things jude likes

What does Jude's future hold...what talents and interests will he pursue as hobbies and as career? What are the one or two things he will be really good at, that we as parents could nurture and pursue with him now? Sometimes I wish there was a special guidebook written for each child, well for my child specifically, so we could ensure that we are helping Jude develop and of course, being Super Parent all the time.


There is not that one book for each child. But as we watch Jude develop, we see what he gravitates toward. First up is trucks and construction toys. He seems to prefer metal diggers and big rigs to the toddler plastic ones.

handy & tasty too

Next up... and new for him, is an interest in toy trains. Kara watched him play with interest at a train table recently. That is the new term for a table with a slightly raised lip, at the right height for kids to set up wooden tracks and play with Thomas the Tank Engine trains...or some other generic train set.

derailed!

Notice I did not say choo choos. Greg pointed out how many moms in our circle of friends refer to the El or the Metra as a choo choo with their children, as in, that's a choo choo in the picture. Greg says "hey they're actually called trains!" We joke about it a lot now.

The other current interest is pianos and keyboards. Once again at Grandma Nancy's house, Jude showed a huge interest in playing the piano. He is small enough that he will stretch his tiny arms up to the keys and pound out a bass line. Then he trots happily around the piano bench, and stretches up to the high soprano keys. Real or toy pianos are fine with him. He squealed as he played with a toy upright piano at a friend's house. He also thought it might be good for climbing, but Meredith's son seemed to object to such a use for his prized toy.

midget maestro

Jude has a family history of music, from parents and grandparents on both sides.

So back to his future...we're not sure what's ahead. Kara heard an interview recently she liked. The parenting expert said 'some parents feel its important to force kids to finish everything they start, to only do a few activities growing up so they learn responsibility.' While that has value, he added that he believes the job of parents is to let kids try as many things as possible when they're young, so they enter Junior High and High School with one skill, one talent, one passion they are good at. He says there is so much peer pressure and criticism doled out by classmates, that he wants his kids to have something to stand on, to turn to, that they know they enjoy and are good at, in addition to their faith.

We look forward to the journey with Mister Jude.

By the way, he's 18 months now. Happy 18 months Baby Jude!

Open for Thanksgiving

We are excited to post about fun changes we are enjoying in Mr. Jude.

At his grandparents' house in Baltimore, he decided to stand by the back door and say 'open' over and over again until the door was opened. After much praise, he then began saying 'open' anytime he wanted other things...milk, toys, etc. Guess he hasn't gotten it quite figured out yet, but it is fun to hear him say new words.

Jude had several hours of group playtime with his adorable cousins, Meredith and Andrea. I commented that its like he's a living doll for them. Andrea, almost age 3, said "yes". They are very patient girls with their young cousin and bring him many toys to play with.
The best giggles from all 3 came on thanksgiving evening after dinner. Jude decided to roll over and around the girls on the floor, laughing the whole time.

The other fun moment we heard about, but didn't get to see, was Jude learning to vacuum with Grandma Nancy. You may recall his love for his toy vacuum in Illinois. While this time, he held Grandma's hand and walked with her, as Nancy vacuumed every room in the house. I'm not sure who had more fun in that adventure.

Thanks to Grandpa Henry and Grandma Nancy for such a nice visit and for their help with Jude!

Happy Thanksgiving to all

the grand november trip

We originally planned to simply take jude to grandpa henry & grandma nancy's house for thanksgiving. But it has happily turned into the Grand Trip of November.

A few weeks ago Kara got an email from her college housemate Doris. Her college church was hosting a 20 year reunion, inviting students and families who attended UNC, DUKE, NC State and other nearby schools. With a great deal on airfare, Kara enjoyed an entire day and night by herself, reconnecting with Doris and college friends who flew in for the weekend. Greg and Jude joined the fun on Saturday.

On Monday, Jude made his second flight of the trip, with both parents, to BWI. After a day at Grandma and Grandpa's, the Millers drove to Philadelphia to visit the Krasinskis. Its been 5 years or more since we've seen our friends Craig & Judy. They were helpful encouragers during our time in New York and both couples were dating, got engaged, and got married around the same time.

jude in the playroom

Judy is a great photographer. The NYU Film Major had a lot of video experience but recently took up still photography and is honing her skills in an online course. We were happy when she pulled out the camera to take pictures of our visit!

kara, jude & william

clothing is a popular chew toy

A few notes on life with Jude

Jude is now walking and almost running. He's tumbled into more than one face-plant fall, a few tears, and a split lip or two. But he is much more confident on his feet! The other day Kara let him out of the cart inside a not-to-busy Target Store. He was jabbering away and marching down the aisles. His direction isn't so accurate yet, so the others shoppers kept a lookout as he swerved by them with his happy feet.

clean up in aisle one

One of Jude's new favorite toys is a pretend vacuum. This model lights up and makes a suction sound. At first he liked to disassemble all the parts. Now he enjoys pushing it back and forth like mom. They actually make a play Dyson model, but its very expensive. So Kara & Greg are glad Jude hasn't discovered the awesomeness of Dysons just yet.

I love the park!

We are working to transition Jude from two naps to one. The 9:30am to 11:00am awake time has Kara on high alert, prepared for meltdowns at the slightest fall or disappointment from her tired son. On nice days we walk the block and a half to Anderson Park where Jude loves to swing. Kara realizes she's getting older when her ride on the big-kid swing leaves her with sore shoulders. Jude currently sleeps from about 11am to 2pm. Kara is enjoying the large block of time to work on a freelance writing assignment and an unhurried lunch.

Kara also has a playtime partner for Jude. Our neighbor Mikala comes by on Thursdays for one hour. This 'mother's helper' is a huge help for Kara, who gets time to make dinner or work on a project, or sometimes even blog!

Mikala & Jude- Halloween '09

We are planning to take Jude on his first train ride this afternoon, a trip downtown on the EL and a visit to Millennium Park.

so that's why

finally some proof of why our child is always so happy

does this come in short & tall?

A Bear-y good weekend

The october to november transition was a great one for the miller family. Jude made an adorable bear on halloween saturday. But the entire weekend was about Bears actually.

baby bear boo

A vendor gave Greg two free tickets to Sunday's Bears game at Soldier Field. Its the first time either of us have attended an NFL Game. We arrived to find out we had an upclose and personal view of the team.

Chicago Bears

The vendor gave us seats in the 8th row on the 45 yard line behind the Bear's bench. It was an amazing day of football, but we also enjoyed watching the players and coaches interact in front of us. Our new friends the Bubars were able to move down to empty seats next to us, halfway through the game. And they bravely scaled a fence in the name of free parking right near the stadium!

we're smiling because we didn't pay for this spot!

Thanks bridget for taking such good care of jude on sunday afternoon!