Our 9-er, Monthy 9-er...

Although dead, still, this is our beach paradise. We walk past and dream about summer, sunshine and warm sand between our toes... Ahhhh

Hudson has to be bundled up of course. Of course. The wind that comes off Michigan Lake sometimes is enough to freeze you to the middle of your thickest bones... and Hudson has just a lot of tiny bones at present (although it feels like they're made of lead from Mom's standpoint as the "carrier"). Anyway, we keep him snug as a bug in a rug.

This is Hudson't new sidekick: his pointer finger. I guess it's his way of emphasizing he has something really important to say--Even if that means a whole lot of babbling.

If he isn't waving his pudgy little finger around and sticking it in tiny slots around the house, then he's using it to point to everything that catches his eye just so he knows I'm paying attention.

Add caption

Hudson definitely has his own personality that is rapidly developing. He gets a kick out of his own jokes as you can tell. We never know the punch line to his jokes, but we ALWAYS end up laughing, whatever it is.

Family Week

Thomas had a winter break from school this past week so we had a family-time-binge---it was fanTAStic! The cheap side of us beat out the adventure within us so we decided to stick around despite our near attempts to schedule a cruise somewhere sunny and warm. We ended up going into the city, going to the zoo, exploring some forest preserves around this mountain-less Midwest, we ate lots of yummy food, watched some movies, went to the massive Gurnee Mills Mall just 10 minutes away that made every other mall we've ever seen look puny. This mall went for miles and miles. It TOTALLY wore us out and we didn't even see everything. We considered it a great feat of control that we ended up leaving with only a pair of shoes:)

Hudson keeps toasty in his coat and bundle wrap that we makeshift for the cold weather. He enjoys spending time outside when we get the chance

The preserve we went to was beautiful! Although things were dead and not as colorful as the other seasons, we really enjoyed the beauty of winter.  There wasn't any snow on the ground but the air was brisk and fresh. We saw some magnificent landscapes. 

This was a pretty lookout that we liked. We could see for quite a ways in every direction from this point.

That thing that looks like a little kitten on the rock behind us is a lion... They are such beautiful animals! We really enjoyed them at the zoo. But were even more glad for the ravine that separated us from them...

I obviously turned a hideous blue color inside this exhibit. You would think I was Violet from Willy Wonka, but really I am just lovin' the little reindeer looking animal behind me;)

THE ESKIMO AND THE CITY! Rated G. Coming to theaters near you.

We walked down Michigan Ave for my sake. I love this place. Thomas is convinced it is a woman's dream---a theme park kind of fun for women. I told him that is probably the case for people who have money to throw into these stores...Which totally excludes us. Nevertheless, I do enjoy the excitement of it all!

Talk about a cool camera feature! We tried out the panoramic setting and it was able to capture a totally new picture.

My boys. I love love love this picture. Isn't Hudson a ham? :)

So you know how I mentioned it hadn't snowed at the beginning of the week??? Well welcome to Winter Wonderland the day after. It snowed for a full day and covered all the trees, even every last branch with a thick layer of snow. I wish my camera could have captured the splendor!

Bottoms Up!

How Hudson sleeps like this, we'll never know:) It's his signature. Bottom... up. Face... planted. Arm... turned in. Feet... turned out. If the circus wasn't such a freak show we would consider displaying his sleeping ability despite the high magnitude of what appears to be discomfort. Hudson also breathes like a pug puppy so we get an extra smile out of nap-time.

I now understand the phrase "slept like a baby"

Hudson gets away with murder when he flashes this smile. I don't know how he manages to be the most persuasive person without even saying a word.

After freaking out about putting Hudson in a Wal-mart shopping cart because my paranoid mind races through a million images of snotty-nosed children contributing to the petri-dish of fun that covers the bars... I put him in a COSTCO shopping cart today. Somehow I feel much better about taking this step first. Not only do we love Costco, but I trust they are cleaner than most shopping carts. So this is a first I had to document and might I add it was SO much lighter than carrying what feels like hundreds of pounds of baby and car seat together.

Book Worming

At the start of the year, I told myself I was going to allow myself to delve into reading again like I thoroughly enjoy doing. Winter has made me book hungry and artsy craved. I have been devouring books of late and drawing all kinds of things as one of my favorite creative outlets. Tom even put one of my drawings on the fridge=) I'm going places folks!
---The Help (Tom insisted I not only talked like the black women in the book while I was reading it, but I also had the sass of Minnie). Both of Mitch Albom's books: The Five People You Meet In Heaven: It made me think in a very different way which was very intriguing. It was recommended to me by a friend and she couldn't emphasize enough how it was just theory. I feel like dying is such a question for those who don't have the gospel to guide and enlighten. I am very grateful for the gospel in my life! For One More Day: also a Mitch Albom book, he touches on the concepts of appreciation for loved ones, making things right in your life, and choosing to be happy even when things are at their worst. The Picture of Dorian Gray: makes you examine your soul and intentions---a definite classic, The Hunger Games series (Gosh I love them. I feel like such a teenager.) Hanging By The Thread: great at informing about political and government structure while also taking you on a wild adventure of "Who Dun It?" I have a whole stack I am anxiously working to zoom through, but I have such a hard time getting too involved with books like I would like to because I quickly realize how I neglect all other duties when I am "in the zone"... Wow, I sound like such a "Treky".

