Hudson Tells A Story Part 2

 Oh man this just gets more and more fun. I swear since in the last month Hudson has really started to say sentences. It is so awesome!! 

Where do we start? Bubba wakes up on Monday to find dada is not home so he says "dada work."  Everyone who is not at our house must be at work because Hudson says they are. When daddy gets home he either says "daddy here" or "daddy home." Mommy asks him if he's ok after a fall he tells mommy "I otay." Strapped in his car seat and "I stuck" and "mommy out" cause bubba doesn't like being stuck. We leave and bubba wants to go "back home" and when we arrive he says "we're here". 

A very demanding fellow bubba says "mommy run," "daddy eat," "pawpaw walk," "come on pawpaw." "Mommy up" at the park. My best friend always wants me to climb with him. This one truly amazes me: bubba absolutely hates his shoes off. Sometimes he cries and tells me "I want it on." In fact he says that about socks, shirts and shoes. Silly buns.

Took him to the park by our house that's mosquito infested (yuck) and he says "squitoes bite you." Every ant pile he sees he says "ant bite you." Bubba chases us around saying "mommy tickle" "daddy tickle" and "got you". Cutest thing ever. I mentioned this one on his 21 month blog but when bubba hasn't had enough of what he's eating he's says "more grapes, candy, Cheetos, water, cheese" etc.  

Lately he's been saying "I want to eat Jello." Mommy hasn't been giving into his candy cravings so Jello will have to suffice. He loves it...he is able to do it himself..and it's SWEET. Win Win Win. When's he's upset he says "I want mommy" or "I want daddy." Love that.

This one makes me laugh because it sounds silly to tell your kid this but bubba says "cars hit you." He patiently waits by his mommy in parking lots because he knows "cars hit you." It's not a lie...they really can lol. "Dogs kiss you" "mommy get you." "I throw it" - tough one. Yikes. No more hard balls in the house. we tell him not to throw and he listens after the 3rd time you ask. Fun stuff lol.

Of course his favorite lately is "I do it." Some people get sad when their babies take on this independent stage. But it's fun and very often Hudson will tell me "mommy, daddy help." Man, I could go on and on. I'll add more when I think of them but this stage is so much fun. He's learning so much. Saying so much. It's getting easier to communicate and understand each other.

Side Note:  Hudson went to the dentist this morning for a yearly checkup and his teeth are perfect!  YAY :). He decided he wanted to sleep in today and of course mommy had to schedule a dentist appointment at 8:15 AM. Didn't have time to get him dressed so put him in the car in his pjs. We changed in the bathroom so it's all good. About to get our nap time snuggle on.Happy Friday!

The Most Interesting Man: Eugene Peter Ruf

It's funny having grandpa "hapa" in my life. He's been a part of it for 11 1/2 years now and in my heart feels like he's my grandpa. It's also funny to interview a 104 year old without him wondering what you are doing. That's tough. Kudos to reporters who do that.

During the many times we play cribbage grandpa sings these old songs that are way before my time and then asks if I remember the song. He does this to everyone and it's the cutest thing. As he says about Hudson...grandpa "has all of his marbles." He remembers so much more than I ever could. I can't remember anything from 8 years or younger...or I'd really have to sit and think about it. He has the most interesting life to me.

On a side note:  I think everyone should keep some kind of diary. I've never been more interested in finding out what grandpa has to say about his life and all that he has been through. Even though most people will say "I have all my memories in my head" you'd be surprised on who wants to know about those memories and the connection you feel when you know about something you weren't around for.

So, without asking grandpa a billion questions. This is what he told me and has told me before but this time, I wrote it down. :)

Petrina Peterson (grandpa's mom) was a missionary in South Africa in the early 1900s. His father Eugen Ruf (pronounced Oy-gan) left Germany and went to South Africa. They met in Cape Town (bottom tip of Africa). They migrated to NY in1908. The next year Grandpa and his twin (Walter Johan Ruf) were born in April. Yes...that's 1909! Can you even imagine? Grandpa is 1 of 5 brothers. I'm missing a name but there's Walter Johan, Eugene Peter, Norman Lloyd, and Alf Rufus.


At age 12 grandpa lost his mom, dad and baby brother (Norman Lloyd) to the Spanish Influenza Pandemic. Three days in a row respectively. Once again, I can't imagine being around for this. More information below from this article.

THE LEGACY OF THE PANDEMIC

No one knows exactly how many people died during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic. During the 1920s, researchers estimated that 21.5 million people died as a result of the 1918-1919 pandemic. More recent estimates have estimated global mortality from the 1918-1919 pandemic at anywhere between 30 and 50 million. An estimated 675,000 Americans were among the dead.

Grandpa was then entered into the Christian Home for Children in Fort Lee, NJ on Palisades Avenue. Grandpa told me that Father Nelson (not a priest but the head man of the orphanage) was the nicest man ever. Everyone called him "Father Nelson". 

