excuse me daddy

One of the cutest habits from baby jude these days is the way he tells us he is awake.
Instead of crying in the morning we simply hear, "Excuse me daddy. Excuse me daddy."

After awhile if dad doesn't respond he will switch to "Excuse me mommy." But his preference in the morning is clear.

recently awakened nap baby

We are not actually sure where mister jude learned this polite behavior. But we love it! We crack up each time it occurs. He's also begun using the phrase after naps. This is a huge improvement from the shrill crying that used to sometimes occur.

chilling but awake

As you can see mister jude is still using his crib and his pacifier, for now. We plan to convert his crib to a toddler bed in the next few months. Here's hoping that goes well.

slice of summer memories

We finally got to enjoy the fruits of our trip to Door County, Wisconsin last summer. I have had two jars of berry pie filling sitting on my kitchen table since that time. You should know that I am clueless and unable to compute how to make pie crust. That, combined with the last year of caring for Jude and dealing with IVF stuff left the pie project on the shelf so to speak. But atlast it is done. And it was good.

the door county pie

I pulled out my Joy of Cooking tombe for instructions on how best to crimp and prepare my store-bought crust. Funny right? One suggestion I did take was to cut shapes out of excess dough. The hearts were a cute touch.
I found the pie a bit tart. But Greg says it reminds him of the pies his grandmother used to make. A high compliment indeed.

And here's a look back at happy Jude during our door county trip last august.

biker boy

The farms, the water and the small towns make it a place we hope to return to in the future.

art & messes

Have you heard of Groupon? The website organizes daily deals that require a minimum number of buyers, usually one hundred, to make the deal happen. They offer discounts or half off everything from restaurant meals, clothes at the Gap, and fortunately for us, children's art classes.

We have found a class that Jude loves to attend thanks to Magical Minds Studio in Oak Park www.magicalmindstudio.com
I love that its a drop off class, bringing one hour of fun for both of us.
Today I decided to snap a few photos.

our barefoot beginning artist

Each class has a theme. In previous classes they have learned about shapes or smells, but today was a day to make a mess. The instructor had a white "canvas" taped to the floor. She had the kids take off their shoes and socks, and get busy.

jude the painter

The kids could use brushes, stamps or even their bare feet. Jude had a big smile when I picked him up. Although he was concerned that his other art project from class was too wet to take home.
Here's what the canvas looked like when I got back:


What a great opportunity for my son and the others to be creative.

He's a keeper

Jude is going to have a little brother to play with.
We learned today at our 20 week ultrasound that Baby #2 is a boy.

sucking his thumb

It is fascinating to see the ultrasound photos afterwards. But it was amazing to be in the room for the procedure and see the baby move his hands around.

Due date is July 24, 2011.

spring break

We had a spring break from winter today. For a few glorious hours its been dry, in the 50's and sunny. Jude and I took full advantage. We shared our first picnic of 2011. As Jude says "Yes. Eat lunch on the ground."
Jude also pulled out his diggers and dump trucks and got messy in the sandbox. I tried a quick rinse in the bath and then resorted to baby powder. I have heard that it dries the sand and makes it brush right off. It seemed to work, although Jude kept asking for more baby power.

Hope you are enjoying a relief from winter where you are.