Tumbling class

Last fall Julia took ballet classes, this time I thought I would try her in tumbling class. The first last was this week. She LOVED it. There are a couple girls from ballet class in this tumbling class, so she was excited to see her "friends". I have a feeling that Julia is going to like tumbling better than ballet. Tumbling is much more physical.

The instructor was showing her how to be a "snake" and go through the tunnels.


Being a snake down the incline.


I am not sure what she was supposed to be doing here...


The instructor helping her do a proper somersault.


Julia showing the instructor that she already knows how to do somersaults!



She had a blast and is looking forward to going back!

Oops!!

I think I have too many dates and appointments running through my head. I signed Julia up for tumbling class and both Julia and Jude for swimming lessons. Tumbling classes started this past week, so I just assumed that the swimming lessons started this week too. Well, you know what happens when you assume!!

Yep, we get there, get all dressed in swim attire and walk out to the pool area and see it almost completely empty!! ACK!! Lessons start NEXT week! The lifeguards must have thought I was a complete moron!

To make matters worse, Jerrod's parents came so they could watch Jude's first swimming class. Poor Julia was so excited to go swimming, then I had to tell her we had to take off her swim suit with out going swimming. Of course, she cried and of course, I felt awful!

I think I need to start using the Google Calendar feature on my phone so I can keep track of all these things!

Second tooth

Jude's second tooth broke through the other day. So now he has two bottom toofers!

He still wants to chew on our hands/finger, but that is quickly going to end because those little baby teeth are sharp!!

I really hope he waits awhile to get anymore, but we will just have to see.

Silly...

Here is some silliness from this week...

Julia thought Jude would want to sing too, so she gave him the microphone. Jude, on the other hand, thought the microphone tasted yummy...


I come back into the living room from doing something to find Julia like this. Apparently, she finds the books I read quite interesting!


On Friday, Jude fell asleep in his car seat while we were out. I had the hood up on his outfit, instead of putting on his hat. I did not want to wake him by pulling the hood off. As he slept, the hood drooped lower and lower until I see this...


And since I took a picture of Jude, Julia insisted I take one of her too!

My sensitive skin kids

Since Jude's rashy head has not cleared up and Julia still gets covered in bumps on various parts of her body, I thought it was time they visited a dermatologist. Their joint appointment was Weds. afternoon.

This is what Jude's head looked like before we left for the appt.


And here are his red cheeks.


The dermatologist said that it is just a bad case of eczema. When I described just how sensitive his skin was and how he broke out all the time, the dr. just nodded his head and said that yep, he just has really sensitive skin. He gave me a lotion for his head, a foam for his cheeks and other body parts that break out in a rash. He then gave me 2 types of shampoo and another type of lotion to try. Of course almost all of them are available only by prescription or only at his office.

Jude's rash already looks SOOO much better! The dr. also reassured me that the eczema on his head is not going to effect his hair growth.

Every since Julia has been born, she would get these bumps that would last for months before they would eventually pop and go away. At first it was only 2 or 3 bumps at a time, now she is getting dozens of them at a time! The migrate on which part of her body they will be on every couple of months, although they are usually located on her torso or limbs. Right now they are mainly on her one elbow.

This is her elbow the morning of our appointment.


The dermatologist said they are something called Molluscum contagiosum, which is what my pedi had thought all along. It is a virus that is in Julia's system and has been from birth. People, especially kids, who struggle with eczema (which Julia does), are more susceptible to this. The bumps are harmless and they will eventually go away, but it might take years. The dr. said he could freeze them off, but with kids, he normally just lets them be. They don't bother her, so why put her through the pain of freezing them every few months?

So my kids just take after their father and have really sensitive skin and will have to battle eczema for their entire life. The nurse was going to give me a brochure on eczema and I told her not to bother, I was already familiar with it with Jerrod having to deal with it and now my kids dealing with it. I already buy the super sensitive laundry soap and shampoo for everyone.

So I was glad I took them and neither of them had anything major, aside from just sensitive skin and eczema.

Playing in the crib

I think I need to check what the weight limit is on the crib!!

