Swim Lessons

Hudson loves swim lessons. Of course with a 10-month old he's not really learning to swim, but just getting used to being in the water. It really is just a fun play time for all of us that results in very long naps afterwards!

The "instructors" have all been great with the kids. One of them told us about a class he participated in years ago where newborns were exposed to the pool very close to birth, and around 8-weeks old they were intentionally dropped into the pool, at which point every one of them would naturally right themselves and float to the top on their backs. Though we were fascinated by this story we have not attempted this experiment with Hudson...he does have some great natural flotation (i.e. chubbiness).

Here's a few pictures and videos of our kid being cute.

_

9 Month Picture

Hudson currently loves to clap. He claps when we walk into the room. He claps during swimming lessons (pics to come). He claps during worship at church. He claps to help his little friend stop crying. And finally, he claps when Usher sings "Oh Happy Day" on the Oprah show. Apparently it is a skill that comes in handy in lots of circumstances!

Monthly Pictures

Here are Hudson's pictures from the past six months. Crazy how much he has grown!!

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

Zoe seems to be tolerating Hudson well - doesn't she look thrilled?

Happy Easter

So we haven't posted anything in 6 months, but we took some great video of Hudson today that we wanted to share.

Today was a great Easter. We attended our church on Saturday night since we were hosting the Easter meal and figured many of the guests would be attending Sunday morning. Early in the day we gave Hudson his first Easter basket. Since Hudson isn't old enough to eat candy yet (and who fills an Easter basket with smashed peas and carrots?), Becky filled a basket with percussion instruments! He enjoyed this very much as you will see in the video at the bottom of this post.


Hudson in front of the amazing tree in our yard.

We had a great time having our friends Trevor and Ashley (in the photo) and Brian (taking the photo, thanks dude) over for a delicious Easter meal. Speaking of which, why do you have to take the recommended cooking time for a ham and multiply it by 2?


Zoe posed in front of the beautiful tulips Becky planted...a bit of Holland Michigan in our front yard.


Do we have a brilliant musician on our hands...or just a noisy 8-month-old?



_

Larriland Farms

Fall has been beautiful here in Maryland, and we were excited to get out and visit some local attractions. This farm has u-pick apple orchards, however we only had time to stop by the barn to buy some apples and fall decorations. We also enjoyed hot apple cider and fresh apple fritters (which rivaled the cider donuts at Crane's in Michigan!). Fall at Larriland Farms will be a Loomis family tradition!

Please note: there is a goat on the roof

Halloween Party

Our neighbors hosted a Halloween party. Thankfully, it was a few weeks before Halloween, as Hudson's costume no longer fit for the official holiday. Bruce and Nancy fired up the brick pizza oven and made sourdough breadbowls for soup and chili. It was delicious and fun to have a chance to see all of the neighbors. Hudson dressed up as a banana (Fruit of the Loomis?). Also there was a baby dressed as a monkey, which is kind of awesome.

Catching up....

Here are a couple of pictures from the last month...


Hudson likes to smile...and cuddle with his snuggie (any soft blanket or stuffed animal)

Loud music and dancing helps Hudson to calm down - one of Bryant's favorite parts of being a dad!

First official family picture

_