We are official Fort Worth Zoo members!

I just purchased Fort Worth Zoo memberships for Jon and myself. Jude will have free admission thru 2 years old! I'm totally stoked! $94 total ($54 for first adult and $37 for second) and that includes:

Unlimited admission to the Zoo everyday during regular operating hours
FREE parking—save $5 each time you visit
$3 discount off one-day Zoo admission for your guests*
Half-price tickets on the Yellow Rose Express Train
Half-price tickets on the Country Carousel
10 percent discount at all merchandise locations, excludes rentals
10 percent discount at most food locations
FREE subscription to ROAR! magazine and Tracks newsletter
$20 discount on birthday parties at the Zoo, maximum 30 people
Priority registration and discounts on Zoo education programs
Special invitations to members-only events
Discounts on Zoo special events, such as Boo at the Zoo, Zoo Run Run and Beastro

I say NOT BAD AT ALL! I have no doubt we'll go again and again and have already scheduled our first visit for April 16th! Since posting on Facebook and our blog that I was contemplating the membership purchase, so many friends replied expressing their love for the Zoo too and plans have been made to team up! So...we are now officially Fort Worth Zoo members for the year! :-) I'm so curious to see how Jude will react to the surroundings (all the people, animals, scenery). YAY!!

Let's all go to the zoo!! ;-)

*HUGS*
Brooke

Been a While...Update on Jude

It’s been a while since I’ve updated on Jude… He’s acquiring such a cute personality and growing like a weed!! I’m absolutely loving being his mommy! I can’t wait for the next beautiful day that offers opportunity for a Fort Worth zoo trip!
He weighs near 14 lbs now at 3 mos, 10 days old. We just transitioned into 3-6 month clothes and size 2 Pampers this week and as Shannon (Minter) made the joke… he’s eating like a grown man! Note: Jon unbuttoned his pants b/c they were so tight while we were out to eat with friends last weekend, hehe.




I bought some rice cereal Monday and we’ve offered it to him a couple times now. He takes it but still prefers the ease of a bottle…almost every 2-3 hours (4 oz)! Nights are a little better but he still wakes up hungry every 3-4 hours on avg. I’m ready to start adding to the liquid diet…mommy & daddy are a bit tired! LOL.
As far as health goes…he’s been suffering with allergies for over a month now!! His poor lil’ nose just runs and runs! He coughs every once in a while and it sounds so deep chested that it breaks my heart!! :( I worry and take his temperature often but so far, all normal there and Dr. Martin (pediatrician) as well as other moms tell me it’s perfectly normal and something that just has to run its course. *sigh* I feel so helpless! :-( Dr. Martin did give a prescription to help dry things up but that involves countering it with saline mist to keep his nose from getting TOO dry. Sheesh! Jude loves the medicine…you’d think it was candy and it seems to help but the saline…not a fan! We have to spray up each nostril with every diaper change. :( Far from a fun task to say the least…for all involved. Jon says that he now realizes how many boogers he has…and more so, what a nuisance it would be if they couldn’t be picked! :-P “Oh Jon…”
We have discovered that Jude’s current favorite toy is…the mirror! He could stare at himself all day long. He will reach out to touch his face and hit the glass with his hand and give a full gum showin’ grin. It’s hilarious! His head bobbles some as he tries to steady himself and he’s even head butted himself a couple times…just makes him smile even bigger!! Its pure entertainment for all that watch and I can’t get enough!! I crack up with him!
He still shows no want/need for a pacifier but does have a “lovey”…actually a couple, that have become a necessary! He loves the soft feel of the outside and even more the silky inside against his face. He cuddles them close and tightly…very cute! If he’s fussy, I can bring out a “lovey” and 9 out of 10 times, it calms him down right away.









