HP's First Haircut

Taking a break from the Project Life fun to share a simple layout with you. I made this back in early may at the Paperie retreat as well. I really wanted to capture Hudson's first haircut in his scrapbook album and how he was such a littel superstar through the whole thing. I think it helped he was only 8 months old at the time, so perhaps a little too young to be frightened of it all. He sat pleasantly through the whole thing and looked extra cute after it was all done: 

In making this one, I chose a bold patterened paper background and then layered with a bold dot print, punched iwth the notebook edger punch. A strip of washi tape over that and a tabbed journaling car was put on top. I decided to mat the pics in white to help them pop off the page, and used light grey letter stickers by Amy Tangerine for the title.

I embellished them empty space next to the journalling with a cluster of stars - a mix of felt, glitter, and metal - to reflect the journalling about him being a superstar:

I also added a glitter star, a strip of the punched dot paper, and a strip of washi tape in a cluster at the top. This picked up the look of the page and gave me a place to note Hudson's age.

I really like the way this one turned out. Now I should probably do his second haircut, which came before he was a year old. Yep, the kid had two haircuts before he had any teeth and before he turned one. Crazy I know! We're already gearing up for haircut number 3 .. which you can see is long overdue (pun intended!):

Good Day for Ridin'

The sun is out today and any Friday the sun's shining is a good day in my books. And if you're a motorcycle enthusiast, like Hudson's Uncle T, it's also a good day for ridin'.

This is a layout I did earlier this month at the Paperie retreat, showing Hudson sitting atop the (parked) motorcycle with his Uncle. We were lucky to spend quite a bit of time with Uncle T while I was off on mat leave and it shows. The smile on little man's face is always quick to appear when Uncle T is around. He's also one of the few people Hudson is happy to go to when he's just waking from a nap and one of the few he'll reach for in a crowd, other than mom and dad. This pic, taken when Hudson was about six months, is a favourite of the two of them.

The paper, with it's motorcycle image printed on the corner, was perfect for the page. I then blitzed it up a bit by layering a star mask on and spritzing with some Mister Huey's ink.

I also can't resist a bit of paper/embellishment layering. Off setting the photo I add a brown "cool" bingo card from the same paper line as the background sheet, which was placed on top of a misted manila tag. On there I added a few star chipboard pieces, some twine, and a phrase sticker.All that was placed on top of more squares and banners of patterned paper and some washi tape. The final bit in this cluster was that leather tag. It was just something kicking around my mixed button stash. I was holding onto it for some unknown reason and good thing! It was the perfect rugged touch for the layers.

After I added a few journaling strips and the date, I still felt like it needed a little something. Poking around my supplies, I found a couple of fun metal buttons that fit perfecting in the motorcycle wheels, playing up that design element. Altogether, I was happy with the end result.

Yes, the sun is shining. It's a good day for ridin' indeed. Happy Friday everyone!

t-3 ...

I woke up today and it was t-3. That's right, t-3 until I'm finished maternity leave. T-3 until I wake up to rejoin the masses in morning rushes, (hot) coffee breaks, and TGIFS.  T-3 until I'm officially back to work. This has been my last week home with my boy and I've been soaking it up - hence my lack of presence on the blog this week. Come Monday, our routine changes yet again. Truth be told I'm not as worried about it as I though I would be.

I went off on maternity leave thinking I may not make the year. The thought of being disconnected from work for a whole year was a bit daunting. And while there have been times when I've actually missed it, I truly enjoyed having a year plus home with my handsome little man. I loved being able to be with him as he grew, changed, and learned. I've been fortunate to witness all his significant firsts. His first roll over. His first smiles and laugh. His first crawls. His first words. His first steps. And most recently - and finally - his first tooth. I know many mamas who missed some of these moments either because they returned to work early or because they happened while they were out or their babe didn't do it before the year was up. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, though I am happy I didn't miss these things while I was sitting behind a desk.  Makes that return a little easier knowing I won't be wondering if he's taking that first step today.

Not just walking these days, but running.
To get this pic, I placed him by the sofa there in the background and I ran to get
on the other side of the sign. This is where he was by the time I turned around.
The boy can really move!

