Christmas cards

I wanted to post our Christmas card so I could always look back at it without needing to save a physical copy.

Singing Christmas Time

Jude always sings along with my Christmas music and I finally caught it on film. So Merry Christmas from my little Caroler. 

good catch

This is just in the spirit of uploading videos. They are my favorite to look back on and I don't post enough of them. 

It's so cute

Jude thinks anything that is tiny is cute. This is him showing me his cute, tiny piece of dough

Jude and the Bear

Jude loved the bear this trip at the zoo. And who could blame him after the show this fuzzy guy gave us!!

Hey Jude

Jude will request this song. He LOVES it. My brother put it best. "The Beatles wrote a song about him in advance."

The Magic of Christmas

Christmas! This Christmas thing is so much fun when you have a little boy to spoil. He is understanding more and more and getting into it. Christmas was so magical as a kid and then it gets a little routine for awhile but now with a little boy in the house all the mystery and excitement has returned. Jude loves to watch Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph that I grew up on. He is currently a stage 5 clinger. I can hardly put him down. It was not a good time to test out 2 year old preschool. Lets just say it didn't go well. :) We'll possibly revisit that idea later. In the meantime I'll continue about my day with him wrapped around my leg. He is talking more and more everyday. I can't believe how quickly he can learn things. Some cute things I don't want to forget that he's said are, he's very into small things are baby and big things are momma or daddy ______. So when we saw a smaller school bus he was so excited to see a "baby school bus." He's also learning some of his letters and he thinks the letter Q is pronounced the "letter cute." He also thinks his belly button is his belly butt. :) Recently the word green has turned into "greep." He's so fun, and keeps me on my toes all day and sleeping soundlessly at night.

He's loved this bear that my mom has since last year. 

Marc and I have a pretty sweet deal. I drop he and Jude off at Trax and I drive to Salt Lake and enjoy some me time shopping and wondering. Then we meet up for dinner and head home. 

 This last field trip to SLC was extra special. It was snowy and felt just like we were in a winter wonderland snow globe. I love this picture of Jude-O. He sums up what being a little kid is all about. Being silly and playful no matter who is watching or where you are. 

Grandma Pat's Village. The Christmas Mecca. Just messed with those little skiers for almost two hours straight. I picture model trains in his future. 

This is my life. Take your eye off this kid for one second and he bolts on ya with or without pants. He's entered the stage of where it is hilarious if I come running after him. The more frantic I am the funnier it is. I'm sure there will be a day when I am glad he at least had a diaper on. 

 I'm sure all kids love those silly dancing elves, Santa, reindeer, whatever. But this kid is obsessed. And Santa sometimes gets to come on errands with us. 

 This kid and his ice-a-cream. (pants are optional at our house)

New obsession. His cars down the slides. 

 Still my little hiker

 Sometimes he insists on sitting at the table in a real chair. 

Baking Christmas goodies. Jude is such a great helper as you can see. I am learning the easy thing to do is give him his own dough to do his thing with. 

 In this picture he is showing me how cute this tiny piece is. 

 Daddy is a sucker for his little boy. And Jude knows how to work him already and got his new little turtle. 

Helping Grandma decorate her tree with toys

Some very delayed Thanksgiving pics I am just noticing I never posted. 

Mmmm. Mashed potatoes 

 Followed up with pie of coarse. 

 One of the many things I love about Marc. He can make ANYTHING fun. They are all playing some guess the band game. Marc plays for blood. 

Sundance was giving out pony rides

I somehow skipped over going to see Santa come in on the helicopter. 

Swinging into Christmas

I can't even believe what I am typing! Christmas?!? How did this year slip away? Has Jude really grown another year older. Another year gone by that I won't get back with him. It has been amazing to watch him grow this year. He has learned so much and is so silly. I just adore him. I am loving watching him get into Christmas. He definitely gets excited when we talk about Santa and he knows he will bring him presents. We have a little advent calendar that he already has figured out. We can't wait to continue to watch Christmas enchant him more and more.

