All About the Boy

I thought I'd update everyone on Judah and how he's doing.

First, we have to yell, "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, Go KU!"

The championship game was so great! Judah was supporting his team in great fashion! He slept through the ending of the game and overtime (as did his daddy!). I'm surprised he (and Jake) slept through it with all of our hollering and yelling. I still can't believe they pulled it off and won! What an exciting game!

This is Judah after his shots in March with his little bandaids on his legs. So cute.

With this pic, I was hoping you could see the single slash of brown in his blue eyes. If you look close, you can see the slash of brown in his right eye.

He is such a happy little boy! He loves to giggle now when we make faces and talk to him. He's actually trying to sit up on his own. If he's laying down on his back, he tries to do a full sit-up and get up on his own. He can't do it yet, but he sure tries! He's so strong.

Okay, so this week I actually started trying to incorporate vegetables into Judah's meals. I started with peas, because of a recommendation from the doctor.
So, this is his face after a couple of bites of peas. He didn't think they were AWFUL, but he wasn't really sure what to think. There is also video below of his first bites.

He ate peas again today, and he did much better with them. I snapped a quick picture of his green face after he was done. While I was feeding him, he actually put his hand on mine and pulled the spoon to his mouth when he was ready for another bite. When he was done, he pushed my hand away.

Growing Boy

Jake and Judah both have been enjoying watching all of the basketball games that have been on TV with the NCAA tournament. Our TV has been constantly tuned to basketball for over a week now. We are excited to see how far our Jayhawks go this year! Judah has been sporting his KU gear for almost every game in support of the team.

Last week, Judah had his four month appointment with the doctor, where he was weighed, measured, and given shots again. It is always hard to watch him get shots, but he did pretty well.

We now have updated stats on our growing boy. He is 26 inches tall and in the 90th percentile for height. He is 17 pounds and in the 75th percentile for weight. The doctor said he looks great and seems to be progressing very well physically and with all of his motor skills.

After the shots, poor Judah was pretty upset. For about three days afterwards, he was extremely cuddly and did not like to be alone or put down at all. Needless to say, I didn't get much done around the house during that time, but I got to cuddle with my little boy, so that was good.

Jake and I have settled into a new schedule in our days. When he comes home from work, he plays with Judah and talks with him while I get dinner ready. Jake also did this on the Saturday before Easter so I could bake a cheesecake and rolls for Easter dinner the next day. While at dinner Jake tried to take full credit for baking these items, I definitely could not have done it as easily if he hadn't been helping with Judah. (Thanks, Jake!)

I hope that everyone had a good Easter and remembered the reason we celebrate.

Reunited

We took Judah on his first road-trip this past weekend. I was pretty nervous about having him in a car for 10-12 hours at a time, but I was pleasantly surprised.

We left Saturday morning for a trip to ski in Colorado. Of course, Judah was not planning on skiing, but it was his first trip to the Rocky Mountains. It was his first trip out of Kansas.

For the first few hours of the trip, Judah was great -- he slept. I was worried that he would not sleep at night if he slept all day, so I sat in the backseat with him to play and talk. He did so great. He didn't seem at all bothered by the increased altitude at all.

The first night, he was awake until midnight and up at 3:00am. So was I. Neither one of us slept well that first night in Colorado, and I was supposed to ski on Sunday. I was exhausted when everyone else was awake and (well-rested) ready to hit the slopes.

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So, Sunday we (Jake & myself, Josh & Bethany, and Tanner & Tonya) decided to ski in Beaver Creek. We got there with very little trouble, and we were ready to be on the mountains with our skis.

<--This is what we found upon getting off the first ski lift. It's Old Man Winter. It was really cool. (Dad: This pun's for you! Yes, two in one!)

I really liked skiing at Beaver Creek. It's a nice place with good runs. What I found out about Beaver Creek is that the Black Diamond runs are not too difficult. We all ended up on a Black without really being prepared for it. Jake said, "A woman skiied by with her 6 year old kid and said this Black run is the easiest she's ever been on." So, we all followed, and the start of the run was pretty great. It got a little more steep and difficult in the middle. I was struggling with my ski boots, so I kept stopping to try and gain some control over them. It was terrible. My boots were too loose, so I didn't feel like I had control over my skis. I was having to work extra hard to control where I was going. My feet and legs were wearing out fast! I was pretty frustrated by the time I was almost at the end of the run. Okay, to be honest "frustrated" is kind of an under-statement. To hear Jake tell it, I was livid. In his words, he got "scolded" pretty harshly.

After we were finished with the first Black Diamond of the day, we went on . . . with the hot steam cooling off in the falling snow as we skiied. We had fresh powder to ski in all afternoon. It was beautiful. We were very happy to find that Beaver Creek was not busy at all, and we had several runs where it was just the six of us.

To the right is a picture of me skiing on a Black Diamond. I have terrible form, but I didn't fall!