I am also extremely blessed to have my best friend taking care of Hudson P. She has three lovely, kind, funny, playful boys of her own and stays at home with them for the time being. She looks after another little guy and, fortunately, had a space open up for Hudson. Knowing that he's there with "Aunt" Sandy and his little buddies makes my mind and heart rest easy. There is no stress about whether or not he's eating right, getting hugs and kisses, having playtime and fun. I know there will be stories and crafts and outdoor messes and Friday happy dances with the music on bust. We've already spent some time there, with an afternoon sans mama this week, without issues. Sure the first week may be a bit of a transition for all of us, but I'm confident beyond any doubt that Hudson will settle in contentedly in no time.

Getting a little help from his friends.
One of Sandy's boys showing HP the ropes while mama was out and about.

I also like my job (and, let's be honest, my pay cheque). I'm fortunate to have ended up in a career I enjoy and working in an environment that is generally flexible and positive. While I've no doubt the first week or so will be an adjustment for me, I'm looking forward to getting back into thinking and adult conversation and, if we're being honest again, my stilettos. I do miss that part of my life and am happy to be getting that part of me back.

So, at t-3, I'm doing ok. I've spent a lot of this week getting ready - getting my hair did, stocking the freezer, shopping for a few refreshed wardrobe pieces, cleaning the house, fitting in those last mid-afternoon visits with family and friends, and of course, stacking as many blocks, driving as many tiny cars, and reading as many board books as I could. Come Sunday night, I may feel differently, but today I feel that liking my job, having my house in order, knowing Hudson will be in wonderful hands and having had more than a year to enjoy his amazing little self, makes the return to work a little easier. At t-3, it's not looking too bad.

Love you Hudson P!

Happy 1st Birthday Card

Today I have one last birthday card to share - the one we gave Hudson P at his first 1st birthday party on Sunday. (He enjoyed several more through the week, including one with his playgroup, one with mama&daddy and there's more plans for cake and prezzies on the weekend ... you only turn one once right?)

For Hudson's birthday, I decided to make a card that matched his race car party theme. Like Monday's monster card, I used another card from Pinterest as the base inspiration. Sometimes I create my own cards from scratch, like yesterday's butterfly birthdays, but I also love to scraplift others. It's a high form of flattery in the scrapbooking world, providing credit/linkage is given! I was also able to use a bunch of scraps from some of the party decor I made so the card was the same colour and patterns as the rest of this party - black, red, white and grey/silver.
I decided to amp up the layers on this card, compared to the inspiration. I used a couple of layers of distressed edge paper in the background and in the paper strip embellishment. The inspiration card only used one layer for each - I really wanted a little more dimension. I kept the circle and flag embellishments as well, but used a layered circle to showcase the big number one and changed the flags from banners to pennants to keep with the race car theme. I added a bigger happy birthday banner and a star to finish it up and called it done:

I wrote a note on the inside to HP and will put this in our Project Life album for safe-keeping. I'm sure he'll enjoy seeing it in years to come. Especially on his first year in post-secondary school, as our birthday gift to him, noted inside the card, was opening up his RESP with a chunk of change!

Happy Birthday Little Man - Hope you enjoyed your birthweek festivities.

@ 12 months

Today Hudson Peter turns one year old. It doesn't seem that long since we first brought him home, just a teeny. Yet somehow, we have had a whole year blessed with this little man in our lives. It is awesomeness defined.

@ 12 months, Hudson...

... is walking. Sratch that, he's almost running. After taking a few steps here and there, about two weeks ago he just decided he was ready to go. He literally turned on his heel and took off. And he's been going ever since.

... weighs almost 25 pounds. He's our little turkey. Chubby legs you could long to chew on!

... still toothless. Yep, at one year he's had two haircuts, but still no teeth. I guess he's going to be like his mama who was over 13 months before she got hers.

... has a sweet "tooth". Maybe there's no teeth to speak of, but the little guy is like his mama in the sweets department. The odd nibble of a cookie is never resisted. And he did a number on the chocolate birthday cake.

... has changing tastebuds. He started out eating almost anything we'd give him and the transition to chunky foods was well received. That has all changed over the last month. He now spits out anything that's not fruit or toast or cereal, so we hide a lot of veggies and meat in apple sauce.

... repeats sounds and some simple words. There's still no mom or mama, that comes out "Bob, Bob", but he does say da da, hot, and hat.

... loves to read. He'll flip book pages on his own and loves to be read to, especially anything with touch & feel or flip-up pages.

