Let me start this post with "We are not pregnant." but we have SEVERAL friends and family members who are. With that said, the names of new little ones have been on my mind, and if you know me at all, you know I'm obsessed with names. When I was in the 3rd grade, I requested a baby name book for Christmas because I wanted all of my animals and dolls to have just the right name. As Justin and I hear new names and think about what we would like to use when we do get pregnant again (which I hope to be sooner than later :)), it really reminds us that we want our children's names to have meaning. *We do not judge those who do not share this feeling by the way. However, we all know "those names" that you look at it and think, "did they really name their child that?"
When we got pregnant with Jude, we had several boy names lined up and only 1 girl name. As we tried to make a decision, we knew we wanted to use Aaron as the middle name, since that is Justin and Papaw Derrick's middle name. Justin and I agree that we like using a family name some how and then using part of the name to be just that child's. A little new with a little old. As we researched the meaning of the SEVERAL boy names we liked, we decided on Jude for 2 main reasons. 1. We liked the meaning and 2. Jude and Justin would have the same initials. (Jude was the only J name on the list). So, without further ado, Jude's name literally means:
Jude (praised) Aaron (enlightened) Dellinger (quiet place in the valley)
We pray that Jude will live a life worthy of praise in the eyes of the Lord. That he would follow in Christ's footsteps and love others with a powerful love. The actual definition of enlightened means "having or showing a rational, modern, and well-informed outlook/being spiritually aware". In the world in which we live in, I can't think of a more appropriate way we would like our son to be, to be well-informed, rational, yet spiritually aware in the decisions he makes. So, there you have it, what's in Jude's name.
For fun, Justin means "justice" couldn't have guessed, right? Nikki means "victorious" and Elizabeth (my middle name prior to getting married) means "consecrated to God". I really like the meaning of my name. :)
I do want to fill in with Jude's 20 month updates. He will be 20 months on the 15th, which is super bittersweet for me. This little guy is cracking us up. I don't know his height and weight, but at his 18 month visit, he was in the 50% for height and 75% for weight. Unfortunately, this past month he had hand, foot, and mouth and went 72 hours without eating anything except watered down juice and milk. I'm sure he lost some weight during that time but I'm not sure if he's put it all back on or not.
Jude is doing well at school. He has friends that he talks about at school and he's still obsessed with animals. I don't use the word obsessed lightly. He also enjoys watching Veggie Tales and Elmo. There is a youtube video called "Big Red" about a horse he enjoys too. We try to let him watch these for about 15 minutes a night to minimize his tv time and he seems satisfied with that. He still enjoys reading and playing hide and go seek. He is learning new words like crazy and has started to use a cup without a lid. He continues to eat and sleep well. He usually goes down around 8:30 pm and wakes around 7 am. Unfortunately, depending on when I have to be at school, sometimes I have to wake him up during the week and he does NOT like to be woken up. He is very happy in the mornings if he wakes himself up, but not so much if he's woken up. He only takes his bap at night during the weeks (none at nap at school) but he does get it during naps at home. His teachers swear he goes right down without any problem for them without it, but not for us. Oh well. Here are some of the cute things I love that he's doing now (some of this he's done for a while, but I haven't blogged about it. Please remember the blog serves as a memory tool for me too.):
1. Telling everything "night night" before bed, including Jesus when reading our Bible story
2. He folds his hands and waits to eat before meals to say the blessing
3. When you ask him "Who made you/the animals?", he'll respond with "God"
4. He loves to run and dance.
5. He is a good helper. He wants to help feed and water Mason, carry in groceries, push the cart at the store, etc.
Here are some of his favorites:
1. Food: cereal, preferably, organic mini wheats
2. Candy: M&M's which he calls just M's and he likes the brown ones best
3. Color: yellow
4. Animal: horse
5. Song: Old McDonald
6. Book: I'll Love You Forever and Animal Bible
7. Game: Hide and Seek, Ring Around the Rosies
8. Activity: Looking at animal cards with Daddy and sliding at the park
9. Best friend: Reese at school
10. Movie: Veggie Tales "God Loves Us Very Much"
I feel like there is so many details I need to write down so I won't forget. Please know, our child is not perfect. Whew, we had a super tantrum just his morning, but he is so loving and 95% of the time, a pleasant little one. We are so thankful for this beautiful blessing and we can't believe Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner!
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