...Happy Birthday...

So. My son is officially a year old. When and how did this happen? It was only a minute ago that I was holding his little body in my arms for the first time- analyzing everything about him...his lil swollen nose, his beady eyes, his sweet kissable lips. And now... I have this BOY who blows me kisses and says "HIIIII!" when I wake up in the mornin... who hides "treasures" (which usually consists of the remote or a cellphone or my hair ties) in the cabinet or the trunk of his new car. I mean. I knew it was coming...I blog about each and every month! But. For some reason... I didn't think it would actually come...so soon anyway.

This past month, Jude has truly grown from lil bebe to a pretoddler! His personality is coming out more and more and more- and Derrick and I cannot complain one bit b/c Jude is just such a fantastic baby (I don't care how old he is...he'll always be my baby!) Derrick and I have discovered that Jude is VERY musical!!! He LOVES the piano at my parents house...and I am constantly chasing him into Derrick's "music" room where the guitars are. And homeboy can dance...he shakes that lil booty anytime a song comes on. It's pretty adorable! My favorite thing that he does is give kisses...and when I get him out of the crib from his nap, he always leans his head into my lips... so sweet.

For as long as I live- I will never forget these moments of our first year together-
* Holding you for the first time...
* Watching your daddy give you bottles...
* All the newborn noises you made...
* Hours of holding you on my knees and cooing at each other...
* Your soft curly hair...
* When you would shake your head SUPERfast!...
* And when that hair fell out into a nice old man mullet...
* Your smiles and your giggle...
* The way your eyes light up whenever daddy comes home...
* My mom. (there's not much more we need to say, right Jude???)
* Countless "oohs and aahhhs" from people on our various outings...
* Our first baseball game together...* Our first plane ride together...
* Your sweet smell...
* Your not so sweet smell!...
* The way you would flap your arms and kick your legs...
* Snuggles...
* Yelling "MAMAMAMA" in the monitor...
* Kisskiss...
* Your sweet spirit...

Wow. I'm just ...speechlessly blessed. God is good, isn't He?























Jude-
Mommy doesn't even know what to say. I can only imagine that time will seem to speed up from now until YOU have a child... and while that makes me super sad...I'm also excited to see the boy you will become and into the man you will be. Daddy and I love you very very much. We know that you are going to do some awesome things...and we're blessed to be the ones to raise you.
Love forever-
Mommy

...new chair...

For Jude's bday, Derrick and I got him a cute little chair from Pottery Barn Kids. My BFF Leslie has one for each of her boys...and they just look so comfy! Anywho...At first, Jude didn't really know what to do...it's just a wee bit too tall for him to get in and out of w/o effort- and he'd just kinda...flop out! But... he's getting the hang of it and LOVES to chill while watching his Baby Crack Einstein!!!

Don't mess w/ Jude and Baby Einstein!

...first date???...

I'm thinking that Westgate is my new favorite place! It's free. Ice cream is in close proximity. It's free. There's water. It's free. And it's close...and free! Last week Violet and I took our bebe's to WG to just chill and play in the water. Needless to say, both of them HATED the water...and whined the whole time! I guess they're still too little!!! This wasn't Jude's first time though...we've come out a handful of times- and I do have to say that he's getting better!!! He didn't mind so much- as long as I was holding him!

Anywho...we had fun and grabbed some Cold Stone afterwards...MMMmmmm. I got some Pineapple/Orange/Lemonade smoothie thing...and Jude LOVED it!!! :D

Here are some pix of our fun times!

...돌...

Well. It is here. May. It was this time last year that I was insane w/ anticipation to meet my new son or daughter. It was this time last year that my belly was a gigantic and beautiful bowl sticking out in front of me. It was this time last year that my feet were swollen and my back was achy. May. I cannot believe that almost a year has come to pass since Jude William was born....

I sit here typing w/ tears in my eye... I can hear DLo in the other room sniffling (no, no- literally). We just parted from a very emotional embrace. Yes, even Derrick. In all the years that he and I have been together... we've finally done something "good".

Today, my family and Derrick's family gathered together to celebrate Jude's 돌 (Dol). Basically, a 돌 is a first birthday party. In Korea (way back when), the survival rate of an infant was significantly raised after the baby's first bday... it is still a hugely celebrated event, much like in the United States. Anywho... the day started early. 6:30am and Jude was up and ready to go!!!! We spent the morning picking up the living room and kitchen... and mommy made a cake. Our party theme was Little Einsteins...so I had attempted to make a Rocket cake yesterday... except... it looked NOTHING like the Rocket... so... the cake went in the trash. Today's cake was just a plain old rectangle. Pretty ghetto... his next party (on Fri) will have a much much cooler cake (the cake lady wasn't available to make one for this party!!! ::sigh::!!!) Then Jude and mommy danced and danced and danced so that Jude was nice and tired for his nap! I didn't realize how much work I had left to do... I thought I was being proactive yesterday by setting things out... oy! Needless to say- w/ the help of my inlaws and my hubby... everything got done!

