The Daily Jude

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Bnikyless baby

Our sweet little boy, finally asleep without that blooming pacifier in his mouth!  I don’t think he napped for longer than five minutes at a time yesterday because he kept dropping the pacifier, which then woke him up.  After lot’s of prayer and asking probably too many people’s opinions, we’ve decided to break Jude of the pacifier.  It was a big help to him in the beginning, when he really had a strong need to suck, and ate so fast that he didn’t really satisfy his sucking needs while he was eating.  But when we first gave it to him, he didn’t need the pacifier to fall asleep.  Now he cannot go down without it, and that’s fine and all, except it has been increasingly interrupting his daytime sleep.  He sucks away on it and the energy focus on that pacifier is keeping him from falling into a deep sleep for his naps.  Consequently, he’s cranky and tired because he’s not getting enough rest.  He doesn’t really need the pacifier very much when he’s awake now, so Kevin and I decided it was time.  It may seem a little early to many, but we believe this is the best choice for Jude.  And I was braced for three days of crying to try to break the habit.  But it was like he seemed to know, too.  Yesterday was the worst, and maybe he’s figured out that the pacifier has become his drug.  I keep telling him, “Crack is whack, baby!  You really don’t need it!”  So today for his morning nap, when I sensed he was getting cranky and tired, instead of giving him his drug of choice, I swaddled him up, calmed him down, and rocked him while reading a naptime story.  He dozed right off and is in such a deep sleep now, I can hardly believe it.  Baby, I’m so proud of you for giving up the crack!  You’re one day sober and counting!

Jude goes out for Sushi

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When I first found I was pregnant with Jude, all I was craving was sushi. This is a problem because the infamous “they” say you aren’t supposed to eat sushi. It has to do with the risks in eating raw fish, so I made do by ordering only cooked sushi. But I tell you, that first month, we must have gone out for sushi ten times! Well, all I have to say is, “It was all him!” Jude loved having sushi with our good friend Jim. We ate at our favorite sushi place, Miya. Jude enjoyed the spicy tuna, just like his dad, and then curled up for a good nap. He woke up before it was time to go though and started screaming up a storm in the restaurant. Uncle Jim to the rescue! He had a great time dancing around with Jude, and Jude loved it too!

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The Daily Jude (With Special Guest Star Owen)

I’ve had a busy week this week preparing for the baby shower that Kevin and I are throwing for our friends Matt and Christina who are having identical twin boys! We are so excited for them, and it’s been a ton of fun getting things ready for the shower. I’m also looking forward to having a little more down time next week to get caught up and back to “normal” life. My sister and her family were in town last week, and this week was busy with the shower and I also had a horrendous cold at the beginning of the week, so I promise to catch everyone up with pictures and blog entries galore next week! But for now, I absolutely must share the most precious thing I have seen in a long time. I was at my other friend Christina’s house getting stuff ready for the shower, and as I was getting ready to go, I got Jude all strapped into his car seat and brought everything else out to the car. When I came back in, I walked in on this:

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Owen and Jude

Seriously, can the whole internet just let out a collective, “Awwww!” How sweet is that? Owen couldn’t quite reach the table to look at Jude, but he was stroking his head ever so sweetly nonetheless. I brought him down off the table so Owen could “watch over him” for me while I put the rest of the stuff in the car. He just kept stroking his head and smiling at him, getting him to gurgle and coo back, while he gently drifted off to sleep. Just the absolute sweetest thing in the world!

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The Almost Daily Jude

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Jude goes to the Beauty Parlor
Okay, so maybe daily is a bit ambitious for me… Day two and I’m already behind! Anyway, forgive me if this is a day late and a dollar short, but I’m still glad to be able to share this picture with you. On Wednesday, my good friend Lila cut and colored my hair for me. I’d never colored my hair before so this was a first. I’ll be sure to post pics soon, once I’ve figure out the best way to style it, etc. Needless to say, Jude went along with me to the beauty parlor, and so of course, he needed to spend a little time under the dryers too! (Don’t worry, we didn’t turn them on).

The Daily Jude

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Starbucks Baby Bib
Everyday I email a picture taken from my iPhone to Kevin at work so he can see what Jude and I are up to. I realized I should share the pic with everyone! So from now on, I’ll try REAL HARD to post a pic everyday of Jude’s adventures. I’m trying to keep up with longer posts, but my little guy sure is keeping me busy. Jude and I went to Starbucks today while I was working on my photography website. Jude liked his new outfit and his Starbucks napkin baby bib. Thanks to Christina S. for the Bebe Belay clips that turn any napkin or burpcloth into a bib!

Back to work!

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Back to work..
Well, I am officially “back to work” and I must say it’s great. What I mean by that is that I am not working full-time so that I can stay at home with Jude. It’s really important to Kevin and I that I be home to raise him, and we’ve made lot’s of sacrifices for me to be able to do that. But I still need to bring in some money to the family budget for us to make it work. So I’ve doing freelance photography, and yesterday was my first day “back”. Our friends J and Z needed me to shoot J’s headshots for a fresh look and also to get shots with their new baby S. So I brought Jude over and Z “babysat” while we shot in a bunch of great locations right around their house. It worked great except their daughter wanted to play with Jude sooo badly! I can’t wait till they’re old enough to play together. I think we’re already talking “arranged marriages”. Anyway, this was one of my favorite shots from the session, with him and his daughter. Isn’t she just a doll baby? I must say, I love my job!

Behold, the smile!

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Behold, the smile!
Jude’s been making little smiles off and on for the last week (mostly at Kevin ;-)) but just yesterday he started really smiling with regularity and actually in a social way in response to us.  I don’t have to tell any of you who are parents that this has just melted our hearts!  We can kiss our pocketbooks goodbye… as the next time he asks for anything, all he has to do is flash that gorgeous smile and he’ll get whatever he wants!  We’re in trouble!

Visit with Aunt Kay

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Jude with Aunt Kay

Last weekend we headed out to Port Hueneme to visit with Kevin’s Aunt Kay. It was a delightful visit, and Kay had the magic touch to get our little guy to stop crying. He’s just enamored with her and we look forward to many more fun times as he gets to know his Great Aunt.