If Jude makes a single peep, Julia is running into his room. She will then climb in the crib and play with him for awhile. Half the time I will stay out of the room and just listen over the monitor to what Julia is saying to Jude, it is too funny. She is such a little mommy.

What I hear are variations of this:
"What's wrong Baby Jude"
"Don't cry Baby Jude, I am here"
"You growing up Baby Jude"
"You grow bigger like me"
"Look at the fishes and birds Baby Jude, I turn them on for you"
"Here are some toys" (As she drags toys into the crib)
"I cover you up Jude" (We do not cover him at night yet)
and MUCH more......

Here is some snippets of what I see when I finally go in the room.....

Found a food Jude does NOT like.

I did not think it was possible, but I finally found a food that Jude does not like. Green Beans, so I cannot really blame him.

The green beans smelled and looked gross after I made them, but I am not a real big fan of them myself.

I tried feeding them to Jude tonight. After the 3rd or 4th spoonful he stopped opening his mouth eagerly. After about the 6th or 7th spoonful he just started spitting them back out! LOL

I will still occasionally keep trying them. He might eventually learn to like them, but I am not going to force the issue. I am just amazed that there is actually a food that he will not completely devour!

Singing

Julia has always been big into music. Even as a baby, she loved music. She likes children's songs, but she also likes rock, pop and much more. I gave Jerrod the "Beatles: Rockband" for his birthday a couple months ago. Julia loves singing Beatles songs.

Yesterday she told me "Lets go sing songs mommy". So I turn on Beatles: Rockband for her and let her sing her heart out.... Yellow Submarine is he favorite song to sing, she is actually really good at it!

She also decided it would be more comfortable singing while sitting in Jude's bouncy seat!!LOL

Lost

We lost Julia for the first (and hopefully ONLY) time on Sunday. We were at the bowling alley for a birthday party. She kept going between the bowling lanes and the room where the party was being held. There were quite a few people there for the party, so keeping a constant eye on Julia was a little tough. At one point I could not find her. She was not at the bowling lanes and she was not in the room with the birthday stuff. I get a little worried, but I had just seen her 2-3 minutes before hand, and I was pretty sure she would not have left the building. The bowling alley was in a pretty small town, so I also was not real worried about someone walking off with her. I was more worried that she was into something she should not be in! After a couple of tense minutes, Jerrod finds her in the MEN'S restroom!! He found her using the toilet. She looked at him and said "I go to the bathroom all by myself!". I had thought she might have went into the restroom, she just did not know she went in the wrong one!

She was so proud of herself that she went into the restroom all by herself. She could not understand when I was trying to explain to her that she cannot go into a restroom without mommy or daddy. She thought she was being such a big girl doing it herself and not needing one of us to go with her! ACK!

Yummm....

I still cannot get over just how much food Jude can eat! I have now given him several different types of veggies. He has devoured everyone. I am not sure there is a food he does NOT like!

Yesterday he ate a big container of baby food and was still crying for more. I was trying to finish bowling my game before I nursed him. So my mom was seeing if he would eat some "puffs" that one of my nephews were eating. He could grab it and bring his hand to his mouth, but he could not figure out that he had to OPEN his hand in order to get the puff in his mouth. So my mom gave him some help...


"Oooooo, this is something new...."


"Mmmmmm, it is goooood!"

Bowling

Yesterday was my nephew's birthday party. They held it at a bowling alley. Julia had never been bowling before, so I thought she would enjoy it. Boy did she ever!! She has been constantly asking to go bowling again ever since we left!!

Getting ready to bowl...(I had the wrong setting on my camera, that is why there is too much flash.)


They had bumpers up and Daddy helped her.


She loved watching the ball roll down and knock over the pins.



She had a blast and we promised her we would do it again soon.

Sibling love

I still cannot get over just how much Julia loves her little brother AND Jude seems just as fond of her. Julia can always get smiles from Jude even when he is crying.

Train

Julia really like the Thomas the Tank Engine train she got for Christmas. Although, she quickly told us that Thomas needed Annie and Clarabell (the coaches that Thomas pulls). She also kept trying to redo the track into a more interesting layout, but there were just not many pieces to work with.

