Already the middle of June!

So another busy weekend for me and the fam. We drove to Minnesota to celebrate my two nieces/goddaughters baptisims. I was honored to be part of both of their lives! I just can't wait until I can get them in some dance shoes and show them how to leap across the floor. Although, the way things are going, Jude and Garrett are looking like the dancers (at least we can hope for Jude, huh?). Jude is still doing really well- sleeps through the night, eating more and more everyday, and even doing an art project for Dad for Father's Day this weekend. We don't have any plans this weekend for Father's Day, but Ryan will have a good time for what I planned for him for July 6th. He is dying with the suspense- hopefully he doesn't have any idea what Jude and I got him. Also, got something planned that is pretty special for my Dad... I know I would like them both :)

Just so no one is worried, I was able to get some NKOTB tickets for their added show in October. And I just heard that my friends from when I was little actually got tickets to see them, too, in Minnesota. Pretty funny, although I think we were probably some of the biggest fans there were. Too bad my Mom and Dad donated all of my memorabilia..... but who knew they would be making a comeback? As much as I loved them, not me.

Oh.... for more of an update on Jude: he is sitting up by himself now, and will hold it for a long time. We put the Boppy around him in case he turns to watch Stitch and tips. Also, this morning I guess I wasn't getting the bottle to him fast enough (heaven for bid I try to put the bib on him), and he grabbed the bottle from my hands and put it in his mouth!!!! So I let go and he held it - and then when he needed a breather he pulled it away, and then back to his mouth when he wanted more! After that he was ready to let me hold it (can't work him out too much the first time), but it was really cute. I can't believe how much he is growing and developing. We even tried him in the pool for the first time this weekend. He wasn't so sure about that - didn't cry, but didn't really smile either. But with us as his parents, I am sure he will grow to love being outside at the pool or beach.

Word cloud

I found a website (off of someones blog) that goes to your blog/website and gathers the most commonly used words and puts them together (see the word cloud at the bottom of the posts). I gave it a try and it was neat to see what popped up. Of course the names, Jude, Susie, Ryan, Garrett, Aislinn, Malia, etc I expected, but when I saw Ramsay, for Gordon Ramsay, I kind of chuckled. I also thought it was funny that cereal, rice and crazy were on there, too. At first when I saw "vote" I was impressed, thinking for a second I was talking about voting for the president, but then I remembered it was probably just so everyone could vote for Jude in the Most Huggable Baby contest.... I leave the political stuff up to Ryan. He couldn't be more excited about Obama. Now that we made it through the 200 Democratic debates, I guess it is on to the 200 presidential debates. Not that I don't care, I just sometimes would rather just watch So You Think You Can Dance than listen to them repeat the same things again and again. Update on Jude: checked out really well at the doctor on Saturday. He was 17 lbs and 25 inches! Big for us, but I guess not that far ahead of Aislinn (who is 4 months younger). Poor little guy hated the 4 shots and the syrup/medicine they made him drink. He was such a trouper, though. Cried during the shots and then was good to go. We went downtown and shopped and got food to eat in the park. Perfect day with my family!

Jude's moving

Jude is moving around like crazy. He can roll across the floor in no time at all, and is sitting up on his own, too (just don't distract him because he might tip over - good thing I got a foam mat for the floor). Grandma and Grandpa in Ohio also got him a little walker that he likes- not sure about the walking thing but when he accidently kicks himself across the floor he smiles.

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. It is always nice to get one extra day to spend with Jude and Ryan. We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo and saw the animals and just enjoyed sitting out and people watching. Jude was up against the window of the monkeys (or Stitch's parents as many people say) and watched him skitter by. It was pretty cute. The weather was warm and we enjoyed every minute of it. Then we went to a friend's house for a good barbecue, and roasted marshmallows on the firepit! My favorite.

On Sunday we drove up to Lake Forest and Highland Park (near Ryan and my college) and walked around. We drove past the school, which is now being turned into condos! Pretty sad, although I do have to say the development looks nice. Go to www.baratwoods.com and you can check it out yourself. They have pictures of our dorms being knocked down, although, as my dad said, they probably should have been knocked down a while ago :) they weren't the nicest dorms you have ever seen. All of my friends from college were hoping/joking to buy one of the condos together, like a timeshare- hoping we could get 360 (the classroom where most of our theatre classes were). It would be pretty funny.

