Laughter

When I was in 7th grade one of my friend's mothers told us "Be sure to marry someone who makes you laugh". I never forgot that advice and have to agree with it. Laughter is medicine. It can rejuvenate a tired body, ease the pain of hard times, and even smooth over frustrations. Just the other night while laying in bed I kept interrupting Dan while he was reading to relax, trying to enjoy those precious moments of quite. Somewhat frustrated he said "I'm trying to read", then with a slight smile said "shut your mouth". When you're tired you can find things funnier than they are so I replied in the most serious voice I could muster while trying to contain a laugh, "Shut your face". From there it was all over and we went to bed giggling like little kids. I can't imagine life without my wonderful husband who ensures I'll have laugh lines all over my face when I'm older! Even in the hospital hours after Hudsy was born, Dan and my brother Daniel had me laughing so hard our poor newborn was bouncing in my arms as I shook trying to keep the laugher in so as not to wake him. Who knew recaps of your labor could be so hilarious!
Given such, I should have known our little boy would be jolly. My favorite time of day, or night, is when Hudson gets giddy. You never know what will tickle his funny bone either. Every day it is something different, so each day is a game to see who can make the baby giggle. Last week I had a little bit of a cough and each time I would cough or clear my throat Hudson just lost it. This week it seems that spitting causes him to double over in laughter.

The video is from last month, when he heard a dog bark and decided it was just about the funniest thing he'd ever heard. Of course we had to join in the fun... It's amazing what grownups will do to make a baby laugh!

Birthday

 

We celebrated Hudson's 8 month birthday this week. I can't believe how fast he is growing up. Part of me is excited for each new milestone while part of me is sad, realizing he is less and less of a baby each day. As I sat watching him play with his toys, happily chewing and banging each, I wondered, if given the choice I would keep him as my little baby. It's a good thing God doesn't give that choice though, because half an hour later my head hurt. It was a fierce debate between wanting to hold him and cuddle him just as he is; and my desire to see him run, play, and tell funny stories at the dinner table. Ah, there is just nothing that can prepare you for the love and fun a child brings into your life.

 

I took this picture just a few hours ago as I was getting him ready to go for a walk outdoors with his Grandpa. I was laughing so hard at him sitting there with his beenie turned up at the ears. I had to take a couple pictures before I got a keeper because I was shaking so hard I couldn't hold the camera still enough to get a good shot. Never one to miss a good laugh, Hudson joined in thinking whatever I was laughing at must be pretty funny.

 

Bath - his favorite time of day! I truly believe he could sit in his little tub, splashing happily without a care in the world for hours if I'd let him. After dinner we go upstairs for the evening bath. As soon as I get his diaper off he starts kicking his legs in excitement, laughing and just about dives into the bath.

On the move

 

Oh boy do we have a little bundle of activity on our hands! The other night we were joking that we need to buy a baby helmet and mouth guard (he has two little teethies) for Hudson as he is quite determined to climb just about everything in sight. I have no idea where he gets it from [Dan]. Oops, speaking of, I'll be right back, I have to pull my son off of the coffee table he is trying to climb up onto...

He is focused solely on two things - walking and climbing. He is however, decently curious also and just yesterday found out how to open the cabinet doors in the kitchen. He cannot leave a bowl upright or a cabinet closed. He pulls to a stand, reaches up to the knob, wobbily pulls it open, then peers around the door to see what treasures await him inside. Another milestone from this week is that he learned to climb the stairs - and can climb both flights! I'm not sure he realizes he is a little baby though as he would rather walk up the stairs, lifting each foot at the proper time step by step, being steadied only by Dan or me. "Who taught him this" I keep thinking to myself as I have to pull him off of chairs, stairs, coffee tables, you name it. I also keep thanking God for being healthy and young to be able to keep up with him. To give you an idea of how active he is, in the morning (or middle of the night) when he begins to wake up, before his eyes are even open he instinctively rolls over to his tummy, pushes up onto all fours then begins walking his hands up the crib wall until he is standing. Only then do his eyes open to see a sleepy Mom coming in get him - and he is nothing but one big grin, with a nose wrinkle in there for good measure. Even early in the morning Dan and I race to get him. All I can think of is "little stinker" then silently laugh at this bundle of personality. If someone would have told me I'd spend most of my day holding the hands of my 7 month old as he walks around the house inspecting every piece of furniture, for hours on end, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have believed them. But I wouldn't trade my little fireball for anything in the world. He is the happiest kid in the world. I say "world" because I can't see how one could be happier. From sun up to sun down he is nothing but smiles, nose wrinkles and the occasional joyful yell.

I just love him. Who knew you could love something so little so much.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

 

 

 

 

We took Hudson to the playground just down the path from the Bittle's house on Saturday as we thought it was time we introduced him to the wonderful world of slides and monkey bars. A great time was had by all. Dan and I enjoyed the slides and Hudson enjoyed eating the rocks. Let me tell you, that kid is quick. We were astonished at how fast he could go from innocently playing to having a mouthful of rocks. Thankfully Dan is good with the fingersweep method, being able to get the rocks out equally fast. But I have to say my favorite part of the outing was listening to a family play with their little 3 yr old girl. What made it so irrestibly fun was they spoke French, and until you've heard a little girl count to 3 in French then slide down a slide you have not fully comprehended the meaning of cute. Dan and I sat there strategically placing Hudson near her just to listen to her talk. Oh, she was soooo cute!

One last thing - just a quick clarification on where we are and what in the world we are doing. For those of you who know your geography, you know that we moved to Texas recently and yet the pictures you see have mountains in the background. Well, we decided to take a break from the job search and come visit Dan's parents in Alberta for a few weeks. We'll be headed back to the Lone Star State in a week or so and soon enough you will see us in shorts & t-shirts with glisten of sweat on brow.

Hope you are all well and enjoying your own adventures! Kristi

Food for thought

I used to listen to mothers talk about how messy their child got during a meal and think, "Oh, they just need to be more careful with how the go about it." Well I have now determined those mothers must have had boys, and I am no better than they when it comes to feeding. This morning for instance, a typical morning, I had a nice little bite of cereal ready and on it's way to Hudson's mouth when suddenly out of nowhere a little hand came flying up, knocked the contents of the spoon onto his tray and before I could respond the same little hand spread the cereal all over the tray. Not to be content with this he had to wipe his face with the same hand immediately after. All I could do was laugh and try again to get the food from point A to point B. Ah, and to think bath time is not for another 10 hours. I decided to give him a teething biscuit, a nice and solid food item, taking a break from the game of dodgeball, thinking that would be safe for a few moments. It was safe, for a few moments, then once it was nice and soggy he began a game of throwing it across the table onto the nicely waxed wood floor. He recently discovered how to throw toys and today decided to expand that to food also. We repeated this for a while, all the while I am quite thankful my inlaws are still sleeping soundly upstairs unable to witness the mess their precious grandson is creating downstairs.

It is only 8 am and I left to wonder what other adventures are in store for us today.

A Walk in the Park

It was a very good day here in Canmore, AB. Hudson and I enjoyed a day in the park here sitting under the warm sun, listening to the Bow River rush by across the trail. It was one of the best days I've had in a while watching my little boy crawl around discovering leaves, then trying to eat them. At one point he locked eyes with a seagull then took off in a full speed crawl trying to catch up with it squeeling with delight the entire way.