This Halloween, aware of what's going on.

This time last year Jude was still in mush-baby stage, unable to sit up, move himself anywhere, or do much of anything other than flail. He spent last Halloween sitting in a bouncer on the front porch dressed up as a ghost.

This year, on the other hand, Jude was in full bear regalia walking from house to house demanding candy. Well, perhaps it was just the parents demanding candy... talking still eludes the little guy. But he did enjoy repeateadly taking the candy out of the trick-or-treat bucket then putting it back in. Out, then in. Out, then in. And again.

In addition to the pictures below we did capture some video that we have not yet pulled off the camera. We'll definitely post the video; the wagging of the costume's tail due to his inimitable baby waddle was quite a sight. For now, you'll have to settle for some photos:

All dressed up and uncertain where to go

Candy comes out, candy goes in...

Off to the next house

Despite Kara's efforts, Jude is still the fiercest bear in the family

he likes them apples

Jude went apple picking for the first time in his whole life this fall. We trecked out to Kuipers Family Farm, about an hour west of Chicago. For $7.50 per adult we got our small bag and free reign of the impressive orchard. Usually they include a wagon ride tour, but it was freezing and fairly muddy from recent rains. They also don't usually allow strollers, but the bugaboo got to come along due to the cold weather.

the apple orchard

Kuipers has several kids attractions. We skipped the jump, climb, and pumpkin patch area this year. But jude still got to check out a tractor up close.

this is not a tonka toy!

One of the fun new parts of our adventure was Jude's new ability to walk. You can see how he felt when the steps went well....

the thrill of victory!

...and when they didn't...

the agony of Da Feet

Jude managed to enjoy taking adorable baby bites from several varities of apples before we all gave up and went inside to warm up. It was 40-something degrees and windy. brrr.

a mouthful of teeth comes in handy

It was great to be together as a family for the day, inspite of the weather. And we enjoyed the fruits of our labor for several weeks.

kara is jealous of his blanket

Kuipers Family Farm, way out past Aurora.

snack time

Just a quick pick to show you a typical snack time for Baby Jude.

a museum almost my size

Kara's quest to find inexpensive baby field trips led the family to visit the Kohl Children's Museum in Glenview recently. The entire space is set up in kid-sized, kid-friendly areas. Kara got one of the local library's coveted free museum passes to visit.

a toy OR a drawing of our route to get here?

Jude is still a bit young for the popular supermarket play area or potbelly play store, so he started out in the infant safe play area.

having a ball

We moved on to one of Jude's favorite activities.... water! Kohl has an entire room of water play where kids pull knobs or fill buckets to make things move or sail boats. Jude was a bit short to reach so we had to help hold him up.

snazzy in my water play smock

Our adorable guy also visited the instrument room, where we learned more about the science of how instruments make their noises. Jude enjoyed banging with the mallets.

baby band!

Sometimes the best toys are the ones you don't plan. Kohl has a home exhibit where kids install siding and paint rooms. The paint rollers were one of Jude's favorite play things. I would never have thought to offer him one of those before.

blue is for boys

Overall, the Kohl museum was a great way to spend a few hours. It allowed Jude to try lots of different activities in one location. We'll definitely go again when he's a little older and can participate or atleast reach more of the pretend-play activities.

little helper

We took decorator friend Lisa's advice and created a photo wall in our living room. We now have one spot for all the family and jude pictures. We're pleased george the dog made the cut on the wall as well. We first laid out the pictures on craft paper on the floor. Then greg transferred the design to the wall. Jude stuck close by greg as he worked.

daddy's helper

This was taken last month just before Jude started walking. He was into cruising and holding on to the step stool.

right under daddy's nose

Jude got bored with helping after a few minutes. He then moved on to finding a pen on the hall table and attempting to write in his library book. Fortunately Kara saw the budding author before he penned his latest work.

i could tell this story better

But it was funny enough that she had to stop and take a picture. Jude's masterpiece will have to be written another day.

happy birthday grandpa

birthday grandpa, tired baby

Jane, Doe & Jude (ha ha ha)

you can tell you have a toddler when it takes you over a month to transfer the photos off your camera. so a belated blog happy birthday to grandpa scott. we celebrated with him last month at a lunch with relatives. Thanks to jane for introducing jude to other friends in the restaurant :-) seriously she is amazing with children and jude benefits from the time he spends with her.

remember september?

it is cold and rainy in oak park as the leaves turn colors and fall off the trees...which means winter and snow are not too far behind. it seemed like a great time to pause and remember the beautiful weather of september. just one month ago on the calendar, but it feels a lot longer than that.

how cute is the matching hat?

Kara managed to snap a photo of jude and george posing in the backyard by the gate. for those of you who don't know, greg built the fence. it is amazing to kara, even many years later.

our two 'kids'

kara is a little sentimental seeing the outfit. jude has outgrown it now, even if it wasn't 50 degrees outside. he's transitioning into 18-24 month attire these days.

he's walking

and just like that...it has happened. a few days back jude started taking a few quick steps (like 3) between a toy and the couch or between us and an object.
this morning, it was hands up in the air, huge grin, taking off for freedom!
The freedom was short lived when he fell after every 5 or 6 steps.

But by this evening, after a whole day of practice, he walked around the dining room, the hall, the kitchen. jude is on the move!

our life...is changing again. now if we can keep him from falling into things.

speaking of falls-- Jude is sporting a nice black eye on his right side from falling in the tub. its a small mark, so it looks more like our baby is wearing purple eyeshadow or eyeliner. Greg just loves it.

little museum man

kara loves living near the big city because a lot of interesting museums are only a short car ride or train ride away. Chicago's museums fortunately seem to have a lot of free visitor days in september and october...general admission is free, but you pay to see any special exhibits or shows. Now that jude is so alert and exploring everything, kara thought he would really enjoy a chance to visit some of the great local attractions. And she would enjoy doing it for almost no cost.

Last Tuesday we visited Chicago's Shedd Aquarium. It has a lot of colorful fish tanks and exhibits which Jude, and his mom, enjoyed looking at. But the best part is their polar play zoo for the kids. Jude loves water a whole bunch. they provide kid sized smocks so he can keep his clothes dry while banging his hands into pretend tide pools and moving around large plastic sea shells.

splashin at the Shedd

The week before we hit the Field Museum on their free admission day. They too have a large kids play area. Jude seemed genuinely surprised and happy when Kara asked if he wanted to get out of the stroller and bang on the musical instruments and crawl around the plastic but outdoor-looking woods area.

Jude was completely unimpressed by Sue, the famous T-Rex.

jurassic jude

Kara had planned to just have jude pose in a picture highlighting the Field's pirate exhibit. But a nice lady insisted on taking a family photo.

arrr..ahoy from the Field Museum

Both jude and kara enjoyed two fun days out of the house in these great facilities.