Hudson at 21 Months

This is late, especially since Hudson will be 22 months in two weeks!  I can not believe that my baby is so close to turning two.  Time has flown since he was born.  There are some days that he still seems like my little baby, and there are other days where he seems so big.  Compared to the other two he still seems so small, but I know he will seem so big in two weeks when his little sister is here!

Here are a few things that Hudson is up to this month:

• He talks constantly!  He spits out words that I didn't even know that he knew, and he repeats anything we ask him to.  It's especially cute when we try to get him to say the baby names that we're considering! (And no, grandparents, he won't tell you them either!)
• He also likes to sing.  He mainly finishes whatever song we're listening to.  If we're listening to "Some Nights" by Fun, he sits in the back seat and finishes each line, and then starts shouting "Come oooooooooon."  He also does a pretty rocking dance with the drums!  He finishes "Last Song" by the Imagination Movers and "Beth" by Kiss at bedtime when Brian sings it to him.
• "Melmo" is Hudson's favorite thing in the world!  He has a bunch of toys, and he picks them up and says "La, la, la, la!"  He has a little "pack pack" with Elmo on it, and he currently insists on taking it with him wherever he goes.
• He is everywhere!  Climbing up the table, on the table, trying to get over the baby gate when one of the big kids opens it,  insisting that he walk himself to the van, climb in the van - all by himself.  I don't know what we're going to do with him while the big kids are playing soccer and baseball this fall!  He is not going to be happy in the stroller...but he would also be out on the field if he was loose!
• The other day Brian took Hudson and Reese to the store to spend some time with the two of them.  He threw Hudson's necessities in his Elmo backpack.  While they were in the $1 section at Target Brian gave Hudson a Mickey Mouse ("Mouse!  Mouse!") book to look at.  And Hudson tried to shoplift it by throwing it in his backpack!  Ha!
• Cloth diapers are one of his favorite things.  
• We try very, very hard to make sure that he plays with his toys and not Wyatt's.  We aren't eager for any of our kids to "grow up" before they need to, so I don't want Hudson playing with Wyatt's toys yet.   He is very interested in them though, so if Wyatt leaves something out, there's a lot of Hudson shouting "Good guys!  Good guys!" because he thinks that's what Wyatt's Baseball Guys or Hockey Guys or Star Wars figures are called.
• His very favorite game is "Surprise!"  Basically, if I'm sitting on the floor, he runs up to me full speed and shouts "Surprise!"  It is the cutest. thing. ever.
• Hudson likes to brush his teeth.  A lot.  He will basically shout out, "Teef!  Teef!" at least twice a day so he can get to the bathroom to brush them.  I think he wants to be a dentist when he grows up!
• I call him my Baby Possum because I never know if he is awake or asleep.  He is literally THE quietest baby when he wakes up, and he doesn't move.  He just stays on his tummy and waits for us to get him.  Even when we walk in his room, he doesn't make a sound.  It is the weirdest thing, because we've actually checked on him, thought he was asleep, and then left him in there!  And then we find out he was actually awake.  The big kids have been known to talk constantly, scream for us, or attempt to break loose.  Not Hudson!
• When Wyatt and Reese were about 17 months old they started sleeping with something.  A blanket.  A stuffed animal (in Wyatt's case, it's like 45 stuffed animals).  Anything.  Hudson doesn't want anything in his crib.  He won't even  take a regular blanket!  We tried to put a stuffed Buzz or Elmo in and he says, "No!" and then throws it out!
• He currently wants to sit in Wyatt's car seat all the time.  This isn't a problem because they all have the same car seat, and it's easily adjustable for their heights - the headrest moves up and down.  But he gets in the van and shouts "Wy Wy!," and then heads for Wyatt's seat.  Surprisingly, Wyatt has been very easy going about this.  I have to move their seats around this week anyway to accommodate our new addition, so I just hope he doesn't get comfortable.  Especially since the back of my van is currently spacious without the captain's seat behind the driver, and it has to go back in!
• He wants to do everything by himself.  Trying to get dressed.  Putting shoes on.  Getting in his seat.  It's all met with cries of "Self!  Self!"  And since his brother and sister sit at the table with their plates, he won't tolerate food on his high chair tray.  Nope.  He'll say "plaaaate!"
• Hudson will start to count with us, and he'll also start singing his ABC's with us. 
• He has a really good arm,and he will throw anything at you, whether you're looking or not.  I have to pay constant attention.  Especially since he has a reputation for destroying television sets.
• He has started sitting on the potty some.  I think he just does it to be like everyone else, but he understands what he's supposed to do there, which is exciting.  I have no intention of starting to potty train him now, though!
• He is my baby boy.  He loves me very much, and that's probably what I'm worried about most about adding a new baby.  The other kids were used to having our moms with them while I worked, and I was gone from them for at least 23 hours a week.  That's not the case anymore, and I think Hudson is a little clingy.  Hopefully he will get over that, because I'm going to have my hands full with his sister soon.  And he can be a little aggressive!
• Even though he is mine when I'm around, he will bail on me in a second to go to his Daddy.  Bed time with him was all mine.  But Brian's been doing it more and more, and now Hudson will choose Daddy in a second over me.  It kind of hurts my feelings, but I'm also glad I don't have to walk up and down the stairs to do it right now!  Ha! 

We love our Huddoo so much!  He is such a fun, happy, good spirited little boy with an opinion of his own.  It is so fun to watch  him grow and learn new things every day.  I was always worried that since Wyatt is learning new things it wouldn't be as exciting to watch the little kids learn things, too, but that's not the case!  Every time he does something by himself, I get so excited for him!