Daddy seems to have the magical whistle... Jude just stares and listens as if he’s already processing how to copy-cat. He's quite the fan of Jon...and vice versa. ;-) I love it! I do however dread the day they are both whistling…different songs, at the same time!! Lord help me! HaHa.
Jude and I have been busy with playdates and neither of us can get enough! Jude is more and more curious and I love that he’s so socialable! So many of my friends are in similar places with children close to Jude’s age
and even those that don’t have children yet are totally cool about letting him tag along...he's a loved little boy!



















Daycare has become routine and easy! I’m so thankful! I was truly worried I wouldn’t be able to be a good mom working…not the case! It works for us! Jude loves his teachers and friends! Ofcourse, I do watch the clock waiting for 4:00 each day and I quickly rush from work to pick him up BUT it makes our nights, off-Fridays and weekends extremely special! I love my job and it offers such a flexible schedule… I now can’t believe I considered giving it up! Jude is such a happy boy…and so is mommy! :-)
Bentley, our 3 year old mini Schnauzer, stays jealous and watches Jude’s every move still. Jude just watches him and has become almost oblivious to his crazy mannerisms lately (ex: hopping over Jude on his playmate repeatedly until Jon or I come w/attention). We will grab the camera to snap pictures of Jude and Bentley rushes to sit beside him and share the in the “moment.”
It’s actually quite funny…and a little sad. Poor Bentley…it’s tough adjusting to not being an only child anymore! ;-)
A pic of Bentley rushing to be in the shot and Jude looking at him wondering what the big deal is…LOL.


That’s all I got for now…Thanks for reading! :-)

Much love,
Brooke

TURKS & CAICOS BABY!!

So excited!! Jon and I just booked a July trip to Turks & Caicos with 15 of our friends!! 7 nights!! All inclusive!! We only had to use 3 days vacation PTO to go too!!

I am curious to see how 7 days away from my little man is going to work out for me but I have no doubt he’ll enjoy a week with Grammy, Granddaddy and Uncle Kevin. My mom said she’ll send me videos to watch so I can feel like he’s somewhat with me still… :o) There’s another girl, Jennifer, that is going that has twin boys not much older than Jude so we can calm each other…with words, shopping trips, hugs AND ofcourse those unlimited cocktails! ;-)

Can I start counting down?! HeHe… 101 days…

*HUGS*
Brooke

Saturday shopping fun with the girls and Jude

Brandee, Meghan, Jennifer and I met at the NE Mall Ghengis Grill at 1:00 Saturday for a quick bite to eat and some mad shopping. Equipped with a stroller and a 40% off coupon good at GAP & BANANA that we must have used 20 times, we did some minor damage and had a great time!

What did I do before I had a stroller?? I suppose I bought less?? HeHe ~ poor Jon. If you look closely, you can see little Jude's head pokin' out. :-D

Didn't seem to phase him...haha

*HUGS*
Brooke

Jude's first St Patty's Day

Dressed and ready for St Patrick's Day...down to the cool kicks!

Taking a pic with his doggie! Jude looks happy, Bentley looks worried...

Apparently he likes to do the running man...LOL

Playdate with Madison 3/13/10

Jon and I headed over to Clint and Joanna's house Sunday after church to grill steaks, catch up and finally introduce Jude and Madison (6 mos). It was a great time!! It wasn't exactly love at first sight for Madison...but it WAS totally hilarious!!
It started out innocent with us sitting them beside each other on the couch...

Madison realizes she's not a fan of her new couch buddy..."what is he doing?! Sitting a little close you think?! You do realize I can barely hold MYSELF up, right?!"


Madison then pokes and prods Jude and gives a little push to create some more personal space...Jude cries...


Madison, realizing Jude is a little cry-baby, starts to feel guilty and apolgizes while attempting to console him...
We try the other side...Jude, now calm, leans on Madison once again...and she appears to be ok with it!
until she starts eating him!!!






We try one more time...AND...DOMINOES!!!





We were dying laughing and can't wait to come play again soon!

Watch out world! Here we come…with 5 strollers!

