Toddler Talk

Otherwise lovingly referred to as Hudsonisms in our home.....

Um yeah, so earlier this afternoon, I'm in my bathroom putting my makeup on while Hudson was in the bath right behind me. My mother in law was going to be coming over to visit and have dinner and we had been having a lazy morning and had just gotten around to getting ready for company. Like I often do, I decided to put Hudson in the bath to play while I quickly threw on some makeup before giving him a bath and then waking up Landon from his nap to give him his bath as well. All was normal as Hudson played and splashed in the tub. He insists on having tons of toys and I always *try* to be the nice mom and play along allowing him some fun time in the tub before it's down to the business of getting clean! Well, let's just say that after a few minutes the dialogue I begin to hear coming from the bathtub nearly causes me too pee myself (good thing I was in the bathroom I guess!) because it was truly downright comical! I didn't know what to expect or what in the world Hudson could have been talking about when I heard it, but once I realized the story behind his words it was just too stinkin' cute not to share! 

So, he's just started this thing where he talks to himself or rather to his toys and cars and plays out little imaginary conversations with them and this was just one of a few this week that made me downright giddy and just smile thinking of how much fun he was having just be creative and playing on his own. Little did I know how "creative" he could be.....

First I hear this....

Hudson in a high pitched voice -- "Don't eat me! Don't eat me!"

Then I hear this.....

Hudson is a raspy, growly voice --- "Rrrr, rrrr, I'm gonna eat you!"

Then this....

Hudson in a high pitched voice --- "Oh no, oh no! Please don't eat me! Please don't eat me!"

Finally, I decide to turn around and find out what the heck the kid is talking about because I'm pretty confused at this point and low and behold, I see him in the tub, Lightning McQueen in one hand and in the other, a big-arse shark toy to which he proceeded to imitate eating his hero, Lightning McQueen, lol!!! I immediately caught on to his hilarious imaginary scene and asked him what was going on even though I knew and he said, the shark is trying to eat Lightning and then just giggled. Ha!

Seriously, kids have the craziest imaginations, don't they? But then again, that's another amazing and totally fun thing about being a parent! I am constantly amazed at everything my child says and does and whether it's silly that makes me laugh or innocent and heartfelt that makes me my heart swell or something new and amazing that makes me proud, I just can't get over how terrific he really is and how much my love for him grows more and more every.single.day. Becoming a mom = priceless, best.blessing.ever

So....now I want to know, what's the silliest or most random thing your kiddo has said or done this week?

Rewind - Maternity Photos 2009.

So, kind of ironic I guess, but I never got around to sharing my maternity photos that Sara with Little Ones Rock took for me back in, oh November! I wanted to at least share a few of my favorites even though little Landon is already here and going on three months old already!!! I know, I cannot even believe that my newborn is about to be one quarter of a year old! YIKES! Before I know it I will be planning his first birthday party and getting ready for his second Christmas, big crocodile tears coming on just thinking about it. :(

Whew...okay, past the emotional stuff for now....so on with the pics! I want to frame at least one if not a couple or few, which ones are your faves?? Being the overly-analytical one, I just can't decide and always have problems making decisions especially on things like this...thus, why there's a huge stack of Aaron Brothers frames still sitting under the entertainment center in my office | the playroom because I have yet to be able to sit down and decide on which photos to have printed to frame in each one. Le sigh. I guess I need to work on that too.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Landon Jacob - Two Months Old.

 

Landon - you are TWO MONTHS OLD!!!!

What are you up to these days?

• You are growing so fast my little one! We took you for your two month checkup with Dr. H and you already weigh a solid 11 lbs 1 oz, up exactly three whole pounds from your birth weight! You definitely can seem to be growing quite quickly and are starting to get the cutest chunky little legs and some little chubby cheeks too! I call you my chunky monkey and you just smile and coo and gurgle and even almost giggle when mama talks all silly to you!
  

• You are still wearing a size 1 diaper, however they are a bit large on you and you'll probably continue to wear them for a while which is okay with mama since I don't want you to grow up too, too fast!

• You are also still wearing all newborn clothing and while some things are a little snug or seem a bit short on you, most of the newborn items you should be able to wear for at least a little while longer. Although, who knows since you seem to be such a fast growing little boy!

  

• You are still nursing exclusively and your mama is so proud that you have done so well and that I have been able to nurse you as I had hoped I could. I keep holding my breath waiting for something to go wrong, a problem to arise, but no, you have done amazing and luckily, mama hasn't had any significant setbacks either. I am hoping that our luck will continue and that I will be able to continue nursing you until you are at least six months old if not for a full year, but we will take it day by day and take whatever comes our way.

