Jude is ONE!

My baby. It seems like just yesterday I was texting Zach from the hospital telling him it was baby time-- now Jude is walking, talking, exploring, and growing up way too quickly for this mama. His birthday party was a huge success! He loved everything about it-- from playing with the balloon animals, to opening presents, to eating almost all (eek!! so so so much sugar!) of his smash cake. He was so happy all day long!

Birthday Highlights--

Jude would "share" his balloon animal (elephant) with everyone around him. Or at least he pretended he would, only to steal it back while giggling.

Jude loved opening presents & it seemed that with each consecutive present his "ooooo" would get louder and louder. He was so happy & took time to play with each gift.

Jude also LOVED his cake. At first, he barely touched the frosting & when it got on his hands, he glared at me and tried to flick it off. When Zach moved his hand to his mouth and he tasted the sugar deliciousness there was no going back. He dug right in and was so sad when we had to take it away.

We are so grateful to those that were able to come and celebrate with us!

Looking back on this first year with Jude-- there is so much good! He is so loving, so sweet, and such a happy boy! Here are a few of the things he loves & has been doing lately.


He loves exploring with his pops (grandpa).

He loves his dada & always grins from ear to ear the second Zach gets home from school & work.

He loves snuggling- as long as it does not get in the way of his exploring.

He loves giving kisses-- which include biting your cheek with his teeth & slobbering up your nose so you can't breathe. So if you are ever in the neighborhood-- stop by for some intense loving!

He loves doing whatever we have deemed "naughty". Playing with decorative candles & picture frames are at the top of the list.

He loves loves loves balls. Basketball, football, baseball. And he is finally getting the hang of throwing.

He loves music. If he is having a rough day, music makes him happy. And it makes me happy.

He loves mama- and let's be honest, I LOVE when he asks for me & wants to snuggle.

Most importantly he loves Jesus. He has a picture in his room & he always points to it so he can see it up close. When we were at my Aunt Jill's house for Christmas, he was crawling around. There were some pretty cool sparkly decorations that he could have gone for, but instead he reached for a picture of Jesus. It was so touching. How grateful I am that even at such a young age he can recognize someone so important to each of us.

We LOVE our JudeDude & are so grateful we get to have in our lives. Happy Birthday to my baby!!