8 months going on 2?

I swear I was just in 7th grade yesterday. Where does time go? Life has been good to Curtis and I in the big scheme of things. Now if you get down to the details... but that's for another post. Our Huddy Buddy is 8 months old today! I swear he is a 2 year old in an 8 month old body. He is busy busy busy! He's too smart for his own good! He has been doing so well this last month with so much improvements and accomplishments! I have been bringing him to his pediatrician for weight checks every two weeks and he now weights 15.3 pounds! It was so good to finally see that number higher than his pre surgery weight! I'm feeling better about his up coming surgery now. I can definitely tell he is filling out too! He has been eating so well! And he sure does love his meals!!

Here is what's new with the Hud:

-He crawls! Yay!!
-He can pull himself up to anything now! Yay!... Not so much. I then had to lower the crib. I do find it cute when I go into his room in the morning and he is standing there reaching out for me.
-He LOVES his little puff snacks! He takes 2 or 3 at a time and tries to stuff them in his mouth! I must say I'm a little embarrassed that I even doubted he would make it to finger foods with his cleft palate. After a few choking episodes and throwing up his food I almost gave up on trying. But he never gave up! And I should have known better with him. It took him about 5 days to learn how to chew and swallow his snacks with out choking on them. Oh man he just makes me so proud! He is one smart little boy! Nothing stops him!
-He LOVES to walk, with assistance of course. He would walk all day long if it didn't kill our backs! He gets angry when you sit him back down. Then you have to hide your hands. Once he finds them it's all over and you know you just can't resist that face! I wont be surprise if he is walking by 9 months! Yikes...
-He loves his sweets! Yogurt, otter-pops, lollipops, ice cream, the list goes on... Good thing he doesn't have any teeth yet! Healthy foods on the other hand... doesn't care for them. I figure those extra fat calories are good for him. :)
-Huddy sure loves his daddy. And it's the cutest thing. He gets so happy and always reaches out for him. Here I do all the work and Dad's the hero...
-He is very very ticklish and I love it! His laugh is the most sweetest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. I could listen to him laugh all day long. I can't help but smile and laugh along with him.
-His favorite things are tags and strings. Hey that rhymed. He will spot a tag from a mile away and heads straight for it! And he has a favorite blankie which has tags all over it. I love when he crawls around and drags it with him. And when I get him from his crib in the morning or after naps he has it in hand when he stands there waiting for me.

Hudson is such a delight to be around! Anyone who has met this amazing little boy can attest to that! We have been so blessed to have him in our lives these past 8 months. He has changed our way of life. Being a parent has brought a new meaning to the word proud. I've been trying to get him to hold his bottle and sippy cup forever now and just the other day he was sitting in his high chair eating snacks and I look over and he had his sippy cup in both hands and was drinking from it!! It's the little things...

Gosh it seems like years ago that he had his NAM. I sure don't miss it! I was really hoping I could keep it but I guess his surgeon had other plans for it and we never got it back after surgery. I still can't believe all that he has been put through. I love that he is ours and that he was born the way he was though. I love that he is different. I can't say it's always been easy but the good days always make up for it. I keep wondering what I am suppose to be learning from this whole experience. Patience? Probably. But it hasn't happened yet and that's because it isn't over yet. Darn. I love hearing all the complements on how great he looks after his surgery. It truly is amazing. Of course I notice his scar, but everyone tells me how you can't even notice it. All the glory goes to his amazing surgeon for sure! I just get to be his proud mom.

I've been so anxious for his palate repair. I can't wait for it to be over. We don't meet with his surgeon again until October 24th though. I stress about when it will be. He said when he is between 9-12 months old but then it's the holidays around that time and then his birthday... But I really don't want to wait any longer. Because it's Hudson I know he'll amaze us once more with another surgery. I just don't know if I can handle another one! I said it before and I'll say it again, he was definitely built to handle what life has given him!

He loves that table!

When you love someone...

I always thought it would be Missy who would get married first, being the oldest and all. Then I could go to her for dating questions, marriage questions, and then of course she would be the first to have a baby, so I would ask her baby questions too. But you never know what your going to get in life! She went on a mission and I got married and had a baby. I sure felt old when she came home last December to see me 8 months pregnant, married and owning a house! She was the one who asked the dating questions and the marriage questions. And sometime in the future she'll ask me baby questions I'm sure. I love it! I have always looked up to her! She has always been an amazing example to me! Saturday the 8th I got to see her and Lance get sealed in the Mesa, AZ Temple! It was such a special sight to see! She deserves nothing less! It made me think of the day Curtis and I were sealed. One of the best feelings I've ever had was kneeling over that alter with him. Families can be forever!

So Lance is from the Mormon colonies somewhere around Chihuahua, Mexico. His family still lives there so the Wednesday before they got married we all packed up and drove to Mexico! They had a reception for them there on Thursday. It was a blast!! Lance's family is awesome! We all had so much fun with them! I was kinda sad the day we left.

The first night we got there we played games with them and went 4 wheeling in the rain! The next day we went 4 wheeling again and drove for about an hour into the mountains to a little dam that had a zip-line that we rode into the water! So fun! That night was the reception that turned out amazing and had delicious Mexican food of course! And the next day we pack up again and drove home. This time with Lance's family. And then Saturday they got married and had a reception here. I love weddings! It was such a busy week and little Hudson was a trooper! I so happy to have a sister married now! Now it's Coco's turn in just about a month!

This was his neighborhood! I loved it!

And his parents house.

The area was so beautiful!! We drove past hundreds of acres of farms.

Did I mention the weather? It was awesome! 

This was our trip into the mountains. It rained so hard the past couple of days that the dirt roads had huge muddy pools of water! It was so fun to drive through!

The dam

Missy

Alec

Curtis

I did go down it, but I don't know what happened to the picture!

Lance's nieces were the cutest!

Lances nieces and nephew. They all love Missy.

Huddy and Uncle Alec

Auntie Coco

Alec was happy with the girl to guy ratio. 

The drive back to America. We all laughed as we turned onto a dirt road! We drove on it for about a half hour. We were all impressed when we found out Missy's honda civic could go 4 wheeling too! A little scary a times though...

Then all of a sudden we turn a corner back onto the street and there was New Mexico! It was hilarious. This was not the way we came so we were all surprised when we saw the border so quickly.

We almost had to leave Hudson behind. I didn't know I had to bring his birth certificate! Luckily I had his shot records and they said that was ok. And it was a really small border station and they said the bigger ones aren't so nice. They wouldn't have wanted him anyway. :P

Happy Day!

My favorite people!

They asked for it...

 Oh I enjoyed the week so much! I'm so happy for Missy and Lance! I told Curtis we need to move the Hofmann family to Mexico! I loved it there! Now I can't wait for some nieces and nephew!!