Dyson Giveaway!

So I've never done this before because I'm very unlucky at giveaways and blah blah blah. BUT my favorite mommy blogger (who happens to have a son just a few days older than Jude) is offering a sweet Dyson D25 if you post about the giveaway on your blog and link back to her site. So! For all my mommy friends, here's the link:

http://babyrabies.com/2009/12/04/tis-the-season-for-a-new-vacuum/#comment-11782

Keep in mind that she sometimes uses naughty words, but boy oh boy is she hilarious...

We're Back!

I doubt anyone even checks this anymore. I've even had several threats to be deleted from friend lists. I've had plenty of time to jump on and write a quick something... but the ol' Price Family Blog just isn't turning out to be what I thought it would... And when it's more of a chore than a stress-reliever, I decide to do something else.

Rather than make excuses, like both Barry's and my camera (from each of our respective missions) being busted, I'll just show a smattering of what pictures we do have currently on iphoto... I think I'm supposed to warn that this is mega image-heavy or something...

So... From where I last left off... We moved to Montana for an internship for the summer and:

On the way to Montana for the summer we stopped at Mount Rushmore. This is what we saw... Nothing. All the foreign tourists kept asking us what we were taking pictures of. It was nuts because it's an entire MOUNTAIN directly in front of you that was completely hidden by the fog.

Jump ahead to all of our adventures boating in Montana...

This is the rare photo of Jude's Best Friend - Grandma. I'm pretty sure over the summer he thought she was his mom that he laughed with and loved and played hide and seek with and learned to somersault with, and I was his slave sister that changed all the diapers and fed all the food. He called us both mama. It was disturbing for a little while there.

Jude LOVES his grandpa - he would yell "Papa Papa Papa!" incessantly until my dad picked him up and held him any time he was around. It was so fun to see them be so cute with each other. He LOVED helping his Papa drive the boat. Now any time he sees any pictures of anyone with more-salt-than-pepper colored hair he thinks it's his Papa.

Jude grew and grew and learned to eat whole bananas. (BTW these jammies are Barry's homage to the Monkey-On-The-Lamb bit from Steven Colbert.)

We went 4 wheelin on the sand dunes in St. Anthony Idaho with my brother and sister and their families.

Barry learned to water ski!

I skied slalom.

We went to Myrtle Beach with Barry's family and hardly took any pictures. That's ok because Jude liked burying his face in the sand the best. I'm not kidding, it was kind of weird.

Oh yeah - Barry had an internship.

He was the best one, so he had the nicest office (just kidding they all had sweet views).

On the way back to Michigan we tried to see Mount Rushmore again and had a MUCH better view.

I ran my first race! It was a Red Carpet 5K with lots of my friends, all in tutus! (I later ran a half marathon on Mackinac Island, but those pictures haven't made it to iphoto yet...)

Barry bought us tickets to the So You Think You Can Dance tour for my birthday in August. It was torture waiting til October to go, but it was awesome! We got all fancied up.

And Barry was dead sexy.

Our tickets were literally the absolute furthest tickets from the stage, which coincidentally, when you're back that far, isn't much different from watching it at home on TV. Luckily our friends had seats ON THE FLOOR, third row from the stage and they had 2 empty seats next to them! We were so close we could see all the sweat and cellulite. It was awesome!

Michigan is THE BEST place to be in the fall. We've visited many a pumpkin patch or 9:

Jude and his girlfriend, Anna. No joke. Some days he wakes and says, "MAMA! Anna? Park?" I don't think she likes him like that, though.

These pictures are from a different farm. I dressed him so cute that day, not thinking about how hard it had rained earlier that morning and that we were in fact going to a farm. And Jude is all boy.

This is after Jude slipped several times trying to get to the chickens in the chicken coop. This nicely dressed black man watched Jude for a few minutes, laughing to himself before he said, "Ma'am, you dress him clean, but he ain't clean!" I took it as a compliment.

And finally, How Big is Jude Today? Even bigger than this by now! (Note he is displaying the best part of all pumpkin patches - warm sugary donuts. To die for!)

Outta Time!

The oldest and youngest Price (me and Jude) are both just getting over from being sicky icky, but I just got these pictures back from my friend Cordie (she's fantasmic! Click here for more of her work) and I wanted to show some of our favorites before I have to run back to the bathroom and contemplate how horrible having the flu is when you're about to move to Montana for the summer and desperately need to pack for the 24 hour drive... This isn't the order of the pictures I was hoping to post, but here he is! 1 Year Old Jude!









