Christmas 2009

Really, really late....I know! I am going to try and be better this year with keeping everything up to date and everyone informed, especially with the way Hudson is growing and learning! I can't believe it has been a month since I posted anything! With Don being in school, me working nights, and both of us trying to keep up with Hudson we haven't had much time for anything.

Christmas 2009 was great! Hudson had a great first Christmas! Don and I didn't realize how tiring holidays were once you have kids! I think Don and I were more wore out than Hudson. Altogether we had 4 Family Christmas events, starting on December 19th and going until December 27th.

Hudson got A LOT of toys and clothes. I wish he would have gotten a toy box for all the toys he got! Hudson of course didn't know what to do with the presents other than to put them in his mouth. As we helped him open everything he just wanted to eat the wrapping paper and he was obsessed with the bows. He also like all the boxes his gifts came in as well!

Overall Hudson really enjoyed the Christmas season! Here are some pictures to recap the Christmas Season and the end of 2009!

Hudson at his First Christmas Celebration

Getting cleaned up for Christmas Eve

Hudson at our house on Chirstmas Eve

Hudson with his cousins Cooper & Drew on Christmas Eve

Opening Gifts with mommy on Christmas Eve

Showing Daddy how I play with my new toys

Christmas Morning....Hudson Loves his First Elmo

Daddy teaching Hudson how to shoot hoops on Christmas Morning

Another Christmas Celebration.....Can you tell Hudson is excited

The Cousins (O'Neal side) celebrationing Christmas

Jackson, Madison, Lexi

Reagan, Gavin, Hudson

Hudson Still attempting crawling...

at this points he are still rocking, lunging, and doing the worm

Our Family at Don's Mom's for Christmas

Hudson playing with another new toy!!

What are Mommy and Daddy gonna do with all these toys?!?!

Better Late Than Never...

Man where has the time gone! I just realized it has almost been 3 weeks since our last post, but give us a break we are still new at this blogging thing, plus Christmas has made us a little busy! I never knew how tiring a Holiday was with a little one! Anyways, here is a recap of the last few weeks....

Since our last post Hudson has turned 6 MONTHS old! I can't believe half a year is already gone by! I feel like just yesterday I was going in for my induction and then holding Hudson for the first time and now look where we are!




Hudson had his 6 month checkup with Dr. Reichert on December 11th. He once again got more immunizations which he hates more than ever and was extra crabby that night! Dr. Reichert said Hudson is doing great and he is healthy! Since this appointment though we have had to increase Hudson does of Prevacid (which he is on for Acid Reflux), because he started showing symptoms again! The increase was from 2ml to 2.5 mls and it has helped and Dr. Reichert said increases in dosage are common with Reflux. We just can't wait for it to stop and all the spit up to cease. We are just glad that is the only issue he has and it should be completely be gone by age 1 to 2. Here are Hudson's Growth stats from his checkup:

Weight: 17 lbs 7.5 oz (50%)

Length: 25 3/4 inches (25%)

Head Circumference: 17 inches (34%)

Also at this appointment we were given the go ahead to start Stage 2 foods and meats. He has tried a few different meat combinations so far and like them okay. I am sure they will take a little getting used to. I have also bought a tone of othere varietys! I am amazed at how much more there is to choose from! He definately like the variety instead of the same fruits and veggies all the time, yet Sweet potates remain his favorite!! We have also started giving him some table food, like mashed potatoes. We also let him chew on other things with a very close eyes (bread sticks, crackers, biter biscuts, etc).

Hudson's 1st time trying a biter biscuit...

First experience with a sippy cup...

In other new, still no true crawling yet...he is getting more mobile with rolling or lunging while on his knees, but he has still not mastered the art of crawling. We are getting closer to it every day though! He also still has no teeth, but we are starting to see the ridges of the bottom to appearing under his gums. He won't be long and I think they will both come in at the same time.

Here are a few pictures from the past few week....

Hudson Loves the "Booger Sucker"

Still trying to figure out this crawling thing...

Family Photos and Hudson's 6 Month Pictures

This past Friday, December 4th, we had our pictures taken together as a family and also had Hudson's 6 month milestone pictures taken! The pictures turned out great and Hudson did great!! He is a little ham in front of the camera!! After we left JCPenney's, the girl who took our pictures called and asked if we would give them permission to have Hudson's pictures entered into a photo contest for the studio and possibly be placed on display in the studio. We were so excited and of course said yes! I hope you all enjoy the pictures!!

Our Happy Family

Christmas 2009

Our Little Angel

Show me the presents

Santa Baby

Mommy's little elf...

Our big boy

Our Little 6 Month Old

Hud the Stud

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Love, The O'Neal

Don, Lindsey, Hudson, & Gracie

Ready, Set, GO....or belly flop!