Since she enjoys playing with it, we bought the coaches and extra track for Julia. She thinks it is great. Jude also really loves to watch the train. If he is near it, he will reach out and try to grab the train as it passes. He has caught it a couple of times now. The cats also think the train is lots of fun to watch!





She even knows how to make the switches work for Thomas to switch tracks!

Making cake.

It was Jerry's birthday on Wednesday and Julia wanted to make him a birthday cake. Angel food seems to be his favorite cake, so we bought some and Julia helped me make it.

Since it was angel food, all it required was water and mixing. I put the cake mix in the stand mixer mixing bowl and the water in a measuring cup. I had Julia dump the water into the cake mix. I them tell Julia to slide the switch to turn the stand mixer on. I did not think that through all the way..... because she turned it on.... ALL THE WAY ON HIGH!! The cake mix went "POOF" all over us and my kitchen!! We both laughed, even though I now had a dusting of cake mix all over everything.

The cake still turned out fine and Julia even helped put the frosting and candles on. Although most of her frosting made it into her mouth and not on the cake.


Happy Birthday Bapa!!

First tooth!

I noticed yesterday that Jude's tooth has finally broken through!! Ack! I cannot believe my baby has a tooth already!!

AND I think I can see the other bottom front one trying to come in now! They usually come in pairs, so I was watching for the second one.

This past week in pictures

Here are some snippets of our last week....

The cats will take their lovin' and way they can get it anymore. So Sebastian hopped up on my lap as I finished nursing Jude. Jude, of course, wants to know what his big sister is up to.


This has almost become a nightly ritual. Right after supper, Jerrod sits down in his chair to relax and I hear Julia saying "make some room" as she is climbing up on his chair after him.


Dr. Julia being silly!


Jude's new clothes hamper. Julia thought she and Jude needed to check it out!


Spelling "dad" while having her own sense of style!


Visiting with Mimi and Bapa...

Cats and hair pulling

Over the last couple of weeks, Jude has discovered the cats and hair pulling.

Jude really likes to watch the cats as they roam around the house. He has also reached out and petted a few.

In the last week or two, Jude has really started grabbing and pulling on hair. This was something that Julia never did. He has a pretty tight grip too!!

Sleepy Jude

These are two positions I have found Jude sleeping in during the last week.

In the Bumbo (Excuse the rashy head, I have a derm appt for him)


Yes, he is actually sleeping in this picture! I don't know if he was trying to block out the light or what!

Loving the food

I made some more baby food today! Oh, how I wish I had known just how easy is to make when Julia was eating it. I could have saved us a bit of money.

Today, so far, I have made peas and green beans. I am going to do carrots in just a few minutes and squash tonight (Jerrod wants to have part of the squash for supper). I figured I would make a bunch of it today while I have the stuff out. Then I will not have to make more for a couple of weeks.

Fed Jude some peas for lunch. He had what is becoming his typical reaction to new food; the first spoonful just sits in his mouth for a few moments while he takes in the new flavor, then soon begs for more.

I have a strong suspicion that he is going to be a VERY good eater! He already eats over twice as much food as Julia did at NINE months of age! I can only imagine what my grocery bills are going to be in a few years.

Blowing Raspberries

Jude has figured out how to blow raspberries. For the last few days I will hear him go "pffffffffft" over and over again. He thinks it is quite funny!

It is very cute, except when he has a mouthful of food!

Snowballs!!

We had a warm front move through at the end of last week. Julia wanted to play in the snow one last time before it all melted away. She decided to make snowballs. Then daddy showed her how to throw them at mommy!! ACK!! I snapped this picture than ran for the cover of the house!

Moved to the crib

Jude finally got moved to his crib last night. Up until last night he has been sleeping in a co-sleeper that attaches to my side of the bed. This made nursing him at night a snap.

He has been doing much better about sleeping at night these last 2 weeks, so we thought it was time to move him. I plugged in the monitor and made sure it would reach from his bedroom to our bedroom.

