3 yr old soccer

Daniel and I registered Jude for a 3-year old rec league this summer. I'm not sure it was the best idea. It had tons of potential, but...well...didn't turn out as we had hoped. Mostly it has to do with our coach just not being as proactive and engaging as Jude needs. Oh well...




go get that ball Jude!


hmm...he's thinking about it...


good kick Jude...


off he goes...he's got it...


ur...oops...ok, well when you're 3 it often comes to sitting down and protecting the ball

hungry...

Today Jude woke up and told papa...
"Papa, I'm hungry. Let's eat breakfast. I want some chicken and some bananas and some apples and some oranges."
And eat he did - very well, all day long.
Wow - and he's not even a teenager yet.

Stats...

Here are some stats from Jude and Lily’s well-visit doctor appointments…

Jude Campbell

3 years old

- 39 inches tall (85 %ile)
- 36 pounds (80 %ile)

Lily Susanna

1 year old

- 26.5 inches tall (<3 %ile)

- 12 pounds 11 ounces (<3 %ile)
- 2.1 cm head circumference (<3 %ile)

Lily is definitely still tiny, but the doctor says her growth curve looks good. Her height and head circumference are getting closer to actually being on the chart. Her weight is still lagging behind a little, but Doctor Jim says height and head circumference usually catch up first. We do everything we can to help introduce good fats into her diet. We add olive oil to her food and try to feed her avocados mixed with bananas whenever we can (thanks for this tip Aunt Laura)! All in all – she’s a healthy girl – just little.

What a Difference a Year Makes

Lily is now 1 year old. I can hardly believe it. Here are some pics from her party. We had an open house BBQ for a bunch of friends and family who have so richly blessed us this year. I made banana cupcakes with chocolate frosting for dessert. Lily did some good damage to the cupcake, but I'm not quite sure if she truly enjoyed it. :) We rented a big bouncy house for the big kids -- they loved it. At the end of the day all four us climbed into the bouncy house for some fun. When we were worn out we took this self family portrait. Good stuff.

3 Years Old

Jude turned 3 years old on July 15. I can hardly believe my little first born baby boy is 3. We had a BBQ birthday party for him; complete with shish-kabobs, gormet mac & cheese, and lemonade. The pull-string Lightning McQueen pinata was a hit and it was a special treat to be able to have Grandpa Dan and Grandma Gini with us. I made a fruit pizza for Jude instead of a cake. He's not real crazy about cake and he absolutely loves fruit, so it was perfect for him. Aunt Jenna, Uncle Mark, and cousins Rohan, Asher, and Saige gave Jude the Imaginext Helicopter. I love the expression on Jude's face - I can hear the excitement in his voice as he exclaims, "Hii-cocker". He still can't say an 'l' very well and I'm not sure where the 'p' goes - but it's pretty cute. For all you parents of boys out there -- the Fisher Price Imaginext line is awesome. There are lots of moving pieces and great ways for them to be creative in play; you'll have to check it out.

All About Jude

My brother-in-law, Johnny, took these pictures of Jude on our recent family vacation.  I love the story they tell. First, his smile – he’s such an energetic, talkative, fun-loving kid.  He loves to smile at people and to engage them.  When he’s excited, he can barely get all the words out to express himself; he just beams enthusiasm.  Second, his serious look and those big blue eyes.  He’s always thinking, planning, wanting to share with Lily and play. He loves cars and books and special ‘fire engine projects’ (when we draw on paper with markers and press foam vehicle stickers down – usually done when Mama needs to cook in the kitchen).  He’s full of love – ‘how much do I love you Jude?’ – ‘Sooo Much!’, he says with arms open wide.  He’s such a little snuggler; I love snuggling in blankets with him at the beginning or ending of a day. And finally, his organization – he loves to line up his cars.  Ever since he was a little kid he loved to put toys into containers and pull them out, and to line things up.  I fear I have passed on my ‘organization’ traits to him.  I think he’s going to be a great ‘gamer’ when he gets big – I think we’ll have some wonderful competitive family game nights ahead of us. Love you, Jude.

Ah the days of baby food...

My dad took this picture of Lily this weekend. Boy her face is a mess! She continues to learn to eat solids. She’s mostly a fan of pureed baby food, but is slowly (pole-pole) learning to like solid finger food. The latest favorite is tiny bits of deli ham. Ah – I can’t wait until she eats the same thing as Jude -- ode to preparing one meal for the whole family.

