All About Jude: 9 Months

Dear Jude,

I can hardly believe you are already 9 months old!  These monthly pictures are beginning to become impossible!  You do not want to sit still and pose for me!  HA!  You are still your sweet, laid-back boy with a new ability to get into everything!  It's fun to see what gets your attention and of course, what keeps it!  I love this age when you are a blur of motion!

• You weigh 18 pounds 4 ounces and are 27 1/4 inches long. You are in the 10-25% in both weight and length which blows my mind because you are the cutest little chubby whubby on the planet!
• You are in size 3 diaper.
• You are wearing 6-9 month clothes... You can fit into 6-12 month clothes better these days and I actually like 12-18 month one pieces and rompers because you can crawl around in them without them coming unsnapped.
• You are a tough boy-- even though you cry a bit when you fall down or hurt yourself, at your 9 month appointment, Dr. K discovered you had a severe ear infection and couldn't believe that you weren't giving us fits!
• You started pulling up and can take steps when holding on to furniture or on to our legs.
• You are still spitting up some.  It is so much better than it used to be, but now that you are pulling up and then going back to crawling, I think you are spitting up more than you were last month.
• You are still the best sleeper ever!  You are pretty much done with your late afternoon cat nap because I usually put you down around 10 a.m. for a morning nap and then try to stretch it to 2 p.m. for your afternoon nap so that you can go down with your sister.  It's working well so far.  You are usually plenty ready for bed at 7:30 p.m.
• You are still taking 4 bottles a day....  you are eating more solids so we're cutting back on your formula intake.
• You are THE best eater!  Oh, my word!  We can put ANYTHING in front of you and you'll eat it.... a few things we've tried-- cheese, bread, green beans, chicken, lunchmeat, crackers, bananas, strawberries, rice, dressing, mashed potatoes, and a million other things that I'm forgetting.  Your sister is so picky so we're are having a great time discovering what all you'll eat!  
• You still eat baby food, but we are really trying to expose you to "real" food so that you'll get used to the texture... besides, you'd really rather feed it to yourself than for us to feed it to you!
• You still love eating Mum Mums and puffs!
• At your recent doctor's appointment, I talked to Dr. K about getting rid of your late night feeding and he said to go cold turkey so we did.  To my surprise, you haven't missed it at all and I'm wondering why I didn't try earlier to get rid of it.  I do kind of miss holding and rocking you when are sound asleep, but am thankful for being able to go to bed earlier.  Now that you are such a mover, I'm exhausted at night!
• Your eyes are grayish blue.  Can't wait to see what color they end up.
• You are getting more and more hair!  You actually have quite a bit in back now.  You also have quite a bit on top, but it doesn't start until the middle of your head!  I can't wait to spike it up!  Ugh!  Too cute!
• You are very into pulling all the DVD boxes off the tv stand.  
• You love to crawl under the table, but then get mad when you try to sit up under one of the chairs and hit your head!
• You aren't as keen about running errands with me.  You'll only put up with the carseat for so long.  I can usually give you some puffs and you're fine, but you aren't as amused by looking around now that you want to be moving!
• You of course still want whatever your sister is playing with!
• Your sister still can make you laugh harder than anyone else.  You think she is the best!  It makes me excited to see if C3 will look at you like that too.  Of course, the two of you will be so close together, C3 may not, but I'm very excited that you are going to be a big brother!
• You are a complete joy!  I know I say that every month, but I just can't believe how much I love you or how easy you are!  It seems I'm constantly reminded of how amazing you are and I just want you to know that I absolutely ADORE you!

Love,

Mommy

Three: Week 18

I am definitely started to REALLY show!  I love seeing my little bump! =)

Life with Two: 9 Month Update

(This is our most recent family picture that doesn't ruin our Christmas card so it'll have to do!)

