Performance by the "Jingletons"!

My dear friend Robyn hosts a Christmas concert at her house every year. Jordan put his own cool flavor into a jingle bell type of boogie (and roped me into doing the actually boogying)! And can I just say that I love my big man Jordan? Life is pretty cool when you're married to a cool cat. Check it out on the following youtube link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA8Ph7uwRnE

ps. This has been on Jordan's facebook for a while, but here's for the folks who haven't seen it yet! And by the way, my dance solo doesn't happen right away... patience.

Student Surgeons of the World.mpg

The Milwaukee Zoo

My dear friend Necia invited Jude and I to a day at the Milwaukee zoo with her sweet new baby, Ellie. I was so excited because Jude was finally at the age to really notice and appreciate all the animals! I was certain he'd just LOVE it! We have a great zoo here in Milwaukee.

We saw tons of great animals - but I only took pics of a few.

We saw monkeys...

Big cats...

An up-close look at a troop of female peacocks

(going after my pretzel crumbs)...

Big lazy bears...

But did Jude care about any of these wonderful animals? NO. Not really even a litte bit!

Why, you ask? Because all he wanted to do was this...

That's right. Apparently it's much more entertaining to push your stroller around the zoo.

Yeah, I know it's funny, but I was annoyed! He would cry and arch his back if I

tried picking him up to hurry him along or point things out.

Once, I was holding him, doing my best to get him interested in the giraffe... "Wowww, Jude! LOOK! A giraffe! See his loooong neck?!" And when I look at Jude's face, he's just staring at his stroller with big tear-filled eyes and trembling lips. Seriously? There's a live giraffe five feet away from you and you only care about pushing that dumb stroller!? Sheesh.

Wishing he were pushing instead of riding...

But on the bright side - I love animals and I always enjoy a trip to the zoo

(even if Jude was being a skunk). Plus, the autumn weather was gorgeous! I snapped some lovely fall pics while we took a break for Necia to give little Ellie her bottle...

Playing in the leaves ranked 2nd place with Jude (after pushing the stroller around)...

My handsome little guy...

Me and Juders amidst the beautiful fall colors...

Necia and Ellie (looking adorable in her little red suit!)...

Thanks for a fun day, Neesh! We'll have to do it again (after Jude's nap)

and maybe this time he'll care about the animals instead of the stroller!

I know it's sweet that kids enjoy the simple pleasures so much (like pushing the stroller),

but this time I really just wanted him to appreciate the amazing, exotic pleasures of the wild animals at the zoo! Maybe next time.

Little stinker. ( :

Jude's first steps

Looking in on our little hero once more, we find him in his pajamas, all ready for bed, and... What's this?... Taking his first steps! Hooray for little big Jude!

p.s. If you're annoyed with the smallness of the window, be sure to click the icon below the video (bottom right corner) to enlarge it! Yes, this tip is for certain "technologically-challenged" individuals who shall remain nameless... If you thought "duh, jenn" when you read it, then don't worry. It's not you. ( :

Just doin' my job!

The other night, after laying Jude down for bed, I started cleaning up all his toys and little messes around the house and I had to smile as I thought to myself that I don't even do it (clean up) so much to keep things tidy as I do to provide more fun for Jude when he wakes up. Because it's no fun to sit in a mess of toys already strewn around the floor, as if the good times have already been had! I imagine it must be overwhelming too; you wouldn't know where to start! Much more fun to crawl over to a brimming basket of toys- just waiting to be played with - with the happy decision of what to enjoy first. With a clean, tidy play area, young Jude is like a little artist approaching a fresh, blank canvas.

He's so adorable these days - crawling around the place doing his "baby job" as I call it... tearing into everything that he can reach and then exploring it fully by turning it over in his pudgy little hands, banging it against the floor or some other surface, tasting it, biting it, pushing buttons (if there are any), etc. And all the while developing that brilliant little brain, mastering the use of his fingers and hands, gaining a better understanding of this world. It might look like mischief or just rough play - but look a little closer. The truth is, he's just doing his important baby job.

If there's a bin of dvd's or nintendo games within his grasp, it's his solemn baby duty to dig them out or dump the entire thing on the floor and then explore them more fully (as previously described).

