No Paternity Test Needed....

This child belongs to John! 

Thanksgiving 2011

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I started the morning off by looking at this beautiful face.

Hi Mom!

 John, Jude, and I spent the morning at our friends Michele and Russ's house. Michele made a breakfast casserole and mimosa's. Delish!

Me and Ella. I'm enjoying a tasty mimosa.

 After we left their house we headed home where Jude and I took a two hour nap. After I woke up I made a mac and cheese and then we headed to our friends Sabina and Nasson's house for Thanksgiving dinner. It was so wonderful because all of our friends, Michele, Russ, their daughters Grace and Ella, Erin, Randy, their son Jackson, Sabina, Nasson, and Sabina's parents were there. It was awesome company and amazing food!

John, Russ, and their babies :)

Jude and Ella

Ms. Grace

Moms and our babies

The fabulous four (or five).

Jude and best friend Jackson

 There were a few attempts to get all the kids together....

1st attempt

2nd..

3rd...

4th...

5th... and we're done!

My family :)

It was an awesome Thanksgiving and I am so thankful for all of our friends here who have become like family. Tomorrow I will be joining a gym! Haha let's see how long that lasts....

Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for this year.

I am thankful for John's job. It provides money in the bank and groceries at the end of every week. It provides a warm (or cool) house in a safe neighborhood. It allows me to be a stay-at-home mom, which I have always wanted to do. I am able to watch my son grow every single day and I am thankful for that.

I am thankful for my friends. The ones near and far. I love keeping in touch with friends in other states and always picking up where we left off. I am thankful for the new friends in CA who have become family. Moving here was very lonely but meeting these new girls, whom I adore, has changed that for me. I am also very thankful that we all had healthy pregnancies and babies and were able to support each other through it all.

I am thankful for John's family. Most of them welcomed me with open arms and treated me with so much love and respect. I adore them as well and feel very blessed to call them family.

I am thankful for my plethora of aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. I was raised with most of them and I continue to value their opinions and advice. They are the foundation of where I come from.

I am thankful for my siblings. They are some of the best people I know. They stole my heart the moment they were born and I am so blessed to be their big sis.

I am thankful for my parents. I didn't know the word sacrifice until I had my own child. I may not ever know the extent of their sacrifices for me, but I am eternally grateful.

I am thankful for my dog. Riley has the best personality of any canine I know. He may be second fiddle to Jude now, but he is and will always be my 'first born'.

I am thankful for my husband. I didn't know true happiness until I met him. He is my biggest supporter and my best friend in the whole world. John is the person that always has my back. He's respectful, loyal, honest, funny, caring, and so loving. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

Last, but certainly not least, I am thankful for Jude. I thank God everyday for thinking so much of me that he decided Jude should be my child. What have I done so right in this world to deserve the most amazing person in this life? What could I have possibly done to be so blessed? Jude has fulfilled my life in a way that no other person could have done. He is my strength and I will spend my life making sure he knows how special, loved, and cherished he is. He and John have completed my life. And for that, I am so thankful.

Thanksgiving 2010. Little did I know I was pregnant and our lives would be changing forever.

Jude's First Trip to Louisiana!

Jude and I had a fabulous time in Lafayette! John had to work out of town last week so I decided we were going to LA to visit my family. Even though I was so anxious, the airplane rides were fantastic. He slept through most of them and just sat in my lap during the other times. Jude met so many people! I forget how big my family is because I'm so used to it, but watching all the different people holding him has made me realize how big it actually is. I love my family and I wished we lived in Louisiana and this trip didn't make it easy to leave, that's for sure!



Jude and Uncle Zack. I can't believe he graduates in May!



Jude and Aunt Katie watching tv together. She was so wonderful with him. :)

Jude and Nanny Barbara. I was right, she's the perfect Godmother for him. I love you Aunt Barbara!

Jude and Aunt Kare Bear. Karie and I met when we were 12 and have been friends ever since. I can't believe we're at the point in our lives where we have families. I had a great lunch date with you, Kare Bear!

Jude and Annie. I'm happy you were able to come over and visit!

Jude and Poppa. I don't have a picture of Jude and Nana. I forgot to takes lots of pictures, some of these I borrowed from other people. Jude, Nana, and Poppa had a great time. I know they loved seeing him and it was great watching them all together.

Jude and Honey! Now these two, they had themselves a blast! I love watching my mom with my son. It's very special to me.