I started a 6 month update, but don't think I ever finished it.  It was right when I found out we were expecting again and I was in the midst of birthday and Festifall plans.  I do want to keep a brief record of what it's been like going from a family of 3 to a family of 4 since we will soon be going to a family of 5!

Jude:
At 9 months, Jude is everywhere!  I would say that life is definitely a bit more difficult these days in terms of needing to be in several places at once.  Now that Jude can crawl and pull up on things, he really needs much more constant monitoring!  Ha!  He is also going after every toy in sight which has put a new spin on his relationship with Finley!  In all, though he is still the happy and content baby he's always been even though he is now a busy bee.  He continues to sleep well and very much goes with the flow!  I am so so so thankful for his easy going spirit!

Finley:
Finley continues to be the doting big sister.  She truly loves her little brother and is always concerned about him.  Now that he is into her toys, we are having some lessons in sharing.  These lessons are directed towards both of them in an effort to not make Finley feel like she is always the one having to sacrifice.  I often tell Jude that he needs to wait his turn regardless of the fact that he doesn't understand this.  I also try to instill in both of them a desire to serve others.  This is a very trying aspect of parenthood for me and I'm not sure I've found the right balance.  Finley is very good at providing another toy for Jude to play with so that she can play with the one that she wants, but I want to go beyond that.... it's not enough to just pacify him so that she can be happy....  it's wanting to share with others... it's wanting to put others before yourself.  She's three.  We have time, but I want her to learn sacrificial love without also learning resentment if that makes sense and I think the future will hold many more of these learning experiences for all of us.

Finley has recently started acting like a "baby" more.  Talking in baby talk or wanting us to put on her pull-up like a diaper (nope, she's still not night trained) instead of her doing it herself.  She also wants us to feed her from time to time.  Devin and I kind of go with it sometimes while other times we ask her to act like a big girl.  I think we expected this behavior earlier so we are still attempting to figure this out as well.  For the most part, when she is acting like a baby, I try to consider our day.... Have I spend quality time with her?  Have I been paying more attention to Jude than her?  Have I been easily frustrated with her or impatient with her during the day?  A lot of times I find she is acting this way because she is craving just a bit more of me (or Devin) and it is easily corrected by us spending time with her while encouraging her in her ability to be a big girl.

Seriously, these are so minor in the big scheme of "adjusting to life with a new baby" that I am still quite sure that we have had one of the easier nine months on record!

Me:
I'm tired.  I don't know if it is being pregnant or just chasing two kids now instead of one, but I do feel tired.  It's a happy tired, but I find myself dragging a bit more each morning and ready for bed earlier each evening.

The most difficult part for me continues to be getting us all out the door each morning and balancing "my" time with all that needs to be done around the house.  I don't like how rushed we've been the last few months.  We seem to always be in a hurry and that usually doesn't bring out the best side of me as a Mommy!  I also seem to be stealing more "me" time when the kids are awake than I would like to.  I am in need of a revamp and am hoping the new year will allow me to make some major changes to our current overloaded schedule.  I don't want to give up my "me" time because I think the brief time I get when both kids are down for a nap is essential to my attitude and ability to mother the way I desire, but I also have to find a way to get in the laundry, the cooking, the cleaning, and the other things that are sometimes neglected until an hour before Devin gets home!  HA!  Though I think raising kids are more important than a clean house, I also know that sometimes I don't prioritize it where it should be.

The best part is seeing Finley and Jude together.  They do have issues in sharing, but they will also play for half an hour or more in the toy room without any supervision.  I love peeking in on them and seeing them together.  No one makes Jude laugh harder than Finley does and no one brings out Finley's compassionate side the way that Jude does.  It is seriously the best part of my job... watching a bond grow between Finley and Jude.  They love each other and I see sides of them that I don't think I would see if we didn't have BOTH of them.

