Dentist

Julia had her very first ever dentist visit today. We have been talking to her about it for a week. She did GREAT!!! She was so excited and actually LOVED the visit! The hygienist was very good with her and was impressed at how well Julia did. I let Julia bring her Blankie just in case she got scared. She did not need it and did not really even notice the Blankie.

Sitting waiting for the visit to start.


Wearing cool shades so the light does not bother her eyes.



All done and checking out the results.


Very excited that she got a new toothbrush!


She was such a big girl!!

Flu Shots

None of us have ever gotten the flu shot before. But since Julia has been in daycare the last two winters, we all have gotten the flu.

I figured I would take Julia in to have the flu shot, because I am hoping to have her back in daycare soon (meaning I find a job soon!).

Our pediatrician does not require an appointment to get the shot. I decided to take Julia today so she can get the 2nd dose at her 3 year check-up in a month (you have to have 2 doses, 1 month apart, if you have never gotten the flu shot before). When we got there they asked if we wanted the regular flu shot or the H1N1 shot, or both. I did not realize they have the H1N1 vaccine. They said they had a very limited supply and it was only for the high risk people (under 4yrs. old or other health problems). Since Julia is not even 3 yet, she fell into the high risk category and could get one if I wanted her to have it. Even though I am pretty sure she has already been exposed to it (we are almost positive Jerrod had it several weeks ago), I thought it would not hurt to get the vaccine anyway.

So she ended up getting 2 shots; the regular flu shot and the H1N1 vaccine. I had been talking to her all afternoon on how she was going to get a shot, but it would only hurt for a little bit, and then it would be all better.

Jerrod ended up coming with me to the pedi. He held her legs and I held her arms. She tensed a bit when he gave the first shot and she cried for him to stop, but within seconds he was done with both shots. As soon as we said she was all done, she stopped crying. He put Band-Aids on the injection spots and I kissed them to make them all better. Julia was actually smiling and laughing by that point. Jerrod and I made sure to make a big deal out of what a big girl she was for her shots. She was so proud of herself! I know talking to her about what is going to happen ahead of time always makes a big difference.

Hopefully she does this well again when she has to get them again in a month. I guess Jerrod and I need to go get the flu shots too now!

Huge feet!

I knew Jude had big feet, but I guess I did not realize just how big they were!

I bought him some new socks this week. Size 6-18 months. They are TOO SMALL!!! He is not even 4 months old yet!!! I can foresee MANY headaches in my future when trying to find him shoes big enough!

"I'm going to be 13!"

Since Julia's birthday is coming up in just over a month, we are trying to explain to her how she is going to be turning 3. Last night Jerrod and I were talking about her birthday again and how she is going to be 3 soon. Julia thinks about it for a second and says "No, I am going to be 13!". We try to explain to her that she is going to be 3, NOT 13. But she insists that she will be turning 13 on her birthday! She sure acts like she is 13 somedays!! But, dear Julia, we don't want you to grow up that fast! We are struggling with how fast you are growing up already!

An afternoon of work destroyed in seconds!

I spent several hours outside raking leaves this afternoon and have the blisters to prove it. I got most of the front yard raked into piles. Julia saw these piles and said they were "leaf beds" and really wanted to play in them.

She had a blast, even if it meant I had to do more raking!









P.S - It was getting close to dusk when I took these. My camera could not decide if the flash was needed and used flash in some, but not others. That is why some look different than others.

Ballet class

Every Friday morning, Julia has ballet class. When I signed her up for this class, I did not realize it required parent participation. Today, the teacher had the parents step out of the room for a few minutes and taught the kids a quick routine. They then had a "show" for the parent's (and grandparents).

Before class, Julia and another little girl were playing with this girl's toy.


Julia showing off her moves during the show!




After class all the girls get stamps! This just might be their favorite part of the class!

Jeans

The other day I decided that I needed a new pair of jeans, I have not gotten any since Jude has been born. Since I needed to go to Kohl's for something else, I thought I would look there for a pair of jeans. They did not have the size I normally wear, so I grabbed the next size smaller thinking that there was a good chance they would fit since I am still losing weight. I tried them on and they almost fell off of me. So I go and get the next size smaller yet. I try them on and they are still too big!!! So I finally get the NEXT size smaller! Those finally fit! They were 3 sizes smaller than I am used to wearing!!

Sure, it was a brand I have never bought before, so the sizing could be a little different, but not THREE sizes different!!

So then I weighed myself this morning. Yep, still losing weight! So now I am several pounds UNDER my pre-pregnancy weight! Got to love breastfeeding!

Some pictures

Jude is on my lap, so it is really hard to type. So today's post is pictures only.






"Mom.... Put the camera down and pick me UP!!!!"


Watching TV while in the barn. (This was Jerrod barn as a kid)

The end of colic?

I don't want to jinx myself by saying it out loud, but I think Jude's colic might be pretty much gone!! CELEBRATE!!!!!

He is just so happy and smiley the last 2 weeks. Sure, he is still fussier than a "normal" baby, but to us, this is HEAVEN!!!

