some things about Jude

Jude is the best. He's such a sweet, happy boy. He is almost 14 months old. And he has the goofiest front teeth you've ever seen. He has recently been weaned, and he goes down for a nap and at bedtime like a charm. Most nights he tries to dive into his crib while I'm singing to him. Either he really loves sleep or he really hates my singing. Too bad he doesn't sleep as long as I wish he would. He's still an early riser, getting up anywhere between 5:00 and 6:00 am. He has blonde hair and brown eyes, which is weird for me. I always figured all my kids would have dark hair like Nate. He started walking about a week after his first birthday. He loves to wave and say "hi" and "bye bye" to strangers. He also seems to love being held by stranger men, and by that I mean strangers who are male. I went to a wedding last month where I didn't know anyone but the bride, and Jude wandered around crawling into the laps of grandpa-types. It was a little embarrassing for me to go and fetch him. He is a good little eater. He is not much of a milk drinker. Green beans from the garden are his favorite food. He says "moo" and "baa" and "ssss" as far as animal sounds go. He tries to say "cheese!" and "shoes" and "ball." He signs "please," "all done," and occasionally "more" and "eat." He will point to his nose, eyes, ears, mouth, and head. He freaks right out when Nate gets home. He mimics me when I call out the kids names to get them to come upstairs. He actually mimics most everything. He says "ma" and "dada." He can reach the top of the counter and table and desk and pulls down anything that is unattached. He is trying to help me type this right now. He shakes his little booty to music. He got really excited the one time we let him watch TV with the family. (It was America's Funniest Home Videos. I'm properly ashamed.) He loves to clap. He has recently learned that he likes books. He also tries to say "book." We're still working on the sign. He loves to be outside playing with the kids, especially in his swing on going down the slide. The kids fight over taking turns going down the slide with him, but he prefers to go by himself. He is still very tall and skinny, being in the 95% for height and around the 30% for weight at his last check up. He has four teeth on top in the front, and three on the bottom. I just discovered today that he also has three molars! What?! That does explain away a lot of his recent fussiness. When he goes to Granny and Papa's house, he goes straight for Papa. He cries if Nana comes over and does not immediately pick him up. He also cries when she leaves. He likes putting toys in and out of containers. He likes his shape sorter and animal mix up thing. He screams and gets really jealous when someone else takes his blanket or when someone else sits on my lap. He walks around all day with a smile on his face. He really is a great kid and I'm so happy he's mine.