The Millers' Oak Park Baby

remember when...

2012-01-20T08:21:00.004-06:00

harry sat by himself for a few brief seconds today with dad's hands close by. it makes my heart sink just a little to realize this tiny cuddly baby is quickly growing up. soon he'll be crawling away. dang.

we had fun at breakfast this morning showing jude a classic video of him learning to sit up. he would sit for one second, get a big grin and then purposefully topple over backwards onto the soft blanket behind him.

I should remember this early glimpse into jude's personality. He still is the kid who will sit for one second or play for 20 seconds, before he gets a smile and begins to bash or mash the thing he's building, or worse, I'm building. I guess I can't claim I didn't know what was coming way back at six months old...i just didn't realize it at the time.

I think I need to learn to laugh more at his antics now like I did with sitting up. Cause after all, he sits up fine now. So I imagine one day he will build tall creations, roll or design trucks instead of tossing them, and yes, even color recognizable shapes.

by the way, i've been inspired, encouraged by a blog I came across through facebook friends recently. http://momastery.com/blog/ sometimes i feel left hanging when i am too honest in my writing or sharing with others. nice to see there are lots more women hanging out there with me.

jude-isms, harry is half

2012-01-19T21:09:00.004-06:00

its january 2012 and winter is finally here in chicago. no more spring-like picnics in the backyard like last week. its time to cuddle up, pull out the cashmere and spend more playtime on the living room rug with jude. the current hits are Cars2 lego's, tow trucks, and lacing toys, although the laces keep turning into magic ropes apparently.

jude's vocabulary is so cute at three.

hello everybody

when you ask him "how was preschool jude?" the answer usually involves "it's doing good", along with some bit about what he played, drama on the playground, or playing in the loft.

among his favorite phrases at home, "i love you dad. dad i love you." or "M is for mommy".

recently he's added "can i help?" which means...batten down the hatches, jude is climbing up and getting involved, be it cooking or changing harry's diaper.

Today the kitchen counters got a fresh coating of half an inch of water while I fed harry in the other room. it began with him playing with his snowball in the sink, it ended with mom unexpectedly washing down the counter, the stove and a few feet of floor.

Repeat after me, he is THREE, he is still learning what is ok and what is not. yes i never actually said 'don't spray your snowball and the counter with water'. dang. can't kill him yet.

trains in the playroom

thomas and his friends are still popular playtime pals. unfortunately the tracks never stay as neat as this photo.

January 19th is a big day for jude's little brother harry. harry is six months old! we've had a rough few weeks with harry's night sleep, wakes ups due to congestion. but on the whole he is a happy pleasant boy.

happy 1/2 harry

christmas 2012- here's the card

2012-01-16T15:41:00.002-06:00

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

santa encounters

2012-01-11T21:43:00.006-06:00

ok so now our kids are famous, if you count newspapers and newsletters. it is a fun moment from christmas 2011. it happened after we took jude and harry to a santa breakfast in forest park.

jude excited to meet the big man

we enjoyed and sausage prepared by the local park district board. we cheered santa's arrival and lined up for photos.

breakfast with santa

speaking of santa, this is the first year jude is old enough to understand santa. our 3 year old asked many questions about exactly how santa gets in the house, and how he gets down, and then up the chimney. at one point greg quietly said 'aren't you supposed to ask this stuff when you're like 7?'. we enjoyed a christmas countdown with an advent chain jude made at preschool. it allowed jude to tear off one link each night on the countdown to christmas and jesus' birth.

christmas is exciting

a few days after the santa breakfast, friends in forest park noticed familiar faces on the front page.

look who is on santa's lap

so this was our boy jude at three.

and here is our boy jude at two...

santa scares me!

the photo appeared in the november newsletter of grandma carole's country club to promote their 2011 santa breakfast. fun to have both moments in print this year.

as for our actual christmas, we had a great time celebrating locally with family. early christmas morning we crept down with the boys to see what santa brought.

christmas morning 2011

kara made sure we captured harry's first christmas. he certainly is our best present of the last year, with george's return-to-health a close second.

sometimes the smallest gifts are the best

we close with christmas joy that we found some time to focus on more than just presents or even family. Jesus, Immanuel which means God with Us, changed the world forever when he, the g-o-d-, became a human baby. we find his story compelling and have not been the same since we decided to follow christ. we are grateful for a chance celebrate how he works in our lives.

merry christmas 2011

what are you doing new year's eve?

2012-01-01T13:36:00.005-06:00

with a baby under six months...new years is pretty much another day of taking care of the boys, which means waking up sometime in the 5am or 6am hour. so new year's eve is not a big stay up late night this year. but we still made it a festive eve at grandma carole's house.

new years 2011

still in his new year in our family, little harry usually calls it a night by 6:30. so we pulled out the party supplies and got him and jude to pose for photos. they never quite turn out like kodak moments do they?

We held an early 8pm countdown with jude.

happy new year!

kara made homemade chocolate peppermint ice cream sandwiches to go with grandma carole's yummy steak. thanks grandma carole!

an eve treat

it is rare we celebrate new years with extended family as we have often traveled for thanksgiving and christmas. but this year we got to ring in 2012 with uncle todd too.

jude and todd

so jude joins 2012 as a busy three and a half year old...yes he preferred the crown over the hat, that is until the rest of the guys put on their big holiday hats.

little boy blue, blow your horn

harry seemed more interested in simply trying to eat the noise maker. happy new year from the millers!

my first new years eve

our intent

2011-12-23T02:06:00.008-06:00

as you may know our faith and Jes-was, as jude calls him, are pretty important in the miller house. we recently celebrated harry's baby dedication, kinda like a christening or a baptism but not quite. the focus is on the parents and the church saying we will raise harry in a way that introduces him to God and jes-was.

proud mama

pastor todd explained the meaning of harrison nathaniel belt miller's name and offered a prayer for his future.

12/04/2011

i was excited for this dedication. during my long days at home in the challenges of motherhood i am grateful to know for sure that god loves my kids even more than me. he knows what's best for them, and he saw fit to make us their parents. it is humbling and amazing that we play a role in helping shape them into the men he wants our boys to be one day.

i had to snap a quick photo in church as it was so meaningful to so many family members gathered together for this day. it worked out that it occurred the same weekend greg's parents were visiting all the way from baltimore.

all together

afterwards we gathered at the house for lunch. i managed to whip us a butternut squash/sweet potato pasta meal with plenty of generous help from the in-laws to set up.

uncle burt, aunt jan, todd and chuck

harry was the star of the hour...at least until nap time.

harry, nana jane and todd

we were touched that several people brought gifts, not just for harry, but for big brother jude as well so he would feel a part of the big day.

jude the gift 'helper'

taking the title of oldest heirloom at the event, a wooden merry go round toy bought in switzerland in 1961 by kara's grandma.

thanks jan and burt for passing on this special treasure

we hoped he might wear the tiny outfit greg wore for his baptism but like jude, little harry was still too big for it. instead he wore the same blue wool outfit that jude wore to his dedication.

grandpa scott & harry

what a meaningful day. thanks to all who made the trip.

tis the season...of birthdays

2011-12-16T05:25:00.006-06:00

it took four months but we finally emerged a bit from the tired haze of new baby around mid-november. it corresponds with mister harry getting a bit more sleep at night. he's now into that wonderful, but challenging for the social life phase, of going to sleep by 6:30pm.

that's allowed us some evenings at home with time to spare. we've filled it a few times recently with grandparent birthdays from chef jude. it was his idea, begun when we spoke with grandma carole on her actual birthday while she was abroad and jude said 'are we going to have a party??'. so we did, in november when they came.

enjoying the sweet rewards

First up was the popular sesame street themed party for grandma carole and grandpa chuck...chosen for its colorfulness and availability at the dollar store.

the party in full swing

we had fun enjoying a train cake, overdecorated with sprinkles. being a guest isn't a laid back affair here...grandma carole baked her own cake with jude earlier in the day. he still says "now we have to break the 'okes" whenever we bake something with eggs now.

the punch balloons have been a lingering hit in our house.

more recently we celebrated the year marks for grandma nancy and grandpa henry. they both have birthdays in between thanksgiving and christmas. as you can see this was quite the bash.

perhaps my favorite mother in law photo ever

yes in addition to a cake we had the noise makers and quite the festive birthday centerpiece and plates. (really is the best $6 spent total spent on a party in recent memory) again no rest for the guests here...grandma had to help jude with the set up.

decoration time

it is rare for us to celebrate birthdays with these two, as normally we see each other thanksgiving or christmas. but this year we decided to stay home for the holidays with our newborn, so they made the trip out in early december.

it took like 3 tries to get this shot

as for harry, although he slept through the parties he continues to thrive in his awake time. rolling over except for that one blasted arm in the way! smiling a ton, laughing at himself in the mirror every time. this is an adorable age.

grandma nancy and harry, age 4 months

that's it from birthday central for now. next up is mine in january and greg's in february. we'll have to host a 'bash' for grandpa scott and nana next fall. hmm...train or pirate party anyone?

50/50

2011-12-14T16:04:00.003-06:00

so baby jude is now mister jude, age 3 1/2. the time is flying by. our neighbor jann, a retired advertising photographer, recently snapped this amazing photo of our oldest.

jude: october 2011

at his 3.5 check up doctor dave said all is well. and it turns out our jude is 50/50.

50th percentile in weight at 36 1/2 inches, and 50th percentile in weight at 38 1/2 inches.

holidays at three

2011-12-12T21:46:00.003-06:00

celebrating the holidays with a three year old is a lot easier thanks to preschool

this year concordia not only provided several holiday crafts. but the kids even got a tasting meal where they tried all the traditional thanksgiving dishes.

jude's holiday feast feathers

he also brought home one of the more creative hand turkeys i've seen. they used different color paint for each of the fingers.

the brown paint might be dirt for all i know

so after the parade on thanksgiving we settled in for naps. and then enjoyed a delicious meal at our friend kristen and kevin's. thanks for allowing us to join your feast. unfortunately we forgot to take many pictures. but here's a quick shot of greg, and harry on his first thanksgiving.

baby's first thanksgiving

thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-12T20:29:00.012-06:00

check it off the bucket list. chicago's huge colorful thanksgiving day parade.

happy thanksgiving!

here is a look at how we enjoyed turkey on thanksgiving morning.

tom turkey's giant cousin

three of the four in the miller clan made it to state street by 7:20am. we hired a sitter to keep harry warm and rested at home. We decided this was the year to do the parade as its the last year jude makes the 3&under ticket price of free for the bleacher seats. the tickets included breakfast. this may be the first time cookie made it on jude's breakfast menu.

sweet time at the parade

the bleachers include a view of the first hour of televised musical performances. honestly about 30 minutes would have been enough. but once the parade began it was amazing.

he really is a big bird

the many giant balloons in the parade required a team of handlers. check out how small they are below that giant big bird:

don't let this bird fly away

a highlight of the parade for jude was ronald mcdonald. you may know that he calls mickey d's "chicken fries". later he told friend he saw ronald mcdonald "in a chicken fries shoe".

hey ronald!

we missed celebrating with our families this year but we are thankful for all the memories of this special holiday event.

pumpkins and pottys

2011-11-26T16:43:00.009-06:00

we begin the update with our little pumpkin from halloween. harry left the lobster inside during trick or treating. he helped supervise on the porch for a bit before heading inside for a nap.

first halloween

harry is now our big four month old, weighing in at 13lbs, 9 ounces.

this fall jude enjoyed his first pumpkin carving with greg. further proof of all he is learning from preschool. greg set up on the kitchen floor and jude jumps up to get the ice cream scoop to clean out the pumpkin.

