Grandpa Stringfellow

Today marks 5 years since my father, and Hudson's grandfather, passed away. It fills me with regret and sadness that Hudson will never know the man that he inherited his strong determination, fair skin and blue(ish) eyes from.

As I see Hudson grow older and develop more of his personality I see more and more characteristics reminiscent of my father. And, every once in a while, I catch a glimpse of my little guy and it reminds me of the framed pictures that hung in my grandmother's hallway of my dad when he was a little toddler.

Today, I took a break from my busy life and went to sit with my dad in the warm, spring, California sun. I miss him more than words can say.

Swings!

We love the swings. On the way back from our walk each day we stop by the park that has the baby swings. He loves being pushed along while he watches all the people going by.

Mac N Cheese

Hudson is a picky eater. He will put everything in his mouth - including my shoes and anything else he finds - but he will spit out most food. I learned today that he loves macaroni and cheese, just like his mommy. Too bad I can no longer eat it!
And yes, that is a black eye and a scrape on his chin. He had a rough week last week.

Lake Tahoe

We survived the weekend in Lake Tahoe. 6 adults, 3 kids and 3 dogs in 1 house. Hudson got his first black eye. But he loved the snow, especially in his vintage snowsuit that was his daddy's when he was a baby!

Saturdays

Cousins

Monday

I love Mondays. Hudson and I get to hang out with each other all day! We love going on walks and Hudson is almost walking on his own, taking a few steps everyday. I am also trying to teach him to drink from the sippy cup, but he still just thinks it is a toy.

Baby legs

Hudson loves pushing his little wagon around. He is getting really good at it too!

Chef Hudson

We hope Hudson grows up with our love of fine dining. We also hope he develops an interest in being a great chef one day (wouldn't that be convenient).

Lunch at the Ferry Building

Today we went and ate lunch at Taylor's in the Ferry Building. Hudson had a great time and he loved their garlic fries!

San Francisco Fog

Grandma!

Grandma came to visit Hudson. They had a great time playing with his sock monkey Jack-In-The-Box.

New Shoes

How cute are Hudson's new shoes? I am obsessed.

Monday

Hudson is a busy guy during the day bossing the dogs around and trying to walk. I thought he was going to take his first step this morning. He thought hard about it while standing on his own for a good 30 seconds. I don't think he could figure out how to make his foot move though!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame.

Today we took Hudson over to AT&T park's kids playground. Hudson loved crawling around chasing after the balls that his daddy was hitting.

Playtime in the Park

New Cousin

Hudson's newest cousin, Blake Orlo Billingsley (or Bob) was born yesterday. We went for a visit this afternoon.

Daddy and Me

Children's Museum

Today we went to the Children's Discovery Museum in Sausalito with our friends Cameo, David and Carson. The kids had so much fun!

There were waterbed "lilypads" for the babies to crawl on,

Bubbly walls to ponder over,

And streams to splash and play in.

Hudson loved the water!

And at the end of the day, the boys gave each other a bath.

Saturday Morning

Hudson loves playing in his crib. He goes wild and ends up with lots of bruises on his forehead from thrashing around in there.

Friday Night

10 months old!

The sun finally came out today and Hudson and I headed to the park. He had a great time crawling around and making friends. He spends all his waking hours practicing standing on his own and trying to walk.

Rain

It rained again today. Hudson enjoyed watching it hit the window.

Evening

Hudson loves to eat his dinner. Tonight he had blueberries, cheerios and sweet potatoes. You can see the leftovers on his face in this picture.

Morning

Hudson had fun climbing around Aunt Andrea's bathroom this morning as I got ready for work. He is starting to stand on his own and will climb up the stairs. My normal morning routine of getting ready took 30 minutes instead of the usual 10 because of his insistence to climb the stairs in the bathroom!

Penny and Hudson

This must the week of Penny and Hudson. Or, it could be the pounding rain that has given us a case of cabin fever leaving us inside with just the dogs to entertain us. In any case, Hudson was quite pleased today when he was able to share Penny's blanket with her.

Little Red Wagon

Hudson got a new Radio Flyer Walker Wagon. He loves pushing it around the house with his toys piled inside.

Lick, lick v.2

Here's a re-do of yesterday's photo after Wendy's suggestion to convert it to black and white. Thanks, Wendy!

Lick, lick!

The picture quality is horrible and Hudson is out of focus, but how funny is this shot? The dogs are getting yelled at all day for constantly licking their best friend, Hudson. This captures the evidence on film.

Poor Penny

Penny gets to make an appearance on here once in a while...