Hey Jude!

Winter 2011

2011-02-26T21:02:00.001-08:00

Well not everyone enjoys having the "belly pic" taken; but it is scientifically proven (of this I'm sure) that everybody else enjoys looking at them! Actually, this is Jude's first attempt at photography.The birth of the newest addition is rapidly approaching and we are excited!!! Here are a few pics of her nursery. This is the softest bedding ever, lets hope this will entice her to sleep long nights :)

In February we "enjoyed" a little snow. Scott and I both actually ended up with a few days off work. While Scott and I found the weather a little chilly, these two kiddies had a ball. Thanks Aunt Dodo! Jude was having such a great time we had to bribe him back into the house with a big bowl of snow so he could play in the bathtub. He was having a blast.

Look at this cute boy. The past few weeks have been awesome. I don't know if Jude is excited about being a big brother or if he is trying to get as much attention as he can before the new baby arrives, but he has been awesome on all fronts. Eating, sleeping, attitude, etc. everything has just been so easy and fun.
As you can see from the previous picture, Jude has got some hair. I decided he needed a little trim.....

and he ended up with a pretty crazy 'do. Lets just say we had to have a second haircut a few weeks later.

This is clearly a picture taken before the second haircut, but just highlighting Jude and his new love of food. He has seriously been an eating machine. We weren't sure if he would ever show interest in actually eating and feeding himself.
"... mmmm, that's delicious"
The past month Jude has been really interested in dinosaurs. Here he is at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History digging for dinosaurs. Super fun.

Bedtime stories and a little nonsense.

This trio is about to become a quartet. Bring it on, I think we are ready!

A Year in Pictures

2011-01-04T15:29:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2010. This was maybe the most fun Christmas with Jude yet. For about 1-2 months leading up to Christmas Jude asked for a "green jersey." Luckily, Santa brought Jude a Boston Celtics - Rondo Jersey. That sneaky Santa even put the Jersey on Jude while he was sleeping, so he woke up in his green jersey. Unfortunately, Jude was bit by the upset stomach bug and he vomited all over his green jersey. Lets just say it is kinda funny/ironic now, but not so much at the time. Although Jude was sick Christmas Day, he was a trooper and still enjoyed the day. Christmas for Jude: ipod touch, Rondo jersey, Ibaka jersey, Reggie Miller jersey, KD3 basketball shoes, new bike, helmet, clothes, movies, plus lots of candy, and other thinks I can't recall. What a lucky little boy.

Jude's Gingerbread House

December 2010. Riding the Polar Express train at the Oklahoma Railway Museum
Decorating Christmas cookies

November 2010
October 2010

Hello Baby Girl Banks! Isn't she cute? About 18 weeks.

October 2010

We celebrated Halloween on the drive back from Austin so Jude didn't actually trick or treat, but he did enjoy dressing up!

Welcome to the Thunder 2010/2011 basketball season. Gotta love those Thunder Cheerleaders
Dallas Cowboy football game
Thunder Basketball
"I'm a robot. Beboot, beboot"
July 2010 South Padre Island.

First professional haircut. We have been cutting Jude's hair at home since about 5 months old, but we finally decided to trust a professional - he did awesome!
Birthday Breakfast: Birthday Cake. Why not?
With Aunt Dodo at the Bob Dylan concert.
Enjoying a day with Thomas the Train
June 2010
April/May 2010
Jude loves a movie.
18 month professional pic - taken around 20 months :)
Meet the Thunder players. They didn't want to wait in line, so this is the closest they got to James Harden.
Blurry pic with Russell Westbrook
March 2010

Waiting for Sesame Street Live
January 2010. Fun times at a friends birthday party
Well, there it is - a year in pictures. Lets see if I can keep up a little better.

1 Year, 30 Months, and 30 Weeks

2011-01-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

1 Year

Well, let me just say that I can't believe a WHOLE YEAR has passed and I haven't uploaded one picture. Seeing that I joined the facebook revolution in the past year I think blogging took a bit of a hit. Lets just say this has been quite a year and I am realizing that blogging was the best way for me to document milestones and major events. Maybe I will actually keep this blog maintained in 2011 and beyond. Maybe.

