"Firsts"

Hudson's first trip to the sprinkler park

He really enjoyed it for about 45 min. and then he hit his limit. I have to say, I had a pretty good time out there too! I used Hudson as my excuse for running through the water and playing with the sprinklers :)

Nice water, huh? You know, I just got my first haircut...

"Firsts"

Hudson's First Haircut!
He did such a good job staying still for his haircut (well, as still as you can expect an almost 1 year old to be!) He was such a big boy! We got rid of the WILD curls and the combover on top. Don't fret, though... we didn't cut off all the curls in the back. We couldn't part with those yet!


Before


During

After

Video

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More "Firsts" posts to come :)

Parenthood

Don't you just love this picture? Hudson is at playgroup walking through bubbles without a care in the world. It reminded me of how the Lord would like us to be in our lives - not worrying but casting our cares upon the Lord through prayer.
Today as I was having my time with the Lord, I read a chapter out of"Power of a Praying Parent" and it was about parenting without fear. I was gripped with fear when Hudson was first born, worrying about everything, as many new moms are. I still worry. I don't think that will ever completely go away (those of you with older kids probably are thinking "It only gets worse!" :)). You could drive yourself crazy worrying if you let it get ahold of you. But, it is so comforting to know that the Lord gave me this great gift and He loves Hudson so much more than even I do. I don't have to worry. God is in control, and ultimately, Hudson is HIS child. Having a relationship with the Lord frees me from worry.
Sarah, in 1 Sam. was granted a son. She continually offered Him to the Lord, and eventually took him to the temple to grow into a great servant of the Lord. Wow, now that is a sign of obedience!
"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord" 1Sam. 1:27-29
Praise God that we are just God's servants as parents, raising our children with wisdom that comes from Him. We don't have to rely on our own wisdom. This way God can work freely, molding our children into the warriors for Christ that He intended! I pray that I am constantly reminded of that fact!

Not much going on..

Hi all! Not much is going on in the Clanton household right now, so I decided to just post a video for the grandparents... they haven't seen Hudson walking in person yet, so I thought I would just video him in the (almost) buff walking around the house doing what he does best. That is.. going from room to room with a random object in his hand (in this case, empty baby medicine bottles), just walking, talking, and gripping his object. If he sees something more interesting, he will stop to check it out! This little boy loves to get into everything, throw every "neat" pile I have into a mess on the floor, take every book off the shelf, empty every drawer he can get to, and then hide his little items in cabinets, under the couch, in containers... Needless to say I am finding random items all over the place! :) ALthough it is hard to keep the house tidy right now, I am enjoying every minute of it. It's so much fun to see him grow!

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Top Ten Baby Moments

I have quite a few baby pics and moments from the past two weeks, so I thought I would share them with you. Here are a few videos and pictures... please excuse the poor quality of videoing. It is pretty hard to video and help the baby as well :)

1. Walking :)
I guess I can say now that Hudson is walking. Well, he is taking several steps at a time. He has been walking since the beginning of the month, but every tiem I got the camera out, he would fall down and crawl to me. He's gotten pretty good at the walking thing, though, and is doing pretty well now!!

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2. Playgroup last week -
We went to the resident's alliance playgroup today, and it was alot of fun. We had planned to have a water day, but it was sprinkling and overcast. Hudson had a great time playing with matchbox cars, though. And toward the end of playgroup, we let the kids play at a shaving cream table.. Hudson didn't quite know what to think, but he got used to the feel and started enjoying it!

3. Magic Trick -
Hudson has a magic trick! After eating, he can be completely clean on the front, and totally messy on the back. Bravo! Now... do they make bibs for the back too?


4. Kisses-
Hudson has been kissing for a while, but this is the first I have posted of it. My favorite is when he kisses without being asked. Usually it is when you go to get him from his crib. :) They are a little slimy, but sweet all the same, and I think he knows that they just melt mine and Colin's heart!

5. New Ideas -
Hudson is learning new things every day. Just the other day, he learned that he can put things in this little compartment on his play table. However, he hasn't learned spatial sense quite yet... He gets a little frustrated that he can't put whatever he wants in the hole. It's so cute, though, to see him working so hard to ge a big wooden train in the little tiny hole on his play table!
He also talks on the phone now - although, it may be a phone that he holds to his ear, or a water bottle, or a truck, or sunglasses - basically, he pretends that he can talk on anything just by putting it up by his ear and talking!
.....Sorry - I had an ADORABLE video, but it was too big to fit :(

6. Hudson knows how to brush his teeth now :) I love how he's got the motion down pat, too! (and no, I don't let him walk around with a toothbrush in his mouth)

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7. Hudson's Aunt Nan Nan came to visit us this week. He LOVES his Aunt Nan Nan. We went swinging, we went on a walk together, we went to eat sushi, we even got ice cream! Hudson's favorite is playing with Aunt Nan Nan on the floor in the kitchen - he could have done that for hours!!!

8. Hudson had fun at playgroup this week playing at the gym - despite the foam pit, balance beam, trampolines, and other fun stuff, this ball was the most fun!!


9. This little boy plays HARD and is hot natured! Just look at the sweat on his hair from walking and crawling around!

10. I just couldn't resist putting these extra cute pic's of Hudson as #10. I know that we are his parents, so we are biased, but I just think Hudson is the cutest baby ever!!! I could never have imagined loving him as much as I do. These pics capture just a few of his precious expressions that we laugh at and love to see every day.

Fourth of July

We had a great fourth of July! We went to our friends house along with other friends from our small group and enjoyed the Tennessee River. We went on their boat, and as we all tubed, Hudson was snoring away. I guess the roar of the boat and the waves make for a sleepy baby! We also went canoeing and dodged water balloons from the deck as we canoed. They had a great water balloon launcher to use. In the above picture, as you can see, Hudson is getting ready to pelt someone out on the canoe :) Colin, unfortunately, had to work and things were so busy that he wasn't finished until about 6:30 or so. After spending time with our good friends, we headed home, ate dinner, and went to a neighbors to see some fireworks. It was a relaxing and enjoyable 4th. Unfortunately, it was NOT a good picture day. I only got a couple of Hudson. Sorry! I misplaced my camera several times and didn't get any pictures of all of us together (I am so mad about that!). Nonetheless, happy late fourth!

Sick Baby :(

We have a sick baby in the house. Hudson has not been feeling well at ALL the past weekend, and this yucky nose and coughing really has been going on for about 2 weeks. We went to the doctor last week and he said it was viral and there wasn't anything we could do. It definitely worsened. This weekend his temp got up into the 104's. We went to the doc yesterday and she said he has a sinus infection AND a viral infection as well. I have racked my brain trying to figure out how he got this, but I have no explanation. I guess some things you just can't help. Now that we have medicine in him and he seems to be getting better, I will be cloroxing and lysoling everything :) It broke my heart to see him not feeling well, so I am very thankful that he is feeling more like himself. Maybe I can find a little more time now to get up 4th of July and other exciting blogs from the Clanton household.