Our sweet little goofy guy

Jude has taken to wearing mittens in the house although often takes them off when outside...go figure! We've tried to leave his Nuk upstairs several times to wean him off using it during the day. When he wanted to cuddle or if he needed comfort, he would look down and notice it was not attached to his shirt. He would say "uh-oh, uh-oh" and his little eyes would fill with tears. It was especially difficult since Jordan has a Nuk now too. One of these days we'll be strong!!

Jude loves his little brother. Yesterday morning he came over to the bed where Jordan and I were lying and started moving Jordan's hands (doing "pat-a-cake") and then wiped Jordan's mouth and tried to insert his Nuk for him (all things he's seen us do). It was so sweet to witness.

His language is increasing every day! Today he said "nose" and "toes" for the first time (that I had heard). He'll regularly go through his names for family members... "Daddy", "Baby" (Jordan), "Babby" (Abby), "Mum", "Pa-pa" and "Nana" (this is a new one... he used to only say "Papa" when we asked him to say "Nana"...I think he was just being a tease)

My sister Joan was the third house guest that we've had since the end of November (Nana and Grammy both visited in Nov/Dec). I don't think he quite knows what to think. Grammy stayed with Abby and Jude while I took Jordan to an appointment shortly after she arrived. She went upstairs when she heard Jude wake up. She opened the door and when he saw her, said, "Bye, see-ya" before closing the door! He reacted to Joan similarly although did allow brief cuddles :) It's hard to establish relationships between the kids and family members when we live so far away.

Abby is still adjusting to being a big sister of one brother and now has two to contend with. I think she may actually be coming around. Today at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), all the kids were in the same childcare room. When I went to pick them up, Abby came running over and said "Jude and I are friends now!" Whenever we talk about MOPS or playschool or SS, we talk about her "friends", what they did/played, what they learned, etc. I guess because she and Jude were in the same class, they are now "friends". Although I wasn't sure how long it would last, she played with him after their rest times this afternoon (I had made a "mud pit" - blankets and pillows on the floor - for them while they were resting) and got a snack for her brother while she was getting hers (on her own!). Hopefully it'll last. Jude loves his big sister.

We haven't started potty training Jude yet, although his diapers are downright nasty compared to Jordan's newborn ones. Yesterday he sat down on the potty with his clothes on, got up, put some toilet paper in it and then took it to dump it into the toilet. He's obviously getting there!