• You still resist pacifiers and bottles, BUT will accept them on occasion. Of course, you prefer mommy to either one, but sometimes daddy has to improvise!

  

• You are sleeping for at least one long stretch at night usually lasting for 5 or 6 hours on average, but have slept as long as 9 hours at a time. Then you will usually wake after two hours or so for a feeding and then again for your morning feeding. You often times take a nap in the late morning and then another in the early to late afternoon. Although, there have been many occasions recently to where you have only taken ONE nap all day long and have only slept for 2 hours or so. Hopefully, this is just temporary though and you get back to taking at least two naps a day for two-three hours a piece.
  

• You definitely know what you want and what you need and always take no time in letting mama and daddy know! A very vocal baby and while you do cry a bit more  than your I recall your bigger brother did, you do not seem to cry out without reason unless it is because you simply just want to be held and to have that interaction which of course, is absolutely, totally and completely normal. You are a baby and that's what babies thrive on and need, to be held and loved and to have interaction and a connection with those that love them and that they love. So, although you do cry and do so regularly, you do so in a normal, healthy manner as I discussed with Dr.H at your recent appointment. And you are indeed a very, very happy baby nonetheless! You LOVE for us to talk to you, sing to you, act silly and smile at you and play with you and you just smile and coo and your eyes light up in a way that I simply cannot even begin to describe. It makes my heart melt and my spirits soar when I see you smile and laugh with such innocence, it's simply one of the best feelings I've ever felt and yet, so difficult to put into words in a way to describe enough to do it justice. It's truly indescribable the way you make me feel when you smile and those gorgeous deep blue-grey eyes light up and you light everything and everyone else up when you do so as well. You are just SO loved! 

  

•  You continue to be innately aware of your surroundings and all going on around you. So much so that you seem to act like you know what's going on or at least want to make sure you are included! You often cry when I am out of your sight for a minute or say if you are in your swing in the living room and we are all in the kitchen getting dinner together, so we now know that you just want to be included too! We just bring you into the kitchen so you can be part of the action as well or supervise I will say, lol!

• You are still a swaddle lover and continue to ONLY sleep very well when swaddled although you fall asleep all of the time without it. It's just that you sleep SO lightly that it seems like without it you move your arms or legs when a noise might startle you and you wake up much easier while with the swaddle you are more contain and seem to sleep much, much more soundly and noises and other distractions seem to not bother you much at all.

  

• You seem to like to be the center of attention or at least prefer it when someone is cooing all over you! You have become quite the smiley, happy baby when you want to be and love to just smile and make all kinds of funny little noises! You look like you are trying your best to repeat sounds or to babble, although I know it is FAR too early for that, I think you are determined and have something to say though!

• You are still napping in your swing or in your Papasan bouncer most often and occasionally nap on mama or in your pack n play. You've napped so more in your crib, but those naps seem to not last quite as long. We are looking to move you to your room at night before too, too long, so hopefully you'll start liking your crib more soon and hopefully, the transition won't be too difficult.

  

• You definitely have become more comfortable with your baths and even seem to enjoy them quite a bit! In fact, you act a bit scared or hesitant at first, but after just a minute or two, you start cooing and smiling at mama. I think it just takes a minute for you to feel safe and then you're good to go!  You still HATE to have a dirty diaper and definitely let out some of the loudest cries in order to make sure we know you need your diaper changed and FAST!

• Bailey is FAR more interested in you, than you are in him, but that's okay. He has become a lot more interested in you in the past few weeks and often comes up and starts wagging his tail and sniffing all over you whenever we are on the floor doing tummy time or playing on your play mat. I think he's just nosy really!

• Hudson is still as smitten, if not even more so, of you too! He is always trying to play with you and show you both your toys and how to play with them along with his cars too! Of course, he's gotta teach ya all about Lightning McQueen, Mater, Chick Hicks and the Hudson Hornet!!! You usually just stare at him or smile and laugh, but it's always adorable to watch the two of you together. I just can't wait to see how cute you are together once you are older! For now, Hudson has become quite the helper bringing mommy the boppy or a blanket or your swaddle, diapers and wipes, whatever mama needs to help take care of Landon. It's absolutely adorable I tell ya!

  

• Your hair is still fairly think and dark, however you do have quite the funny little bald spot on the back of your head! Actually, mama was pretty sad and unhappy about it and cannot wait for the hair to grow back in. I even asked Dr. H about it at your last appointment and whether or not I should worry about it and he chuckled and assured me no, the hair will grow back, DO NOT worry! Whew! I hope so because it's definitely not the best look for you even though you are about the cutest baby ever! 

