1st night on weaning plan

The night was a bit rough but not as bad as I feared. She reluctantly took a bottle of water at 11ish and was upset and cried for a while then woke up again at 12:30. This time the soothing was more difficult and Mark had a crack at it too. Then she slept soundly till 3 and I slept next to her and soothed her by humming and holding close any time she stirred.
Today has been difficult. She is refusing the cup, glass and most food. She has had some water from the bottle and a little food, part of which she spit up. I called the new pediatrician and spoke to the nurse practitioner who consulted with the doc who said stay the course and come back Monday if she doesn't start eating again. He also said not to continue with the tummy meds we had been giving her. This is rough. They also said try to be really positive and give her lots of chances to try the foods she likes and the cup.

Weaning

Yesterday we began weaning Claire from the bottle. During the past 8 months Claire has repeatedly relapsed into refusing solid food and only wanting the bottle. Her new pediatrician whom we visited yesterday said it's time to get rid of the bottle. He suggested only offering water in the bottle and milk in a cup. We did this until bedtime yesterday. I gave her the regular bedtime bottle and tried to give her a bottle of water when she woke up three hours later...that didn't go over well...
Anyway, the food consumption is up today and we adding flax seed oil to her food-this is both for extra calories and to help her itchy skin. Today she wasn't too keen on the spoon but enjoyed sipping her puree from a little cup/dish. She did better with the sippy cup today. We've been offering the sippy cup and or drinks from a regular glass for months, but she never seemed very keen on drinking formula from a cup.

having fun with new drum

Check out our little drummer girl.



Yesterday in the bath Claire washed her knees and tummy with her washcloth then spent about 5 minutes washing her rubber duck. So Cute!

We had a field trip to the beach Sunday afternoon. It was balmy weather so we let Claire get her feet wet. She loved it! Pictures on Flickr.

Walking!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcFFLycF_Dk
New video of Claire Walking. Click on underlined link above. She can take over 20 steps on her own now! very exciting!
We are enjoying our week in Arizona with my family. Be back tomorrow.

Christmas Letter 2007

Our 2007 Christmas letter is posted in PDF format here: http://www.hudsonic.com/files/Christ_is_Born-Glorify_Him_v2.pdf
We mailed out a bunch the day after Christmas. If you haven't received yours in about a week, drop us a line and we'll send one out. Our address book may need updating.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

In the Hudson home the annual Christmas letter is a mostly unrealized ideal. The last one we wrote was 4 years ago when we bought our house. Whenever we think about writing one it usually isn't near the computer... Now is the time to act!

Many things are the same... we enjoy being homeowners and are still in the home we bought 4 years ago, we attend St. Michael Church in Whittier where we were married 6 years ago, we visit with family nearby and out of state as often as we can... Yet much has changed.

Our biggest news since our last letter is the birth of our daughter Claire Rebbecca on May 27, 2006. She arrived 9 weeks before her due date and spent her first 8 weeks in the hospital. During this time we began a blog at http://markhu.blogspot.com along with pictures on http://www.flickr.com/photos/hudsonthego. Since two weeks before Claire's arrival I stopped working and have the privilege of staying home with Claire.

The joy of celebrating Claire's first birthday in May was preceded by the sorrow of attending the funeral for our pastor, Fr. Michael just two weeks prior. Reflecting on his full life while holding Claire in my arms during the graveside service reminded me of Spring's theme of new life springing up in the place of old.

Claire is now 18 months old and just started walking on Christmas Eve. She took three steps walking between a very proud mom and dad. She is very verbal and social and loves books, especially about animals. When she wakes up from a nap or in the morning the first thing she says is either "read read," or "bow-wow-wow!" Her current favorite book is The Napping House by Audry Wood which features a dog, cat and mouse. Claire loves to pet our two cats (can't say the cats feel the same about the experience) and she is learning to be gentle. Sometimes she "barks" at them through the screen door as they sit outside on the porch. We are especially thankful with each new benchmark Claire reaches because she had a brain injury at birth and we didn't know what the outcome would be.

Mark has switched jobs a couple of times since our last letter. After working at Critical Path for five years, he returned to Symantec, a former employer, for two years. He is now working for Ticketmaster.com in Hollywood which looks to be his best job yet. After the lease on his truck ran out in 2005, Mark gained an affinity for public transit and continues to ride the bus a few times a week, both for the exercise and opportunity to read.

We flew to Oklahoma in November and visited three sets of people: Beth (Claire's godmother) at her pre-wedding reception, Jen's relatives in Weatherford, and Mark's relatives in Oklahoma City. This was Claire's first plane flight and she did great. Our only traumatic moment was when Claire got a paper cut in the rental car office and screamed and bled all over Jen until we found out the matter.

Jen's new hobby is organic gardening, supplemented by trips to the farmer's market. She also enjoys baking now and then and is working on perfecting a no-knead bread recipe. Mark's new hobby is European-style boardgames. But both of these willingly take a back seat to raising Claire. Despite her rough start, she is growing and learning steadily and we are proud and joyful parents.

Read Alouds--Jen's current favorites

read alouds
Originally uploaded by hudsonthego

Claire has been participating more and more identifying objects and animals in the illustrations of books as we read. She has also demonstrated that she can handle non board books carefully with assistance. Thankfully this means I can start reading books that were in my collection as a kindergarten and first grade teacher. (And I don't have to get bored with our limited supply of board books.)
Claire is fascinated with The Napping House because it has both a dog and a cat in it. The illustrations are gorgeous. Don Wood is a master at showing animals and people in motion and evoking emotion. Old Hat New Hat continues to hold her attention after steady usage for months, Mouse Mess is a new favorite because I just love the illustrations and it has some of Claire's favorite words in it, "hush, mess, and house" Quiero un beso is a favorite with Claire because it ends with hugs and kisses. Sandra Boynton has a knack for creating clever scenarios with her critters and Claire gets to practice saying her animal sounds.


PS new Spanish word today mono (monkey)
and first experience with finger painting see Flickr for photos.