Jude turns 2

The Handsome Coastie went out of town last week.  Which meant I was left on my own for approximately 44 hours before my parents stepped in to shoulder the burden.  Lemme tell ya, those 44 hours were tough!  I can't even remember why anymore.  Must've pushed it out of my mind.  I just know that by the time Marmie and Poppa pulled in the driveway, I was exceedingly relieved. 

I had big plans for the week.  All the things I was going to get done around the house, cleaning, switching out clothes.  Instead I worked and went to appointments. Since I finally had someone around as back-up, I was able to do fun things like visit the dentist and take Jude to his 2 year check-up without towing along the others.  Which was nice, because all Jude wanted to do was climb up onto the examination table, and jump down.  Over and over.  He maintains a steady 50th percentile for his growth and seems to be hitting all the other necessary milestones.  I don't really know what to look for.  All I know is the kid talks an awful lot, is in to everything, prefers to do the opposite of what I ask, and either eats really well or not at all.  Typicals 2s.

On Friday we took offspring to Baltimore and met up with Uncle Jared at Port Discovery children's museum.  I've been wanting to go here for a long time, but the $14/person tickets held me back, especially since there's no way I'd go without another adult, or two, or three.  Every Thursday they offer a discounted rate of $4 between 1-4:30, but hello? Naps?  No discount will ever be enough to convince me to visit Stimulation Central smack dab in the middle of naptime.

2 going on 16

You should've seen the gas prices here. $1.59!!

But even better than $4 admission is $2 admission. Which is what they do the third Friday of every month for Target Family Fun Night. Now that I can handle. Uncle Jared wants to come? I'll even pay his way! That makes one adult for Jack, one for Jude, one for the baby and one to take pictures. Perfect! (In case you're wondering, Uncle Jared took the pictures. He's not so helpful when the baby gets hungry.)

I

I was a little concerned with the way things started out.  It just so happened that Jack took a nap on Friday.  His second nap in 12 days.  I wasn't expecting it, since his first nap in 11 days occured the day before, but you know Jack, always throwing me for a loop.  Turned out we had to wake up both boys in order to leave in time.  Which meant both boys were sobbing while we tried to do potty, shoes and shuffle out the door. Ah, we love transitions around here!  We packed them "snack dinners" and once they saw that waiting for them in the car they perked right up!  It didn't take long for the excitement to overwhelm the backseat.  And then we had to spend the rest of the trip trying to get them to calm down, and while trying to find our way downtown, and while paroling the parking garage, and while trying to find our way out of the parking garage...

This was a birthday boy favorite - catching butterflies.

We finally made it to the museum, where I was surprised to find hardly a line, and let the kids loose.

Look Mom, it's science!

Can you tell they're not allowed to spray the hose at home?

It's really a great place for the kiddos.  Apparently it's listed as one of the Top 12 Children's Museum on Forbes.

Making a giant bubble.

Washing windows.

A mega dryer after a fun time in the water room!

I was a little disappointed in the amount of activities that were incomplete or broken, but when you consider the number of small humans that traffic through that place each day, it shouldn't be a surprise.  It's really quite large too.  There was so much we didn't get to, I'm sure we'll be back ... the next time admission is $2 of course.

After the museum we took a walk around Inner Harbor and ate dinner.  We came across a Coast Guard Cutter, or "Daddy-ship" as the boys say.  We were pretty excited, I'm not sure if the boys understood that, yes Daddy is on a ship but no, not that one.  Anyway, Jack told us that Daddy lives on the ship and that big gun?  That's for shooting ducks.  Hmmm, I think we'll let him think that for a little while longer ...

We celebrated Jude's birthday on Saturday. Jon got home early that morning, just in time for the festivities. 

It's amazing how "grown up" 2 years old is.  I mean, he knew these were his gifts.  And he knew how to open them.  (And poor Jack knew that he wasn't allowed to open them.)  He even started saying "Ah-hee ber-day" and continues to mention it even know.  It's so cute, he'll look at me, smile and nod while saying "I ha ah-hee ber-day?"  I don't know if he's reliving the moment or asking for me to do it again.  *sigh* So much changes in just one year.

This is a Melissa and Doug cupcake sand toy.  Perfect for my sandbox/cupcake loving boy!

I stopped at Target one day last week after picking Jack up from school and let him pick out his own gifts to give Jude.  He said, "Um, I think Jude wants a blue hippo."  Yeah, okay.

The blue hippo was, and continues to be, a big hit!

And then, "I think Jude would like a giant pencil."  Amazingly, Jude did like the giant pencil.  They both did, but only for everything but writing.  Unfortunately for giant pencil, it has been relegated to a remote location of the house.

Slam dunk by the birthday boy!

Jude is really into "panes" right now.  It certainly helps that they fly over the house a gazillion times a day.  So Marmie worked her magic and whipped up this awesome (and tasty) plane cake. 





It was banana with cream cheese icing. Which means it counts as both a serving of fruit and dairy.  Or two you'd like!



We had been singing the happy birthday song to Jude all morning, and he always cut us off with his typical Jude-growl "NOOOOO!!!"  So I was certain he'd do it for the real deal.  Of course, he surprised me.  He must've have known this one was important ... and being recorded for all eternity.



Soon it was time for Marmie and Poppa to head home, the birthday boy to take a nap, and his older brother to play with the new toys that were left behind.  And that makes me officially the mother of a 2 year old ... again.  Oh geez.