The day went on, and we were all rushing to different ski lifts, trying to make the most of our time before the lifts closed. We went up one lift and found a couple of Blue runs. We were all game for that. Unfortunately, halfway down, the Blues all turned to Blacks. No way down except down a Black Diamond. Well, we'd already tackled one, so we forged ahead. It was not bad at all. My legs were burning, and my feet hurt . . . but there was only one way out -- down.

So, I skiied several Black Diamonds and did not fall once. NOT ONCE. I was so proud of myself for that, especially since I was having so much trouble with my boots and ski-control.

By the end of the day, it was snowing pretty hard at the base of the mountain, and we were all cold and wet. We'd been skiing in the snow most of the day. It was a challenge because we would ski down the mountain, sweat, then catch a lift up and freeze because we were wet with sweat. Even so, we all had fun.

That night, we got back to the condo -- tired and hungry. We went to eat at a Mexican restaurant. It was voted number one in 2006. Jake commented after dinner, "I would not vote that place the best in 2008." The food was not great at all, and we were all pretty disappointed.

Lucky for me, Judah and I both got to sleep very hard and fast that night. I was so exhasusted from having 3 hours of sleep the night before and the skiing all afternoon. My legs were sore, and my boots had rubbed blisters on my shins.

The next day, I stayed at the condo with Judah, so Dave and Jan could join the group and ski. Jake woke up to have stabbing pain from his kidney stone, so he decided to stay back as well. Bethany also was exhausted and not feeling good, so she stayed to rest. We had a good day just lounging around and playing with Judah. That night, we played cards and watched a movie. It was really fun.

Tuesday, everyone awoke with very little motivation to go skiing. Jake said he couldn't do it because of his kidney stone. He was in quite a bit of pain. So, we left for home.

Judah did so great in the car on the way home. He slept a lot, but when he was awake, he wanted to be sitting up and out of his carseat. He kept doing situps, trying so hard to get out of the seat. But, he did relax, and we got home with very little fussiness.

On our way home, we stopped in Denver to say hello to Elan. She had not met Judah yet, so I wanted her to see him. He was in SUCH a great mood at her house. He was just talking and smiling a lot! He really seemed to like Elan! He doesn't always do that great with someone he doesn't know, so I was excited to see him happy with her.

We made it back late Tuesday night, and when I tried to put Judah in bed while he was asleep, he woke up. So, I fed him and rocked him back to sleep. He slept until 7:00am, which was so great!

We had such a great time on our trip, but it is always nice to be home. We're glad that Judah did so great with traveling. We asked quite a bit of him to be in his carseat for such a long time, but he did so good. He's such a mellow and easy-going kid. He was pretty much in awe of the house when we got home. He kept looking around, seeming to recognize that this place is familiar to him. He seemed glad to be back in his home, playing with his toys in the living room this morning.

I'm glad to be home, too.

Here is a little more of Judah from the week before the trip.

<---This is our family on my birthday.

This is Judah just chilling in his chair, watching me cook. ...

Hello?

So, I recently posted a poll on my blog to see if anyone was actually reading my blog. Surprisingly, I only had two people let me know they are reading. TWO PEOPLE? On this whole WORLD WIDE web, there are only two people who want to read about our daily adventures?

Shocking.

I guess that for now I won't post anything new. I'll have to wait until we do something REALLY EXCITING.

Hmm, the two interested people may wait a little while.

Just kidding. We are actually taking a trip soon, so I will have to update the world of two people on that when we get home.

So, you TWO, have a great week!

Being Sick Was Great

What a week! And the title of this entry is right. As twisted as that sounds, I'll explain.

Last Sunday, I began to feel very strange. I didn't feel like myself. By the end of the day, I began to feel awful. I felt like I was freezing cold and could not get warm.

By Monday morning, I was completely ill. I had a fever of 99.8 first thing in the morning. I didn't think that was too bad, but my throat hurt SO badly, and I had a very bad cough, and my stomach was not feeling great. I called the doctor, and they prescribed some medicine for me. I was pretty restricted as far as what I could do. I was clad in sweats, t-shirt, slippers, my big fluffy robe, and blankets. I still felt so cold!

By mid-afternoon on Monday, my fever had reached a scorching 102.0. I felt AWFUL. I was barely doing anything but staying under a blanket and drinking water.

Lucky for me, Jake stayed home from work to help me with Judah. He ran to the grocery store to get water and Jello. Jello was the only thing I could eat that provided some relief to my painful throat! I got Judah to sleep, and I took a really great nap. Jake got home and helped with Judah by playing with him and feeding him . . . and changing diapers.

Tuesday afternoon went pretty much the same way: high fever, fluffy robe, feeling cold, Jake helping out. He was so wonderful!

By Wednesday, I lost my voice completely. I would say something, and Jake would say, "What?" I finally gave up trying to communicate, because it just hurt so badly. I didn't speak much, and poor Judah! He just didn't have anyone to talk with! He talked to me, but I just couldn't respond or give him verbal encouragement.

