Although I'm starting this late, I want to capture some of the early weeks and months of Judah's life before I start in with the present. So here's a retrospective of sorts. Let's start with his first few hours.
Four-five months:
Judah was sick on his first birthday, sadly, so we didn't pester him by taking a lot of pictures, but we did have a little family gathering which made it special.
In July, when Judah was 16 months old, we went on vacation to Vermont with Libby, Nancy and their two kids. Doug found us a beautiful cabin near a great little town. Although the trip was kind of hard for me (Judah refused to sleep in a strange place unless he was in my arms), it offered a whole new set of experiences for Judah.
Judah's delivery was by c-section, since he flipped over into breech position at the last minute, thwarting his mom's plans for natural childbirth in a lovely, homey birthing center. Even before he was born he was calling the shots and exercising his very strong little will! It was tough for me, but he came out with no problem and a perfectly round little head, so there's obviously an upside.
I remember the moment he came out - there was a sheet blocking my view of the procedure, and I was in a great deal of pain. But I heard him cry and I said, "is that him?!?" The doctor said, "um... yeah..." He must of thought I was crazy.
Unfortunately, I don't remember much else about the first few minutes of his life (which is very painful for me), but Doug tells me that the first thing I said when they finally handed him to me was, "I know you." I finally got to meet this precious little guy in person, having felt him in my belly for so long. Amazing.
Here are some more pictures from the first few weeks of Judah's life:
Newborns sleep a lot (during the day, that is... not so much at night...)
Around two months old:
Judah started "talking" early. Starting around four months, he discovered his voice and he hasn't shut up since. Here's a video of one of his early "conversations" with his Abba.
Four-five months:
Judah started sitting up on his own around six or seven months, which opened up a whole new, exciting world for him.
Halloween, 2007 - Judah made an appearance as a chilli pepper! He was, of course, completely oblivious, but it was awfully fun for me.
These days Judah was very fond of his jumpy seat:
And, of course, listening to his own voice:
Judah finally started crawling when he was ten months old. One of his favorite ways to crawl was with some kind of object that made noise. Perhaps he's going to be a tap dancer!
The winter was tough, but Judah continued to love going outside - even if it meant wearing 15 layers of clothing.
Judah was sick on his first birthday, sadly, so we didn't pester him by taking a lot of pictures, but we did have a little family gathering which made it special.
With Judah's increased mobility, he became adventurous and into everything. He was constantly looking around for something to explore, and once he got into something he would examine it with laser-like focus.
Sometimes he approached his "tasks" with great earnestness, and other times he was just plain goofy. It amazed me how seemlessly (and quickly) he would go from one to the other.
Just when we got used to the crawling, Judah started pulling up to stand, and then even started climbing. That's when the childproofing really got going. No cabinet or drawer was safe!
But Judah certainly wasn't all action. He also loved (and still loves) sitting and reading books and, of course, music. This kid could not get enough music. Fortunately, Grandma has plenty to offer!
When the warm weather came, we started spending a lot of time outside.
In July, when Judah was 16 months old, we went on vacation to Vermont with Libby, Nancy and their two kids. Doug found us a beautiful cabin near a great little town. Although the trip was kind of hard for me (Judah refused to sleep in a strange place unless he was in my arms), it offered a whole new set of experiences for Judah.
As the Summer progressed we were wondering if Judah was ever going to learn to walk. He seemed so close for so long, but didn't seem to want to let go of our fingers. Besides, crawling got him pretty much everywhere he wanted to go, so we think he figured, why bother?
But in Vermont, Judah finally went for it. It was amazing to watch - in 24 hours he went from taking just a few steps every now and then to walking a majority of the time. Here's a video of some of his very earliest work:
But in Vermont, Judah finally went for it. It was amazing to watch - in 24 hours he went from taking just a few steps every now and then to walking a majority of the time. Here's a video of some of his very earliest work:
By the time we got home from Vermont, he was unstoppable. He had transformed into a real, actual toddler - walking around all over the place and very proud of it!
I'll close this retrospective with a few more pictures from the last couple of months so that we're really up to date.
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