Soldier Dracula

Our Hudson went ahead and got a mouth-full of teeth in what felt like one swoop. I can imagine why he would be done with pureed foods and want to move on to the good stuff. So he filled his mouth with razors. Six to be exact. They just keep coming in. I was nervous to get his two "fang" teeth through my skin when they first came in. Gosh, they are sharp coming through the gums! We thought it was pretty comical that he got his fangs before his front-middle-top teeth.

Hudson has enjoyed exploring what little space we have in our apartment time and time again at first ranger style (pulling himself on this tummy and pushing with his legs) and the past couple weeks he has graduated to legitimate crawling. He made the transition all in 5 minutes---literally. He was pulling himself around beforeThomas left to drop off some things at the library, and by the time he came home, Hudson was moving out on his hands and knees. Amazing how babies decide to start doing things on their own time table. 

I love my boys! It was a casual Sunday and we were enjoying the tameness of our usually all-too-busy little fella.  He NEVER lays like this anymore now that he can move his own body and at his own whim. But for the time, he was soaking up the snuggle time with Dad.

Baby and Mama Shoot

While home in Utah, my Mom and I thought it would be special to get some Mother/Son pictures. At this point, Hudson was almost 7 months. I wanted to share a few of them:)

Our Warmest Winter In Four Years

Although our car thermometer has dropped to unsightly temperatures while being here in Chicago, we have discovered this rather humorous finding... Let me explain. So being the "cheapos" that we Wright's are, we have frozen the past several winters in our "drafty apartments" and when I say frozen, I mean FRO-ZE-HEN (I shiver when I think about it). Just to feel sorry for ourselves, I will recollect... Layering was a requirement in those days ( I don't remember ever being in less than 3 layers, ALL DA TIME), our thermometer in that apartment dropped to 31 at one point and was rarely above 58 (that may seem comfortable for some, but given the outside temperatures were pretty comparable, I cry just thinking about it) and I believe our heating bill was responsible for the increase in a few degrees in the Provo area---talk about a drafty apartment! We would have been better off living in a box on the curb. Oh wait, we were. We laugh thinking about those happy times. Yes, as I am complaining, I do have fond memories of those teeth chattering, knees shaking, and nose freezing times. BUT... take a look at this winter's thermometer!!! Talk about a beauty Yes, it says 80 degrees and boy, we are loving it. Just living the high life in Chicago. I think we'll stick around for a few more winters here:)

Rock N' Roll, Delicious Toes, Graham Crackers, and First Hair Cut

The days of setting Hudson down and returning to find him right where I left him are long gone. Something within the past few weeks has made him anxious to rock n' roll with a lot more "rambunctious-osity". That is a loaded word.

Who needs a pacifier when you've got toes handy???  

Grandpa Terry decided to give Hudson a try at Graham Crackers and by the looks of his clothes, they were a tremendous hit! 

Hudson also received his first haircut on New Year's Eve! Why in the world his Mom thought he needed a haircut is beyond me... but, nevertheless, the hair was cut:) Doesn't he look fabulous?!

Boat Cruising In The Winter

For some winter fun my Dad, brother Aaron, Hudson and I went out on the lake to enjoy the lake. Captain Hudson was captivated by the waves, ducks and the wind going across his face.

This trip to Utah was the first time Uncle Aaron and Hudson had met since Aaron 's return home from his mission! It was great to get to spend time with Aaron. We missed him greatly!

This life vest is the very same that I wore as a baby on trips that we took to Lake Powell. Other than the strap that wraps under and between the legs, this life vest is a great little unit :)

As we raced across the lake, ducks were flying everywhere. We enjoyed Hudson reaction as he looked around so astonished at all of the panicked ducks. Gotta love St. George winters!

Petroglyph Hike and One Happy Baby

So we escaped to Utah for basically the whole month of December... and while in Southern Utah, we went on a really great hike that shows the red-rock beauty of my hood. Hudson was grinning from ear to ear in this nifty little green backpack that I too was packed in as a wee baby. 

There were TONS of petroglyphs on the walls of this slot canyon. How cool would it be to be able to interpret all of the images. Something about a cow, deer, water... Sounds like a good story to me. Hudson was just "hammin it up" of course.

This is the handsome man I call "Father". We love him SOOO much. This particular canyon continued to get narrower and narrower. Our holiday bellies would have wedged us in for the winter had we gone any farther!

The crew minus the crazy... No, not Thomas. Me. Sydney.

Another shot of all of us desert dwellers. 

Hudson had the time of his life and was laughing up until the moment I felt the pack weigh down on one side and heard a contently snoring baby:) He was plumb tuckered out of a good time! 

We couldn't stop laughing about this heavy-breathing sack of potatoes. There was no waking him up. Talk about a good sport! 

All I Want For Christmas Is My 2 Front Teeth

WISH GRANTED LITTLE MAN! Hudson's two-front teeth came in just a couple days before Christmas. Boy, are those tiny pearly whites sharp! You can't see them in this picture, but they're there. I loved how happy he woke up Christmas morning. It's like he knew there was something special about the day:)

Christmas was spent at Grandma and Grandpa Wright's this year and Hudson decided to give his parents a gift of his own... He slept in. It was our Christmas miracle! 

It was simple to make Christmas special for Hudson. I just made  each gift have ribbons, bows, and of course... layers of  noisy wrapping paper. Hudson is all about the "bling".  Forget what's inside. I could have wrapped denture toothpaste and he would have gone to town with it! I'm totally taking advantage of this stage while it lasts:)

Looks like Santa shrunk his hat and suit this year.... Nah, it's a look alike. Hudson had a detailed Santa costume given to him by Grandma Lisa. It was a scream. He lived in it for two solid days straight. Nice family heirloom eh?