Birthday Boy (and Girl!)

Jude got his first bike!

Birthday Breakfast (he also got a few legos and lot of other great stuff including a quilt handmade by grandma Carolyn!  I will get a pic of that sometime!)

Jude turned 5(!) on April 18, while Cora turned 3(!) on May 22.  It has been a little hectic around here (trying to get away from using the word 'busy') so they get a dual post (sorry guys!).  By the way *I quit my job* which is going to be another post title soon, so I hope to be on here a little more regularly again...we'll see since I hope to have a *new job*!

Ok, on to Jude.  Jude the dude.  The Jude-Man.  He has been waiting ALL YEAR to turn 5 like his friends at preschool.  Yes, he was a big 'ol preschooler this year!  Each morning we went to school together, I saw him at recess and lunch and buckled him into the suburban to go to Nicole's house.  It was nice.  But all year his friends have been turning five and he just couldn't wait.  He is at the younger end of the class, but is still the tallest one.  We debated for a while about waiting a year for kindergarten (mainly I debated because it is a decision and in my mind all decisions need months if not years of debating in my mind), but we believe he is certainly ready for kindergarten socially, academically, and all the other -llys!  So yes, at the conclusion on preschool he is finally five! 

Jude loves building structures out of anything and everything he can find in the house and that mom and dad will let him use.  He recently began loving to color and draw and write letters and words.  He has quite an imagination and is always telling stories (some true some not so much). He is getting good at helping outside with getting eggs and watering and even helping feed his new baby bottle calf that he hopes to show at the fair this year.  He loves to paly in the sand box and is still working on pumping.  Jude plays well with Cora (usually) and is very good with Mikey almost always.  One of his most common phrases is "I'm serious" or "Are you serious?"  He has become quite the big boy!  We love you to space Jude!

Birthday Breakfast

With her Fluttershy from Sarai in her new princess tent (from us)

Cora turned three this week.  A couple weeks ago she had a co-birthday party with her cousin Skyler who turned 2 on the 13th.  It was in the park in Allen and such a beautiful evening!  For a year now whenever Cora wakes up and we ask how she is doing she says, "I two."  So the morning after she turned three she didn't really know how to respond...guess we're gonna have to work on that!  Cora is getting excellent at telling her own stories and often retells events that have recently happened in her own words and then concludes with a, "right mom?"  She is becoming much more aware of what is going on around her!  She LOVES dressing up especially with accessories and insists on wearing a skirt or dress each day and her "princess jammies" each night.  She still loves her ponies, but has also gotten into other dolls.  She is not afraid to get dirty though and loves to be outside as well.  She is 100% potty trained (I won't mention the incident at the park birthday...it's worse than you think...) and is starting to go by herself!!!  She still LOVES to hug and touch and generally give lots of affection.  She is almost always happy and smiley.  Lot of love sissy-poo!