Grandpa has also told me stories about how he used to sell newspapers when he was a boy. He would strategically go down to the subway stations and fumble to get people their change so they would jump on the subway before he could get it to them. Smart from a young age. Doing what he needed to do to survive. A survivor in so many ways. What's his secret? He'll tell you good clean living. In my opinion it's the heart of an amazing survivor. Never dwelling on heartbreaks, unfortunate situations, hardships, times of despair...trust me...he has seen them all. Everything you read in your history books from 1909 and on...grandpa has been a part of it. 

What does all this mean to me? The world. Even though grandpa isn't my blood relative I feel that much more closer to him knowing some of history. And this is just a fraction. I want to know so much more about grandpa and try to remember all he tells me through our many card games. When I first met grandpa, he blew me away. Every day I talk to grandpa I feel wiser. And what might seem like nothing to some makes me feel amazing. 

My favorite thing about grandpa? How from day 1 he's made me feel like one of his own. Always loving. Always sweet. Not a cruel word ever from a wonderful grandpa. He seems to always be amazed by so many when we're all amazed by him. The wonderful amazing feelings are mutual. Especially when he talks about my son. Grandpa always tells me "Hudson has all of his marbles." Guess they have something in common :)

22 Month Old Talker

Whew boy this has been a speedy month for talking. I swear bubba says something new every day. It's been so much fun. I'll write a whole new post on all the sweet things my bubba is saying but it's been absolutely wonderful. He tells me "Santa eat cookie" and "I want to eat Jello." And so many more things (will tell you more soon).

Speaking of J-E-L-L-O my son has a sweet tooth. Just like his mommy. Boy you can't even mention candy in front of this boy without setting him off. He knows where the candy is, what it is and that he wants it. He wants to eat candy over food (darn you Halloween...guess I should have expected that haha). A picky eater this month too. What happened to my adventurous eater? He's gone...temporarily hopefully. One thing for sure is bubba loves flavor. Test of a good cook maybe? If Hudson eats it you got the flavor thing down. He eats my food maybe half the time...good thing that's not my line of work or the main one anyway lol.

Mr. Indpendent. He tells me "I do it" on everything he can do himself. It amazes me how much he tries to do himself. Back to that sweet tooth thing. He can now open our freezer (it's a bottom drawer type refrigerator / freezer) deal. He pulls out the ice cream and puts it on the counter. Good thing we have a deep freezer in the garage. I have to hide the ice cream LOL! For the most part he still has a good diet. I can always get him to eat good the first half of the day. Turkey sausage, grapes, bananas, oranges, string cheese, etc. After nap...all bets are off.

We've been reading books on Christmas and Santa. Bubba now thinks "Santa eats cookies" because he does in The Night Before Christmas. He has "deer" and there's a "snowman" and "penguin." This is sooooooo much fun. I'm not sure he'll get the full story of Christmas this year but I think we'll have it down next year.

That picture on the top right makes me laugh. The only one I got of us on the Zilker Train and he's making a funny face lol. Handsome goofy boy. Bubba and I put up our Christmas tree 2 weeks ago. LOL! Do you think we're ready?

Man...I just continue to not believe how smart my son is to me. He's telling me all of these things. He's doing so much. I tell him to wait for mommy by the car in a parking lot and he says "wait" and "cars hit you." It would take me forever to list them all but every month Hudson seriously blows me away. Can't believe he listens and understands so much. I'm going to say it again...AMAZING.

Funniest thing about Hudson right now is he HATES for you to take his shoes off. He is so particular about keeping his shoes on and will tell you "I want shoe on" in his munchkin voice. So funny. Not sure where he got that from but you better not touch those toes if you want a peaceful moment.

One of my favorite things this month. Bubba doesn't understand the word mad yet even though he is really good at acting the part. So, I've taught him "mommy sad" and "mommy happy" when he does something that's not nice or nice. It's working right now and that's awesome. He understands the feelings. Amazing to me! He's such a lover too. My snuggle bunny drinks his morning milk in my lap snuggling me. Always gives me a kiss when I ask for one. Wants a kiss for his booboos. Says "mommy" a billion times as I put him to sleep in the sweetest angel voice ever. I'm the luckiest mommy in the world to hear that word so softly and sweetly. Oh yeah, how can I forget? Bubba says "I love you"!! My angel baby has the biggest heart ever!

Mommy has been working really hard lately so the best day of the week is Friday for us. I take most of the day off from work and always plan a date away from the house. That is my favorite time of the week. Time to just play. No worries. Doing exactly what Hudson wants to do. It's me and my best friend against the world. No place I'd rather be!

Highlight of the month. Hapa came out and Hudson got to play a little ball with him. The joke was we weren't sure who was going to sleep better..Hudson or Hapa but they had a ball (pun intended hehe) and of course bubba had to give his goodbye kisses. Sweet pea!

Also got a hair cut this weekend (on his 22 months) and he looks so handsome. So grown too. My sweet baby boy. My beautiful son who fills my heart with more joy than I could ever imagine. Love you my sweet boy forever. Happy 22 months. I can't believe in two months you will be 2! WOW!!!

