I'm into it

What I'm into right now:

1. How much Jude loves food (see photo). He's also learned how to drink out of a straw. Big boy!

2. Using the Feedly app- so much better than the blogger app and even google Reader. Those always used to freeze or quit on me. Feedly is much more user friendly and prettier, anyway. Are you still into blogs? I've narrowed my list down to mostly friends/family and a few guilty pleasure blogs. I wish I wasn't so snoopy...

3. Having central air at my disposal. After a summer pregnant, on the third floor of an apartment complex in humid Orange County with only an ancient wall unit AC to cool us down I am joyous over living in comfortable temperatures.

4. Babies. Newborn babies. Jude as a baby. What the? He's almost EIGHT months old. I never in my life imagined that I would be baby hungry this soon after giving birth. We're not planning on having kids quite this close together but I will say that my views on age gaps has changed drastically in the last 2 months.

5. Anne Shirley Blythe. I have loved the Anne of Green Gables series since I was a little girl and I'm re-reading them for the 4th time. I'm on the 5th book in the series (Anne's House of Dreams) and sat on Friday morning with tears running down my cheeks at 6AM (I had just finished working) because it just feels so real. The dialogue especially, and experiences, are so true to life and I love Anne's personality and attitude toward life, love and happiness. Plus, Gilbert is the perfect husband. It's had me daydreaming about the benefits of having a doctor for a husband...I guess a lawyer will have to do ;)

6. Netflix obsessions: The Office, Parenthood, Overboard, Lars and the Real Girl.

7. Fenugreek supplements. If you want to produce more breast milk, take it. It works for me and makes a HUGE difference. I buy mine at Sprouts. (I pump for Jude's last feeding because he's often too tired to eat enough before bed with nursing alone).

Easter Sunday

 

        

My Take on Parenthood

Before we had kids we talked a lot about the fun we'd have, but also the stresses and hardships that would come along with caring for another human being. We expected the sleepless nights, endless crying and loss of alone time. I noticed when I was pregnant that people, especially strangers, would point out that I needed to enjoy these last moments without kids because very soon my life would be gone.
After it was all said and done, we ended up with a very happy, easy baby- which I think is partly just his personality and partly how we have decided to "raise" him so far ;) But we have been pleasantly surprised at the sheer joy that has come along with having Jude in our lives. Sure, we can't just run to a movie or dinner any time we want. We stay inside nights so that Jude can go to bed at a reasonable hour. I drink a crazy amount of water and have put losing weight pretty much on the back burner so that I can make enough milk and continue breastfeeding as long as possible...and it's all worth it. We've found our balance between being parents and being a couple. The real challenge will be when we add more babies...

Day in the life of Bubba

I'm pretty sure David thinks I'm going to call Jude Bubba for the rest of his life. And I might.
He's such a happy and fun boy. Here's what he does all day:

7-7:30: wakes us up with a cry or yell. He begins stirring before this but usually plays for about a half hour in his crib alone.
7:30: David brings Jude into bed with us and I feed him. then we play and relax for a bit.
8:00: David gets into the shower to get ready for work/school and I plop Jude down to play in the living room and I make breakfast/pack David's lunch
9: After breakfast Jude usually will start whining/rubbing his eyes and he goes down for his first nap.
9:30: david leaves for work/school and I work on laundry or picking up the house
10:30 Jude will sleep for an hour or an hour and a half. I get ready while he naps so when he wakes we head out of the house for a few hours.
11: Jude gets dressed and fed again, strapped into his carseat and we head out- either to visit friends, the grocery store or walking around Target.
1: usually are back home around 1 for Jude's second nap
2:30: veggies/fruit for Jude and more play time
4: we sometimes take a walk to the mail box or take Clem for a walk around the neighborhood. sometimes we visit Grandma Faught and have dinner with my fam.
6:30: dinner time. Jude gets lots of veggies and oatmeal cereal mixed with breastmilk or formula.
6:45: into the bath. this boy loves his baths.
7:30: lotion, diaper, pj's. he will then either nurse or drink a few ounces of pumped milk. we sing a song and rock in the rocking chair. Then it's family prayer (including David if he's home from school) and into the crib.

Some days we are both so ready for bedtime and some days I don't want to put him down! 7 months is a fun age and we love every little thing he does and discovers.

Fenn x 4

 The main reason we went to Arizona was to have Jude meet his Great Grandpa and Grandma Fenn.

I think he liked them!

Tombstone + Bisbee

This was our longest stay in Arizona yet, so we got to make lots of stops at touristy places. We visited Tombstone and Bisbee for the second time (my second time). We didn't spend a ton of time in either place since we were toting 3 kids around who desperately needed naps. It was fun, nonetheless!

Best sasparilla ever! and cutie Jude in his big boy hat.

                              

 The good news was that we found a legit old prospector.

 Cambpell posing for me

Guys checking out the copper mine

Hanging around Benson

We had an awesome time in Benson, AZ last weekend. We've been wanting to visit for a while- it's been 3 years since our last trip there- and a weekend finally freed up. We rode with David's parents which was a true blessing. Plus we had Jean's help entertaining Jude in the car. He decided not to nap most of the way because it was too much fun having us sit next to him in the back. Audrey + Jaron were so sweet to let us stay in the big house while we visited. It's pretty neat to be able to visit family and have a nice place to stay. Jude got to meet tons of second cousins and his Great Grandma and Grandpa (photos in another post). We went to the zoo in Tucson, ate yummy bbq, got ice cream, went on a tour of Kartchner's Caverns again (not as fun with kids!), explored the area around the house and mostly just played. Jude did pretty well sleeping in the pack and play and having him in his own room was a lifesaver, honestly. All in all, I wish I was close with my own cousins- I love that David has so many and all of them are so welcoming. Some of my closest friends are David's girl cousins or his cousin's spouses. I'm glad I married into such a great family.

 

 Jude in the fountain and Hazel playing in the mud

Jude on the tractor

 Jude's first time on the tramp

Bath Time

Jude loves bath time, especially now that he can sit up and play during them. We do a routine every night- dinner, bath, lotion, jammies, milk, prayer and into the crib. He usually will flip over in his crib onto his tummy and fall asleep within a few minutes. I can't even express how much this night time routine has changed our lives! He's asleep by 7:30 and we have the rest of the night to enjoy baby-free. Not that there aren't some nights where I put him down and miss him a little, but most nights I'm excited knowing I'll get a little free time to just be quiet and alone, or alone with David to watch movies and be just a couple again. He THRIVES off of this schedule and if we stray from it, he rubs his eyes and wonders why he's not in bed :) Jude is such a happy baby and I love being a mom and getting to take care of him. I never thought I'd love it THIS much. Being parents is even better than we imagined! I also love that next time will hopefully be even better since we have figured out what works for us with teaching a baby to sleep, first feedings, diapers, baby-gear and most other baby related things. I just need to document it all so I don't forget...