A Weekend in Philly

We took a bold step last weekend and plunked the boys in the car and drove to Philly for a friend's wedding.  It was lots of fun even though we were all wishing we could be with family in Minnesota but we were not quite brave enough to deal with what it would have taken to get to MN.  Our good friends Sarah and Joel were married and while the trip was not without incident (somehow a doll landed in the toilet among other things.) but we had a good time.  Congratulations Sarah and Joel!  And, thanks to Grandma and Grandad Crowley for their excellent baby care so Mama and Papa could sneak in a dance and a meal at the reception.   


Enjoying a diner breakfast at the Reading Terminal Market.  (This is what Callum does now when you say "smile".)

Nana Quaal

On Wednesday last week, in her home surrounded by family, Nana Quaal passed away. We miss you Nana but we know Grandpa is happy to have you with him.

We Are Melting!

With humidity factored in, it has been in the 100's around here and we are just downright hot, it is the dog days for sure.

Despite the heat, Callum and Mama went to a Butterfly Festival thrown by a Watershed Organization south of us. And, we got to listen to fun bluegrass music, drink some fancy soda and wait in line for 20 minutes to see some beautiful butterlies that live in an even hotter greenhouse. No pictures of that spectacle because it was all Mama could do to keep Cal in the line while avoiding heat stroke.

But, all was not lost! For safety reasons, the festival requires that attendees park their car and take a shuttle to the festival grounds. Well, what made this mundane inconvenience the highlight of the day is that the shuttle vehicle was a SCHOOL BUS! It was Callum's first ride ever on a school bus and it was definitely better than the butterflies.

Jude stayed at home with Papa and mostly did this:

Callum Photography Inc.

This was bound to happen. With all my camera happiness, Callum has lived with the camera pointed at him and the order "smile" for his entire little life. So, he decided to reverse the roles and started clicking away. Turns out, the camera makes a pretty great sound and is pretty darn fun. He isn't interested at all in seeing how his pictures turns out, he just wants to be the man in charge. So, we went for a walk with the camera in his hand. These are some of the more 'directed' shots. I did have to erase about a dozen pictures of a couch cushion.

Oh yes, cars received a good deal of attention including lots of attempts at pictures of cars moving, which didn't turn out so good.

Hi Papa!

Flowers growing outside the chocolate shop down the street. The fact that this is decently centered is a fluke, as he hasn't figured out that you look through the view finder.

Memorializing the great, pink velvet boppy that has been used with two boys. It was the only one in the shop two years ago and well I'm too frugal not to use it!

A Little Bit About Jude Patrick

1. I'm four months old already!
2. I'm generally a pretty jolly little guy and for the most part if you smile at me, I will smile back.
3. I'm really social and even at my crankiest, if we go on a walk and see other people, I charm the socks off of them.
4. Sometimes my brother likes to give me a little 'hug' that is really more like a squish and even then I usually just laugh.
5. All bets are off, however, after about 6pm when I'm done being on and want to complain about my day but don't try to put me to sleep doggone it!

6. Speaking of complaining, my mom keeps complaining about her 'baby elbow' followed by something about carrying around 17 and a half pounds all day long. Not sure what that is about.
7. I am, however, pretty fat. In fact, I'm so fat that I have a rash under my chin(s) because it is nearly impossible for oxygen (or a washcloth!) to reach such an airtight space. The doctor says not to worry because soon enough I'll be holding up my head enough to let in air and it will heal. My mom says, "Really?!". My dad says, "Fat babies are the best."

8. I'm also really interested in what everyone else seems to be doing with their mouth at the dinner table. So, I've been trying out eating some people food and not just milk. Ah. It's alright, sometimes it hits the spot and sometimes it's more fun to watch it cascade out of my mouth and onto my bib.

9. My favorite thing to do is play peekaboo or be tickled.

10. I still have grey blue eyes just like my brother and I'm getting a little bit of hair growing in but not alot, no one can tell what color it is. It's just one of many mysteries that are left to unfold about me.

Soccer Lessons

Callum has really started to enjoy playing 'soccer' with Papa on our front lawn. Of course, Kieran made the mistake of illustrating the foot-on-top-of-the-ball style kick, pretty much inadvertantly. Now, that is all Cal wants to do, which is, of course, a total tripping hazard. Thankfully, they are both enjoying the lessons to no end.

Can we talk about how much I would like to be able to roll!?

I'm trying with all my might to roll over but it is slow going. I would really like to discuss it in greater depth. (Ignore the discipline happening in the background.)

My brother tries to help me but he gets a little distracted after one or two "Go Baby Jude!"

Wish me luck!