Baby Liam Belly

Last Saturday on my birthday I went to take pictures of Shelly & Patrick. Funny...I think I'm doing things to Patrick and Shelly that I wish I would have done when I was pregnant with Hudson. I don't have any "cute" baby belly pics. I have a few funny ones but I'm so glad I got to take some of Shelly and Patrick for them to have forever. 

Here are a few of my favorites. Baby Liam scheduled to be here 11/18 (or sooner..or later but hopefully right on time :)

My Favorite :)

Boo at the Zoo Part II (and mommy's bday)

Last Friday (10/25) mommy had some work to do for her birthday party preparations. So, nana and pops took our angel baby to boo at the zoo again. I'm playing catch up big time.

Pops and Nana picked up Hudson and went to the zoo at 6:30. Nana told an ever so cute story about their adventure. Hudson didn't like the blow up spider or the Halloween arch to walk through until Nana made it fun. Unfortunately some of the animals were already in bed but they got to see the Monkeys and had a blast in the reptile house. The snakes and turtles were very active. Before the train ride they stopped by the primates area and watched a zoo keeper tell stories. Bubba was completely enthralled. Sitting on pops shoulders and watching with the so much concentration. He loved it. Bubba also learned to gobble gobble like a turkey. Someone ready for Thanksgiving? HEHE. When it came time to get on the train they loaded up and bubba had a blast. Being his cuddling observant self they enjoyed the ride and got more candy.

In the mean time mommy and daddy did more shopping and more work for the party.

I asked my dad and pops to dress up as Woody and Buzz and Nana ended up dressing like Jessie. There was a toy story theme. So very cute! When bubba first saw pawpaw he said "Woody." That right there made the whole night a success to me. When pops showed up as Buzz Hudson was a little confused as to who the actual person was. I know he knows it was Buzz but the head piece threw him off. Sure enough after we said go to Pops bubba jumped in his arms. What do I live for these days? Making my son happy.

I can honestly tell you that I wouldn't care if I had another birthday party. It's the dressing up for my child and surprising him that makes me the happiest person in the world. We dressed up as evil minions. Bubba wore his costume for all of 3 minutes then off it came. I adjusted it for Halloween (details to come). My aunt Brigette made an amazing cake (as always). My sister did all the decorating which always turns out awesome. I had a blast with everyone. It's so much fun to dress up for our little ones. Noah was Noah Knight and he wanted his mommy to be Princess Mommy, daddy to be King Daddy and Kissie to be Cinderella. Next year we're going to do things a little different. Stay tuned for a year to pass then I'll let you know haha. Until then, what a wonderful 29th birthday I had with my awesome sister and family. I've shared my whole life with my sister and I'm the luckiest person in the world because of it.

Halloween 2013

Oh man, this was so much fun. Let me start off by saying for the last month Hudson and I or Hudson and someone go on a walk around our neighborhood every day. We've noticed houses being decorated for Halloween. We decorated ours a little but let me tell you there were a handful of awesome ones. The first one is half a mile away from our house and this family did an outstanding job. Bubba learned to say "bat" from their house. We couldn't wait to stop by on Halloween.

Another one of our favorites to stop by every night was the house in the next neighborhood (it's not that far of a walk). Every night they turned on their blow up front yard scene. There were witches brewing a pot of potion, a cat who's head would turn side to side, ghosts driving a boogie car, a zombie that shakes. Hudson would imitate the zombie. We finally met the family last night and told them that we go to see their house every night. They were such a sweet family.

Leading up to the day, considering how my birthday party turned out with the costume, I knew I had to alter Hudson's costume. Why did I think he would wear his headpiece in the first place? I have no idea...must have been in fantasy land. So, I pinned his headpiece to his apron, added the evil minion goofy teeth to the apron and moved down his el macho badge. Sure enough, he cried when we dressed him BUT! It took the site of the very first trick or treater to dry the tears and get this boy into the mood. Bubba looked at the trick or treaters and was studying them. As we walked to the first house to get candy we told bubba to say, "thank you" and he did. Every single time we walked up to a house bubba said thank you after he got his candy. He then turned around and said either "I got candy" and "more candy." He was so excited to go to each house and see the other kids dressed up. Everyone got their turn to bring bubba to a house. There was even a couple with a Macaw who was letting little ones take pictures with. How awesome is that?!!?!

After our trick or treating we raced back to the house to hand out candy. My mom started it off for us and she handed out the candy to the little ones. Hudson helped her of course. My mom was precious. She's never handed out candy before because we've always lived in the middle of nowhere (not really but you don't get trick or treaters). She was so adorable. So fun.

Funniest thing all night to me, the grandparents (all of them except pops I think) were eating the candy straight out of bubba's bucket while he was trick or treating! LOL! Hudson even got a piece himself. I'm so thankful for where we live. For the people in Hudson's life who make him happy. My child's happiness is the best thing anyone could ask for. Thank you to everyone who makes my bubba happy.