We cant stop him. He is determined to not sit or hold on to anything ever again. In fact, I cant get him to sit down or hold on to something. Like when I need to take Hudson to the bathroom, I try to put Cannon on the floor sitting or standing at the train table holding on. He wont do it. His body stiffens and he refuses to bend or hold. He wants to stand alone or walk. And he is paying for it. His poor little face is beat up right now from falling over. His nose is scratched from a bad fall on the carpet (yeah, a carpet burn on his nose that he keeps re-opening from falls since), his lip is fat and cut on the inside (from hitting the train table), he has a gash on his chin (again from hitting the train table on his way down), and a bruise above his eye (we dont know what this is from). Not to mention all the hits to his head, butt and ego. I think his ego is getting hit the hardest as I see him get really frustrated. Watching him fall and hit the table on his way down is hard on him, but VERY difficult for mommy. Bloody teeth, bloody chin, ughhh, it hurts me so much (he usually cries for less than a minute but I am worried all the time now). Please Cannon, slow down! And also, while we are at it, could you put the toys down while you walk? It means that your hands are full and cant break your fall, making your face take the hits. Oh and he doesn't want to be held either. He squirms, screams and dives down until you put him on the ground. And crawling? Forget it, he isnt interested. So I have only one choice, right? Let him learn. Let him get better. Try to break as many falls as I can. Stand behind him as he climbs on top of everything to catch him if he falls (the couch, chairs, toys, the train table). He is doing so great, walking from one end of our house to the other. But this is very hard on mommy. Way to go Cannon... but pleeeease slow down!!
We had our annual family vacay in Palm Springs this year. We decided to find a small hotel and take over the whole thing! What a great idea and what a great little place we chose with 7 rooms called The Coyote Inn. We had great weather, great food, and wonderful company.
The group:
The Pool:
The 5 Kids:
Gianna and Hudson:
Kids:
Chilling:
Rowen's silly face (6 months):
Liliana chillin' (9 months):
Cannon's and his scratched nose (10 months):
Cannon loved being 'scooted' around the place all weekend:
We celebrated Hudson's half-birthday on Saturday! Two and a half years old!
Here are some of "The Couch" photos. Growing up, my brothers and cousins always had pictures taken of us lined up on the couch. It is such a strong memory and hard to believe our kids are taking these pictures now!
The kids ~ Cannon, Hudson, Liliana, Rowen, Gianna:
Instead of keeping ALL of the art projects that Hudson brings home from school and those that we do around the house, I have decided to tape them up on the door and periodically take pictures of Hudson with his art. This way, I will 'have' all of his art forever, without the storage/clutter.
Cannon is walking...or walking more often and getting more brave! He is also standing up on his own from the ground (without holding on to something or using something to get to standing). He looks so small to be doing all this!
Cannon is 10 months old today. His personality sure has been coming out more and more lately. He is really funny and seems to know exactly what is going on around him. He is in a good mood most of the time, so long as he is doing what he wants to do. He yells or growls at you to get your attention (which he must have at all times) and is great at mimicking his parents and his brother. He is very smart and active, has been since day one, and loves waving at people, clapping and putting his arms up because he is 'so big' (even though he still isnt 'so big' at all). He is getting a little more brave and taking a couple steps here and there and between furniture and would probably be walking already if he would just slow down. It seems that he is determined to skip walking altogether and go straight to running.
Here is a short video of Cannon and Hudson yelling back and forth at each other. This is pretty common. Car rides are a lot of fun and oh so loud these days. Plus, the video shows a bit of Hudson's funny little laugh at the end that he randomly does. So happy to get a bit of that on tape finally.
Just a couple weeks ago I was asking Hudson's swim teacher if we could 'move on' from the back float thing. She said that it was important that he totally master that skill first before moving on. In my head, I was thinking that he might be too old to have the back-float become instinct and was wanting him to learn to kick/swim to the side of the pool. I mean, he can flip to his back but it wasnt instinct. I didnt think he would get to the point where he would flip to his back if he fell in the pool. But I was wrong. Just a few short lessons later, Hudson is flipping to his back not just because he can or because his teacher tells him to, but he is doing it as if it were instinct. It is so cool. I must admit I got a little teary eyed when he first started doing it. What a relief.
Last week he was going down the slide into the water and flipping to his back. And last week the teacher was getting out of the pool and throwing him in and he was flipping to his back. Last week, I didnt have my camera. Bummer. Here is another of him sitting on the side and going in and then flipping to his back (he is on the left, sitting outside the pool with the female instructor).
I am sure this is real exciting stuff for a lot of you. But while it may be boring for you, this blog is for us too.
Keeping busy with walking, racing and pushing carts around.
Cannon is getting so fast with the walker!! And he jams around the table and couch (holding on). He lets go all the time and can take two steps but then falls over. Any day now!
Right after I took this picture, I had to dive to grab him because he was stepping up even higher... trying to climb the shelves that his hands are holding. Great.
I saw a children's shirt in a store last summer that said "My Name is Not No No NO."
I immediately thought about buying it for Hudson. I should have bought it for Hudson. His listening skills arent great yet and it can be frustrating. Those of you that know me, know I don't have that much patience (I have gotten better since having kids bit still need lots of work. If only I thought patience were a virtue and not a saying made up by someone who wanted you to wait) and would rather rationalize and discuss with Hudson but obviously a bit early for that! Instead, I am trying to pick my battles with him so that "NO HUDSON" isnt the only thing he hears from me these days. It still seems like I am constantly saying "Hudson dont color on the walls" or "Hudson, please take that pillow off your brother's face" or "Hudson stop screaming because your brother is asleep" or "Hudson dont take the straw out of your juice and pour it onto the ground" and "Hudson, your brother doesnt know how to catch yet." You can tell he is going to be trouble...he keeps us busy and he keeps us laughing. >
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