We're outta here - on our way to Montana in the morning!



We'll miss you Michigan!

To All The Haters

So... Before reading any further, please understand that I'm not willing to discuss it or especially argue about it because I think its a VERY VERY personal decision. But I've been trying a personally modified version of Infant Potty Training. Because it's seemingly a new idea, it appears weird to most of you. And after the most random people find out about what I'm doing (and I'm not very open about it - Before this post anyways), they feel free to lecture me on how I need to wait until Jude's ready a.k.a when they started potty training their own kid (between 2 and 3).

So to all the haters: Jude signed to me TWICE today (so it wasn't just luck) that he needed to go potty, and both times he pooped in the potty. When he's done he signs "All Done" and that's it. Periodically throughout the day I ask him if he needs to go potty, sit him down, and if he has to go, he goes, if he doesn't, the second I sit him down he signs "all done" meaning he doesn't have to go. Eventually he'll sign to me about needed to pee as well, and then we'll work on the night time, and my kid will be out of diapers and free of diaper rash by about 18 months.

It works for me, and Jude's bum is happy. Thanks, Kesli, for being supportive and for teaching me that's it's a personal decision and that Jude and I can do it our own way!

Hi Jude Update

So I watched him say "Hey Woo" 100 times today and he totally is saying Hey Jude. If you sing the song (which we do 1000 times a day) your lips kind of form a "W' shape when going from the "Y' in "Hey" to the "J" in "Jude." We'll see if this continues or if I have an overactive imagination.

And here's a picture of Jude at The Arboretum from November of last year - just to keep the post interesting...

What did he say?

I realize it's a stretch, but now that Jude can say ball, I think he's brilliant and can say anything. He won't always say things on command (like he's been saying "Hi" forever now and I've never been able to prove it). This video catches a glimpse. Pretty decent for a fluke, huh?

It's crazy to see the wheels turning and his lips move with mine as I'm talking.

So let the record show that he can sign All Done (it's is favorite), eat, more, milk, potty, and. He can say Momma, Dadda, Daddo, Hi, ball, and is thisclose from saying duck and dog. Loving him!!!

Double in Age, Double in Weight (10 Months)

Dear Baby Jude,

Hi sweet boy! As of Sunday you are officially 10 months old and we can't hardly believe it. You are a crazy wiggly giggly little boy. You eat healthier than anyone I know. Tonight you had tofu and broccoli (and some Goldfishies) and you LOVED it. Here's proof:

P.S. Thanks, Jude, for somehow breaking my phone AND my camera this month...

At your 9 month appointment you were a whopping 21 lbs (60th percentile!) and I forget how long, but 75th percentile in length. That's a big change from below 5th percentile at 5 months. Hence the double in age, double in weight. Let's compare you at 5 months to you at 10 months.


As much as I love you as a chub, I still loved you as my little skinny boy too. Back then all the waitresses would ask me if you were a preemie and I would cry, and now everyone at church can't get over your chubby cheeks!

Every week or so we babysit your favorite baby Carter, which I will soon dedicate an entire post to... But we went with that same baby Carter and his parents, Jonelle and Steve Gray, to Kalahari, a HUGE indoor waterpark in Sandusky Ohio. You were such a sweet boy, but it was hard to get you to show any emotion! You didn't show any fear or excitement as we put you down the baby slides, you didn't show any fear or excitement when we would lie you on your back in your life-vest and drag you through the water. You didn't show any fear or excitement the hundred times you got splashed in the face. You were just so stone faced - which made us all laugh alot! Your facial expression was a cross between these two looks:



Most of the pictures we took with a disposable waterproof camera, but we were able to sneak a few of some of the drier moments.

Here you are doing this awesome-not-at-all-annoying-thing of gripping your spoon like a doberman pincher with ever bite.

This is what 2 half days at a waterpark does to a 10 month old.

All baby boys love Tonka!

And the ba-jillionth family photo when I had just locked you into your stroller for the 4th time and didn't feel like taking you out anymore for. It turned out to be the cutest one... of me and your dad... you were so ready to ride in the stroller instead of wait in the stroller...

