1st Haircut

It was no surprise that Jude sat nicely all the way through his first haircut. It didn't hurt that I gave him a comb, turned on a video, and gave him a lollipop, all while sitting on Daddy's lap. I admit I was a bit nervous cutting his hair...all of the cowlicks on a baby with fine, straight hair.... it could have been a recipe for disaster.

White Lake State Park

All in all our trip was a success. Naps were a bit off, and Jude woke through the night a few times, but we had a great time. (In all fairness, it was a bit cold through the night and Jude needed to be covered up with a blanket.) There are advantages to camping on a Sunday night....we could have just about any site we wanted, and it was easy to confiscate unused wood left over from the weekend.




Thanks goodness we had the stroller, it was the only toy we had for Jude. It makes a perfect walker... and kept him occupied for hours.


The beach was the perfect spot to practice walking.... Jude's now taking a few steps independently.

Boulder Loop Trail

Sunday, the family (minus Jack), headed up north to give camping a try. Before we got settled at the White Lake State Park campground, we hit the mountains for a hike.

Beautiful views atop the mountain....

Wakey-Wakey

Time for some lunch.

They really aren't that close to the edge.....

Jude has it all figured out...he has no problems drinking from our fancy hydration system....aka the Camelback.

We found an awesome patch of wild blueberries. Believe it or not, this is one fruit that Jude will eat. (He won't eat Michigan blueberries.) Go figure, a fruit that we have very limited access to. Nonetheless, he had a wonderfully poopy diaper the day after our hike.

Jude's New Ride

Jude got a new truck for his birthday. He loves to push it around the room. But when given the option to take it for a spin, he's a happy camper. Jack, on the other hand, gets nervous and follows us around trying to lick Jude right off of his seat.

Into Drawers

Watch out... Jude loves to open drawers. Up until now, he could keep himself occupied for a 30 minute stretch just opening and closing. Now that he's figured out that he can pull stuff out of the drawers, our kitchen floor is always cluttered with stuff.

Doopity Doo

Jude's full body eating often leaves him looking a bit like an Oompa Loompa from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

Jude's 1st Birthday

Still not a fan of hats/helmets.

Great Island Commons

Thanks so much to Andrea and her sister for making the cake. It was such a special treat to have such a gourmet cake/cupcakes for Jude's first birthday. (Andrea and her sister are just starting their own business....it's going to be a huge success!)

We all enjoyed the deliciously moist cake.

Some of us just had such a silly time.

After the cake most of us took off for the beach. Because we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather, Jude didn't get a chance to open his gifts. Right after his nap he went to work.
Thanks to Dan and Christian for the Fridge Farm. I'm having a blast with it now that I'm finally allowed in the kitchen.

Jack got a bit jealous that I got to open all of the gifts - he wanted in on the action too.

Thanks Grammy for the book and money. I can't wait to pick out a new toy.

Thank-you Grandma and Grandpa for the book and money. I love the music that the book plays. I study our picture every time mom reads the book to me.

Thanks to Max, Debbie, and Nate for the bubbles and the puzzle. This is my very first puzzle. I love to do some teething on the wood. If you take notice, Jack helped me open my new bubbles. Perhaps he'll take a bath with me too?

Thank-you Uncle Mike and Aunt Angel. It was so good to spend a couple days with you! I love my new animal books. Mom has already read them to me a couple of times.

Thanks to the Caswell bunch for making it to my special lunch. It sure was good to see ya'll again. I love my Mr. Brown book.... it has such fun rhymes. The cards from my cuz's sure are special.

Thanks to my friend Benjamin... and his Mommy and Daddy too. The bulldozer is the perfect size for me to push all over the room. Lately, pushing is one of my favorite things to do!

Extra MI Photos

As we were downloading photo's from Jude's birthday, we realized that we had photos left from our trip to MI.

In the car on the way home.... the black around his mouth is from a frosted cookie.

Just before leaving to NH we got a chance to visit on the East side of MI.

Jude's new obsession with opening and closing drawers.
Ruth's new kitchen has drawers that slide with ease.

The last hurrah at Grand Haven State Beach.

Joel, Jack and I got out to the beach as a storm was making it's way onto shore.
Jack wasn't in the water for long.

Joey's birthday was a few days before she arrived.
We got a chance to celebrate a few days late.

Our cousins invited us over for a swim in their pool.
Joel was the favorite, he was in the pool supervising the coveted slide.

The day of the big picture we all were at the Rycenga house. It was a great time to catch up with the whole clan. We all made it home for the photo.... (44 people, many of which are kids).


Jude's first parade... and no tears. Despite the loud noises, all the kids managed to stay occupied with all of their candy loot.



Pizza party! Aunt Becky gave all the great grand kids a can of shaving cream to build a tower. It was a blast.