Dear Jude: 18 months

Dear Judesy,

You were a year and a half old yesterday! I just can't fathom it, but at the same time I can't remember our lives without you. You are such a perfect fit into our crazy little family and you and unbelievably adored by all of us. 

I don't know your weight or measurements, but you seem huge!  You are wearing 18-24 month clothes now and a size 5 shoe. You still only have 8 teeth, you could definitely use some molars, kiddo. You eat pretty much all day long and will stand at the pantry or fridge crying. Your favorite foods are currently: yogurt pouches, grapes, raspberries, cookies, pirate's booty, cheese, and water. 

Judesy, you are a climber!  You love to test the limits of my nerves and routinely climb on top of the table. You are our little spitfire. You can open the child proofed cabinets and pull the safety plugs out of electrical sockets. You love to run and you are amazingly fast, playing outside is your all time favorite thing to do these days.  You have great coordination and a pretty good throwing arm (you are currently a leftie).  You love to shoot (dunk) baskets on your little basketball goal. 

You talk so well, I'm still surprised by your ability to parrot us so well. You say "please" and "thank you." You greet everyone you see with an enthusiastic "HI!"  You love to say "no!" to Liam and the dogs, and you tell us when you have a "stinky" diaper. We are also lucky that you say, "ready, set, go" before running or jumping off of something, a little warning goes a long way!

You are a pretty great little sleeper. You take a 2-3 hour morning nap everyday and go to bed around 7pm every night. You go down easily, you just need your paci (which you will probably have until you're 14) and your bunny and you're good to sleep. The only downfall is that you wake up first and get extreme joy out of waking your brother up. You are NOT a morning person, but you wake up with the sun (blackout curtains are no match for the Colorado sunlight) and then the hollering begins. 

Baby Jude, you are a busy, blurry, messy little boy, and you bring so much joy to our family. I love watching you grow and change. My favorite thing is to watch you and Liam develop a relationship. You are a "tough crowd" so to speak, you don't smile or laugh easily. But you smile and laugh at everything your big brother does. I love that. You are the best little snuggler in all the land, and I am thrilled to often be on the receiving end of your love. Your sweet baby voice is perfection and I'm so proud of every word you say or sing. You are our darling and we wouldn't trade you for the world. Happy half birthday, little love. 

Love you forever, and ever,

Momma 

Dear Jude: 17 months

Dear Judesy,

Love, this is the month that I thought you were older than you are. You are so big and capable and smart that I forget you aren't even a year and a half old!  You are no longer my tiny baby, and I'm okay with that. Most of the time. 

You don't go to the doctor again until next month, so I don't know how tall you are. But, I do know that you weigh 25 pounds. You are still wearing mainly 12-18 month clothes but will be moving into 18-24 month soon, mainly due to the fact that that's what size all of your hand-me-down summer clothes are, poor kid.

Favorite foods this month: grapes, spaghetti, strawberries, chicken, cake pops, and anything in squeezy form. You love water and you also love standing at the pantry and crying while screaming either, "hungry," or "more."  I promise you eat more than enough. 

You absolutely love to be outside. You have no fear whatsoever and constantly want to walk off the side of the patio (about 1.5 foot drop). You love to run around and throw balls. We have a little basketball hoop and you are pretty good at shooting baskets!  

Judes, you talk so much!  You do a good job of communicating your needs to us. And you are very good at saying, "NO!" You have the most darling little raspy voice which makes all of your words even more precious. Lately you love to point and ask "was dat?" I love seeing your little mind working so hard. 

You are still enjoying school and never have trouble at drop off. But if you see Liam on the playground you get sad and start asking for mommy/daddy and saying bye bye. You love being with your little family. And you adore your big brother and love to keep tabs on him. You don't say Liam, but sometimes call him "brudder" or "bubba." 

You have such a fun personality, baby Jude. You are as feisty as you are sweet. You love to be touched or held and hearing you laugh is everyone's favorite thing. You are momma's boy, but you give daddy all of your kisses. And your all-time favorite toy is your stuffed bunny, he's your best friend. 

We are so thrilled to be your parents and are excited to see what the future holds for you, my love. You are going to do great things. 

Love you forever, and ever, 

Momma

Dear Jude: 16 months

Dear Jude,
You are sixteen months old today! You are so much fun! We are loving how much your personality emerges everyday. You are constantly learning, growing, and changing and we are so thankful to get to witness your awesomeness!


You are 32 inches long (90th%) and weigh 25 pounds (75th%)! You are a solid little bruiser, you are still mainly wearing 12-18 month clothes and we have moved you to a size four diaper.


You have 8 teeth, no molars yet. You are still eating everything under the sun. Potatoes and fruit are your favorites, specifically French fries and strawberries, but you will eat any variety of the two. You usually eat two dinners, one at 5:15 when you meltdown in a pile of hunger, and then you eat half of my dinner whenever I eat.


Buddy, you are always on the move. You run, climb, and bounce around so much that I'm tired just watching you, or maybe I'm tired from chasing you?! You absolutely love to be outside and will stand at the backdoor and cry "bye bye!"


Speaking of talking, you say too many words to list. You are constantly identifying things, saying hi, talking on the phone, yelling at the dogs, demanding a cookie, etc. By the way, you use the word cookie for any item that you ingest: liquid, meat, cereal, actual cookies...it's all a cookie to you. And I pretty much love that! You know twinkle twinkle little star and sing it to us often and you can count to three!