1st pumpkin carving

this fall has been a rough one in the potty training department. we've endured lots of close calls and messes while mr jude figures out how this all works. but recently we've turned a corner. jude is now sailing through his sticker reward charts...recently snapping up a hotwheels wall tracks curve set (his current favorite toy) and this stylin mator ride-on.

poopin for prizes

we have good news on the george front. he's been cleared to be out of his crate inside the house. but we still have a rule. when mator is on the move george must be in the crate. jude has learned how to help shut the crate door, but george is still resistant to listening to commands from the boy who joined the family after him. i bet they'll be buddies before we know it.

learning lots

2011-11-18T07:42:00.003-06:00

someone told me recently i should write down everything my three year old says because this is the time in life they say the cutest things, as they figure out how the world works.
here is jude recently experimenting with adding a can on top of his ball popper.

what happens if...

later he figured out he could tip it over and shoot them out the side across the room. less cute, but still learning.
taking the friend's advice here is a recent cute morning exchange.
jude: the day is still sleeping!
us: what do you mean jude, it is light outside
jude: is daytime taking a nap?
greg: no jude its daytime outside, see?
jude: no daddy...its morning

we followed up with a short discussion about how it can be daytime and morning at the same time. but as i read recently, three-year-olds literally can't get that words can have more than one meaning. its lead to some funny chats for sure.

hope your daytime and morning is going well.

a halloween parade

2011-11-02T14:10:00.007-05:00

the miller family joined this year's oak park halloween parade. it is generous to call it a parade, its more like 500 people line-up and walk one block before descending on local stores in trick or treat chaos. but it was fun to see many friends, neighbors and church friends early on a saturday. and a great chance to get daytime pics of halloween fun.

happy halloween

we caught ourselves a cute baby! three month old harry as a lobster.

cute crustacean

jude spent the morning say 'arr' and collecting treasure in his parrot bag.

ahoy mateys

we met up with several of jude's playmates and managed a few group shots among the sugary chaos. for those of you who live far away, here are some of the friends we meet at parks and museums. aren't they adorable?

friends halloween 2011

and here's a shot of the little marchers. superstar gilly, cardinal jonah-- yes his mom angie made his costume. she is also my sewing teacher!

lots to see on lake street

jude always enjoys seeing his buddy owen who made the trip from downer's grove. thanks for checking in on the millers, mateys!

pals

three months and counting

2011-10-21T09:15:00.006-05:00

happy three months harry! our youngest turned three months on wednesday, october 19th. it is good to stop and celebrate for just a moment, as life at home and work is still crazy, disordered and stressful.

brothers

a friend confessed recently that she and her husband thought they had ruined their life after having a second child. i can relate to that. it is difficult keeping up with both boys and trying to keep up with anything else...life, the house, friends, let alone social activities or going out.

we got a sitter last saturday night and went out for dessert. both of us were tired but at least we were out, somewhere else, together. my how the expectations of date night change.

harry is doing well. there is no 3 month check up for babies so i don't have updated height and weight. but he is plumping up and so cute. lots of ah-goo and smiles.

happy baby

i forgot how much babies need to sleep. i know the experts say their days are a series of naps and that's best for their tiny brains, but i quickly get distracted and then he gets fussy, and usually, if not always, instead of eating, its a nap he needs. greg says harry is smiley every morning when he gets him out of the crib. (did i mention that's still our deal, greg gets him up while i get a quick minute to wake up and get ready to feed him). despite our best efforts we still have plenty of meals and moments where harry is crying and we'd prefer to be doing something else with both hands besides holding him. and yet...he's so little and cute other times.

as for jude, he loves preschool and is more cooperative on those days when he gets home. yay for mom. we've done a couple more things in his room. we finally got the bookshelf. so no more precarious stacks of books on his furniture.

read me a story

and we finally cleaned the train playroom in anticipation of family photos that failed to happen, almost...more on that later. but at least i got a photo of the cleaned up room.

let's play trains

our boys

2011-10-14T21:26:00.002-05:00

still underwater here at 1001. these two boys and the injured dog are too much for kara to handle each day. yet somehow we are making it through. as we stumble through the second month with harry, here's a look in:
many have asked how jude is handling being a big brother. we are pleased to say he is doing remarkably well. jude gets a high pitched voice when he says 'harry is so tiny. harry is so cute.' he rarely over-shakes, over-hugs, over-runs at the baby as he did in the first few weeks. now i think he just wants harry to be able to do more stuff...like hold the tiger.

hold the tail harry

jude got upset after this photo when harry couldn't hold the tiger's whiskers. he kept insisting that yes, harry could.
speaking of jude, he is fascinated by how things work and creating his own toys now. i decided recently i should ask people to bring him junk from their basement and drawers, instead of toys.

this is him creating a vacuum from george's leash and a dowel rod.

engineer-ing fun

its fun to see harry enjoy jude's old baby stations...that's what i'll call the many places around the downstairs that are harry rest areas. we still bless the krasinskis for crazy mobile. this thing entertained jude for hours. harry is also a huge fan.

kickin it with my mobile

unfortunately this fall is shaping up to be the season of jude's sickness. this may be the year he just gets a lot of new stuff in his exposure at preschool and to older kids. pray for patience for me as i endure days stuck at home with sick one.
our other patient george is stuck in his crate for four more weeks. the vets say the bone is healing more slowly than expected.

still a doll

2011-10-07T07:38:00.004-05:00

our little harry is still a doll at two months old. but he finally has the baby doll beat when it comes to size and expressions.

two and a half months old

six days old

our other baby is still restricted to his crate. we take him to purdue small animal hospital for his six week follow up on monday. we and he, are hoping for a bit more freedom for george.

will i ever get out?

surprisingly the hair on his surgery shaved leg is still not back. it has a bit more fuzz than it did when he came home bruised and bare. but it may be a chilly winter if it turns cold soon. leg warmers anyone?

babee shower

2011-10-05T21:07:00.003-05:00

About a month ago a sweet friend mindy hosted a shower for baby harry. It was a nice chance to spend a few hours with girlfriends and my mom and to celebrate the little guy.

cupcakes with filling. yum

looking back only a few weeks ago its amazing how much more rested i feel now. in fact harry slept through the night for the first time ever last night. unfortunately jude was awake several times dealing with the last blast of his cold and stomach issue.

the guest of honor

i think its important to stop and remember the blessings we have. I told the girls at the shower that harry is one of mine. It was a real possibility greg and I would never have a second child. he is a miracle, thanks to IVF and grace.

harrison nathaniel belt miller

I have sweet friends that have helped in various ways with harry and surviving raising 3 year olds together. here are a few of them.

i could not write about the shower without thanking mindy again for the amazing effort and adorable details in the buzz-worthy shower.

the diaper cake

croup scares, poop cheers

2011-09-19T13:43:00.005-05:00

Baby Harry is officially 2 months old today but there's hardly energy for celebration. we had a scary friday with jude and illness. now mom and dad are battling a bit of it. we pray harry avoids it all together.

in healthier times

First the good stuff: Harry is 10 pounds and 23 1/4 inches long. That puts him in the 15th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for length. As Dr. Claus says 'he definitely has a different genetic make up then his brother.' He is sleeping longer combined stretches during the afternoon and at night, which is great for mom.

peekaboo

Last night was not so great for sleep, probably because I was worried about everything from the weekend. On Thursday after bedtime Jude got up to say he didn't feel good. Sure enough he had a fever with a runny nose. Late Friday afternoon he developed a congested cough and a horse voice. We sent him to bed with his special penguin humidifier blowing away.
About 9pm things got scary. We had just put harry to bed when jude made panicked calls from his bedroom. He couldn't catch his breath. He begged for water but couldn't drink it. Relying on trusty Toddler 411 Book, we rushed him in the bathroom for steam, suspecting the barking cough was croup. We called the doctor after 10 panicked minutes of him screaming and little improvement other than his nose draining. She sent us to the ER. The cold night air helped but jude could no longer speak his airway was so tight. Thank goodness a drink of steroids brought a tiny bit of his voice and his happier spirits back within minutes. But it took a few hours for things to improve enough to go home. On the way home at 12pm, jude says 'daddy, I can answer you now!'.
Happily jude is better today. the doctors asked us to be careful with harry. croup in an 8 week old is more serious. thanks friends for praying the baby stays well.

now for the poop cheers, as promised in the blog title. we started a sticker reward chart to earn thomas trains because our little boy still has not mastered number two in the loo. after lunch jude had a shocked face as he sat down to pee and wow he pooped too. just had to share his quote: "mom. i peed 7, 4 poop caterpillars out of my body." definitely future blackmail here. he also wanted me to cheer each poop that emerged. surprisingly cute memories for bathroom functions.

thanks for checking in with the millers at month two.

life's a circus

2011-09-12T15:20:00.003-05:00

a mom with years of practice tells me she felt she was drowning each time she added a new child to her family. but as the weeks went by, she began to realize there was some air up there and slowly she found it. i am still underwater with my family but i am catching a few more gulps of air. harry has teased us with a few nights of 8-10 hours of consolidated sleep. but the next night he's back to nursing every 3 hours. here's a recent moment of air for mommy. i took both boys to the circus!

harry at the big top

I enjoy taking adventures with jude. although i was tired i knew he would love it and i really wanted to go see the circus as well. the kelly miller circus provides fundraising shows for local groups. this big top set up in berwyn, an easy 15 minutes south of our house.

ladies and gentleman...for your entertainment pleasure, our first circus wonder is...the world's smallest double stroller!

thanks bugaboo

jude and mom loved the hokey fun performance. there were jumping tigers...

our view from the bleachers

some surprisingly talented dancing camels, acrobats, high wire acts and the big finale of elephants.

jude sat in his seat or stood still the for the entire hour and a half. harry slept through the first act and enjoyed his dinner during intermission. jude did well with that too. he enjoyed his first caramel apple and stood quietly with a hand on harry's carrier while mom was busy. thank you circus! my favorite part of the outing, besides simply being out, was that the entire adventure cost me about $30 including concessions and a pony ride.

jude's signature move when he's uncertain or nervous

here's a shot of our pint-sized pony rider. what a cute pair they made.

brothers

2011-09-08T22:35:00.000-05:00

jude and harry 9-8-11

preschool! how the weeks fly by

2011-09-06T09:38:00.003-05:00

first of all i should tell you i am one of those mothers who is excited for preschool to begin. please don't judge me too much. i love my sons and have nostalgia moments about where the time went between birth and three. but i am glad jude gets to interact, engage, and learn with other kids while i get to interact with quieter moments, exercise, and time with just baby harry. i fought the mental battle all morning to not simply fill the school break with "to do's".

leaving the house

jude is a handsome energetic member of his preschool class. i am thrilled to see so many little boys at concordia university's preschool.

1st day at concordia preschool

jude is most excited about his backpack. go thomas go!

it rolls! just like thomas

speaking of thomas we took the whole family to Day Out With Thomas in August. The Illinois Railway Museum is a lovely spot in union, illinois. the collection includes lots of old CTA trains and steam locomotives. we enjoyed the streetcars that take you around the complex. but on this day it was all about the #1 engine.

its thomas!

jude and daddy took a 20 minute train ride aboard thomas's coaches. Harry came along but slept through the adventure as he does during most of our outings. Here's lifeguard harry sleeping on the job at the splash pad or pool.

little lifeguard

Harry made a visit to doctor dave today for what turned out to be a cold. we learned the seven week old chunkster is 9lbs 7 ounces. i think harry dropped about half that amount in his baby swing this morning in a diaper blowout, timed right before i carted him to the appointment. later jude managed to pee in his pants as i fed harry in the other room. coaching my 3 year old through that cleanup by himself was not successful. i think parents should be able to put waste management on their future resumes.

the other child in our house, george the medical patient dog, is in week 2 of his six weeks of crate restriction. here's a quick shot of him with the don't-lick-your-leg-staples cone.

dog in recovery

georgie heads to the vet on friday to get the staples out and hopefully lose the cone. here's hoping i don't lose it the rest of the day.

When you're buried

2011-08-31T11:43:00.001-05:00

Time flies when you're buried under life's responsibilities. Baby Harry turned six weeks on tuesday. The reality of laundry for four is setting in. 5:30am this morning...Greg is soothing Harry who won't go to sleep after I fed him at 4:30. Jude opens his door to reveal soaked pajamas and a wet bed...pull ups can only handle so much apparently. I head downstairs to get the just washed extra train sheets and blanket. Today I will rewash the ones I washed only two days ago. The ordinary busyness of our new life is still overwhelming.