I rocked him to sleep at about 10:15, right after nursing him. I laid him down in his crib and he stayed asleep. He did wake up a little before 2am. I was only just starting to doze off for the night. So I went down and nursed him and he fell right back to sleep. He then slept until 10am!!

Moving him to his crib was DEFINITELY harder on me than it was on him. I did not get to sleep until almost 2:30am and even then I did not sleep well. I kept listening to the monitor making sure Jude was okay.

I think I am going to wait a few day before I actually take down the co-sleeper though.

Teething?

I am pretty sure Jude is getting his first tooth!

I was really hoping this would not happen for awhile yet. Julia did not get her first tooth until after 11 months of age. I guess Jude just wants to do everything sooner than his sister did!

He has been slightly more fussy this week. Normally he only fusses when he is hungry, tired, or has wet/dirty diaper. He has also seemed to be drooling a lot lately.

I tried to get a good look in his mouth. It was hard, but I am pretty sure I can a small translucent spot on his bottom gum, in the exact spot where it feels like he has a bump.

Poor guy!

Home-made baby food

My first attempt at making my own baby food turned out GREAT!! I did sweet potatoes. Which are actually pretty mushy already once they are baked, so there was not much to do. I baked them, peeled the skin off and used my immersion blender to blend them to a nice smooth consistency. I then spooned most of it into an ice cube tray to freeze. That way I can only thaw a cube or two out at a time when i need some. I also put some in small tupperware containers since he was going to be eating them this week anyway.

The result.....


I cannot cook without Julia's help!


Jude getting ready to have his first "real" food.


Jude LOVED them. It took him about two spoonfuls to figure out the taste and if he liked them, but after that he about inhaled them.

He is LOVING solid foods. I cannot spoon the stuff in fast enough and cries when it is gone. I am told I was the exact same way as a baby. In the next couple of days I will be making other veggies for him to try. I bought peas, carrots, squash and green beans to make into baby food.

Sitting pictures

I finally got some pictures last night of Jude sitting up by himself. He does really great until he gets too excited and starts waving his arms and kicking his legs. That will throw him off balance!

Leaning forward to see mommy....


Actually sitting up straight! Sorry the picture is off-center, but he was starting to kick and I was afraid of him falling backwards, so I wanted to keep a hand close to him.


My little baby is growing up so FAST!!

Shy? Who's shy?

Up until Julia was about 18 months-2 years old, she was SUPER shy. As in, was a COMPLETE velcro child anywhere we went. She refused to leave my arms. She would not talk to anyone, would not go to anyone, would not even LOOK any anyone!

Oh my, how things have changed!!

Julia has become a complete social butterfly! I don't think there is any shyness left in her. Jerrod and I have actually been talking about how we need to have the "strange danger" talk with her because now she will go up and talk to ANYONE!!

On Sunday, out main sewer line clogged up again, so Roto-Rooter had to come up. We see the truck pull in. Julia opens the door, looks at the guy and says "My name is Julia, what's your name?"!! She then keeps asking the poor guy questions. He only got relief because the clean-out for the pipe was outside in the freezing cold and I would not let her out there. Luckily, the guy was really good about it and humored her by answering her questions.

Then yesterday we went grocery shopping. While waiting in the checkout line, Julia turns to the person behind us, points to something in her cart and asks "What's that?". She then proceeds to carry on a conversation with this complete stranger. The lady was really nice about it and answered her questions and even asked Julia some of her own. BUT, when Julia moved on to ask the cashier for some stickers, I noticed the lady behind us switched lines!! LOL I don't know if it was because the other line was shorter, so she just wanted to get away from the nosey toddler!! When Julia turned back around, she wanted to know where the lady went!

And those are only two of the recent things!

Hair twirling

Every since I was a little girl I have twirled my hair when every I was tired or bored. I still do it.

Julia now does it too. Often I will find her sitting somewhere, twirling her hair with her finger. So far she has not put any serious knots in it.

It is funny to see how many habits and actions we do are now done by our kids!

Sitting

Jude has been working on sitting for the last several weeks now. I think he has finally got it mostly mastered!!