... is happy to see his daddy. When daddy walks in the door at the end of the workday there are huge gummy grins and an all out sprint to get scooped up. Super sweet.

... loves his blocks. He could play with those for hours (well minutes, but that's like hours for babies). You can stack 'em tall and he'll knock 'em down over and over again. Fun times.

... is becoming more independent every day. He's good to play on his own and toddle around as long as you're in sight. He can feed himself when given food on his tray, and holds his sippy cup on his own.

At just 12 months we can see that this little guy is really growing baby to boy. And yes, it is happening a little faster than we like or expected, but we love it all the same. And we love him.

Happy 12 months Hudson P.

You are the best part of our everyday.

xoxo

Zoom Zoom - A Race Car Party

My little guy will turn one tomorrow. We`ll park my disbelief aside for the moment while we take a little run through the Race Car Party we held for him on the weekend. With his daddy being a Mopar enthusiast (ahem, insert understatement), I figured a car-themed party was the way to go. I also knew I wanted to use the vintage-style formula 1 car he got for Christmas as part of the decor, so a racecar theme quickly emerged.

To kick things off, I whipped up a simple e-vite for our families and close friends using a picture of him with his vintage-style car. The colours I used started with the silver, black, and white of the car and I added in red for a nice pop. Insert a checkered border, a couple of checkered flags and a few racecar words and it was done!

I then spent a little time searching around Pinterest and party blogs to pull together the party day decor. In my online travels I spied some really awesome all-out car parties, some including build-a-racecar, actual racetrack races, and remote-controlled car fun! With our party being mostly adults (we kept it to our families and a few close friends), I skipped most of that, but did pull together bits and pieces of inspiration from various places to create a fun little event fit for a one-year old.

Here`s the main event (aka food table!) before the food was placed:

I hung the streamers on a large picture frame, now nicely hidden behind them and draped the table with a black plastic tablecloth. I had planned to tape white dashes down the centre to resemble a road, but realized that once all the food went on you wouldn`t see it and I saved myself the effort. I also had plans of using bunches of white, red and silver balloons on either side instead of those birthday ones, but the weather foiled my plans so to speak. With the snowstorm coming on Saturday, I couldn't guarantee I'd get out to get the latex ones filled with helium and they wouldn't last from Friday until Sunday. So I went with the foil ones instead, which are guaranteed to last for days. I tried to find plain coloured ones, but no luck. Oh well, I don't think anyone noticed (or cared!). I anchored those to a couple of wheels from Hudson's sleigh/wagon to keep with the theme.
I did put in the effort on the handmade pennant banner though. I used red, black, grey/silver papers from my scrapbook stash for the triangles. I punched holes in the corners and strung those on some black ribbon and added sparkly silver letters. I think it turned out nicely.

I also made up a few race car-themed signs to place on the table and in other areas of the house. I printed the words out on white card stock with a checkered border then mounted that on red or black cardstock. The food table became "The Pit Stop", the refreshment table became the "Refueling Station" and all the food had special names too, from Speedway Soup to Finish Line Fruit to Racetrack Chili.

With only four little boys on the guest list, I skipped formal party games, but put out some crayons and race car colouring sheets in "The Body Shop" and piled all the toys together in the "Junk Yard".

I put up some photos of HP from the past year, including a display of him with/by various and sundry cars. Again, with his daddy a musclecar fan(atic), we have our fair share of these!

I also displayed his 11 monthly photos from the year. I printed them in black and white, strung them up with mini-binder clips and added a few streamers and balloons for fun.

And of course, what's a birthday party without the cake? Thankfully my mama is cake-baker-maker extraordinaire and willingly obliged my request for a racetrack cake. I loved it! Looks great, eh?

And that little pin and birthday hat he's sporting were also my handmade creations:

For the pin, I used leftover bits from the banner. First I cut a 12" long strip and folded it accordion style, shaped it into a circle and glued the ends together. I topped it off with a punched scallop circle, another smaller circle, and the number one. On the back I added a small felt circle with some hot glue, then glued the ribbon strips to that and covered them up with another felt circle. I couldn't find a hat in the colours I liked, so I bought a silver one that had blue glitter words, blue tassels and a blue tinsel-like thing around the bottom. I stripped all that blue stuff off and replaced it with a red washi tape trim, red stickles for the words, and some trimmed black tissue paper for the top. Now it was race car party ready and suitable for my boy.