By the end of the week, Jake said that he'd changed more diapers in 3 days than he had changed in 3 months. Jake was so helpful with Judah, and he tried to help with the house as much as he could.

Jake assured me that he will never ask me to go to work full-time so that he can stay home with Judah. He said that staying home drove him crazy! Plus, he said he didn't know how I did everything that I do: taking care of Judah, cleaning, laundry, cooking dinner nightly. Other than taking care of Judah, none of these other things happened while I was sick. I just did not have the energy to do anything but keep myself and Judah alive and kicking!

So, even though being sick was a completely awful experience (and one I do NOT want to repeat anytime soon), some good came of it. Jake now is very verbal about his appreciation for my daily job as a wife and mom, which is just great to hear. It was also nice to watch Jake step up and take care of Judah like he did. While things were done differently than I did them, they were still taken care of.

And all three of us survived!

Quite the talker

Well, I am so blessed. This little boy is such a joy to be around. He is a happy little baby for sure.

On February 1, 2008 I went back to work for a half-day to finish out my time there. It was my last day in an office job. I cannot say it was my last day of work, because I work everyday all day and have since Judah was born.

The half-day that I worked at the office was so very surreal and strange. It was odd being there and away from my little boy. It seemed strange to be talking to people and having random conversations about random topics. It was good to go for one last day and say my goodbyes and see-ya-laters. I was able to talk about my little baby and explain that he was the reason I was quitting -- to have the rare opportunity to stay home with him and raise him. Not one person was discouraging of my decision to stay home with Judah. Every person said, "You won't regret that. He'll only grow up once. Enjoy staying home with him!" It was great to feel like I had such support to stay home and raise my son. I will miss the people that I worked with; I made some good friends there. But I will not regret staying home with Judah -- and being a good wife and mom . . . at least the best I can be.

I cannot explain how grateful I am to Jake and the sacrifices he's making so that I can stay home and be a mom. I love him so much, and he is so supportive of me staying home with our boy. And I absolutely love being home with him all day. I wasn't completely sure that I would enjoy it as much as I do, but I am joyful for every moment that I have in the place where I am. Everyday is the same, yet everyday is so different. It's so simple but complex, too. How wonderfully weird is that? But, I do love what I am doing.

I have another video to share, and it is (again) Jake and Judah talking. Judah was in such a great mood last night and was enjoying his time with his daddy. It is so fun to watch them together!

Everyone who talks to Judah and interacts with him says one of two things: 1. "He's so pretty and cute!" or 2. "He just talks your ear off!" I am beginning to see that the more he talks, the louder he gets.

Just this morning, Judah was awake super-early (for him), and he was in the living room playing. He was just jabbering away and semi-screaming and laughing and squealing. He was getting so loud that I thought he would wake up Jake. (Surprise . . . he didn't! Jake can sleep through anything!) It is so fun to hear these changes in his voice as he learns that he is the one making the loud noises. He just loves to giggle and laugh. I am so proud to have such a happy boy!

My little man

I know that I already posted a blog today, but I had to share these pictures from Judah's nap this afternoon.

I went in to check on him, and found his pacifier stuck neatly behind his ear. He looked like a little homeboy. Instead of a cigarette behind his ear, it's his pacifier -- his addiction of my choice! Haha!

I have no idea how it got wedged so neatly behind his ear, but I captured a few pictures of it before I removed the pacifier.

Snow Day

We got a lot of snow last night and this morning. Originally, we were forcasted to only get a couple of inches. We ended up with more than 5 inches. Jake estimated that we got about 8 inches, and we did get 8.25 inches. But the cool part is the drifting. I got a couple of great pictures of the drifted snow on our deck and Roscoe out in a shallow part of the snow outside.

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Roscoe has really enjoyed running around in the snow outside! It's funny to watch him, because you can tell it is hard to run in the deep snow. He looks like he's running in a sand pit!

Roscoe just begs to go outside, so I open the door to let him go out. Then, he just kind of stands at the door and looks out reluctantly. First thing this morning, I actually had to shove him out the door. Now, he begs to go outside just so he can run through the snow.

Judah has been talking and laughing like crazy. He and Jake have little father-son conversations, which are so cute! Jake and Judah make bets on different sports games, but as Jake says, "Judah never puts any money on his bets." Apparently, Judah originally bet that the Giants would win the Super Bowl, but according to Jake, Judah changed sides at the last minute and cheered for the Patriots. I guess he should have stuck with his original team!

I did get a little video of Jake and Judah talking. I'm not sure why, but everytime I get the camera out, Judah just stops talking!! Even if he can't see the camera, he gets really quiet when I turn it on! So, I'm sorry that I haven't had any more video, but it hasn't been for lack of trying!

I hope everyone is staying warm and safe during all of this weather we've been having. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who was hit by the recent tornadoes in the south. We also had a family here in our town lose everything due to a house fire. It is a terrible time to be without a home and belongings. I am so very thankful for what I do have.