30 Months

I actually stopped counting Jude's age in months quite awhile ago, but it seemed fitting for this title, so I'm going with it. I can't believe he is 2 1/2! He is rapidly growing out of all things "baby" and is for the most part a "big kid." I think our only link to babyhood is diapers, which we are planning an all out potty training session within the next few weeks - I'll keep you posted (maybe). Let me just update on a few major events (remember this is mostly for my benefit so feel free to skip the stroll down memory lane). Before we begin, let me just say that 2's have been AWESOME.

Eating: Jude is still not too interested in eating - weird, huh? He typically eats a good breakfast, nibbles around at lunch, and maybe eats a good dinner. For this reason, we have done the unthinkable: we play movies on an ipod while he eats. I'm not kidding, he has very little interest in sitting to eat a meal - we must keep this boy distracted to keep his belly full. Oh well, whatever works!
Sleeping: Since last February, Jude has been sleeping like a rock star. Up until that point he would join us in bed in the middle of the night - not the best sleeping for anyone. He now goes to bed around 9 and will sleep until 9 or 10, or sometimes later. This is a very flexible bedtime and he has been known to keep some pretty late hours on the weekend. He will still occasionally take a nap, but this is by no means a daily routine. We have found that nap time for Jude usually means a bedtime of 11 pm or later.
Talking/Communication: Well Jude may cause us some concerns and struggles with his eating, but his verbal skills are unbelievable. At 2 1/2 he is carrying on conversations, answering in complete sentences, and pretty accurate with grammer - kinda strange but kinda awesome. He will repeat everything, I mean EVERYTHING. To the point where we are all a little confused until we see the movie, commercial, etc that has his interest at the time. Maybe a little too much tv, but at this time it appears to actually be working for us (see eating bullet above). He is a very smart little boy, very observant, and a total joy. I know I have more on this subject, but I just can't seem to recall everything. He sees a babysitter 2x/month that speaks Japanese and he is picking up new words everytime they see each other. He loves books and loves to be read to and can pretty well recite most of his favorites with a little prompting. Lets just say he amazes me daily with this skill.
Potty Training: Pretty sure he is ready, I just need to bite the bullet and put forth the effort.
Likes: Currently, Jude loves Toy Story, Cars, Thomas the Train. His love for basketball is still alive and well - this year for Christmas he received new basketball shoes (KD 3's), and 3 basketball jerseys. He wears a basketball jersey nearly everyday. He still enjoys playing basketball, and is currently working on slam dunks and jump shots - he's got skillz. Like father, like son. He is also really enjoying social time/playing with other kids
Dislikes: Not much. He is a very easy going, yet energetic little guy that loves to do and be with people he loves. He is least happy when left with strangers - so we keep that to a minimum :).
Heart Murmur: We returned to the pediatric cardiologist in early December for Jude's check up (he was born with a VSD). Thankfully, all the holes have closed and all is well. No further follow up is necessary - prayers were answered!

30 Weeks

In case you haven't heard, we are expecting #2 in March. This time we will welcome a baby girl, and we are beyond excited. As I am approaching the end of this pregnancy the crazy dreams are beginning. The last dream was that they changed their minds and decided we are welcoming a boy, not a girl. We discover this after decorating a nursery and stocking a closet with dresses and bows. I'm pretty sure its still a girl, but I guess we won't know officially for a couple more months.

We feel very blessed to be expecting this baby as I had an ectopic pregnancy in Feb 2010. It was a pretty traumatic event and kinda shook us to the core and left us a little concerned about future pregnancies. However, after sharing the news with our family, my mom told me that about 2 -3 weeks before we knew we were pregnant, she and Jude were throwing pennies in a fountain and wishing for a baby sister - "be careful what you wish for; wishful thinking; answered prayers." Whatever it is, we are truly thankful and so excited to meet this little girl and welcome her to our home. Also, thanks to all our friends and family for the prayers and support during those tough months.

