the life of baby jude

I'm honestly not sure if any words are necessary here. All I can say is, I'm glad the seat is well sanded.

On Saturday, Grandma came down to visit us for the day. She brought tons of cute clothes with her for me to wear! It's so very exciting because you know I like to look dapper. Mommy tried to get a picture of me in my new onesie and fleece pants this morning (along with my new shoes, but more about them later) but you know me. I'm having none of that!

Anyway, we we went to the mall and got all sorts of fun things with the check that Great Grandma Ford had sent us. Mommy got a nice pair of pants and shirt at H&M. That's actually a very fun store. While Mommy was trying everything on, Daddy and I ran around the place and played with pretty jewelry! So fun. I love accesssories! After that we went to Stride Rite, so I could get my feet measured. Mommy noticed that my sneaks were getting slightly tight, so Grandma, ever protected of her little boyfriend insisted I get a new pair of shoes. We picked out these super cute ones seen above! What do you think?Grandma bought them for me and I'm so grateful. Talk about comfort! M&D also got me a pair of Robeez-- blue ones with pirates. My socks tend to be very slippery on our hard wood floors and it's a bit chilly to go without. So these are perfect! And very cute! Mommy is trying to teach to say. "ARRGH!!!!!" just like a pirate! I also got a "Cars" poster for my room. It adds that finishing touch to my bedroom! And finally-- the best thing of all-- a tunnel for me to crawl through. I do love to hide and love being cozy, so a lot of the time, I just sit in there and play or read! Daddy also got something too-- a nice outdoor vest and a pair of gym pants. Thanks Great Grandma, the Christmas check was put to good use. Actually, I don't know if I mentioned this previously, but I threw out the original check that she had sent us. How was I to know? But Great Grandma was nice enough to send us a new one!
The day was capped with dinner at Whole Foods at then Grandma and I shared some ice cream! YUMMY! Love ya, Grandma! Thanks for coming down to visit me.

Here's a picture of me in my new "house slippers" and robe. Quite the look, don't you think?

I think this new tee I got from Grandma is very appropriate to wear when riding my motorcycle. Don't worry, my gang of bikers will only promote playing with toys and eating healthy snacks. Plus, the only havoc we'll wreak will be on the playground. Promise. Ride on, little friends, ride on.

NBA here I come!

Special thanks for Grandma Ginny for kick starting my basketball career! Seriously, folks, you should see my moves. Okay, so it's true, my bedroom is hardly a basketball court, but once the weather is warm, I'll set this basket up outside. And then, watch out!

I'm really learning my words these days. I can repeat almost everything, but also, I use a lot of words in the correct context. My favorite is saying things when something sort of bad and/or exciting happens. Well, I won't explain it anymore-- just listen!!

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M&D and I went allll the way to Buffalo this weekend to see some of Daddy's family! Grandma Ginny moved into a new apartment a little while back, so Daddy wanted to help her put the place together and hang some things. We got some stuff accomplished, but it was such a short trip, we didn't get to do *that* much. But I sure was helpful! Here I am doing a little arranging. I think I really have an eye for designing. Oh, and here is Daddy helping, too. I'm not sure if he was quite as invaluable as I was, but give the guy some credit-- he tried.
We also got to see Great Grandma Ellie while we were there. When we went to Buffalo last October for Shawn and Erin's wedding, we didn't get to see each other. In fact, the only time that M&D got to see Great Grandma was at the actual wedding and sadly, I was NOT on the guest list for that one. Anyway, Great Grandma was very happy to see us, as were we to see her. She moved into a very lovely nursing home recently. I met lots of nice ladies there and even got to ride in one lady's motorized wheel chair! There were wheelchairs and walkers everywhere! Talk about Baby Jude's dreams coming true! Anyway, I was such a flirt, and I could tell everyone really loved me there. Great Grandma Ellie, too. She played all sorts of fun games with me and was very, very sweet. I love her very much! She has laryngitis at the moment, so I hope you feel better soon, Great Grandma!!!!!! LOVE YOU!

