5 Months Old

Jude is five months old this week. Here are some pictures and videos to show how much he's grown. Time sure flies when you are having fun!

He's getting a lot better at the Johnny Jumper! Sorry about the commentary.

He's working on getting good at the Exersaucer

Julie Time

I've been making an effort to schedule "me" time and that's not always easy. I'm always coming up with things that I need to do and somehow I get left out of the equation. Well, I got some good time in this weekend. Some friends from Troy came in for a visit and we had a spa day at Ross Bridge and dinner at my fave restaurant, Surin West. Jeremy had man time with Jude overnight and I had a bona fide girls' night! It was very relaxing and energizing to hang with the girls. It made me want to try and schedule more of these visits. When I see Jeremy heading off to a weekend with 44 of his closest friends/fraternity brothers (that's right I said 44!) it makes me wonder why we can't get big groups of girls together. That is my new mission! I think as women, we are conditioned to feel that we need to be at home to take care of the house, errands, kids, husbands, boyfriends, etc. Because who can do it as good as we can, right?

Well, we are going to change that. If you are reading this and agree, let me know! My plan is to start slow. So all Troy Phi Mus in Alabama and nearby unite. Let's just do lunch. Montgomery is pretty central. Perhaps we could go to the zoo (with the kids) and have a picnic. Once we get that together we can think even bigger! Maybe another time we could plan an actual night out! And then a whole weekend down the road. But, let's start with babysteps. Surely we can handle lunch!

Disclaimer: Sorry for all the exclamation points in this paragraph. Can you tell I'm passionate about this?

For anyone looking to schedule their own "me" time in Alabama, I have a tip. If you have a golfer husband, you've probably heard of Robert Trent Jones trail cards that gets them discounted golf. Well, they now have the equivalent for women, only it's a spa card. The card is $40 and gets you 20% off spa services for a full year. I used it this weekend and it paid for itself. It can be used at Ross Bridge in Bham, the Battlehouse in Mobile, the Grand Hotel in Fairhope, the Renaissance in Montgomery, and the Marriott Shoals. It is well worth some pampering for yourself. Visit the following link for more information:

http://www.rtjgolf.com/resorts/card/

Lisa and Julie (class of 96) Gail,and Kara (class of 95)

Circle City

Jude and I made our first visit to Dothan since Christmas. Jude met his great grandmother Nanan and her husband, Whatley. (On a side note, they got married at 75 and have now been married 22 years!) Nanan thought I said his name was Dude at first. Once we got that figured out, we had a nice visit. I guess Jude the Dude nickname is going to stick. Even Nanan is on board. She may be 97, but she's still cool. I can't believe it, but we got some great pictures of everyone. Aunt Karen was there, too. It's nice to have my mother's family now all living in Dothan. Aunt Bobbie and Aunt Karen both moved here in the past couple of years from the Chicago area. It's a bit different for them in LA, but nice to have family close-by.

Aunt Karen, Joyce, Nanan and Whatley

Jude and Nanan

We had lots of fun at Grandma and Gramps house. It was nice to relax and hang. Although, my poor parents had to deal with Jude's digestive difficulties over the weekend. (What a way to start a paragraph...) Poor guy has had an upset stomach for over a week. There were some screaming fits in the night. I promise Grandma and Gramps, he's not always like that! I'm happy to report that he is on the mend. Boy, am I relieved and I'm sure he is, too! Our Diaper Champ was definitely put to the test.

Grandma and Jude
Gramps and Jude

Happy Hour

Jude and me/BB and Emily Grace

Something about the spring weather has me craving fruity drinks out on a patio. Since bars aren't necessarily the best place to bring your baby, BB and I have instituted Friday evening happy hours once a month. A good excuse to get together, enjoy something fruity, and cook dinner. We even let the men join us. This week BB's husband James was kind of enough to cook homemade pizzas for us. He used basil grown from his own garden, along with homemade pizza sauce and fresh mozarella. The pizzas were delicious! And it inspired me to start cooking with some fresh ingredients. I love to cook and I am trying to keep it up now that I have my hands a bit fuller than I used to. Jude helped me cook dinner last night by being carried around in his sling on his mom. He wasn't happy in any of his other spots. Maybe it will inspire him to be a chef one day.

That evening I did bake brownies from scratch. They were melt in your mouth delicious, if I do say so myself. It called for a pound of butter and over a pound of chocolate chips so you know it had to be good. Take a look at Barefoot Contessa's Outrageous Brownies if you want something truly decadent.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/outrageous-brownies-recipe3/index.html

Earlier that day I went to lunch with my friend Emma from Chattanooga and Brooke who lives here in Birmingham. It was great to see them and their little ones. It was nice to get together. It was a good day of hanging out with friends. That's not something I get to do like I used to. But, I get to hang out with my three best friends a lot more, Jeremy, Jude, and Wrigley. If you are in Birmingham and looking for a great sandwich place, visit O'Carrs. They have recently franchised and have several locations. Their chicken salad and fruit plate is delicious.

Jude and me, Jake and Emma, Brooke and Anna James

Jude the Dude

Aunt Jenny and I went to dinner and a movie on Friday night for a nice kid-free girl's night. While killing time waiting for the movie to start we shopped in Target. Nothing like celebrating a kid-free evening than by buying stuff for the kids. Jenny suggested the cute baby sunglasses and I couldn't pass them up. We went to Justin's soccer game on Saturday and sported the new fashion. Kendall dubbed him "Jude the Dude." I like it! That adds to his other nicknames of Mister Man and Judeable. The latter is thanks to Nelson pointing out his name spells that on its own. I can't decide which one is my favorite. What's your vote?

Kendall, Jude and Aunt Jenny at the soccer game

All the cousins sporting their cool shades

This Saturday also marked Jude's 4 month birthday. See below pictures of how much he is growing! We went to the doctor on Monday and he is 15 lbs, 26 inches. He is in the 75% for weight and the 90% for height. We hope he keeps on growing tall like Gramps! His feet are almost hanging off his bouncy seat and car seat.