The New Dad Blog

Thanksgiving in Des Moines

We spent most of this past week in Des Moines for Jude's extended birthday celebration and then Thanksgiving. We went out to dinner to Red Robin on Tuesday night and then Wednesday we had a celebration dinner at Baba and Grandpa's house. Above is a picture of our extended family as Jude is getting ready to dig in to the pumpkin cupcakes that Marcy made for his birthday.

We took Jude, Anna & Lily to see Santa Claus at the mall this week. Needless to say Santa was not a big hit with Jude. Anna might have affected him as she screamed as soon as she was placed in Santa's arms. Jude wanted no part of the jolly old man in the red suit.

Lily and Jude got along well again for the most part. Like most kids they had their moments where they fought with each other but overall they were great together. They would often go off to the living room to play and sometimes we wouldn't hear them for half an hour. Then there were times they would run around all over the house chasing each other and laughing. They both loved the toy horse called Buttermilk. Luckily they are still small enough to ride him together.

 

The weather was great while we were there. The kids were able to play outside several times and Jude discovered a new skill this week. He loves to climb trees. At the local playground they have a tree with a gently sloping trunk that is great for kids to climb. Jude was a bit hesitant at first, but after a couple of tries with Lily he loved it. He would climb up to about six feet off the ground and then he would just fall into my arms. Then when Marcy came by he climbed way up high, I had to climb up and gently lower him in to Marcy's arms.

 

Jude also loves helping grandpa use his tools. He doesn't get much of this at home from me so I like that he at least gets exposure to this here. He seems to like it. Before we left Jude helped grandpa drill some holes and saw some wood.

Jude Turns Three!

Today was Jude's third birthday. He started off the morning with a special breakfast cupcake that Marcy baked yesterday. Here is a picture of Jude as he is about to blow out the candle.

Being a Monday, Jude went off to school in the morning where we packed many cupcakes for Jude to share with his school friends. Then this afternoon Jude decided he wanted a trip to the zoo. We thought about having his playgroup friends over for a little party, but Jude really prefers to hang out with just the four of us. And with school this morning we thought it might have been a bit much for him. So off to the zoo we went. It was a very cold afternoon so we only stayed for half an hour, enough time for Jude to catch a few of his favorite animals. We asked Jude what he wanted for dinner and he said pizza, so we went to Lala's, a new wine bar/pizzeria that surprisingly caters to kids well. 

Then it was home to open presents. He had many presents from his family in Australia as well as from Marcy and I. He will be getting presents from his Des Moines family on Wednesday when we celebrate Jude's birthday a second time. Here is a cute photo of Jude in his new Elmo slippers.

Marcy and I were chatting at dinner about how much change there is between the second and third birthdays. Jude is so much more aware of what is happening now, he knew it was his birthday and he was able to enjoy treats because it was his special day. His language is now very well developed and he can communicate with us so well. He is always able to say what is going on for him, and he is very clear (sometimes painfully so) about his needs and wants. His eating skills have developed tremendously so that he can now eat many meals without a bib and he is proficient with a fork and spoon. 

The only other big event of the week was our first time out for breakfast with the four of us. So it had been well over a year since Jude has been to a restaurant for breakfast. He was a little hesitant at first, because he does like his morning routine, but he warmed up to the idea. Particularly when he found out this restaurant looked out on to a busy street and offered whipped cream on pancakes.

Jude the Big Helper

Jude loves to help out around the house. We finally got around to raking all our leaves this week and Jude spent over an hour outside helping get all the leaves into these big Home Depot bags. We have several large trees in front of our place that left a ton of leaves which made for a fun afternoon for Jude. Here is a video of him wading through our sea of leaves.

I rarely cook in the kitchen, but green chili with pork is one of my specialties. I usually like to roast the Anaheim chilies myself and then peel and cut them. Jude helps at each step of the way. He particularly likes to hand me the chilies when I am about to peel them, which is what he is doing in the photo below. In fact, if I try and pick one of the tray he gets very annoyed and insists I give them to him.

Jude is enjoying school these days. I walk him to school on Monday and Wednesday mornings and he is very happy now when I leave. I give him a hug when I drop him off and he always says, "Have a good day, Daddy!" as I am leaving. It is so adorable.

Speaking of school we are thinking of moving Jude up to three days a week, by adding Friday, after the holidays. We think he is ready for this and the interactions with the teachers and other kids are really valuable. And the break between Wednesday and the following Monday can sometimes be a little long.

It has been a long time since we had done a family photo, but Jude needed to take one for his school, so we took this photo in our living room on Friday.

I Want Mac & Cheese!

Jude asks for Mac & Cheese all the time now - at least three times a week. It has replaced "rice and beans and guacamole" as his favorite dish. So, we end up eating out at Noodles a couple of times a week. At least we like the food, so we can all get a meal. Marcy had a Ridhwan weekend so I had the kids all day Saturday and Sunday, so today Jude got his Mac & Cheese fix.

Early this week Jude had croup. He had a bad cold, which he is still getting over, that turned into croup. The wheezing sound when they breathe is disconcerting but Jude had a relatively mild case of it as it turned out.

Jude continues to get more and more opinionated. A casual observer would consider him bossy but based on our reading and talking with other parents this is just a stage they go through. Jude is trying to push boundaries because he wants to know who is in control, and some days he will just push and push until you want to scream. But then suddenly he mellows out and is a complete angel.

Jude's love of vacuum cleaners has been documented here before. Well, he still loves them. When we get out the vacuum cleaner it is a highlight of his day and now, he wants to do it himself. He is strong enough now to hold it and move it around. We hope this love of cleaning will continue for many more years...

Jude Enjoys the First Big Fall Snowstorm

We had our first big snow storm of the season this week and we soon realized that Jude needed all new winter gear. So Marcy went to the store and bought Jude this adorable snowsuit and some snow boots. Jude loved playing in the snow, he ended up playing in the backyard, then the front yard, then in the yard across the street - he was out there for over an hour.

Last night was Halloween and we decided to stay in. Jude has no appreciation of Halloween yet, and he doesn't really know what candy is, so we thought there was no point going around the neighborhood trick or treating. Maybe next year. But Jude was really into answering the door and giving out the candy. He would hand every kid who came to the door some candy - he would run to the door every time he heard the doorbell. Which happened a lot. We probably had 35-40 visitors and so we managed to hand out almost all our candy.

Jude has been getting into a bit of a bedtime routine lately. He will have a bath (usually with Anna) then put his pajamas on and come downstairs and have some chocolate milk. We make this with just regular milk and chocolate syrup. Jude now likes to use the little mixer himself to mix in the chocolate syrup in his cup.

This brings up another one of Jude's favorite activities. Every meal has become something of a science experiment. He loves mixing different foods to see what happens. He might have a glass of milk with his dinner and by the end of the meal the milk will be purple because he has dropped his beets in there. Today he had some noodles that he dropped in his milk and then he spooned them out again and ate them. This is the amusing part about these little experiments. Often times he will continue to eat and finish his meal, which may involve using his spoon to remove the contents of his milk or water.

Jude doesn't feed Anna that much, but this morning he asked to feed her yogurt during breakfast. I snapped this photo below with mouths open wide.

Finally, Jude is often asking us, "will you hold me?" This happens a lot if he is feeling a little insecure or if he is tired. Tonight we had the Brieres and Fergusons over for dinner and this time, Jude asked Morgan, who is only recently turned 7. She was happy to oblige.