A few notes on life with Jude

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

clean up in aisle one

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

I love the park!

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

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

Mikala & Jude- Halloween '09

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