I have to say that I was a very good boy all weekend. I even endured the bitter cold temperatures without complaining. Although I was born in Buffalo, I've never been there during the winter and boy is it cold! The only winter I ever lived there, I was nice and warm in Mommy's tummy. Phew, it's brutal! I was excellent in the car, I must say. I slept the entire way there on Friday night! I was pretty refreshed after my six hour snooze, though, so I wanted to play when we arrived (much to chagrin on my parents, I think). But I did great on the ride home, happily playing and napping the backseat the whole ride home. And it's six hours in the car! Man, do I have stamina or do I have stamina?
In other news, I went to the doctor this morning. Dr. Maniar said that I was doing great and that everything was normal. I can't seem to shake my runny nose and cough, but that's just the way it goes in the winter when you're in daycare. Dr. Maniar thinks I have post nasal drip, but my lungs were clear and no infections of any kind. She told Mommy to keep using the saline in my nose. (I knew she was going to say that! Man, I hate that stuff!) Also, she reminded Mommy to keep running the humidifer. All that dry air in this apartment makes for a crusty nosed baby. She was impressed at what I was eating and what I could say. Mommy told her that I attempted to repeat back the word "disgusting" this weekend and she laughed. OK, so I don't know what it actually means, but it sure is fun to say. I weigh 28.10 lbs and and am 34.75 inches long. I'm still doing great in the size department and growing right on target. The only bummer-- I had to get shot. But I got a lollipop and a sticker, so I can't complain!

PS-- Like my bathrobe? Now that I have the new pad, I thought a robe was really in order!

As promised, here are some pics of my new room! M&D and I went to IKEA on Sunday and I got new bookcase and toy holder, not to mention a net to hold my stuffed animals. Daddy and I stayed home together on Monday because daycare was closed, and we put it all together and set it up. Man, I love having my own space and talk about entertaining possibilities!!!

Note to Grandpa Robo: You may not want to read this. Mommy found it quite disturbing, to say the least.

M&D (well mostly, Dada) bought me this tee-shirt in Maine last summer. It's still pretty big, so I had to rock the layered look. Even though it hurt Mommy's eyes to see in me in it, even she had to admit that I looked pretty darn cute. I still haven't claimed an allegiance to a baseball team yet, but I'm luckily for me, I still have a few months until the baseball season starts. It's all quite interesting around here with M&D both loving rival teams. Perhaps I'll be the first ever Yankees/Red Sox fan...? Hey, it's possible. It seems like M&D both take it quite personally and I don't want to hurt any feelings!

In the meantime, let's enjoy the end of the football season and take a look at me out cruising on my car today.

Today is my one and only aunt (not counting great aunts, of course)-- Aunt Jenny's-- birthday! I wish I could spend it with her, but she lives in Vegas with my cousins Izzy and Ava. I know that her and Uncle Paul had some big plans for the evening and I hope they're having fun! I hope she has the best birthday. She's a really wonderful aunt and she's very, very special to me. She even got me my own dog for Christmas. Well, not really... he's not real. But he has a leash and he walks and barks and pants and everything. She sure knows how to pick a gift. Also, Aunt Jenny held me just a few mintues after I was born and waited patiently in the waiting room while Mommy so tirelessly pushed me out! She was one of the first people I met! She was also the first person to ever really babysit me when M&D went to a concert when I was about six or seven weeks old. If I remember correctly, I drank all the milk Mommy pumped for me and didn't settle down until they came and got me at 2 in the morning. Let's hope those are bygones, eh? Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY from me, Mommy and Daddy. WE LOVE AND MISS YOU SO MUCH!

And for posterity, here we are bonding right after I was born, our very first picture together. Love you!

Last Sunday, Mommy went with Grandma to a candy show in Atlantic City, so Daddy and I spent the day together. We did many exciting things-- we went to Whole Foods, the park and then came home and accomplished some pretty big tasks. First, we took our Christmas tree down. I was very helpful putting the ornaments back in the box, just as Mommy thought I would be. It was quite the collaborative effort. I had such a fun time. I just love my "Gaga" so much.

