11 Month Update and a Few Other Things

This sweet little man is 11 months old today. Time is certainly flying and he's really becoming "a big boy". Here are some basic facts about Jude at 11 months:
-Weight and height, no idea...will get to that this weekend :)
-5 teeth, his 5th one just broke through this week and he'll definitely have 6 by 1 year
-He's walking all over the place with his walker, this is not is preferred mode of transportation around our house. He practically runs with it. He has stood alone for several seconds a few times, but no independent steps yet.
-He's beginning to sign for "more" and give kisses. He waves bye and hi and he's started to ask for "Baba" which is me, Momma!
-We took the bottle away cold turkey a little over 2 weeks ago. He had been "playing" with/adjusting to it since around 6 months but was showing no interest in actually sucking it. After much debate, we just quit it. After about a week, he started to get the hang of it. He still nurses in the morning and at night, but takes his cup through out the day.
-He is still a good eater. He loves fruit smoothies, blueberries, and whole wheat pasta. He is still strange about certain textures, but he'll eat about anything. I made chicken and dumplings one day this month and I think that has been his favorite food of all time.
-He still sleeps great at night...he goes to bed by 8 or 8:30 and usually wakes up between 6-6:30. He's happy when he wakes up and is ready to start the day running.

Sweet Jude,
You have made our lives abundantly more sweet and joyful. We love you so much!

On other notes, since my last post we have enjoyed Valentine's Day. Justin surprised me early last week when he was off one day and kept Jude at home. When I got home, I had a bouquet of purple carnations in a new vase from Jude that says "I love Mommy." Justin had also picked up my favorite soup from the local deli as well as a fruit tart cake and 2 very sweet cards. What a nice surprise!

Justin and I are also helping coach girls softball this spring. I have missed coaching and Justin and I are sharing the responsibilities of an assistant coach so I won't have to travel. We take Jude with us and he plays in his stroller or with the girls who are in the dug out for whatever reason. We have a great group of girls and I think it's going to be a lot of fun!

Daddy and Jillian are coming this weekend and we're going to visit the Grand Canyon. They're going to be here for a whole week and I can't wait to have a piece of home here!!!

A Mom's Workout

For anyone who knows me personally, I LOVE to work out and always have. Even during pregnancy, I stayed extremely active with walking, pregnancy yoga and pilates, and modified weight lifting. Once Jude was born, I continued to walk/jog, lift weights, and get back into my "before baby" body. Fortunately, my weight came off really easily (I think breast feeding helped this) and though my body is definitely different now in some ways, I weigh less than before I got pregnant. I'm sure this is because I don't have as much muscle.

With that said, I know that though looking good is a great incentive to work out, being healthy is most important. Though I LOVE my 4 day work week, working 10 hours a day Monday-Thursday really limits my time to work out during the week. We still walk/jog almost always daily simply because Jude and Mason love it, so I feel that my cardio has been maintained. However, I want to get back into more weights and kinesthetics. Through some research and the help of Pinterest, I have developed a new little work out that I started about a week ago and I've been really happy with it. My heart rate definitely gets up and my shoulders have gotten sore. (This is only a "beginners" work out, so I hope to add more things to it, but on a limited budget, aka no gym membership, and limited time, aka, this takes about 20 minutes, I feel this has great potential for maintenance purposes.) If you decide to try it, let me know. :)

Repeat this cycle 3 times:

-30 jumping jacks
-5 pushups
-25 high knees
-20 mt. climbers
-5 pushups
-10 regular squats
-15 crunches
-5 pushups
-15 crunches
-10 "toes out" squats
-30 jumping jacks
-20 lunges
-5 push ups
-25 high knees
-25 bicycle crunches

10 Months

This sweet little guys is officially 10 months. He weighs 21 lbs, 5 oz and is 29 inches long. These are a few new things he's doing this month:

-Cruising while holding onto something, be it the coffee table, sofa, or his walker toy
-signing "All done", "more", and shaking his head for "No" (which he does far too often)
-having true temper tantrums...if he doesn't like something, he screams bloody murder
-Continuing to eat lots of yummy "real" food, new things include dried cranberries, turkey sausage, salmon, yogurt, blueberries, cinnamon rolls
-Continuing to sleep well through the night...he's usually an early riser, getting up between 6 or 6:30, but he's thrown in a few favors to Mommy and Daddy more often lately, giving us until 7 or even as late as 7:40!
-He loves playing peek-a-boo and singing
-He has learned how to get into Mason's crate, which he thinks is hysterical. If he climbs in while Mason is in it, Mason just gets up...he knows there is no way to relax with Jude crawling all over him

Jude is certainly a blessing from the Lord. I am immensely thankful to be honored to be his mother. We had the priviledge of having one of my best friend from college, Beth, to visit over the long weekend...it was great to have her spend time with Jude while he's still small. I have begun 1st birthday plans...

Addicted

*First, please disregard the awful "Neighborhood Watch" sign on our door...we started to scrape it off, but the door has been painted and it will have a big hole.

