Happy 1/2 Birthday!!

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

What a little MAN Hudson has become in the last 6 months!  He's growing and changing so quickly I'm scared to blink :) Here's a recap of what's going on at this point:

• Hudson has put on 10 pounds and grown almost half a foot in the last 6 months!! 16 pounds 8 ounces and 25.5 inches long :) 
• Wearing mostly 6 month and 6-9 month clothing with a few 9 month rompers thrown in for variety
•  Wearing size 2 shoes
•  Wearing size 3 diapers (love the Pampers Baby Dry and Babies R Us brand, though neither will keep him from wetting through at night)
•  Sleep is still erratic, but he usually naps for about 1/2 an hour first thing in the morning (between 8 and 9), about an hour around lunchtime, and between 1 and 2 hours around dinnertime.  Dinnertime is usually around 7pm followed by bathtime, nursing, and bed between 830 and 930. From there, he usually gets up 2 or 3 times (but goes right back down after eating) before getting up around 7am.
•  Loves eating at the table and will actually get angry if he's not included in dinnertime.  He'll taste just about anything off our fingers, but still doesn't really like veggies straight.  We've bumped him up to the stage 2 foods recently to get some of those "hidden" veggies in (though most aren't really hidden).  Some of the stuff he loves to taste: any kind of condiment/dressing/coating - from mustard to ranch to teriyaki to salsa and everything in between.  Some of the foods he eats: bananas, apples, strawberries, peaches, plums, raspberries/blackberries/blueberries/cherries (as "mixed berries"), squash, peas, carrots, corn.  Up soon: green beans, pears (the first time didn't go so well, so we need to see if he's gotten my allergy or if it just upset his tummy), meats, black beans, spinach, mangoes, macaroni & cheese with veggies, banana puffs, cheese flavored puffs and teether cookies, small pieces of green beans, carrots, and potatoes.  The pediatrician wants him to start developing his pincer grip from the grabbing of his paci to putting foods in his mouth and wants him to start drinking water and diluted juice from a sippy cup! Where has my baby gone?!?!?!?
•  He can say (though not consistently and/or on demand): Mama, Mimi, boobie, and hi.
•  He still loves his doggy from Ms. LaTonya best, but has really gotten into his doorway jumper and tri-legged exersaucer.  He's starting to understand the whole "push buttons to make music" thing, so a doorway into cooler toys will be opening very soon.  He loves his play mat at Mimi & Pop's house, but doesn't like the one here (strange, huh?), still doesn't really like the swing (but likes to swing at the park, so maybe we'll get him one of the plastic ones to hang on Mimi & Pop's swingset).
•   Loves playing peek-a-boo, especially if you can scare him in the process; is starting to enjoy "toss the baby" (though I never toss him out of my hands, promise!); and ABSOLUTELY ADORES looking in the mirror.
•  He's got the pincer grip down pat when it comes to picking up his paci (after he takes one finger and pops it out of his mouth over and over and over and over...), but hasn't really translated that skill to picking up anything else.  The paci usually goes in the mouth crooked (or completely backwards), but we've started to see a few more instances of correct insertion lately.  He's recently started rubbing his eyes when he gets tired... not like whole-face scrubbing, but very purposeful rubbing, like an adult would do.  He knows the difference between Nate and I and what he can do with each of us: with Nate he knows that he can wrestle and roughhouse and will bounce on his lap more and chew on him and wrangle with his arm when being held; with me, he lays on his back and will rub the side of my face SO gently with his open palm and cradle my face between his hands and give kisses :)  He rolls over both shoulders from belly to back and can get most of the way from back to belly, but usually gets frustrated and flops back over to look at me instead.  He sits up for a little while at a time.  I think he can sit up, but realizes that his toes are there and wants to chew on them, bends over to eat them, then falls over.  He doesn't really seem too interested in trying to crawl, but will jump for an hour and stand up unassisted for about 10 minutes steadily, then gets wobbly kneed, and is starting to pick up his feet and move them around when we hold his hands, so I'm thinking walking isn't toooooooo far away.

I'm sure there's more that he's up to, but honestly, if I don't get this posted, each day that goes by, he learns new tricks that I could add on.  It's been an incredible six months and I can't wait to see how he continues to thrive and develop over the next six (and beyond).