surviving, somehow.

so i've been trying to update for days... literally. returning from spring break, i've had something major due like everyday. i am so glad this week is over. i will begin with the last draft i saved...

hello, engorgement, it's been awhile... (3.24.10)
apparently jude may be trying to wean himself. at least that's what the articles say. i've found a couple that mention biting in the context that he's been biting, but most are so nonchalant that it really pisses me off. they talk about teething babies biting when they get bored at the end of a feeding, sure. but biting just for the sake of biting? biting as well as starving themselves? not so much. and this momma is going crazy. today, he drew blood. and today, i almost weaned him. he won't nurse, he's barely interested in a bottle, i just can't figure him out. guess i will just have to wait it out...

and that's where that post ended.

now, it's two days later and i'm one much happier momma. miraculously, today he's stopped biting me. i cut his solids down a bit, so maybe that helped?? i'm not really sure to be honest, but i am relieved. nine months of nursing will surely toughen you up, but i am still recovering from the flesh wound, lol.
-i just want to interject here to say that at this moment, jude has rolled himself into such a position on the bed beside me that this is now my view:

i love those little feet...-

so anyway, where do i even begin?
yesterday the Baby Can Read package came in the mail!

because we went to the mall today, i didn't have a lot of time to sift through it but i did grab a few flashcards and went through them with jude a few times. the funny thing is how much attention he pays to them. i figured he wouldn't give me the time of day when it came to something as lame as flashcards with words printed on them, but voila! he loves them. but when he does get tired of playing, he still just wants to eat them...

oh, and we had such a fun time at the mall! he has finally reached the age where he can interact with a mall setting... grabbing clothes and pulling them off of shelves, staring at all the colorful lights and things, taking in all the sounds and smells, and flirting with every dark-haired girl we saw... he's such a ham. but i'm glad i can successfully take him to the mall.


we even made it through dinner at pf chang's, albeit i did have to give him a few morsels of brown rice to play with.

and this was his version of feeding himself. (don't worry, i wiped everything down with sanitizing wipes first! in fact, our waiter apologized for a dirty table before i had to assure him i was just a lunatic germaphobe)

meanwhile, i can't wait to get some pics up of jude's spring/summer wardrobe. what a snazzy kid. thank you, babyGAP and children's place for having such righteous duds.

on another note, jude tried peppers for the first time. it was a yellow, red, and green bell pepper mix, actually. and although i've realized he seems to have the same passive expression in every new food picture, i do think he liked the flavorful peppers.




and he's really digging his high chair...




it's so funny how children seem to make every thing their own. the uniqueness of jude is so amazing. i mean, the foot up on the bar and tray of his highchair? that's something i will still laugh about when he's my age, i'm sure. the way they choose to interact with their environment at this age is the beginning of a real, developing personality and i am having a blast figuring my baby out.
my mellow, man-baby...

who likes to nonchalantly climb on everything...


and pull on my hair/bangs to fall asleep...

and has total static-cling hair all the time...

who loves cords of all sorts...


"hey, do i have to do everything myself around here?!"


my bright and shining angel boy!


and now, i need to get some sleep so that i will make it at kindermusik tomorrow... hopefully i'll have something a little more substantial to say next post. :)