Hudson's Top 3 Tricks

Hudson LOVES this red toy. It is the first toy that actually has peeked his curiosity. It rolls, rattles, is colorful, flexible and even light-weight! We get a kick out of watching him concentrate as he motions his fingers to grasp it. Look at me go folks!

So when did this little man decide he wanted to start growing up too fast???! Ask Thomas, I am always telling Hudson to SLOW DOWN! Tom just keeps telling me to have another baby... Oh that Thomas is funny:)
Hudson found out he has 2 hands! And since then, they are rarely apart. He holds them together, plays with his fingers, stares at them, and uses a team effort to pick up small objects. 

This is a stuffed giraffe my cousin's wife, Emily made (super cute). Hudson is fascinated by this guy! As  I was singing "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round" (animal version) I couldn't figure out what noise to make for the giraffe... Hudson quickly chimed in "Aaaaaaaa" after my long pause. So for all of you who didn't know, giraffes say "Aaaaaaaaa" :) Thank you Hudson.

We Are Considering Paying People To Come See Us---Think About It.

We made a trip to the beautiful Chicago temple (Steve's 3rd new temple trip after just receiving his endowment a few days previous). Ash was a good sport and watched Hudson while I went through a session for the first time since having Hudson. So wonderful to be back!

This pizza is deliciously sinful!!! Hudson was eyeing it for a taste.

It was so fun to have Grandma Lisa come out to Chicago and be with us for a few days! We hated to see her go...

Aunt Ashley had him totally mesmerized. Hudson had such a hard time falling asleep the night they came into town because he didn't want to miss a thing. What a little party animal:) We loved having everybody here in our little apartment! 

Our trip into the city---in front of us is a big Marilyn Monroe statue of the air vents blowing her skirt promiscuously... Although it's "cute" we decided to NOT take a photo of that to put in our records.

The three of us are going to soon be spread all over- Steve in Brazil (on his mission), Ash in D.C. , and Syd in Chicagoland. It was a treat to be together for one last hoorah!

Uncle Steve decided he liked being an uncle and did a MORE than FABULOUS job at it!

We took about 500 pictures to see if Hudson would eventually look up at the camera... Nope. They sure look cute together though! 

We tried to maximize time by eating whenever Hudson needed to eat. I've never had so much great food all packed into a couple days! 

The Discovery of the Mouth, Hands, and Fingers

This is consequence of ALWAYS wanting to put his hands and fingers in his mouth these days. He sometimes gets his hand in so far that he gags! Wow he's ambitious! We use the binky to switch things up a bit. He looks like a victim, but really he's a happy kid:) 

Exhibit A: The intense concentration as he gnaws on the finger. "Why do they taste SO GOOD?!!!" He can't put his finger on it... okay that was lame grandpa joke. Hudson is constantly figuring out how his hands work, taste and feel.

Exhibit B: If it's not the fingers, it's the fist. Mmmmm Mmmm. He just loves the taste of Johnson's baby lotion.

Exhibit C: Even his little collar made it into his mouth. You'd think we starve the poor guy.

Caught in the act of pulling out the binky to replace it with his little finger sausages:) What a fun discovery for Hudson! Oh the excitement that awaits him when he can put little objects in his mouth to taste test: bugs, lint, dirt, crumbs... you name it!

Our First Visitor Since Being In Chicago: Spencer!

The Wendella Boat Tour through downtown Chicago in 90 degree humid weather... Nothing like a good sticky sweat!

Hudson was a champ on the boat. He just happily looked around like he actually knew which building the tour guide was referring to.

Call me lazy, but I highly recommend going the shaded boat tour route to see the city (hot day or not, but ESPECIALLY on a hot day!)

We walked down the "Magnificent Mile" on Michigan Ave. stopping at: Tiffany's & Co. (Spence was awesome to pose as my "fake hubby" for the day since Tom was at school, I couldn't ask him to buy me some "bling" too), Neiman Marcus , Nike Town, going to the 95th floor of the Hancock building, and eating Chicago-famous deep dish pizza at Giordano's off of Superior and Rush (totally worth the stop!)

Bonding with Uncle Spence at Lake Michigan beach in Lake Forest 

While downtown, (and after nearly missing the boat tour even though we pushed it back 3 times...) Spence learned how our schedule revolves around our little guy:) We had to frequently and strategically stop to feed and cool down Hudson... Spence went the extra mile to read a book to Hudson in the "ritzy"Trump Hotel during one of our stops.

