Hudson - 8/9/2017

Hudson ate whole wheat toast and most of mangoes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate everything: hamburger with marinara sauce on whole wheat spaghetti noodles, squash, and fruit salad.  (He had an extra serving of squash.)  At breakfast Sophie said, "Hudson is leaving early." (dentist)  She said, "I'm leaving early because I'm NOT going to the dentist."  Haha!!

At breakfast Sophie was telling Bubba that "My Daddy gonna take me to the Fair."  Hudson said, "Are you sure!?"  Haha!  That hit my funny bone.  Sophie, on the other hand, was NOT amused at all!  (How dare you question what I'm telling you!?)  Cousins!  Haha!!

We'd only been outside for a few minutes when a car drove by that apparently was a bit too loud.  Hudson asked, "Will you protect me?"  Yes, I certainly will Hudson.  It's actually great that he can verbalize so well and then we have the privilege to understand what this 27 month old boy is thinking.  We can make educated guesses, but this is very fascinating!!  :)  We had another little boy many years ago who was verbal at an early age very similar to Hudson and it was a joy to work with him as well.

The kids had fun outside chasing bubbles, riding bikes, running, and playing on the climbers.  I took this picture when Avi and Hudson were meeting on the road!  They quickly figure out how to meet/pass each other without conflict or road rage!  Ha!  Seriously, it's amazing how rarely there is conflict on the sidewalks or jumping on the mattress - the 2 areas most likely to get "congested" with Infant/Toddler traffic.

Hudson - 8/8/2017

Hudson ate most of his whole wheat bagel and ate two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate shrimp, brown rice, some stir fry vegetables, and ate raspberries.

This first picture was taken yesterday afternoon.  Lauralea asked me if I'd take a picture of the kids using the wooden blocks so she'd have a picture for a Class she's teaching.  So Hudson will have a moment of fame this week!  Sorry no royalties!!  Haha!  (Remember that paper you signed?!  Ha!)  Hudson LOVES building like this and he gets very involved and focused in his work!!  It's so fun to watch them do something that really interests them or "turns their crank" as my Grandmother would say many years ago.  Hint: That was modern technology in 1920 when she was in her 20's.  Haha!  Good job Hudson!  And this morning you can see from the 2nd picture he started right back in building his towers.  He asked me, "What is it?"  So I just asked him, "What do you think it is Hudson?"  He said, "Sandcastle."  :)  Nice.

I obviously took this first picture looking into the mirror when Sophie and Hudson were in the chair or actually Sophie was driving the car!!  (Look at Sophie's hands.  Holding the steering wheel correctly at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock!)  I mean, look at Hudson's face!  A look of terror!  Haha!!  Get used to it Hudson!  Haha!!

We had fun outside and Sophie, Hudson, and Avi all were sitting on the big balls bouncing and "flying" off.  They were having lots of fun and laughing about it all!  Hudson was also doing this yesterday afternoon and laughing so hard.

Hudson - 8/7/2017

Hudson ate some of his breakfast: bran cereal and raisins.  For lunch he ate chicken from chicken salad, ate pita bread, olives, some cucumbers, tomato, and peppers, and ate his pears.

Hudson started his morning reading books and as you'll see in the next paragraph he continued with more books during Story Time.  After Sophie got here they were all at the window waving bye to Momma Molly.  As she drove by Hudson looked at Sophie and asked; "Is your Mommy going back to the lake?"  Haha!!

I love Hudson's interest in books and he gets so absorbed in them.  So much fun to read to him and let him get involved in the story too!  This next picture is from the book; "The Leaf Blew In."  This is the last page with no words, but I'll frequently ask questions.  It's fun to play with the questions and turn them around to see if the child is listening and can figure it out.  (Totally a cognitive exercise.) For example, I asked Hudson; "Who is sitting on the pig's back?"  He looked and quickly answered, "Duck."  Perfect.  "Ok, who's back is the squirrel sitting on?"  Totally a different type of question and he nailed it without hesitation! "Sheep."  :)  I'm impressed.  As you" already know, he LOVES his machines too!  His interest level doubled when I read the "Construction Site" book.  There are 5 different machines and he nailed them all; "crane, cement mixer, bulldozer, excavator, and dump truck."  Meanwhile, Sophie has totally lost interest and is squirming around.  Haha!  And that's life at the Daycare!!

We had fun outside and chased bubbles again.  (Picture below)  After that Sophie and Hudson were doing several games and when I took the last picture Sophie was asking Hudson, "Would you like a menu?"  :)  She asked me, "Do you want a cone or a cup?"  I said, "Bucket!"  She grinned and said, "How about a cone?"  Ok.

