the life of baby jude

Come one, come all! Everyone knows your name and we're ALWAYS glad you came!! We serve up delicious pacifiers of all varieties! MAM, Gerber, CVS brand, orthodontic varieties, gum massagers, you name it! We even have clips to hold them on! So stop at Jude's Binky Bar.. where soothing is our specialty!

Oh, and Friday night is ladies night! All girls who come before my bathtime get a free binky holder of their choice!

Well, Mommy & I took a trip to Long Island on Saturday! My friend Natalie turned one! The weather was really crappy, so we hit a lot of traffic getting there. We were really late-- how embarrassing! I don't think that Mommy counted on 3 hours worth of traffic, though. I was a good boy, though. I slept most of the journey and woke only for snacks! I brought Natalie some flowers, so I think that made up for our tardiness!

The party was a blast! I felt really bad for Natalie and her M&D, Melissa & Matt. The party had a barnyard theme and they had wagon rides, pin the tail on the donkey and hay bales outside! It was all a wash, though. Mommy and I feel partially responsible. This is the third time we have gotten together with them and it's rained all three times! So even though the party had to be moved indoors, it was still great fun! I got to play with all of Natalie's cool toys and schmooz with Natalie's family. They were all so nice to me. Of course, there was a ten month old baby boy there who was walking. I didn't let it get me down, though! I'll get there!


Natalie got some really great presents ( I even gave her a picture of yours truly, who wouldn't want that??) and had a great time. When we first got there, she was in full cowgirl regalia! How cute!I didn't really sample much of the food, but Mommy said the pulled pork was "to die for!" The cake that her mommy made was delicious, I really enjoyed it. After getting all messy, I got to take a bath with Natalie. She's pretty friendly, though, and after a long day I was not in the mood for her kisses. So we made it a quick bath! I had to borrow a pair of Natalie's PJs because Mommy forgot mine. But, they were quite cute and not too girly at all. After all the action, I passed out in the car ride home-- a very pleasant hour and fifteen mintues. Much better a trip, said Mommy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Natalie!!!!

Last night, M&D tricked me. When Mommy and I got home, Daddy was there. He hung out with us a little while, but then left. What gives? I was so confused. I guess he had to go back to work. Bummer. I really missed him. So after my bath time, and after Mommy FINALLY got my diaper on, I scampered over the door in search of him. I can pull myself up now, and look right out the screen. I thought if I looked long enough and said "Dada?" enough times, he would appear. Aren't I adorable? I sure do love my Daddy!

He finally came home right before I went to sleep, except I decided not to go to sleep afterall. I was a little hot last night and just not getting comfortable. So I cried and cried and cried. Mommy was just on her way out for a girl's night out with her mommy friends. I was sad that she left, so I cried some more. Finally, daddy got me to sleep. Sorry, guys.

I'm pretty excited because tomorrow is my pal, Natalie's first birthday party. Mommy and I are going to Long Island to her house! I really hope the weather is okay, because I was looking forward to strutting my baby stuff in my new swim trunks and sunhat. We'll see. It looks like it might be a crappy weekend. Boo! Don't worry, I plan on blogging allll about it!

I just can't enough of this thing! I love it in the morning, I love it in the evening, I love it with pants, without pants... It's such fun! If you have a baby, buy this for them! Thanks, Grandpappy Robo!

Another discovery: in recent days I have eaten waaaaaay too many blueberries. Don't ask how me and M&D know this. We just do. And it wasn't pretty. Do yourself a favor and stick to a few a day, not a half pint.

Yesterday was a Father's Day! YAY! I was just a little, little guy on Father's Day last year, so I couldn't really enjoy the day. This year was a whole different story, however. We had a great day!! First, Mommy and I got up and kept very quiet so Daddy could have a bit of a lie-in. Then, we got really excited to give him his presents, so we brought him coffee in bed and forced him to get up! Mommy made us pancakes with raspberry sauce, a new favorite of mine. Daddy loved all his presents! Mommy and I got him shorts & a shirt from Target, the new Morrissey CD, a framed picture of yours truly that says "World's Greatest Dad" (how cute am I??), and we got him a gift certificate to get a shirt custom made at Gambert Custom Shirts. I even drew him a picture on a card! But Daddy said that the best gift of all was the nap we took together. I refused to go down, but once Daddy snuggled me I conked right out. My daddy is the best.

