Tuesday Tid Bits 05.29.14

Jude

- Is he talking? Jude looks at me and says “Mamma” or “Mom” all the time. We have had many experiences where he will be with someone else and see me and say “Mamma?” or I will go in to get him in the morning and he will get excited and start saying mamma. The dr. says they usually don’t start speaking until 10 months and we still have a little over a month until he is at that mark. Many of our friends and famly are convinced he knows what he is saying. I don’t want to start skipping to conclusions and begin proclaiming that my child is a genius but who knows, maybe he is! After all, he has always been a mamma’s boy so that particular word choice as his first is very appropriate if you ask me. Especially because I clean up that cute boy’s poop each day. I think I deserve it. J

- The poor boy is a bit fussier then usual but here is his list of some pretty good excuses as to why:

            - Allergies/cold

            - Teething

            - On meds for constipation

            - The Cutest Baby in The World – a pretty demanding title to keep up

As a result of all the above ailments, mamma gets good snuggles. :) 

- He is consistently the happiest baby ever when he is outside. Jude and I take walks like we are preparing for a pretty serious walkathon (but really, how serious could a walkathon be? I need a jogging stroller!). And I am quite committed to my bitsy little garden so he will sit and watch mamma play in the dirt while he sits in the grass and watches the world go by. 

I set a little tent up for Jude in the backyard and gave him his Mary Poppins bag and a Grandma Jones quilt (grandma quilts are the best kind) and he thought it was the coolest thing ever. Kept him happy for a long time while I read a parenting book. 

Michael and Arianna

- We spent our Memorial Day visiting our loved ones, my favorite of which (sorry, but yes, I do have my favorite angels) is my Grandpa Fender. I would say that Jude got to meet his great grandpa for the first time but I don’t believe that. That headstone isn’t my grandpa and I know little Jude’s been with my gramps much more recently then I have. I still cry every time I see that stupid headstone. He was taken far too soon and with every big life event of mine I get discouraged that he isn’t there. But then I am reminded that he is. I’ve always had a particularly special relationship with my grandpas and it has been so neat to watch how Jude responds to his own Grandpa Fender. His behavior is just slightly different with him then with anyone else and you can see the sincere love that little tiny heart has for his gramps.

Jude's "I just woke up in a different place then the one I fell asleep in" face.

- On another very personal note, I was putting some of Jude’s things away that he doesn’t fit into anymore and had a very tender experience as I began thinking about my next baby in those little things. I often think about continuing our family in generalities but this was the first time I thought of my next child very specifically. I felt his sweet little spirit. It was one of those spiritual experiences you just kind of hold your breath through and enjoy for the moment that it lasts. I am excited for that next baby but happy to enjoy Jude for the next couple of years first.

Michael consistently brings home flowers for me. This last time he decided to go for something different and boy did he succeed! I have no idea how they got each of those petals to be a different color!

- We discovered our new secret spot just 2 minuets from our house (don't know why it took us so long). It’s a nature park of sorts but not ever very busy and BEAUTIFUL. As a child I could have spent hours looking for fairies and building them homes in this place. It’s pretty magical. It has a pond with many ducks and we were getting a hoot out of the different generations that would come in their little gangs in response to our bread. There were the senior citizen ducks, the young parents, teenagers, preteens, and little ducklings.

- I helped my dad throw a surprise party for my mother who is concluding her teaching this year. That was a special day. It’s been quite the journey for her and we are proud of her. Teaching a class of 30 young children, more of whom have emotional/learning problems then those who do not, is exhausting. Since teaching, she has had some light shed on health challenges that make the job even harder. She is a selfless woman and kept trucking along for the good of her students (she is a phenomenal educator and turned lives around each year) and her family but at the expense of her own health. So we are glad that adventure is coming to a conclusion! Dad did a great job planning and throwing that thoughtful party and mom was lit up all night as she visited with other teacher friends and long-time personal friends who’ve been an incredible support to her over the past several years. Congratulations mom, we love you!!!!

This is my Great Auntie Linda (Jude's great, great). I help clean her summer home every other week. This woman travels the world more then she doesn't and could easily be a stand up comedian. Her home is FILLED with one-of-a kind treasures she has collected and masterfully incorporated into her interior design. I anticipate doing a blog post on her and her decorating someday. A very cultured, unique, and talented woman.  

Check out those lashes! That boy has some killer eyes. 

The Cheesecake Factory is alright by Jude. 

Tuesday Tid Bits 05.20.15

Jude

-       = I just created what I am calling our “Marry Poppins Bag” (Michael refers to it as the “Barney Bag”) for Jude and the only person who loves it more then him is me! I took a carpet bag of sorts and walked around the house throwing whatever I could find that was

A) Baby friendly

B) Not commonly used, needed, or would be missed too much and

C) Interesting to an 8 month old (but what isn’t?)

 

This bag buys me so much time to get things done with, get this, two hands! I sit Jude on the ground and put our Marry Poppins Bag in front of him and he gets to learn and explore while mamma does what she needs to.

-       = Little Juders has allergies. Darn it. Sorry son, that’s all me. Whether or not I should, I keep feeling like I need to explain to everyone we come in contact with that he has a cold/allergies and that is why his eyes are puffy and red and he has a slight rash around his mouth with a runny nose, not because we don’t take care of him. Poor thing. He is currently taking his nap on top of me (man is he getting bigger) and doing little sniffely snores.

-       = We successfully left him for longer then 45 minuets to attend a wedding and luncheon without him doing the “Where is my mamma?!” panic attack. Woohoo!!!