Finally, there had to be loot bags for the littles that came. I stuffed baggies with goldfish, juice boxes, chocolate easter eggs and a hot wheels car. I added a simple topper with race flags and more racing words to finish it all off.

All in all, it was a Indy-fast afternoon filled with Hudson Peter's biggest fans!

@ 11 Months

We are just one month from his first birthday. What the? I swear we just brought the mite home from the hospital. I’m sure it was yesterday. Oh wait now, I know it wasn’t because I actually slept fairly well last night, which I didn’t do for the first 9 months of his life. Yes, that must actually mean we are closer to one year than one day.

@ 11 months, Hudson ...


... is free standing. Yep, he can now stand all by his lonesome for quite a bit of time. Even longer if he's distracted. ... is a much better sleeper than he’s ever been. We’ve had a few rough nights of late thanks to teething, but for the most part he’s sleeping pretty much through the night since early January, or at least goes back to sleep easily on his own if he does stir. And naptimes are no fuss, no muss 99% of the time. Amen + Hallelujah!... yes, he has taken his first steps. They were tentative and just a few, but he’s getting there. He keeps trying on his wobbly little legs. Oh, hold on to your hats folks once this little man starts running because he ...

showing his mad free standing skillz!
And followed up with a few steps...

... is super destructive curious. There is no keeping him still. He wants to be moving, exploring, picking, and poking. So far we’ve lost one coat button, one crib mobile, one computer key, two door stoppers, and countless rolls of toilet paper.  Fun times.

... still only says da da da. Seriously child? I birthed you out my va-jay-jay and you still only say dada. Kidding. I know once mama starts there’ll be a day I’m wishing he never spoke the words in the first place.

... has had his second haircut. Yep, not one tooth. Not even one year old and he’s had two haircuts. It turned out a little short/uneven thanks to his continuous curiousity and desire to move while scissors were in his face. Oh child o mine.

... will pretty much go with anyone. Thankfully for us, he’s not overly shy and we can leave him with pretty much anyone familiar and he doesn’t fuss or cry for us when we leave. Thankfully, this allows us to have an (albeit limited) social life.  

... is afraid of the vacuum. If I need to vacuum I have to pick him up and hold him in one arm and vacuum with the other. Oh the irony, given the vacuum was used to lull him to sleep for the first half of his life! Hmm, maybe that’s the issue?

... is getting pretty good at feeding himself. We still lose bits and pieces in transit, and blackberries and blueberries are a bit of scene once he's done, but he can really make good headway with stuffing his sweet little face all on his own.

... is showing early signs of being a leftie. I know that trait doesn't really become prominent until he's a couple of years old or more, but you can certainly see he favours his left. When he started rolling, he could only roll to the left for the longest time. When he started grabbing and reaching, he would use mostly his left hand. And now he uses his left hand to pick food up and put it in his mouth (see above!), with the right being brought in for backup. I guess we'll have to wait and see!

... is our smiley bates. He really does smile most of the time and laughs with ease. Whether it’s us, our family, or a stranger, he’s quick to smile his gummy grin and get all the attention he knows will ensue.

... the sunshine in our days. Love you little man!

Happy 11 months HP!!

It`s Feeding Time

Earlier this week CBC aired a story about kids who self-feed versus being spoon-fed (sorry I couldn't find the online link to share it). In short the story indicated that recent research showed kids who start self-feeding earlier have lower risk of obesity later on than kids who are spoon-fed. They learn to control their amount of food intake - that whole stopping when full concept - and gain an understanding of satiety. Makes sense, as I know from watching HP that he will eat as long as I'm lifting a spoon to his mouth. It is habit for him I think, more so than hunger, as he often clears every bowl of food unless it's something he really doesn't like (enter broccoli).

The same story also talked about how many parents don't self-feed earlier and continue to spoon feed purees, soups, and mashed food longer out of fear of choking. In talking to D about it, I thought about my approach to feeding HP. He can chew small pieces of food quite easily, including Cheerios, toast, and assorted veggies and fruit. However, while I regularly include bits of food on his tray, I tend to spoon-feed him most of his meal. The result is that he waits for me to put food in his mouth rather than reach for what's on his tray. Easier I suppose. In fact, it's easier for both of us and I realized that's why I do it. Not because I'm afraid he'll choke, but rather because it's easier and faster for me to spoon-feed than let him attempt it solo.

