Nash - Chat - Fla and Back Again

We took our first cross country trip with Critter in early April. Please hold your laughter and horror as I describe our original plan:

Tuesday, drive to San Francisco and fly to Nashville. Wednesday, drive to Chatanooga. Wednesday night, start driving to Florida. Thursday, complete drive to Florida. Friday, hang out in Florida. Saturday, drive back to Chatanooga. Sunday, hang out in Chatanooga before driving to Nashville. Monday, chill in Nashville. Tuesday, fly back to San Fransisco and drive back to Paso. Just in case you forgot as we apparently did, Critter was six months old.

Most of the trip went according to "plan" except that instead of Critter and I driving back with the rest of the gang from Florida we caught a 1 hour flight from Orlando to Chatanooga. It may be the best decision of the year. It ended up taking the drivers twenty hours to get back to Chatanooga due to the Spring Break traffic coming out of Florida - Oh my.

Our first hint of trouble came as we sat at the Gate in SFO and I took Critter's temperature. It was 101F. I freaked out. Critter had never been truly sick before and we were about to get on a three hour flight. We ended up on the phone with the pediatrician sitting in our seats asking if we should get off the plane. They said it was okay to go, but if the temp got over 102 we needed to head to a hospital. Thank you, that is very comforting.

Critter ended up doing great because he slept for most of the flight. We were able to see my sister, Kelly, during our layover in Dallas. Critter was his happiest of the day with Kelly (no surprise there:)).

We finally arrived in Nashville and when I saw Tim's family, I cried. It had been a long day and my baby was sick. To Tim's surprise, close family friends, the Grahms from Papua New Guinea had randomly met up with his siblings in Nashville and suprised him at the airport. They were lucky enough to meet me with tears streaming down my face - lucky them:) Tim loved getting to see them and I enjoyed meeting another part of his very exotic other life.

The rest of the week was spent with Tim's siblings - Brian, Susan (wife of Brian), Julie, and Linda as well as lots of their friends and family. It is always fun to be with Tim's siblings. I am so blessed to be a part of his family. They make me laugh and they also challenge me to be a more real, honest person. I love my in-laws! So much in fact that sometimes I am offended by the word in-law because of its negative connotation, but that is another subject.

We drove to Florida to see Tim's Dad now known as Grandpa Steve. We didn't get to spend as much time with him as we would have liked, but the time together was good. We ate seafood on Anna Maria Island (see beautiful beach pictures) and then headed over to Grandpa Steve and Donna's house for a BBQ/Family Reunion. It was a great BBQ and we were grateful for all the family that came to hang out: Aunt Linda, Joselyn and her five (beautiful and way too fun) kids, Papa Emmerson (Tim's Grandpa) and Grandma Kay, and Donna's son and his three boys as well.

The week was a blur of travel though a few high points in no particular order were The Waffle House at midnight, seeing the Hawkins (Susan's Parents or my Outlaws), spring in Tennessee, eating so much junk food I wanted to barf, the crystal, clear blue water off Florida, the wisteria growing like weeds up tall trees, and...coming home.

On that note, this blog is a perfect example of why blogging needs to happen immediately after a trip and not two months later when the special details are all hidden away in my brain where I cannot seem to find them!

Warning: This slideshow is long so you might want to grab a snack for endurance. Also, we have a lot to learn about photographing the actual trip versus Jude during the trip. You will see very little of Tennessee or Florida, but a lot of Critter with people who love him.

Appearances

Sorry for the messy look. I'm working on changing up the blog and I can't find a preview button so I'm working with what I know, which isn't much.

Critter Movin'

I was in the kitchen listening to Critter play and decided to video him. He has been learning a lot this week and is putting a lot of it on display. He's doing his army crawl still, but gets up on his knees and feet quite often. He has begun moving from tummy to sitting and back again. My new favorite is the motor sound. I think the only thing he isn't doing in this video is showing his taco tongue. He has been playing around with folding his tongue and sticking it out - pretty cute if you ask me.

I had a hard time turning off the video camera so this one is pretty long. You also might enjoy knowing that many of his big grins are directed at his favorite toy of all - Kona.

Introducing Critter

First things first: I was recently informed that it might be a good idea not to use my son's first name in a public blog. With that said, I will now try to refer to Little Man as Critter. Sometimes I just look at him and think that with all his squirming and giggling that Critter just fits. Okay, now that is out of the way...

Critter and I had a very full Saturday. He attended his very first swim party. He and DaDa swam it up in the pool and he impressed everyone with his excellent froggy kick skills - well, maybe not everyone, but Mama was impressed. From the swim party, we went to a baby shower that I was helping organize for a good friend. I wasn't sure how the day was going to go because of so many activities and so little time for quiet peaceful sleep. Well, it went great.

Critter loves, loves, loves people. I know I have said this before, but it is becoming clearer and clearer as he continues to grows and express himself. He smiles at everyone, scoots around and grabs onto strangers' feet asking to be picked up and played with. He is an absolute ham; flirting with nearly every girl in the room (but none more than Mama, of course).