Other than that, I am glad it is a short week, and that it is warming up (again). The weather is crazy- mid 80s on Monday, but only got to 50 as a high on Tuesday. The record low for Tuesday, May 27th was 49- so close! Once we were that cold I would've preferred just to crack the record. If the temps are that low, we might as well have something to remember it by.

Jude's Baptisim

This last weekend was really nice- a little crazy, but really nice. Jude had his baptisim on Sunday, and all of the family traveled to be here for it (both Grandmas and Grandpas, Great Grandma, Aunt Shelley and Amy, Uncle Jeff, and the kids Garrett, Aislinn, and Malia). And for a while they were all in our small condo! But, as hectic as it was, it was such a great weekend for Jude and for me. The weather was a little cool, so we couldn't have the party at the park like I wanted, but thankfully Mel and Bucky came to the rescue and let us have the crazy crew at their house. Uncle Qadree and Troy came to be part of the festivities as well! It just shows how much that Jude is loved. We plan on buying Mel and Bucky a new couch, rug and paint, as they probably have Cheeto and chocolate cake finger prints everywhere. I think we may have to re-finish their floor too, because I don't think Malia and Garrett stopped running in circles and they may have worn in a path. The baptisim itself was good as well- Jude slept through the first half of it (after blowing bubbles with his lips during mass before), but woke up in time to have the water poured on his head. He was pretty cute and reached back to touch his head trying to figure out what was going on. Next... on to Malia and Aislinn's baptisim in a few weeks.

I added a few new pictures: Jude with his godparents before the baptisim (he is so lucky to have them), Jude asleep in my arms during the baptisim (he was just so comfortable wrapped in the blanket Grandma Anderson made for him - it even has some lace from her wedding gown!), Jude in his new hat from the Gap (isn't he already stylish - just like his father), and Jude posing like Miley Cyrus (Jude felt bad for Miley and wanted to show her that he supports her and doesn't think that there is anything wrong with showing a little skin).

First Mother's Day

Well, yesterday was my first mother's day. Unfortunately the weather was pretty bad (cold, rainy and windy) so we went to church and then came home. We didn't want to go to the mall because we are trying to be better about our spending, so why tempt ourselves? Then I got the bright idea to put away my winter clothers and pull out the summer ones - I have had enough of this cold spring. And that, of course, took much longer than expected. So, mother's day was pretty uneventful. But I kind of like that- just spending time with my family. We will have plenty of days to have fun outside once the weather is better.

Jude is doing much better with his rice cereal/baby formula mix. He likes it a lot more now that we put a spoonful of fruit baby food in with it. He just amazes us everyday with how much he seems to be growing and learning. He really enjoys reading books now- he looks at the pages and the words and really seems interested. And he continues to squirm around more and more every day. This morning I woke up and he had turned 90 degrees in his crib.

Oh- and if anyone knows someone with NKOTB (New Kids on the Block, for those of you that aren't hip enough) tickets for Chicago that they don't want.... please let me know. The arena sold out in 2 minutes! I thought I was the only one that would actually pay to go see them. :)

Jude and the ladies

We received a newsletter from daycare yesterday informing the parents of how the kids are doing, if there are any activities planned, and what will happen in May. They talked about each kid and said what they were doing- Ryan is learning to crawl, Susie is taking her first steps, etc. Jude's note was that he is a smiler. And it went on to say that he smiles every time one of the ladies walks in to the room. What a flirt! But I guess, who can resist that smile?

Most huggable baby in Chicago

For those of you who don't know - I entered Jude in the most huggable baby contest. If you have time please go to wlit.com and click on the contest, find Jude (he is one of the last in the "J"- close up of his face in the blue outfit- one of the pictures on the side of this blog) and vote, vote, vote. You can only vote once a day, but please continue to keep on voting. It is a long shot, but worth a try.

Also, need to let everyone know that Stitch had her 6th birthday on Monday. She says that no one should feel obligated to buy her a present, but that she will take cash. She has a list of things she wants to buy: some greenies, a blanket or doggie bed (since she gets yelled at when she lays on Jude's blanket), and maybe some used baby bibs (she loves to find them and lick off the formula and baby food - gross, I know)

I will try to download some new pictures soon. We got Jude a cute hat to keep the sun off of his little face. It is adorable.