The Moods of Jude

Jude is officially 15 months old. It’s so amazing to me how quickly he is learning. He has a set of nesting cups that he plays with in the bathtub, and he can stack them on top of each other or nest them inside one another.  He can do star, circle, and square on his shape sorter. He is understanding mimicry much better; the other day I showed him how to blow kisses and he was able to copy my behavior rather quickly.  He is even able to recall behaviors that we haven’t practiced in a long time. A few days ago, we told him to give us a high five (which we haven’t done in about a month) and he knew what we were asking for.

Jude loves when I spin him in circles (although I did it too many times today and it made my stomach hurt). He has a new electric train that he can ride on and after a few tries, he feels confident about making it go when he wants to. We also like to make Liam ride the train…just for kicks.  He’s very quick to take his diaper off or crawl onto things…those two things happen in the blink of an eye around here. He’s taken a few headers off the furniture, so he’s had a goose egg on his forehead for the past week.

Here are some pictures of my number one boy showing off his many moods…while shirtless. What a little hunk!

Mischievous

Shy

Happy

Curious

Determined

Indecisive

Destructive

 

14 Months

Today, my little boy is 14 months old. It’s amazing how quickly the time slips by. He’s been laughing and babbling and playing all weekend. We went to visit my parents on Saturday, just for the day, and he had fun exploring different houses.

There have been no major changes, developmentally. Jude continues to show all of us, including Liam, his affection. He’s certainly starting to act sillier and he has a few different types of laughs.  He thinks peekaboo is a great game and loves pushing all the buttons on the tv and cable box (Mommy and Daddy aren’t too fond of that game).

Jude is starting to mimic our behaviors a lot more. Today I spun around in the kitchen, and then Jude turned a little circle right after me.  He is pointing much more to things; things he wants us to label, things he wants us to get for him. He also does little things that amaze me. For example, he was playing in my “shoe pile” in the closet and he managed to pull out two matching shoes and set them to the side. He’s been practicing his shape puzzle and he can get some shapes, like circle and square, in his shape sorter.

Jude still only says “Dada” and “up, ” but I am hearing “ma” much more than before. Even though his oral expression is still limited, he receptive language is growing so quickly. We can give him commands that he can follow. “Get in your car” and “get in your chair” and “get your ball” are all understood. I try to explain things more, especially when we need to do the things that he doesn’t like, like getting his nose suctioned or taking a nap.

 

13 Months and More to Go

Today Jude is 13 months old. My oh my, they don’t warn you adequately what a little boy on the move is like. Even though this picture is out of focus, it cracks me up. Liam jumped up on the table and them Jude used the one of the chairs to climb up, as well. That’s right…my little monkey climbs on furniture! I love the way Liam is gazing at him.

It’s been so much fun to be home with Jude the past few weeks. I’ve enjoyed just getting to be a part of his daily routines. It’s so exciting to watch him learn new things, even if new things include using toys as steps to get onto bookcases. Here are some things to know about Jude:

- Tantrums, tantrums, tantrums! Poor thing; everything is frustrating and anger inducing. “What do you mean I can’t get in the fridge, Mommy? I’ll show you!”

- Jude not only hugs us, but he gives kisses now. But, if you ask for a kiss, he decides whether he wants to give you one (99% of the time — NO).

- Jude recently discovered his belly button. He likes to pull up his shirt and check that it is there. He also likes to pull up your shirt to see your belly button.

- Jude has mastered “uh-oh” and “Dada.” We are still working on “Mama,” “up,” and “please.” He also makes an “oooh oooh” sound when you are eating something that he wants to taste.

- Jude will do the sign for “more” when he wants a snack, especially cookies. We are practicing the sign for “please.”

- Jude runs away if he has something he is not supposed to (cell phones, dog food, remote controls, etc.) and he knows you are coming to take it away.

- He likes to bounce on tummys.

- If you are lying on the couch with Liam, he wants to be up there where the party is.

- He knows how to use Liam’s stepstool to get on our bed. We have to move it away from the bed every morning, because we have caught him more than once running around and bouncing on the bed unsupervised.

- He loves grapes, strawberries, spaghetti, chicken, broccoli, goldfish, beans, waffles, string cheese, and just about anything you give him. He will always give food to Liam, except grapes…those are just for him.

Jude wants to be outside because Liam is. I love the way the clouds look in this picture, as if they were painted.

Playing with toys and looking at his books.

What do you mean “Get down?”

 

After Party

After everyone left and Jude woke up from his nap, he spent the next hour climbing in and out of his Cozy Coupe. In — shut the door — out — in — shut the door.  A WHOLE hour! He also played with all his toys and after his bath, he sat in the dog bed with his favorite dog and thought, “Man, that was a great party, right, Liam?”

 

Birthday Party

Today was Jude’s birthday party. We had a great day and it was worth spending all day preparing for the event. I thought it would be fun to have a dachshund themed birthday party, so I made cupcakes with little dachshund outlines traced in chocolate. I also made a dachshund pinata that we dubbed the “Lim-yata” and the kids got “doggy bags” to take home.

Here are pictures of Jude hanging out with the other kids. All the kids got to pull a string on the pinata to open it up (instead of hitting it blindfolded), but I didn’t design that part very well, so I just had to rip it open to release the candy and toys.

Present time was fun. Jude would get so interested in the different things that he saw. Of course, his Mimi would say “Oh, he really wants to play with that” and get the toy out of the box for him. The other kids thought Jude’s Cozy Coupe was pretty cool.

