Jude is THREE!

We had two parties for Jude this year.  One was during our stay at the Caring Cabin and the other was on his birthday at our house.  And I'm using the word "pary" lightly here.  I made a french toast casserole for breakfast and put super heros on top.  He kept telling me that he wanted a birthday cake with all the super heros on it.  This was the best idea I had.  And he loved it.  But he did notice that ALL of the super heros were not represented and he named which ones were missing.  Oh well.

 We got him this super hero cape and mask and he didn't even want to wear it.  Lame.  So Carter wore it, and still wears it, all the time.

 He got a fishing pole and a new bike.

 Trying out the fishing pole.

 He loves this Ironman toy that his friend Parker gave him.

 Another Superhero cake

Looks like he had a great birthday!

Jude is a really awesome kid.  We're working on what are nice things to say and what are mean things to say.  He often makes up words and and then says, "is that a nice thing to say?"  I am left speechless.  As you have probably gathered, he LOVES Superheros.  He is often pretending to be one.  His favorite is the Hulk and his least favorite is Thor because he thinks he's not strong enough.  Don't know why he thinks that but we cannot convince him that Thor is actually quite strong.  Jude is always telling me that I'm his best friend.  He says "I love you" all the time to everyone.  He tells me sometimes, "I will never stop loving you!"  He is very sweet and affectionate.  He gives really fantastic hugs.  Jude is the best sharer that I've seen.  He is always so nice about sharing with Carter.  He really is so nice.  He has TONS of energy.  Always.  He is also a very good little actor.  We told him once that he looked like a stray dog (don't remember why, but my guess would be because of his shaggy crazy hair) and he acted so sad because stray dogs don't have a home.  He moped around for a few minutes and then we told him that he wasn't a stray dog anymore and he was snapped right out of it.  This might be one of those stories where you really did just have to be here to fully appreciate it but he is always pretending to be someone or something else and he does a really great job.  Another funny thing that Jude does is he's very good at picking up on little phrases that people say.  I wish I could think of some good examples but he's always saying the funniest stuff that we have no idea where it came from.  He is constantly cracking us up.  We really love Jude so much.  He keeps things lively around here!

Our trip to the coast

Here's a little preview

For more details, check out Carter's blog

I put it on that one because our awesome trip was thanks to the Children's Cancer Association, who is amazing.

Vienna's 9 month check-up

 So this little princess will be 10 months old tomorrow!  I can't believe how fast the time has gone.  She is still just the sweetest little thing ever.  She crawls super fast and walks along furniture.  She's taken 4 steps on her own!  Her pediatrician warned me to keep an eye on her at all times because she'll probably start climbing on everything soon.  I thought having a girl would give me a break from all the craziness!  But no, not even close.  She is happy all the time and loves to laugh.  She says "mama", although I don't think she puts it together that she's talking about me.  She's a great sleeper, always has been.  I would love to take credit for her being so awesome but I know it has very little to do with me.  She was sent to our home now because of her brilliant personality.  And we love her so much!

 She really loves her brothers.  Especially when they're not sitting on her or pushing her over.

 She loves to climb up on my lap when I'm on the floor.  Then she stands on my legs with her arms around my neck and just looks out over her kingdom.

 She also really loves baths.  She gets very jealous if the boys take one without her.

 She loves to be held.  She quite often crawls over and pulls herself up on my legs and yells at me until I pick her up.

 She is now 15 pounds.  Her weight is not even on the charts.  I swear I feed her!  She's 28.2 inches and in the 57%.

 She likes when I brush her hair (yay!!!!).

And she still really loves her daddy :)

best picture ever

(the bumblebee is Jude)

Washington DC trip/Wedding!

 I had a fantastic weekend spending time with old friends and attending Erin's wedding in Virginia!  Lindsey and I spent all day Saturday sight-seeing in DC.  It was my first time there so I was really excited to see all the touristy stuff.  It was amazing!  I only wish I'd had more time to see more things.  One day in such a history-packed city is not nearly enough!  There's TONS of pictures in this post so enjoy!