Devin: 
I don't know if all men are like Devin, but I'm guessing most are... He is LOVING the fact that Jude is older.  While I love the newborn stage, Devin would take the 6 month and up stage any day!  He loves seeing Jude pull up and take steps.  Loves seeing him try new food.  Loves seeing him try to keep up with his big sister.  While I love it too, my mommy heart still enjoys the cuddle stage a little more than the desperately independent stage. =)

Devin does great with both kids and I have no hesitation in leaving both of them with him.  He took both of them out the other day by himself and did admit a new appreciation for our morning routine!  It made me smile a little bit.

I am so thankful for all of Devin's help.  He may not get home at 5:30 p.m. like a lot of dads, but he is always helping with the kids when he is at home.  And because of that, he is the favorite with both of them.  As soon as he walks in, both Finley and Jude tend to prefer him over me and my thought that Jude would be my "Mommy's Boy" are laughable.  And that's completely fine with me!  I love that they love him.

As a whole, we have adjusted well to our new life.  At this point, it is difficult to remember not having two kids.  I am thankful to realize this.  Though I loved the beginning months, I think the memory of having one and how easy that was, made the difficult times seem a little more difficult.  It'll be nice to remember that when C3 comes along....  that before long I won't remember that two was easier.  I will only be thankful that we have a sweet family to call my own and 3 kids, instead of 2, to leave me exhausted and happy at the end of the day.

An Attitude of Gratitude

This year, I felt Finley was at a good age to really focus on what she was thankful for leading up to Thanksgiving.  I had all these cute ideas in my head how we would do this, but ended up just cutting up scrapbook paper and throwing them in a little cannister.  Not exactly what I had envisioned, but I knew that  the point wasn't to be "cute", but to be meaningful.  I did have to help her a bit on certain days (and by help I mean I listed a few things and she chose one or then came up with one on her own) because in general she wanted to list Mommy, Daddy, or Jude for just about every day, but this was a really good exercise for both of us on finding something or someone to be grateful for each and every day!  Finley really did better with this than I thought she would!

Finley's List:
1. Treats from Storybook Forest
2. Miss Brandi
3. Jude
4. My Caterpillar Toy (Mommy found it!)
5. Mickey Mouse and Babydoll
6. Daddy
7. Miss Penny
8. Miss Cain and Miss Sanders (BSF teachers)
9. Josiah
10. Fruit Chews
11. Waterpark
12. Icecream
13. Lila
14. Miss Meredith (her dance teacher)
15. Mommy
16. The New Baby
17. Aunt Beth, Uncle Kenny, Aunt Tracey, and Uncle West
18. Claire
19. Jenny (our dog)
20. Grandpa Bill and his tractor
21. New Veggie Tales Movie
22. Pete (the cat)
23. Apple Juice
24. The 4 Wheeler

My List:

1. A Day at Home in Our Pajamas

2. Long Conversations with Friends

3. Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Snuggled in Bed with My Kids

4. Dinner Date with Devin

5. Cowboy Football

6. Devin's Birthday!!!!!

7. Hearing C3's Heartbeat!

8. Our Church that Desires to Do What Is Biblical

9. Productive Day of Errands

10. Packed Bags for Our First Family Vacation

11. Safe Travels and Our Veterans

12. Fun Memories at Great Wolf Lodge

13. Happy Children During Trip Home

14. Encouraging Comments and Words

15. Our Health

16. Jude's Doctor's Appointment

17. MUCH NEEDED SHOPPING AND QUALITY TIME WITH BETH

18. Annual Football Watch Party with Aubrey & Ralph

19. A Weekend With No Major Plans

20. My 3 Beautiful Kids Who I Am Honored to Call MINE!

21. Girls' Night with Christy, Katie, and Melissa

22. A Happy Marriage

23. My Grandma's Dressing Recipe

24. Spending Quality Time with My Family

It's fun to look at these and remember exactly why I listed them on that particular day!!!!  I really want to do this at various times of the year and not just at Thanksgiving because it really helped me open my eyes to just how blessed I am!!!!