First Flight

Just a quick post to say we've made it to Ohio!  After a harrowing day of travel, Judah survived his first plane ride without much pain.  Actually, we missed our original flight because we went to the wrong airport!  How stupid did we feel?!

But the silver-lining there was that we got on a red-eye flight and Judah was so exhausted he basically slept the whole way.  So much for all the airplane toys I had prepared for him!

Michael and I, sadly, were not so fortunate.  The red eye was painful for us with a capital "P".  I got a total of zero minutes of sleep.

Here's a pic of Judah enjoy his first snow experience with his beloved auntie. Much more to come!

Good Tidings

He has filled the hungry with good things 

and the rich he has sent away empty.

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." 

And let the one who hears say, "Come." 

And let the one who is thirsty come; 

Let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

TCB (Taking Care of Business)

There won't be many posts here for a while during the hectic frenzy of the holidays.

Wish us luck as we attempt to take Judah on his first plane ride, over the hills and through the woods, all the way to grandma's house in Ohio!

Just Another Toddler in the Park

I remember last year I often asked myself--I wonder what it will be like when Judah can actually play on the park equipment instead of just looking at it?

These pics really underscore for me how quickly babies grow.

Gone is the helpless baby of yesteryear. Here is the toddler of today.

And soon will be a fully functional man-child! So much happens in a year of the life of an early human.

Blondie

Sometimes I get weird text pics of Judah while I'm at work. Fortunately, this series of photos had some text narration:  Hey Mom--So...I think I'm in love!

Just met her at the park, and we blew some bubbles together. 

We're going to Cabo next weekend.

She might just be the "One"!  --Judah

Sigh.  Kids these days!

Meal Deal: A Thanksgiving Miracle

Like all parents of toddlers, we often had trouble getting Judah to try new foods. For a long time he refused to eat any meat whatsoever (and barely tolerated other forms of protein except for his beloved cheese).

So, needless to say, we were really worried, but also didn't want meals to turn into high-pressure situations that would create negative associations for Judah. What to do, what to do (other than blend everything together into a disgusting meat smoothie)?

Well, it turns out, Judah likes a good deal, like the son of a corporate deal lawyer should.

Michael discovered by accident one day (it happened to be Thanksgiving) that Judah understands very immediate trade-offs. Michael was trying to get Judah to eat a piece of turkey (for the 26th time), but Judah kept shouting for his "cheerios." He says "Oh! Oh!" to ask for his Trader Joe's O's.

So out of exasperation, Michael held out an "O" and said, "If you eat this turkey, I'll give you this "O." He didn't expect Judah to be able to process this information, but repeated the deal a couple times and then held out the turkey to Judah--who opened his mouth and accepted it! Unbelievable! It never ceases to amaze me how babies understand so much more than we think they're capable of.

Then Michael gave him the "O" and once again negotiated with Judah over turkey. This went on for a few more rounds until Judah realized, hey, turkey is delicious!

Pretty soon he was just eating the turkey without any trade-offs. We've since used other trade-offs (cheese, grapes, strawberries) to get Judah to try chicken, ham, beef, and other foods he used to flat-out reject.  (Here I'm offering him some Kale in exchange for a pomegranate seed--ah this brings back not-so-fond memories of law school in which contracts were made using a peppercorn for "consideration").

Anyway, the "Meal Deal Method" works about 90% of the time and Judah now has a much broader range of foods to eat. Maybe we should patent this amazing toddler feeding trick?! Well, too late, I already spilled the beans here.  And yes, Judah now eats beans too!

Splendor in the Grass

There is no better place for my active guy who loves to play with balls, than a huge grassy field.

Here Judah can run with abandon in all directions as far as his little legs can take him.

And I don't have to constantly hover over him and shout "No touch! Be careful! Watch that step! Don't run into the street!"

And bonus, he's exhausted in the end and happily sits back in his carseat for the ride home...and eventually sleeps "like a baby" (which all parents know is a stupid simile since babies are horrible sleepers).

Check it!

What's that I'm sportin' on my back you ask?

Why, it's my pikachu backpack, of course!

I'm fobby and ready for pre-school!

Huggies

Judah's turning out to be quite the hugger.

He still gets upset when I hold his cousin, but he nevertheless likes to give Manfred impromptu hugs without being asked!

Other self-initiated hugging events include hugging our next door neighbor's 1 year old girl and hugging me after he slaps my face around, as if to say "Sorry mom!"  Sigh, we're still working on his "gentle" touch.

Hold my hand and walk...

...where I lead. But in this household, it's Judah saying that to us. There's no point in trying to lead him anywhere. He sticks out his hand and commands us where he wants us to go.

But it's still awfully sweet to hold his little hand anyway.

Judah-cise

Everyone together now, one-two, one-two...

Judah loves the 1lb weights at Sports Authority!

Too Sexy For My Onesie

Hey there little lady, shhhh, I know just what you're thinking...

...how can a 16 month-old look this greasy!?  Apparently, all it takes is an unbuttoned shirt and low-rise jeans!

Dandy!

Judah has recently discovered the joy of flowers and dandelions in particular. We once spent a whole afternoon picking them and blowing them (which Judah didn't understand because he kept trying to eat them. Gross).

That same day we read a nature book and he saw a picture of a dandelion in it. I said "Dandy!" and he pointed to the front door gesturing wildly to say that he wanted to go out and pick a dandelion.

I'll tell you, there's nothing sweeter than seeing your little baby holding a flower.

Ready For Take-off

Judah gets to dress up as a space-baby at his activity center. He also loves being in 'mission control' because he hasn't yet met a button he didn't desperately want to push (both figuratively and literally).

Speaking of pushing buttons, we are going through yet another miserable round of sleep-training. It seems Judah is no longer content to fall asleep in our arms and then quietly transferred to his crib.

Now, he is so alert and sensitive, that any attempt to lower him into his crib causes him to startle, wake up, and wail like a banshee--as if to say, how dare you put me down!!!! So now we are doing what all the books say we should've been doing since the beginning--putting him down in his crib with his little eyes open.

Judah absolutely hates this and will cry like his body is being set on fire for a good 20-30 minutes.  It absolutely kills me because he says "Maaaa-maaaa!" as he cries.

It's also caused him to be very apprehensive anytime I take him into his room. The books call this "crib fear" as he now associates his crib with wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Oh the misery of sleep-training.

Comfy Cozy

The days have been getting colder and my baby has been getting older!

Since when did my baby wear house slippers and sit in his favorite chair to peruse a book by himself?! Everyday brings him one step closer to being a little man.  Before you know it, he'll be wearing an old man robe and flipping through the newspaper!

Waaaah!

From looking at this blog, most people get the idea that Judah is a generally happy guy--and he is for the most part.

But because I'm all about shattering illusions and presenting a somewhat more balanced view of reality--here are pics of Judah crying HARD.

He usually does this right after he wakes up from a nap (if I'm not there to nurse him). Michael took these pics, hoping that the novelty of the camera would distract Judah from his crying jag. Obviously that didn't work!