Yes, I am officially addicted to Pinterest. I guess the word "addicted" is a little strong. I check it every few days to see if I can get some new ideas and I only stay on it for about 15 minutes a time, but still, it's more time on the computer than I used to spend. Any who, here is my 2nd project I made from an idea I got from Pinterest. I am pretty happy with my Yarn Wreath. My first "project" was a reindeer ornaments Jude and I made for Mo Mo, Nana, and Aunti J using Jude's foot prints.

I've enjoyed getting new ideas, especially yummy recipes that I've been trying and new ideas for things to make for our new house. I saw a quote that I think sums Pinterest up quite nicely, "Pinterest is for women what Fantasy Football is for men."

Happy Monday!

Hello, Goodbye

2011 was a wonderful, yet trying year in the Dellinger house hold. January and February were spent enjoying the last few weeks of being a family of 2. We enjoyed lots of snuggles, walks, and preparing for our little man to arrive. In March, Justin presented his Master's thesis and defense and prepared to graduate with his Masters from Auburn University in May. We also welcomed our beautiful son in March. After Jude's birth, we experienced an abundance of visits from family and friends. We celebrated in my sister's graduation from UNCW in May, as well as having Jude's first beach visit. The summer went by way too fast with vacations, my sister's wedding, and our farewell to Auburn and our entrance into Arizona. Justin and both started new job, Jude started day care, and our little man has not stopped going for a second. We have loved watching him grow, sharing in family traditions like carving pumpkins, watching Auburn football, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We are immensely blessed and thankful for all of the trials and joys we've experienced this year.

While in college, my church in Wilmington always (and still does) a series called "My One Word" rather than a resolution. This has been something that has really been wonderful for me. Personally, I choose 1 word that I really want to focus on in my life for that year and resolve to pray over this word and seek God's guidance in becoming more like Him.

In the past, I have chosen these words: purity, trust, intentional. This year, my word is MEEK. According to Webster, this word means "showing patience and humility, gentle". Enough said.

As we say good bye to the memories that we will cherish forever from 2011, I am thrilled to see what the Lord has in store for 2012. Happy New Year!

Christmas in Asheboro

Sharing Mo Mo with Alli!

Playing outside with Pop and Daddy...trying to eat acorns like the squirrels...again, 2 other things we don't have in AZ.

Lots of time playing with all the people I love the most!

Jude has really enjoyed playing with Alli, but I think he's really missed Mason. Whenever he sees pictures of Mason, he'll say "Da" or dog and squeal.

Where has the time gone? There are too many blessings to be thankful for over our Christmas holiday. Our holiday celebrations of 2011/beginning of 2012 have ended. We have spent a lot of time sitting around enjoying time with family, playing games, and visiting friends. One of the best treats Justin and I shared was a night staying at Jillian and Phillip's house with Jude staying with Mo Mo and Pop. Justin and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner, some shopping at the best outlet mall, and some much needed time as a couple...best of all, we slept in! Whew!

This time has been the most wonderful time of celebration and I can't wait to get back home! (As in, back to NC. :))

Christmas in Shelby

Me and my sweet man on Christmas Eve.
Jude really enjoyed playing with some of Daddy's and Uncle Cody's old toys, including this dump truck. With the unseasonably, but really nice weather, we played outside and we had forgotten that Jude isn't used to crawling around in grass, haha.

Another toy Jude enjoyed was his Daddy's old red rocking chair. He was such a ham and enjoyed the many photo shoots that came along with Nana and his first Christmas.

Poor Uncle Cody had a pretty invasive jaw surgery while we were home and though he was in pain and had to eat from a siringe, he did his best to spend as much time with Jude as possible.

It's hard to believe that another Christmas season has come and gone. We have had the opportunity to spend my entire Christmas break at home, beginning with a week in Shelby and now ending our time with a week in Asheboro. (Our Asheboro visit will come later.)

We got into Greenville, SC around midnight and Jude did awesome. He never woke up from the last leg of the flight, walking through the airport, driving the our to Justin's parents' home, then he slept until 8:45 the next morning (6:45 am our time). We were able to spend some time just hanging out with Justin's family, sleeping in, and relaxing. Things that we definitely take for granted now that we have a little one. :)

We enjoyed Christmas Eve festitivities with Justin's extended family, especially the annual Sock Exchange Shin Dig at the Cloningers. On Christmas morning, we got up and enjoyed opening presents. Jude really didn't know what to think, which is what we expected, but it was great to be with family and experience the precious memories of Jude's first Christmas. He has been spoiled rotten and gotten more goodies than he can ever imagine! So many things will be passed onto our other children (Lord willing) I don't know what they will receive as gifts!

On Christmas Day, we went to Justin's home church for the Christmas service and were able to see several of our good friends and their children that have been born this year as well. What a blessing! We also went to 3 different grandparents and great-grandparents homes. Considering the craziness of the schedule and all the new people, Jude did absolutely amazing! Everyone complimented on what a friendly baby he is.

The days go be far too fast, but we enjoyed our visit with the Dellingers. We met my family half way in Concord and have enjoyed our visit tremendously. We are amazingly blessed with wonderful family and friends.