Scott

Well, I don't really have any catchy title for this - unless I include that this is the year he turns 30 :). Scott continues to be an awesome husband and an amazing father. As Jude gets older, I am realizing just how similar their personalities are. Its kinda freaky, but really cool. He and Jude definitely make the most of their time together. Scott is the primary bath giver and has become something that Jude not only enjoys, but expects.

Seeing as this post has turned into an extremely long post I will add pictures in a separate post.

Long Time, No Post

2010-01-14T17:52:00.000-08:00

Wow, its been so long Jude has grown a mustache. Or as Jude says "stache." Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hopefully more pictures soon (before the full beard appears).

All things Jude

2009-11-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

So its been a while, lets catch up!

Jude is now 16 months old. He is walking, talking, and sharing his opinion on all things. He loves to play at the park, visit the zoo, watch football and basketball. At the moment, he is obsessed with Rumble - the Thunder mascot. Jude's vocabulary is quite impressive. He will repeat most anything we say which means we must be very careful. And if you know anything about Jude you know he is unbelievably ornery - not sure WHERE that comes from.

He just looks ornery. We traveled to Austin to watch Aunt Chloe row - the weather was beautiful.

Such a sweet father/son moment...
...a not so sweet mother-son moment. No matter how hard I try I just cannot get a decent pic of me and Jude.
A few of my favorite pics.

We have had several fun events over the past couple months, and Jude doesn't miss a beat.

Check out my cheesy boys. Those grins are due to the Thunder game - these guys LOVE basketball. When Jude finds a new love he quickly finds the words to express it. He loves Ba-Ball (basketball), Kay-Deeeeeee (K.D. aka Kevin Durant), and Mumble (Rumble - Thunder mascot). Anytime he sees the Thunder play - live or on t.v. - you are sure to hear all three of these being screamed at the top of his lungs. He also likes Put-Ba (football), Romo (Tony Romo - throwing hands in air to show touch-down) but he has yet to attend a Dallas Cowboy game.

Just a light snack - pizza anyone? Jude loves pizza or shall we say Pee-Zaaaaaa.

Can you guess where we are now? If you guessed U2/Black Eyed Peas concert you would be correct. When not listening to children's music, Jude can often be found groovin to Boom Boom Pow.
One of Jude's favorite books is "That's Not My Dragon" and favorite song (other than Boom Boom Pow) is "Puff the Magic Dragon." Hence Jude the Dragon. He was not terribly excited to wear his costume, but we snapped a couple pics before he yanked it off.

In honor of Halloween Jude learned a few new words: tick teet (trick or treat), pum-pih-kin (pumpkin), bat, boo, can-deeee (candy), just to name a few.

So after we ditched the dragon costume, we decided to get comfy. Nice bling, huh? He wore this skull and cross bone necklace for 3 days straight - he still wears it whenever he gets a chance - just don't tell him Halloween has passed.

That's all for now - Happy Holidays

Jude aka Lebron

2009-10-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

Spaghetti

2009-09-03T21:49:00.000-07:00

Summer Fun

2009-08-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday! I am a little behind with the posting but Jude has had a crazy summer. Lots of fun and lots of pictures. I can't believe how quickly a year has passed. Jude is growing and changing everyday. He is finally sleeping all night (don't want to jinx it), talking and repeating everything (better be careful), and is really not too interested in walking. He will stand by himself but doesn't care to take that next step - crawling is way more efficient.

Late night birthday cake - he was a little too sleepy and didn't really enjoy his cake.
Happy 4th of July - Jude with his grandma's. Does it get much better?
On Jude's official birthday we celebrated at the Mont. Starting early with the swirls. He looks like he has already had a couple.

Jude invited friends and family to celebrate his birthday with snow cones, cupcakes, and a water park.
This boy loves the splash pad. Lucky for Jude (and his mom) it is close to home.
Can't get enough
Uncle Ethan, it's your turn.