We decided to have the doctor fix our dog. Surgery to compensate for torn ACL and meniscus. One big bill and two days more before we see him.

Lots of outings while Harry sleeps. Splash parks, the zoo, and even a trip to meet Thomas the tank engine, are helping mommy survive with two little ones. Two day a week preschool starts next week

one down, many to go

2011-08-20T13:40:00.005-05:00

baby harry is now one month old! we are happy to reach this milestone with our now healthy, good eating baby boy. particularly after yesterday's doctor appointment gave us the all clear to let harry sleep as much as he will at night. no more setting the alarms to make sure he eats on schedule.

chillin in the bassinet

our family helpers have come and gone. now comes the real work of figuring out how this family of four thing is possible. will we ever find time to watch our favorite tv shows again??
right now its a cycle of surviving the day, getting jude to bed, putting jude back in bed after several potty requests, cleaning up the chaos and feeding harry before crashing on our pillows.

3 millers and a baby

speaking of mister jude, our 3 year old is living up to his age...plenty of opinions, answers of automatic 'no' followed by a more reasoned response, crashed together with adorable cuteness, conversation and laughter.

trucks and balls are my favorite toys

jude decided the other day to read a story to George our dog. our patient pup got to hear a bit about Curious George the monkey or at least see the pictures, because jude can't read yet.

story time dog

poor george is dealing with what the vet believes to be a damage ACL. he limps around in the mornings til the medicine kicks in. we are waiting for x rays to confirm a diagnosis and help us learn more about potential treatments...and cost. its hard when advanced pet care is available without advanced insurance to help with the costs. at least the rest of our family is healthy as we celebrate one month with harry.

happy harry

if you've read this far you are clearly a fan of baby harry, so here's the info from his doctor's appointment:

weight: 8lbs, 3 ounces 15th percentile
length: 21 inches 50th percentile

Read & Roll

2011-08-10T21:05:00.003-05:00

Jude, like most little boys, enjoys having stories read to him at bedtime. In a recent development, however, he has begun turning the tables and reading the books back to us. Now before you award him a scholarship to Oxford on account of reading at three years of age, we should point out that we think he is reciting them from memory.

Still impressive.

And continuing the theme of doing things early, Harry has proven himself quite adept at rolling from side to side at three weeks of age. He is nearly rolling over already, and seems heavily motivated by his desire to eat anything he can reach... in this case, we've found him attempting to suck on his sheets. Seriously, he ends up practically face-down, twisted all around and gnawing at the sheets, after we've started him out on his back. He may be smaller than Jude was at this age, but he's a heck of lot more agile than Jude was.

early outings

2011-08-07T19:08:00.005-05:00

kara wanted to take advantage of grandma carole's 9 day visit to practice an outing or two with the new family. we took a short trip to one of kara's favorite nearby places, brookfield zoo.

harry and the penguins

kara figured the 3:2 ratio of adults to kids would equal a successful, take-it-easy trip. jude enjoyed his time with grandma and daddy but for kara the trip revealed how difficult or impossible this outing would be without them.

family at the zoo

she spent the first 30 minutes nursing and changing harry in a convenient private area of the children's zoo. still to be determined is how in the world she can occupy jude during the time harry needs to eat on the go.
fortunately the issues did not need to be solved on this trip. after a pleasant picnic lunch, jude had fun following the over/under path of a free roaming peacock.

jude as peacock

a few days before we managed a simple walk around the block.

trial run of new stroller

the short outing was a good chance for kara to get fresh air and break the cycle of nurse, sleep, eat...and for the boys to try their new double stroller.

the new way we roll

we decided to go with the baby jogger city mini double. at 27 inches wide it fits through most commercial doorways and it is compatible with our maxi cosi carseat.

1st walk, 8 days old

harry was underwhelmed by the whole thing...he slept the entire walk.

let's compare

2011-08-04T14:43:00.006-05:00

it was special to bring baby harry home in the same outfit worn by his brother jude when he left prentice hospital back in 2008. here's a look at both:

baby harry

baby jude

harry ready to go

unhappy jude heading home

2008 leaving the hospital with judeready to load harry

more visitors

2011-08-04T14:33:00.003-05:00

when we talk about folks meeting harry, we can't forget about george the dog. poor thing already went through the huge transition of jude. and now he's been kicked out of his sleeping spot in our bedroom for the baby bassinet once again.

seems wrong to call these cat naps

George is handling it all remarkably well. he came running if harry cried for the first day or two but now he seems to take it in stride. we are still working on where he sleeps at night. its some combination of the living room, the bathroom rug and occasionally crammed next to our bed.

among the other special visitors in the early days, grandpa scott and nana jane.

with 4 day old harry

we are grateful they could make the trip from champaign to meet the newest addition to our family for several hours. grandpa scott resisted the temptation to 'check harry's hips'.

who is bigger?

2011-08-01T19:49:00.002-05:00

who is bigger...doll or baby?

sleep where have you gone?

2011-08-01T19:33:00.004-05:00

we are at day 13 of harry's adventure in the miller family. and so far the biggest change is the sleep or lack thereof. greg and i are both running on fumes but making it through our days.
harry is enjoying more awake times.

harry at almost exactly one week old

we learned at his day 3 doctor visit that mister harry was down to 6lbs 5 ounces from his 6lbs 15 ounce birth weight. with doctor's orders we had to set the alarm and get up to feed him about every two hours.

ya, we spend a lot of time sorta like this

unfortunately at his day 10 visit harry had only gained 2 ounces and he still had jaundice, the yellowy skin that indicates the body's little waste management system is not working completely yet. (insert tears and discouragement here) finally last friday we called in the expert. barbara helped get harry on track with eating, instead of the fake out not eating he apparently was showing us.

but still the sleep is fractured.

where have all the zzz's gone?

finally today we got good news. Harry is up 5 ounces since thursday and his jaundice yellowy color is minimal and no longer an immediate concern. whew! i bet we all sleep happier tonight, even if we don't sleep very much.

before there were four

2011-07-24T18:57:00.002-05:00

here's a quick pic from our last family outing before Harry was born. We took jude to the chicago children's museum at navy pier. we had free admission thanks to our local oak park children's museum membership. we enjoyed it but not sure i would pay full admission price and parking to see it.

family under construction

first visitors

2011-07-23T18:04:00.006-05:00

a neat story from our induction...
Brittany Stanski is the sister of Kenny, who is married to Kara's stepsister Jamie. She is a sweet person who has mutual friends with us through Chicago Cru, a group that helps college students consider questions of faith and spirituality, and also a labor & delivery nurse at Prentice Hospital. The induction was scheduled only the Friday prior and Kara did not expect Brittany to be available to help, as she has her own baby and works just two days a month now.
But praise God, Brittany was scheduled to work on our induction day.

our favorite nurse Brittany

Kara was able to talk through the process with Brittany on the saturday prior. She offered great tips about how labor goes so differently with the second child and even offered to hide Kara's IV because of her needle fear. You can see the sock on Kara's arm that hid the IV placed just above the wrist. It was also nice that jude didn't have to see the needle in mom's arm when he visited.

The epidural process took a few minutes longer than normal from the enthusiastic residents. but brittany was a great support holding kara's hand and helping her get through several more contractions as they worked. What a treat to share this special day with nurse Brittany.

checking harry soon after birth

Grandma Carole came up the night before to help with jude while kara and greg went to the hospital. she got to hold harry soon after he joined us.

meet harry

mom and grandma

Grandpa Chuck also came along to help with jude and provide the jokes. We are grateful he is loaning us Grandma Carole for a week to help everyone recover at home.

jude checks out harry close up with greg and chuck

jude's a big brother

2011-07-23T17:47:00.005-05:00

We are happy to announce a second edition of the Oak Park Baby...Jude is a big brother!

Harrison "Harry" Nathaniel Belt Miller joined us on Tuesday, July 19th at 4:57pm. Here's the 411...he was 6lbs 15oz, and 19 inches long. Thanks to the generous help of Grandma Carole and Chuck, Jude arrived at the hospital moments after birth and was able to visit his new sibling

first family photo

A doctor suggested we set Harry in the baby warmer so he saw his parents and then could be introduced to his baby brother. This is the first moment Jude saw Harry. He said "wow" and giggled.

jude meet harry

Baby Harry was induced because of concerns about him being jumbo baby after jude came out a 9lbs 4oz. Turns out Harry came in tiny, in Miller terms, at under 7 pounds.

moments after birth

We are home from Prentice hospital now and slowly teaching Jude the difference between a tickle on baby harry and an overly aggressive push, which to his three year old brain are the same thing. Jude keeps saying how cute his baby brother is, and how happy he is that we got to meet him.

learning to handle harry

look who's three?

2011-06-24T14:00:00.003-05:00

what can i say about my lack of blogging recently. i can blame pregnancy, trying to prepare jude's new big boy room, greg's busier work schedule that now includes a commute, or just raising a three year old. All of them may account for it. I have much to share about mister jude's adventures the past few months!
But here is a quick snapshot of the proud three year old at his birthday party.

5/27/11

the splotches and marks on his face are the paint from his art party. he and ryan had lots of fun banging the paint brushes as they created their work.

Thank you Easter Bunny (bawk! bawk!)

2011-04-25T20:10:00.008-05:00

It wasn't until about 7pm that we remembered chocolate not only contains sugar, it also contains caffeine. This helps to explain some of the pandemonium that characterized our Easter Sunday.

As a nearly-three-year-old little boy, Jude is starting to grasp the activities associated with holidays. And, while he didn't quite understand the idea that the Easter Bunny visited but didn't stick around ("Where'd the Easter Bunny go?" was repeated about 20x) he did run around the living room looking for eggs once we pointed them out.

Actually, that's not entirely true. After finding the first plastic egg, he opened it up to find the first chocolate of the day. The chocolate had not chance... you can see the messy aftermath of that first piece below.

Chocolate? What chocolate?

After that first egg was done, the race was on. The egg hunt didn't last long, but the screaming sugar-filled frenzy was a blast to watch for all of us, except the dog. Fortunately it was a nice day, so George didn't mind being outside.

Al... most... there...

It's a good thing George wasn't inside, as he has a penchant for stealing soft fuzzy toys when Jude first gets them. We can usually train him to realize they are Jude's toys, but I think the lamb that came attached to Jude's Easter basket may have been too much to pass up. As it was, Jude ended up "feeding" the lamb some chocolate, but you can see a vision of the pre-attack basket.

Obviously, not yet seen/touched by Jude

The box you see in the basket contains Jude's very first chocolate bunny. Jude followed directions well and only ate the ears before church. He has not been initiated fully into the secular side of the holiday.

But the most important part of the holiday, in our family, is the commemoration of the first easter... Jesus' resurrection. So after the sugar rush had faded, we got ourselves ready and went headed off to church. Our church is usually a casual-dress affair, but we decided to spiff up for the special day. Jude even wore his "special jacket" just like Daddy, and looked the part of a debonaire toddler. He never quite slowed down enough for a family photo (hint #1 about the caffeine that we missed) but I love the action shot.

Can't catch me, pregnant Mommy!

There is Sunday School for the children even on Easter, and Jude enjoyed his normal class with Ms. Ruth. As always, they play, sing, listen to Bible stories, and color. We never quite know how much sinks into Jude's consciousness from these classes, but we were touched when today he looked at this picture (the coloring sheet from Sunday School) and pointed to it saying "That must be the stone rolled away!" Yes, Jude, it is.

The sky is yellow. That's all I'm sayin'.

Happy Easter!

to sandbox or not to sandbox

2011-04-18T10:58:00.002-05:00

I am finding there are two camps in the sandbox world. I come down squarely in the 'big fan' camp. It is one of the few activities where Jude will play self-contained, by himself for 30 minutes or even an hour. He loves the mini construction site we've created in his backyard with diggers, loaders and shovels.

messy but worth it?