He will sit for quite awhile before finally falling over because he got too exited looking at something. He can also sit up straight fairly well. When he first started sitting up, he would bend forward a lot, almost like he was touching his feet with his nose. Now he rarely does that and will sit up straight. You can tell his stomach muscles have really strengthened. You can see him really working his muscles constantly correcting himself to keep himself upright.

Now we just need to work on sitting into the sitting position himself.

Sleeping with Gavin

We normally leave Julia's bedroom door closed so no cats go in there. Her bedroom is also right off the kitchen, so we also keep her door closed at night so all the noise will not keep her up. The cats do love to lounge on her bed when given the chance.

Gavin is Julia's cat, according to her. She will say that Gavin is "my cat". The other night she decided that she wanted Gavin to sleep with her. I did not think this was the best idea, especially since this meant that her door had to be left open, but figured we could try it. Julia was loving this plan. I had to stay out of the kitchen and turn off the kitchen lights to get Julia to stay in bed, but she was doing fairly well. I did have to explain that Gavin will not sleep under the covers with her, no matter how hard she tried to get them there; he wants to sleep at the other end of her bed. About 20 minutes later, I see Gavin come walking out of her bedroom. Less than a minute later Julia comes out chasing after Gavin saying "Gavin come back, you have to sleep in bed with me!!!". How do you explain to a three year old that a cat never does what you want them to, especially one that is deaf and can't hear you anyway!

Gavin eventually went back into Julia's room and on her bed. Julia eventually went to sleep too. The next morning she talked about how Gavin slept with her. I have a feeling that this is going to become a regular occurrence!

Snow=Birthday

I think we made a big mistake on telling Julia when her birthday was. All year we kept telling her that her birthday was when it snows out. We should have thought that through some more.

About a week before her birthday, we got our first real snow showers. Julia saw it and said "It is my birthday!!". I had to explain that, no, it was not her birthday. So now every time it snows, Julia assumes it is her birthday!

Oops!

Feet

Jude just loves playing with his feet. But since his feet always seem cold, I keep socks on them. He also spends most of his time in a sleeper (with the socks on underneath it). Because of all the layers on his feet, he does not get to play with them as much as he would like to. But changing time is FUN time, especially if I have to take his socks off for a bath. Then he will just play and play with his bare feet until I have to be a mean mom and force them back into socks and a sleeper! Poor guy. Someday soon it will be warm enough that will let you go barefoot and then you can play with them all you want!

Little helper

Julia is definitely my little helper with Jude, but she is getting to be quite the helper around the house. She can currently turn on the TV (which involves turning on the TV and the cable box), can start the microwave, can open the microwave, can grind the coffee beans, pour the ground coffee beans into the coffee maker and turn it on, can help unpack the dishwasher (she hands me the plates and puts the silverware away herself),she helps me cook/bake, it is her job to empty the lint trap, etc....

We are working on getting her to help clean, which she is getting better at. She is pretty good about picking up her toys when asked. She would love nothing better than to have a wet washcloth and wipe things down with it.

Maybe soon I will finally have some help around here!!

Tights

Lately, Julia has been on a kick of wearing tights. She only had a couple pair and she has been wanting to wear some everyday! Only one of those pairs are the really heavy, winter tights.

So today I made a trip to the store. They had all their winter tights on clearance. I bought all they had left in Julia's size. Which turned out to only be 4 pairs. I guess there are a lot of other girls Julia's age that love to wear tights!

Hand-eye coordination

I am constantly amazed at Jude's hand-eye coordination. For weeks now he has been able to manipulate his toys (make the music play, slide beads, etc..). He can also scoot around the floor to get the toys that are slightly out of his reach.

He have favorite toys and favorite parts on those toys. he knows how to reach for and turn the toy to get just the part he wants.

He loves playing with his pacifier too. He rarely gets it anymore because all he wants to do with it is pull it out and chew on the handle or the hard plastic part of it. But I am impressed at just how well he can turn it and manipulate it to get the part of it he wants.

Big toothless grins!!

I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the big toothless grins Jude gives. Here are a few from the afternoon!




This is probably his most common grin and the one I love the most!


This squinty-eyed, crooked smile comes straight from his daddy! He smiles the same way!