copy cat

Today I noticed that when I opened the fridge, Hudson looked in and bent over, put his hands on his knees, and peered inside. I thought that this was really funny. I mentioned my observation to Kyle and Lana, my mother-in-law. They both laughed and told me that I do that when I look in the fridge. I guess Hudson's progressing just like he should be. Check mimicking parents' actions off the list!

After a cold and windy weekend it was so nice to be able to play outside with Hudson today. We walked out the front door, and as we were walking away, Moses started scratching at the window. I decided that Moses should be able to enjoy the front yard, too. So Hudson and I went inside and grabbed his leash. I never expected Hudson to enjoy this so much.

I'll add pictures later, but it was absolutely priceless. Hudson held onto the red handle and laughed and laughed. He was practically running down our sloped driveway. I must confess I was a little nervous that he was going to fall on the pavement. He did, but that's okay. He has a little bump and scratch on his head, but he's tough. He cried for a few seconds, then he got back up and started running with the leash again. Moses was a good sport. We'll see if Moses' patience continues, because I'm sure that Hudson will want to do this again.

flowers, learning, and growing

A couple of weeks ago I cleaned out the front flower beds and planted some pansies. Yes, I am aware that pansies are cool weather plants and we're headed into warm weather. They were 75% off, and I am terrible at keeping plants alive. So, better to try something cheap then blow a lot of money on something that I'll kill. Anyway, the pansies are thriving quite nicely. I even remembered to water them today. Shocker!

As I watered the pansies, Hudson watched from his view from my hip. We were both still in our pajamas, so I didn't want to put him down on the sidewalk in just his sock feet. I love that Hudson has learned his sign for the word flower. He crinkles up his nose and sniffs. It's really cute. Most days when we walk out the front door, he bends over with his little bottom up in the air and proceeds to sniff the flowers. I enjoy watching him do it every time. I think I'm even a little disappointed if he doesn't. So I guess being a stay-at-home mom has encouraged me to "Take time to smell the flowers." Bad joke, I know.

It's so amazing to watch children learn. They're like little sponges just waiting to absorb whatever is surrounding them. I loved these sponge/light bulb moments as a teacher, and obviously as a parent these moments are even more thrilling. Today when Hudson and I were looking at one of his picture books I asked him, "Where's the flower?" He in response signed, "Where?" and then his eyes scoured the page. His little hand reached up and tapped the picture of the flower. He's done this before, but it was such a blissful moment for me as mom/teacher. I could ask him about several objects, and he could identify them all. Well, at least until he got bored with that page and needed to move on. That's okay, though. I enjoyed it while it lasted.

We had several "growing up" moments today. I told him that we needed to wash hands before he ate lunch. We walked back to the bathroom, his little hand in mine. He dipped his own spoon into his container of applesauce at lunch. He can go look for his shoes when I've told him to get them so he can go outside. He talks to me all the time, even though I have no idea what language he's speaking. (I think the language is derived from the letter d, though.) He's truly a little toddler now, not a baby. What a precious gift and great responsibility, to experience life with a moldable human being.

That child-rasing responsibility can be scary and overwhelming sometimes. Kyle and I pray that Hudson will grow to love God's Word. As I study the book of John is BSF I am reminded over and over again that if you love God, then you'll love and obey His Word. But how can I love and obey His Word if I don't spend time studying it? And how can I expect my son to love God's Word unless he sees it reflected in my own life? Yes, Hudson is a precious gift because he brings us joy. But he also has been a part of the awakening for the need for abundant Scripture in my own life.

So, hopefully we'll have many more days like today. Days where I see learning happening. Days where I see my son growing up. Days where my son causes me to reflect on glorifying God in my own life. I love being home with Hudson. It's absolutely worth it.

Reason to blog

Hudson's first birthday was Sunday. Most people say things like:

"I can't believe it's been a year!"

"Time has just flown by."

"It just doesn't seem right that he's already a year old."

Kyle and I smile and acknowledge these comments. There is definitely truth behind them. Time has flown by, and it's hard to believe he's one year old. But, we've seen a lot of growth in Hudson this past year, and it would be odd if he wasn't one year old!

As I rocked him to sleep the other night, staring at that precious face and sweet little mouth, I reflected on the various events of the past year. And I must confess I became a little sad and guilty. Not because I want him to be a baby forever. Not because I miss him being a little "wad" that curls up in my arm (even though I do). I was sad because I didn't remember as much of it as I wanted to. Everyone tells you to take pictures and record video so you can remember. And most new parents think, "That won't be me. I won't ever forget what this new baby is like." And then it happens to you. You don't remember each little sweet sound that comes out of that precious mouth. You don't remember where or exactly when each "first" took place. You become the parent that you thought you wouldn't be.

So after thinking about this, I decided that I must become a more active blogger. Not for the world to read about my precious little boy (even though he's quite amazing), but for me. And for Kyle. We need to document these seemingly insignificant moments because they have brought us so much joy.

So, here's to more blogging. Here's to remembering. Here's to chronicling our lives as we now know them so that we'll have something to refresh our memory when we're old and gray.

