11 months old! Holy cow!

I cannot believe that Jude is 11 months old! He is growing up so fast and soon it will be his 1st birthday! Our little man is now walking between two people about 10 -15 steps, he is crawling over everything, eating 3 meals a day, and signing food & more. We couldn't be prouder of our little man and we are looking forward to celebrating his 1st birthday with friends & family in Illinois! 

In the past month Jude has celebrated his 1st Christmas, 1st New Years (thankfully he slept through all the loud fireworks), and has enjoyed spending time with our neighbors. Which leads to one of Jude's new favorite words... "Kit-tay!" which at times is also "Kit-Kat" and even sometimes "Kit-tay Kat". 

We are so proud and love this little man so much it is sometimes amazing to us that he is all ours! 

A few photos...

 11 Month Old Photos! He is always on the go go go! 

Faux - Hawk!  

Game Day! Ready to root on the Seahawks to the Super Bowl!

Jude is ready to root for the Seahawks in the Superbowl! Go HAWKS!!

A Labor of Love

Making baby food has always been something I wanted to do. I wanted to know what exactly my son was eating, give him the healthiest option, give him an ever expanding variety, and limit the amount of crap he would ingest. 

So, making baby food has become my labor of love. Is it fun to stand over a sink and de-seed a bag full of cherries? No, but I love the smile on my son's face when he eats it and the yum sound he makes. Does it take more time? Of course it does, but I save time by not having to read labels on everything to make sure that I know what he is eating. All of this and people still treat me like I am crazy. They ask me when he will eat normal food (i.e. sugar, juice, etc.). They give me weird looks when I still excuse myself to breastfeed my 11 month old and ask "When are you going to be done with that?" 

So, lets clear some things up... my son has had limited exposure to sugar, but in the long run I just don't feel it is something he needs in his diet. It provides no nutritional basis and could cause eating problems in the future. My son will also get food off of mine and my husbands plate from time to time and he loves nearly everything we give him (the only thing he has not liked is green beans and I can't say I blame him). Also, my son at 11 months old only has 2 teeth and they are not even fully out (maybe half way) so eating things that require chewing and grinding is not the easiest thing in the world. Finally, my son will stop breastfeeding when we are ready... which is not yet. He will without a doubt be breastfed until one year old and my hope is that he does get breastmilk as part of his diet until at least two as recommended by the WHO. 

I have no problem answering any questions, discussing our choices, or explaining what my son is eating. Just please don't give me dirty looks or shame me in any way. You can raise your child as you like and so can I as long as neither of us are harming them in any way. 


P.S. As I step down from my soap box can I just say I LOVE LOVE LOVE Happy Puffs! They are Jude's favorite and he loves all the flavors. The best part of these puffs (which we give in addition to cheerios) is they have no added sugar, they are simply flavored by the fruits and veggies inside! 

P.P.S. If anyone ever wants to know some of my recipes or baby food combinations just let me know and I'll happily share! :) 

10 Months, Christmas, & A Year In Review

So, since I have been slacking this will just be an all inclusive blog post. 

As of December 19th we have a 10 month old! I cannot believe that he has been alive longer then I was pregnant with him now! He is such an amazing and happy little man. He is getting into everything, climbing on everything, and has learned the art of clapping and how to high five thanks to Auntie Heather! During this month Jude also celebrated his first Thanksgiving with the Snyder family and the Stueckrad family! It was great to see everyone even if we came home sick. This also led to Jude's first real sickness when he was diagnosed with pneumonia and had to be on antibiotics for 10 days. He is now all better and no worse for the wear. We are so proud of our little man and cannot believe that one year is just around the corner!! Photos: 

 Happy Turkey Day!

 4 Generations of Stueckrads

 4 Generations of Snyders

10 Months Old!! Woo Hoo!!

On December 25th we were able to celebrate Christmas as a family in Georgia and loved watching Jude discover all of his new toys and he really enjoyed ripping the paper! Soon after Christmas Brian and I rearranged the living room to make more room for Jude and his toys! The things we do for our little ones! We hope to see some family next Christmas, but that still remains to be seen. Photos: 

 Picture with Santa!

 Flour Facepaint while Mommy makes cookies

 Christmas Eve Book

 Christmas Eve Present from Grandma & Grandpa Snyder

 The new Candy Cane Addict

 Christmas Morning with Daddy

 Someone was good! Look at that present pile! 

 "I want my fox daddy" 

Mini Ball Pit

A year in Review:

January - Heather and Brian rang in the new year separated by thousands of miles and we hit the halfway point of Brian's Deployment

February - We welcomed our little man Jude to the world and Brian was able to see him via FaceTime within an hour (or so) of his birth. Heather's mom and dad came to help with the new bundle of Joy!

March - Heather turned 28 and Brian's parents came to visit and see their new grandson! 

April - Heather's mom came for a long weekend for Jude's doctor appointments to the Audiologist and Neuro Surgeon. Jude was given the all clear by doctors. Heather's friend from college, Kerry, came to visit! 

May - Brian came home and was able to meet his son in person! We went to Seattle and IL for a vacation and a visit! 

June - Brian returned to work at Winn and we celebrated our 4 year anniversary

July - Brian turned 31 and our friends had a sweet baby girl, Jude's passport photo is taken and his first time at the pool!

August - We traveled to IL for Heather's cousin's wedding & Jude visits the Atlantic Ocean 

September - We took Jude to experience the largest aquarium in the WORLD and he loved it! Jude also went to his first birthday party for his second cousin Lilly!

October - Family photos, Jude's first Ogeechee seafood festival, Pumpkin patch, flu shots, and Halloween! 

November - We traveled to San Francisco for Brian's conference and to visit family, Jude visits the Pacific Ocean, Thanksgiving in IL, and we finally have teeth! 

December - Jude and Heather are sick, Jude's 1st Christmas in Georgia, we rang in the new year together (and thankfully Jude slept threw the VERY LOUD fireworks!) 


Goals for the new year:

1. Stop eating fast food (for at least 3 months, but hopefully for the year)
2. Read 1 book a month
3. Get Jude involved in some activity out of the house or to socialize more
4. Devote time to my husband without electronics and go on one date night a month