Fifteen Months

It's weird how after kids hit a year each month goes by without much to do and hardly any hoopla. I usually don't even remember on the six of each month to do a little jig to celebrate the fact that Brandon and I have successfully kept a little person healthy, safe and happy for another month. It's a good thing we have doctor appointments at fifteen months to remind me of the fact. Hud visited his doctor lady friend (she's in our ward and wonderful) on Thursday afternoon and was a champion. He's measuring great. He's progressing great. And he took the two shots administered to him by a perky blonde nurse great. (I'm throwing grammar to the wind here. Yes, I do realize it.) He screamed and shed a tear but seriously two seconds after she put the band aid on and I gave him a little plastic cup of water he was fine. What a kid. Anyway, here are his stats and a few fun facts...

• Height: 32 in (78th percentile)
• Weight: 25 lbs 2 oz (60th percentile)
• Head: Who cares. I think it was 74th percentile. Ergo, his brain is huge and he'll probably get a 35 on the ACT someday.

Now for some fun facts:

• Hudson has music in his soul. He sings loudly at church during the hymns. He'll bust out some Vienna Choir boy notes when you say, "Hudson, sing!" And if he hears anything remotely like a beat or a melody he starts groovin' and shakin'. His dance moves crack us up every time. He squats and shakes his bum, moves his hips, bounces up and down, waves his arms, bobs his head, spins around, and smiles confidently while doing it. He knows he's pretty cool.
• On another music-ish note, he tries so hard to snap his fingers. Whenever he sees a grown up start snapping he starts flicking his second and third finger desperately trying to make a noise. No luck, but his attempts keep us entertained.
• He is a complete DAREDEVIL. That or he has ants in his pants. He gets in these moods where he cannot stop wiggling and leaping off things and throwing his body around. Unfortunately, these moods usually strike when he's in the bath, on the couch, or near stairs. I'm constantly saying prayers of gratitude that he hasn't broken a bone yet. Really, you should see his bath time lately. It's like one huge tidal wave and I'm soaking by the time we're done and I drag him (screaming) away from his beloved fun pool. He thinks it's hilarious to have close calls. He'll be sitting in the water when all of a sudden he throws his legs up so his head goes back and under the water. I grab him frantically and bring him sputtering and gasping out of the water. As soon as he catches his breath he screeches in laughter. (Meanwhile, I'm holding back sobs of frustration and fear.) Then he'll start marching back and forth in the tub purposefully bringing his feet up high so that he'll fall while I'm trying to force him to sit back down. Every time he slips more hysterical and triumphant laughter ensues. Oh, and don't even get me started on how he acts on the couch. Now that he can climb onto it with ease, he scrambles around diving off the arm rests (I've caught him by the ankle every time, but how much longer will my luck hold??), throwing his head back and his arms out and free falling, and rolling off the cushions to the ground. I'm telling you. It's a mad house here.
• He loves parks and playgrounds. I'm pretty sure most kids do. But the daredevil gene (thanks a lot, Doyles) kicks in here too and he charges headfirst down slides before I can get to him and thinks he's old enough to climb all over the entire playground structure. We'll just say that park days aren't about relaxing in the sun and getting a tan.
• Picky eater. Basically he's a carbo loader. (Thanks, Doyles... Oh wait, that's from me.) He loves fruit though and peas. He would eat peas at every meal, I think. He's gaining weight well though (oh, maybe the crackers he eats all day long...) so I'm not too worried. His favorite meals are: pb&js, bean and cheese quesadillas, peas, yogurt, spaghetti, all fruit, Annie's organic mac 'n cheese (even I love that stuff), and pasta in general.
• He's obsessed with finding and identifying pictures of Jesus. And I'm obsessed with letting him do this. So sweet and cute.
• He loves balls as much as ever. He insists on holding one in his car seat and playing with one all day long. His favorite things to do are throw underhand and kicking.
• He also LOVES books. We read them over and over and over and over.
• Animals. All day. All the time. He likes bears and horses the best. He loves to make horse noises. Other noises he can do are: cow, monkey, lion, and chickens. The screen saver on our apple TV thing is a bunch of safari animal pictures and he goes crazy. TV still won't entertain him, but he can sit on my lap and watch that forever. Each time the pictures change he points to the TV and grunts expectantly and excitedly until I tell him the name of the animal and what sound it makes.
• Hudson would live outside if we let him. He tries to sneak out to play all day long. When he's in his highchair he points longingly to the basketball hoop outside while calling "ball! ball!" It will be nice when he gets the concept of weather. "Sorry kiddo, it's pouring rain. We can't go out right now," has no meaning to him.
• He likes to jabber but he's not going crazy in the vocab department. His words are: Ball, uh oh, cookie (gook, or gookie), cracker (ah-er), duck, bottle (bah), mama, dada, bobba (himself? all of us? He says this when he looks in the mirror or at family pictures or at the computer screen during skype sessions), cheese/please/peas (all "eeeeeee"), love you (ruh roo or anything similar-- basically two syllables ending in "oooh" sound, haha)
• Still loves to give hugs and snuggle his stuffed animals and blankies. He will hug anyone roughly his size and if you say that so and so is sad he will immediately wrap his arms around that person. I love that tender heart.

Why am I so long winded? I could seriously go on and on. This has always been my problem with writing. Ask any teacher I've ever had. "Trim down, Brittlyn." This is something I've heard and seen marked on my papers all too often. Ah well. This is for my own amusement and for my posterity so I don't think I'll get any red marks or letter grades. Suffice it to say, I love my little Hudson buddy and I am constantly amazed at how wonderful he is and how he continues to learn, progress and grow despite my bumbling attempts at parenting. I'm constantly thanking Heavenly Father for this blessed opportunity and for helping me along in a parenthood "that is ultimately His." (Thanks, Marilynne Robinson. If you haven't already, read Gilead. Now.)

This post is already ridiculously long so I'll post some pictures in the next one.

Brittlyn out.