Sibling LOVE

Yesterday I was taking Jude's picture with his stuffed monkey.  I take pictures of him weekly with the monkey so we can look back and see how he's grown.  I am sure it is overkill, but I have a neat flip book of weekly pictures of Canaan with a bunny her grandmother bought her.

When I was taking Jude's picture, Canaan came over and wanted to get in the pictures with Jude.  So I asked her to sit in the chair on her bottom and the sequence below is what I captured with my camera.  The quality of the photos is not great, but I love what I captured here.  Jude is so interested in Canaan.  As soon as he hears her voice, he starts looking for her.  Canaan is really sweet to Jude.  If he starts fussing or crying, she will start singing "Jesus Loves Me" to him.  When we're driving in the car, she will dangle his toys in front of him so he can grab them.  And she talks to him in a high-pitched voice and says "hey buddy."

I have a feeling these will always be some of my favorite pictures of Canaan and Jude together.

Smiley

The best nickname we've come up with for Jude is "Smiley".  He is seriously smiling all the time (well, when he's not upset about having a dirty/wet diaper, being tired, or being hungry).  Here's a few smiles from this past week.

Tennis

Today Canaan wanted to play tennis with the racket and tennis balls her Aunt Diana and Uncle Corby gave her while we were visiting Texas in May.  She was using both legs, but I happened to get a picture of her in action.  Mostly, she wanted me to hit the ball off the deck so she could go find it.  It was a fun game while it lasted.  While she was running around to get the ball, I played with Max.  He appreciated the exercise.

Now that Canaan's hair is finally beginning to grow, look at those curls.  Today was a particularly muggy day which made the curls really defined.  Cute!

Picnic on the deck

Wednesday evening was beautiful, warm, and sunny.  So after Matthew finished fixing the fence with our neighbor, we had a picnic for dinner on our deck.  It was so nice to relax outside for a bit before bath time and bedtime.  (In this light, Jude's hair does look red.  I haven't been able to figure out what color it is yet.  Sometimes it looks brown, sometimes a little bit blonde, and other times red.)

back to daycare

Last Monday, Jude and Canaan started daycare.  About 3 weeks after I quit my job to stay home with the kids, Matthew was laid off as his company ran out of work for their civil group.  The day we found out, I asked my boss if they had replaced me yet.  It worked out for me to return to work while Matthew stayed home with Jude and Canaan.  Matthew started his job Friday, June 22nd.  So for at least a little while, the kids are in daycare.  I took these pictures when we got home Monday evening.  They both did GREAT!

We visited daycare before we started so we could meet the teachers and make sure I knew where I would be going.  Canaan wanted to stay that day rather than going home with me.  She was excited to go back and kept asking me Saturday and Sunday if she was going to daycare that day.  I think she's missed the structure and playing with so many kids.  She really enjoyed her week.

Jude's teachers said he did great as well.  He ate well, slept well, and smiled all day long.

Sunday evening and Monday morning I wasn't sure we'd survive the week.  But I am thankful to report that things went really well.

Jude's 1st food

Jude is now 6 months old!  Jude's pediatrician said she was happy with his weight and that we didn't need to start solid foods, but we could if we wanted to.  I didn't want to wait any longer to feed him his first rice cereal.  I'm not sure how much of the rice cereal he actually swallowed, but he did not put up a fight at all.  He's had cereal the past 2 days and seems pretty interested in it.  I think it will take him a while to really figure it all out, but I have no doubt it will happen.

His cheeks are extra rosy in these pictures.  He was not feeling well at all yesterday.  Friday he got some shots.  He has also had a cough the past few days.  He had a fever on Friday and did not sleep at all Friday night.  Thankfully, he took a nap on Saturday and slept well last night.  I've never seen him wear this blank stare on his face for a whole day, it was unusual.  Poor baby.

Jude was back to his happy and smiley self this morning.  He has not taken to the pacifier or to sucking his thumb, but he can be found chewing on his finger frequently.  He loves to put just about anything in his mouth.

Canaan's 1st bike

We had gorgeous weather the Saturday after Canaan's birthday.  We bought her first bicycle (a Skuut).  We took a picnic to the park so she could ride her bike around.  She loved the helmet and didn't want to take it off for her nap.  But once we got to the park, she was more interested in swinging and playing in the water.  She got into the lake up to her chest.  Matthew asked her if she had gotten wet and she said, "just a little bit" while holding her fingers up.  It was a fun day at the park!