Jared and Heather's Baby

Jude discovered he can use the whisk to make noise on the stove.

I know that it is late January and Christmas was almost 1 month ago, sorry about taking so long to post! Jude is crawling and all over the place! It is very hard to sit down and do anything, ha ha! 
I love this stage.  It is so much fun to see him explore and get excited about the new things he is seeing. This stage is much different than the previous where I had to entertain him, he does most of the entertaining himself but that means he usually is getting into trouble.  He likes to pull up on EVERYTHING! Things that are big, small, stable, unstable! You name it, he wants to pull up on it.  This leads to many many falls and bruises. We are in for a long journey, this boy has no fear! Once he pulls up, I believe he thinks to himself, "Okay I got this" he then turns and tries to walk away.  I am constantly telling him "Jude, you cannot walk yet, stop doing that!"


Here are some picture from Jude's Christmas in Florida.  We had an amazing time with Woody, Cathy, and Jessi.  They are amazing grandparents and Jude has a super cool Dr. Aunt :) Cathy bought a ton of things to make Jude comfortable there, a Jenny Jumper (ha ha yes Jude is confident in his masculinity), a pack and play for him to sleep and nap in, a life vest for the boat, cute clothes and the list goes on and on!
While we were there Jude experienced a lot of firsts in his life. He got to ride on a boat, received a beautiful handmade stocking from Aunt Jessi, his two bottom teeth came in (yeah...that was a lot of fun!), and many many other things.  We are so blessed to have amazing families on both sides and I feel completely blessed that Jude will grow up with such love and encouragement.
Thank you for loving and praying for our sweet Jude. Everyone says they grow up fast, and you don't truly understand that until it happens to you!

Wow so now it's December and I haven't posted on here since July...I think it's safe to say life has been super busy since Jude has entered it! Each day I am amazed that God gave us such a wonderful gift! It's hard to believe that just over 6 months ago this precious boy was still in my belly and Jared and I had no idea what we were in for.  We have learned so many things over the past 6 months.  
One thing we have learned a little more is how much our God loves us.  It's cool God gives us a glimpse of how much he loves us by giving us children.  Of course, we will never know fully but here on earth my heart is full! 
Another thing we have learned is patience! Wow is it difficult when those nights come and sleep is very little and the day comes and naps seem non existent! At those moments I pray that God will calm my spirit and give me the tools I need to be the best mom for Jude.


Jude's Development
I think we have the most smiley boy in the whole world.  I get comments all the time on how happy (and cute) he is! Jude LOVES people. He has such a great personality and lights up people's days!
Jude is now eating baby food two times a day.  Some of his favorite things to eat are: carrots, squash, peas and green beans.
Jude is now a good sitter.  He began sitting about 1 1/2 months ago but now he is pretty independent.  He has also begun the journey of crawling.  For about 4 weeks now he has been up his hands and knees and each day he gets closer to crawling.  I know that when that day comes I am SO in trouble because he loves to explore!
Jude is also a talker! He loves to make noises, laugh and babble.  He is going to be a talker like his Uncle Ken!
As far as sleep goes, for now he is taking 2 long naps (about 1 1/2 hrs) and a short nap to help him get to bed time.  He usually gets a bath around 7p.m. and goes to bed at 8 p.m.  He usually can make it till 6:30 a.m. and then I try to hold off feeding him till 7 a.m. I am hoping one day he'll get the hint and sleep till 7! He is a great eater and I am still nursing.  I pray I will be able to do it for much longer!
His breathing has gotten much better but he still breathes rapidly sometimes. Nothing was ever found to be wrong with our son so Jared and I try to remember that our God is a healer and took care of our little boy!
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for baby Jude.  He is the love of our lives!