But I am discovering the other camp. I wonder if my observation holds up. It seems almost every mom I talk to who works outside the home is quick to say 'sandboxes are really messy.' (ie not worth it). There is one nanny on our block who told me the parents informed her that the sand needed to stay inside the sandbox and not spill over. For those of us new sandbox veterans, we realize some spillover, dumping and even tossing is par for the course. My sandbox survival plan includes the following: extra pants and baby wipes handy right inside the back door. I keep a big Tupperware bin handy. It gets filled with water to wash off his hands. Socks, shoes and pants come off when we come inside for a fresh, cleaner set. To me the sandbox payoff is worth it: I get to keep an eye on him while making dinner or checking my email. He has a great time.

i found my heart in south carolina

2011-04-09T13:38:00.004-05:00

The past few months of mothering felt hard. We have tons of fun and do lots of outings, but ultimately it is exhausting keeping up with and picking up after my little guy seven days a week. I had gotten to the point of wondering whether i needed to quit this job of full-time mothering and work outside the home for my sanity. I am so thankful to say that I rediscovered my heart and energy for mothering, after a nice trip away to South Carolina.

Kiawah- the back yard

I treated my brother to his airline ticket as his most recent birthday and Christmas gift. We flew the new southwest airlines direct route to Charleston, South Carolina, to visit our aunt and uncle who now live year round on nearby Kiawah Island.

4 months pregnant, with Todd at Ft Sumter

Their lovely home and the island are practically paradise. We took in a lot of history including an educational trip to Fort Sumter, the start of the Civil War.

uncle chuck & todd. civil war shell lodged in the wall

It is the first time I can remember where I left both Jude and Greg for a trip. I missed them terribly at times. But then there were wonderful moments of remembering how much I love learning history or taking a quiet bike ride. (Yes I was bike riding the beach while pregnant. It was amazing!) I came back from one ride and couldn't stop grinning.

Jude and his water play

Jude and Greg survived just fine without me it seems. They visited the zoo and a train restaurant.

dump

I came back with fresh energy to deal with the chaos that is a two year old. And I think Greg has a new interest and appreciation for playing with Jude and taking him on adventures. My favorite part was when he said to me on the phone,"I understand what you mean about needing to talk to adults. The only adult I talked to all day was our waitress." Glad he's experienced a bit of my weeks with Jude and can listen to my trials and trevails with more insight than before.

future blackmail

2011-04-04T10:49:00.004-05:00

A few pictures of our adorable guy in his bedtime routine. First he brushes his teeth, usually just biting the brush at this point before mom or dad finish the job.

protecting my pearly whites

Some nights he will also sit on the potty. Jude is not potty training officially yet but we do encourage him to sit on the potty and get the idea.

potty time

excuse me daddy

2011-03-22T21:10:00.002-05:00

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

2011-03-22T21:00:00.003-05:00

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

2011-03-14T16:50:00.003-05:00

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

2011-03-07T22:20:00.002-06:00

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

2011-03-04T14:42:00.002-06:00

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.

when daddy's away, mommy goes crazy

2011-02-28T19:56:00.005-06:00

We all love Jude and can agree that he is a cute funny boy. But some of the very things that make him cute to neighbors and strangers can drive a mom crazy after a few days caring for him solo.

happy boy

Take for instance his bountiful vocabulary and strong desire to use it. This evening Jude asked over and over for mom to pick up daddy from the airport, to go get daddy, despite the fact that we have explained, hugged, and told him multiple times that daddy is in Dallas. (Greg left for a conference on Saturday and returns tomorrow night).
Jude loves trains so mom pointed out the EL train in the station near the diner where we ate dinner. Jude thought mom said 'owl'. He kept searching the trees for the owl. Later mom asked if owls come out during the day or at night. Jude said 'night' so mom explained that the owls were sleeping. Then he began to say 'maybe I go in the dark and see owl.' Another gem, 'maybe mommy wake up the owl.' These are the cute stories but they are tiring to hear over and over accompanied by frustrated cries or high pitched tones from Mr 2-year-old.

We also must acknowledge that the twos are in fact...kinda terrible. Jude has a passion about things he desires and he lacks the self control at this age to wait or understand why he's being told no. This leads to tantrums and tears. On Saturday we stopped at a railroad crossing on a busy six lane road. We started driving after the train passed. Jude asks mom to back up the car to go see the train again. The request turns to screaming when mom explains that there is traffic and they have to keep moving.

I hope that these stories can make you feel better about your own little ones or make you smile about mine. You can pray for patience for me as I navigate Jude's development and all of his words. I'm so glad the hubby comes home tomorrow.

my favorite, special thing

2011-02-17T17:41:00.002-06:00

Mister Jude is experimenting with lots of new words. Right now he loves to use descriptive words. That's a BIG truck. George is a BIG dog. We laugh a lot listening to him point to random objects and say "That's mommy's favorite cup. That's daddy's special bag."

I'm a big special boy

Today I picked him up from preschool. The routine there is that all the kiddos wait in line to get their papers or art projects. On days with nothing to bring home, they receive a blank recycled quarter sheet of paper, to help reinforce the routine. Today Jude proudly handed me his blank orange paper and said "This is my special paper." What a cutie.

He also likes to tell us that "I am soooo happy." Followed soon after by "I am sooo sad."

What a cute time with words.

athlete in training

2011-02-16T21:47:00.003-06:00

Little Jude is beginning his future Carolina basketball player training early. (what?) We just wrapped up his parent-tot sports class through the Park District. We spent 5 weeks kicking, tossing, and sometimes just ignoring instructions through soccer, basketball, football, t-ball, and hockey. Today Jude received a medal for finishing the class.

We love sports!

Coach Alex, the instructor, deserves a medal of his own. He had a great attitude in a gym full of two year olds who sometimes cared, and sometimes just wanted to hide in the hockey goals.

thanks coach alex

My favorite coach moment was the second class when I asked Jude to say hi to coach alex. Jude's two year old brain came up with "Hi Coach T-Rex", after the dinosaurs we play with in his puzzles.
Jude talked about soccer quite a bit after that week of class, but tonight he asked to sleep with his football. So who knows what sport might grab his attention in future years? It was certainly fun to be there at the beginning of his athletic adventures.

check me out

valentines is an afterthought?

2011-02-14T07:06:00.003-06:00

Valentine's Day is an afterthought in the Miller household. Love is still in the air around here but the red heart holiday comes after a busy stretch of other celebrations. First we have 5 family birthdays in late November & December, Christmas, New Years, and most recently Kara & Greg's birthdays.
We did get some photos of the beautiful cake we picked up for Kara's birthday at a new Oak Park area bakery, Cake Bros. on North Avenue.

birthday cake? birthday cake?

When I came down the morning of my 37th birthday to a delicious breakfast and flowers, Greg turns to Jude and says 'what do you say to mommy?' Jude of course says...'Open Presents?'
He did manage to get a few happy birthdays in there later. After church and lunch with friends we stopped by the bakery for the cake. We had plans that night and thought perhaps we'd save the cake until then, unless Jude was interested. First thing he says after his nap is "birthday cake? birthday cake?" So we enjoyed a mid-afternoon birthday slice.

birthday mommy

After cake, it was on to important things, like building a chair fort!

Thanks for all for the nice birthday wishes and gifts.

I would love to end this post with photos from Greg's birthday. Unfortunately I can't. Right after my birthday was the Blizzard of 2011. Jude woke up the day after that with a stomach virus and no desire to eat for days. He passed it to mom over the weekend and Greg got it on his actual birthday. Poor Greg. Cake next year for him!

snow and sleeping

2011-02-02T19:48:00.004-06:00

First up we have to share Jude's latest cute sayings about sleep. Last night we heard "Daddy come" at about 3am. Jude told dad that he wanted more blankets, that Pooh bear needed another blanket, and finally that "I sleeping." Tonight mommy was an enjoying an extra long hug before bed when Jude said "I lay down in my crib. I go sleep." We are glad this idea of sleeping is such a positive one for Jude. Now if he could just wait til morning to tell us about it.

You may have heard, we got a little snow here in Oak Park. Here is a photo to give you an idea of just how much. This is Jude's slide in the summer before we moved it across the yard.

summer slip sliding away

And here is Jude's slide today:

winter slip sliding away

We got about 20 inches I think. But the drifts in the backyard are much taller. I am so grateful they closed the city and that Greg closed his office today to stay around, snow blow and shovel, and finally play in the white stuff with Jude.

snow blower don't fail us

And here's a few more gratuitous snow pics from the Blizzard.

an attached garage would be nice about now

preparing to snow blow

We learned a few things in today's big snow. First, our dog will not go out into snow over his shoulders until the third try, even if he needs to use the bathroom. Second, two-year-old Jude does not like sledding, the idea of sledding, or even the sled itself. Glad we borrowed one from the neighbors before mommy went out and purchased one. And finally, we are grateful to live on a block of kind neighbors who help each other out in the snow, who laugh and who enjoy reconnecting after months inside our houses. I''ll take few more big snows to get more of that in these dreary winter months.

The water came out

2011-01-30T13:38:00.002-06:00

Have to share the experience we had with spit ups and spills the last few days.
On Thursday Greg supervised Jude in the bath while I ran to check email. I hear Jude coughing followed by a "OH" sound. Our little guy swallowed bath water the wrong way, and then vomited on himself and into the tub. Yuck. Greg and I got him out and dried off our slightly scared two year old.

Our cute little nude guy loves to run around the corner into mommy and daddy's bathroom after his baths or anytime we are getting him ready for bed. We are still washing off his bath toys with the vomit when Jude makes his customary 10 second dash. This time though Jude runs back in and says "The Water Came Out! It came out."

I'm not sure what to think, but Greg says "Show daddy what water." We go around the corner to realize Jude has now also peed on our bathroom rug. Oh my. He didn't know how to say it or what it was, so his word choice was "The water came out". Hilarious.

talking two year old

So last night we had another experience at the dinner table. Greg and I are both tired of Jude's recent refusal to try bites of our meals. We both were calmly ready to stick to our guns last night. (Thanks Supernanny for the recent episode featuring a dinner table showdown with a 3 year old!) We told Jude he had to take two bits of bow tie pasta before he could leave the table. He passed on several chances before landing in Time Out. After Time Out he tried every game, moving the pasta, even pointing out other things in the room to discuss. Jude went back in Time Out, still no pasta in his mouth. Back at the table again, he puts the pasta in but proceeds to gag and vomit all over himself. Ick. Kara unfortunately recognizes this self-gagging, I-will-not-eat-this-food technique from herself as a kid. She knew Jude was OK when he calmly says "I all done?" Meaning, I'm done eating. So yes, he still has to eat one bite of pasta. This time...pasta in, with some encouragement from dad to break it into small pieces as he chews. Jude makes it through and gets plenty of cheers and high fives from mom and dad.

Let's hope we see less bodily fluids from our cute boy this week.

two and three quarters

2011-01-27T20:08:00.002-06:00

When people ask how old Jude is I feel like I need to do the math and give a better answer than two. So my current answer is two and three quarters. Four months from today actually Mister Jude will turn three.

Our little guy is so interested in how things work and trying to connect things together. At dinner he took a paper towel tube and balanced it on his milk cup to make a ramp. He kept going into the living room to find various toys and see which could fit inside to slide on his impromptu toy ride. Unfortunately also learned today that he can balance his milk cup on the thin top edge of his kid chair. We're expecting this to end with a nice spill in the near future.

I've been dealing with a bad case of the winter blahs, so I decided to pull out summer pics for today's entry:

leaving on a jet plane

The first picture is Jude and Greg inside a jet airplane 'cockpit' at a downstate children's museum. Its fun to see how much his little face has grown up since this picture was taken.

I see...Daddy

And here is Captain Jude eyeing landlubbers from his slide and climbing toy. Speaking of eyes, we crack up at his two year old version of hiding. Jude simply closes his eyes tight and says "Where'd Jude go?" as if he is now missing. He will also cover only the eyeballs of characters in the children's books we read and ask where that character has gone.

