Smooch!

Here are some photos of you looking cute and delicious.  I can't stop peppering your little chubby cheeks with pecks and smooches.

Must be annoying to have your cheeks pecked and smooched all day long.  And then to have someone shout "Kisses!" in front of your face and plant big ol' wet ones on your lips.

One day, you will be big enough to run away and push my pursed lips aside.  And eventually you will refuse to let me hug you in front of your friends, or otherwise.  But until then, I'm torturing, uh, I mean, peppering you with kisses all day long!  While you are still my baby.

Hi! My Name Is...

Finally!  After carrying this little guy for 10 months (yes, it's really 10, not 9), pushing him out a very small cavity, nursing and tending to him day and night for over a year, he has finally learned my "name"!

Sort of.

For the last 3 weeks or so, he's began to call me "mum, mum, mum" or "mem, mem!"

And always with his arms outstretched, clinging on for dear life, because he's going through a new strong phase of separation anxiety.

Leaving for work in the morning never gets any easier, only harder!

Chicks Dig My Ride

Look who got his first set of wheels?

Judah couldn't wait to show it off to his next-door girlfriend and take her for a spint. Frankly he was much more excited about pushing the bike than sitting in it. Sigh, yet another expensive baby toy that Judah refuses to use the "right" way.

One of THOSE People

BEFORE I had a baby, I used to look at other people's blogs and think--I'm never going to do that.  I'm not going to be one of those people whose blog gets completely taken over with baby, baby, baby, all day, all night, only posts about the baby.

I'm going to continue to have my own separate identity!  I'm not going to be one of those people who has their baby as their FB profile picture.  After all, it's YOUR profile picture, not your kid's!  This used to really annoy me.  And speaking of which, this is my current FB profile pic:

So yes, I realize the proper response to my previous notions is--HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.

Clearly I had no idea, no real inkling, no shimmer of insight into how motherhood would change me. I have transferred all of my narcissism and self-absorption from ME to WE, or maybe more accurately, just HE--as anyone who visits this blog regularly has already quite easily surmised.

But really, how can I not fall in love with this big toothy smile and twinkling little eyes?

How We Roll

Every chance he gets, Judah likes to sit on a vehicle with wheels.

I think it's time to buy him his first tricycle!

Nothing quite says you're baby is all grown up, like getting him his first little trike. Sniff, sniff, I miss my baby.

Hamster Wheel for Tots

Now that you're such a good walker, we go to a nearby tots park all the time. It's a great way to burn your energy and make you good and ready for bedtime.

We've met so many little people and their parents there too. Mostly it's just dads who are giving the poor mommies a well-deserved break from the kiddos.

A Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz

You love reading books right before bedtime. I say, "Do you want to read some books?" And you say "Uhhhh!" and point toward your stack on the counter.

Right now you're really into Dr. Seuss' ABC Book. You like to try out the sound of the letter 'b' and 't'. When I say, "Baby barber bubble bumble-bee" you say "buh buh buh".

You love the ending when I say "Zizzer......zazzer.....zuzzzzzzzzzz!" and tickle your tummy. Dr. Seuss was a genius.

MY MOMMYYYYYY!

Judah's become a little possessive of me lately. He was really upset when I held my nephew and kept pulling on Manfred's shirt to pry him away.

Manfred was understandably upset by this giant baby bully, pulling and prodding him.

But even when Michael gets near me, Judah gets very upset and needs to re-assert his supremacy by pawing at my shirt and demanding to nurse. I've created a monster!

Target Monster

Attention all Target shoppers! A Target monster has been spotted on the loose in Aisle 4, 6, 2, 17, basically everywhere.  It sounds like this "Aaaaaaaaah!" (That's the noise Judah  makes when he's feeling good.)

Ever since a new Target opened up literally 2 min from our home, we've been quite frequent shoppers. Judah likes to push the carts (really dirty and gross) and pull things off the aisles--sorry workers, we do try to put them back!

Many of the cashiers already recognize him now--O, it's that baby again.

Look Who's Walking Now!

You started walking right before your first birthday, but it was so gradual I can't really say when it began. When we took these pictures a few weeks back, it was the first time we felt like you definitely found your feet and were exalting in your newfound freedom.

Since you never learned to crawl, but were always insatiably curious, you were hyper-motivated to learn to walk. The period right before you found your legs was pretty torturous for me and your dad. Our backs broke holding your little hands so you could cruise around and we felt so bad everytime you bled all over yourself from falling during brief moments of letting go.

I'll always see this period as one giant metaphor for child-rearing--a balance of freedom and restraint, protection and exposure, blood, guts, tears, and finally...independence!

To borrow a phrase from one of your favorite books--O the places you'll go!

Pelota!

Shhhh, I'm not supposed to be blogging now as I'm under the gun to get something out to the clients. BUT, how I could resist posting a pic of you doing something you love so much.

Every time you see a ball, you MUST have it. It doesn't matter if it's a giant exercise ball, a baby-sized ball, or something you saw for the first time this weekend, a football.  We must have at least 10 different ones we bought for you in the house.  I have a deathly fear of tripping over one while I'm holding you and plummeting to your doom.

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!