Update-itty-dog

Yeah well, you try coming up with a more creative name for a family update.

So while you may pretend to be interested in hearing how Shawn and I met and ultimately fell in love...you may tolerate my musings on southern culture ...and you may even repress groans at my attempts at weight loss, you can't fool me. I happen to know the real reason you visit this blog.

That's right. You actually visit this blog for all the cuteness your monitor can handle.

So this sickness thing seems to be taking its toll on our little family. First Jude and I got it. Then we started to get better. Then Shawn got it. And now it appears that Jude and I have it again. Or we got something new. Either way - it's no fun and produces lots of neediness and whininess. And that's just me.

Other than the occasional snot factory and need for extra snuggles, Jude's doing ridiculously well. We took him to our doctor early last week for his fever (just a nasty cold...nothin' we can do but the occasional Children's Benadryl), and found out that he's still in the 1st percentile. He's 16lbs 12oz. As opposed to earlier freak outs concerns I had, I can see clearly that he's developing just fine and is obviously just a small baby. Still, it was nice to know that he hasn't dropped off the growth chart entirely.

Jude gets closer to walking with each passing day - which is simultaneously exciting and frightening. His favorite game is "PullEverythingOutofEveryDrawerICanFindAndThrowItOnTheFloor." No kidding, if he could talk - that's totally what he'd call it.

His hair has now grown to sensitive indie rock star lengths, which is downright adorable. He hasn't gotten called a girl yet, but I'm just waiting. It's okay though, the pain will fuel his song writing.

Speaking of songs and indie rock star, Jude loves my guitar. He's even figured out how to strum with his cute little chubby fingers, and will work on plucking the strings when the guitar is standing upright. Shawn is thoroughly musical, and I play a little guitar and can sing on pitch when nobody is listening, so we aren't surprised to see Jude already drawn to musical instruments. Still - we're trying to be intentional about letting him explore and love whatever he loves. Even if that means he loves huntin' and fishin'.

And Jude has also figured out how to wave. The first time he did it, he looked at his hand like he couldn't figure out how it was moving on his own, and then held it straight up in the air to show me what it was doing. Of course - he doesn't wave when we're saying "hello" or, "goodbye." From what I can tell, waving means, "Oooh - this food is yummy! Gimmie some more!" in Jude-language.

And that's just fine with me.