New Discovery

Hudson has been exploring his surroundings, and of course wants to get into anything that he's not supposed to. Today was no exception. He finally figured out that there are things inside the cabinet doors. He's been playing with the doors the past few days, but today he made this new discovery. The first cabinet he chose was the one with all of the small kitchen appliances. So I moved him to the Tupperware cabinet. It has been a huge hit today. Kyle and I took some pictures to mark the occasion. I guess it's time to go get some cabinet safety locks!

Over the Weekend

This weekend was pretty full!  The whole family tried out a new grocery store on Friday because of a flyer in the mail that showed some pretty good specials.  The grocery store is in Cedar Hill, which is almost thirty minutes from our house.  It's only about ten-fifteen miles, though.  I must say that I have never been the type that sees the beauty in the landscape of DFW.  It's just, well, plain in comparison to the gently roaming hills of my hometown.  I especially have a difficult time during fall here.  In Birmingham the hills are painted rich with vibrant colors that take your breath away.  Here I get excited just to see one tree that is yellow.  But, on this drive out to Cedar Hill we discovered one of the prettiest parts of the metroplex that I have seen.  And you could even see fall colors in the trees!  I was pleasantly surprised and truly enjoyed the drive to the grocery store.

The store was actually pretty small, but they had some great deals.  One of those deals was whole chickens for $.99 /pound.  We ended up buying six chickens to smoke on Saturday.  So when Saturday came around we set out to smoke the chickens.  We have smoked brisket, ribs, pork tenderloin, but never chicken.  My cookbook said that it should take about 4 to 4 1/2 hours.  We didn't get them on the smoker until 3:30.  Oops!  Two of the chickens were done at around 9:00.  (We had to move them to the oven.)  Two more were done around 12:30.  The final two were done around 2:00.  What a night!  And what a MESSY kitchen!  But the great thing is that we were able to give some chickens to some family and friends to enjoy.  I think next time we'll just roast the chickens.

I think one of the great things about Hudson getting older is that he will play on his own.  So while we were cooking/smoking/cleaning, he did a great job playing by himself.  He did wander into the kitchen to talk to us.  We also put the jumper on the back patio so he could talk to Daddy while he was using the smoker.  He's just a great baby.  I can't complain at all.  God has been good to us!

Even though we were smoking chickens, we of course still had football to watch.  We had the windows open in the house to keep it cool, and later on our neighbor told us that he heard me yelling at the game.  Uh oh!  He lives two houses down.  Kyle and I did manage to make Hudson cry only twice during the game.  Both times were during great offensive plays.  As long as we look at him after yelling or cheering and then smile and say "Yea!" he won't cry.  He needs to learn to cheer on the Tide, too!

Yesterday was a great day at church.  Kyle, of course, was preaching.  I was working with the younger elementary age kids.  We're beginning to feel like we're right on the edge of some growth at church.  We're getting excited about that.  God seems to be bringing new faces and even former acquaintances across our path.  Kyle also is really enjoying studying for his sermon series in Genesis.  He keeps talking about the subject even when we get in the car to go home on Sundays.  You know it's a good sign when your pastor is genuinely excited about what he's preaching.  Hudson's Nina is now working in the nursery on Sunday mornings, so he did a great job with her in there.  Apparently he is becoming much more assertive in the nursery.  He felt comfortable enough to take some toys away from another little boy.  And so it begins...

I'm really looking forward to this next weekend.  We're planning a trip to the zoo!  We'll post pictures of that next weekend.

New Face

Today Hudson actually took a morning nap that was an hour and a half.  This is HUGE for him!  He normally just sleeps for a half hour in the morning, then a half hour in the afternoon.  The afternoon nap will last longer if I lay down with him on the couch. 

Back to today, though.  When I walked into Hudson's room he was in a great mood.  I started talking to him, and he proceeded to make a new face at me as I smiled.  He crinkled up his nose and started breathing through it loudly.  I had never seen him do this before.  I had, however, seen his dad do that.  Kyle makes that face at Hudson sometimes to get him to smile, and it seems that Hudson has picked up on it.  He and I made that face back and forth at each other quite a few times today, but when his daddy got home, Hudson stopped!  He made a liar out of me.  I'm sure he'll make the face again.  I'll try to get a picture of it soon.

Hudson also has a new bruise on his forehead.  I'm not surprised.  The little man constantly tries to make his way around the coffee table, but ends up falling half the time.  

I guess there's a lot to learn from a little guy like that.  He never stops trying to accomplish his mission, whether it's to get the dog food, grab the remote control, or dig in the garbage can. Sometimes I give up pretty easily.  Most of the time if it's something I don't think I'll be good at then I won't try at all.  I'm scared of failure.  So I need to take a lesson from little man.  It's okay to try; it's okay to fail; it's okay to keep trying.  I need to realize these things now because he'll be watching me as he gets older.  If he sees that I'm scared to take a chance, then he might learn fear from me.  I guess this is where prayer really comes in handy--trusting that God's going to guide Kyle and me as parents.  He's the ultimate example of the perfect Father.