Little Boys

The more active Hudson gets the more I find myself thinking about the difference between little boys and little girls. When I find my sweet little boy growling at his pillow pet, shaking his head "no" with his tongue hanging out, or trying to pick up his socks...........with his mouth. I think to myself "a little girl wouldn't do that". When we go for walks in the park Hudson doesn't want to walk on the sidewalk or even the grass. Oh no, what fun would that be? He wants to walk on the large rocks that are meant more for landscaping decoration than walking. On days like today when I need a good laugh he is always there for me. I got everything all ready for family pictures. Ironed everyone's clothes. Baked cupcakes, so Hudson could eat one during the photo shoot. Spent WAY to much time on my hair and make-up. Did Hudson's hair care routine. Which takes more time than mine. Packed the diaper bag and loaded up Hudson's teddy bear and ball for props. Had Corey pick up balloons for more props. I got the whole family to the park looking our best with smiles ready. Only there was no photographer. I had the wrong date. Family pictures are next Tuesday ; ). We walked Hudson around the park. He laughed at the runners, and screamed kitty to every duck, duckling, and goose on the lake. The VERY, VERY BEST thing about little boys..........when he gives me a big hug, rests his head on my shoulder, then looks up at me with his big brown eyes and says "mama".

Hudson singing and playing the piano at Mini Mozart's.

New Journey

As I was updating our blog template and profile, it occurred to me that many of our family and friends probably don't know about Corey's new job. We have been waiting on a job offer for over a month. And yes, he was finally offered the job. After some negotiation he accepted a job with Oracle, as an engineer. Sadly this meant that Corey had to quit his job with the Electrical Union, and more specifically Cache Valley Electric. Cache Valley has been very good to Corey, it was a difficult decision. In the end it came down to money and job security. In slow times it is not unheard of for union electricians to be layed off, and have to sit on the books for months, sometimes a year or longer. Oracle is not a construction project, the building is completed. This makes Corey's new job a lot more "secure". Corey's new job also means that I will only be working one day a week. That will be so nice for our little family. I'm excited to have the opportunity to stay home more while Hudson is little. He really has grown up way too fast. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been difficult to find some time to sit down. Below is a picture of the tornado that hit while I was posting this.



Hudson's new rocking chair. This chair was Grandma Erekson's (Mary's) when she was 4.



Hudson made me a Mother's Day present. My sweet little boy.



Hudson's 1st Birthday









Hudson's awesome Birthday hat.




Could somebody change my diaper please?



1st goose egg from learning how to walk.

High Five!

Hudson is getting so so big. I miss my little newborn. But I love seeing Hudson's personality grow. His absolute favorite thing lately is giving high fives. He wants a high five after every bite he takes at meal times, after taking his medicine, getting his diaper changed. OK, he wants a high five after EVERYTHING that he does. And heaven forbid you walk past him when he has his hand up waiting for his high five. He has learned to pull himself up in his playpen, in his crib, and on furniture. The other night I came home from work after working two graveyards in a row. Hudson was at his activity table playing away. I was talking to Corey getting updated on the weekend, since I had been working. The next thing I know Hudson is standing at the couch giving me an ear to ear grin. Being shocked and half in a daze after working the graveyard. I said, "Corey, did you put him here when you walked over here just a minute ago". He said, "no, he can do that now, he can pull himself up on the couch". What? I hate it when I miss things while I'm working. So I cherish the moments when I witness the milestones. Like last night, Hudson started climbing up the stairs. And he is really good at it. Time for another baby gate. I'm so far behind in blogging that I've decided to just post some pics with a brief description. Enjoy!

Hudson's First Thanksgiving. He's eating his favorite, peas, yummy!

Hudson's First Tooth



Playtime with the kitties.

Maw!

First time sitting on Santa's lap. He loved playing with his beard.

Hudson's First Christmas!

He got spoiled.........

and spoiled........

and spoiled.

He also got his first knife. Yes, I said knife.

First Hunting Trip

And he got spoiled some MORE!

Hudson's two front teeth.

On Hudson's 9 month Birthday he crawled on his knees. Watch out World!

Oh so sweet!