My big boy is officially two. November 30th was my due date when I was pregnant with Jude. It is a date that will eternally be burned in my mind. It was what we went off of to gauge Jude's development for so long and even a little still.  I now feel like I have to do something to acknowledge that date as well when it rolls around. It was so weird when it hit this year cause it feels like he has been two for so long now, but it doesn't feel official until this day rolls around. 

We made cookies to celebrate his second second birthday. 

 running off those extra Thanksgiving LBs. :) He loves the treadmill. I turn it on as slow as it goes and he likes  to put things on it and watch them go. He'll climb on the front and sit on it and cruise to the end. Over and over and over. 

 He was so proud of the snowman he made. 

The Christmas market at This is the Place Park is a must see. It was darling. Can't figure out why they only do it one weekend. The shops are so cute and the food is amazing.  

Jude watching the bear at the zoo give him a good show. 

 Marc always comes up with these off the wall ideas. I love him for it. This weekend it decorate a tree for the office. 

Thankful

I can't believe how fast time goes by. November is flying by. Thanksgiving is already less then a week away. I have so much to be thankful for. Most importantly my family. Every night when Jude and I "Snuggle brains out" I take that time to thank God for my family, our health and our home, for if we have that, nothing else really matters. I remember the days before Jude, I had such a fear that something would happen to me before I had the opportunity to be a mother. I am so grateful each and everyday to be a mom. There is nothing more amazing and definitely nothing else I'd rather be doing.

A snowy walk around downtown Salt Lake

 This boy is obsessed with Ice-cream (a.k.a. Ice-a-cream)

learning all about time out. This is his first every time out session. So sad. But it made me giggle the whole time. 

 I love how enchanting snow can be. Jude was obsessed with watching the snow fall from the sky. 

 Then loved exploring it.

 And tasting it. 

And building things with it.

 Jude insists on having crackers and milk for every meal, snack, drink, whatever. I think it is part due to the fact he is getting another molar. Must feel good on those gums. This shot is so typical Jude too. He always has his little feet crossed while he eats. 

 Finding warm indoor activities. One of our favs is the dinosaur museum.  

 Jude decorating Grandma's tree with his toys. He is so observant. I have never talked to him about decorating a tree. I just looked over and saw him doing this. It had a lot of "decorations" on it when he finished it. :)

 Love his nappy face.

 He is totally little boy. Right down to his doggy side kick. 

Marc and Marriott were out of town last week, so Ali and I got the kiddos together to try to break up the week a little. It saved me mentally. And Jude loved the excuse to bust out the bumbo.

 A cough mixed with Daddy out of town, means I was quick to throw him in my bed when he woke up all upset in the middle of the night. He woke up about two hours later and saw Sundance and just couldn't get back to sleep. Wanted to wrestle her. So I kicked him back in his bed. 

 Dinosaur Best friend. Jude is infatuated with the idea of "Best friends" He always would want to sit side by side and he say "Best friends." I thought it was so sweet and couldn't figure out where it came from. I finally figured out that it came from one of his favorite book about a little boy and a bear that go out picking berries and they are sitting in a field sharing berries and I always point at it and say "They are best friends, we share with our best friends".... etc.  Now it has turned into that green dinosaur (maybe an alligator) and that little bunny in his hands are his best friends and he will sit on there lab. Side by side, put them night night, feed them, read them books. He takes very good care of his best friends. 

 Another haircut from mom. I am sure I am doing it all wrong, but I don't care. I think he is the most handsome thing I have ever laid eyes on. 

 This is "snuggle brains out" When I put him down for a nap or for the night, we read a book and then I turn on his music and we "snuggle brains out". He lays there, usually very still, with his "bubble blankie" on his back and rubs his blankies and snuggles like a champ. Hence, Snuggles my brains out. :)

Puttin my boys to work.

 Mommy's bringing out her inner Pat and making a craft from the woods. 

 He LOOOOVES his doggy. He loves to hug, pet, be soft and best of all, rough her up. 

 My little outdoors man