Is Winter almost over??

Can I break my New Years resolution and complain for a minute? (I know, it's not even February and I'm already breaking it, good thing my resolve was stronger the year we gave up smoking!!)

There have been a few trying days at Mosey Manor....Jude is not always the fairy tale, Ann Geddes, quiet, docile cherub that I want him to be (gasp!). I don't know if its separation anxiety or what, but he freaks out when I leave the room now. This doesn't happen every day, he selects days to torture me, (yesterday) and other days he's himself (today) Even if he's having fun playing, and I stand up to get the phone or some equally quick errand, he will start crying immediately. Or when he's eating in his high chair, if I go around the corner into the kitchen to get something for 2 seconds, he cries for 2 seconds. My docile cherub wails bloody murder while I use the bathroom, which makes for a very stressful experience. I've tried explaining where I'm going (like he understands), backing slowly out of the room, talking to him from around the corner....doesn't care! Hates it. Mornings seem to be better than afternoons and evenings....he hasn't remembered to be clingy yet at that point I guess. The exception to this seems to be when we're out. He's fine in the car or in his stroller, so on the days when we don't have a lunch date or some kind of outing, I just have to invent stuff to do outside the house. I get cabin fever pretty easily myself, so this isn't that much of a problem, but I'm running out of stuff to do, at least with a kid in tow. And this darned snow isn't as magical as I remember it in years past:(

He's pretty happy when I'm actively playing with him or carrying him around, but the problem with this is that I must bathe, use the bathroom, feed myself, maintain some degree of order in our house, and the kicker: attempt to pack! So I'll set him up on the floor in whatever room I'm trying to do something in with enough stuff to keep him busy for a while, then try to ignore his crying while I proceed with my life. I've discovered a couple of tricks to keep him entertained. I sing his favorite song over and over, or I hit myself in the face with a hammer. No, not a real hammer, although it's tempting sometimes when his fussing reaches a crescendo--its his plastic toy hammer that makes silly sounds when you bang it, and he prefers I bang it on my own head. So now, I check my email whilst singing and banging a hammer on my head. Is this a normal story? Moms? Anyone??

I am learning that Jude and I feed off each other's moods. It's not easy to smile and bounce and sing when I'm frustrated with him, but he can certainly sense my mood by my silence and body language...which makes HIM a grumpy-pants, too. And so on it goes. As the adult, I suppose I'm the one to break the cycle, so please pray for my attitude and my patience! His naps have gotten a little weird as well. He doesn't really fuss in his crib when I put him down, but sings to himself and doesn't always go to sleep. His morning nap is pretty predictable, but after that, its anyone's guess. One day last week, he didn't sleep a wink. None. He acted alright, but he HAD to be tired! His naps (or lack thereof) don't seem to affect his nighttime sleep. He still goes down at 7:30 and sleeps til 7:30am , sometimes 8am if we're lucky. That part hasn't really changed since he was 4 months old. (please don't let that jinx me!)

Some anecdotes from the week:

-Last Friday night, we went to La Piedad for dinner. Jude was hurling books/toys/silverware off the table into the floor, so I started feeding him some of my rice and beans to distract him. He loved it, and leaned forward in his high chair to rest his little chin on the table with his mouth open, panting for more. It was adorable, and he ate quite a bit. We put him to bed, and an hour later he woke up screaming (not fussing). I went in, decided his gums hurt, gave him Tylenol, and put him back down. More screaming. This went on for a while, and Ted came in to relieve me at one point. Jude then relieved himself in a very loud fashion, and promptly fell asleep. Note to self: easy on refried beans.

-Jude likes water "served" to him via the end of a straw, like a baby bird. My girlfriend Missy and I, plus Jude and Thomas, were having lunch at the mall today. I somehow dumped my cup of ice water upside-down on Jude's lap in his stroller, soaking him and his stroller seat. I pulled my dripping wet son from the stroller, dangling him in front of me and trying to decide what to do with him while ice fell from his clothes. Missy helped me mop up the water from his seat, but his pants were soaked and he was pretty upset about it. I ended up buying a hideous pair of striped pants from the Baby Gap sale rack and stripping him down in the dressing room. He shook his head "no" violently and giggled when he saw the pants (ok, WAY too young to care about his clothes) ....and what started out as a mess ended up being the highlight of my day, as we did an "Ugly Pants Dance" in the mirror:)

-Jude Hammy loves hammy. That's really the entire story. He gets jealous of whatever I eat in front of him, and I ate some deli ham yesterday that I use to make Ted's sandwiches. He eats turkey and chicken, but I hadn't thought of ham. Well, he LOVES it, and smacks it loud and proud in between his little old man gums.

-Still no crawling. I guess that's good news since we're getting ready to move, and I'd rather be safely settled in our new place before I have to think about that. He's not very driven, and that's OK. Neither of his parents have a Type A personality, so I guess he's ours. But he does like to stand, shakily. When we stand him up, he starts on his tip-toes and then gradually sinks to his heels when he remembers they're there, and likes to hold onto his crib rail or toychest or coffee table and smile about his accomplishment. His new thing is throwing books off his toy chest into the floor, then crying until I restock his playing surface. He makes a "boy face" when he does this. Don't ask me what that means, its just another masculine thing I've noticed emerging from my young hijo. When he's finished, he falls over sideways, straight and stiff as a board, hoping I'll catch him before he hits the floor (I do....usually;)