Jude Update

Little Jude Patrick is officially 2 weeks and 2 days old already! It's amazing how much more quickly time passes when you are caring for two! Last time we were barely able to keep track of which day of the week it was, now we have to in order to keep up with Callum's routines.
So far, we are all enjoying our JP, who is looking more and more like his big brother every day. He is sleeping a reasonable amount, which makes us all cheer and is growing so quickly we are already putting aside some newborn clothes in favor of bigger ones. It's early but his eyes seem to be turning from the baby slate gray to blue. (Is it possible for a brown-eyed mama to have TWO blue eyed boys!?) He loves noise and seems to sleep harder when his older brother is running in circles and screaming. Callum continues to be great with Jude--giving him lots of gentle pats and enjoying helping bathe and soothe him. He, thankfully, saves his meltdowns for his parents. Of course, it is all relative. So far, Callum's worst 'lash-out' behavior involved throwing a wet washcloth. We are counting our blessings, knowing that alot lies ahead.

Our Little Explorer

Welcome springtime! A trip to the local park that also has a small zoo was quickly co-opted by Callum and transformed into a poke everything with sticks kind of adventure. Never mind the llamas clambering for his attention, it was far more exciting to clear the rocks off a patch of dirt with his 'grasshopper,' which is what he named sticks after seeing a grasscutter truck in a book. Jude, ever the 'cool guy', slept through the whole thing.

Happy Easter!

We did manage to squeeze in some Easter festivities this weekend despite Cal's stomach flu. We dyed eggs and Cal hunted for plastic eggs filled with stickers. Cal loved the egg dying and took the whole thing very seriously. We clearly need to get an art smock and more elaborate art projects to satisfy this guy's love of art.
I did manage to get him to break his earnest love of egg dying for one smile.

A little more than a week in the world..

And little Jude is getting lots of love.
Callum loves to hold him (though he gets a little distracted after about 30 seconds, which has resulted in a hand in the face). But, he gives him lots of gentle touches when he's asleep and is always checking to see where he is. He's more clingy than usual to Mom and Dad but seems to be doing just fine. He did get the dreaded daycare stomach flu this past week but Jude seems spared so far. And, here are my boys! All three of them, with Jude in the sling, out for a little walk on a nice spring day. Nights have included a decent amount of sleep for which we are all thankful. It's helped us enjoy settling in as a family of four during the daylight.

Golden Slumbers

Maybe it's because the first time around you are in such shock about becoming a parent or too worried about doing everything wrong to stop and soak up those first sleepy days of a newborn's life. But whatever it is, there is alot less stress and alot more cooing going on at our house these days.

Big Brother Moments

Callum was lucky enough to be spoiled by his grandparents while mama and papa were in the hospital waiting for little Jude. He had a blast playing with them! They visited the trains, played hide and seek, and even joined in the regular Sunday morning brunch breakfast with friends. After Jude had settled in at the hospital Cal came to visit and we were treated to his reaction and some very sweet big brother moments. This picture is of him waving his book at Jude. They do this at daycare when the kids are restless during storytime. It's called 'happy wind'. Callum was saying "happy wind, Jood'. Most times Jude cried he would say, 's'okay baby dood'. He fluctuates between pronouncing the J and substituting a D.
He also picked out stickers from his new book (we gave it to him at the hospital) to place on Jude's back. And leaned in to explain different kinds of trucks. He even explained, "fire trucks noisy, scary" just for Jude's future reference, I guess.

For the most part, he has been very sweet--giving him little pats and asking to hold him. Though if he cries too much, Callum says 'no crying baby dood'.

Welcome Jude Patrick!

Join us in welcoming Jude Patrick Quaal Crowley into the world on April 3, 2009--5 days early. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 20 inches long after and long, somewhat difficult birth. And now, we are all off to catch a few winks!