Oy! I had a moment of realizing I am doing it for him rather than letting him truly figure it out on his own because it's easier for me. In my mind's eye, I looked ahead to the many things he will have to learn to do on his own from tying his shoelaces to finishing the science project to washing his laundry. I quickly realized there will be many occasions where it will be easier for me to do it for him, but that won't really help him in the long run. So yesterday we attempted our first real focus on self-feeding. On the lunch menu were favourites including avocado, raspberries and grain puffs.

I put cut up pieces on his tray and sat down with my lunch. Instead of feeding him a bit and then eating a bit of my own, I enjoyed my sandwich, talked to him, and let him play with the food on his tray. I did show him how to pick it up and encouraged him to mimic my actions. Lo and behold, he did OK solo! First he just moved things around on the tray:

As I continued to eat and chat, he started picking bits up and bringing them to his mouth. While not always most efficient - we lost quite a few pieces in transit! - he did manage to get some in his mouth and continued to try. Once I was finished my lunch and did assist him some by picking some up and feeding to him and picking some off the tray and letting him take it from me. But for the most part he managed solo and it was quite cute to watch him work those puffs around in his hands and into his mouth!

It took much longer before we completed lunch - as in 45 minutes or more - but that was OK. I  actually noticed how he give indication he was done after a while, though whether from boredom or satiety I don`t know. Either way, I think learning taste, texture, feeding and satisfaction are all healthy habits to form early on. Sure some days there will be more assistance and spoon feeding when we need to get out the door or if we`re out and about, but I will definitely continue to encourage the self-feeding. And at the end of it, the whole thing just made him happy.

@ 10 Months

We're only two months away from his first birthday ... what the? I'm enjoying every passing day with the little man and all that fun changes each day brings, but sometimes, just sometimes, I'd like to stop the clock for a bit. Holy smokes - HP is 10 months old!

 10 months, Hudson ...

... is slowly but surely getting better at sleeping. Over the past month we've had success with sleep training and have moved away from rocking him to sleep all the time, can put him down in the crib with minimal to no fuss, have gotten him to waking just once for a bottle on most nights, and have even enjoyed the luxury of a few sleep through the nights. After 9 months of sleepless nights, it is heaven.

... can almost free stand. He simply lacks the confidence. He has stood on his own a few times, but once he realizes we're no longer holding on or his supports are not there, he sits. And this leads him to ...

... quickly approaching the walking stage. He can creep along furniture and deftly moves from couch to coffee table to chair. He can walk assisted with the walker toy and by holding onto our fingers. Lord help us when he can move on his own ;)

... is a pretty good little eater. He eats three square meals a day with  a few snacks in between, and of course his bottles. He loves his fruits, everything we've given him except peaches. He gobbles grains,with gusto from his baby cereal to oatmeal to puffs to cheerios to toast to pasta. He's a little more particular over the veggies, with a strong dislike for broccoli. Proteins are a harder sell, but we sneak beans into some veg and he enjoys egg yolk. We're still holding off/slowly bringing in dairy due to his earlier sensitivities.

... says da da da and babbles a lot. Da da da came along in early January, though there isn't much association between the words and daddy quite yet. Otherwise mostly babbles and squeals of delight.

... is a pleasant little guy. He smiles most of the time and has started playing coy with strangers. If someone new says hello, he'll give a shy smile and put his arm over his head, hiding his face. He'll then peak out and give a big ol grin. It's much too cute!

... is not a big fan of the snow. Then again, you can hardly blame him. He's stuffed into a puffy suit that takes away his mobility, so all he can do is sit there in it really. And it's cold. Maybe by next year!

... likes to explore. He's constantly picking and poking and crawling and reaching. Simultaneously awesome and frustrating.

... loves the computer. Des and I both have laptops and as soon as we open them up, he comes crawling as fast as he can. He loves to click at the keys. And there's no tricking him and trying to sneak a peek when he's not looking - no matter where he is, he knows the start up sounds and comes a crawling! Ears like a hawk I tell ya.

... dislikes the sounds of: garbage bags being flicked open, my hair dryer, the food processor and the mixer. I guess it's the loudness, which is odd given the first six months of his life were spent with either the vacuum or radio static going full tilt.