• Your eye color hasn't seemed to change much since birth, you have gorgeous dark grey-blue eyes and beautiful LONG eyelashes to boot! Dr. H. did say at your last appointment that he didn't think he could see any color pigment in your eyes, but couldn't be certain and that he would check at your next appointment at four months. He did indicate that if he had to guess, he thinks you'll end up with mama's eyes just like your big brother, but I am going to hold out a little hope that you keep your pretty dark blue ones!  You still have the prettiest, softest skin and seem to rarely, if ever, have any type of skin reactions to anything and have never had cradle cap or any kind of diaper rash whatsoever. SUCH a difference from Hudson when it comes to those two things. Hopefully, I am not speaking too soon! 

  

• Besides all of your new vocal skills, you also have gotten even better at holding your head up and have become a crazy little wiggly worm! Kicking and squirming and just moving around like crazy. You've started to drool an insane amount as well and have most recently decided that you love to suck on your hands. And LOUDLY too! Your daddy and I just laugh listening to you suck and suck on your hands / fingers and you do it sometimes right after you've been fed so it's not done out of hunger, but I guess it's just you exploring and also just that it might be soothing to you.

• You've experienced a couple of other firsts in the past month including your first play date out with mama and big brother. Hopefully, mama can get you some play dates set up with some other babies in your age range before too long so that you can make some new baby friends! The first two months have definitely FLOWN by far too fast, but although makes mommy kind of sad that you have already grown so much, I am even more excited for what is ahead! I can't wait to see what you have in store for us and to see what fun things you'll be up to next little one! We love you!

 

Hudson Three-Year Checkup - Severely Late.

Only 3+ months late, but we finally took Hudson for his three year checkup with Dr. H. and luckily, the appointment went off without a hitch! Honestly, I wasn't sure how things we're going to go, especially since Hudson had initially been acting out quite a bit after Landon's birth, but he's since calmed down and oddly enough, acted like a complete and total gentleman the entire time we were at the doctor's office. He behaved SO well and seemed very receptive to everything his doctor had to say to him. We discussed many things from his sleep patterns to eating patterns, exercise and motor skills to social skills and behavior. We discussed our desire to have him participate in some type of Mother's Day Out or similar in order to get more socialized and prepared for pre-school to which he agreed and of course, we discussed the fact that Hudson is NOT yet potty-trained and has very little to no desire to even attempt to move from diapers to big boy underwear. Dr. H. said that we could wait a little longer if we wished before we aggressively moving forward with potty training since we do have a newborn on our hands, but was very honest about the fact that it is something that we will need to focus on and have plenty of time and energy to do as he suggested basically skipping pull-ups or any other type of training product and instead just ditching diapers completely when the time comes and replacing with undies. He states that this technique seems to work much better especially because typically toddlers do not like to have (pardon the tmi!) urine or feces to run down their legs and so if you start them off in underwear and just bring them to the potty frequently and consistently throughout the day, it is far more likely that they will catch on quickly and be able to train faster skipping the entire pull-up or training diapers phase. There was more detail to it than that, but that's the basic jest. I'm embarrassed that he turned three in October and still isn't potty trained, but honestly, I had no energy or time for it myself towards the end of my pregnancy and then once Landon was born, well, between nursing and just taking care of a newborn in general, we decided that we would hold off a little bit before trying again with Hudson. Although, we are still talking about it constantly, frequently offering him to go to the potty, etc., but Hudson is just NOT interested. I think we will have to do what Dr. H suggested and just stick him in underwear and face the music once we are prepared to do so. It shouldn't be much longer as I can't take two in diapers for a lot longer anyway and hopefully, things are settling down enough with Landon to where between myself and David, we will have the time to focus on potty training a bit more.

Mothers of boys, what age did your sons get potty trained? I've always heard that boys take a lot longer and that being over three and not being potty trained is actually fairly common, but I still worry about it and can't wait for my little boy to finally just want to use the potty! If you have any tips or tried and true methods / suggestions, please feel free to share them! I'd love to hear what did or did not work for you.

All in all though, the appointment went very well and Hudson's stats were impressive as well. Oh, and he also got a couple of his immunizations and let me just tell you, he didn't like it too much! Poor litle Hudson, I felt so bad when he started crying and definitely had not seen those shots coming! He was fine minutes later of course, but definitely wanted a sticker for all of his pain once we checked out from the doctor's office, lol! At least it all went very well and I am proud to say that we've got us a couple of very healthy and cute little boys on our hands here! 

His measurements / stats were as follows:
Weight - 34 lbs 8 oz (75th percentile!)
Height - 37 1/2" (60th percentile)

More of the little "rocker"

 

  

  

 

  

  

 

 

Rock n' Roll Brothers