zombie post.

it's as though i've been resurrected from the dead! i'm back and couldn't be happier about it! i suppose my absence, hiatus, sabbatical, whatever you'd like to call it.... was due to not having a constant source of wifi and just wanting to enjoy and experience my summer without worrying about writing it down. now, don't get me wrong, i have some SERIOUS guilt about this. whenever i would think about it, i would get really sad that all of these milestones were happening and that the timeframe was lost. i do wish i had specific dates for everything jude has done in the past three and a half months, but i keep telling myself that the important thing is that i was there to experience it with him instead of concerning myself with documentation. unfortunately, this leaves me with the important question of "where do i begin???" i'll try not to overload you guys with information that is tedious but there has been SO MUCH that has happened to us since may!

firstly, we moved! no longer are we confined to my parents' house or our small town duplex that we were paying for and not living in! i will freely admit that despite the fact that i am so happy in my freedom, i miss spending so much time with mom and being close to some of our other family. but harrodsburg was such a drag and i love lexington beyond measure. it's nice to be able to go out to dinner and choose from more restaurants than o'charley's or applebee's. it's also pretty great to be able to go to the grocery or get fast food past 11pm! not that i should be eating fast food at all or especially past 11pm, but i don't care! when you have a craving, you have a craving! so now we have a plethora of food and entertainment around the clock and it's nice to know it's there when we need it. and did i mention that i loooove my house!?

and since we've moved...

i've gotten reacquainted with some great friends

i've changed my hair from this...

to this...

to this...

and finally to this...

while zach's hair has gone from this...

to this, because he refuses to let me cut it... 

and i have also watched my cleavage go from ridiculous...

to nonexistent after i quit breastfeeding...

i've seen some of the raddest bands ever...

rasputina

murder by death

mewithoutYou

been to my first pride festival...

watched friends give themselves "stick n poke" tattoos...

seen zachary very nearly  get eaten alive by a dinosaur while yard-saling...

took our longest roadtrip with jude yet (to destin, fl), 

and he got his carseat turned around for it...

first vacation as a family...

watched my baby see/feel the ocean for the first time...

saw him get completely red-eyed and water logged...

let him eat [nonorganic!] steak for the first time...

didn't let him eat sand (but he did anyway)...

went skim-boarding for the first and last time...

got the battle wounds to prove it...

jude captained his first pirate ship...

and got to swing for the first time...

drank from a hose...

was affected by the BP oil spill (yes, those are clumps of oil)...

jude saw his first crab...

and then cried most of the way home...

a couple of weeks later, jude turned ONE! 
(this is the three of us at 11:28pm, the time he was born, on his birthday (july 7th) which he randomly woke up for...)

he got his first birthday balloon. "boon! boon!" is all i heard until the thing deflated...

he had his birthday portraits made at Sears on his birthday since i got a coupon to get it all done (with lots of prints!) for only $5!

had an organic birthday treat, and also his first real dose of sugar haha

he mainly made a mess...

got a birthday wagon from mommy & daddy!

and a birthday playset from nana & poppy!

learned to climb...

jumped in this pirate jumpy, which was awesome!

had super fun decorations!

yummy cupcakes made by nana...

and cool pirate rice crispy treats decorated by me (stole all these ideas from a site i found on a friend's blog, don't think i'm this creative haha)

close up!

pirate cake made by tequisha bugg, friend of the family...

sugar-free organic healthy cake for jude, made by me... but i did frost it with regular icing at least :)

he'd never tasted anything so good!

and he made a mess, of course...

aarrrrgggghhhh matey!

all in all, the birthday blow-out was a huge success! everyone had a great time and a few kids stayed late to swim...

we also witnessed my beautiful cousin, keisha, get married...

and made jude wear this... 

we went to my cousin tiffany's baby shower...

where jude tried to help open gifts...

and then had a little too much to drink ;)...

and finally, we welcomed sweet baby eleanor into the world!!!

there is so much more that happened that i plan on posting as soon as i get all this pesky homework out of the way. i can't wait to blog daily again, i need some stress release! see you all on the flip side!

love!