If I have a basket of laundry out, he has to hurry over so he can quickly empty it by pulling items out one at a time - setting them no place in particular, just casting them aside as he feverishly works to empty the basket. And it might look like fun, but he's working hard! Sure, socks and small items of clothing are easy... he simply tosses those with a flourish! But pants or one of daddy's t-shirts (the big stuff) are more work because they are much longer than Jude's little arms, so he has to flap his arms wildly and pull several times before he finally gets them out and onto the floor. Whew!

And I guess I can see why he feels like he needs to be so busy. After all, he sees Mom moving around the house all day- seemingly making messes. It's like he's watching me, thinking, "Oh, there she goes, tearing stuff out of all those cupboards again. I'd better get busy too!" And he does!

I love watching him - observing all his little mannerisms and listening to his sweet voice chattering to himself. Such a happy, busy baby. Loves "helping" his mama.

p.s. Isn't it a cruel irony that by the time Jude is old enough to actually be helpful, he won't want to help anymore?

Jude's First Birthday + First Haircut!

Haaappy birrrthdaaaay, deaaarrrr Juuuuuu-uuuudddde,

Haaappy birrrthdaaaay tooooooooo youuuuuuuuu!

Can you believe little Jude (aka: Big Jude) is a year old already? What a joyful year it's been for us! Jordan and I love this little guy so much. People in the grocery store (or wherever) often tell me, "There's a future linebacker right there!" and I just laugh and think to myself, "Yeah, right." Jude is my big softy! He's gentle and mellow and cuddly and agreeable and shy and so so sweet! But then again, who knows what the future holds, right? ( :

Jordan's work schedule has been so rigorous lately that we didn't want to try to make any big birthday party plans. But we had a cozy little family celebration for Jude... We spent another fun day at the lake (I'll post pics later), had cupcakes, and opened presents!


If our camera battery hadn't died, I'd have some cute shots of Jude crying... He reached out to touch the candle (shortly after this last shot was taken) and ended up being too upset to eat his cupcake! I guess he figured it was all a big conspiracy against him... You know, kind of like when grown-ups gang up on you to give you shots and stuff like that. He didn't trust us or the cupcakes for the rest of the evening! But I tried again the next day (without the candle) and it turns out Jude LOVES birthday cupcakes! ( :

Here he is opening one of his presents...

What a fun birthday! I just wish grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. could have been here to celebrate with us. We miss you guys. Thanks to the grandparents (and great-grammy!) for the cards, gifts, and birthday money!

Alright, now for the second half of this post... Jude's first haircut! First off, we'll begin with a few "before" pics. Here's one that illustrates the fact that the hair was getting too long and out of control. (ps. Jude likes lasagna.)

Here he is at the salon, waiting his turn for his haircut. You can see that I'd been doing my best with the scissors at home to keep it out of his eyes, off the back of his colar, etc. Unfortunately, it was resulting in a nerdy-looking "bowl cut" - which, let's face it, is not the best look for a kid with a large head. (Yes, Jude does have a large head, but he's well proportioned so it's okay!)

And here he is in the chair! Looking a bit stunned. ( : I really like the lady who did it (her name is Jasmine). She was patient with my centimental picture-taking, hair-saving, etc. She kept raving about what a GOOD baby he was - which is true- but I think Jude may have just been too shy to show his true feelings.

This is my absolute favorite picture! I love how he's watching it all in the mirror and how his cute little bare piggies are sticking out from under the smock! She had him sitting up on 2 boosters to get him high enough. Adorable.

And heeeere's the "after" shots! Doesn't he look sharp? He's holding his prize that I bought him afterward at the dollar store for being such a good boy (a little ball that lights up when you throw it).

Although it definitely makes him look older which is kinda sad, I wish I'd got it done sooner! He looks so handsome. It makes him look even more like his daddy, don't you think?

Kellen, Janers, and Juders

In early June, Jude and I made a visit to Idaho to visit my big sis Marie - plus Taylor and the little cousins, of course! Unfortunately, my camera broke on this trip, so I don't have as many pics as I'd like. (Plus, no pictures of Marie or Taylor! Sheesh.) But here's a few of them anyway...