Again, not too excited about the cake. Um Dad, can I go back to the water?
Jude took his first trip to South Padre Island. The frog slide is a long standing Troutt tradition. Aunt Chloe got him started early. Hey where is Chloe - probably waiting her turn for the frog slide.
Surfer Dude
Little Surfer Dude
It took Jude a couple days to warm up to the sand, but by the end of the week he was loving it! The water too.

Jude spent about half the vacation sleeping on the beach. This boy knows how to vacation.
Mom, is that my margarita or dads?
By the end of the car trip Jude was getting a little CRAZY...
and then a little MAD. Who can blame him. 12 hours in the car is too much anyone. He was a trooper and did well overall - of course, no pictures of that.

Jude checking out his new Monkey Quilt from Great-Grandma Marilyn. He loves to kiss the monkeys.

Hopefully more pics to come soon. Hope everyone is enjoying the last little bit of summer.

11 Months

2009-06-29T18:57:00.001-07:00

Happy 11 Months!!!! The months are getting closer and closer - I can't believe he will be one in just a few days (almost missed the 11 month post). Jude has been super busy and growing every day; and his vocabulary continues to increase. He officially has 4 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom which has opened up a new world of food. Summer has been great so far - he loves to be outside and around other kids.

Jude meeting his newest cousin. He is already planning big fun!
Now that we are getting close to 12 months, Jude is trying new things. He has mastered the art of straw sucking and truly enjoys a little milk in his Dora cup.
I mean TRULY enjoys milk in his Dora cup.
A couple weeks ago we took Jude to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX. A great place if you like water parks. Scott and Jude had A LOT of bonding time while I (Abby) was working on some continuing education classes.

Hey, kid in the stroller (yes - that is Jude), where are your parents?
After two full days in the water this little boy was pooped. Cool tat. Did that happen on that special Dad and Jude bonding time?
First attempt at a family portrait.
Oh that's better!
Wild time at the Rain Forrest Cafe. A little creepy but still lots of fun.
Just chillin at dinner - he looks so old to me in this picture.
Not sure why these boys are so wide-eyed but something cool must be happening.
One of Judes newest tricks - he loves to climb the back of the couch and look at the window. Occasionally a nice neighbor will wave.

Jude's first pool experience. It was a little chilly but this boy could not get enough.

Guess what, next time you see this boy he will be ONE!

10 Months and More

2009-05-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

This post is all over the place and for some reason my text is underlined. The pics are cute regardless :).
Jude is developing new skills and words every day. He is pulling up and cruising and could walk if he gave it a chance. His new favorite word is uh-oh; however, wow, cracker, hi, momma, and dadda are heard daily. He can tell you the sounds a monkey and pig make and will give a kiss when prompted - even in spanish!
Yep, we did it again. This marks Jude's second haircut, and as you will see in future pics he had plenty.
Happy 10 months baby boy - you are growing so fast.
With his cooler, summer do Jude looks more like his daddy.
Wow, who is that shaggy haired boy?

Hello son, what is all over your face?
Oh, just you and daddy sharing your first ice-cream sandwich. I think you like it.
With the warmer weather, we can't get out enough. We took a family trip to the zoo. Jude and his mom waiting on their favorite exhibit - the gorillas.
This is quite a zoo. They even have dinosaurs!
Look, do you see it?
Yes, my sleeping baby has blue lips. This boy LOVES snow-cones. Hmm, ice-cream sandwiches and snow cones - does this make me a bad mom or a bad dietitian?
And so it begins - Jude's priceless collection of wax animals.
Oh hi! Happy 10 months again.
This month we celebrated Ethan's college graduation. Jude's t-shirt says: "My Uncle Ethan Graduated from OU"
Jude and I also visited the Little River Zoo in Norman. Home to rescue animals.
The kangaroo's were very friendly - they even had a blind kangaroo you could pet.
A little out of order, but here are Ethan, Scott, and Jude excitedly awaiting the trip to the OKC zoo. 3 cool dudes

2009-04-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

Jude has been super busy twittering these days so I (Abby) will take over blogging duties for a bit. The past 3 months have been great. Jude is now crawling and pulling up which makes for a very busy little boy. He also has 2 bottom teeth - all the better to eat with (which he does constantly). Most impressive is his vocabulary - he is already saying bye, Bow, and ball (they may all sound the same, but to the trained ear they are quite different!)