I put Hudson in this ducky outfit thinking he looked fit for the beach. Although he had to think about it for a little bit, he really did enjoy our trip to the beach. He particularly loved the pebbled sand granules between his toes!

Documenting the 3 amigos at the Hancock building. Hudson insisted not only on being apart of this picture, but on being front and center.

Spence tried to get Hudson into the water without him YELPING. He really didn't like it at first (Lake Michigan isn't the warmest body of water), but he eventually warmed up to it. "Look Mom, just chillin' in Lake Michigan" :)

Nothing Like A Solid 6 Hours of Sleep Again

Such great news!!!!!! OUR LITTLE MAN HUDSON SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT THIS WHOLE LAST WEEK!!!! We are so proud of our son's achievements:) May we have many more restful nights ahead.

Downtown Chicago

    So since our arrival into the Chicago area Thomas and I have made nearly 5 attempts to go into the city---all of which were thwarted by what seemed like whale-size raindrops. What we have learned during each attempt is that here in Chicago, pouring rain in the morning, could also mean sunshine in the afternoon. (Being stuck downtown in the pouring rain with a 3 month old baby just didn't sound like a happy day adventure for us if you can imagine.) But this last Saturday, we awoke to a bright and beautiful day so we decided to hop on the train and head into the city while the sun was still shining.
     Lesson #1: Lugging a stroller, diaper bag, and baby through 5 train cars causes large amounts of sweat... But Thomas and I stood up to the challenge attracting lots of attention, and escaping with only minimal embarrassment. I don't know if people were staring because they never see babies around here or if they were shocked to see what they thought was a 13 year old girl as the baby's mother... :) I get that a lot.
       After an hour long train ride, we arrived downtown and were pumped to hit the streets of our big city! Turns out we didn't have much time to see all that we wanted. And let's face it, we do things on Hudson's time table these days. So we decided to just enjoy just  few of the city's main attractions this trip: the big "bean" statue, Michigan Avenue and State Street, Macy's department store, and Millennium Park (which Thomas and I didn't know was such a hot spot for weddings!!!! We counted over 7 different weddings in an hour...). Such an exciting atmosphere!

We survived the long train ride! A true feat!!!

Buckingham Fountain and main skyscrapers

Our little family and friendly stroller (practically part of the family as well)

While in Millennium Park, we stopped to eat some lunch. Hudson saw mom nibbling away and wanted in on the action...

So being the responsible parents that we are, we let our child try this delicious fruit... [Note: Our child's head is not small by any means. The apple is just on steroids.]

AND...He loved it! He was going to town with it!

This is "The Bean". No there is no history behind it. Some Chicago people just thought they'd humor the public. 

Such beautiful architecture!

Believe it or not, the city was "stroller friendly"

On our way back to catch the train, we saw this random church building wedged in between two huge skyscrapers. Great use of space eh? Location. Location. Location.

Hudson was such a champ on the trip-not a peep of sadness. Love this baby.

     All in all, the trip was a success if we disregard the milk spill in the park...Pumping in the park is never glamorous. Especially if you don't realize, until it's too late, that the bottle has a major leak.

Our Home: Lake Forest IL!

A really beautiful bike path that goes for miles and miles that we love that weaves through the city.

Some convenient and quaint little shops right down from our place (not to mention the Metra!) We can just hop on the train and zoom into the city. One of the perks to hearing the train very well as if it's plowing right through your front room:)

This is part of the shopping center just a hop, skip and a jump away (literally). Supposedly a wealthy man built his wife her very own shopping mall in the 1900's so she wouldn't have to go into town...rough life eh? This pretty much speaks for how this whole town does things.

More shops and restaurants down the path into town. So many fun things to look at!

This is our family favorite: the Lake Forest Library!!! We walk to it several times a week. I love it for its huge children's book selection and vast CD collection. Thomas loves it for the Blockbuster video selection:) I know it sounds so lame to be saying this, but it is the most amazing library!!!!

This is down "Deerpath": the street leading to the lake front. There are the most amazing mansions on each side surrounded by a beautiful, thick forest of green.

WILLIAMS-SONOMA! Among other adorable shops.

Our elite beach!!! It is like a resort. It makes us forget about our ever-growing student loans...:) Who would thunk? A Chicago beach that looks like Greece!

More of the quaint little shops on our walk into town.

The path down to the beach.

Almost 3 months old!

Hudson has become very playful this past week

Hudson absolutely loves splashing around during bath time

This is Hudson's way of waving and smiling

Such a happy boy! It's so nice that he's started to wake-up happy:)