Oh so cute!

Hudson helped me make Valentines cookies.

Hudson got a recordable book and a teddy bear from Mama and Dada.

Were all bundled up to go outside when Hudson had croup.

Despite my best efforts my poor baby ended up with a steroid shot.

This is the first time Hudson pulled himself up in his playpen.

Hudson admires Aunt Katrina's nails.

The first time Hudson climbed the stairs.

6 Months Old

Can you believe it? I sure can't! 6 months old already. Hudson's cute little personality shines threw more and more each day. His favorite game right now is "chase mommy". Corey will hold Hudson and then he says "lets chase mommy". When I hear Corey say that I raise my eyebrows, smile and say "oh no, oh no Hudson is going to get me". As soon as I say that Hudson smiles and laughs. Then Corey starts chasing me around the house while holding Hudson. We can really get Hudson laughing, it is the cutest thing!

Adoption Finalization

In my mind Hudson has been our son since the signing at the hospital. So the finalization at court was just the last hoop to jump. We were taken into the judges chamber and what seemed like a very rehearsed answer question session started. Hudson sat on my lap and calmly watched as each person spoke and papers were passed across the desk to sign. When it came time for me to testify I was shocked at the sudden flow of emotions I had. I just felt so blessed that Hudson had come into our lives. Hudson, my happy, loving, beautiful baby boy. Who has always fit perfectly into our family. And when it was all over it felt like a ton of bricks was lifted off my shoulders. That night I had a sleepless night thinking about Hudson's birth mother, her sacrifice, and the amazing gift that only she could have given us.

Halloween

Hudson probably didn't really understand Halloween this year. OK......he didn't get it at all. But it was fun for Corey and I to celebrate Halloween with Hudson. We sat Hudson in his bumbo chair on the kitchen island so he could watch us carve pumpkins. About half way through Hudson wanted to nap. So while Hudson was napping Corey and I had fun spending some time together and really getting creative with our pumpkins. My siblings came over that night for chili, donuts and apple cider. I bought Hudson a bumble bee costume but then last minute decided to dress him up as count Dracula. SO SO CUTE! The bumble bee costume will fit him next year.

Hudson's MRI

Hudson was born with what's called a sacral dimple. It's a small dimple at the base of his spine. Sometimes a sacral dimple can be an indication of the spinal cord being tethered. If the dimple is deep its routine to do an ultrasound to find see if the spinal cord is tethered and if the baby will need surgery in the future. Hudson's sacral dimple is deep with a skin tag which can be another sign of the spinal cord being tethered, so he needed an ultrasound. Well Hudson's ultrasound did not give the MD enough information to know with 100% a surety that the spinal cord was not tethered. So Hudson had to have an MRI. But couldn't have an MRI until he was 3 months. We went to Park City over Labor Day weekend and I wanted to wait until after our trip to do the MRI. So Hudson was actually four months when he had his MRI. He did so great before the procedure. He couldn't eat for 10 hours before the MRI. Which meant he had to wake up at 6am to be at the hospital at 8am and the MRI was at 10am. So needless to say, he went a long time without eating. But he was a perfect little angel. The nurse was able to start an IV without him crying at all. He was awesome! They gave him sedation and he went right to sleep. Corey was holding him and then he put him on the MRI table. As soon as he put him on the MRI table Hudson woke up! The nurse had to give him extra sedation. My stomach turned into a knot. I knew the second that extra sedation was given that things were not going to go as smoothly as planned. Of course I was hoping that I was wrong. Corey and I went to the recovery room and almost as soon as we got settled a herd of nurses came running down the hall. One of them said "we need a green bag for a four month old". My vision went blurry, and I couldn't really hear. It felt like I was under water. The nurse in me wanted to jump up and run into the MRI room. But I knew the best thing for me to do was to stay out of the way so the team could their jobs. I waited for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, a nurse walked back into the recovery room. She let out a sigh of relief and said everything is OK. Once again I was reminded just how blessed I am to have Hudson in my life. I am grateful for him every day! And the icing on the cake, NO SURGERY, everything looked great.

We are looking forward to the Holidays. It's going to be awesome!