Wednesday, February 26, 2014

6 months

Today marks 6 months since "Gotcha day" aka the day I got Hudson. So much has happened in these 6 months. It is still so weird to sit back and realize he is home, he is finally home. It took us almost 17 months from the time I saw this little boys photo until I got to bring him home, that's a LONG time.

Hudson is doing WONDERFULLY! We had such an easy transition, we were lucky I know. He attached and bonded wonderfully with each of us. It is like he has just always been here. I'm going to try to hit some key points for each month that he has been home.

August 25, 2013, I met our little Hudson, I know I've written about this already, but what a special day that is. He was a little shy at first, but once it was just him and I in the room, he was smiling and coming over to me. When we were in the car on the way to the hotel he was all smiles. And in the hotel when we got to Skype with family, he was funny and excited. It was an adventurous trip, one I never thought I would be taking alone, but I did. I would do it all over again as long as I got to bring this little guy home!

Gotcha Day!
Gotcha day, on the way to our hotel.


We came home on September 5th, 2013. We had family waiting on us in Chicago, we had 2 flight delays and were rerouted all the way to LA before coming home, but we finally made it.

  Left: He went straight to his daddy. Aunt Whitney brought him some cookies too!
Shown is Aunt Lexi, Hanna, Papoo, Grahmie, Aunt Whitney, and daddy holding Hudson.



Below: Grahmie and Papoo brought him a magna doodle, he was quite interested in in being opened right away.

Shown is Aunt Lexi, Grahmie, Papoo, Aunt Whiteny holding Hudson, Averie and daddy.















Our first few weeks at home were a bit rough, I was exhausted, Hudson was having a little difficulty settling into everything, it wasn't anything too bad, but he was expected to have about 2 major melt downs a day for the first two weeks. They were exhausting and stressful to all of us. But, he didn't know what else to do, this was all new and strange to him. We took him from all that he ever knew, he wasn't asked if he wanted to come here. Now, Im sure if he was asked if he was glad he came home he would defiantly say yes, but he wasn't prepared for all of this at first.  He formed a relationship with dad right away, we Skyped so much he knew who everyone was.

October-

Hudson was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy shortly after coming home. We knew he had a weakness in his right leg before the adoption, we just didn't know why. He was fitted for a leg brace. He didn't care for the brace much at first and it proved much more difficult for him to walk with it. We decided more physical therapy would be necessary. He continued to make improvements with speech and he was even dismissed from speech therapy.

Hudson began preschool on October 16th, only 5 weeks after coming home. I was hesitant, but wanted to let him try. He loved it! I think it helped that he went with me each day to take Averie to school and pick her up, so he knew Ide always come back for him too. He continues to improve with speech, especially being in a class of children his age.

First day of school



He loved Halloween, he dressed up as Captain Hook and Averie was Tinkerbell. Hudson enjoyed going house to house saying trick or treat. Too bad it was a cold rainy evening, hopefully next year will be nicer weather.

Captain Hook & Tinkerbell

Also in October or early November he began to sleep in his own bed! He does really well there still and it really was not a struggle at all. Now, most nights he does still wake up and comes and slips in our bed. Sometimes we will redirect him back to his, but really, it will only last so long until he no longer wants to cuddle between us, so we let him...and Averie too!
Sleeping in his bed!


By November Hudson really had no communication issues, maybe even sooner. He is such a bright and happy boy. He continued to love school, he did get to start speech and physical therapy at school, he continues physical therapy weekly also at our local hospital. He is making great progress, but still has a way to go. 
November 25th, 2013 Hudson was readopted in the USA. He had mom, dad, sisters Hanna and Averie and Grahmie, Papoo and Aunt Lexi there to celebrate!
Re-adoption Day in USA

 He enjoyed all the food at Thanksgiving! He is a meat eater, kinda funny with having a mom who is a vegetarian.
Our wild Pilgrim

December came and went so fast! We had Hanna's birthday and Hudson's first Christmas home! He loved decorating the house, the Christmas tree, and all the little traditions we have. We have an Elf on the Shelf that comes to our house each year, her name is Pixie and as much as I thought he wouldn't understand the concept, he really did! He enjoyed getting up each morning and seeing what kind of mischief Pixie had gotten into. He also enjoyed his daily piece of candy from the advent calendar, counting down the days until Christmas! We watched lots of Christmas movies and tried to explain as much as we could of what Christmas is like. On Christmas morning, this little boy had some huge eyes at what all he saw. He just couldn't believe that he was getting all these gifts. We went from home to daddys parents to my parents. By the time we went to my parents, we were passing out gifts and he just sat in the middle of a huge pile looking around and looked at me and said "is all this for me? For Hudson?" I laughed, "yes buddy, its all yours!" Lets just say he is caught up for some missed Christmas'.   

Decorating
Christmas morning at home

"Is all this for me? For Hudson?!"

We brought in the new year at a hotel. He loves going to hotels and swimming. He also enjoys the science center and shopping! He still really enjoys getting new clothes! He has stayed pretty healthy, he has spiked a few fevers here and there with not much explaination. He has also tested positive for a bacteria, that he contracted from China. We are working on getting rid of this. Hudson began playing soccer at the local YMCA. He was so excited to be on a team, we even talked Averie to stay back a year and play on the same team as him. They have a great time together. He just runs and laughs while he plays. He is so excited when he gets a chance to kick the ball. He is not afraid to get in there with all the other kids at all. 

Handsome soccer player!

Celebrating The Chinese New Year

Now, it is February. He enjoyed Valentines day at both his school and Averies'. We went to a hotel for a few nights because he was scheduled for a sleep study. He did very well for the sleep study and we are waiting for the results still. Hudson continues to have the bacteria, we have tried two rounds of antibiotics and a cream and it is not helping. We are in process of figuring out what is our next step.
 
We found out that Hudson has grown 6 inches since coming home! This is awesome! He will need a new leg brace, but not only because he has grown so much, but also because he has had regrowth of a muscle they didn't think he would have. So, he will be getting a new style of brace and hopefully some cool colors! 


Valentines Day


Enjoying the hot tub with Averie


Sleep Study



Bowling with daddy



 I cannot believe that 6 months have passed by since meeting our son for the first time. We are so blessed to be led to this child of ours. He is an absolute joy! I sit and stare at him and just smile, he is so beautiful, so funny and smart. I love riding in the car with him, he likes to watch movies with the headphones on and he just gets laughing at some funny parts, he has one of those contagious laughs, you just have to laugh with him, even if you have no clue why he is laughing. Hudson is so loved by each one of us and he loves his family and friends so much! We are so lucky to have him as our son! 

February 26, 2014
August 26, 2013