I was prepared for it to last a whole year like Julia's did. BUT, it never got as bad as Julia's was, and now it pretty much ended at 3 months of age. Both of which is the norm for colic. Julia's colic was just such an extreme case! Every Dr. we have gone to has said that Julia's colic was the worse case of colic they have ever seen in all their years of medical practice. Nice......

It is so funny that Jude had "normal" colic and we still thought it was a cake walk!! I am just glad he grew out of it MUCH faster than Julia did.

We are looking forward to wonderful and happy days ahead!

A lap full

Jude is really becoming a lap full, especially for Julia.

Julia - "Just take the picture, but I am not smiling!"
Jude - "I'm fine as long as I can chew on my hands!"

Good day for Jude

Jude has been a really happy baby lately.

Lots of smiles!


And he LOVES this wooden teething toy. (it was supposed to be a Christmas present, but Julia found it, so I just gave it to him.) He is not teething yet, but loves sucking/gumming things. (except for a pacifier!)

Thumb sucker

I think Jude is definitely going to be a thumb sucker. That little thumb of his seems to find its way into his mouth an awful lot! He does not really suck on his thumb to self-sooth yet, but I think it will only be a matter of time. While he looks really cute sucking his thumb, I really wish he would not get into the habit of it. A thumb is really hard to take away down the road.

Sucking his thumb.



See, he really does love it!

Hello

So grown up

Julia's conversations have gotten so grown up!

A good example was today in the van. We were on our way home and I was really thirsty so I thought I would stop at a drive-thru for a pop. I asked Julia if she wanted anything to drink and her reply was:
"No, I am good right now, thank you."

WHAT!! Are you 25 now? Because you sure sound like it some days!!

Christmas wants

Julia is at such a fun age. Lately she has been seeing lots of TV commercials for various toys. She will watch the commercial and say "I like that" or "I want that".

I think Christmas this year is going to be lots of fun!

In a box

Our cats are not the only animals in our house that like boxes. Julia LOVES to play in boxes.

I walked into the kitchen the other night and saw this! When I put the box there, I did not think Julia would play with it because it was so small. That did not stop her! After I snapped this picture I made her play with the box on the floor. I was worried that the box was going to tip over and fall to the floor with her in it!


And yes, once again, she is in just her underwear. I just cannot keep clothes on this kid!

Poor head

Jude has such sensitive skin. He pretty much constantly has a rash somewhere (except his bottom, no rash there yet!). Right now his head is the worse. I think it is because he rubs his head so much against whatever his is laying in.



He also gets rashes where the collar of his clothes are. I already wash in special dye-free, perfume-free detergent. Hopefully he will grow out of this at least somewhat (Julia did).

Another bookworm

Julia is a complete bookworm. So are Jerrod and I. I think Jude is going to be one too.

Every night I read Julia several bedtime stories (I limit them it 4 or I would be there all night reading to her). Julia is always wanting Jude to lay with her while I read the stories to her. Lately, we have actually been laying Jude next to her for the stories. Jude just LOVES it. He sees the books, the pictures, me reading; it just cracks him up and he is just so happy during it. You can tell he really loves being read to!!

So add another bookworm to our family!

Rolled over!!!

Jude rolled over for the first time this afternoon!!! Even though he had been getting pretty close to doing it for the last 2 weeks, I am still shocked he did it this early!

Julia did not roll over until she was 5 months old. Jude is only 3 months old!!!

What makes this even more shocking is that he rarely gets floor time. (He HATES tummy time and does not like laying on his back on the floor much better) I try to get him on the floor at least once a day, but that does not always happen. He is also swaddled a good chuck of the time too, so that severely limits his mobility too. (Swaddling really helps with the colic) So his days mainly consist of being strapped to me (which also helps the colic), sleeping swaddled up in the swing for naps, a few minutes in the bouncy seat occasionally and sleeping at night swaddled up in the co-sleeper.

I had Jude on the floor for tummy time this afternoon and he was just screaming like he always does. Out of the corner of my eye I see Jude roll over. Once he rolled over he started screaming even louder, I think it freaked him out!

I really think Jude is going to be early on his gross motor skills (Julia was always on the late side). He is just so strong already. All he wants to do it stand. His upper body strength is so much greater than Julia's was at this age. He is already tucking his knees in under him. He can also wriggle all around his co-sleeper and the blanket when on the floor.

I think Jude is just trying to keep up with Julia already!

I will like my brain back, please!

Studies have shown that you lose 15% of your brain function while pregnant. I think it also said that it is also accumulative (so the more kids you have, the bigger the loss).

I am really feeling the effect of that brain function loss!! I have been sooo forgetful lately. I cannot remember where I set things down at, things that only happened recently, and things I am supposed to do! This forgetfulness is really driving me bonkers! I hate not remembering things!

I cannot remember if the study said if your brain function returned to normal after pregnancy! Apparently not, since I cannot remember!!

Shedding....

I feel like I am shedding!! I am losing hair by the fist-fulls!! I know this is normal thing to happen a couple months after giving birth. My hair is thick enough that I really don't care, but the constant hair shedding is annoying me.