Here's hoping I see the end of this snowy cold winter soon. Unfortunately covering my eyes

hasn't worked for me either.

a new addition for the baby blog

2011-01-24T07:16:00.002-06:00

We are pleased to announce a new addition, a new topic for the baby blog.

The current Miller family

We are expecting our second child in July 2010. We began our blog a few days prior to Jude's birth back in May 2008. We explained some of our struggle with infertility and the years that passed before we could have Jude.
We are happy and relieved that God answered our prayers in a shorter fashion this time. It still required two cycles of IVF and one annoying "incomplete" cycle. But we are definetly pregnant, evidenced by Kara's growing belly and rapid mood swings, oh ya and several ultrasound pictures :-)

toddler talkin

2011-01-03T09:21:00.003-06:00

Welcome to 2011. We are back to real life today, with Greg returning to work and Jude and mom returning to our many days together. Hope you find enjoyment in some of your routines today. That is my goal, instead of complaining about the long week ahead :-)

Had to share the latest cute things our talkative toddler is saying. This morning he woke up and had to describe for daddy all the animals under his blanket...pooh bear, baby doll. Then Greg laid him on the changing pad. Jude says "I hate it traffic. Daddy make the coffee. Evelyn not downstairs."

I also like to crash things

The traffic reference is from our recent drive to Maryland. Kara frequently shared her dislike of traffic while driving. And now Jude repeats the phrase a lot. oops. As for the coffee thing, we're not sure. But just last night, Jude wanted to go the basement office to see Evelyn, Greg's business partner. We had to explain that she was not there on Sunday night.
It is so cute to see how his mind works...as he works on his speaking.

Have a good Monday

Happy New Years!

2010-12-31T21:53:00.003-06:00

So we end 2010 with a final Jude-centric celebration... rather than finding a babysitter and going to an "up past midnight" party, we went around the corner for a gather of families with two-year-olds and celebrated the new year with a countdown at about 6:40pm (the kids can't tell time, so we just started a countdown when it felt appropriate).

Jude did his best impersonation of Baby New Year, big ears and all.

He was not quite able to get the concept of the noisemaker, but felt the need to hold on to it in any case.

And, finally, no new year celebration would be complet without a toast. In Jude's case, the fizzy grape juice was his first experience with a sparkling beverage of any kind. After a slight initial shock, he gladly drained his cup in honor of the new year and all it will hold.
Happy New Year!

Jude 2.5

2010-12-11T10:07:00.004-06:00

Our little baby whose story began in this baby blog in 2008 is two and a half! Each day is long and sometimes wonderful but it still feels surprising that the time has gone so quickly.

Jude at two and a half

Here is the info from his checkup. Weight 30lbs 8oz is the 55th percentile. Height of 35 inches in the 30th percentile. When I read the percentiles it gives me pause. But then Greg helpfully reminds me that the difference between say 50th and 30th is a few ounces or an inch. I think our boy will grow up just fine!

the best 99 cents i spent in 2010- inflatable socer ball

We are getting ready for the Christmas season. We decided to go with postcard Christmas Cards this year. I can't bring myself to go virtual with holiday cards. I still like receiving the actual greeting and photos in the mail, even though come January, I always wonder what to do with the cards. The pastor who married us has a good idea. Each year Tim and his wife Sue, pull out one Christmas card a day and pray for that person or family. We got a note in the mail last year letting us know of our day of prayer from them. Neat idea.

Hope you are all well.

Two Cute at Halloween

2010-10-31T21:58:00.005-05:00

Happy Halloween readers. Jude celebrated his day with a roar. Our cute little tiger was joined by his parents as keepers at Miller Zoo and a little Lion named George.

Halloween 2010

Jude seemed to understand more about trick or treating this year. At the first few houses he tried to hand back the candy he had picked up at the previous stop. But after a bit he was taking candy and thanking them like a pro.

trick or treat

Kara is quite proud of the Tiger costume that she made for Jude using the skills she learned in her sewing classes. There was some debate about wearing the hood. But 50 degree temperatures seemed to settle the issue for Jude in favor of being warm.

relaxed tiger

On Saturday Greg took Jude to Brookfield Zoo, hoping to snap a picture of our little Tiger near one of the four big tigers who live there. Unfortunately the big cat area is closed for renovation. But he did get a cute shot of our tiger visiting the bear and bison area.

tigers and bears, oh my

We hope you had a safe and happy halloween.

Jude was so worn out he ended his festivities with an early bedtime at 6:30.

baltimore express

2010-10-04T08:05:00.003-05:00

Here is a quick summary of our trip to Grandma and Grandpas in Baltimore. We'll post photos later when we are home and Kara remembers the camera cable.

Jude's love of choo choos made the B&O Railroad Museum a must see. We walked around and climbed on at least a dozen locomotives including one old girl from the Civil War.
We visited Clark's Farm where Jude petted animals, took his first pony ride and climbed in lots of nursery rhyme characters brought to live in colorful giant plaster/plastic creations and slides.
Grandma treated Jude to his first crab feast. His favorite part is the hammer, not sure he actually tried much crab. But Greg ate his fill of 7 crabs. Yum.
We also saw cousins, aunts and uncles and watched the TV coverage of our Chicago Bears earning an ugly loss.
What a nice visit to Baltimore.

going to grandmas

2010-10-01T15:10:00.002-05:00

Jude took his first airplane flight where he realized he was going up. Our little guy got big eyes and said all done as we zoomed into the sky on our way to visit Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Henry in Baltimore. Fortunately we had the pacifier and a small apple at the ready. Both of them helped keep him content until he settled into the flight.

In the car ride from the airport he had to relive the moment. "Daddy go UP"

can you handle the pants

2010-09-12T04:51:00.001-05:00

water water water

2010-09-12T04:48:00.005-05:00

In case we haven't made it clear in our blog, we have a baby who loves water!
Anytime we hit a childrens museum with a water play room, we know there will be lots of splashing and getting soaked. We hope to stay dry but usually Jude or mom are a bit wet when we leave.

water play

We are grateful for the kid-sized smocks that many places provide. This summer Jude had a few chances to play at Exploration Station in Bourbonnais. Its proved to be a great meeting point for Jude to see his grandparents, as its about halfway between here and Champaign where they live.

get those fish!

Sadly the local pools and summer in general has gone away until next year. But we wanted to share the few pictures we snapped at the Oak Park pools this year.

ready to splash

Jude took swimming lessons this summer in a Parent Tot class with his mom. The first week he held like glue to mom's arms and seemed very afraid. But by the end of the sessions he loved the water songs and even floating through the water with mom's help.

the kiddie pool at Ridegland Common

By summer's end Jude loved to float his little body in the water while using his hands to crawl along the bottom of the kiddie pool. And he even made a few attempts at jumping in with mom or his friend Miss Lynsey. We look forward to lots of water play time next summer!

three little words

2010-09-12T04:45:00.002-05:00

Mister Jude has a lot to say these days. And it is so cute to hear him speak in his little Jude voice. He loves to talk about his choo choos that includes some pals named Thomas and Percy. Everyday we are celebrating some new word he attempts to tell us. Last night at dinner it was "cheese".

talking and playing

We had no idea about how children learn to speak before going through this amazing process with Jude. We have to laugh at ourselves sometimes with it all. About a month ago Jude spoke up as we pulled into the garage in Kara's car. He noticed Greg's car parked on the street and sweetly said 'Bye Bye Daddy Car'. Both parents started celebrating. This was Jude's first ever three word phrase. Sure we felt silly but it was a big moment!

so cute in the garage

By now he's jabbering with four words phrases occasionally and lots sentences we can't quite follow, filled with words like 'go' and 'choo coo'. It is amazing to watch and listen to our little guy develop.

second haircut

2010-09-07T08:00:00.003-05:00

Jude got his second haircut a few months ago, and recently survived a third one. Thought the photos were cute enough to still post as I finally organize our pictures from the summer.

2nd haircut May 2010

Jude is mesmorized watching a video in his racecar seat. Unfortunately that ended when she tried to use the electric trimmers on him.

cutie

plastic and green

2010-08-30T22:38:00.007-05:00

Speaking of our yard, it is now a haven for both plastic toys and greenish-brown grass.

Greg values having plenty of open grass space. We kept that in mind over the years as we re-did the majority of our landscaping and added beds and a deck. But we weren't prepared for the plastic invasion. It began slowly, at Christmastime(?) when Jude received a ride-on/walking toy from Grandpa Henry & Grandma Nancy.

the first plastic outdoor toy

But the plastic pieces multiplied thanks to generous birthday gifts from Jude's grandparents, garage sales, and hand-me-down gifts. Our yard used to be serene, punctuated by pops of color from the flowers.

the new normal

Now it is punctuated by pops of plastic color, a pool, balls, and especially trucks.

busy backyard

Jude continues his love/hate relationship with Tonka trucks and diggers. He loves them when they move where he wants them to go, hold the cups of water or mulch he dumps inside, and roll in the direction he is moving.

happy times with Tonka

But he also struggles with his new Tonka digger ($4 bucks--thanks salvation army!!) when it refuses to dump the mulch or turn the direction he would like. Poor Jude has spent a lot of time screaming at that yellow metal toy. We're hoping they continue to work on relationship building.

the digger of frustration and fun

The Tonka truck invasion is not limited to the outdoors. Apparently our living room also needs some new renovation, despite our recent upgrade around his first birthday. Yes our living room is also a work zone, evidenced by the sea of yellow plastic front loaders, excavators and dump trucks.

coffee table construction zone

Guess we'll have to give up on having a plastic free yard for a few more years...sorry George the dog!

george and the plastic invasion

little helper

2010-08-30T22:36:00.002-05:00

It is fun being Jude's mom because so many people comment on how cute he is and especially his cute hair. Who knew red/blond hair was so special??

Another nice aspect of Toddler Jude is his pleasant temperament. Although he has opinions and temper tantrums, many times our son is fairly compliant to requests from mom or dad, especially if we use the phrase "Help Mommy do..."

cutest helper ever

Over the summer we partnered with our neighbors to have a large load of mulch delivered. Kara looked forward to weeding and covering the landscape beds in a new layer of the stuff. We had some delays due to the Flood of '10 (more on that later) but she managed to get some of the labor done during the daytime by asking Jude to assist her.

rake at the ready

You may remember Jude's love of shovels from the wintertime. Fortunately he also has a love relationship with his child-size rake. Jude helped move that mulch, or at least re-spread some of mom's woodchip work. Plenty of scoops somehow also landed in his Tonka trucks and diggers.

The surprise bonus for mom is that the tiny toddler rake is also great around and under shrubs. Kara recently saw one advertised in a garden catalog for $25, which makes the $12 version seem even better.

Kara still had to spend several warm evenings covering the flower beds and fighting off the mosquitos. But it was nice that Mister Jude allowed some of his playtime to be work time for mom.

ready go!

2010-08-27T09:19:00.002-05:00

"Ready Go!" is the most popular game in the Miller family. Jude and his mom and dad line up, until someone says 'GO'. Then all three of us, and the dog, run from one end of the house to the other. Jude laughs and laughs and loves the game. It used to be just a game with dad, but he is most interested in both his parents joining in, which makes Greg and Kara crack up.

ready to run

This 'game' has also come in handy outside. It is a great distraction when Jude is getting into something he shouldn't or getting upset that we have to leave a location. A quick game of 'Ready Go' gets us heading in the right direction.

kare-en!

2010-08-11T12:32:00.005-05:00

Jude gets a visitor once a week that sometimes frustrates him! Karen, his speech therapist, brings all kinds of new toys and pretend play into our toy filled living room.

feed the puppet

I thought our readers might enjoy a glimpse into speech therapy, because like me, many of you have never experienced this. The sessions are based around play.

jude's turn

This particular week Karen brought a bag of plastic fruits that Jude can 'cut' in half using a knife and cutting board. We worked on the words 'cut' and 'stick' and naming the particular fruits. He also got to stir the big bowl and serve fruit to the puppets.

jude won't eat green fruit, maybe the puppet will?