... as handsome as ever. The full head of hair, the blue eyes, those chipmunk cheeks. Seriously. Melt. My. Heart.

Happy 10 months Hudson P!!

xoxo

@ 9 months

This time last year I was returning to work after the holidays, thinking how it would be no time until I was beginning maternity leave. Today, I'm thinking how it'll be no time until it's April and I'm heading back to work. My little man is nine months old today and time is just a ticking by!

@ 9 months, Hudson is:

...crawling fast. He can make good time between points A and B, almost too fast to catch sometimes.

...pulling himself up. On everything.  Up on the sofas and chairs. Up on the drawers and cupboards. Up on the TV stand and coffee tables. Up on the walls. I'm sure he does it just because he can.

...cruising along. He gets himself standing on something, like the sofa or coffee table, and "cruises" right along to wherever he thinks he needs to be. Apparently a sure sign walking isn't far behind. Oh my.

...not interested in Christmas. He picked a bit at a few ornaments, but otherwise didn't bother with the tree or decorations. He was equally non-plussed by the presents, paper, and boxes. The box of mum-mums in his stocking being the exception. I expect next year will be a different story.

...our little Bam-Bam. Oddly enough, for as uninterested in Christmas as he was, he loves to pick and poke. He's constantly reaching for anything he shouldn't - think wires (even when well out of reach!), radiator knobs, door stoppers, garbages. Sure he hauled a door stopper clear off the wall. There was a flick, flick, flick, and then a yank. Alas, he's {slowly} learning the word 'no'.

...still has nary a tooth. He asked the mall Santa for his two front teeth for Christmas, but as Santa explained that was a hard one to pull off. So, here we are with all the drool, chewing, and restlessness of teeth with not a pearly white to be seen.

...our little turkey. He's almost 23lbs, two and a half feet tall, and growing like a weed. He's just fitting into his 6-12 months clothes and easily wears most 12-18 month size with just a touch of room to spare.

...sleeping like he doesn't need too. Seriously. You'd think by 9 months he'd be starting to settle into almost sleeping through the night, but nope. We're all up at least three times a night, sometimes much more than that. I'm hoping that the appearance of a few teeth will help resolve this little issue.

...a pleasant, sweet-cheeked, smiling baby boy. Despite the very interrupted and sleepless nights, he's as good as gold during the day. Tis hard to stay frustrated by the time when sweet face is smiling at you at 6am from over the side of the crib. 

...has the bestest belly laugh. It comes easy, is highly contagious, and is quite honestly the most awesome sound in my world right now.

Happy 9 months HP!

XOXO. Momma and daddy love you to bits.

Out of Season Scrapbook Share

Stressing over not having those holidays cards in the mail, the Christmas cookies baked, or those special seasonal crafts still sitting untouched? Let it go, look back on something you have already finished, and enjoy it. For me, as I give a passing thought to the few holiday scrapbook pages and craft projects I had planned on doing, I am happy to see this page in Hudson's scrapbook. The picture was taken on July 1, 2011 and the page put together in November. Love that it's done.

Happy Canada Day Holidays!

@ 8 Months

This time last year I was thinking that once Christmas was passed, it would be no time before I was cluing up at work, beginning maternity leave, and welcoming a bouncing baby into our lives. This year, I'm thinking how once Christmas is passed it will be no time before I'm heading back to work. I will distract myself by celebrating our bouncing baby's 8 month birthday!

Getting a picture this month was TOUGH!
Little dude just wanted to move, not sit still and pose for his momma. This was the best we could do ;) 

@ 8 months, Hudson is
... an awesome little eater. Aside from chicken and carrots, he pretty much eats everything we serve him. New in the mix this month are corn, applesauce, beans and egg yolks. We're going to add pears and broccoli soon. Mmmm.

... can crawl. Yep, little man is on the move. Fortunately for us, he's not fast and doesn't get far...yet.  It'll be just a little while though before we're chasing him around the house.

... just starting to pull himself up. He tries to get up on his pins in the crib, but doesn't quite have it down yet. Instead, he gets himself half up on his knees and gets himself stuck with his face pressed up against the bars, at which point the whining begins and it's momma and daddy to the rescue.

... toothless. Despite the continual drool, the stubborn diaper rash, and the constant chewing, there's nary a tooth. These days we're singing All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth ;)

... loves the computer. He loves to click clack the keys, watch videos on YouTube, and just play with it. Whenever he's close, watch out! Fortunately, he's not interested when the screen in closed.