Hudson - 8/4/2017

Hudson had bites of brown rice and ate dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch he ate beef from the beef "kabobs," bites of brown rice, ate zucchini, bite of peppers, and ate lots of pineapple.  Hudson was SO excited when "Nora's Song" came on while he was waiting for lunch: "Nora's Song! Nora's Song!  Open the door Nora blue!!"  :)

This first picture is left over from yesterday afternoon.  I don't think Atley or Nora were awake from their nap yet when Reid build this blockade with some help from his sidekick assistant Bubba!  I asked Reid what they were doing and he said it was to keep "Atley and Nora from escaping!"  Well, ok I think it might work!  Haha!  Hudson sure enjoyed helping Reid on this project.

Hudson kind of started today where he left off yesterday - try to mimic everything Reid was doing this morning!  I thought this was cute when Reid was on the couch and said, "Hey Gary!  Look at this!"  And Hudson had to give it a shot too!  Nice try Bubba.

Outside Hudson was playing a game throwing the ball with Reid on the big climber.  I took the picture below just as Hudson had thrown the ball and it went sailing past Reid.  I think this picture is funny because it looks like Hudson is just standing there innocently watching the ball.  But he was the one who'd thrown it.  :)  Then he'd jump down, retrieve the ball, get back up there and throw it again.  Repeat and repeat.

Hudson - 8/3/2017

Hudson ate most of waffle and bites of fruit salad for breakfast.  For lunch he ate "Shepard's Pie" which has hamburger, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, and red potatoes.  He ate whole grain tortillas and 1 or 2 cherries.

We played outside for a long time this morning and the kids had lots of fun on the climbers, with the dump trucks, lawn mowers, and ice cream trucks.  They also played with the balls.  Hudson was trying to mimic everything Reid was doing and saying.  For example Reid threw the ball and said, "Oh my gosh I can throw the ball a long way!"  So then it was Hudson's turn.  It was pretty cute.  Then Reid grabbed 2 lawnmowers - one in each hand - and said, "I'm gonna run with two of these!" And took off running!  Ok, that stunt did not go so well for Bubba!!  :)

This first picture made me laugh!!  Hudson was very focused on building with the legos - which is super cool - he didn't even realize Nora was pestering him!!  (He frequently gets in the little "cubby hole" to work alone.)  He finally said, "HEY!!"  Ha!  In the 2nd picture you can see he moved to the couch and continued his work!  Like I've mentioned previously I LOVE how much he's been getting into building with legos and big blocks and his creativity is coming out!  When he was done with this piece he said, "I build this....for chasing bees."  Wow!  I'm impressed Hudson.  Well done!!

Hudson - 8/2/2017

Hudson ate french toast with peanut butter and bite of strawberry for breakfast.  For lunch he ate half of salmon patty, bites of dinner roll, ate his squash, and ate tropical fruit.

In this first picture Hudson is "feeding" the tail of the dinosaur into the mouth of the next dinosaur.  Hmm...I wonder if Nora is learning!?!  Haha!  Silly question, right!?  The next picture is proof.  :)  Kids in the Daycare have been doing this as long as I've had these dinosaurs!!  They just teach it to the next one and now Nora can pass it along!!

I've mentioned this several times and have included pictures - and here's another picture.  Hudson has really been enjoying the building blocks for several weeks now.  I love it when they get interested in one of the toys like this and stay engaged to figure out different ways to use the toys.  This was a "sidewalk" that he made.  Nice job of working hard at it Hudson and staying on task.

Sophie and Hudson were pretending to sleep on the climber outside.  Then they'd "wake up" and start playing again. One of the times they were laying there Sophie said, "Don't tell my Mom that I'm sick!"  Ha!!  Hudson was running across the yard and came over to where I was at.  He said, "I twist my knee and then I fell down."  That is advanced language (and concept) for a 2 year old!  :)

Hudson - 8/1/2017

Hudson had bites of toasted whole wheat english muffin and ate grapes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate a bite or two of pork chop, bites of bread, ate beets, sweet potatoes, and applesauce.

Sophie was doing all kinds of dramatic play and Hudson was frequently a part of it of course.  Sometimes an integral part, sometimes on the fringes, and sometimes I'm not sure!  Haha!  Sophie was on the phone;  "Hello!! I need your help!  My Baby is sick and he had a bad dream last night!!"  Hudson was wanting to help and said, "I"m the doctor.  I go get a bandaid."  LOL!  Nothing like a bandaid to help your baby with nightmares!!

In this 1st picture Sophie had on her "ballet" attire and she was asking Hudson; "Bubba do you like my hair?"  Hmm...this may not end well!  You're gonna need to focus here Bubba!  Her volume increased!  "BUBBA!!  DO YOU LIKE MY HAIR!!??!!"   "What?"  Ok Hudson, I'm gonna give you a lesson in life skills!!  Just say YES!   :)

Here are a couple more pictures from this morning's activities.  Hudson and Avi wearing those hats again.  The toy Hudson is holding is the "viewfinder" toy I was describing yesterday with the animal pictures.  In the last picture Hudson is building another block tower.  He's been doing this quite a bit lately and it's fun to watch his brain at work.  :)  Well done Hudson.  He actually got it much taller and one time this morning enlisted Sophie's help as well.