Wesley, the Walker

Everyday little Wes takes more and more steps. Yesterday he took about five steps in a row across our bedroom floor. I thought he'd have to put more concentration into it, but he makes it look so natural. He cracked me up today, because he was standing up at the bottom landing of our stairs holding onto the wall and he thought he could go down that last baby step like a big boy. He took a small little tumble, but then sat up and smiled at me. Why does he want to grow up so fast?

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas! Wesley must have been a very good boy these last ten months, because he made out like a bandit. He was really excited to find that Santa brought him a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe and a blue sled. As always, he had to taste every single present. It was hard to get a picture without something in his mouth. (One of the four teeth coming finally popped through the gums today!) On Christmas Eve he even took a couple of steps on his own! It won't be long now before he really gets the hang of it. We are in for trouble...

(Note: Our Christmas tree isn't usually this plain. I prefer the traditional route by putting ALL of our ornaments on the tree, but for some reason we never found the time to do it. Hmmm... I wonder what was different this year to cause us to be so busy?...)

Just Being Cute

These days it is hard to get a "just being cute" picture. He is always on the go and always up to something. It isn't often that he'll take a short break, smile AND look at the camera. In this picture you can even see his front top two teeth peeking down. They are slowly getting bigger. He is also in the process of getting four more teeth-two more on the top and two more on the bottom. When it rains, it pours with this kid!

Puppy or Baby?

I'm beginning to wonder if I gave birth to a puppy or a baby? This kid puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. Here are just a few of the things I've caught him either putting in his mouth or trying to put in his mouth, but I've stopped him due to the grossness factor (you'll see what I mean)... toilet flush handle; armrest of a chair at the airport; toes (not his); shoes (his and ours); the cats (luckily they are getting smarter, and he usually only gets to put an open mouth on their fur before they run away); and the list could go on and on... No wonder he is sick all the time! Germs, germs germs!

That's Our Boy!

Wesley loves reading the paper just like his daddy and he loves browsing through the Sunday flyers just like his mommy. That's our boy!

Ho Ho Ho!

We headed downtown St. Joseph so that Wesley could sit on the Big Guy's lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas this year. He was pretty curious as to who was holding him, but at least he didn't cry. He loved Santa's furry trim and couldn't stop petting his cuff. Before we left, Wes made sure to tell him we would leave cookies out for him. Santa said he loves chocolate chip cookies. That's my kind of man... but, I made cut-out Christmas cookies. I hope he isn't too disappointed.

First time on Santa's lap - SUCCESSFUL!

Santa, I've Been a Good Boy. I Promise...

2009 Christmas Card

Sorry for ruining the great anticipation of what the Hudson family Christmas card looks like this year. The card will no longer be a surprise when you get yours in the mail... I just couldn't wait to share our first Christmas card with little Wes featured on it. They are all getting mailed out today, so I hope you all get them by Christmas. I am running a little late this year. Christmas kind of snuck up on me. :)

Colorado Trip: The Wedding

What a beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple!

Colorado Trip: Playing in the Snow

The wedding was at Crooked Creek Young Life Camp, which is about an hour and a half drive up into the mountains from Denver. We arrived to the camp late Saturday and stayed in one of the cabins. The next day we had some free time before the wedding. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful outdoors, especially since the snow was falling.

Colorado Trip: The Airport/Plane

Wesley had his first plane trip over the weekend. We headed out to Colorado for my brother, Troy's wedding. What is a Hudson trip without unfortunate mishaps? We have grown to just accept that fact. We once again spent WAY too much time at airports. Wesley was amazingly good considering his schedule was completely turned upside down. He was definitely a trooper. He did take a few naps on our flights, but there were also some restless times. We quickly learned Wes thought it was hilarious when we held him up to the air vent so his hair would blow. Whew! That little trick came in handy.

9 Month Pictures Sneak Peak

Yay! Wesley's 9 month pictures are up on Katie's blog. You can check out all of the pictures she posted by going to http://katiedewinter.blogspot.com/2009/12/wes-9-months.html. Aren't they super cute? I think the grape vineyard pics ended up pretty cool. I just wish it hadn't been so cold and windy the day we did them. We couldn't be outside very long. Wesley's poor little nose was all red.

This particular picture is one of my favorites because it has Wes' cheesy grin. Whenever he does it around Ben or I we always have to say, "It's not easy, being cheesy...".

I Think I Can...

We strategically put the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs so that the cats can sneak under it, but little Wessy can't. But that doesn't stop him from trying. Little stinker!

Reflections

I don't have any more questions as to why my windows are smeared. Wesley has been practicing his kisses. I hope he doesn't do this at daycare! ;)

Wesley's First Words!

Oh yeah! For about a week and a half now Wesley likes to call out Ma Ma Ma Ma or Da Da Da Da. He has said his first words! And boy does he like to use them. :)

Wesley and His Push Toy

This post is a week late. Wes has been a little walker for over a week now with his push toy. He loves it and he REALLY loves it when he has an audience. He definitely likes to be the center of attention. The video clip is a quick one since he conveniently walks his way into the Christmas tree. Luckily Ben was a smart guy when we were picking out the tree yesterday. He said, "I want the prickliest tree you have." It seems to work. Wes hasn't tried to mess with it much.

"She's a Beaut, Clark!"

"She's a beaut, Clark!" Oh, how Ben and I LOVE the movie Christmas Vacation. Cutting down our Christmas tree was extra special this year, because we had little Wes to join us in our tradition. This was also Wes' first time being outside in snow. I have lots of good pictures to share of our little blue marshmallow man, as well as of the 2009 Hudson family christmas tree.

Wesley & Myles' Boat

Wesley and his cousin Myles decided to play pretend. The tub turned into their boat and Ben pushed/pulled them around the room. I think I need to put a plastic tub on Wes' Christmas list. :)

Wesley, the Big Boy

Wesley thinks he is quite the big boy these days and likes to drink from a big boy cup.

Lucky, the (Unlucky) Buck

Now that Wes is a VERY mobile crawler, he always makes his way into our office to say hi to Lucky. Lucky is Ben's first buck and Wes thinks he is pretty neat. If you say, "Wesley, where is the deer?," he looks at Lucky. If you say, "Wesley, where is the birdie?," he looks over to the other wall where we have a stuffed pheasant. Life is fun.

Wesley's First Christmas Party

Wesley had his first Christmas party at his Great Grandma Jean's over Thanksgiving. He got his first Christmas ornament. He thought his shiny "Wesley" ornament was pretty cool. He also got this super cool basketball hoop. Wesley and Ben have a good time playing b-ball in the living room. Some day I'll have to say, "Boys, no playing basketball in the house!". Until then, I'll just have fun watching them.

9 Month Stats

We had Wesley's nine month appointment this morning. He is now 28 3/4 inches long (75th percentile) and 16 pounds, 13 ounces (5th percentile). He is staying pretty consistent in the 75th percentile for height, but he is dropping in the weight category. He is hitting all of his developmental milestones and eating like crazy so his doctor isn't too worried. In the meantime we'll keep trying to beef him up.

Goofballs

I live with two goofballs. At least they are adorable goofballs. :)

Yummy!

"I'm still hungry. I think I'll finish up dinner with this nice green bowl here."

Lately, Wesley will eat anything and everything. (His daddy is quite proud.) He'll even eat certain baby foods that he used to not like. But, his favorite thing to eat is anything that anyone else has on their plate. If someone else thinks it is good enough to eat, Wesley thinks he should have it too. We call him our little garbage disposal.