While shoes are always a battle, he is thankfully much more patient with hats. :)

Michael and Arianna

-       = We did our weekly saunter-though-some-fabulous-neighborhood-we-will-someday-live walk. We adore the area we live in (Holladay/Sugarhouse) and it only takes a matter of minuets to get to a flat out charming and picture-perfect neighborhood where we unload the stroller and go for a walk down the tree lined streets, pretending that we live there and talking occasionally to who we hope to someday be our neighbors. J

I’ve always wanted to live in an older historic home with big trees where I can create my English inspired home and garden. I blame it on my mother who used to work for a non-profit that saved/restored historic properties in Utah that were in danger of being torn down. Starting from a young age I would be a tour guide with her for Salt Lake City’s Parade of Historic Homes.

Anyways, the area is pricey, even for a home that will need a lot of work. But it’s on my bucket list people! I try not to be high maintenance or hard to please but, I HAVE TO HAVE MY VICTORIAN HOME WITH MY ENGLISH GARDEN! As for when, I am flexible, just as long as it happens. J

- I attended my best friend’s wedding. I cried a lot. It’s safe to say I was happy. She married her high school sweetheart so there were several kids we went to school with there. Super weird to see them all married with kids. I didn’t think I would be in that club yet too (at least with the kid part) but  obviously I am happy I am. I mean, have you seen the kid?!

- Some of you may know that we are living in the same townhomes that I spent the first 4 years of my life in (they are thankfully completely updated and renovated:). Jude has been born into and blessed in the same church house as I was and will spend the first few years of his own life running around collecting snails in the same yard I did. The park in the picture below was what as a child I referred to as "My Park". My dad and I would always get an Orange Bang at the 7/11 and then go play and skip stones at "My Park". It was so fun to take Jude last Saturday. He is too young for slurpees now but someday soon we will sip our Orange Bang and skip stones. 

You know you are maturing when you publicly post a particularly bad, makeup-less photo of yourself for the sake of preserving a memory. Something I would never have done as a young(er) adult. :) 

Tuesday Tid Bits 05.13.15

I will have you all know that before I click "publish", this blog looks beautifully put together. Then somehow the formatting gets all out of whack and I have to do my deep breaths in and tell myself that it's OK if it doesn't look perfect. 

Jude
- He is excellent at gurgling his spit and being one happy baby.  

- At a recent pediatrician appointment we were told Jude was in the 5^th percentile for weight and 20^th for height and perfectly healthy. He is just a little guy and I’ve got to tell you I’m not a bit sad about it! I’ll take him little for as long as I can!

    

- Jude said goodbye to Uncle Christopher for the next couple months while he works in Texas. I think little Jude looks most like his Uncle Chris and his Uncle Alex. Lucky kid!

- Jude was sitting on my lap one day and just stood up, holding onto the table. I thought, “Well, OK then.”.

          

- Jude attended his first play, The Drowsy Chaperone. We spent much of the time in the Cry Room to avoid disturbing audience members but did not mind at all because we could watch the play AND dance along to all the fantastic songs as a family.

Michael and Arianna

- I threw a bridal shower for my best friend from high school, Marissa Flinders. She has a deep-rooted Disney history in her family and became engaged at “The happiest place on earth” so Disney themed it was! It was a total success.

Here is what I have learned about event planning (especially after planning my entire wedding solo):

Location, location, location! We rented out an upbeat frozen yogurt parlor. The atmosphere was already great so it required little decoration, just enough to drive home the theme. I made a playlist of Disney love songs and had Tangled playing on the three big screen TVs.









Feed the people and feed them well! Each guest got a complimentary frozen yogurt with as many toppings as they liked. I don’t know about you, but feed me something happy and I think you are the coolest person I’ve ever met.

Make sure the people come! I hope after a degree in Communication I would be good at this one. Flyers, emails, and Facebook invites.

I am so excited for Marissa and her approaching happily ever after. I’m pretty sure I’ve cried to Mike on a few occasions about how happy I am for her. I love when my friends marry Prince Charmings!

- Michael and I have decided to be a one-car-family. We feel there are more important places for our money to be going right now. Unfortunately our one car is the now less-then glamorous Honda Civic I purchased in high school. But it works! Well, sometimes.

On my way to a shower I was hosting for a friend, the car started billowing smoke. Which is scary but when you’ve got your child in the backseat you’ve now added a couple ‘ers’ to the word- scarier. A lot scarier. I was able to exit and quickly snag my child out of the backseat in a gas station parking lot full of concerned onlookers (particularly so when I pulled a car seat out of the back I can only imagine).

Luckily I have a superhero dad who takes the title “dad” seriously and really does embody the title “superhero” in my eyes. He came to our rescue, dropped me off with plenty of prep time to do the shower and presented me with a clean, smelly-good, and most importantly, fixed car by the time my shower was done.

We know our adventures with this car will only make us appreciate our upgrades in the future. Plus, that great rattle and vibration our Honda makes put little Jude right to sleep. J

*Please note that while that anecdote may have painted a grim picture, our car does not pose a greater hazard to our safety or that of our son’s then that of the average car’s.

- After being very patient and tolerating a dinosaur phone and a frugal wife, Mike’s family ended up with an extra iphone and gifted it to him. He is a happy man.

- Michael and I have acquired our first piece of art! It is an oil painting of Venice painted by an artist from Germany. I love having beautiful things in my home.

- Adding another day of the year to be spoiled is fantastic! Michael did a beautiful job and all of the sweet messages wishing me a happy Mother’s Day were really unexpected (the Michael doing a beautiful job was not unexpected, he always does). It was my first Mother’s Day and I will never have a last!

-It was Uncle Alex's birthday so we sent him some hugs and kisses to Japan.