Besos

I've been so snowed under with work lately.  But just wanted to say, Little Man, I love you so!

My baby has turned into a walking, babbling, little boy who now knows where his pieds, ojos, manos, cabeza, toes, cheeks, tongue, teeth, nose, and ears are.  And you say "nah, nah, nah" when I get to the part about "no, I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam-I-Am!"

Judah Fact #002: You are Innately Compassionate

Ever since you were about 5 months old I knew you were a compassionate soul.  You loved your soothie pacifier more than anything else in the world (except the real boob) and your eyes would light up everytime you spotted it.

One day you were happily sucking on your soothie when your dad pointed to his mouth and said, "stick it in daddy's mouth" and you did it with a smile.  What sharing, what compassion, what generosity.

You've long ago abandoned your soothie (on your own thankfully, no pacifier wars in this house) and now you have a new love--food.  Your favorite dish now is butter-rice with a dash of soy sauce and sesame oil.  You and your dad were gulping it down like ravenous wolves yesterday while I stood nearby washing dishes.

All of a sudden I saw a little hand extending a spoonful of butter-rice toward me, gesturing for me to eat it.  Awww, just melted my heart, my sweet, compassionate, generous little guy.

It's amazing how you are just tempermentally like this.  There's no way we could possibly teach you, at this young age, to care about other people and want to share good things with them for no reason other than the joy of sharing.  In this way you are just like your dad.

Of course, it's probably the case that you are just in a phase in which it's fun to share.  In a few months, like all toddlers, you'll probably be snatching all your stuff and shouting "Mine! Mine!"  But for now, you are awfully sweet.

Doctor Checkup

Recently we had your 12 month check up and I don't really remember your stats. I was never a "numbers" person and you've always been well within the range of healthy so I just don't care that much now. But you sure looked cute getting measured!


You are something like 23 pounds and 30 some inches with a head circumference of 41 (?).  Totally not sure about that last figure.  But that basically puts you at 50th percentile of height and weight and 95th percentile in head size!  This is quite the reversal of fortunes--you used to be 95th percentile in height/weight with a pin-sized 50th percentile head.



Here's you toddling around, waiting for the doctor to show up, which took freaking forever! Seriously, it took more than 30 min for her to show up. You were extremely patient to be in this tiny room for so long. I decided to give you diaper-off time to help with a butt rash, not really caring if you peed all over the place--that's my passive aggressiveness showing.



During the appointment the doctor said you were such a happy, bubbly guy.  It's true, you only have 2 modes--Mr. ADHD Sunshine, and WAAAAAAAH!  Where's the happy medium?

Nah!

Judah can say very few words. In fact, I think he only really says "Da da, or Daddy." Although his nanny insists he can say "Vamanos!" which really sounds like "nanano."

But other than that, he has clearly learned another word and says it all the time: "No!" which sounds like "Nah!"

This makes me a little sad because it probably means he hears that word the most--No Judah! Don't eat that! Don't touch that! Don't go there! Stop doing that! Sigh, I'm afraid this next period of his life is going to be a bit too negative.

Retreat

A few weeks back, Judah was reunited with his beloved auntie who went with us on a wekeend retreat up to the mountains. Judah had a little trouble going to sleep in a new environment, but his auntie still had the magic touch and bounced him to sleep in her arms every day.


These pics kind of freak me out cuz Judah looks 95% like his dad's baby pics, which I need to post up one day so every one else can be as freaked out as I am by this trick of nature we call genetics.

We Found Mary Poppins!

We have been so very blessed to find the kindest, most loving nanny for Judah. She plays with him and gives him her full attention all day, every day. She is a tremendous answer to prayer and makes me feel 100% worry free when I leave my baby every day to go to work.

Often times she'll buy him toys and things that he needs, like snacks and a little bucket hat. She trains him to sit still when putting on his shoes and to lift his little arms up so she can pull his shirt over his head. She reads him book after book after book and teaches him lots of words in Spanish. And she takes him on a big outing every day, to the park, to the store, to Barnes and Noble, to Petco, etc.

Once she took Judah to B&N and our friend just happened to be there too. Our friend recognized Judah and watched the way our nanny interacted with him. She said it almost moved her to tears--Judah's nanny was so attentive and loving. What an amazing confirmation! I highly recommend having a friend "spy" on your nanny because there are so many who just talk on their cell phones all day and completely ignore your kid. I've seen them all over town!

But, judging from this text picture Judah's nanny sent me one day it's clear she has one glaring limitation...


She's obviously colorblind!

Redneck Baby

Um, can someone explain why my baby looks like him and his cousin Billy Joe Bob just went skeet shootin' on the back of Cletus' pick up truck before headin' back to the park, as in trailer park?

Evolutionary Triumph

It's incredible how Michael's genes have successfully replicated themselves and ensured their place in the next generation. Judah is his spitting image, especially when they wear the same color palette!

Sweet Robbie

Recently we had a playdate with our dear friends and met their newest addition--little Robbie!


Robbie is just a couple months older than Judah so they were doing a lot of the same things. However, Robbie was a LOT sweeter, more mellow, and more easy-going--but that's true of 99% of babies as compared to Judah.


I couldn't believe how articulate and imaginative Robbies' older brother was. At just 3 years of age he was making up work associates, giving them hilarious names, and talking about his office in SF. I can't wait for Judah to be an early human and make up stories too!

Zzzzzzz

Happy labor day from someone who's never labored a day in his life!


These are rare photos of Judah sleeping. I'm usually too scared that he might wake up, but these were taken by his auntie right before she woke him up on purpose so his nap wouldn't be too long.

Got to Start Them Young

Judah's nanny got him this toy for his first birthday since he loves it when she vacuums so much.


I like to fantasize about the day when Judah can really vacuum, and do the dishes, and cook, and massage me, and...

Ouch!

Judah got a lot of black eyes trying to learn how to walk. He fell a lot and hadn't learned how to put his hands out to break his falls.


This was a particularly brutal fall into a sharp jutting corner. Just breaks my heart to see my baby all cut up. This pic doesn't do it justice.

Judah Rocks the Block

A few weeks ago we went to our neighborhood block party. Since we live in the ghetto, it was ghetto-fabulous with lots of hip-hop and graffiti everywhere. Judah had a lot of fun bopping to the beats.


There was a dog beauty contest so Judah had a ball petting all the contestants.


Judah loves dogs so much, I think it's inevitable that he's going to ask for one some day. This dog below was the gentlest, sweetest creature on God's green earth--would've made the perfect first pet!