I was fortunate to get to meet up with 4 girlfriends and their sweet babies at the Allen Premium Outlets this past Saturday. It was a 45 minute drive from my house and worth every toll road! I had a blast spending time with other moms and their children! “Watch out world! Here we come…with 5 strollers!!”

Michelle with Tommy (8.5 months old), Chris with Charlie (9.5 months old), Meagan with Tatum (15 months old, only girl), Jocelyn with Eli (3 months old), and me with Jude (3 months old). We must have been an intimidating picture for those in our path, haha! Jocelyn is from Austin and was just up for the weekend so it was such a treat to see her and have the chance to introduce Eli and Jude, both December 2009 babies.

Being so close in age, Eli and Jude had alot of the same stuff (note the matching strollers in the picture).
Strolling along outside was a perfect way to spend a gorgeous sunny day! We found some fun things, like baby sunglasses for Eli and Jude, and some really good deals on clothes! I was amazed we actually all were able to meet up and hope we get to do it again soon!!

Jude Goes to Daycare

After much thought and several visits to different DFW daycares, we finally decided to put Jude in one that is very close to Lockheed (where we both work)...BUILDING BLOCKS, Fort Worth. I thought about putting him in one close to home (in Keller) so he would grow up with other neighborhood kids but with the Lockheed discount offered at most Fort Worth daycares, that was pretty much out of the question. As he gets a little older, we’ll re-evaluate. Who knew choosing a daycare would be such a task?!

My mom came down and watched Jude for Jon and me the last 2 weeks while I transitioned going back to work and just to love on him and give him a couple more weeks before daycare. I was fairly confident I would do alright considering I had preparation time…WRONG! HeHe.


Monday was his first day…


Jon dropped him off around 7:00am and I was to pick him up after work around 4:00pm. I thought dropping him off might be difficult for me so I was happy to give that task away. Wise decision. I found myself staring at the clock as the minutes went by from about 1:00pm on getting very anxious to pick him up. I left work at 3:59 in route to get my little man! When I walked into the daycare, I instantly felt frazzled for some reason... I walked into his classroom and ofcourse went straight to scoop Jude up…Ick! A very snotty nose! OH NO! All the stories the moms tell me are true! Daycare does = sick kiddos! What have I done?! I tried to stay composed and just said as politely as possible “wow, poor guy is so snotty. Did you guys give him his salene spray?” to which I got the response…”oh no, we didn’t know we should be. I’m so sorry. Do we have instructions for that from your dr?” I was screaming in my head…Well….why did I have to make sure I had his pediatrician fax over signed paperwork so you WOULD know? Boo! :-( I was nice but stern and explained that yes, they were! (and also vented to Jon he needed to regulate and let them know what’s up in his best manly voice the following morning…but nicely ofcourse). ;-)

Lesson #1: Leave directions every morning w/teachers. Don’t assume they know anything.

So…moving on, I go to pull down his carrier and diaper bag from the top shelf where they are kept during the day. I find his diaper bag empty. Why was it empty?! I had dropped off anything and everything they would possibly need the week before…diapers, wipes, clothes, bottles, burp cloths… I asked the teacher where all of his stuff was and she (very sweetly I will say) helped me sort thru his bin and cabinet and collect it all to put back in the bag. I wonder if she could sense I was about to break down?? LOL. She explained they had assumed we dropped it off to be used.

Lesson #2, don’t leave the diaper bag.

I left the daycare nearly in tears and headed home. Am I just an emotional ninny or is this natural and expected mommy behavior? I must say being on day 4 now, I’m MUCH better! I knew it wouldn’t be just easy peasy or anything but SHEESH! *sigh* I’m thankful we chose the Fort Worth daycare over the Keller one now for sure…I can’t imagine having to commute 30 minutes after work before getting to him everyday. I am still counting down minutes til’ pick up time even today but I’m learning and getting to know the process more and am content with our choice…but am also hopeful my mom will cave and move down soon! HeHe.