We sang happy birthday and Jude really did not want to eat his cupcake at first and cried. But, after a sweet kiss from his Daddy and a taste of frosting he changed his mind. He even posed for a picture with his parents, grandparents, and cousin Jason. Then he realized, “I hate wearing party hats!”

It was fun to see our family and friends, and Jude managed to stay in good spirits until the end, when he was ready for his nap. Thank you to our friends and family who came from near and far and took the time out of their day to spend it with the Mitchells. I know a one-year-old’s party is not the height of excitement. For those who were not able to join us today, we missed you and Joe and I ate your cupcakes for you : )

 

First Birthday

Wow…incredible! One whole year has passed since our miracle entered the world. It didn’t seem all that long ago that we were anxiously anticipating his arrival and on July 7, 2008, he took his first breath and took our breaths away.

Jude had a great birthday. We didn’t do anything extravagant or too out of the ordinary. But, we just celebrated the fact that he is in our lives and beamed at how much he has developed.

This is a video of when Jude first woke up on his birthday.

Jude got his own dachshund for his birthday. It was incredibly sweet to see how his eyes got so big when he saw it.

 

Then he gave the toy a big hug.

Birthday dinner with some of Jude’s favorite foods, such as avocado.

Jude is sharing his birthday dinner with Liam.

Time to sing Happy Birthday. Jude is a little unsure about the whole situation.

Party’s over!

Jude is helping out in the bathtub to get all that cake off of him.

We didn’t remember until bedtime that we had a party hat for him to wear. He wasn’t too happy about that.

Someone else can wear the hat while we read our bedtime stories.

 

Baby Goes to 11

Today, Jude is 11 months old. Only one month away from the big birthday. He was a little tyrant this morning, but I was able to get some cute pictures. Over the past month, he has become more mobile, more curious, and more stubborn! He definitely keeps us on our toes.

Recently he’s developed the tantrum. If he is frustrated or has something taken away from him, he will cry and throw himself backwards…even on the tile floor. Most times we try to catch him if we see it coming, but he has hit his head a few times. I am so surprised, because I thought this “skill” didn’t develop until later. Here’s a picture of Jude having a tantrum this morning:

He’s also doing other amazing things, like figuring out how to hammer his wooden pegs, he spontaneously hugged Liam the other day, and he ran away from me one morning when I caught him in the dog food bowl. He loves splashing and banging his hands on any flat surface. We love the emergence of his personality, and he is definitely a character. I like this picture because he is dragging the leash, but he looks like he has a little devil’s tail.

 

A Perfect 10

Jude is 10 months old today. My amazing little boy is taking steps towards us, shutting doors, opening drawers, digging in cabinets, desheveling bookshelves, and playing tug o’ war with his dog. He’s quick and mischevious, yet disarmingly handsome. He has solemly sworn that he is up to no good!

I can’t believe how quickly he has grown. He loves to dance and use all toys as some form of car to be pushed across the floor. He enjoys throwing things out of the crib and last night we found him asleep so catywompus that one of his legs was hanging out of the crib. But of all these amazing developments, my favorite has to be that he has started to hug us back. Sometimes in an embrace, he will rest his head on our shoulders and it feels so good.

A boy and his pup

Walking towards his mom

Checking things out

Chewing on his monkey finger puppet

Just looking handsome

 

Revolution 9

Jude is nine months old today. Can you believe it? My sweet little baby is three quarters of the way towards his first birthday. Today, before I read Jude his books and put him to bed, I told him the story of his birth and how it was so amazing to see him for the first time. I am constantly being amazed, as a mom. He is learning new things every day and Joe and I get to re-experience many of life’s “firsts” through Jude’s eyes.

So, here are the major chart toppers of the last month:

• Jude loves to dance. He will bounce up and down to the music on commercials, video games, and random clapping.
• He is a great parrot and will copy us, when prompted, to say “dada,” “mama,” and “baa baa.”
• When we read him animal books, we point out that a sheep says “baa.” Jude will say it back to us. ALthough, the other night he got shy at Joe’s aunt’s house and he only whispered it.
• He’s had two nights in a row that he has slept the whole night through. 8:00 pm to 6:00 am. He is doing such a great job sleeping in his bed. He puts himself to sleep every night.
• He’s learning to open the cabinets.
• Jude is starting to thin out and look more like a toddler than a roly poly. He’s only in the 5th percentile for everything (height, weight, head circumference) but the doctor said at least he is proportionate and it’s not uncommon, since Joe and I were skinny children. (It has been established that Joe was not a skinny baby…we’ve seen the pictures).
• He’s starting to balance unassisted for a few seconds. He’s testing out the waters and we think he may walk before his first birthday.
• He will motion with his arms that he wants to be picked up if you prompt him.
• He likes sweet potato fries!

Just woke up from a nap.

He's big now...and don't you forget it!

Rockin' the signature "Joe Mitchell" look: long sleeve shirt and cargo shorts. But the bedhead is all Jude.

That face!

 

Eight is Great

Guess who is 8 months old today? My favorite pint-sized guy, Jude. (Joe is my favorite full sized guy!) He had a great day today, just laughing and running errands with us. His face is so beautiful now that the doctor finally gave us some steroids.

Enjoying the day.

 

Someone is unhappy, and yet still looks so adorable.

 

Look at those two little teeth.

 

You can't see it, but his shirt says "My dad's tattoos are cooler than yours."