But the big news is that after we put the tree outside, Daddy moved his and Mommy's bed to the living room. They've been threatening this for months. I guess I'm not the best roommate. I tend to be a restless sleeper and to be perfectly candid, when they're in plain sight during sleeping hours, I just want to get into their bed. As seen in previous posts, I'm a bit of a bed hog (see " Oh so comfy" from back in October). Anyway, my sleeping has been a bit off lately, so they thought that it was a perfect time to move their bed. Both M&D think they bed looks quite cozy in the living room and once they get a screen to block it off, it'll be perfect. Plus, I get the feeling M&D very much like watching TV in their bed, as proven in the above picture. Actually, Daddy is playing his video game. Now doesn't he look comfy?

But enough about them and their rest! The best part about this whole move is... I GET MY OWN ROOM! It's pretty big and has plenty of room for all my toys. Right now the place is in shambles which is why no picture has been provided as of yet. I think we're making a trip to IKEA this weekend to get a bookshelf for my ever expanding book collection and for other organizational items for my new room. I hope they make it look great! I can't wait to show it off to all my friends-- our very own space to play. It was so embarrassing having to share a room with my parents. I'm no baby!

Finally, a boy to play with!! This is a picture of Lucy's baby brother. Before you ask any questions as to why he looks so odd, I should probably mention that he is still baking in Lucy's mommy's tummy and this is an ultrasound picture (whatever they are). He's going to be born at the end of May. I'm so excited. Go BLUE TEAM! Since he's going to be born around the same time of year that I was, I think I'll let him borrow some of my cutest onesies from when I was a newborn. If he looks anything like the adorable Lucy, I think he'll do them justice.

Did you know that you're supposed to eat sauce on Sunday? It's the Italian way, afterall. For dinner tonight, I ate about 10 spinach and cheese ravioli. They were just so good. I was addicted to pesto all summer, so I wasn't that into your typical red sauce, if you will. But I've changed my tune. I'm particularly partial to rotini, tortellini and now, ravioli. I just love that Italian cuisine. Just don't give me eggplant-- I'm still recovering from the eggplant parm incident of 2006. I was up all night! Talk about agada.
I also learned a very good trick-- how to dunk one's bread into sauce and then enjoy. Here I am using Grandma's plate as my dunk dish. Everyone looked a bit grossed out when I sucked the sauce off my bread and then re-dunked over and over again. What, is that a faux pas?

On Saturday night, Auntie Patty and Uncle Donnie came to see us. They have been friends with Grandma since way before Mommy was even born, so they go way back. In fact, Mommy used to call Uncle Donnie, "Doodles" when she was little. Isn't that cute? Well, Grandma came down this weekend, so they came up, too. We had some delicious pizza and tons of giggles. They got me a very adorable overalls ensemble for Christmas, along with some really cool animal books! I can't believe it, the presents won't stop pouring in. Uncle Doodles has a really cool cell phone, with a lot more bells and whistles than the boring old phones that M&D have. He would open it up and it would light up in all these cool colors. All I could do was make really excited faces while saying, "Woooow!" over and over. And he has a really cool ring-- a Steely Dan song (see title). I always like music, so I loved when he would make it ring. Besides the gifts and gadgets, Patty & Doodles are really funny. I got tons of tickling and zorbets and we sang lots of fun songs. It was nice to visit with them. M&D don't take me down to see them nearly enough. They only live an hour away! And we go way back, afterall. M&D and Grandma took me to the beach and the Tiki Bar on the boardwalk when I was just about three months old. We gotta go back this summer, for sure. But for now, I'll we'll always have the cell phone...

It's official, I've posted 100 blogs on "the life of baby jude." Hasn't it been a real mouse scroller? (I'm not sure if that's the correct jargon, but it's a take on "page turner," if you catch my drift.) Anyway, all this blogging sure is tiring. Yawn.

Well friends, we are officially in the third year of this toddler's life! It's 2007, the year of the hog, and the year that yours truly will be two years old! I hope everyone's dreams come true this year. Stay tuned-- something tells me 2007 is going to be an exciting one for me!

Oh, and I promise to be in a better mood this year then I am, say, in this picture.