Happy birthday, Wild One!

When our baby Jude was just born, he was the perfect quiet little "easy" baby.  We used to talk about how laid-back he was.  How he would just "go with the flow."  It didn't take long before we realized that there had been a bait-and-switch.  Once our little Jude was mobile, he was ALL OVER the place.  Into everything.  Whatever we had prepared ourselves for with Penn was no good.

Jude. Lives. Big.

To celebrate Jude's birthday, here is a list of some of the things we have learned these past four years.

• A bone can still be broken even if a child is not crying or screaming and there is no swelling or discoloration.
  

  

  Literally less than 20 minutes after the arm-breaking incident.

• Nothing is out of reach in our home unless it is LOCKED away.
• "Child-safe" lids are only safe for children who are not stubborn enough to figure them out.
• Superheroes crash hard.

  

  Don't get me started on how unfair I think those eyelashes are.

• Puppets can get kids to do things that people cannot.

  

  "Hey worm, I'm Jude!"

• Chairs can give you eye injuries.

  

  It's all fun and games until a chair fights back.

• Those hazel eyes with gigantic eyelashes will make you forget everything.  EVERYTHING.

  

  Those eyes....THOSE EYES!

• The sound of the fridge opening means that one entire bag of food will be completely gone within five minutes.
• When a preschooler has a tantrum, it is almost always the adult's fault.

  

  Hot sun, itchy strawberry plants, no nap.  Go figure.

• Just because "the baby" has been around for over a year doesn't mean that the kids will stop torturing her forget about her.

  

  She's still smiling...this time.

• There is no thrill if there is no danger.

  

  Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

• There's not much that hot chocolate won't fix.
• The shoes make the man.

  

  He did NOT get his style from his mother!

• If monkey sees, monkey WILL do.

  

  This time it was just wearing a hat backwards like his big brother.

  
  
  Jude, we're learning new things every day with you.  God has given you many special gifts and it's up to us to show you how to harness them.  Our prayer for you this year is that God will start showing you how to use your "special superpowers."  We are so thankful to be your parents.  Happy birthday, Baby Jude!  

  

  We've always said it and we still mean it:  Jude, you make it (life) better:)