Hudson! You’re a whole year old!
So now we say goodbye to infant Hudson and hello to toddler Hudson! Busy, busy toddler Hudson!
This past month, like every month has been busy. We returned from Canada and were all hit with a stomach bug, and you seemed to get it the worst. But being the little trooper you are, I never had a grumpy little guy on my hands. You soldiered on puking, pooping and playing, with a couple extra naps thrown in for good measure. Now that we’re on the other side of all of the sicknesses, I’m relieved. We’re all fine and have stronger immune systems, although I wouldn’t wish any of our ills on anyone!
You are still not walking, but so close, so so close! I maintain that if you would just let go and forget to hang on, you’d be walking just fine. Since you’ve mastered the proper crawl, you’re as fast as ever, but I do have some warning with your “slap slap slap” as you crawl along the floor. That gives me time to close the dishwasher since you’re always coming to help, and by help I mean climb onto the open door, or spin the jet spinner thing below the top shelf. Or you’re looking for knives, you have a weird thing about knives, perhaps it’s blades, you do love all propellers….
I’ve discovered that you are going to keep me on my toes, more than I expected. I think this month has been the month of climbing! You’ve climbed the stool in the kitchen, to reach anything you can on the counter, which is generally a knife that I’ve left there, seemingly out of your reach. You’ll climb the big recliner, and scare the crap out of me as I suspect you’ll go over the top and land on your head, you’ll climb the back of the couch, freaking me out because I’m scared you’ll go over the railing and fall down the stairs. You’ll climb the chairs to the toddler table, then you rock them as hard as you can, which did make you fall once. There was blood. You’ll climb on to your sisters bed, whether she’s in it or not, you’ll climb where ever you can, often resulting in my blood pressure going up. I think I need to get you into gymnastics sooner than I thought, perhaps that will help you with your climbing!
You still don’t sign much. I think you burned out on all of your signing at five months when you mastered “milk”, now you just look at me when I sign something to you, with a silly little glimmer in your eye and reach for whatever I am trying to get to to as for “more” of. I think it makes sense that you don’t want to sign, no one else does, well all talk, and so you’re trying as well. You babble all of the time, we’ll have whole conversations where I will say something and you’ll reply, in some German-Klingon approximation of a word or words and we’ll go on like that for a while. Then you’ll sing or yell, mostly yell, it’s one of your favourite things to do, and you do it well with your sister, you both like to yell, in unison. Perhaps it’s cute?
For Christmas Daddy and I got a Rock band set, complete with the drums. And you love them! Since you’ve learned about drums you’re often found with some make shift sticks rocking out to some Klingon folk song in your head. Sometimes if we’re really lucky you’ll sing too. The cute is pretty intense in those situations.
Daddy and I have had discussions about your hair now that you’re one year old. I want to let it grow and see what happens, I love your wispy blond locks. Daddy want to cut them since they are touching your ears. Luckily for you and I, Daddy doesn’t really much care, so I’m going to leave them grow, so far it looks like you have a curl pattern similar to your sister, curly along the sides and back, but straight on top. I can’t stop playing with your hair when you are sitting still with me, and I love it best when it’s all tousled. Dang you’re cute! I don’t foresee myself using hair clips in it, and I’ll keep your bangs trimmed, but I’m going to let you have baby boy hippy hair for a while. The cute will be monumental!
I have some good news! You’ve stopped your pinching! I’ve managed to transition you from pinching me to stroking me for comfort. I found you pinched when you were cuddly or nervous, which lead me to believe it was for comfort. You didn’t do it in response to something, like if you were angry. So we worked on you stroking instead of pinching, and you do it now. I often wake up to you stroking my arm or face in your sleep. It’s so sweet, and one of the best ways to wake up. You still pinch if you are stressed, and we’re working on that, but that’s pretty rare, and a reminder generally helps, although sometimes your stroking becomes a little aggressive and a little slappy, but that’s so much better than the pinching and bruising!
Dearest Hudson, this past year has been amazing. You’ve shown me new levels of mellow baby, and introduced me to parenting two children. You’ve made it so easy on Daddy and I that we’re planning for you to be a big brother soon. If experience shows us anything we’re in for more fun, and I bet that you will be an amazing big brother. I can’t wait for our family to be finished and for all of my children to grow up together and be best friends.
This past month I’ve found myself often thinking of your twin. I like to think that s/he is still with you, like a guardian angel. Perhaps that’s why you’re such a great climber?
My sweet boy, I’ve said it before and will a dozens more times, I am so blessed to have you in my life. I can’t believe I’ve won the jackpot two times now. Life is good.
I love you!
Mama.