First off, here there's the kid clan enjoying a little tub time! Jude is my little observer... He loves to just sit and watch/listen to what's going on. He was especially observant on this trip... totally in awe of the "big kids" (as his face here illustrates).

Here, Kellen is showing Jude the picture (of a robot) he drew for him. Kellen is quite the artist- he spends a big chunk of each day drawing pictures!

A little pool party in the backyard (Jude was not a fan of the chilly water!)

Jane was ever the "mini mom" to Jude which is a crack up since she's still practically a baby herself! She made sure that Jude kept his hat on (to Jude's dismay)...

This pic makes me laugh... Jude had just ripped off his hat and is still glaring at it and heeeeere comes the ever-watchful Jane to put it right back on again! (And isn't Kellen a cutie, smiling away?)

And, saving the best for last... You could sum this one up in just 2 words - "nap time".

Thanks, Marie and Tay! We had a wonderful time- we love you guys! I only wish we had some pics of Jude with his cousins on the Singleton side! Dumb old camera.

*But don't worry, we've already purchased a new one that should be arriving in the mail within the next few days (so there will still be Jude pics for all you fans!).

Lake Michigan - Jude's first day at the beach!

It's been a LONG while since I posted, so you'll have to forgive the fact that these pics are a bit old, but I've got a bit of back-tracking to do! I had to post these adorable pics of Jude's first trip to the lake. These were taken in late May, I believe.

Okay, first off... We find our little hero riding on Daddy's back in the backpack! And looking pretty darn excited about it... (People were laughing at Jude's big grins everywhere we went)!

Jude LOVED playing in the sand - he went crazy with joy when I first set him down!

He looked like he was digging for treasure or something - he'd grab fistfulls of sand as quickly as he could, throw it, and then go for some more... getting more and more excited all the time!

What a happy baby!

He was pretty amused when Jordan buried his feet in the sand...

Here's a funny little clip that shows just how excited Jude was... He ended up getting a little more excitement than he bargained for, I think! (And in spite of how it appears, Jordan swears he was trying to help Jude!) See for yourself...

Ha! That video shows that some time has definitely passed - Jude was so helpless at the time! Now he's crawling all over the place!

After playing in the sand, we made our way over to a favorite burger/custard joint that's right along the beach (Marie, you and Jane have been here before, remember?)...

Little Juders was pretty tuckered out by the time we got home...

Tired, but happy!

I've never enjoyed the lake so much! You've got to love the way a happy little baby makes all life's simple joys come alive again.

My Stunning New Headboard

Don't worry... this isn't one of those posts where you gradually feel more and more like a loser as you read about how a very talented and creative person cranked out an amazing project (and they're probably off creating something else while you're sitting around blog surfing)! Ha! Just kidding - that came out sounding more cynical than I intended, but you know what I mean! So anyway, check it out... here's a little project anyone can do. All you need is a few minutes (under 30), some wall space, and some electrical tape! That's right folks, I made a king size headboard out of electrical tape! It makes me laugh since it's not so much a piece of furniture as it is an optical illusion. In fact, when Jordan first saw it he immediately groaned and then began to scold me about spending money on something we didn't need but then he was like... .... "Wah? ...Oh... ok." Pretty clever, no? Here are the "before" and "after" pics...

ps. Sorry the pictures are sideways, they were taken with a lame-o phone camera and I can't flip em!

Before...

After...

Fun, huh? I know it's not super-posh, but I'd say it's a definite improvement on my blank wall/lack of headboard! It was hilariously easy too. And nope, I can't take credit for the idea. I got it offline in a "faux headboard ideas" search.

Teeeeething!

Doesn't this face just say it all?


Jude has 2 little bottom teeth that are ready to cut through the gums any day now... I snapped these pics the other night while he was feeling especially fussy.

Hey Amber, these jammies were from you, I believe! They're supposedly for an 18-month-old, but Big Jude here is already filling them out at 8 months. (I love how he's so tense that even his legs are flexed).


Jude's favorite thing to chew on is oftentimes me. Here he is going for my knee with a face most mischievous!