Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Road Trip



Last week Jude and I ventured up to Santa Rosa to visit Grandpa and Nani. I realized that if we didn't take the opportunity to visit now, it would likely be five months by the time Jude and Grandpa got to hang out. The last time they cuddled was Christmas. It is important to both Tim and I that Jude know, love, and learn from his grandparents.

In an attempt to break up the drive time, I stopped and visited a vineyard manager I used to work with along the way as well as Big Lots in Salinas on my quest to find inexpensive outdoor cushions. Although, it was nice to catch up and I did find the cushions I was looking for, in the end it turned out that extending the total trip time was not a wise move. A combination of a late leave time, multiple stops, and hitting Novato, north of the SF Gate Bridge, at 4:30 pm created the perfect storm inside the Whitacre mobile. At precisely the moment, we hit stop and go traffic, Jude announced his absolute displeasure with my drive plan. He was done. The crying began and so did my search for an alternate route. I called my Dad and he instructed me to take an exit about 20 minutes from where we were. I almost pulled over on the freeway to play with Jude in the median just because neither of us could take it anymore - Jude, the car, and me, Jude's crying. We made it to our exit and instead of the median we played in the parking lot of Progressive insurance in Petaluma. There was a cool wind that felt lovely on Jude's hot cheeks. After about fifteen minutes of jumping, tossing, standing, and bouncing, I put Jude back in his car seat. He complained but refrained from breaking into a rage. Dad was right and the back way was much quicker. Within thirty minutes we were pulling up to my parent's house and Jude was free from the car - for now.

For the next day and a half, Jude got kissed, hugged, cuddled and played with by his wonderful grandparents and his Aunt Kristy. They fed him solids, helped him sit and play (with pillows all around just in case), went on walks and the most fun of all "swam" with Jude in the hot tub.



The trip south went much smoother than the trip north. We had a great time in Santa Rosa. I am so thankful for supportive, involved, and loving parents and grandparents. Since having Jude, I am coming to a better understanding of the benefits and joys of having family close. I wish there was a way for Nani and Grandpa to be a daily part of Jude's life, but in the meantime I am very thankful for the time he gets with them.











Time with Friends


Last Tuesday, Jude and I drove down to SLO to visit with Nikki and her four boys (and a girl on the way:)). We had a great time catching up. We took a nice walk with the older two (Isaac and Caleb) on their bikes and the younger two (Josh and Jude) in the strollers. Nikki is a very dear friend and confidant of mine. She has been a huge support and encouragement in my life and especially since Jude's arrival. We got a picture of all of us after the walk. Some of the most simple times in our lives are the moments I enjoy most.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Nani Visits

My mom, hereforth called Nani, visited us (read: Jude)last weekend. We had a fabulous time with her and Jude loved loved loved all the attention. We hauled him all over the place and he did a really great job. Nani got lots of smiles and laughs and got to see how much he's changed in just six weeks.

Nani arrived on Friday afternoon just as Jude was waking from his afternoon nap. He was a little shy at first, but I think it was more due to the fact that it takes him a few minutes to wake up sometimes. Once he realized that Nani had come to visit and shower attention on him, he was all over her with cuddles and smiles. We laid low that evening and Nani helped with Jude's bedtime routine including bath and story time. I have included a video below of her reading Jude his bedtime story - it is precious.

After Jude's nap on Saturday morning, we took Nani to our favorite Saturday morning coffee spot - Amsterdam Coffee House in downtown Paso. We met up with Aunt Linda, Tess, and Aiya (Tim's mom). We had a nice time loading up on caffeine and hanging out. Jude ended up taking a nap on my chest while we were there. He hasn't slept on me for weeks so this was a sweet time for me.

From coffee, we headed out to the wildflowers. They were just starting to come out and though the wildflower carpet was not in effect it was still beautiful. The blue flowers were really brilliant and my personal favorite. Jude enjoyed watching Kona play ball and we even had to build a stream crossing to get over to the meadow. It was a fun adventure.

Saturday evening, we went in separate directions taking advantage of an eager babysitter. I headed to the gym and Tim joined a friend to fly RC planes. Nani enjoyed her time taking Jude for a walk after he woke up from his nap.

On Sunday, we watched Tim play soccer in the city league. This was Jude's first soccer game and he loved it. Mostly he loved jumping on Nani's lap and people watching, but someday he'll come to love soccer too. From soccer, we went to lunch and then carved out time for the much needed Sunday afternoon nap. Ahhhhhh...I love sabbath Sundays.

Nani wasn't leaving until 7ish so we met up with Aunt Linda, Tess, and Rachael for a walk along the Salinas River. It was a really nice walk. Kona especially enjoyed playing fetch in the river. Jude wiggled his toes in sand for the first time and Nani enjoyed putting Jude's hat on sideways (see slideshow). I think one of Jude's favorite parts was that whenever he got tired of sitting in the stroller there was an eager fan ready to hold him instead of me who lets him know that he's okay and can sit it out. Hey, holding a sixteen pounder while pushing a stroller and heeling a seventy pound dog is not an easy task.

We had a wonderful time with Nani and were sad to see her go. I enjoy so much watching her love on Jude and get to know him. He loves his Nani so much and so do I.

Slideshow of our time together:



Video of Nani reading a bedtime story to Jude:

Sunday, March 07, 2010

February Photos

We had lots of fun in February enjoying some warm weather between rain storms, a wedding, and other Whitacre wildness;) Here are a few of our favorite moments.