Karen also builds in time for speech on demand, so to speak, where Jude has to say a word or make a choice using words, to get the toy he wants. One time he had to say apple or orange to keep the play going. Jude gets extremely frustrated with this game sometimes and often looks to me as if to say "Are you gonna let her do this?"

But the therapy is helping his natural speech development. Our little guy has added a ton of words recently. His current favorite phrases are "Where'd it go water?" This occurs when we drive by or see water but we keep going. He also likes to say "No Ma" which means stop doing that or I'm not finished, even if his mother is not involved.

We are glad to have Miss Karen visit.

big shoes to fill

2010-08-08T13:48:00.002-05:00

Jude loves to imitate his mom and dad these days. Recently he even wanted to walk in dad's shoes.

'elp' me daddy

do these come in brown?

Pinocchio's Travels in preschool

2010-08-08T13:26:00.002-05:00

Baby Jude, now Toddler Jude, took a trip with Pinocchio this summer...when he joined the Academy of Movement and Music Preschool.
Before the trip, Kara worked through mom-guilt about leaving him two mornings a week and concern that our young two year old was just too young for a structured program. It was Greg who made the final push to encourage enrollment. He reminded me Kara that its OK if she takes a break from Jude, and that Jude would love time with other kids.

First day of preschool

Preschool proved a big hit with Jude and his mom! He cried the first day of drop-off, but loved going the rest of the summer. The only two-year-old trauma were the meltdowns during pick-up, when he had to wait in line while he could see mom in the lobby.

jude's school schedule

The creative program features a different theme everyday. On the 23rd jude brought home popcorn they had mixed and made in class. He also cleaned the animals one day with toy animals, a bucket of water and a toothbrush! This came in handy on our recent trip when Jude fought his bath. Mom asked him to clean his ducky as he did in school, and then got permission to also clean Jude.

school projects he brought home

I know one day I will tire of the many projects, pictures, and 'art' that Jude creates. But these few things from his first program rank up there with my most precious possessions.

this hangs in the kitchen

I (Kara) found the break made me feel more like myself. I was more energized and excited about being a mom the rest of the week. Cooking became fun again when I had time to grocery shop for creative meals, take George for a short walk without Jude, or get a haircut.

thank you Academy

The A.R.T.S. summer program wrapped up last week. We are on the waiting list for the fall and hope a spot for Jude opens up. But either way, it helped make a great summer for Jude and Kara.

july 4th minus fireworks

2010-07-30T20:31:00.002-05:00

This fourth of July we decided to stay flexible with our schedule instead of Kara getting her heart set on seeing the fireworks inside the Oak Park football stadium in our annual tradition.
Having a two year old, especially one prone to tantrums when tired, made the naps and bedtime important.

When Jude woke from his nap we were packed and ready to toss him in the car and head for the village parade.

parade ready

We even took the rare, if never before seen, step in the Miller house of sporting matching t-shirts for the holiday. (thanks old navy!) Jude got very excited to wake from his nap and put on a shirt that both momma and dada already had on.

the matching millers

Despite our patriotic apparel and enthusiasm, the actual holiday was more a dud than a dazzler. We arrived at the parade, gave Jude his miniature flag, only to see a little league team on a truck, a firetruck, and the street sweeper cleaning up at the end.

We put Jude back in the car and headed to our church potluck and party. But the scorching heat had them packing away the food and festivities a few hours ahead of schedule. So we arrived to watch them clean up. At least Jude got to splash in the kiddie pools for a bit.

Next up was fireworks. We put Jude to bed at his normal 7pm and planned to wake him in time to drive to fireworks. But by 8:15 it was raining, hard. We decided not to risk an awake kid and no show. But the skies cleared at 9 and we were at home, only hearing the booms and seeing the faintest flickers above the treeline.
Guess this year was our family fourth. Next year we vote for fireworks

red frosting and news

2010-06-18T11:59:00.004-05:00

Kara did not expect red frosting to create the memorable photos from Jude's birthday parties.
You may recall, we celebrated with a family backyard gathering and a round red tomato cake.

finger lickin good

On Thursday, May 27th, Jude's actual birthday, Kara invited moms and kids that Jude knows from music class and church groups. This time she served veggies, fruit, and cupcakes with red frosting. Kara had a great time chatting with mom friends while the kids enjoyed the sand table and a kiddie pool.

my lips match Elmo!

Parents got creative with attire to let their kids splash in the pool. In the aftermath, Ellie enjoyed her red frosting too!

Now to some news from the Millers. While Kara was busy preparing for Jude's party, Greg launched his own acoustics firm with a business partner. He and Evelyn can now be found at Pin Drop Acoustics, www.pindropacoustics.com.

celebrating a birthday and a business

We are excited to see what God has planned for us the rest of this year with Greg's work and Jude's development.

take a breath

2010-06-16T12:43:00.006-05:00

One of my new favorite phrases I tell Jude is "take a breath." Which is my answer when he starts to get fussy, runs around crazy, or gets frustrated.
I can't say it helps mister jude much, unless mommy makes funny loud breath in and out sounds. But it helps mommy handle the situation better.
I wish I had time to write about how busy, challenging, and joyous the past six months have been. Mister Jude continues to be an amazing happy friendly guy. But raising him has challenged Kara more than expected. We are all happy to enjoy this cute age of TWO where Jude can run around with fewer falls, practice his first words and try many new summer activities.
Here is a look back at Jude's birth-day milestone photos.

Birth May 27, 2008

Let me tell you about our first Miller family tradition. We plan to take a photo at the time Jude was born, every year on his birthday.

First Birthday May 27, 2009

We have already decided just two years in, that it is acceptable to adjust the time on the clock a bit as long as its within an hour of the birth time. :-) That way we still capture the photo.

Second Birthday, May 27, 2010

Wow Jude has grown and Kara has new hair. This may be a fun memory for more than just Jude's changes :-)

Thanks for sticking with us, despite the draught of posts.

made it to two, whew

2010-05-27T10:43:00.002-05:00

We are very happy to wish Mister Jude a Happy 2nd Birthday today, May 24th. The last few months have been a whirlwind in parenting, personal issues, and professional changes.
But the birthday came, nonetheless, and so did the parties.

birthday boy

We had a lovely time with Kara's relatives at a VeggieTales party in the backyard. See the previous post for more on the theme.

the Bob cake

We are glad the birthday shirt Kara made is red, as Jude ended up wearing about as much frosting as he ate.

jude's frosting face

Thanks for your support in the last two years!

bah-BOB

2010-04-23T20:24:00.005-05:00

Jude has a new favorite thing-- watching Bob the Tomato from Veggie Tales. These animated life lessons use scripture to teach kids about sharing, being nice, including people who are different and yes, vegetables. The best part is Kara doesn't mind watching them because they're actually funny and well-written. We expected them to be a hit after hearing stories of Jude's cousin Olivia and her obsession with these stories.

After watching one too many wind-up dancing bears on Baby Einstein, we made a run to Target. We purchased two Veggie videos with birthday money from Jude's Great Uncle Pete and Great Aunt Fran.

Kara made up Jude's Easter basket and tucked in another Veggie Tales video. The big day would also be Jude's first real taste of chocolate. So we thought the whole basket would be a hit.

On Easter morning Jude saw his Easter Basket and quickly pulled out the DVD.

Thanks Easter Bunny!

He completely ignored the rest of his basket and walked over to his "Jude" chair where he sits and views his daily video.

uh jude...the basket & your parents are over here

"if you like to talk with Tomatoes..."

Kara had to snap a picture of his basket filled with chocolate peanut butter eggs, sitting untouched for 20 minutes.

no love for me

Jude now expresses his daily desire to see Veggie Tales by saying bah bob. Apparently one word is just not enough. Kara thinks he is actually saying Bobby because he is so comfortable with his new friend Bob that he can refer to him by nicknames already.

Today was a new veggie milestone. Jude got his first Veggie Tale books, a set of four. And of course the one he cared about and fell asleep with on the way home, was Bob.

bob & baby nap

daddy's boy

2010-04-14T19:19:00.005-05:00

The pecking order is established at the Miller house. Jude prefers to hang with dad when he's home, followed by mom and george in a tie. OK, just kidding about the tie, but clearly this baby loves his daddy.

greg & jude

For instance, we took Grandpa Henry & Grandma Nancy to Brookfield Zoo during their visit with us. Jude decided Greg's arms were way better than his stroller for the trip around the animal park. He was not into mom holding him for long. At home he also shows a similar preference unless he is A)injured or B)in trouble with dad.

2 guys & a tiger

We recently learned that Jude prefers to ride in dad's car more than mom's SUV.

road ready

We came outside to run some errands on a recent sunday afternoon. We headed down the sidewalk toward the garage. But Jude toddled over to the BMW and refused to leave. He kept saying 'uh uh uh', which apparently in Jude-speak means 'take this car mom and dad.'

no guys, let's take this one!

Fortunately Greg is very into Mister Jude as well. He and Kara enjoy their nightly 'blanket the baby' ritual. But greg is quick to remind us if we forget. Here's how it works: right before we head to bed we turn on jude's light on low, creep in, and re-cover him in blankets. The best part is seeing which unusual sleeping position/baby origami move he has chosen.

Kara takes this papa preference in stride. She sees the benefits of getting extra help from greg and is glad to feel free to leave the two of them to hang out occasionally without upsetting jude when mom goes bye bye.

We close today's post by saying thanks to Grandpa Scott & Nana Jane for the leather bomber jacket seen in our photos.

one cool baby

easter 2010

2010-04-05T13:28:00.003-05:00

Its a busy week in the Miller house. We are looking forward to a visit from Grandpa Henry & Grandma Nancy on Thursday. We have not seen them since November and Jude has grown so much! Here a few of the photos from Easter 2010.

He is Risen!

thank you Easter Bunny

jude and mom before church

jude's favorite gift- his veggie tales video

is it red or blonde

2010-04-01T13:33:00.002-05:00

Our son is certainly not Samson, but we can't bring ourselves to get the kid a haircut. His curly locks are just too cute. Kara has been talking about Jude's need for a haircut for a year. But when Greg suggests going to Great Clips, she can't bring herself to do it. Decided we better get a few shots of the hair before we take the barbershop plunge in the near future.

22 months of hair

The unusual red color of Mr. Jude's locks continues its magic change back and forth between blonde one day, and red the next.

golden locks?

or is it red?

2010-03-30T11:29:00.003-05:00

So glad its spring and hope its lovely where you are readers. Here are some musings from Jude's mom.

I know it is helpful and reasonable to have benchmarks and developmental guidelines for my child. But as a first-time parent I go through a mental crisis every few months when I realize how little I know about helping a child develop. I don't know that he is supposed to know his body parts or know how to jump with two feet. I often feel like I really enjoy and love being with my child and would be very happy, if only I didn't have to also parent him--helping him learn how to eat, how to play nice, how to meet others and say his letters. It is a lot of pressure.

Stylin at 22 months

And now I face the hard truth that Jude is struggling a bit. He does not have the expressive vocabulary that some children his age do. We made the choice to have him evaluated for a free state program. And they came back with praise for many things but they agree that Jude could use speech therapy to help him express what he obviously understands.

It is hard to separate my child's performance from my identity...when I am the parent who is home with him. I told Greg last night that we are people who succeed, excel, and this is humbling and challenging when Jude does not measure up to some of his peers in this way.

So now for perspective today. I have to stop and think and ponder. My son is happy. He is healthy. He has a wonderful smile and a creative mind to explore, tinker, and yes, destroy many things he discovers in his world. He will be OK. The problem here is with me and my expectation that my child will always measure up.

I think this is a lesson longer-term parents learn, but now its my turn to get it.

Thank goodness God knew we couldn't measure up, that we can't be perfect our own. That we need his grace, and yes, the death of His son Jesus, to pay for our performance gap in life. And thank goodness he did.