We also went to my friend Evie's house. Her M&D Katie & Florian were hosting a very nice lunch. My pal Lucy came with her M&D Sarah & Richard, too! I love hanging out with those girls, they're so cute. Lucy isn't crawling yet, something I took full advantange of. I must confess I did steal a couple of toys from her and then would take off. She would stare at me with a rather sad and hurt expression. Kinda mean, so Mommy would make me give them back. I told Mommy to reassure Sarah that Lucy would crawl in good time. She seems quite strong when she stands up, so maybe she won't even bother with crawling. It's not the most effective mode of transportation. I think walking gets you places much better. Not that I would really know. I'm just guessing.

Lunch was delicious! Katie & Florian made salmon, potatoes, corn and then served ice cream, all of which I sampled! YUM! Evie, as usual, was kind enough to share all her books and toys. I love hanging out with Lucy and Evie. They're so much fun... and pretty easy on the eyes! It was a great afternoon!

A special shout-out to my Grandpa Robo and my Grandpa Rick! I hope you both had great Daddy's days. I know that M&D love you both very much!!

M&D took me to the park on Saturday! It was a nice little park in Essex Fells. They had a great playground and an especially cool swingset. It would've been even cooler if I actually liked the swings, but for some reason, I really hate them. Funny, I love to feel the wind, but I hate to feel said wind while swinging back and forth on some odd contraption. Just freaks me out! Anyway, after the "crying on the swings" incident, M&D decided to play a little bocce. For a few mintues, I sat on the sidelines, quietly eating blueberries and throwing my sippy around. But then, I wanted in on the fun! M&D let me crawl around a little and play with the balls. I also tried to eat dirt, an acorn and some pebbles, but I swear it was only because they honestly looked like yummy treats. My mistake. Watching the game was really fun. Mommy put up a good fight in the beginning, but Daddy wound up winning in a very stunning victory. Don't get down Mommy, there's always next time!

Don't you just love a nice, hot cup of coffee in the morning? If only Mommy hadn't drank it all before I got my baby hands on it.

Me and Grandpa last November

Today is my "grandpappy's" birthday! YAY! I hope that he has a wonderful day! Thanks for being such a wonderful grandpa. I have really enjoyed spending time with you these couple of months. The feet eating, the shoulder rides, and all of the other adventures have been most fun. You're probably the most energetic and fun grandpa of any baby around!! I'm so lucky! Thanks, too, for the great birthday present. I love it so much and can't wait until Mommy posts the picture of me playing with it! It's a must-see!

I can't wait until I'm bigger and we can have even more fun together-- seeing movies, talking about superheroes, playing with cool toys... It'll be so much fun!

I posted these two pics because Mommy told me they were very cute and funny. I do love eating a good face and this other one from Christmas time is especially cute, don't you think?




HAPPY 56th BIRTHDAY, GRANDPA!!!!!!!
Love always,
Jude AKA Super Jude

Well, friends, my birthday party was this past Saturday. Wow, what a good time! I didn't expect it to be quite so overwhelming or for so many people to be there! I don't know much about birthdays afterlife, this being my first. It was fun, though. All my closest friends and family were there! Grandma Lisa, Grandma Ginny, Grandpa Robo, Uncle Craig, Patty & Donnie, Auntie Chung, Uncle Brodie... My baby pals Lucy & Evie came and I got introduced to a new little lady, too. Her name is Claudia and she is six weeks old. She's mommy's friend, Kelly's baby girl and she is too cute. I'm very excited to add her to my harem, if you will. Mommy couldn't believe *I* was ever that little! Honestly, I couldn't either!!

My party was Baby Einstein themed! Cute, right? I really like Baby Einstein! Mommy made my cake and I liked it very much. Thanks, Mommy! The eats were pretty good, too. Or so they tell me. I ate cake, mostly. I got a little crabby towards the end of my party, but that was only because I was tired. A baby needs rest, you know? After I dug into my cake, I got a bath and a nap and woke up much more refreshed! Did you see the "Birthday Star" pin I got to wear? It was pretty special and only for big boys like me!