Jude and Bear. I'm so happy Bear was able to come in town to see us. It's always good to see him. :)

Jude and Uncle Josh. We only saw Josh once but he's busy with his fancy new job. Congrats, buddy!

Jude and Uncle Kyle. My brothers have been hounding me for years to have a baby, so it's funny watching them interact with their nephew.

Jude, Kiley, Connor, Emma, Madden, and Mason. These are some of his cousins. We had a great time visiting with them!

I was able to catch up with a few of my own cousins, which is always a good time!

Jude and William. William took a ton of awesome photos. Thanks!

Jude and Pa-b. Pa-b is Jude's great-grandpa and they loved each other right away!

Jude and Nanny Dean. I may have this wrong, but I think she is Jude's great-great-aunt. She's Pa-bs sister.

Four Generations!

It was such a fun trip! I thought for sure I would come home and have a staycation with Jude, but I had a full night of sleep (finally!!) and was ready to go run errands this morning. We're now ready for Thanksgiving!

3 Months!

Can you believe Jude is already 3 months old? Me neither. Our boy is getting sweeter and more beautiful everyday. He's developing wonderfully! It is so awesome watching him grow. I love his reactions to new experiences in his environment. He is starting to laugh and play alot these days. Mommy and Daddy crack him up! Mornings are his best time and he plays and plays for a couple of hours. His nap schedule is getting better, but that's all about to change with our trip to Louisiana. :)

Playing with daddy's hat

 He loves the mirror in our room. We spend alot of time sitting in front of it singing songs and trying to figure out the people we see. :)

 This is Kyle's old toy from like 20 years ago. It's an airplane so of course we wanted it. John put on his newborn aviator hat and we had a good ole' time with the camera. He really enjoys this toy. Jude loves standing (with help) and he tries to run. In this toy he can move his legs really fast and he will spin around.

 Captain Jude

 3 Months Old! He's sitting easily in his bumbo with awesome head control. :)

 Half of a smile

 Jude and his new friend Jackson. They were fast friends. :)

 Sweetness

 We are still continuing to go to our mommy and me Gymboree class. Jude really enjoys it and has lots of fun playing with their toys. I'm sure Santa will be bringing him some of the toys he likes to play with. ;)

John has Veteran's Day off today so he was able to come to class with us. This is the start of class....

 Tummy time! Jude usually hates tummy time but he enjoys it in class. I'm not sure if it's all the babies, the mirror, or the plastic balls spinning in front of his face, but he likes it!

 Snack time! He was getting a little fussy so John gave him a quick 2oz snack to hold him over. It worked and Jude went right back into play mode.

 Jude's favorite toy by a mile! Momma will bring this home way before Santa does! He absolutely loves this toy drum. It has a bunch of beads in it that makes the sound of  rain. It is also a drum so when you tap it all the colored beads jump around. Jude can't ever seem to take his eyes off of it.

Class was a success and afterwards we headed to a place called Smashburger for lunch. Jude usually has a good nap after Gymboree so he slept the whole time while John and I had a lunch date. We're getting in some serious family time before we're apart for a week. Now we're back home and we're excited to take our family Christmas pictures tomorrow!

The Best Days of My Life

I had a hard time going to sleep last night. All of these thoughts kept swirling in my head. I woke John up a few times to ask what/when the best day of his life was. When he returned the question I replied that I have many best days. I started to think about them all and decided that one didn't top the other, they are all some of the best days of my life. I don't have a single best day of my life growing up. I had good days, bad days. Some better or worse than others. But none that stand out as best day ever.

Then I met John. I had never been so happy in my life. I still am that happy. The very first best day of my life was the day we got married. I was so happy, nervous, excited, and scared.  Yet, it was the easiest thing in the world. Nothing had ever felt so right in my life. Two years later and I still know it was the best decision I have ever made.

Look how happy I was. If you were to ask me today about being married to my best friend in the whole world, you would get this same smile.

 The day I got married was the best day of my life for a long time. Nothing topped that. We led our simple life, Quantico came and went, and we moved to California. Life changing, but nothing too drastic.

Then I peed on a stick and my life changed forever. I will never forget that moment and how I felt while watching the indicator turn into a + sign. My heart was beating really hard and I immediately started to cry. The feeling of knowing I had a baby inside me was surreal but I was instantly in love. Calling John and my family was amazing and it suddenly became the best day of my life.