Happy Easter to all you friends and parents from a fellow parent who doesn't measure up and yet keeps going.

I am treading through the Serenity Prayer these days and wanted to share it with you:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time,

accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will.

That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.

bath time is fun again

2010-03-29T18:40:00.002-05:00

Grab your rain gear and read on to learn about bath time with Baby Jude. Its such a typical example of life at this age.

bathing beau

First of all its about Mess. Splash the water, squeal, and pour the water around the tub. Jude wants to see how much water he can move around. That seems to be the way he approaches playing with most of his toys, and unfortunately for Kara, its also the way he now approaches the neighbors' muddy garden bed and mud puddles of all size.

go water go

Secondly, baths are about smiles and laughter. Jude enjoys smiling at everyone he meets and having a good time playing.

Finally, baths are about asserting his opinion. Jude went through two weeks where he refused to sit down in the bathtub. He would through a complete fit if we tried to sit him in the water he normally loves. We resorted to quick dumps of water and quick shampoos of his hair while holding his hand or side with our free hand.
These bath time tantrums are good examples of Mister Jude in his terrible twos (which actually run from 18 months I'm told). Many activities now must be completed in a certain mysterious toddler order, or they provoke screams, stamping feet, or frustrated cries. Lord help us make it until he's three.

my way or the dry way

jude in winter

2010-03-20T13:53:00.002-05:00

A few photos of some of the things Jude is up to recently.
He doesn't like ball bits usually, the large play areas filled with tons of colorful plastic balls that make you feel like you're swimming. But he loves the small contained balls in his toy box at home.

play ball

Kara only gets them out occasionally, or when he goes to the cabinet and points and says 'ball'.

Jude is also really into helping. Kara can get jude to do all kinds of things by saying "will you help mommy?" He loves getting out the broom, the rake, and the dyson vacuum.

little helper

It is amazing to see the creative ways jude stacks, layers or moves his toys. He saw an orange construction cone at his gym class. Jude decided to see if he could balance a beach ball on it and was so pleased when he did. He also enjoys playing with bead mazes. That's the fancy term for wooden or plastic beads on tracks that jude can move around.

bead baby

Kara had a small plastic one on a multi-use toy. But she was psyched to snap up an older, larger wooden one at a garage sale for cheap. Gotta love those garage sale finds!

spring indoors

2010-03-10T13:14:00.003-06:00

Today Kara and Jude got to experience warm humid spring air and lush plants. Unfortunately we didn't travel to the tropics. But we did make a trip to Chicago's free Garfield Park Conservatory.

finally short sleeves again

The large indoor greenhouses include a show plant room where the spring flowers are already in bloom. It was nice for Kara to walk with Jude and see something besides grey skies and semi-melted patches of snow. She thought Jude would enjoy the flowers or give them an 'oh wow', but they were more interesting for mom.

azaleas

Jude did show interest in the conservatory's two interesting sculptures. And he was hushed into silence in the palm room, where giant palm trees and plants towered overhead.

a beautiful place to snack

Unfortunately the visit turned tramatic for Baby Jude. He loved walking into the palm room. The long fronds handing down were tickly, wet and fun to pull. Kara took him to the waterfall in the back of this photo below.

the dreaded palm room!

Poor Jude thought the waterfall looked very fun to walk into. He couldn't understand why mom kept saying 'no step', 'no water'. Kara tried to distract him by pointing out dozens of colorful fish in the large koi pond nearby. That backfired bigtime.

Jude tried 5 or 6 times to walk right into the pond. Each time Kara would pull him back. It ended with poor Jude in tears, not understanding why mom would deny him something that looks so fun.

Despite the turmoil kara counts the visit a success. It ended with Jude crashed in the car on the way home.

crash baby

I better run, I think Jude has found the Scrabble box. I can only imagine where the tiles will end up. Thank for reading!

why i hate the garage

2010-03-01T12:37:00.003-06:00

I have a confession. I've come to hate our garage. Yes, its a safe, dry place for our cars and yard equipment to sleep during the winter. But it is also a source of tears and frustration to my toddler. You see he loves the garage. It houses his favorite play things. Mr. Shovel, the wagon, Mrs Broom and the new favorite, Mr. Snow blower.

jude out for a stroll

I know his dad is slightly bummed that the electric snow blower we own is actually light enough that a child can push it. I think Greg would prefer a larger, more powerful tool. But when its unplugged, loves to take it for walks.

just try and keep up mom

So here is why I hate the garage. Every time we go near the garage, go outside our home, or head to the car to go anywhere, Jude wants to play with the items in the garage. He makes the more sign with his hands. This often leads to tears and sometimes the dreaded arching his back to avoid the car seat straps. He holds out hope that this moment is the one where we will stop and play with them.

how much are you paying me for this job again?

At first it was cute. Little Jude loves the shovel, wow! Our 20-month-old would happily drag one down the sidewalk, snow or no snow, it didn't matter.

I love my shovel

But now he has to find one shovel and then a second shovel. But its not so he can push them. No this is so mom can push them, both of them at once. Even where there is no snow in sight.

So this is why the garage is no longer my friend.

Dear garage, let's hope you become a place of happiness, and no more tears, again soon.

napster

2010-02-24T18:14:00.002-06:00

speaking of sleep from our last post...jude is now officially a one nap baby. but that doesn't mean he always makes it home before the nap begins. usually after church on sundays, and after his tuesday morning playtime (aka mommy's women's bible study group), jude crashes in the car.

super sleepin baby

reprising the role

Kara has mastered the art of moving him from the car to crib. It involves a careful dance of juggling her house key, somehow wiping off and/or slipping off her snowy shoes, closing jude's window shades while balancing him with the other arm, and laying him down. This is quite a dance with a 27 or 28 pound little guy. But the reward is 2 hours of quiet sleep from jude and a chance to recover from chasing our busy toddler.

Night Night

2010-02-18T17:06:00.006-06:00

I remember reading that babies like routines. The experts write that babies like knowing what to expect, because so much of their world is big, scary, loud, confusing. We implemented a bedtime routine for Mister Jude fairly early on. He gets a diaper change, pajamas, a pacifier, and then the best part...two books read to him by mom or dad in his rocking chair.

My parents commented after their visit with Jude about how easy he is to put to bed. We are glad he likes the night night routine, and glad it pays off when others have to use it. Here are some snapshots from last night's bedtime.

stories with dad

happy bedtime baby

I thought it might be fun to pull up Jude's older bedtime pics. These are a few shots of Baby Jude's bedtime at six months old.

same story time routine

It cracks Greg and I up that Jude is still using the same tiny pacifiers he was in these early photos. We tried to move him up to larger big-kid sizes. But he wasn't having it.

stylin in a sleepsack

We both enjoy the chance to sit and read to our little guy and watch him develop. It is nice that even as he grows up, runs and explores, some things haven't changed with Baby Jude's little life.

night night baby. we love you!

go baby

2010-02-16T18:58:00.003-06:00

jude is moving, playing, grabbing, and tossing toys, all day long.
as a first-time parent Kara was desperate to find other places for jude to be busy besides the living room, but overwhelmed by the large number of classes for infants and toddlers...music class, gym, spanish, story time, gymnastics, art, Shakespeare. (just kidding on that last one, but i'm sure someone has tried to sell a class with old william to desperate parents hoping their little one gets accepted to Harvard).

Jude's busy nature helped Kara settled on My Gym, a chain of baby and child exercise facilities and classes. One of the best parts during the winter is the indoor swings. jude and his classmates always toddle super fast to reach the one special swing that has Winnie the Pooh attached.

swinging in winter!

The best part about the twice weekly visits to My Gym is that the entire place is child-safe and padded. Jude gets to practice skills he never would at home because, uh, we don't have gym equipment, and Kara would be exhausted setting it all up. Slides, trampolines, a large ball pit, forward and backward rolls and flips.
Kara has also seen Jude's trust of strangers grow as he is whisked off to ride the zip line with mom cheering him on, or hanging from a trapeze by his little hands and a staff person.

the new squat skill

Here's my favorite My Gym moment. It was an exercise mat under the high bar, picture the blue or red plastic one from your or your child's YMCA class. This mat had a support bar hidden under the middle. So it was a slight hill from the edge to the middle.

Jude carefully stepped up the one inch to climb on the mat. Carefully, and later really fast, he walked up the slight incline. Mister Jude squealed as he practiced walking on this new surface over and over, making laps on the mat.

A great part of class for Kara is separation time.

separation time skyscraper

Its is two to three minutes where the kids play with special toys with the staff while parents take a breather on the sidelines. I'm usually like that mom in the background, making a quick check of facebook or the news.

If I had one criticism of My Gym, where is the latte bar for parents during the separation time? Maybe I'll start one and get jude a lifetime membership.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T21:42:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day from Baby Jude and family. We spent a fun weekend in Champaign, staying at Grandma Carole's & Chuck's, but seeing lots of family.
Kara put Jude in this bright sweater to celebrate the holiday. Unfortunately today was also the same day the Illini played Ohio State, with team colors of red & white.

Valentine 2010

Jude celebrated the second Valentine's Day of his life, by staying awake the entire drive back to Oak Park. He finally got to his crib about 8pm, making this one of the latest nights he has stayed up in several months. Kara hopes he shows her the love tomorrow...by sleeping in.

His usual schedule is bedtime at 6:30pm, wake up at 7am. We'll see what happens.

vampire baby?

2010-02-06T10:25:00.003-06:00

Jude's frequent smile is now even funnier. His 20 month grin looks like a vampire with his pointy incisors that stick far below his other baby teeth.

beware pacifier...i will bite you!

We recently introduced him to a toothbrush. He apparently heard the brush part because he tried to brush his hair with it the first time Kara handed it to him. Not sure when we reach the toothpaste phase...guess we'll have to pull out the baby books for that one.

long lost blogger

2010-02-06T10:07:00.004-06:00

We apologize to readers for the lack of blogs in January on Baby Jude. Be assured he is well and cute at 20 months.

packaging and boxes are his favorite!

Thanks to Aunt Jamie for Jude's cute sweater. He is enjoying wearing and playing with his holiday haul.

January was a busy month for Jude's mom and dad. First let's tell you the fun part. We went to London! Kara joined Greg for a long weekend as he wrapped up a business meeting there.

one of the Notting Hill private gardens

Kara felt freaked out about leaving Jude, even in the capable hands of her Grandpa Scott & Nana Jane, and Grandma Carole and Chuck. But good friends reminded her the break would be good for everyone. And it was!

Greg in Southbank

Jude's parents enjoyed sleeping in, seeing plays, and finding the best London restaurant for under 25 pounds.

our hotel in Clerkenwell

Jude's grandparents report that he laughed a lot, played hard, and went to bed fairly easily. We are so grateful to Kara's parents for the help.

The other reason for the blog delay is an unexpected wrinkle after Kara's annual physical. The doctor ordered a scan that found gallstones. Kara is now weighing whether to remove what is apparently an unnecessary organ. There is also a potential kidney issue that has required Kara's time to worry about :-) and get a few more tests. We learned last night everything is probably fine, but they want to check one more thing.

Let's hope February is healthy, happy, and maybe sunny?? even for a few days??

La La La's and Snort Laughs

2010-01-19T12:53:00.002-06:00

Little 19 month old Jude is at such a cute stage of life! He seems to learn or master a new skill everyday. Recently during a bath Greg and I tried to teach him to sing La La La. It was adorable to watch him stick out his little tongue and attempt his first La La's. We all laughed as he spent the next few minutes showing off his new phrase.

curious about everything

Kara grabbed the camera to capture some everyday moments for the blog. These photos are from Jude exploring the backyard. Thanks for the snazzy snowsuit Grandpa Henry & Grandma Nancy!

