I can hardly believe Jude is 5 weeks old…on Christmas he’ll be 6 weeks! He is so much more aware of Andrew and I and the world around him. He’s smiling at us alot- especially in the morning when he seems to be the happiest. He’s been smiling at a little stuffed monkey of his and a little chicken and snowman that hang from his playmat too- so cute!

It’s also hard to believe that Christmas is only days away…it sort of snuck up on Andrew and I this year because of Jude’s birth and first weeks of life. It’s funny how the feeling of Christmas is bittersweet- you want to feel that lighthearted happiness and sense of wonder that comes this time of year, and yet it seems to last for such a short time and then the actual day is over and the decorations come down and the ‘feeling’ fades until next year. I have a beautiful little book that was written in 1905 by Henry Van Dyke that talks about keeping Christmas- he says in the book- ‘…there is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas.’ He goes on to say we must ‘look behind people’s faces into their hearts, to own that probably the only good reason for your existence is not what you are going to get out of life, but what you are going to give to life; to close your book of complaints against the management of the universe, and look around you for a place where you can sow a few seed of happiness…’ He continues, ‘Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world- stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death- and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas. And if you keep it for a day, why not always?’
His words shift my focus in a season that can become muddled with all the things to do and gifts to buy…I hope they speak to you as well.

The Latest Pictures:

One Month Old
Well, Hello there!
Smiling at Mommy
Talking to Daddy
Reading with Mommy
Hanging out by the tree

Jude was in a happy mood this morning and decided to smile at his daddy (me) at least 7 or 8 times. We got the last couple on video.

A big CONGRATULATIONS to my dear friend Danielle Guntle (formerly Ares) and her family on their baby to come!!! Their bundle of joy is due around August 2007. Woohoo!!

Jude had his first ‘real’ bath last night and loved it. He got so relaxed he pooped in the water! He’s approaching his one month mark and I can’t believe it was already almost a month ago that he was born. He’s changing and growing so much- he’s also starting to fit into more of his clothes. He loves to look at lights- we put him in front of the Christmas tree in his bouncy seat and he loves to sit and stare.

In non-baby news, a big congrats to Andrew’s sister Sarah who just got engaged! She and Damieon will be getting married sometime next September and we’re very excited for them!

Check out some new pictures:

Littlest 49er Fan

Sleepy Boy

First Bath

I Love Bath Time

Clean and Dry

One of the many joys of a newborn is experiencing how his body processes food. The funny thing is that it looks very different coming out then it did going in. (Avoid reading further on a full stomach)

For example:
At this point in his young life his poo (which I see several times a day) strongly resembles stone ground mustard. I very much enjoy mustard but may have to avoid the stone ground kind for some time.

Early this morning the little guy was being pretty fussy. In an attempt to get a couple more hours of sleep I put him on my chest and patted his back until he calmed down and fell asleep. It worked and we both slept for another hour. When I got up to go to work I noticed a cottage cheese like substance on my chest and then realized he had ’spit up’ (the infant term for blowing chunks).

More food like descriptions to come…

So I know it’s a little early for Jude to be smiling, and when Andrew told me a couple nights ago that he had in fact given him a smile after staring at his daddy for a few minutes I wasn’t totally convinced. But the next day when Andrew was holding him and talking to him, I was watching and Jude smiled at his daddy again! It was enough to bring tears to my eyes it was so cute! I told Jude it was ok that he hadn’t smile at ME as long as he says ‘ma-ma’ first!;)
Happy December everyone! Tonight is our first Christmas party of the season. I love the holidays…we even got our tree last weekend which is early for some people, but growing up my family’s tradition was to hike around in the snow and cut down a tree on Thanksgiving weekend. We hiked around a tree farm to find our tree this year but it was still fun!