 On December 28, 2010 I was a day shy of 8 weeks pregnant. As I lay back on the table in the doctors office watching our first ultrasound, I am shocked to see this little pea. Of course I had already started to love my baby, but then I heard his heartbeat for the first time. I choked up and had tears rolling down my face and I stared at my first child and heard what became the most amazing sound to a mothers ears. I saw and heard my baby for the first time that day and it was easily the best day of my life.

John and I could not care less of the gender of our child. We wanted a healthy baby. Every time we had a doctor's appointment I held my breath until I heard his heartbeat. It was all that mattered. I was already bonding with my baby, but I really wanted to know the sex.  I wanted to lay in bed, rub my belly, and think about him or her. It was hard for me to do that not knowing the baby's gender.

John and I went to the ultrasound place. I had been telling everyone I thought it was a girl. I'm not sure why but I think I had a few dreams and the baby was a girl. Anyway, I'm lying on the table and he puts the monitor on my belly. I immediately see what I think is a penis and say "It's a boy!". He said no, it was the umbilical cord. Oops. So I'm waiting  and waiting. My heart is beating strongly, I can feel the baby moving, and I start shaking because I'm so nervous. It was so final. Then I heard the words I will never forget. "There's his penis!". Best. Words. Ever. We were going to have a son! My heart filled with so much love for my baby boy. It was by far the best day of my life!

At our 20 week appointment we found out Jude had a kidney issue. Our doctor said it would probably resolve itself but they scheduled another ultrasound for 30 weeks just to make sure. I fretted those 10 weeks but I knew we weren't going to be given anything we couldn't handle. I was already fiercely overprotective of him and it made me a bit crazy knowing something may not be right and there wasn't anything I could do about it. I just prayed. Alot.

At our 30 week appointment, not only was he spectacular, but the ultrasound lady was able to show me pictures of him. He was pretty much developed, she said. He would be growing in weight until 40 weeks. And then I saw this picture. My heart grew a million times larger once I saw my baby boy's face. It was (and still is) the most beautiful face I have ever seen in my life. I cried because I had pictured him a million times and seeing this amazing face that looked just like his daddy totally became the best day of my life.

I thought I knew love when I got married and all through pregnancy. I didn't know nothin'. I labored for 35 hours total, about 11 of them medicated (thank god). Little did I know I would be meeting the man I had been waiting for my whole life. The man who would truly complete me. I have never loved another person more in my life than I did the moment my baby left my body. Holding him for the first time was life changing. It was absolutely perfect, just as he was. No one could have prepared me for the sheer amount of joy and love I would feel. There are no words to describe it. Easily the best day of my life.

Everyone knows I have two different families, whom I love dearly. :) I was a child who went from dads house to moms house. To dads side of the family to moms side of the family. I always longed for my own family, one I didn't have to leave every other weekend or holidays. A family that I could be with 365 days of the year. When I married John, he became my family. He was the constant in my life. Then Jude came. These are the 2 men who have finished my circle. Right after Jude was born I realized I had a family of my own. I had what I had dreamed of for so long. My family was complete. Best. Day. Ever.

 Jude is now 12.5 weeks old. I'm a stay-at-home-mom. (Best job ever.) I spend my days with my little man singing, dancing, going to mommy and me classes, meeting up with friends and other babies. We nap together, eat lunch together, play together. I get overwhelmed, emotional, and frustrated on occasion. And I wouldn't trade any of it. I love every wonderful minute of spending my days with him. Every day is becoming the best day with Jude. I'm watching him grow and learn. I'm here for his first smile and his first laugh. I'm here for his first conversation and all of his other firsts. I'm with him in baby gymboree class while he's learning and developing. In the picture below I'm holding a frisbee like toy with beads in it. He LOVES it!

I take pride in my family. I love waking up to Jude and John laughing and talking. My heart fills with so much love as I hear John singing to Jude. I teased him today about knowing he was a daddy because his shirt was full of spit-up. Watching to two most important men in my life together is amazing. It makes me feel very fulfilled in my life.

I love being a mom. I cherish it. I appreciate it. I'm growing as a person beside my baby, who is also growing. I'm already more patient and I have more love to give than ever before.

I don't have any one best day of my life. There are many and I know there will be plenty more as Jude and our family grows. I feel like the luckiest person alive while I sit here typing on the computer as I watch my son and my husband play together. They are the stability in my life. There is nothing more precious than building a foundation for my son with my husband.

I'm going to go now. My son is in a playful mood and there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be than with my family. :)