Snow baby

Jude's favorite backyard activity in the winter is to toddle back and forth on the sidewalk. He usually laughs or screams as he takes the tiny steps. Jude also tries to chase George or at least reach him. But George usually stays well clear by taking refuge in the snowy yard where Jude is not steady enough to venture.

my rosy cheeks are even more red than usual

Back to Jude's development...Kara catches the small and the cute moments of our little guy's development. It seems like a small payoff for the countless hours that are not so cute and just feel long and lonely. Recently Kara was chasing Jude around the house in a game. He tried to laugh but snorted first. It was hilarious to hear that sound from our little Jude. And one of the many firsts in our home this winter.

welcome little people

2010-01-12T22:00:00.005-06:00

The Little People have entered the Miller house, some would argue they've taken over. You see Jude picked up quite a few toys for Christmas or as recent hand-me-downs.

Thanks for the garage Grandpa Henry & Grandma Nancy!

The Fisher Price Little People line is the one with the parking garage, the airplane, the town. Its an update on the size and shape of the ones that filled many family floors in the 60's, 70's and still get strewn about grandparent homes today.

It is amazing to watch Jude begin to learn how to pretend play. He imitates Kara as she has the mechanic 'talk' to Jude and get in his tow truck.

hours...ok at least 15 minutes..of fun!

The Miller Living Room, aka Little People Land, is really Jude's daytime domain. Behind those baby gates he has bins full of trucks, bears, and shape sorters he quite hasn't sorted out yet. Some toys just too big for bins so they've become part of our living room decor.

my doorway home

Kara doesn't mind a few years of the extra bright accessories. She is happy to have one room in the house where Jude is safe and content when she needs to get things done at home.

toddler towing at your service!

In the bleak midwinter--The Zoo

2010-01-12T21:48:00.004-06:00

Why go to the zoo in wintertime? You must not have a toddler.

Even in the chilly cold winter, toddlers still need plenty of fresh air and exercise. The zoo works great because both Kara and Jude enjoy seeing the animals and Kara can let Jude practice walking and even climbing steps, in a safe area with no traffic, other than the occasional zoo tram.

So that's why Kara and Jude visited Brookfield Zoo today in 30 degree temps. The other reason to visit the zoo in winter is because of Jude's cool stroller accessory. The Bugaboo Foot Muff functions more like a sleeping bag.

zoo baby

Here are some highlights of today's trip:

-Kara tossed a frozen snowball near Jude's feet. He giggled and stepped on it. Kara threw some more. Jude squealed and laughed as he ran over and over the snow dust on the sidewalk. The rest of the way back to the car he walked right on the edge of the sidewalks so he could put one foot in the frozen crust of snow.

-Jude in the penguin/bird dome. Jude decided to try and walk up two steps holding only onto the rock wall and railing. It wasn't necessarily a success, but it was cute to see him put so much effort into learning this new skill. He liked the penguin area and its sunny indoor light so much that he asked to go back in...twice.

-The barking baboons. Who knew they yelped like dogs? In the mostly empty zoo..seriously we saw like 2 other families the whole time... someone was barking. Four baboons were crawling around on their giant rock island. They each took turns eating frozen ice pieces, one even very cutely leaned down to eat the snow. But they also made unsual barks.
Since barking is one of the few animal sounds Jude makes on his own, Kara felt it necessary to bark back at the baboons, much to Jude's enjoyment. Unfortunately Jude kept silent and did not add his own yelp this time.

We look forward to more fun animal adventures for Baby Jude.

in like a lion

2009-12-31T18:39:00.006-06:00

Happy New Year readers! We have enjoyed sharing all things Baby Jude with you in 2009. We anticipate 2010 will be busy keeping up with and training Jude the Toddler.

Jude tries to play tag with george

Winter has arrived in Chicago. It has been bitter cold and will be tonight again. That didn't stop Kara from bundling Jude in his stroller and visiting the zoo yesterday.

mommy and daddy brought me the lion for christmas

One thing we'd really like to leave behind in 2009 is Jude's new temper tantrums. Its the beginnings of the so-called Terrible Twos. Turns out they start when the kid is one.

but mommy I want the camera

We figured we should include the above photographic evidence of the difficult moments (i.e. screaming in the bookstore, in bed bath & beyond) because many of you wouldn't believe our sweet, smiling boy could show that side. You'll notice the blog posts get more and more spread out as mommy deals with more of Jude's emotions and active play habits.

George the dog meanwhile is dealing with a baby who really wants to grab him...a lot.

rare downtime for the dog

George's world is also more colorful than ever thanks to your generous Christmas gifts. George's tiny world is filled with new objects to dodge as he attempts to avoid Jude's grabby hands or the latest tiny toy tossed his direction. Poor dog. At least Jude provides a supplemental meal plan for George with the many objects tossed, dropped, or cleaned from his high chair. We figure that helps George put up with the kid a little easier.

Thank you for putting up with our erratic blogging schedule in '09. We look forward to sharing many days with you in 2010. Have a blessed New Year!

Shock and Awe

2009-12-29T12:16:00.004-06:00

From Northwestern's Parent Review:

Your toddler may now have different ideas and plans and feelings from you on all sorts of issues. This a bit of a shock

and he may resist accepting it for a while.

When you say "no," he may fall to pieces, unable to hold the idea that what he wants to do is not what you want him to do. He may test his newfound knowledge by repeating the same behavior several times in a row. Do you say "no" each time?

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night

2009-12-26T18:45:00.003-06:00

Christmas '09 featured 2 skype virtual visits with Grandpa Henry & Grandma Nancy, a trip to Champaign to have Christmas Day lunch with Grandpa Scott & Jane, cousin Libby, his aunts and friends. Jude got tired and a bit overwhelmed after a few hours of trying to interact with the grown ups. He had to stay awake for the short trip to Grandma Carole and Chuck's home.

At the end the gift tally is:

1 plastic lawnmower toy

a parking garage

an airplane

a 'going to grandmas' suitcase

several loud talking/dancing/barking or singing dogs/snowman/bears

a glowing snowman

a few new trucks

a workbench

a puzzle

several great books

money

a museum membership

great clothes including a leather motorcycle jacket

and some sweets and christmas ornaments

Merry Christmas '09

Jude will love playing and enjoying with his new toys and the memories of fun times with his family. But he and George plan to recover from their adventure first...by sleeping.

santa baby

2009-12-21T16:19:00.002-06:00

We reached a milestone in the Miller house, our first time waiting in a long parent/kid line, and our first time to have Jude's official Santa photograph. you may recall he met the big guy on the streets of Forest Park recently. But this time Kara pulled out the fancy candy cane Christmas outfit and paid for the photo op.

thanks Brookfield Zoo!

The picture comes from Holiday Magic at the Brookfield zoo. It is an impressive display of lights, laser light shows (so we hear, we missed it), animals and caroling. We bundled jude in the bugaboo and spent several hours strollering and walking.

The other highlight was watching jude take his first steps in the snow. He was tentative and then kept stamping his feet. Kara thinks he enjoyed hearing the crunching sound his feet were making.

everyday play

2009-12-13T20:57:00.002-06:00

Sometimes its the ordinary household items that Jude seems to enjoy playing with the most. Perhaps its because it reminds him of actual toys he has or has played with elsewhere? Or perhaps, to my and Toys R US's dismay, the ordinary stuff really is fun too.

Among Jude's favorite actual toys are those pretend plastic lawnmowers. We don't have one (yet) but there are a few at our church nursery and at the children's museum near our house. He's been known to go wild and push two around at the same time.

Kara wonders if that's where he got the idea for a new use for our folding outdoor Ikea table.

lawnmower interpreted

Jude also loves to play with food boxes. We discovered this in Baltimore when he had laugh out loud fun carrying around two boxes of Stovetop stuffing. He liked them so much he kept searching for the boxes when Grandma or his parents put them away. Back home in Oak Park, Kara pulled out her stuffing containers, a coffee can and a mac and cheese.

Jude the builder

Jude tried shaking them for awhile but then he figured out they also worked as blocks. Kara was just happy he was grabbing something other than her cellphone, keys, or breakable objects.

mommy tells me this is a developmental milestone?

The one flaw in the plan was that Jude figured out how to open the mac n cheese box and spilled a few pieces. A little packing tape solved the issue. It seems like we better keep that packing tape handy for the next few years!

I vow to conquer all childproof latches!

The great Dorito caper

2009-12-11T18:35:00.004-06:00

That extra bag of Doritos in the kitchen waiting to travel to the basement storage pantry? Ya... whatever happened to that thing?

The story opens with a mysterious crunch crunch from the front hallway. Kara's quick steps and surveillance photos help solve the crime!

a semi-authentic surveillance photo

Doritos are Greg's favorite snack, and sometimes a dinner entree, when Kara isn't home. Jude apparently decided they were just too good to send to storage.

is this the color my mustache would be?

Jude managed to tear open the bag and help himself to a few chips. Kara believes it to be his first taste of Doritos, however Greg might give another answer.

its not a mouse or George... its Jude

Kara was laughing so hard she had to grab the camera and share the moments with all of you.

the guilty but adorable party

rudolph's relatives

2009-12-09T19:29:00.005-06:00

Jude and his parents stayed up late the other night (8pm for baby!) and spent a freezing evening strolling nearby Forest Park. The small stores had live window displays and treats for Christmas. Our favorite was a green faced 'grinch' complete with his small pet dog wearing antlers.

bundle baby

We zipped Jude in his down-filled jacket and snowpants (Thanks Grandpa Henry & Grandma Nancy!) even though there was no snow. He seemed comfortable even if his dad was chilly.

his baby 'sleigh'

Kara wanted to show Jude the live reindeer because he seems to smile and react to animals. She was not disappointed. He instantly perked up and reached for them.

jude meet the reindeer

They even had a handler with a small reindeer the children could touch. Our brave little boy enjoyed feeling the soft animal hair.

Jude also got his first introduction to Santa Claus.

friendly santa

It was a fun night. Jude thanked us by sleeping in til 8am the next morning instead of waking up at his usual 7am.

18 months

We hope you're holiday preparations and celebrations are going well. Here is a look at the Miller Christmas Tree of '09. And...drumroll please...check out the wooden fench Greg built around the tree to keep little Jude from touching it.

Christmas Tree '09

keeping us busy

2009-12-07T21:24:00.005-06:00

Jude forces us to stay engaged with his baby moves because we literally never know what he'll show up with next in his little hands. Now that he can walk and squat down, he's quick to pick up shiny objects, even if they happen to be trash or especially plastic water bottles.

'wow'

Jude says a few words now. He says 'Dat' for any object he wants that he can see. The cutest phrase he says at the moment is 'Oh Wow'. This is reserved for when he looks at something new. That was his reaction to this morning's first snowfall of the season and the Christmas tree in our living room.

Jude also makes noise by playing. He is constantly banging and clanging...moving toys and household objects around. Has anyone seen Greg's keys yet??

on the go!

cutie!

We are fortunate to have stayed with or visited with friends who are familiar with this busy, into everything toddler stage. Kara's college housemate Doris has a nephew, so Jude's activity was not new for her during our trip to Raleigh.

aunt doris & Jude at UNC

Greg during our visit with his high school friend Lisa

Sometimes the 'Oh Wow' turns into 'WAAAA' when Jude takes a tumble. He falls easily and often. I never realized simple things like lifting your foot onto a book or mat would take practice and several falls, to accomplish.

A recent fall at the mall where Jude's forehead broke his impact on concrete scared Kara. She rushed Jude to the doctor and received a strange 'prescription'.

the unusual medical mark

The pediatrician used a red sharpie to mark the swelling on Jude's forehead. It allowed Kara to monitor if the squishy bump grew in size. Jude's head was fine by that evening. But it was two whole days before the marker came off!

50/50

2009-12-07T21:20:00.002-06:00

Baby Jude had his 18 month check-up on December 1st. He weighs 26 pounds, 2 ounces and is 32 inches tall. Both of those are at exactly 50th percentile on the baby growth charts. We are so pleased with our 'average' size baby with his above-average joy and smiles for everyone he meets.

do i look average to you?

things jude likes

2009-11-29T14:33:00.004-06:00

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

2009-11-28T19:14:00.003-06:00

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

2009-11-25T10:18:00.003-06:00

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