The Tuckers

We went to San Antonio this weekend for a long,overdue visit with our best friends, Steve and Courtney. Boy, our families have grown! At one point, there were 4 adults, 3 kids, and 3 dogs all in the house, but it wasn’t choas. Surprisingly, Jude was really good on the visit. He was so happy playing with Mackenzie and Allison and meeting Spike and Phoebe (the Tucker dogs). He went to bed easily, and other than waking up incredibly early, he just made himself at home.

It was fun just to catch up and hang out. Joe and Steve grilled and we even managed to play a new Trival Pursuit game. It was a great visit and now that we know Jude isn’t going to be a little wild thing, we will have to make it a point to visit more often. 

Kenzie and Allie are making play-doh sundaes for everyone.

DJ Jude

Nope, the party isn't out of control. He just wants those headphones off his head.

 

Playground

We went to the playground with Jude after lunch. He is so brave! He would go down the slides by himself, although we would take him with us down the bigger slides. The weather was great; sun shining, brisk air. Jude was so happy the whole time and didn’t want to leave so we could finish our Christmas shopping. You can see a big smile on his face.

Joe is showing Jude how to “log roll.” Jude thinks it is funny.

He went down the big slide with his Daddy. This is the moment they came out of the tunnel. You can see the pure bliss on his face.

 

Playground

It was cold Saturday morning but we had so much fun chasing birds and going down the slides at Central Market’s playscape. Plus it was so early, there were hardly any kids there, so we had our run of the place.

 

Our Wild Rumpus

My sweet husband knew how much I wanted to see this movie. So he planned a date night for us. He had one of his aunts to watch Jude for us so we could see Where the Wild Things Are at the Alamo Drafthouse.

We have not been back (as a couple) to the drafthouse since the “Baby Day Debacle” right before Christmas. We enjoyed some pizza and popcorn (and beverages for Joe) while we watched the movie.

I thought it was great. I loved the visuals, the music, and the emotionality of the story. I told Joe I thought it was the best movie I have seen thus year…granted I rarely go to the movies since Jude was born. I even cried a little. It also made me think about the little boy that Jude is growing into.

So I highly recommend it. I also enjoyed people watching at the drafthouse and getting to have a grown-ups night out with Joe.

 

Exploring LaPorte

Here are some pictures of Jude the last time we went to visit my mom. He had so much fun going up and down the stairs and didn’t want me to help him walk down the driveway, even though the incline made it hard to keep his balance. He started to run away from me down the sidewalk and his sandal fell off…but he just kept on going.

 

Joe’s New Car

Just in case you were wondering, here’s the new car. Joe likes to point out that my hair looks crazy. But, in my defense, it was that Saturday that it rained like crazy, so I take no responsibility for what humidity does to my hair.

 

At the Dealership

The Volkswagen dealership has a kids area. This kept Jude entertained for about 30 minutes. For the next three hours, he preferred to crawl up stairs, run into random offices, tap on glass windows, and hang out inside a minivan.

 

Two ‘Dates

Jude had two playdates this past weekend. Kinda sad when your one year old has a more active social life than you do…but I digress. On Saturday, we went to visit my friend Missy and her little boy Kellan for some pool time on the patio. Jude was shy at first, but really warmed up when they brought out the balls and the basketball goal. He really took to a baseball glove shaped chair that Kellen had. He even got to meet one of their dogs, Mia the pug.

On Sunday, we headed up to Cedar Park to visit my friend Erica and her little boy Jackson, and newest addition, baby Delaney. Man, I forgot how little Jude once was. She was so light when I was holding her. I would have got to hold her longer, but my kiddo took a header off a child-sized picnic table because — surprise — he was standing on it, despite my requests for him to sit down. But it was so fun to watch him play with Jackson. Jackson showed Jude all his cool toys and Jude wanted to finish lunch fast so he could go back to playing toys again.

It was really fun to visit with both families. I didn’t take any pictures, but needless to say, Jude had a great time and got a nap on the way home both days.

 

Creme Brulee

That’s right, I made creme brulee. Jealous? I used this recipe, but my crockpot wasn’t big enough to hold all 4 ramekins, plus there was extra custard, so I made 3 in the crockpot and two in the oven (the traditional way).

No wonder creme brulee is such a special treat. You have to cook it, cool it for hours up to overnight, then carmelize the sugar, then cool again. It was stretched over two days for me, but so worth it. I actually curdled the ones I made in the crockpot, because I started watching a movie and forgot. But the ones made in the oven came out perfect.

 

Corpus Christi

We took a trip this past weekend to Corpus Christi with Joe’s family. It was just a short get away, but much needed. Joe’s uncle, Freddy, graciously allowed the whole crew (5 adults, 3 kids, and 3 dogs) to stay at his house. We visited the Tx State Aquarium and Malaquite Beach on Padre Island on Saturday and ate some great Mexican food, during our stay. We all had a nice relaxing time (except for maybe Liam…being crated is probably not his idea of a vacation).

All the “J” cousins…Joe, Jason, Jude, and Joshua…watching the dolphin show.

Posing in front of the aquarium.

This was Jude’s first time at the beach and he really loved the ocean. He tried eating the sand a few times because I was too slow to catch him.

Joe built Jude a sand castle to destroy godzilla-style. Joshua and Jason helped to make the awesome moat and pond around the castle and came running back from the ocean with buckets of water for the full effect.

Joe wanted to be buried in the sand. We tried to get Jude to stand on Joe, but he chose to lie down instead.