New and Improved Jude?

Not possible right?! Well at least he is missing the poofs of hair over each ear!
Always curious, watching his brother get a haircut was great fun. He was not
excited about the clippers being used on him. After much tossing and turning
of the head trying to see exactly what were doing, he resigned himself, laid
his head against Kate, and cried the saddest little wail. Mourning the loss of
his curls? Probably not, but I certainly was.

Jude was having fun playing with these nesting blocks. Notice the tongue sticking out -oh the concentration!

Here is a video of him trying to get the blocks to "nest" so that he could make some noise.

Jude the Walker

Jude is 11 months now. He has been a walking maniac - with his walking toy,that is. He races across the house much of the day and outside as often as possible. Here is a video of him yesterday.

I guess all this practice has paid off, because he has been talking several steps on his own now too!

The Easter Egg Race.

Hey, I know I'm a little late, but I'll spare you the excuses!
Jack and Mary were both sick this Easter, so it threw off our plans
a bit. We did end up doing the Easter egg hunt that they all look
forward to later that evening. Mary was all business as she ran
around grabbing eggs. As usual, we repeated this several times,
just as I did as a girl. ;-)

Time for a haircut???

We have been wondering if it is time to cut Jude's hair. Hmmm.


I got him up from his nap and it became clear!

What do you think? !

My Grandpa: a Hero, a Cowboy, a True Gentleman.

My Grandpa was a quiet man. The saying "still waters run deep" could have been written about him. He didn't offer up a whole lot about his life, perhaps making the nuggets here and there more precious. He fought in WWII when he was barely more than a boy. I think he is a hero not just because he went and bravely fought, but because he carried on bravely throughout his life with what must have been tormenting memories. As a girl and to this day, I loved looking at pictures of him strong and handsome in his uniform. He looked like a movie star to me. Another image that I always remember and love is of "Grandpa, the Cowboy". I was always awed by seeing him ride his horse, looking every inch the part. The cowboy hat and deeply tanned skin helped with the rugged look, but the quiet strength was what really gave him that "cowboy of old" air. He was a craftsman, a writer of poems, well spoken and well mannered, a gentle soul. All those traits speak of a gentleman, but it was that quiet, calm strength that set him apart and made my Grandpa a true gentleman.

Catching Up...

It has been nearly a month since I have posted other than the video of Jude. It has been a crazy month where I have been completely off my schedule and blogging just fell by the wayside. My Grandpa died March 10th. Funerals are never easy, but it was wonderful to see family. To catch up with cousins and Aunts and Uncles that I have not gotten to see nearly enough these past few years. I am so glad that I went! I ended up getting sick the day after the funeral, so I didn't take many pictures. I mostly just laid around. It was still nice just to hang out with my family. What a great family I have! My sister, Amber, has a great blog with lots of wonderful pictures of this visit. Check it out! I can't compete. She has videos of my brother, Jesse, singing at the funeral, as well as videos of hanging out at the house. She has pictures of the whole family - all 9 made it home - and pictures of Grandpa. How we will miss his quiet presence in our lives. I trust that we will see him again and that he is at peace now.

Jude the Speeder

Another video of Jude speeding around the place with his walking toy. I didn't really catch it too well and it is sideways, but I though it was too cute to pass up.