Hudson, you are 11 months old!! The theme of this past month seems to have been sickness. Aside from a random cold a couple months ago, you've been healthy despite Kemper bringing home who knows what kind of germs from preschool. This month however, our luck ran out. You got your first, and second, case of strep throat this month. You were a very sad little boy who didn't feel good but once we got some antibiotics in you, you perked right back up! You managed to avoid the stomach bug that Daddy and Kemper ended up with but then you and Kemper both came down with strep again. Mommy is ready for everyone to be healthy! Round 2 of antibiotics and hopefully we're on our way.
At 11 months, you weigh 21lbs 4oz (apparently the nurse told me the wrong weight at 10 months - you were 20lbs 4 oz at 10 months). The doctor is no longer concerned about your weight because you've found a new curve and are riding it steady! Not sure on your height, they didn't check that but you don't seem to have gotten longer in the legs...your pants aren't turning into high waters! You are in mostly 12 month clothing at this point. You can fit into some 9-month onesies but they are getting pretty snug. You wear a size 4 diaper. We took you to Stride Rite and got your foot measured and bought your first pair of shoes. You are wearing a 4.5w shoe. We had been putting you in some of Kemper's old shoes and you hated them...come to find it out, they were too small and once we put the right size on you, you were happy as a clam!
You are down to nursing 4 times a day (wake up, before morning nap, before afternoon nap, and before bed) and are eating LARGE meals throughout the day. Your favorite seems to be Italian...spaghetti, ziti, lasagna, ravioli...you go to town and make the biggest mess! You tried peanut butter for the first time and seem to like it. It's definitely not something you go nuts over, but you will eat it. Bananas, strawberries and mandarin oranges are favorites. Peas, carrots and corn seem to be the vegetables you prefer.
You have 2 new teeth - 6 total! I think there are a few more trying to work their way in based on the amount of drool we've been experiencing but we can't see anything trying to poke through yet!
You learned to give high-fives this month, are signing "more" and just recently started signing "all done". You LOVE Pat-A-Cake and the Itsy Bitsy Spider - those are guaranteed smile getters in this house! Mommy can still usually calm you down with a rendition of "I love you Hudson, oh yes I do" and if we ask you to do "the lizard" and demonstrate, you immediately burst into a smile.
You still go to bed between 6:30 and 7pm and wake for the day around 7:30am. You wake up a few times at night for your pacifier (just like your older brother did) but usually go back to sleep as soon as we pop the paci in your mouth. Naps during the day seem to be getting close to a transition. I've found that you go down for your morning nap much easier since I pushed it back about 30 minutes. We had a few days of you fighting your morning nap but you still obviously NEED that nap and have gone back to taking it. The morning nap lasts for an 1-2 hours most days. After you wake up, we play and eat lunch and either take a bath depending on what was for lunch that day or play a bit more before your afternoon nap. On the weekends, you go down for that nap between 1-2pm but I have to try to get you down a bit sooner during the week so we can pick Kemper up at 3. This makes for a pretty short afternoon nap which makes you a cranky little boy around 5pm every night but I haven't been able to figure out a way around this.
One of the BIGGEST milestones this month is that you are now WALKING!!! Your preferred method of travel is still crawling because you can get there faster but you can walk across rooms and do so quite often throughout the day. You kind of look like Frankenstein when you walk and you usually have a goofy grin on your face the whole time! You love to crawl up the stairs and think that the 2 steps in the playroom are your own personal playground! You stand at this gate and just shake it and yell trying to get out. If you see someone on the other side of the gate, you usually have a meltdown.
You absolutely love your brother. It is the most amazing thing to see. You light up when he comes in the room. When we drop him off at school in the morning, you crane your neck all around the van trying to find him when we get back in to go home. When we pick him up in the afternoon, you get so excited to see him. He can always make you smile and he loves you just as much as you love him. Daddy and I just about burst with pride when you were fussing in the car one night and Kemper started singing "I love you Hudson, oh yes I do" to you and calmed you down right away. You are starting to play more with him...usually by crawling on top of him and "attacking" him. He can't understand why you like his toys so much more than your own but you will go directly for any toys he leaves within your reach. If you hear his voice, you stop what you're doing and start looking for him. I love seeing you two together. It melts my heart and I pray that you are always best friends and will always look out for one another.
Sweet boy, we love you so much and can't believe how fast this first year has gone. In less than a month we will be celebrating your first birthday! Thank you for being a sweet little guy, a little guy who loves to snuggle in with his mama at night before bed, a guy who is ready with a smile just when we need one and who is bound to do big things in life. We can't wait to see you grow and see who you become.
