Mommy time

I had a little time off from work, and spent some weekday fun with the little guy.

Started the day right - hanging out in diaps and t-shirt.

Quick trip to the Zoo to play on the playground.

Then to the park.

Then back home to a little bit of cleaning.  As I vacuum, Jude finds his golf bag, or this toy with wheels and helps me out by doing his own vacuuming.  Such a sweet helper. 

I LOVE my time off spending one on one time with baby.  It's so much fun, I just wish I could do it more often!

Boxing

Lonnie found some old boxing gloves, and tried to get Jude to put them on and practice his skills.  Next Muhammad Ali, right?

Take me out to the ballgame

We decided to give it a go -- that is, take Jude to a baseball game.  We knew he wouldn't really watch the game, but with a playground, Merry Go Round, and suite tickets with free food/drinks (thanks to my awesome clients), we figured we could find plenty to keep the little guy entertained.  Plus, in the Stevenson family, baseball is a big deal.  All us Stevenson girls played softball for years, and K Pa still plays the real-deal baseball game to this day (he's 61!) So, taking Jude to his first baseball game had to be documented.
 

New Summer hair cut - check.  Baseball hat - check.  Baseball t-shirt - check.

Good ole' Slugger Field.

Precious closeup pic - just because.

Playing on the playground.

Say cheese - just now noticed he's in the girl one - ignore that part.

Family portrait.  I notice now that I'm a Mom, it doesn't matter how terrible I look in pictures...it's just about capturing the moment.  Note to self - figure out how to capture the moment and still look presentable.

And here we are "watching" the game.  Yea right, we left before the game even started!  It got delayed a few times, and clearly Jude wasn't having it.

Overall, nice first attempt.  We tried again the 4th of July, and did much better.  More on that later.

Easter 2011

Whoops, forgot to do a post about that holiday.  So, we'll backtrack to, Jude was 14 months then.  It wouldn't be Easter without April showers.  Here's Jude on his way to church, in raincoat, rain hat, and awesome plaid Easter pants.

The full body Easter outfit shot -- this was the snazziest I could find.  They don't make cool clothes for boys like they do girls.

Our only decent family shot.  It's hard.

He got two Easter baskets - one from Mommy and Daddy, and one from Mimi and K Pa.  Lucky kid!

Little did Mimi know, that the bunny she gave Jude (basket on the left) would become his lovey.  It's so sweet!  I thought Jude wouldn't have a lovey, because for the first 14 1/2 months, he wasn't necessarily attached to anything, besides his nookie.  But, in the last month, he has come to love "Bunny" so much, and it melts my heart.  He hugs Bunny, sleeps on Bunny, caresses his ears as we watch cartoons before bed, shares him with his Mommy and Daddy, and takes him to Momma D's when she watches him.  It is so precious to see :)

Happy boy.  This was the first time where he really enjoyed going through his gifts, and checking out what he got.

We ended the Holiday at Momma D and Pappa G's -- with an absolutely fantastic dinner.  Man, they know how to cook.  We usually strip Jude down to his diaper when eating these home-cooked meals, because he tears it up!  Momma D always makes him his own placemat for his holiday meals - we got one for Thanksgiving and Christmas - and has him eat his food on china.  Very classy!

We had an absolutely wonderful Easter with our family and celebrating the resurrection.  It was perfect.

It's a shark

Ha!  I love that picture.  Also, it's a good snapshot of Jude's birthmark (that developed four months after birth.)  We call it New Jersey.  I think it's cute.  Anyway, we've been doing lots of swimming this Summer.  We're putting Jude's Polliwog Certificate to use.  Here he is hanging with Daddy at the pool.

Snack time!

Swimming around with K Pa.

Bubbles, bubbles, everywhere.

Here's sweet Parker napping.

We just love swimming in this insanely hot Summer heat.  It's the only way we can stand to be outside.  Just a couple months left to take advantage of it!! And clearly, Jude needs a haircut.  Crazy hair.

The Treece Birthday Parties

I've had a difficult time socializing Jude for a number of reasons - 1. None of my good friends have children...none.  2. Grandparents watch Jude all day (which we're very grateful for), but he isn't at a daycare meetings new little friends.  3. I work full-time, and travel, and Daddy works, so it makes it difficult to schedule gym classes, music classes, and other places where he can interact with other kids -- they're all smack dab in the middle of the day! 

However, my sister, who is my absolute best friend, has a lot of friends that have kids and/or are about to pop with them.  So, because I've known most of these girls for years (and because I like 'em), I'm borrowing them and their kiddos to play with me and Jude.  Luckily, one lives close by, and has two adorable daughters that are 3 and 1....the perfect ages for a Jude playmate.  Lauren Treece is the Momma, and she has been so kind to us and we've all become buddies.  Recently, both her precious girls had birthdays, so we visited at her place for some fun parties!

In April, Margo (Jude's future wife) turned 1, and we went over to celebrate.  Kitty came too, and we had lots of yummy lemonade...

Got some "face" painting of a baseball...

Played in the backyard...

Lounged on Kitty...

And sang Happy Birthday to sweet Margo (with Lauren and Lucy).

A month later, we came back to celebrate Lucy's 3rd birthday -- they had a pony!!  Jude didn't like it :(

Here's the bithday girl, riding like a pro!

The bouncy ball was a hit.

Playing with Margo.

We're so happy to have new friends and baby friends.  We've got three more on the way between Kitty and her friend Jill.  I'm also very thankful that my sister likes me enough to share her friends :)

Just a quick pic

Jude loves his Sue Sue and Rae Rae! Just had to post a quick pic of some of my dearest friends snuggling with my little man.  We thoroughly enjoyed having them hang out with us while Susan was in town back in April.

More 1 year old pics

Sorry, skipping back a few months to when Jude was 1.  We had some professional pictures taken of him. 

 The shirt says it all...

Isn't he just precious?

I love my

WAGON!! We got Jude a Radio Flyer wagon for his birthday and he absolutely loves it!  When we got back from our trip, Jude walked it to the Zoo.  He loves pushing his ride.

We are so lucky to live within walking distance to the Zoo, the Nature Center, and Joe Creason Park, which has two great playgrounds.  I absolutely love being able to walk out our front door and have so many places to explore with Jude.  One afternoon, K Pa came over to give Jude his first hat, spent some time with us at the park and took some pictures of Jude playing outside.

Jude checking out an airplane...he loves them.

Relaxing in his wagon on the way to the park.

Apparently Jude doesn't understand "sit on your bottom" just yet.

Playing

Throwing mulch from the playground...he gets a kick out of that.

Looking tired after a fun afternoon of playing.