And here's the whole group! We had such a blast with the Grays and can't wait to go again next year, right Jonelle?


Your hair is getting lighter and lighter and longer and longer and in some mornings I can't do a thing with it.



You are FINALLY starting to regularly sign "milk" and "more" and "all done" and you're even better at saying "Momma" and "Dadda" to the appropriate person. You're especially excited when your dad comes home and you call out (or whisper excitedly) "Daddaddaddada." You are a big babbler - this last week or so you've been especially practicing pronouncing "z" sounds. You love to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the Colors quiet book I made for you. You're so much fun -- I can't seem to put it into words. You're really laid back and I think it's partly because your Dad and I try to be laid back, but mostly it's just you. I will admit that if you don't get all your sleep, you are a real drag. You whine and whine but with your mouth closed... It's like you're too tired to whine for real so you just hum a whine. You still love music and I catch you gently batting the strings on my guitar daily. You're gentle so I let you... You are tall enough now to reach the keys of the piano and you sometimes play with both hands! It's awesome and I can't wait to teach you how to play in a couple of years.

I'm trying to think of everything I want you to remember... and things for your grandparents to know also... Oh! You make friends easily and love other babies. Sometimes, and by sometimes I mean always, you get excited and knock any other baby over or pull their hair. But it's out of excitement, not anger. I have to watch you really really close when other babies come to play.

You're almost one! And you change so much with every day, let alone every month. It's scary how fast the time flies because we love every second of you. You're our baby boy forever. I love you!

Love, Momma

P.S. This is what happens when it's Daddy's turn to watch you on a Saturday...

9 Months Today!

So this was meant to be posted last Sunday, February 8th...

Since the only interesting things about this blog have to do with Jude - I'm copying my friend Cali, who in turn copied it from her friend, who also copied it from someone else. It's a brilliant idea and brilliant ideas are meant to be shared...

My little boy Jude:



You're 9 months old today! And you're sharing this excitement with your Aunt Kristine's thirtieth birthday. (Happy Birthday Kristine!) As I sit here with bruised knees from crawling around with you all morning and bruised ribs from laughing so hard with you, I can hardly believe you're mine. Of all the babies and all the moms that Heavenly Father has created, he sent you to me. It's madness! You and I are a perfect fit.

Lately you and I have been having crawl races. For many months you would crawl like a wounded soldier, but for the last 5 weeks you've been crawling for real. And this last week you're pretty dang fast! We play hide and seek and you get so excited when you find me that you scream and crawl in a circle frantically. It's the most adorable thing in the world!



You are deathly afraid of the vacuum. Even when it's turned off, you won't go near it. It's the only thing in the entire house that you haven't explored around and studied. You even know where the vacuum lives when it's in the closet and you won't go near that closet unless the vacuum is out of it. Whenever I turn it on you tense up every muscle in your body and basically cannot function. You don't cry, but you're literally scared stiff. You're such a funny little boy.

But, you're a little bit naughty too! While I had noticed a couple little teeth marks on the top of your brand new very expensive crib, just a few days ago, when I picked you up out of your crib and you had dark paint flecks on your chin, I realized you've been grinding your bottom teeth on the part of the rail that faces you! You're like a baby beaver! But all four of your front teeth have come in so quickly that I can understand your need to soothe yourself. The trouble for me is that you don't cry when you wake up, so I just go and get you when I can hear you playing in there. So it's hard for me to catch you before you start gnawing on the crib. By the way, your shoes are a quick second choice to your crib.



You've nearly doubled in size since we brought you to Ann Arbor. You were unbelievably skinny at 4 months - and now you're a little chunk! You've got chunky little thighs and everyone says that now that you're chubbier - you look like your mom. I try not to be offended :) But you're so handsome and perfect that of course I love that anyone sees a resemblance. With that being said, sometimes your dad and I look at you and you are his spitting image.



You're the happiest boy. You love your mommy and daddy. And we love you so very much. Happy 9 months. You're ours forever and we love every minute of it.

Love Mommy (with Daddy's love too!)

Suckers

Ode to Angel! Thanks baby for prompting me to break the law! Now check out my header. Hooray!

Professional Pictures

I know I know. It's the New Year, so here's hoping I get better!

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Let me know what you think! By the way - be forewarned about the two cleavage shots and notice how much chubbier Jude is!

More soon.