Jude took another nice long nap and was surprised to wake up to a house full of family!!! He was such a trooper!!! Honestly... the whole party seems like a blur. I was my typical self- running around like a chicken w/ my head cut off. My parents were an hour late b/c my mom was cooking ALL the yummy Korean food... she's pretty much nutz. She likes to cook as if ALL of PVC were to be attending the party instead of the 17 people that were actually there!!! We ate until we were all STUFFED (even Jude!!!) and then after our tummies would allow us to move... I got Jude dressed up in his 한복 (hanbok) to participate in the 돌잡이 (doljabi). The 돌잡이 was probably one of my favorite parts of the day. In a nutshell... there are an assortment of things placed in front of the bday boy... a ball, money, a pencil, a book, thread, rice cake, a computer mouse... then... the baby chooses one of these items- it is said that the object symbolically foretells the child's future. (Ball= athletic, Money= wealth, Pencil= scholar, Book= scholar, Thread= long life, Rice= never hungry, Mouse= success in high tech field) I was very excited to see what Jude would pick. I love sharing these Korean traditions w/ him!!!! My twin cousins, Sarah and Stacy are graduating HS this year... and on their bday, both of them picked pencils... and this fall, they will be going to Cornell and Cal Tech Universities (respectively)! Well. We placed the things on the floor...and I let JW crawl over to them.... he stopped right in front of the book... looked at everything... and grabbed the pencil. Now... folks... Let. Me. Tell. You. My mom... was.... THRILLED!!!! Heck, who am I kidding... ALL the Asians in the room cheered. LOUDLY! It was pretty comical!!! Then, he put the pencil down... and grabbed the mouse. OOOOH!!! They were happy about that too!!!! So... he'll be a scholar who's good at computers! HA! It was cute! Then DLo brought my guitar out and put IT on the ground... yeah... forget bein' smart!!! Jude went right to it and started playin around w/ it! :)

Cake. So. We sang "Happy Birthday"... which was Ah-DORABLE b/c Jude had this look and air about him that said- "yup, sing to me people!"... and then we busted out w/ mom's ghetto cake... I've been practicing w/ him for the past month or so how to blow out a candle... it's never happened... he's too interested in staring at it! So... when it came time for him to blow...I didn't expect him to... and he didn't...but... instead... he snuffed it out w/ his fingers! HIS FINGERS!!! HAHAHA! All the men in the room thought that was awesome!!! Hmmm...oh, did I mention that I started sobbing during the "Happy Bday" song? Yup. Didn't expect that to happen!!! I have been fine all week... and I dunno... the tears just popped out of no where...and next thing you know... all the ladies are crying too!!! HAHA! Jude did his momma proud. He smashed the cake right up. I'm not even sure if any of it went into his mouth... but the BEST...was when he decided to take a huge chunk and fling it on the ground! :P I mean... I guess my face was pretty funny...I wasn't too excited to clean that up (I knew HE would be messy...forgot about the floor!!!)- but apparently my MOM'S face was the best! Jerrod and Tori and Niki were all dying laughing b/c her mouth was twisted in utter shock! Hmmm... guess that's one American tradition she was not aware of! HAHA.

Anywho... we opened presents and then hung out for a bit longer...and then everyone left. The party that started at 3pm...finished at 7pm! Wow. So... now it's 8:15pm... the boy is in bed...the man is in the living room...and I'm here...typing so that I don't forget everything! :D
We are so blessed to have a wonderful family. I'm so glad I could celebrate this day w/ them. Now... getting ready for party #2!!!

Here's some pix- enjoy!!!

...How Do I Love You?...

I got this book at the book fair this year... I'm obsessed w/ getting books for Jude. We read to him every night before bed...and several times during the day... Right now, Jude is in LOVE w/ books that have flaps... you know "peekaboo" books. He usually just tries to eat all other books...but he's getting alot better at turning pages and actually looking at the pictures on his own. Anywho. I fell in love with this book from the first page... and recently, DLo has discovered the book and loves it too... he recently said that it almost brings him to tears to read... so... I thought I'd share it...

HOW DO I LOVE YOU?
by Marion Dane Bauer
illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church

How do I love you? Let me count the ways.
I love you as the sun loves the bright blue days.
I love you as the bee loves a fragrant flower.
I love you as the thirsty duck loves a sudden shower.
I love you as the bird loves a song to sing.
I love you as the waking bear loves the smell of spring.
I love you as the cat loves a sunny sill.
And as the dancing snowflakes love the winter's chill.
How do I love you? Let me tell you how.
I love you as the nest loves the sturdy bough.
I love you as the sea loves the sandy shore.
And as the ancient world loved the dinosaur.
I love you as the wind loves its own sweet sound.
And as our friendly Earth loves to spin around.
I love you as the moon loves each shining star.
I love all that you will be and everything that you are.


