The New Dad Blog

I'm Just Hanging Out

The couch above was a gift to Anna from Baba and Grandpa but Jude enjoys using it as well. This week Jude was eating an apple lying on this couch and when Marcy asked what he was doing he said, "I'm just hanging out." That was the first time we had heard that phrase out of Jude's mouth, so we thought it was hilarious.

Jude's love of cleaning and vacuuming has been well documented on this blog. So this weekend was a joyous one for Jude as Marcy spent most of the weekend doing various cleaning projects around our house. Unfortunately I had a Ridhwan weekend so I couldn't help out but Jude provided lots of help and usually with a smile on his face. Marcy had out our steam cleaner and Jude had a spray mop that he called his steam vacuum.

Jude is now very happy at pre-school. He even looks forward to going now. Tonight when we were walking to the playground he told me that he liked school and he was happy to be going again tomorrow morning. The photo below is of Jude getting ready to go to school last Monday morning in what may well be his cutest outfit. When we took this photo he had just spoken to Baba who was going to see Bruce Springsteen that night and he was saying "Bruce rocks!" as I was taking the photo.

Jude draws with chalk a lot. Our front porch and our concrete path are covered with Jude's drawings. But recently he has also taken to drawing on the wood of the house. It will all wash out in water but in the meantime there are a lot of Jude's art our walls. Today he was drawing some elk and caribou for me.

Another recent development with Jude is that whenever I get home from work Jude now asks, "How was your work today, Daddy?" It is really very sweet to hear this and he seems genuinely interested. He also asks about the gym, yoga, class, shopping or whatever it is we do when we are away from him.

I Wouldn't Want to Run Into Him

Jude loves animals. This week we went to the zoo and the museum where Jude saw dozens of animals. Pretty much every time he sees an animal these days he adds, "I wouldn't want to run into him!" We are not sure how he came up with this because this is not something we have said but he says it all the time now. He is also"introducing" us to his imaginary animals that are appearing at every meal these days. Yesterday I sat down with Jude for breakfast and he asked if I would like to pat the polar bear that was on the table.

This week Marcy had a Ridhwan 5-day retreat so I got to spend a lot of time with Jude and Anna. We had some fun outings and yesterday the three of us went out for lunch to Noodles. Afterward Jude had a special treat: ice cream. We both had a cup and took it across the street to the park where we sat on the ground to eat it. Jude had vanilla ice cream with sprinkes and he loved it.

Jude still loves to read books. I would say he spends at least an hour every day with books (including when we read to him at nap time) and he will go through phases where he will be stuck on a book or two. He discovered his "Trucks and Diggers" book that he hadn't seen for a couple of months and he has wanted to sit down with one of us and read it several times each day this week. Occasionally he will let Anna sit down with him to read but mostly he wants the books for himself.

The Last Day at the Pool

Jude loves the pool. I think he would be happy if we went there every day during summer. We managed to catch the last official day of the pool season at our local pool this past Monday (it was Labor Day weekend). We might sign Jude up for some indoor pool classes in the fall because he does enjoy it so much.

This week at school went better than last week. It was a short week with the long weekend so I dropped him off on Tuesday morning. He didn't want to go but he was a trooper about it until I said goodbye to him and then he lost it. But apparently he did better after I left. Then on Wednesday Marcy dropped him off (I was in Chicago for a label conference) and he did much better. We are thinking we will just give him two days a week of school (Monday and Wednesday) as long as he starts to enjoy it soon.

One of Jude's favorite little games is to blow bubbles. We keep a bottle on the front porch as well as the back deck. Just this past week Jude worked out how to blow bubbles for himself. And as you can see Anna thought this was great. Another thing Jude really likes to do is draw with his markers. He will often ask us to label each picture as an animal he has drawn.

Jude's First Day of Preschool

On Monday, Jude started preschool. At the tender age of 2 3/4 he has begun his formal schooling. So how did he do? Well it is proving to be somewhat challenging initially. The school is just two blocks from our house so I walked him there on Monday morning. There were a few tears but nothing major. According to the teachers he was upset quite a bit during the day but that is not unusual for a first day. Above is a picture of Jude and I walking to school that morning (he is actually running) and below is Jude saying goodbye to Marcy.

I walked him to school because we thought he would have an easier time separating from me than from Marcy. This proved to be true. I walked him again on Tuesday morning and this time there were a lot of tears and he wanted to go home with me. But he did better during the morning according to his teachers. Then Wednesday morning Marcy took him to school and he wouldn't leave her side. So she ended up pulling him out that day. We will try again this week and see how he does.

My brother Ian and his wife Leila were in town this week on their honeymoon. While he was initially a little shy, Jude enjoyed hanging out with them - choosing to drive with them both to and from the airport and telling them stories. We had a party for Ian & Leila on Saturday night and we ordered cupcakes which Jude seemed to like.

Jude really enjoyed playing with the kids at the party. There were about 8 kids ranging in age from 2 weeks up to 14, and Jude received lots of attention from the girls. Below is one of Laura giving Jude a big hug,

Can you say pineapple? We have been helping Jude learn new words for some time by asking him if he can say the word. Now, he asks us back this question usually with words he knows well. His vocabulary conrinues to improve and now he can understand just about everything we say.