Firecrackers

I took Jude and Lily with me to Target yesterday.  As we were headed to check out, we passed by a large ‘red, white, and blue’ display of fun shiny packages that glow, pop, and sparkle.  Jude said, “Stop mommy, let’s look,… what are those?”.  I said, “Those are firecrackers”.  To which Jude replied, “Oooh, those are yummy!!!”.  I had to laugh. It’s just so like my ‘garbage disposal, eat anything, Jude’ to focus on what he knows as ‘cracker’.  J

After Surgery

The first four days after surgery were tough ones. Lily was very unhappy to be kept in her arm splints (not all the time - but much of the day). I should have taken a picture of her with her bandage on - she looked like she had a big white mustache. But with all the chaos of keeping her happy, I didn't quite have time. On Friday, her bandage became very loose - so I took it off. Her lip looks really good. It's amazing how fast little ones heal. Here's a couple of pictures...

Lily's Surgery

Lily had surgery to repair the cleft in her lip yesterday. The surgery lasted about an hour and a half; it went well and Lily came out of the anesthesia ok. The doctor said the surgery would help align the muscles in her lips and give her better muscle control. Lily was quite sleepy and not feeling well yesterday -- but today she has been much happier. She's been drinking her milk well and is doing ok eating her 'baby food'. The hardest part has been entertaining her. It's challenging to keep her happy 'and' keep her hands and toys out of her mouth. It's been a long day keeping both kids safe and happy - hopefully life will get easier as her lip heals and she doesn't need to be watched so intently.

Herron Family Vacation

Here's a few pics from our recent family vacation. We went to the Outer Banks in Nags Head, NC and rented an 8 bedroom house right on the beach - with pool and hot tub. It was a fabulous time!

Albuquerque

We took our first family visit to Albuquerque to visit Matt and Laura in mid-May. We had a great time! The car ride was perfect for the kids. We got up early in the morning and arrived by about 1:00 pm. Jude and Macy played together really well - so fun to see them interact and make up stories together. It's just a prelude to our 2010 Herron family vacation! Nags Head Beach -- Here We Come!!

March

Wow - I guess I haven't blogged in awhile. It's been a busy March - full of just life I guess. Here's a couple pictures of the kiddos. Jude's hair is getting crazy these days - it needs to be trimmed. Jude is into doing things himself - climbing up and down things himself, carrying toys himself, helping to empty the silverware from the dishwasher himself, and dressing himself. After nap time today I went into his room and there he stood with pants off, pull up off, long sleeved shirt off -- and what he did have on? - his favorite short-sleeved orange soccer shirt from Uncle Luke And he was hold a pair of big boy underpants in his hand. He said he wanted to wear them. He's not potty-trained yet - but I let him wear them for awhile. Ah potty training...it's coming.

Lily? Well, she's 10.5 lbs, rolling over, and a smiley delight. We had an x-ray taken of her hips to make sure she didn't have any hip displacement problems. The x-ray turned out completely normal. Hooray! We also met with a plastic surgeon about the very very minor cleft (just a little crease really) in her lip. We're going to get it fixed in June. I love this picture taken of Lily - she's such a sweet girl!

Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentines Day from Jude and Lily!

Here are some photos we took a couple of weeks ago of them. It's pretty sweet to see Jude wanting to hold and kiss Lily. Lily got her February synagis shot this week (to protect her from

RSV). She weighed in at 9 lbs. 11 oz.

I've given up on nursing. It just doesn't work for her. But I continue to pump and give her breastmilk in a bottle. It's working well for her. I'm still off of dairy, but have been able to go back on soy. Just today we switched Lily from a level one bottle nipple to a level two. So far (after two feedings) it's made a world of difference. She's now eating close to a full 120 mls in 25-30 min (compared to eating 90-100 mls in 40-45). Go Lily - hopefully this trend will continue. I'd love for her to be eating 120 mls (4 oz) consistently.

Lily's pediatrician says she's doing well. She's small (always has been :) ), but her growth is good. Thus, I'm not worried too much about her growth. But I want her to get as much as she possibly can.

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Hope it's filled with good fellowship no matter who you're with!