I got all sorts of great gifts! Apparently, Mommy told everyone to buy me shorts because I got about 8 pairs. I also got lots of great summer shirts! I'm going to STYLIN'!! I also got some really cool toys. M&D got me a little car to ride on, Grandpa Robert got me a learning table and both my grandmas got me rockers. Grandma Ginny got me one that's like Jay Jay the Jetplane and Grandma Lisa got me one that looks just like a Harley Davidson motorcyle! It looks just like this one, except it's red like Grandma's. Isn't that so cool?!?!? I can't wait to ride on it.

I'm a very lucky, baby! Thanks everyone for making my party so very special!!!

Just one more thing-- here's a picture of me at 11:36pm, 6/9/06. I was exactly a year old when Daddy took this. I don't remember, obviously and thanks for not waking me up, Dad. I can honestly say that I was a lot more peaceful this year then I was last year at that time!

This is me, the birthday boy, this morning!!

So I am a year old today and I just can't believe it! This time last year I was still in Mommy's belly, refusing to budge (what can I say, it was warm and cozy in there), but at 11:36pm, I made my GRAND entrance, all 8lbs 10 oz of me! It's amazing that was a year ago, it seems like just yesterday. So much has happened in the last year and I have grown SO much! Can you believe I looked like this 365 days ago??





Thank you so much to all my friends and family who have made this first year so wonderful! I couldn't have become the adorably charming baby I am today without all of you. M&D are very appreciative of all the support, too, I'm sure. Who knows how I would've turned out if not for a little help from you guys. : )

This past year has been so exciting! I've learn to smile, laugh, crawl, wave and I even grew some teeth! Stay tuned for Baby Jude year 2, which is bound to be even more exciting! I hope I can still go by the name "Baby Jude!"

Love always, the birthday boy,
Baby (I guess toddler now) Jude

Well, everyone, I got my birthday pics taken over the weekend! Originally, we went on Saturday. Mommy & Daddy got all snazzed up because we were going to do a family shot and I could tell they were pretty excited (even though Mommy cursed the humidity because she said her hair looked dreadful). Well, let me tell you something-- I was NOT in the mood. I was already a little crabby and then they go and sit me down on this platform and start making silly faces on me and waving toys in my face. No thanks!! I screamed! So, we all left. I could tell M&D were disappointed, but what can you do. When a baby don't want to pose, a baby don't want to pose. So we went back on Sunday! Daddy hurt his eye on Saturday, though, so he couldn't go. So no family shot for us. I did okay on Sunday. I still wasn't all that jazzed, but those wiley devils (Mommy, Grandma & the nice picture lady, Gina) got some good smiles out of me. Feast your eyes at www.searsportrait.com. Email address is mrsfordy@hotmail.com, and password is shoes1979. Enjoy!

I had a very nice weekend besides. Mommy and Grandma celebrated Mother's Day together and after my pictures we all went out for ice cream. In true Italian form, Mommy got me a lemon ice. I loved it! I was very social and waved at everyone there. Man, I'm a charmer.

A special thanks to Grandma Lisa who stayed with me while Mommy took Daddy to the hospital Sunday night. His eye was still bothering him, so they decided to go. Luckily, he's starting to feel better. Mommy and I think it would be funny if he wore an eye patch, but no such luck. Grandma was going to go home Sunday night, but stayed and did bath and bedtime with me and then left Monday morning. She says I'm too distracting, though and of course, left later than she wanted!

I also have more exciting tooth news! I'm getting two top teeth! One is all the way out and M&D said they could see the other! That makes four! Yippie! Why do people keep saying "Ouch, don't bite me?" Are they *that* sharp??

Where did I learn this "Popeye" face that I have become obsessed with? I'll never tell! Oh, and I don't mind my white trash baby appearance. It was a really hot night and I insisted on ripping off my bib while eating watermelon (come on, Ma, I'm sweatin'!!), so Mommy just took my shirt off!

For more impersonations, please go to my video at www.dropshots.com/sarahjude. :)