You take a morning nap about two hours after waking up and demand to go "nigh night" at exactly 6:30pm every night. You go down to sleep really easily and are almost always awake by 7am at the latest. You are not a morning person, but you wake up first which is frustrating for everyone. You seem very angry to be awake, but you absolutely will not go back to sleep. Silly little love.


Favorites: any stuffed animal, sitting in boxes from Costco, eating, pulling Liam's hair, snuggling in the afternoon with dadda, going anywhere in the car, riding in your wagon outside, chasing Liam around your room, balls, going to school, massages before bed, your birdies above your crib, singing, dancing, and flirting.


Judesy Roe, you are seriously one of the sweetest babies I've ever known. You love to share food and hugs. You are our snuggly child and we absolutely adore your hugs and cuddles. You are tragically impatient and have the tenderest of hearts which means you are often in tears. And guess what, you're cute even when you're crying! I'm so glad to be your mommy and to have to power to sometimes soothe your spirit. I can't wait to see these little baby preferences and opinions in a strong big boy. Well actually, I can wait, you can stay little as long as you want, my love.


Love you forever,
Mommy

Dear Jude: 15 months

Dear baby Jude,

Happy fifteen month birthday! Buddy, you are such a joy and you have had such a big month! This is the month you became a toddler, you'll always be my baby, but you're definitely pushing quickly into little boydom.


You are a full-time walker! And by walker, I mean runner. You are constantly on the go! You love to climb as well as run, you are constantly keeping us on our toes.


Along with walking, you started going to "school" this month! I think you feel like such a big boy going off to school with daddy and Liam. You seem to really enjoy yourself and you like to play with the other babies. You still hang out with Aunt 'Risa, Uncle Mate, and your cousins one day a week.


Love, you are a jibber jabber! You love to run your mouth and say so many words. You are constantly talking, babbling, and screaming into fake microphones. You also love to dance. So, basically you are a loud, wiggly little thing...and we love that about you!


Your appetite is still quite voracious. You eat anything and everything and lots of it, please! You love eggs, cheese, yogurt, strawberries, oranges, and pasta. So far, the only thing you don't like are black beans. And I don't blame you. You love to feed yourself most finger foods and we are pretty sure you will be a lefty based on your "eating hand."


You have seven teeth, wear a size four diaper, size 12-18 month clothes, a size 3 shoe (tiny), and that's all I know for sure. We go for your 15 month check up next week, based on a recent ear infection I know you weigh about 23 pounds.


Favorites: pulling on the dogs hair/tails, eating, climbing out of the bathtub, your plastic fireman hat, stuffed animals, anything Liam is playing with, running outside, climbing on the fireplace, mommy, climbing the stairs, music, trying to get into the pantry, pulling clothes out of drawers, carrying puzzle pieces around, and waving.


Judesy, one of the most common words we use to describe you is, "determined." I have never known someone so focused on one thing. If you want to do something, you can just about overpower me to do it, kind of scary. We are hoping to harness this trait for good. You can already do anything you put your mind to, and that's a beautiful thing to see in a baby. I hope you always insist on doing things that you are passionate about. You are such a sweet boy, we love to cuddle you and you frequently crawl into our laps while playing and rest your sweet head for a few precious moments. You are absolutely adored, my dear. And please, don't ever forget it.

Love you forever, and ever,
Mommy

Dear Jude: 14 months

Dear Jude,

You are fourteen months old today! You are an amazing bundle of never ending energy and we are so very thankful for your life, health, and spunk!


You are a solid little boy, I'm not sure of your measurements but I know that you are stout without being rolly. You are still in 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.


Judes, eating is your very favorite thing. You still eat lots of baby food, because it's convenient, but you love finger foods as well. Favorites are: cheese, grapes, blueberries, yogurt, sweet potatoes, and Chex cereal. You are drinking whole milk and have finally made your peace with the sippy cup. Now mommy needs to make her peace with you being a big boy and get rid of the bottle altogether. You have four bottom teeth and 2.75 top teeth, I would love for you to finish up with the teething. Thanks.


Love, you can walk! Over the past few weeks, you have put multiple steps together a lot of times. You aren't afraid or unsure of walking at all, you prefer to run like a drunken sailor, so that's not terrifying at all. I would say you walk 4% of the time, creep 60% of the time, and crawl the remaining 56%. I'm excited for you, and a bit nervous at all the chasing in my near future as you gain steadiness. You are also a pro at climbing stairs and say "weee" as you nimbly scurry to the top.


Speaking of talking, you say lots of words and are a true parrot. If Liam says "mommy," you say "mommy." Newish words are "nigh nigh," and "no no," you love to imitate the transportation sounds that your big brother makes and you just babble all the day. I think you will be a very verbal little boy.


You sleep well at night and love to cuddle your stuffed bunny while you snooze. You are gradually dropping your afternoon nap, even though you still need it. You usually take a two hour morning nap and then terrorize the world until bedtime.


We joke a lot about you being a bit of a hoodlum, and you are, but you are equally, if not more, sweet as pie. You love to snuggle and you love to try to bash your skull in, regardless of your destructive tendencies, you are such a joy to us. You are growing and developing and changing at the speed of light and I am so glad to be your mommy and receive your smiles and pats on the back. You are truly wondrous, baby Jude.

Love you forever, and ever,
Mommy