9 months old We took a trip to Tulsa and visited the aquarium. "Um, not sure mom - but should I really be sitting here?"

"Do you see it - scary shark"

Our friends Ryan and Lacey came to visit - always lots of fun. Thankfully the snow melted and Scott and Ryan played a little golf.

Uncle James: I LOVE my toy box. We spend most of the day finding new treasures.

Notice anything different?

Look a little closer......

Yep, we finally did it. This is only a small portion of the hair we cut.

We started with the bangs, but after they were trimmed he had a nice mullet so we trimmed the back too.

Hold still (yea right)

Grandpa Troutt turned 89 - but somehow Jude got a present. He loves his ball.

Happy 8 months! His shirt says: Dude, your girlfriend keeps checking me out!"

As Jude was learning to crawl, we took all precautions to protect his head. Do you think the fuzzy hat was too much?

Again, the fuzzy hat. Happy 7 months - growing so fast.

Hopefully we will post more frequently. We have some fun videos and don't forget to check Jude's twitter.

TWITTER

2009-03-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

Top right---------}

Apparently Jude is twittering. They grow up so fast! He wants you to click and follow him.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Love is in the air. Have you kissed your sweetheart today?

6 MONTHS!?!?! HOLY $#%@!!!!!!!!

2009-01-11T19:07:00.000-08:00

Sup Ladies! Jude here. I am 1/2 a year old now so I thought I would write my own blog instead of just dictating it for my Dad. This past month I had my first Christmas, went to another couple of OKC Thunder games (NBA) where I met the cheerleaders (no big deal). Just another day in the life...

I had fun in Sulphur Springs, Paris, Dallas for some basketball games, and of course Norman with the folks.

I eat rice cereal and oatmeal, but sometimes the folks throw in some green beans or peas...Not so good. I gag and act like it is the worst thing ever, but I am really just messing with the parents--its not that bad...

I say MaMaMaMa and BaBa...I have not said DaDa yet because Dad keeps insisting--so I just look at him in the eye and say 'MAMA' . Ha! But I will say it for him eventually; right now I am having too much fun. Enjoy the (many) pictures below, and thanks for stopping by!

[As always, click the picture to view it as a larger image]

4th and 5th Month=Lots of Pictures

2008-12-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

4th Month with his Bear

Welcome All!!! Long time no see, I know... All apologies...

Anyway--Jude has gone through his 4th month and now it is 5th month time. I missed the 4th month by a bit, but I am one day early on his 5th month. So we will do a joint post and call it a wash, OK?

Great. Well, Jude had Halloween and Thanksgiving and he got to see all of his TX family (for some reason I didn't get many pictures of Thanksgiving...Sorry).

Jude now loves his toes, talks alot, really wants to drink your drink and grab your food, blowing lots of bubbles, is sitting up on his own really well, and playing peek-a-boo!!!!!!!! He takes his burp rag and pulls it over his face, drops it fast and smiles/laughs--esp. if you say boo. Too cute.

A couple months worth of pictures in very random order:

5th Month with his Bear

Sitting up in his crib

3 MONTHS

2008-10-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

Jude is 3 months old. Time flies when you're having fun. Good news: the heart Dr. (remember the whole murmur thing?) says we don't need to see him for another 2 years!!

This month Jude went to Paris, Sulphur Springs, got baptized and all sorts of fun stuff.

The baptism:

Christening gown made by his great-grandma Coutler:

Christening gown that his dad wore:

Cutest outfit ever? Cutest. Outfit. Ever. (his grand B got him this Ed Hardy gear):

Sulphur Springs trip (Grandpa and Nana Banks):

Finally met his Great Granny Banks:

Chillin' with some of Mom's high school friends:

Finally met his buddy Ron Welsh (Ryan Welch):

Went to Aunt Chloe's volleyball game:

Just some cute pics:

Showing his Oklahoma State Pride (!like he has a choice!):

See you soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YOU KNEW THIS WAS COMING

2008-09-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

The top one is classic stuff. Enjoy. The last, oh, 3 minutes or so just look like fun.