Another book that is great for slightly older kiddos like this is I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse.

...live like you were dying...

So. My church is doing a series called Lived Like You Were Dying... At first I thought...yeah yeah... I've heard that before... but sometime after the first session, I really began internalizing that phrase. Wow. What if I were dying. How would my life be different? If I had thirty days to live... how would I occupy my time...and how is that different than it is now. I began to realize how trivial things can bring me down. How I can get irritated at the stupidest of things.... how I let the world dictate my mood. Dumb. If I had only 30 days to spend w/ my son and my love... I would hope that I wouldn't spend them telling Jude "NO" at opening the cabinets...or nagging my husband to fold the laundry. And- truth be told- we don't know how long we have on this earth. No... I don't have some fatal cancer or illness (that I know of...) but... should He choose- my next breath could be my last. I could dwell on all the things that I have not yet accomplished... but... that would be a waste- right? So. If I were truly living like I had 30 days left... I'd probably look like a completely different person... right? Hmmm. I don't know. I think the number one thing that would change would be my attitude... And as Pastor Greg spoke this past weekend- I'd probably speak a little sweeter... idk. Makes ya think...

So. I'd just like to send out some shoutouts to people I love... b/c I'd hate to be gone tomorrow and they not know how I feel about them.... (btw- if you want to watch the messages online... check out www.palmvalley.org)

* Leslie and Jaime- you have been the best friends that I always dreamed of.... I will always love you for being so supportive and understanding... I will always thank you for the screams of laughter...the hours of talking... the yummy desserts shared... the tears that have been shed. I am a better person for knowing both of you!

* Love- I mean... seriously? You are the ebony to my... (what is ivory mixed w/ a lil yellow?). I love you for your bluntness... your loudness... your ability to laugh at how over spiritual we can all be sometimes. Even a zillion miles apart- you know how to warm my heart.

* Lindsay- Wow. Who knew that it would take me leaving the school and actually utilizing my FB for us to become friends? You are the friend that I want to be to others. You are so caring and giving. I KNOW that God has some awesome things planned for you... (2 more years, right?!)

* Katie- You are the apple of my eye! ;) You were the one who helped me out of a dark place... even when I didn't know how deep I was. Thank you for always being there...even when what I was saying hurt. I will never ever forget being pregnant together- and I'm pretty sure Chickfila and Sonic will always remind me of you!!! :D

* Tamara and Jenn- Thank you for being friends w/ the loud and goofy Asian in HS. There are many times that I wish we could go back to those carefree days! Jenn- remember that it was YOU who always told me that "iron sharpens iron"... girl- I love you- you need to look at where you are in life and GET IT TOGETHER! It's time to stop blaming other people and their unfortunate life situations for making you who you are... and take responsibility for your actions. Be the woman that you know God intends you to be. You know I will ALWAYS be there for you...

* Melody and Roderick- Best. Inlaws. Ever. I feel the power of your prayers daily. Thank you for loving Jesus and raising your son to do the same. I could not ask for two better examples of Godly people to be Jude's grandparents!

* Mom and Dad- I never got it... growing up... I never understood why you "parented" me the way you did... and now that I have Jude... I think I have a better understanding. Your love for me is the closest example I can think of to Christ's love for us. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. Thank you for guiding me and guarding me and letting me learn from my mistakes. I love you both so very much...

* Jude- I didn't understand what happiness was until you were conceived. From the first moments you and I have been together...I have loved you with every fiber of my being... you could never remember the random talks I would have with you when you were in mommy's belly... the smiles that you would bring to my face by kicking me during the day... you'll never remember how you looked at me (or the blob that you could see) in the middle of the night in the hospital room- just hours after I had you... or how anxious I was at every little noise you made or thing you did... but I hope you remember how much I love you...and I hope that when you think back of your crazy ole' mom... you remember that her and your dad were on fire for God...

* Derrick- you are my best friend. You put up w/ so much of my garbage... and yet... you still seem to love me more today than yesterday... I could not be who I am w/o you by my side. Thank you for being the leader of this household... thank you for having such a strong faith in what He can do... thank you for being an example of a Godly man... not a perfect man- but one who loves the Lord and has a heart to do BIG things for His kingdom. I love you so much... you are perfect for me...

...a picture says a thousand words...

(Which is really helpful when the subject of the picture cannot talk yet!)

I'm thinking this one says... "No Touchie!"