Jude's school pictures

All I can say is that the kid cracks me up. It is amazing to see his personality keep evolving everyday. Which is why we thought that for his spring daycare pictures we had to put him in something a little more relaxing. He is Jude the Dude after all! We already thought we had enough pictues of him in button downs and polos, and when it comes down to it, he is a beach baby at heart (or maybe that is just mom and dad wanting him to be a beach baby). But, how fantastic is that fake background? And that little pose with the one hand on the trunk? Kills me! And those little bare feet? (I thought shoes would take away from the rest of the vibe... Maybe I took it a little too far?)

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather that we are finally getting. It just puts you in a better mood, doesn't it? "You're gonna make it after all." - Mary Tyler Moore.

Oh- one more funny Jude story. We were at "The Wall" (Walgreens for all of you non-Dane Cook fans) and saw a fuzzy catepillar looking thing that would move in your hand (thought it was like those Chinese paper fish) and I just had to have it. I mean, I thought Jude had to have it. Well, it ended up being basically a piece of fuzz attached to some clear thread. Lame! Although, it turned out to be one of the best toys we have. Jude was laughing so hard at it moving around on the floor at first, and then the smart guy figured out the string and started playing with it with Stitch (Stitch was not a fan of the toy). So for any of you bored parents, get a piece of fuzz and some string and it will get you at least 30 minutes....

Okay... I have to brag for a minute

I try not to brag too much about Jude, because I know and have learned that all kids catch on and catch up eventually. But, I had to share a few of these... last night after work I was playing with Jude and asked him to get his ball (and pointed to the ball across the room, but it was in a pile with the ridiculous number of toys), and he walked over and picked up the ball! How smart?!?! He is also getting better at using a spoon when eating dinner. He says "All done" when he is done eating. He knows sign language for "more" and "books" and "eat." He will touch his ears, feet and belly when you ask him where they are. Then the other day, I was singing a song that plays on one of his many annoying toys and he went into his bedroom and found the toy that plays the song and started playing with it. One last thing... I was reading him a book with a lion on the cover and was growling to let him know that is what lions say. Then later that night I was asking him what sound a lion made and he looked over for the book. Not quite telling me what a lion says, but still pretty smart!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! What started as a crazy end of the work week, ended up being a good Easter weekend. Jude came down with a stomach flu (we think) on Thursday. Poor kid. My parents came in on Thursday as well to celebrate Easter and to get to see Jude. Poor Grandma and Grandpa. We were all a little nervous that the "flu" was contagious, but we seemed to all be okay so far. Knock on wood. Little by little, Jude seemed to be getting better over the weekend. He would still have some stomach problems, but as long as we kept him on a pretty bland diet, he would do better. But poor little guy just wants some good food. And although it was quick (it always is) we got to have a lot of fun with my parents... shopping downtown, eating Olive Garden (yummmmm... breadsticks), eating an Easter dinner (early) (prepared by Mom - thanks, Mom!). The only other bad part was Ryan and his work, work, work. Not the fun acting work either. This was the "day job" - working 12-16 hour days. Poor Ryan. But, the trial is over with so hopefully we can get back to normal now. On Sunday, Jude, Ryan and I went to church (along with all the other residents of Evanston), and then went over to our friends for a fabulous brunch. Scrambled eggs, banana walnut pancakes, bluberry muffins, bisquits and gravy, fresh fruit, ham, and of course, CANDY! Although I did break toward the end (a little stressed lately), I think I did fairly good overall sticking with giving up candy and desert for lent. I didn't think I would make it a day, let alone almost the whole time. Jude hunted for some easter eggs in their backyard, and we even colored a few eggs (although I should mention that Ryan made an egg for Jude and wrote "poop" and "pee" on it... classy - although he just made me feel like I was a kid again and decorating eggs with my brother - he would have done the same thing). Now we are just hoping that Jude is on the mend, and that the weather keeps getting warmer. It sounds like it will be nice by the end of the week, but I am not holding my breath.

Happy Birthday to Garrett and Aislinn!

I hasn't been that long has it? Aislinn just turned 1 and Garrett turned 3!!!! We had a great time in MN two weekends ago helping to celebrate. The weather cooperated for traveling and was even nice enough during the party to get outside and let the kids play around. As you can see from one of the pictures Jude was pretty tuckered out by the time we left. Not only did we get to see Garrett eat his cake(s) (using the licorice broom that was made as a shovel to get the icing in faster), and see Aislinn turn pretty green all over (the bath was green when they tried to "hose" her down), we got to see Malia in her swim class. I can't believe that they are all growing so quickly. But I guess Jude has been growing just as quickly. He knows a few things in sign language (mostly loving "more"), he has gotten pretty good at picking up and throwing a ball (as well as any other toy for that matter), and just continues to melt our hearts. He gives us hugs and kisses now! And that laugh.... I could listen to that all day.
Sorry this is a short update... but at least I got some new pictures on here right?

He is so neat and clean... (unlike his parents)

So Jude not only will go and get his shoes when Daddy tells him to get his shoes in the morning, but he also will put his shoes away if Mommy takes them off of him and leaves them in the middle of the floor! He picked up his shoes the other day, and walked them over to the mat by the door and set them down very neatly.

We have also been trying to work on washing his hands (especially when we get home from daycare). I talk him through every step and ask him to keep showing his hands, etc. Last night, I was going to wash his hands after dinner and asked Jude if he wanted to wash his hands. He then started rubbing his hands together!!! We were so excited! It is really amazing to see what he is catching on to.

I posted a few new pictures- trying out Gymboree classes, sleeping with Mickey, posing with Mom and Dad, trying out mom's slipper/socks, and just being a goofy, silly kid all around!

The ray of sunshine...

So, it is not just me and Ryan and the family and friends that love Jude, it is also EVERY teacher at daycare. They said that he is always so happy, and just a little ray of sunshine in the room. It was really nice to hear. (nice that the teachers like him, and nice to know that he must like it if he is so happy). Jude is definitely a walking machine now. And so far, so good. He was already moving pretty quickly just crawling, so I think we were already pretty good at getting up to chase him around. He is loving his sippy cups (thanks Auntie Shelley for the Ellen one!), and eating away. I swear, the boy can eat more than I do for dinner sometimes. Other than that, we are all just sick of the cold and snow, but hoping that things will start warming up a little... 30s at least!?!? Here are some good pictures that we just took. Ryan submitted him for a cute baby contest with Regis & Kelly (thanks great auntie Kim), and we will let you know if he gets picked! :)

Jude goes walking... after midnight....

Or Jude's boots are made for walking... or because Jude's mine, he walked the line.... (Okay, Ryan and I have to sing a song everytime Jude walks) But, as you can see... JUDE IS WALKING!!! The best is when he walks up to me (or Ryan) with his arms stretched open and gives us a hug and crawls in our lap. Just melts our hearts. I can't wait (sarcastic) until he really gets comfortable and is running and can grab anything and everything. We already are having a hard time with all of the baby proof stuff. I think I finally have the door under the sink down (that I don't rip off my finger tips when I go to open it, and it shuts back on me because of the lock). Daycare is going really well- they are always doing projects, working on sign language, and even doing baby yoga! Show us a downward facing dog Jude! He is loving his squeaky shoes from China, but we take out the squeakers as not to annoy the teachers (we just let him squeak at home). We are going to have to look for some tie shoes, because Jude the Dude has mastered kicking those things off. In addition to the walking, Jude could climb and climb. I looked into padded blocks online and those things are expensive!!! If anyone has an idea of what I can get him to climb on, let me know.
I got a couple pictures of him walking and will try to post those soon.

Oh yeah....... GO OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!