... closing in on 21lbs. He has the cutest little turkey legs. He's sporting 9-12 months clothing and at least 12 months sleepers. Baby fat is the best!

... blowing bubbles and babbling non-stop. I'm expecting he's gonna be a big talker and soon.

... still not a great sleeper. Certainly better since the initial attempt at sleep training and losing the pacifier, but not the greatest. He'll wake at least once or twice within the first few hours of going down and he's then usually good until 4ish before waking to eat. If we're really lucky, he'll sleep through til 6ish.

... an even worse napper. Completely inconsistent. Sometimes he goes easy, more often he fights going down. Sometimes he sleeps for only 30 minutes (or less!) and other times it's up to an hour and half. Sometimes he needs to go down after being awake just a couple of hours, sometimes he's good for four plus. {Sigh}.

... loves his bedtime books. Well, he loves books (and magazines and newspaper) period. But at bedtime he knows which two books we read. Try to read a different one and he wants no part of it. He's starting to flip pages more and more, but it's mostly a bunch of chewing these days.

... loves the TV credits. If you're in his way when the end of show credits pop up, watch out. He'll push, pull, and reach his way around you to see it. He stares and stares and stares until their done. Perhaps he envisions his name in there one day?
... tends to want to play with things that are not toys. Thin Tupperware, wooden spoons, momma's fall decor, etc. Makes shaking up the playtime fun!

... the most handsome boy around.

This picture however is so Hudson right now. Go, go, go + explore.

Happy 8 Months Handsome Hudson!

More Spotlight Sharing

A few more of my scrapbook layouts are up over on the Paperie Blog with a request for a few more (we'll have to see about that ;). I want to pick a favourite layout, but I can't! They all tell a special story or capture a special moment. It's too hard for me to play faves amongst them. I guess you'll have to choose for me ;)

Is it this one showing how similar my boys really are?

right down the expression

Or this one, preserving the memories of baby clothes first washed, folded and put away weeks before the baby was even here?

{please ignore the 'o' it has been fixed!}
Too bad this isn't a scratch-n-sniff page.

Or this one starring my mini Hefner?

how many robes does a boy need? apparently four.

Or maybe it's this one, making time between nanny and babe stand still?

I love the masking and misting on the background on this one.

I can't choose favourites, but maybe you can!

Dear Santa...

The St. John's annual Santa Parade was this past weekend. Hundreds of kiddies showed up clutching their Santa letters. Waiting with baited breath to see the jolly ol' guy himself at the end of the show, they pass along those letters. Enclosed in the envelopes are the hopes of seeing a few of their desired treasures under the tree. While our little family decided to pass on the parade this year, Hudson wanted to make sure Santa and his elves have a few ideas of what to leave under his very first Christmas tree. So, with just a little help from momma and daddy, here is HP's very first dear Santa ...

I think he'll find a few treats under the tree. Though I expect he'll be more interested in the boxes and paper.

Santa really comes and leaves treats for me?? Awesome!

Do you have you have your letter to Santa mailed yet? What's on your wish list?

Simple Things: His First Snowfall



'

"can we go play mom? can we? can we?"


We went to Nanny's house earlier in the week to escape the loud hammers and saws and nail guns as the working crew laid new hardwood floors in our place. We ended up snowbound for a day longer than expected. Hudson loved watching his first real snowfall through the window. He smacked his hands against the window while babbling excitedly. And when he saw Poppy plowing the snow on the bike, well that near about put him over the edge with glee. He seemed to think it was all the coolest (pun intended) thing! Me, well I thought the coolest thing was that sweet face as he watched the snow drift and blow all about.

Linking up with Rebecca Cooper's Simple Things

Trick or Treat 2011 - Scrapped!

We're up to our yin yangs in fresh paint, soon-to-be-laid hardwood, pulled up carpet, pulled down mouldings, and stirred-not-shaken-dust. With the dust settling in it's new, but temporary corners, I thought I do a quick scrapbook layout share with you.

How cute is that lobster? Seriously almost sweet enough to eat.

Ah, back to finding temporary homes for assorted pieces of furniture and pulling up the remaining f-ugly carpet. Sigh. I love room re-do's, but tis hard work.