Little Artist.

There aren't many things that will keep Jude occupied for a long period of time. The one thing I've found that will keep his attention is coloring! He absolutely loves it. He'll hold as many crayons as he can in each hand and then he'll keep maneuvering them around until he has the  exact color that he wants to use - such a smart little boy!

Sleepy Head.

Every night we have family prayer in Jude's room before he goes to bed. Poor little Jude couldn't even make it through the prayer, he was so exhausted! I love my little family and can't wait for our newest edition!

T-Minus Twelve-ish Weeks!

With less than 12 weeks left (give or take...since Jude was 2 weeks early), I've been kind of stressing about getting things ready for the baby! I feel like I have a million & 1 projects to do, and absolutely no time to do them. We finally were able to divide our super long room into 2. One side for the nursery & the other side for the kids play room/my craft area. I am sooo pleased with how it turned out! It is all thanks to my handy dad. I've been so excited to get a nursery put together for this baby since we weren't able to do that for Jude. Poor Jude had no choice but to share a room with us until he was almost a year - we just never had an extra room wherever we were living!

{Fabric for the baby quilt... can't wait to see this all done!}

{Felt flowers, yarn flowers, & bows for nursery garland}

{This is the bead board wall that we put up to divide the room & the cute light I got at an antique store for the nursery!}

We've also been busy with what seems like the never ending project of fixing up the house/decorating it! Our latest project was painting the built in bookcases next to the fireplace. This project took SO long to complete. We had to prime the whole thing and it still needed a couple layers of paint after that. It seriously probably took a month to do just because we're so busy and we tried to do it while Jude was napping.

{Finished bookcases! Not done decorating them though.}

I just hope I can do everything I need to before this baby arrives!!!!

My Dear Friend, Richard.

It's never easy to say goodbye to someone or to know that you'll never see them again in this mortal life. I was saddened to hear that yesterday my dear friend Richard passed away. I met Richard when I lived in Manti a couple of years ago and was working at the only grocery store in town. From the start, I knew that he was a charmer & someone who cared a immensely for others. Richard made regular trips to the Manti Market to say "Hello" and purchase armfuls of candy. The candy never seemed to make it back to his apartment because as soon as he bought it, he was busy giving it away to us (the employees at the market) and as many little kids as he could find on his walk around the city. Richard was a very generous man.

I loved living in Manti, but I got homesick a lot. Richard was one of those people that cheered me up & made me forget that I was living so far from my family. His trips into the market always consisted of a kiss on my hand, a box of Orange Sticks, & him telling me how beautiful I was and how he wished he was a little younger. This always made my day. Sometimes while walking home during my lunch time, I had the opportunity to walk with Richard. We always talked about the same thing. He would tell me all about the benefits of walking places instead of driving. He was an expert on the subject because Richard always walked everywhere he went. You could see him everyday walking around the city of Manti with his DC shoes/sweater, black briefcase, and fisherman's style hat. He told me all the time how you needed to wear white socks when walking. These were somehow the best and would prevent blisters. He approved of my moccasins for walking to & from work because the Indians had shown us that these were excellent for walking.

Even though I didn't get to see Richard a lot after moving back to Arizona, I am so grateful that I was able to see him one last time in December. I knew in the back of my mind that that could very well be the last time I was able to see him. He looked older and weaker, but was still walking around the city with his briefcase in hand (a mystery that will never be solved). I am so grateful that he was able to meet my sweet little Jude boy and hear him one last time call EB "what's his name". He wasn't too thrilled at the fact that I had gotten married to someone other than him :). It's sad to say goodbye, but I am still filled with so much joy knowing that that kind & generous man is once again reunited with his wife. I am so lucky to have known him & to have called him my friend.

A Few of Jude's Favorites.

Isn't it amazing how babies find joy in the simplest of things? I think this is one of the greatest lessons that Jude is teaching me right now. There are so many high-tech or expensive toys that you can buy your kids, but I feel like no one really needs that kind of stuff. Some of Jude's favorite things have been as simple as a tootsie roll wrapper. Seriously, a balled-wrapper. He loved it. He carried it around for DAYS clenched tight in his little fist. One morning he woke up, saw it on the floor, & "ooo-ed" until I picked it up and gave it to him.

It's fascinating to watch Jude play. He is such a smart little boy and is learning & growing so much. One of his favorite things to do is now is dump out all of the nerf gun bullets, fill up one bucket with them, and then move them to another one. He will sit on there for the longest time and switch the foam bullets from one bucket to the next, it's the cutest thing!

Then there are the pom-poms. You know, those little fuzzy craft balls that you would glue to paper when you were in kindergarten. Jude adores those. My sister gave him a game where you stick those into a small hole cut out of a little tupperware. He cannot get enough of that game! He push them all into the little hole, and then dump them out & start over. After he's had enough of that, he'll gather as many as he can hold in each hand and carry the little balls around the house. He'll even insist on holding them while he eats.

We really don't need a lot to be happy!

I know this is a lot of rambling! I just don't want to forget these cute things he does. :)

{Some of Jude's favorite things to carry around the house. He doesn't eat them, just holds them!}

Getting Crafty.

Since moving into our home, I have slowly but surely been able to decorate & fix things up to my liking. This has been a LONG process & I am no where near being done, but I love it! I love coming up with ideas, gathering all the materials, & seeing my vision come to life! Eb also likes to add his 2 cents & he has some good ideas! My two latest projects were making throw pillows for our "new" couch (from craigslist) and making a wreath. I absolutely LOVE how both of these projects turned out. Here are the results!

13 Months Old.

I can't believe how fast my little boy is growing up! He amazes me everyday with the things he does & understands. One of my favorite things is asking "can mommy have kisses". Jude then opens his mouth as big as he can, sticks out his tongue, & brings his face to mine for a slobbery baby kiss. I LOVE those kisses and i'll take them as long as he's giving them out. Jude as also mastered the concept of something being "yucky". He likes to stick things in his mouth that he KNOWS is not for eating just to get me to say "No, yucky". He'll then stick out his tongue, make a disgusted face, & say "ugh" (his way of saying yuck). It is the CUTEST thing! The latest things that Jude has learned is when somethings is "all gone". He loves to eat whatever anyone else is eating.. so, once we've finished we'll tell him "all gone". He then lifts his hands and shrugs his shoulders. I love that Jude is starting to communicate & show that he understands things that we say to him. I feel so blessed to have him as my little boy! I can't wait until our newest edition is here to see what a good big brother he is going to be.

{Jude loves getting his picture taken!}

{One of his favorite things to do...brush his teeth.}