I think I need to use the cat's shedding brush on my hair!! LOL

Yesterday was only slightly better...

.... at least we did not almost die! I think I pissed off the universe somehow!

But...... We were almost in ANOTHER accident! Some old lady in the Wal-Mart parking lot did not realize I was driving behind her when she decided to stop and then back-up!! When I finally honked and got her attention, she was only a few feet from hitting me.

Then, Jude screamed through the last half of getting groceries (and continued to scream until we got home), I had a hard time getting the groceries to fit into the van because I left the stroller in the back, Julia peed in the van less than a minute after telling me she had to go, had to make TWO trips to Wal-Mart because I bought the wrong size batteries the first time, and the list goes on!

Lets just say that the half bottle of beer I drank last night tasted good!! (I rarely drink more than 1/2 bottle because that is the most I am comfortable drinking while nursing.)

BUT.... We are all alive and healthy (well, Julia had a bad runny nose). That is all that is really important!!

Today seems to be going a little better. Although I am sure I just jinxed myself by saying that!!

Almost died yesterday!

Jude and I almost died yesterday! I was following a cement truck on State Route 48, which is a 2 lane road. It stopped on the road so it could back into a driveway. I stopped for it and was waiting for it to back in. Next thing I know, a semi is flying past my car with it's brakes locked up trying to stop. I am guessing it did not realize we were stopped until it was too late. It swerved into the other lane to avoid colliding with my van when it realize it could not stop in time. When the semi finally did finally stop completely, the cab of the semi was past the front of my mini van!!!!! I was almost crushed between a semi and a cement truck!! I had Jude in the van with me too!! (Julia was with Jerry and Debbie) I just thank the stars that there was not anyone coming in the other lane and the semi driver had the quick thinking to swerve into that lane!! There is no way we would have survived a crash like that. When it first happened I just thought "Wow that could have been bad". But as time went on, I realized just how close Jude and I came to dying!! Someone was looking over us, that is for sure! Jerrod got pretty shook up too when I told him what happened. I was pretty upset about it that I ended up having nightmares most of the night!

This just makes me realize that no matter how bad things get, it could always be worse!

A few more pictures

Poor Jude gets so abused by his big sister. I am sure this will only get worse as they get older.



My handsome man!


Here the green eyed monster came out and Julia wanted us to quit paying attention to Jude.


And then this is the look I got when I said "Fine, lets take your picture too!"

Just silly...

Julia was using some shaped foam stickers in making a mosaic. She decided that we all needed some on our noses!

Smilely Jude

Jude still had colic, but I think it is really getting better. He just seems so happy at times.

These pictures are from Sunday.

Smiling at Grandma and Great-grandma


Smiling for great-grandpa!



This is my favorite picture! He is just so happy and I love his crooked smile!

Puzzles

Julia really likes doing puzzles, She has a couple 12 piece puzzles that she is getting good at putting together.

When at her Great-grandparent's house on Sunday, she decided SHE had to help with his puzzle!

Spooning sugar!

I left Jerrod home alone with the kids Sunday as I ran and got groceries. When I left, Jude had just nursed so he was happy in his bouncy seat and Julia was watching a TV show.

I get home an hour later, Jude is screaming and Jerrod is not sure what Julia is doing. I go off to find Julia and see her coming out of the kitchen. I asked her what she was doing and she replies "I was licking the ice!". I have her repeat herself and she tells me the same thing. I am confused at this point so I ask her to show me. She takes me over to the counter and points to the sugar canister. I then see the spoon next to it is all wet and sugary. It looks like Julia had gotten up on the counter and was spoon eating sugar directly from the canister!! She was calling the sugar "ice".

As if she did not have enough sugar from all the Halloween candy!

Nicknames

Jude is definitely developing nicknames. Since his name is so close to Julia's I have noticed that he gets some of the same ones she has.

While Julia was the "screaming demon" during her colicky days, I have been noticing that I have been calling Jude "fussy butts" during his episodes of colic. I think that is a improvement!

Other nicknames include"
Dude - this is because when Julia says "Jude" it sounds a lot like "Dude"
Buddy
Judeappottamas or Dudeappottamas - Usually only Jerrod calls him these
Judy - Yes, I know this is a girls name, but I am really just pronouncing the "e" at the end of his name, so "Jude-e", it just sounds exactly like "Judy"

More trick or treating

Julia had so much fun trick or treating that she wanted to do it again! The town we live in was doing theirs on Saturday night. So we drive to a nice neighborhood and went again. On Thursday night she was done after about 20 minutes. I figured that would be about how long she would go again, especially considering it was really cold on Saturday night. Nope, she wanted to go on and on and on. She ended up going to so many houses and getting so much candy that her little pumpkin started to get really heavy and she wanted us to carry it for her!

After an HOUR of trick or treating, it was getting dark, and we were getting really cold. We had to drag Julia back to the van with her saying "I'm not done yet!" over and over. It was not until we told her that she could eat her chocolate when we got home did she finally stop fussing and agreed to go home.

The holidays are going to be so much fun this year!