Laughter is the best medicine!

Jude started laughing this week! First he laughed for Daddy, then yesterday he laughed for Mommy. Everyone seems to be getting sick these days, so maybe this laughing is our antidote. I love love love the way he sounds! Every time I "motorboat" his tummy, he squeals and giggles:) Yesterday, we did it so much he almost missed a nap and started to unravel after a while, but totally worth it. I told Ted as we were going to bed that I wouldn't have traded yesterday for a million dollars....I used to view staying home with Jude as the right thing for me; now its the ONLY thing for me. He makes me happy to my core, and every day that goes by makes me more convinced that I'm right where I belong. Sure, there are moments that definitely test my patience, but he is by far the most worthwhile thing I can put myself into. "In raising my children, I've lost my mind but found my soul." Very true!

Jude has been practicing sitting on his own. If I position him just so, he can sit up for a while by balancing on his hands or some other object, but topples over after several seconds. We practice on the bed and Jack (our cat) likes to "help" too. Jude whips his head around to see Jack when he jumps up onto the bed, which throws his balance off! They have a weird friendship.

He has a few new tricks in addition to the laughing. He likes to stick his tongue out, and he likes to suck on his fingers. The thumb is old news. He's started the long road to getting teeth, too. It could be months before one pops through, but he gnaws on those fingers like crazy sometimes, and wakes up in the night clearly hurting. Some days are better than others, but I just feel so bad for the kid when he's in pain.

He's been experimenting with new food. After the butternut squash, he had sweet potatoes, and most recently apples. He doesn't seem to love one food more than others....he just eats what I put in his mouth. I usually have to pull one hand out of his mouth (the finger sucking) and hold it so I can get his spoon in.

We went down to Brown County on Sunday for our annual trek to get firewood from the same little man as every other year. Its fun to wander around the little shops in downtown Nashville, IN, and now we have enough firewood to have as many fires as we want this winter!

Ted celebrated his 28th birthday on Monday, and it was a day that involved LOTS of food, to say the least! We ended the day at Weber Grill, and when we sat down, we looked at each other and both admitted we weren't even hungry! We split a meal and skipped dessert, very rare for us! But all in all it was a great day. Can't believe he's 28....he seems so much older than that....just kidding;)

And finally, a few shots of Jude doing his favorite thing.