The New Dad Blog

Getting Out the Pool and a Trip to North Carolina

Jude spent a lot of time in the pool the past couple of summers so Marcy got it out for him for the first time this year. As you can see our yard is well shaded so it was a little chilly for him, but he didn't mind much. If he can spend some time in water he will put up with a little cold.

On Wednesday it was off to North Carolina to visit with Marcy's Aunt Wendy. Jude had a great time. Wendy's home is in the woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Jude loved the all the open spaces and the sounds of all the critters. But most of all he loved the lakes and the playground. We took him to the water every day and the playground most days. We took this great video of Jude and Anna playing on the swings.

We tried something new with Jude on this trip. We shared a bedroom with him for the first time in almost two years (the last time didn't go very well - so we haven't tried it since). On this trip we slept in Wendy's bedroom with Jude on the floor on a twin mattress. It actually went very well - we would have to lie with him in the evenings for him to go to sleep but for the most part he slept right through the night. Then in the morning when it became he would wake up and climb into bed with us and sleep for another hour or more. This was a relief for us, we were worried it wasn't going to go well and none of us would get any sleep. The great thing is it makes this a possibility for future trips.

We spent a lot of time relaxing around Wendy's home. Jude enjoyed playing the piano as well as many of the toys that were on offer. And as always Jude loved to read books. Here he is on our last morning with Aunt Wendy reading books in her library.

Jude Likes Looking at Plants

Jude has started this funny little activity lately. He likes to do a walking tour of all the plants in our house. These days he will often say "want to look at plants with Daddy (or Mommy)" and we will start at the front of the house and visit all the plants on the main floor. He will name all the plants and then want us to touch them. This is what he is saying in the photo above, "Daddy touch it!"

Jude loves giving us funny faces these days, particularly when we are wanting to take a photo of him. Here is an example from this morning in the kitchen.

Overall Jude has a pretty even temperament. But as you can imagine, like most 2 1/2 year olds he has his wild moments. He is really at an age where he likes pushing the limits, he likes doing things he knows he is not supposed to which I think (from what I have read) is due to him wanting to know where the limits are. It doesn't matter what he is doing, when he is in the mood to test the limits he will find a way to do it. He may hit Anna, throw food on the floor, hit Marcy, or have a complete meltdown because we have run out of raspberries. These times are challenging and we do our best to maintain our composure but sometimes that is very difficult.

Today was Father's Day and I had a very nice day. Marcy made me breakfast and I watched the US Open golf for most of the day. I also had some nice family time and Marcy shot this photo this afternoon as we were all enjoying the golf.

Jude-Sized

I received an early Father's Day gift (thanks so much Connie) this weekend that you can see pictured above. It is a perfect little statue that reminds me so much of Jude. He loves walking around the house in my shoes, and he was even walking around in my golf shoes earlier this week. Jude has his own golf clubs but he still likes to get one of my clubs out from time to time. Jude seemed very enamored with it as well commenting that it is "Jude-sized," one of his favorite expressions.

Jude was in party mode this weekend with two birthday parties, one each on Saturday and Sunday. He really seemed to enjoy being around all the new people and toys. We didn't have time to do much else, although Jude helped us clean out the garage on Saturday morning.

One funny new thing Jude has been doing is climbing back in to the "Ultrasaucer" which has been Anna's play toy for the last three months. He can climb in by himself quite easily but he has trouble getting out. I don't know whether it brings back memories for him (he used it a lot over the course of several months about 2 years ago) or he just thinks it is a new toy, but he does like it. By the way in the photo below that is a spoon in Jude's mouth (not a cigar).

Mowing the Lawn and Playing in Puddles

Jude loves the mowing the lawn. He has been using his lawn mower pretty much every day this past week. And then when I am mowing the lawn he is right there with me the whole time. He is just as happy to walk his lawn mower up and down the sidewalk as he is to walk along the grass.

Jude has started to love playing in puddles. We have had quite a bit of rain lately so there have been puddles forming in many places. Including our alley. I spent an hour in the alley with Jude yesterday as he was playing in the puddles there. Check it out on the video below.

Despite the rain the weather has been pretty good lately with the days not too hot yet - nice spring weather. So Jude has spent a lot of time outside in both the front yard and back yard. He likes to help Marcy in the garden, and one of his favorite tasks is pulling weeds. Here he is this weekend with his bucket during a weeding session.