to get some of my pages and stuff.
Imagine my shock and horror when I head back downstairs and find Hudson crawling up them! He had made it up 3 stairs and was just standing there (on the very edge of the step I might add) grinning up at me! Needless to say I flew down the stairs to get him but he was doing just fine. Guess I'll have to keep my eye on him a little more closely now! He has really started moving now that he figured out the crawling thing. He'll crawl a little bit, pull himself up on something, walk along it a ways, fall back down on his rear end and crawl some more. It's great!

Drummer Boy

We have my parent's Wii set up in our basement (Jamie loves to play Guitar Hero) and Hudson has taken a liking to the drums! Not a good sign for my future peace, quiet and sanity (Not that either Jamie or I have much of that anymore anyways with Hudson's bad sleeping!)!

crazy weather

It has rained here all week - lots of rain and there's supposed to be more coming in still later today. There is lots of flooding all around town. I keep checking our sump pump to make sure it's still running - don't want water in our brand new basement. I think I am going to go invest in a battery back up just for the peace of mind! Last Sunday afternoon we were all taking a nap and all the sudden this HUGE gust of wind blew through. Jamie jumped up and ran to the window - I think he thought it was a tornado! It blew down a piece of our fence and blew all oru deck furniture all over the backyard and broke the glass table top. You can see from the pictures what a downpour it was.

neighbors backyard - luckily ours doesn't flood as bad as his!

Over at my mom's house that afternoon lightning hit the house! They were sitting in the living room and there was a big BOOM and the head on this little figuring popped off and flew into the air! They started looking around and found this socket broken and of course it blew out the TV's and computer. This all 1 week after their basement flooded (sump pump stopped working) for the second time this year!

Mom called the fire department and they came out to check out the house so once she realized they were coming she had to call Fireman Garret of course! Luckily he was already ready for the call and dressed in his gear so he came right over. I think he might have been a little confused why Engine 37 and all his Firemen friends were at Gena's - but he thought it was pretty cool!

Fireman Garret and his buddies! It was C shift day so it was all of the guys he knows on duty!

Not too worried about the lightning evidently - once the storm passed we set up a golf course in the front yard and all took turns trying to hit the ball in the bucket!

Little Firemen!

Why is it?

Why is it that on the days I have plans to go somewhere Hudson always takes a good, long nap? Yet on the days where we are just staying home and I'm trying to get work done they only last 30-45 minutes?

My sister and her husband are moving into their new house today so we are heading over there to help unpack once he wakes up from his nap. He's been asleep for one hour and 15 minutes so far! We put him down at 8 at night and never fails he wakes up again at 9:30 every night. But he slept from 10 pm to 4 am last night so that is great progress. Especially considering he was up from 1 am - 5 am the night before. Just up - ready to play, didn't want to sleep. That's the second time this week he has done that and he hasn't done done that since he was a tiny baby! AAAHHH - this child! What can you do?