I think the reason I am struck by this is because if you have ever spent an extended period of time one-on-one with Critter you will soon realize that he gets bored quickly. I have (more times than I would like to admit to) gone shopping so that he has people to look at and smile at. If he could talk, I think there are a few times he would ask, "Mama, is it gonna just be you and me? I mean are there gonna be any friends coming over? Really? Just you and me? Huh."

Today it struck me that how it might make me laugh to realize how social Critter is and how being with people energizes and excites him, but that God has made him this way for a purpose. I was thinking today about Psalm 139:13, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb". God created Critter and knew from before time who he would be and what he would be like.

I am still getting to know my son and hope to always be learning more about him, but God knows Critter inside and out. He has a purpose to use the joy Critter gets from being around people for His ultimate glory.

I love Critter more than I thought possible. He brings me great joy...and also brings me to my knees. Today, Critter's naps were short and disjointed, but he smiled, laughed, played and made many new friends. Today was a great day. Thanks, Lord, for Critter.

Kona Plays With Jude

Jude is now scooting to wherever he wants to go. Last week he decided that he wanted to pet Kona. She is used to Jude trying to pet her but this time she started to play with him. You'll see her uncertainty in the beginning, but then she gets into it. My favorite part is listening to Jude laugh. Kona brings him so much joy!

KonaBear & JudeBear

Yesterday evening, I sat Jude on the grass in our front yard so I could water the flowers. About a minute later, I turned around to see how he was doing. He was sitting contentedly, pulling grass, and looking around, but the best part was that Kona had laid behind him encircling him with herself. I could just see her looking up at me and saying, "Hey Mom, since you can't sit with Jude I'll take care of him for a few minutes." I wish I had a camera. It was precious.

Please do not eat the paper

It finally happened. I knew that it would, but I wasn't prepared when it did.

We were in Target choosing a sippy cup for Jude. Jude was holding my bright blue shopping list as he has many times. I'm talking to him about the features of the different sippy cups so he can tell me which one he will actually use. It is a nice thought anyways. I turn to look at him and see that in is hand is half of a bright blue, now soggy shopping list. His eyes are really big and he is starting to get red-faced. My eyes get even bigger as I realize that he has eaten half the shopping list. I tipped his head back to see where it might be and it was stuck to the top, far back part of his mouth. I am so thankful it was bright blue. I was able to stick my fingers into his mouth and get it all out. We were both still staring at each other wide eyed.

He coughed and gagged a few more times as I held him close to me. Oh man, my little man, I am so sorry I wasn't paying more attention. Who cares about sippy cups, anyways!?

We survived and I learned a good lesson: Shopping lists are a choking hazard. That is true, but more than that Jude is exploring more, grabbing more, tumbling more and I need to be paying attention more. Long gone are the days of strolling through a store making googly goo faces at Little Man while he coos in his car seat. Way to up the ante, Jude. I love you, kid.

"Solids"

Ahhh...I am so behind on blogging that I have been putting it off, which really makes no sense. I love posting, but once I have a list of all the things I haven't posted it feels overwhelming. Boo stinkin' hoo. Get on with it, Jill.

This post is long overdue but back in mid-March, Jude started "solids". I don't know why they call it solid because in reality it is soupy. We started with rice cereal and breast milk. We thought we were videoing, but it turned out to be on the time lapse setting.

It took him a couple weeks to get the hang of it, but now he gets frantic if I don't feed him on time. He leans forward in his high chair and opens his mouth as big as he can. Once he gets the first few bites down, he starts smiling and laughing. He might not look that much like me, but sometimes he really acts like me (frantic when hungry).

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.

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:

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.

Playtime

This is probably one of the longest videos I have yet to post. I took it this week of Jude playing outside in his exersaucer while I attempt to video and throw the ball for Kona. If you listen closely you can hear Jude laughing at Kona. He really loves watching her. He also give me a few big grins when he turns and sees me. It melts my heart. Jude knows how to have a good time and I love watching him enjoy himself.

Jude and Dad sharing secrets

I just uploaded some new photos to Facebook from our outing to the park this morning. After the park, nursing, diaper change, and clothes change Jude had quite a bit to talk about.

Tim is telling Jude some secrets and Jude proceeds to share them with the world and give a bit of a monologue. I love watching Tim and Jude interact. I know I'm partial, but Tim is a wonderful father.

Droolmiester

Sorry about the formatting of the last post. Apparently the preview function is not an exact replication of what the post will look like. Note to self.

This is a classic Jude drool moment. He drools like this all day, every day. I have to change his shirts regularly to keep him from getting cold in wet clothes. I put bibs on him sometimes, but he blazes through those as well. I wonder if this is one of the effects of his mouth breathing habit (thanks to me)? Hmm...

Thoughts on Judo

This week Tim and I were giving Jude his much loved nightly bath when I looked at Tim and said, "When did he get so big? He looks like a little boy now." And he does. He is interacting more and more.

