I’m starting to wonder if Jude will grow up thinking his name is “No, no, no baby!” since it’s something he hears probably more than his own name these days! Ever since he began placing everything edible and non-edible into his mouth, we’re constantly prying UO’s (unidentified objects) from his chubby fingers.
“No, no, no baby! Put that down.”
Jude additionally enjoys testing the laws of gravity with each object after it passes the preliminary taste test. Does the scrambled egg bounce when it hits the floor? How about Mommy’s make-up? Hmm, how about a cell phone? Surely that will do something exciting!
Last weekend Grandma Sus visited, starting on Halloween day. Jude dressed as a little green dinosaur but then fell asleep before the daycare Halloween party. Later, we dressed him up and took a few pictures before he began panicking about having a dino face protruding awkwardly from his head.
Whereas even weeks prior it would have been purgatory trying to go out for dinner, we successfully ate out with baby one night. Although Jude behaved, the waiter commented that the table and floor looked as though a blender has been turned on without the top.
On Sunday, the zoo, just minutes from home, is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen, save for a lewd otter. Jude seemed amused, but I could tell he was starting to come down with something.
By Election Day, I stayed home from work to care for Jude as he battled a nasty ear infection. Thanks to daycare, he’s exposed to every slobber-spread pathogen known, so it’s no surprise he’s going to get sick occasionally.
Going along with the “Yes we can” motto, Jude climbed, he ate and he napped all day. I frantically cleaned the house like a mad woman while listening CNN and later burnt dinner as blue and red dots filled the USA map. Matt and I scared the daylights out of Jude around 8 as the election results come in declaring Barack Obama president. To say screaming and hollering took place would be a gross understatement. It was chaos!
I think that if I were jobless, Portland would be the ideal city to hang out in. Every day there’s an inexhaustible number of kids activities- many of which are free. Plus, with the number of mom’s groups available, it never seems like a bored or lonely day would arise.
One of the cutest things is now that Jude has graduated from the infant room at daycare, he receives daily report cards. The first one, I believe from this past Monday, read:
“Today in Wobbs, I enjoyed shrieking at all my friends! I was a silly boy today J My favorite toys were the cars and boats- the toy food was fun to chew on too! Love, Jude. I ate (the teachers circle either S, M or L) L+.”
The first few weeks leaving Jude at The Children’s Garden, I always developed a lump in my throat that never seemed to dissipate as the days went on. Once, I stopped by on my lunch break and he was fast asleep on his personal mat, covered with a blanket from home. For some reason I couldn’t stop crying as I walked back to work.
These days, when he isn’t crawling on his teachers or trying to mouth-kiss other babies, he’s smiling, playing and laughing! Jude definitely likes interacting and now seems to recognize fellow little people.
Today, we ventured across Portland to the Mt. Scott community play center. I found myself lost more than a few times and seriously considered calling it quits and just walking around Mt Taber park with Jude. Persistence paid off and we arrived, I was more than pleasantly surprised- I was impressed. For just $4.95, we had access to a massive indoor pool with a twirling yellow tube slide that I took Jude on numerous times, a tide pool, a play area with a mini-water park inside, and a shallow end designed for babies/toddlers.
Jude loved riding around on the brightly Styrofoam animals, like a little surfer dude, being propelled around the moat by powerful water jets. He befriended two eleven-year-old girls who became enamored of Jude and took turns holding him and bringing him to the mini-water park. I was able to relax and hang out with their grandma. In all, it was a wonderful day.
Looking back to a year ago, when I was feeling fat, disgusting and ready to just pop, I would have never guessed how much fun my baby would turn out to be.