Big Girl Bed for the Baby

Addendum to last post: Let's add Judalicious (thanks Shauna!), Juju bean and Judester

And now for your viewing pleasure . . .

Ellie loves to have Jude hang out in her room and watching her read him a story is ridiculously cute!

J is for . . .

I wondered what nicknames we might come up with for Jude. Here is a sampling of those that seem to be sticking . . .

• Baby Jude (which I'm sure Ellie will torture him with when he's 2 and 13!)
• Jude Dude
• Jude-y
• Juder (my personal favorite! It really glides off the tongue)

Cousin Mania!

There has been a burst of babies in our family in the last few months . . .

Mila - Cousin Melissa's little girl born last summer

Nicholas - Cousin Kirsten's baby born born in September

Lucie - Cousin Owen and Caitlin's little sweety born in October

Baby Jude in November

Noralynn - Cousin Shea's baby born just a few weeks ago

And Shaneen's baby girl due any day.

5 cousins all within a 6 month span! Bring on the family get-togethers!

Owen and Cait brought Lucie for a visit this weekend. Ellie thought having 2 babys around was even better than 1

These little (second) cousins are too cute. They laid on the playmat and swatted at eachother.

Lucie is just 6 weeks older than Jude but at this age it's a HUGE difference. She can hold her head up and is very chatty.

We're planning a summer vacation together and there's no doubt these 2 will be crawling and stealing eachothers toys by then!

Sick but sweet

What a week we have had! This cute little boy had to spend a night at Children's Hospital for RSV last Friday. RSV is a nasty virus that is 'just' a cold in big kids and adults but can cause breathing problems in babies.

Poor Jude had a terrible cough and was working so hard to breathe we had to take him to the ER and he was admitted for observation. Watching him get an IV placed in his little hand was torture but, thankfully, the experience didn't seem to scar him and he continued to grin at all the nurses.

Luckily, he made a swift recovery and was discharged the next day.

Here a few gems from our photo shoot last week before he was sick.

Love Day

Who cares that there is laundry to be folded - This boy is laughing!!!

On our Valentines Day agenda:

• Love notes on the bathroom mirror
• Helium balloon bouquet for the little girl
• Beef bourguignon braising in the oven
• Handmade heart shaped placemats
• Prosecco!

Jude cooing, Ellie cooking

There's no doubt we have 2 cute kids!

Jude making gurgle-y baby noises

Ellie making dinner WHILE singing (yes, still singing Christmas songs!)

The funny thing about time is . . .

I've been thinking a lot about time lately. Probably because the passage of time is so apparent when I can practically see Jude growing by the minute.

My feelings towards time are a dichotomy. Part of me wishes these moments would last forever - I love newborns (their sweet smell, how they will lay on your chest contentedly for hours (HOURS!) and how a quick nip at the breast will usually solve any problem) but on the other hand I crave the days when it's just me and Drew in our king size bed.

I hate to wish away the days away - it seems to be an unspoken rule of motherhood that you are supposed to cherish every moment - but these days are hard! Every ADL (that's nurse speak for activities of daily living, i.e. teeth brushing, dressing, eating, etc, etc, etc) takes my complete involvement. It's exhausting! I get up, get dressed, get Ellie dressed then get Jude dressed. I get Ellie breakfast, nurse Jude then eat my own breakfast. I go pee, help Ellie go pee, then change Jude's diaper. Whew! I'm tired and it's only 7:30am

There's rumor that one day kids learn to do these things on their own. I mean, really! One day Ellie will get herself dressed and maybe even put her pajamas in the laundry basket? One day we won't spend 1/3 of our income on diapers? That sounds like a true utopia to me!

I've heard it explained that as children grow up their crises get are fewer but more serious in nature. Sure, the teenage years are no picnic but at least those crises don't arise 47 times per day (as is our current average).

Jude is certainly our last baby so my focus right now is on trying to find a balance:

Enjoy the last few months of baby-dom while wishing they'd both grow up just enough to learn how to wipe their own ass!

Now THAT'S the truth!