 Lindsey and I in front of the white house.

 I don't remember what building this is but look how pretty!

 Dorothy's Ruby Slippers in the American History Museum.  This was the only museum we had time for.

 I thought this exhibit was so cool.  The tvs were showing a video about the Vietnam War

 The Capital

 View from the steps of the Capital.

 Washington Monument.  Too bad it was closed because of the earthquake.

 The sunset was beautiful that night!  But, sadly, this is where Lindsey lost her camera :(

 I think this is the Smithsonian Castle.... I think.

 World War 2 monument

 All these pillars had a state name on them. 

 Vietnam War Memorial.  I wish I could capture how long this wall was.  We got there after dark so it was hard to get a good picture, but it probably wouldn't do it justice anyway.

 Another one of the WW2 monument.

 Lincoln Memorial.  Wow.

 View from the Lincoln Memorial steps.

 The White House at night.  

On a related note, there was SO MANY security officers and Secret Service vans everywhere that night!  Something must have been going on because they were everywhere and tons of roads right around the White House were closed for the night.  We asked one of the the security guys if this was a normal thing and his response was, "No, just tonight Ma'am".  Then we saw a helicopter with a searchlight hovering around above us.  Weird.  I was a little scared.  The HUGE guns the security folks were carrying did not help.  But we finally made it back to our parking garage only to find this:

 Seriously?!  Our rental minivan was in there!  You heard me right, we rented a minivan.  It was awesome.  Anyways, we were freaking out a little.  Ok, a lot.  Luckily there was a number for us to call and they guy came and opened it for us.  I felt like an idiot but I was just so glad to have our vehicle back!

 That's my "woops" face.

 The next day (the wedding day!) we went to the brunch in the morning.

Back in high school, the 4 of us were inseparable.  Except for when "chemy" came between us...  But that's another story for another day.  It was just so good to see these girls!

 Arriving at the wedding that afternoon.

 The groom waiting for his bride.  That's Josh's (the groom) dad, he did the officiating.  Is that what you call it?  Officiating?  It sounds like I'm talking about a basketball game, but I think you know what I mean.

 Erin and her daddy.

 It was a beautiful ceremony.

 I love this picture!

 Husband and Wife!

 Aren't they so cute?!  She was absolutely stunning.  Wow.

 Their cupcake cake.

They were so good!

 Cocktail hour.  Don't worry I was just drinking lemonaide :)

 We sat at Table 8.  I know you were dying to know that.

 Victoria and I

 V and Linds

 

 

 First Dance

 Me and the beautiful bride.

 Dancing with her Dad.

 cutting the (cup)cake

 bouquet toss

It was a really beautiful day.  I'm so happy for Erin and her new husband.  Weddings are so exciting!

 The next morning we had plans to go to Arlington Cemetery before heading to the airport but after we finally convinced ourselves to get out of bed and then being stuck in traffic, we decided to just drive by the Jefferson Monument instead.  We saw "Vienna" on so many signs, I finally had to take a picture.  I missed my baby!

 There it is.  So cool.  I wish we had had time to go inside or even stop to look at it more but we were on a time crunch.  A drive-by is the best we could do.

 We flew to Denver together and then parted ways.  This was in the Denver airport.  What a great trip!  Thanks for being my date Lindsey!

When my family picked my up Jude was the only one awake.  Besides Dennison, of course.  He was really excited to see me.  Then about halfway home Vienna woke up.  I tried to get her attention but she was still sleepy and staring at Jude who was doing something ridiculous to try and make her laugh.  A few minutes later she heard me talking and I could see it finally register in her brain that it was her mommy and I was back!  This is the face she made at me the rest of the way home. 

 

Are you kidding me with how cute she is?!?!

It was so wonderful to be back with my awesome family, I really did miss them.

It was a great trip, I'm so glad I got go!