The Gillespie Family: Update… It's Been a While!

Well I haven't been able to post since January. I'm sorry! There's been a lot going on in the Gillespie family from new jobs, a new city, and a freshly turned 1 year old! So here goes trying to get you all up to speed!

February:

We had been trying to get Hudson to hold his own bottle for a while, but he refused. One day we were at Grandpa Bill's house with Trista and the girls. Once again, Hudson was refusing to hold his own bottle. Not long after he had finished his bottle, he saw Lily's bottle on the floor. He crawled right over to it, picked it up, and started drinking it one-handed like a pro! He was playing momma and dada…

He also discovered trucks. The first night he figured out how to push a toy truck on the floor, he spent an hour pushing it around and around on the hardwood floor. He didn't even make a peep!

On February 8th, he started standing alone for a few seconds at a time. He thought that was pretty fun! A week later he was pushing around a walker and our kitchen chairs. He would get under the kitchen table, pick a chair, and push it out from under the table as far as he could until it was up against a wall or some other sturdy object. Then he would head back under the table and pick another chair. He would do this to every chair, then take a step back and admire his work. If he was satisfied, he would finally move on to something else. :)

He started doing sign language for "bottle," saying Dada (non-stop), and he discovered the game of peek-a-boo! And finally, his favorite game to play was chase. He wanted anyone and everyone to chase him on their hands and knees. It could be me, Thomas, or Maddie (the dog) - he didn't care! He would just giggle and giggle as he recklessly tried to get away from you!

March:

In mid-March, he took his first step. And he never stopped after that! He quickly became a walking machine. He also started saying "uh-oh" when he would drop something on accident or on purpose.

Here's a video Thomas took through the door at daycare, and here's one of the first videos of him walking at home!

Daycare also had school picture day in March. I was anxious to see how he would do! The director sent me a couple of pics she took of him on her cell while the photographers were doing their thing. As you can see, he was all serious and holding back a smile. Little turd!

I think they could have at least moved his right hand!

April:

In April, he started waving "bye bye." His teachers at daycare had been teaching him how to wave for sooo long, and he would just look at them with a stupid, blank stare every time. He finally gave in and started waving "hi" and "bye bye!" He also started doing the sign for "more" which is sooo much better than hearing him whine for something!

On April 15th, Hudson turned 1 year old! I still can't believe how fast the first year went by. They sure do grow quickly! While Thomas was in Kansas City, I had a small St. Louis Cardinals themed birthday party in Jackson. For most of the guests, it was the last time they would get to see Hudson before we moved. :( He had a blast playing with some of his little friends and it was nice to get everyone together.

I'm not sure why I took on organizing a party while Thomas was out of town, but I did. If you talked to me at all while I was playing "single mom," I'm sure I complained to you about how terribly hard it was. Here is a good example of how the month went while Thomas was living in KC…

I had ordered food from a nearby restaurant called Wings, Etc. for the party. Of course Hudson was asleep before the party and I didn't want to wake him up. I checked with a few people to see if anyone could pick up the food on their way over, but most of the guests were running behind. So I had to wake Hudson up about 15 minutes before the party started so we could go get the food. We hurried there and of course, the parking lot was packed. I was in the truck so I had to squeeze into a parking spot. It was a chore getting Hudson out without leaving a dent in the car parked next to me! We made it inside and got the food. By the time we made it back to the truck, my arms were tingling and shaking from carrying Hudson and all the food! I set the food down on the curb and attempted to get Hudson squeezed back into the truck (which took forever again). We rushed back home again right as the first guest was pulling up! Phew, we made it! And then I realized it… I had left the food sitting on the curb of the parking lot at Wings, Etc. :(

Hudson LOVED these balloons!

Go Cards!

Hudson's first cupcake

Over the weekend, we had a big Dr. Seuss birthday party for Hudson and Lily. Thomas was able to make it to that party and it was quite a celebration! So many family and friends stopped by and we were overwhelmed with gifts. Hudson received so many clothes and toys… He's set for a long time! Since we were moving soon after the party, we decided not to open most of his toys. So he's in for a big surprise when we finally get moved into our house in August! It will be toy overload! Thanks to all of you who spoiled our little guy!

Trista's cupcakes were delicious and adorable!

Giant cupcakes for Thing 1 and Thing 2!

Such a cute idea… Trista found the Dr. Seuss Happy Birthday books,
and we had everyone leave a little note for Hudson and Lily!

Monthly pictures

Lily was all smiles anytime she was next to Hudson! Sooo sweet :)

Hudson was not a fan of the fuzzy hats I made them… He made some pretty angry faces!
Lily didn't seem to mind hers one bit!

Brett Oxley and Thomas with their little boys (Cooper and Hudson)!

Ready to party!

One day I saw that the Cape Girardeau mall had an Easter bunny scheduled to stop by for pictures. I couldn't resist! I picked up Hudson from daycare and headed to the mall. He was all nice and relaxed as we approached the photo area. His eyes caught sight of the giant bunny, and he just stared at it. Then the bunny moved. Everything went downhill from there… He grabbed ahold of me as tight as he could, and he jumped every time the bunny moved. I swiftly set him in the Easter bunny's lap, and we tried our hardest to get him to look at us and smile! He would settle down for a moment, then look up at the Easter bunny, and bust out screaming again. All the pictures pretty much looked like this one!

I had been trying to get Thomas to give Hudson a haircut for a couple of months. His hair was so straggly and uneven. Thomas kept resisting and said we could take him to a barbershop after his 1st birthday. But eventually, my nagging paid off. :) I convinced Thomas to cut his hair one night after he fell asleep. So we just slipped a bath towel underneath the sleepy boy, and Thomas did whatever section of hair he could get to until Hudson would flop around and face another direction. It was pretty humorous to watch as Thomas was deep in concentration and Hudson was deep in sleep! The end product was perfect. Daddy did way better than any barber would have done (and it was tear-free)!

Hudson's first haircut!

Looking much better!

Big boy with a big boy haircut :)

May:

Hudson has really started experimenting with words. He tries to repeat a lot of what we say. He now says "moooo" for a cow, "woof woof" for a dog, "blubb blubb" for a fish, "nananana" for banana, "mama," "dada," "all done," "thank you," "uh oh," and "bye bye." If you tell him to go get his paci, milk/water, ball, or shoe, he listens!

His favorite toys include balls, anything to climb on/in, ride on toys, little toy people (that go in his trains and ferris wheel), a bucket, and anything that makes music so he can dance! He holds his toy phones to his ear. He plays with Jake constantly (whether Jake wants to play or not), and he tries to entice Maddie with her toys so she will jump on him and try to pull it away from him.

He is now down to 2 bottles per day - one first thing in the morning and one right before bed. He uses a sippy cup during the day and eats snacks and meals like a big boy! His favorite foods are definitely mandarin oranges and bananas, but some of his other faves include toast, pancakes, waffles, crackers, veggie straws, applesauce, chicken nuggets, french fries, cottage cheese, cheerios, and yogurt. If he's really hungry, I can get him to eat peas, green beans, carrots, and pizza!

He's in 12 month clothes, size 4 diapers, and size 4 shoes. He recently started running - especially if you say, "Hudson, come here." Off he goes… running in the opposite direction!