This weekend we have really been working with Hudson on the floor and encouraging him to get those legs going and start crawling! He has made great success, but he hasn't officially crawled yet! He gets up on his knees will, rocks a little, and then when he realizes he isn't going anywhere, he lunges forward and kinda does a belly flop! Don thinks he will be crawling by the end of the week, but I am gonna play it safe and say for sure by Christmas! He is doing great and getting better with each attempt. It is so exciting for us to see him grow and reach his milestones. He is doing this much earlier than we ever expected! I am sure thing my house will turn upside down once he starts going and getting into everything! I guess we better get that gate up on our basement stairs soon!!

Hudson at the beginning of the weekend trying to get up and GO....


Hudson on Saturday, getting even better and getting up on those knees....

Sunday afternoon...I love his expression and hands in this one. He is probably sick of me following him around with the camera, so I think he is teasing me in this one!!


If I can make the video file smaller, I will have a video of Hudson attempting to crawl. Hopefully it works!!

Parents As Teachers

This past Tuesday (November 24), Hudson had his first Parents As Teachers meeting! For those who don't know what it is, it is a free program offered by most of the school districts in the St. Louis area. They come to your house 4 times a year for free visits and play/work with you and your child for about 45-60 minutes. The observe what you child does and how on track they are developmentally. It is a really nice program.

So back to Hudson, I was a little nervous for his appointment, especially since he has started to develop slight separation anxiety...yes I have a mama's boy...LOL. But although I was nervous about it, he did GREAT and he was a huge show off!! Hudson and I played on the floor with our educator Julie while she visited. She brought over a homemade toy (a ziploc bag filled with water, foam letters, and colored pom pom balls) and Hudson immediately grabbed it and started to play with it and of course put it in his mouth. He also played with a few other things in her bag as well. He babbled non-stop the whole time she was here. She was very impressed with all the different sounds he able to make! He also moved himself from the sitting position to his tummy. She was also very impressed by that as well, because she said she wouldn't have expected that from a baby his age. I told her he must have been showing off, because I had never seen him do that before. He also showed her how he is able to get in the crawling position, even though he doesn't go anywhere. Overall she said he is meeting all his milestones and more for his age. She said she can definitely tell we work with him. Our next visit will be in January, and she will conduct a screening. So I will let you know how it goes after she comes next.

5 months already...

I can’t believe Hudson is already 5 months old, actually 5 ½, but I figured I would start with a recap of this month to begin our blog.

Where do I begin he is doing so much and he does new things every day. For starters this month he has been A LOT more vocal. He is constantly making some kind of noise, whether it is laughing, cooing, babbling, squealing, or whatever. He is quite comical. He is also very curious and noisy. He always wants to know what is going on around him and wants to be where the action is. He also thinks that he has to have everything he sees and vocalizes that clearly….haha. He is also at that stage where everything goes and his mouth and I mean everything. Another thing he has begun recently is to sit for extended period of time without support. He can usually go for about 10-15 minutes before he starts to topple over. Hudson also loves to play on his belly, which is a step up because he was not a fan of tummy time as a newborn. When he is on his belly, we are beginning to see the first stages of crawling appear. He is learning how to get those chucky little legs under him and he almost makes it to his knees. He tries so hard and I can see determination in his eyes…I know it won’t be long before Hudson is mobile. Uh oh….

Since he turned 4 months old , we have started introducing him to solid food. He has tried all the veggies for Stage 1 feeders (squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, & carrots) and he has made it though almost all the fruits (pear, applesauce, & bananas, we still need to try peaches). He loves the all and you can tell by looking at him that he loves to eat!

Our next appointment with the pediatrician is December 11 for his 6 month check-up and more immunizations. We will definitely keep you posted on his stats for length and weight from that appointment and any other information we get from Dr. Reichert.

Last but not least, Hudson got his first haircut this past Sunday. I cannot believe that he already needed one, but he did. His hair was so long on top, that it looked like he had a bad toupee! We decided it was perfect timing especially with Christmas pictures just around the corner! Hudson did really well while his Aunt Angie cut his hair and he of course looks adorable with his new hair-do.

Here are some recent pictures of Hudson from the last few weeks…

Having fun with mom during bathtime....
Hello foot meet my mouth...
All bundled up and ready to go...
First sighting of the Christmas tree...He loves it. (notice the long hair on top of his head...this is just a few days before the haircut)
Hudson after we got home from his haircut...I love it...
Showing off his new do...

Our New Venture...

Well, here goes nothing! I have recently decided that I would venture out into the world of blogging! A lot of my friends and girls at work have blogs about their lives and children, so I thought it was time to try it out! I originally started a blog when I found out I was pregnant, but obviously didn't stick with it. I thought that now that Hudson is here and changing so much it would be easy to get a blog going to keep friends and family updated on Hudson's latest stats and achievements and what is going on with our family! So here we go....