Jude begged me to post this little video as well!

Jude himself is doing great. He rolled over! I will have video of that up soon along with his 3 month post (wow).

2 MONTHS

2008-09-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

Well friends, it is that time again. You see Mr. Bear, so you know what that means...Another month for Jude! He weighed in at his 2 month appointment at 11 lbs, 2 oz. and 23.5 inches (he got tall!). Let's take a look at Jude's 2nd month:

See you all soon! Thanks for stopping by...

Look-alike Meter

2008-09-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

Hmmmmm. I (stb) think Jude may look a bit more like his mommy than some people, including this meter, give him credit for (and that is a VERY good thing)!!!!!!!!!!

Long Time No See

2008-09-05T19:34:00.001-07:00

Oh hi! Long time no see and all that. There has been a lot going on in Jude's world:

This is Jude's one month picture with his friend (no, seriously--he likes him) Mr. Bear.

Some SWEET pics:

-Baby blues-

-Mom loving on him (this happens frequently; you just can't help it)-

-Dad trying to get him to smile--the best thing ever in Dad's opinion-

!Beefcake!

-In the arms of his favorite person in the whole world-

________________________________________________________

Jude is a traveling man and got to go to Sulphur Springs and Paris:

Meeting his Great-Grandaddy. Where is his Great Granny Banks?????????? And what is that animal in the background?!

The Banks Boys

Floor time with Dad and Uncle Ethan. Uncle Ethan has been such a great help--Jude is glad he lives down the street!

Random but cute pic with Aunt Chloe

Bow enjoys the fact that Jude can't pet/grab on her yet

The girls at Grandpa Tiny's office got Jude this shirt so everyone would know who he is.

Met his buddy Kanyon and Jaymie

________________________________________________________

Chillin' with the grandmas:

_________________________________________________________________

Jude also met his Great Grandma Cantu:

It was time to head home so Grandpa Tiny and Grand B decided to take some outside pictures (A clever method to delay our departure for as long as they could!)

Back in Norman, Granny Banks and Aunt Mal Mal couldn't stand it, so they had to come visit

Jude then went up to Okeene and Helena (OK) to visit more Great Grandparents:

Meeting and checking out Great Grandpa Troutt

I don't know about this ol' boy:

There you have it friends. Look for a 2-month post and some other good stuff coming soon.

2 Weeks!

2008-07-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

B left last Friday. She was a great help and we miss her already. Thanks B!
In the past week we also celebrated Scott's birthday. In honor of his birthday, Jude wore a very appropriate onesie.
To celebrate Judes 2 week birthday we took him to see Batman: The Dark Knight. He loved it (actually he slept through the entire movie and dinner afterwards!)
Uncle Ethan came too.
And of course we had to have a picture with the movie poster. A memorable moment I am sure.

The past two weeks have flown by. Jude had his 2 week check up and he has grown an inch and now weighs 7 pounds 9 ounces. When we were in the hospital, the doctors found a heart murmur and are sending us to a pediatric cardiologist for a follow-up. At his two-week check up the doctor had a harder time hearing the murmur so hopefully it will close without intervention; however, we are going to have it checked just to be safe. His mom and dad are of course a little nervous, but it doesn't appear Jude is concerned at all!

Hey Jude

2008-07-14T14:05:00.001-07:00

Time to go
Dad's ready
He's here. 7 lbs 4 oz; 19.5 inches long. Not too bad for arriving 2 weeks early.

Grandma (aka Nana)
Grandpa
MalMal
Wow, how cute is he?
Daddy loves his new baby boy

Uncle Ethan

Grandpa (aka Tiny)
Grandma (aka B)
Aunt Chloe

He got me! I think he has had more wet diapers outside than inside.

Great aunt, uncle and cousins visiting.
Four generations.
Great grandma and great granddad.