Trippin'.

July first marked the start of Jude's very first road trip.  The first of many, I'm sure.  We have family all over the state, country, and soon-to-be world.  Not to mention his daddy and I have a love for road trips.  We have dreams of one day owning a camper and making it to each of the national parks with our kids.  Forget the fancy resorts and cruises.  Something about hitting the road in the mini-van just feels right.

Jude was a trooper this first go-around!  He spent much of the time sleeping {as we had hoped} and did get a bit sick of the car seat {who can blame him}, but I didn't mind sitting in the back and playing with his baby einstein toy with him one bit.  We broke the trip up into segments - making it to Indy with Macy for the first night, then onward to Tennessee after that.  He couldn't wait to see his Aunt Krista and Uncle Ben for the second time!

Aunt Krista and Uncle Ben will soon be moving to Jamaica, so we will soak up all the time we can with them.  It has been so fun to spend these last couple of days with Krista and see her and Jude play together.  Jude is at such a fun age and demands to be entertained!  Of course nobody complains about playing horsey, blast-off, or reading to our little guy.  Between Krista, Ben, Jordan, and I there is lots of love to go around. 

On Tuesday we had our first dip in the pool!  Jude wasn't so sure about it at first.  He LOVES his bath, so I'm sure he was wondering #1 - why is the water so cold, and #2 - why am I not naked?!  He soon grew to love tolerate it, and I'm thinking of purchasing a little kiddie pool for him to splash in for the rest of the summer.  He obviously can't sit on his own yet, but I'm always looking for new experiences for him and reasons to get him outside of our four walls.

Not so sure...

I've never been a water-lover.  In fact, I clearly remember being in tears during my first swimming lessons because I was afraid to jump off the diving board.  I eventually overcame my fear of the diving board {kind of}, but have always kinda felt like a fish out of water... in the water....  I can swim alright, but it just isn't my fave.  I just can't explain it.  But I hope for Jude to have a love for the water.  Living near the lakes there are too many opportunities to create great family memories at the beach.  I'll be sure to start swimming lessons with him early {maybe even baby-swimming lessons} so that we all can feel a bit more confident and breathe more easily around the water.

Warming up to it...

I love these little firsts with Jude.  And I love that this special first is something that Krista was able to enjoy with us, since I know she'll be missing us from afar in Jamaica before long.  {Whatever did we do before email, facebook, and skype to keep in touch?!}

Safe in Mama's arms.

Smiles.

First things first... I've decided my blog needed a bit of a face-lift.  In all honesty, designing this thing is a fun creative outlet for me, so that is why it changes so much.  I also decided to give it a name: "Loving the little things."  Just because that is where I am at in life right now.  Jude is teaching me to take life more slowly and stop and enjoy all of these little fleeting moments.  So - I thought it was appropriate. 

In all seriousness, there is nothing like a baby to show you how fast time flies by.  This sweet boy has started showing us his love through his smiles.  SO so fun.  Today he was fussing a bit in his crib during nap-time and I went to give him his paci and in turn he gave me a HUGE grin.  Of course I had to get him up from his nap and snuggle him after that.  He is such a joy.  It is so much fun to watch him get to know the world for the first time.  I am truly cherishing all of these little moments and firsts with him. {excuse the quality of these pics and video... they were taken on my phone}

{A video of my happy boy... as you can see, I have the baby-talk down}

Stir-crazy no more.

I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  My stir-crazy cooped up in the house days just might be coming to an end.  I am finally feeling well enough to get out and about.  My c-section soreness has seemed to fade the past few days and I DON'T feel like I'm going to rip open when I walk {thank goodness}.  I am finally thinking that I may possibly be able to exercise and run again after all!!  I know all of you told me it takes 2 months to recover... I just am impatient. :-)

So, since I am finally feeling better, I have let my stir-craziness get the best of me.  We went for our first walk outside, our first trip to the mall, AND our first grocery shopping experience!  Thank goodness I wasn't by myself for any of this, but it definitely made me feel more confident.  I feel like I could easily make a quick grocery trip with him and not be terrified. 

I'm feeling ready to exercise too, but I am going to hold off until my 6 week appt next week.  I have this DVD that I can't wait to use.

Ahhh... yoga!!!  I can't wait.  I feel SO stiff and not-stretchy.  This helps to strengthen your ab muscles that are super stretched during pregnancy in a SAFE way (because there are plenty of un-safe ways).  This will be part of my morning routine (during Jude's morning nap) as soon as I get the green light.

I'm also hoping to start the Couch to 5K training program.  I know, it seems pretty easy for someone who has raced a 10K before, but I have not run since last July.  By the time I truly run again it'll be more like 10 or 11 months.  And I've gotten huge, had surgery, had a baby, and am breastfeeding... so I'm taking it easy.  I want to do something I will stick with instead of hurt myself or overdo it and quit.  So... C25K it is.  There is a 10 mile race in September that I would LOVE to do... but we'll see how things go.  If nothing else, I will run the 5K. 

In other news, Jude is so. much. fun.  He is starting to pay more attention to people and things around him and it is just SO fun to watch.  He has started smiling a little bit more.  Jordan must be funnier than me, because he smiles all the time for him. :-)  I'll have to catch it on camera soon!  I still haven't decided if I am going to move him to his crib or not at night.  I had him there all night last night, but I kind of miss him when he's not right next to me.  I know... sappy.  I gotta just do it.  I think we all sleep better there.  He's such a good baby - bedtime and naps, I just need to put him in his crib and he totally knows it is time to sleep.  He doesn't fuss much, just goes right to bed.  In fact, sometimes if he is fussy in his bouncer or when we're holding him, I'll put him to bed in his crib and he'll be out like a light. 

 {silly boy}

Anyway - random post, but such is life!