Traditions...

Jude loves getting kisses from Mommy. He is beginning to understand kiss and will lean in for a big one!

I am a huge fan of traditions. I think it's wonderful to know what you're looking forward to and something to expect every year. Growing up, my family had several traditions. Just to name a few, most Sundays we went to my grandparents house for lunch after church. Every Christmas Eve, we played games and had the whole family over at my Mamaw and Papaw's house. We would read the Christmas story, then my Papaw would hand out all the presents. My family always made home made fudge when we were snowed in...those kinds of things...we had certain things we always could count on happening. I think one of the reasons I love traditions so much is because it involves family.

Now that Jude is here, Justin and I want to start our own traditions with him. One thing that Justin and I have always done since we started dating 5 years ago, is to carve a pumpkin in October, usually between my birthday and Halloween, and then I use the pulp to make home made pumpkin bread and other yummy goodies. This year, we were able to begin this tradition as a family of 3! Jude and Justin went to the store to get 2 pumpkins. 1 big one for Justin and me and a little one for Jude. (I wanted to go to a pumpkin patch but apparently they're not as frequent as they are back home, so the grocery store had to do this year.)

Justin and I worked hard on being creative and Jude enjoyed chewing on the pumpkin and other toys more than anything, but we still had a wonderful time.
He enjoyed gnawing on the pumpkin...
...But not taking the pictures. If you can't tell, we carved a cactus in our pumpkin this year. We thought it was appropriate since we're now living in the desert. :) Last year we carved an AU. :) Jude helped paint his own pumpkin...as he gets older, we want him to have his own and Justin and me will have ours, so we thought we would stick to him painting for the next few years. :)
What a sweet little man!

I can't believe that October is already over. Today is my sister Jillian's 23rd birthday, so I want to send a shout out to the most wonderful sister! Jillian and I have always been very close and I have always been super protective of her. There is a bond that we share that I honestly can not describe. We are very different in many ways, but we remain kindred spirits. I am so proud of her, for she has become a wonderful hardworking and compassionate nurse at Duke University Medical Hospital and a sweet, nurturing wife to my new brother-in-law. Auntie J, we hope you have a wonderful birthday and we can't wait for our visit in a few weeks! Love you!