Gigi and Mimi came up for a visit. It was great having them here and Jude enjoyed spending time with his grandma and great-grandma. This was Mimi's first time at our house. They were both surprised by Jeremy's lack of hair. As you can see, he has decided to shave it. He keeps going shorter and shorter. Pretty soon he's going to be bald! Watch out Tim, you have some competition!

Jude, Mimi, Gigi, and Jeremy at the park behind our house

The grandmothers offered to babysit and gave Jeremy and I the chance to have a date night, just the two of us. We tried to think of the last time we had gone out just us and we couldn't remember a time after Christmas. And that was at the Waffle House! We've had many weddings and parties we've gone to leaving Jude with babysitters. But no one-on-one dates! We enjoyed our time together and relax over a delicious dinner. We'll have to make that happen again...before Christmas hopefully!

Jeremy and Julie getting ready for date night

Beach Trip

Jude had his first beach trip last week. Jeremy had a convention in Destin and we got to tag along. Fun for us, but not for Jeremy since he was working. My parents joined us and brought my niece and nephew.

It took us 6 hours to get there, a trip that should have taken 4 1/2 hours. The joy of traveling with a baby! We did manage to get down to the beach for a few minutes that evening so that Jeremy could be with Jude on his first visit to the beach. Of course, true to Jude form, he didn't have much of an opinion about it. He is so laid back and along the ride for just about anything.

The next day Grandma and Gramps came we loaded up Jude, Justin, and Kendall and headed for the beach. Gramps dragged the cart full of stuff across the street and down the beach. We set up the umbrella, towels, and hit the water. It was beautiful and oil free. We made it a sum total of 15 minutes before all the kids decided they had enough. So Gramps loaded everything back up and hauled it back across the street and we hit the pool. No sand or saltwater equals happier kids!

Grandma and Gramps left on Friday and it was just Jude and I for the day. We went to the pool in the morning and Jude actually took a nap there while I enjoyed a good book. It was a nice morning for us both.

Six Months

Thanks to Carly J Photography I have some beautiful pictures of Jude commemorating his six month birthday. I know what you are thinking, isn't Jude almost 8 months now? And your math is correct. However, my blogging has been less than consistent so I'm a bit delayed. Go visit http://www.photosbycarlyj.com/ for a great photographer for weddings or children.

And let me tell you, scheduling these pictures was no walk in the park. Trying to work it around his naptimes, with enough time for me to get there and him be pleasant wasn't easy. Lucky for us, Carly had a dog there. Anytime we needed a smile from Jude, we just brought in the secret weapon. Next pictures, I'm going to include Wrigley. Our two babies!

Below is Jeremy's favorite picture. Of course this would be his fave!

Old Friends

One of the best parts of moving to Birmingham and our neighborhood is that we are close to some old friends BB, James and their little girl Emily Grace. It has been so wonderful getting together for playdates and cookouts! There are only a few months difference between Jude and Emily Grace. And BB has been so helpful to me over the past few months with great motherly advice.

One of my favorite stories is the one BB tells me about Jeremy and James and a conversation they had as they watched an Alabama football game. Jeremy turns to James and asked "What is your burping technique?" Game day conversations certainly have changed since becoming parents.

My little man is a bit of a prude. Anytime he's with a girl in the bath or pool he starts crying. I know what you are thinking. How many girls has he been bathing with? The answer is two. So, maybe he's not a prude after all. Maybe he's just not a two timer.

Lights, Camera, Action...

I think I have finally figured out how to upload videos to the blog. The old way apparently doesn't work anymore. Please enjoy watching this adorable baby boy as he chats, tries to crawl, and all around is cute!

These are the Huggies denim diapers. So ridiculous that I had to get some. But, not too many. They are priced too high for more than one purchase.

Silly Boy

Wrigley and Jude having a good time together. Let me rephrase, Jude is having fun, Wrigley doesn't look like she's enjoying life at this moment!

He loves to burrow into the corner of his crib. I always worry about whether he's breathing. His little foot poking out was too cute to pass up on a picture.

Jude's bitchin' combover! Lucky for him, it's growing in. He looks less like an old man and more like a towhead these days.

Memorial Day at BB and James' house. Don't you love Jude's summer outfit right down to the shoes? He should be at a Jimmy Buffet concert.

Old House New House

Let me just say that I was very sad to leave Mobile and our old historic house. The night we moved out, I cried as I mopped the kitchen floor and tried to make it last a bit longer, because I wasn't ready to say goodbye. That was the first house that Jeremy and I owned together, a place where we made lots of friends, threw some fun parties, and the place that we brought Jude home. It was a great place with great neighbors. We really enjoyed living in an older home with lots of character. It's something I have always wanted to do.

Here is Jeremy digging up the St. Joseph statue. We prayed a lot to sell the house and God really answered our prayers. The timing was perfect. We closed on our house in Mobile and two weeks later our house was ready in Birmingham.

But, I was very happy to buy our new house. I never thought I could withstand buying a brand new house. Picking out cabinets and paint colors always sounded like a stressful decision making process. But, I really enjoyed it! And we love our new house in Ross Bridge of Hoover. There are a ton of kids Jude's age (mostly girls). He has turned into quite a ladies' man already.

The most exciting part of owning a new home is the big bathroom. Two whole sinks, a tub and a separate shower (except I still haven't had a chance to soak in a hot bath). Jeremy and I are in hog heaven. No more sharing a one sink bathroom with Jude!

One of our favorite features of the house is the keeping room with the stone fireplace. Now if we could just settle on some furniture for the room. Right now it sits empty with only Jude's toys as decoration.

We can walk to the park from our backyard. A must when you have Wrigley the frisbee catching dog! .