His greatest joy comes in the form of a four legged friend, KonaBear. Kona doesn't realize yet that she has a stalker, but I'm sure one of these days she'll return the favor. Jude loves watching Kona.

The other day Jude, Kona, and I went to watch Tim play ultimate Frisbee on his lunch break. At one point Jude started to get fussy (bored, I think) and I said, "Where's your KonaBear?" Kona was running back with the ball I had just thrown. He saw her coming and just started giggling. He loves watching her. His eyes get really big and he usually talks to her about who knows what. I love it and someday Kona will too.

I think that right now the only thoughts going through Kona's head are "Are you kidding me? I can fetch, sit, run, jump, and feed myself and yet they are so impressed and captivated by this new little person! And he can't do anything but drool a lot and squeal in my face...annoying." Kona is a very gracious and loving dog.

On another note, I worked on Jude's baby book last night and realized just how much hair he has really lost. His initial pictures show lots of black hair and now he is outdoing Donald Trump for the ultimate comb over. His hair has lightened significantly as well and we are seeing hints of auburn. Tim was a blond toddler and I had strawberry blond hair for quite some time (once I got hair, that it).






Jude and Dad playing on the bed. My boys are so silly... and I love it!





Jude showing off his bandaids from his four month immunizations. He didn't cry as much this time, thankfully.













Playing in his excersaucer (Thank you, Wommack family).

Social Butterfly

On Wednesday mornings, Jude and I pack up and head down to SLO for a mom's class. This class was my saving grace during some very hard weeks during Jude's second month. I look forward to them each week, but know that one of these days Jude will take an extended and much needed morning nap and we'll have to say goodbye to class. In the meantime, I am finding it quite amusing that Jude loves the class as much as I do.

Last week, I put him in his car seat knowing that he was going to get hungry on the thirty minute drive to SLO. Part of the class includes weighing the baby, feeding, and weighing again to see how much milk they are taking at a given feed. It is really encouraging when you realize that even though they are eating quickly, they are getting enough food. With that said, I always try to bring him to class hungry. With about ten minutes left of the drive (Cuesta Grade), he starts to complain in the back seat. I try to soothe him with my sweet words and quickly move on to trying to distract him with silly songs - nothing works. He wants food and he wants it now!

We park and I take him out of his car seat and give him a pacifier so that I can get him weighed without him crying the entire time. As we enter class, there are a few hellos from moms already having arrived. Everyone is chatting and having a good time. Jude spits his pacifier out and just stares...and then he smiles. I should have known then but it took me to the end of class to fully understand the implications of that smile.

He went to scream crying with real tears to giggling and looking around at everyone within about a one minute period. I was able to undress him, weigh him and re-dress him without so much as a fuss. I laid him on his back and he would arch around to look at the babies sitting across from him. He loves to stand, so I helped him stand and he just smiled and giggled at everyone. Throughout the class he giggled, laughed, talked, and smiled atveveryone. He had a great time.

I tried to feed him, but he basically looked me straight in the eye and said, "Listen, Mom, I'm here with all my friends and we're having such a good time. Can we please do this later?" Umm...really?!? I thought you loved to eat? I thought you were screaming your head off a half hour ago begging for me to pull the car over and feed you? "Mom, that was before I saw my friends." Sorry, my bad.

Anyways, he did the same thing today at class and I have come to the conclusion that our weigh ins have likely come to an end since he hardly eats with so many fun people around. It is cute to watch him light up around people and enjoy them so much. I never thought a chubby kid like Jude would put anything over food, but apparently social time ranks higher.

I'm really enjoying getting to know our son.

Capturing the Laughter

Well, we have been trying for a month or more to capture Jude laughing on a video, but every time we would turn the camera on he would stop and stare at it. Make sure your sound is turned up for this one because the filming is a little wiggly due to trying to keep the camera out of Jude's line of sight. We caught a few of his giggles and hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

I just filmed Jude playing in his exersaucer. He really discovered it this week and has been enjoying it a lot. His favorite piece of it is a toy with a lion, cat, duck, dog, and something else on it. When he pushes different parts it makes the noise of the animal. The part he is playing with in this video is a little book with a mirror behind it. Jude loves mirrors! The best part to watch for is that in the middle he completely spits up and just keeps playing like nothing happened. So funny. I love this kid.

Grandpa's Birthday

I just had to post this picture because it turned out so funny. It is my Dad's birthday today and in true form I put his card in the mail this morning. I figured that since he wouldn't get his card for a few days that it would be nice for him to get a little something in his email on his actual birthday. So...to Kona's dismay and Jude's wonder we set up this shot. My dad said that when he opened it he laughed out loud - mostly at Kona. He thinks we should rent her out for funny photo shoots since she lets us man-handle her so much. She looks so cute in birthday hats, though! Happy Birthday, Dad & Grandpa. We love you and wish we could be with you to celebrate today:)