Drool and Walking Wings

So I've finally got some pictures!! I hope I can entertain you enough with my stories and photos.

This was a morning when Jude was getting over a little cold as you can tell by the copious amounts of snot coming out of his nose. He was, however, in good spirits. We played with toys and he was hamming it up with the camera. 

Jude has discovered the joys of playing ball. I'll roll the ball to him and he kicks his feet around and moves his hands in a kind of waving motion until he is able to roll it away from him. He gets a big grin on his face when he does and it's just very cute.

A few weeks ago, I bought a car! We've been a one vehicle family for quite a while and it was time to take the plunge. I had a small budget but found a great deal on this one. I love it and it's a perfect fit for us. Yay for another red car too :) heheh

Jude has started to show the signs of teething (finally). Though he has always been a big drooler, the amount of drool we see in a daily basis has skyrocketed! He's got two little swollen nubs on his lower jaw but nothing has broken through yet. We were at the pediatrician yesterday for Jude's 2nd round of the flu shot, and there was an 8 month old baby in the waiting room. He and Jude were chatting it up and I couldn't help but notice that the baby had 4 upper teeth and 4 lower teeth! My goodness! I think I'm pretty sure that I'm glad Jude hasn't gotten teeth yet.

Jude loves, loves, loves to walk around as I've mentioned in previous posts. My back would get crazy tired bending over to hold his hands all day and he can't reach and grab for stuff when he does walk. I thought how it would be useful to have some kind of leash-like thing that would help him walk and would save my back and keep his hands free. The next day I was at the consignment store and saw these Walking Wings! It was exactly as I had pictured in my mind. When we first tried it, Jude sort of freaked out. But then he realized that not only could he walk, he could reach for his toys and things around the house too! He was hooked. He can do a quick turn on a dime though so we have to be careful that he doesn't turn and lose his balance too quickly and bonk his head. He's gotten so much better in just a few days and it's really fun!

Sippy Cup time!! Jude eats baby food three times a day. During t meal times, he has some prune juice in a bottle to help keep things flowin (that's right, I said it). He's been wanting to do the bottle himself so I thought we'd try a sippy cup. He knows how to immediately get the cup to his mouth but what's taking a bit longer is knowing that he has to tilt his head back a bit. So, I thought giving him the cup on the floor might help him understand. Sure enough...  We will continue to use the sippy cup at meals and I'm sure he'll catch on really quick.

By the way...look at the serious rolls and rubber-band wrists he's got going on.

Jude and "cat". He loves the cats. I think the cats are maybe, sorta, kinda coming around to the same conclusion about Jude. At 7 months, Jude is still not too good at understanding the whole concept of "gentle" so often times when he wants to explore the cats, it involves a fur/skin grab and a very quick pull towards him. Each time, we give Hannibal (aka Sam) lots of love and attention. Hopefully this will ward off any problems but we'll just have to see. This is a photo of Jude and Sam both trying to discover what toys are in the cube boxes. I'm pretty sure they were both interested in the red string. Sam is a good sport.

Also, we were at Ross' parents house a while back and I was nursing Jude in aunty Trese's room. On the bookshelf behind me was a tiny porcelain cat that was "sleeping". It was shaped so that its front paws kind of hung off the shelf. Jude spotted it while being burped and had the same reaction that he does when he sees our cats at home - his legs got to kicking, he got a big grin on his face and he started to jabber at it! It was priceless.

Every time the cats come into Jude's line of sight, I say "cat." Recently, Jude noticed Karl (aka Berto) sitting on the back of the couch and started kicking and smiling. I said "cat" and Jude said "a...dat. a...dat". I'm pretty sure that was his attempt to say cat. He's only done it the one time, but nonetheless, I am a proud mama!!

Denver just completed "Restaurant Week". A large selection of restaurants throughout the metro-area have a $52.80 special (in honor of our 5280 altitude). Some restaurants have a great deal for the price and others are hardly worth looking at. Our good friends Crista and Jordan discovered an amazing $52.80 special at a Sushi Restaurant in Westminster called Mt. Fuji. For $52.80 a couple - yes, per COUPLE - you got 2 drinks of your choice, 2 soups, 2 salads, 2 appetizers, a BOAT of sushi and a dessert. So, the four of us had yes, 2 BOATS of sushi. We made a pretty good dent and overall the sushi was fabulous. There were a few pieces that I couldn't stand to try. For example, octopus....I'll leave that one to your imagination. But it was delicious and a fun night out! My mom stayed with Jude so Ross and I could have a little date and it was very fun! Too bad Restaurant Week is only once a year.

No new pictures

It's been a while since I've posted and it has been because I have no new pictures...very sad. My camera is dead and I've apparently just been lazy in getting it charged. Also, Jude is so active these days that my hands are usually tied and I don't have a free one to take pictures. But an update is probably needed so I'll make it short since there are no pictures to hold your attention through too much blabbering.

As I said, Jude is incredibly active! He loves to walk around the house - hands being held by mommy the whole time. His favorite new games include "Chase the Cats" and "Walk through the blocks". He is absolutely taken by our cats. Every time they come into his line of sight, he grins and gets very excited, trying to get their attention. He loves to try his legs at walking so we will walk around the house, following the cats. I don't think the cats particularly like this game, but I guess they'll just have to deal. Jude gets so excited he nearly runs to where they are! I'm astonished at how well he "walks". Though I hold his hands the whole time, it is him who is propelling each step and deciding which direction to move next. This morning we were walking around the living room after playing with some giant blocks and he decided it was fun to walk through the blocks. He was rather unsteady - but thanks to Moms hands, he didn't fall. He'd walk through the blocks and then turn around and walk through another part of them. This boy wants to conquer and will find anything over which he can rule!

He's also a big eater! We feed him baby food about 3 times a day and he usually has an entire jar in one sitting! I try to make baby food because it just seems more economical and I know what's going into the food. However, the stores have been pretty sparse on their selection lately so I've really only been able to make sweet potatoes. Luckily though, sweet potatoes seem to be a favorite!

He's graduated into the next biggest car seat and pretty much loves to sit up in the car like a big boy! He chats with his toys and probably loves to watch the sights. He sits in the carts when we go shopping and is in high chairs at restaurants.

Every day we go anywhere, we get multiple comments on what a beautiful and good baby he is! I think we're pretty lucky to have gotten Jude - he's one in a bazillion and I'm just a grateful, proud mommy! He'll be 7 months old next week and it makes me teary to think how fast he's growing! Hopefully soon, I'll get my camera up and running again and have some pictures to post.
Until then...