Update: Jude's Room

I have been slowly attempting to update Jude's room for awhile now.  I have wanted to make a gallery wall and have slowly been buying and collecting prints off of Etsy or at Casey Jones Train Museum or who knows for seriously like the last 2 years.  

For my birthday this year, Joel gave me a picture of a British phone booth from his visit to London.  I was pondering what to do with it when I realized it would be the perfect addition to the wall I had been storing up and planning in my head.  

I was determined to get that done as part of my summer projects this year.  It took me until August to buy and return and buy the right frames for this.  But thankfully, it's done.  

The most exciting part of this is that Jude was so excited about it, which I didn't expect.  I sort of kept him out of the room while I was working.  As I've said before, my child is wild, so him in the room I'm working in is chaos- at least volume wise.  He loves to make noise.  I can't think in those conditions, much less work.  Suffice it to say, he stayed out of the room.  When I did let him in, he was so excited. I'm so glad I decided to capture his face with my camera.  He was just so excited.  1000 gifts!

He LOVED it!!!!  He told me over and over again how much he loved me and how thankful he was for his new pictures.  Along with some of the biggest hugs ever.  Talk about melting my heart.  He makes it so fun to give him things because he really gets so excited.  Sweet boy!

Here's the gallery wall I made.  It's a combo of the vintage train pictures from his nursery room, a few more modern looking train pictures, some Beatles references since he's named after them after all, and lastly the phone booth.  One day, I want that area to be a reading nook, but we aren't there yet :)

The license plate and Pullman car picture were originally going to be part of the gallery wall.  The Baltimore & Ohio and New York Central pictures had already been in different places in his room.  I decided to pull those and make a mini gallery wall over here, which I am glad I did.  And of course, Jude loves the concentration of trains.

I had also thought about adding this 1 year old photo set to the gallery wall, but decided to put it under his shelf when I moved the New York Central pic from under it.  I ended up liking having it separated out and divided into categories.  I have also added the midshipman hat that my brother passed down to Jude after graduating this year.  I updated the letters of his name awhile back, but am not sure if I ever posted about that.  The baseball is from when the Navy made the regional NCAA baseball playoffs a couple years ago.

The view when you look into the room.

And this night light.  I got it on zulily (actually the Beatles prints are off zulily too...).  I love this night light.  So much!

Anyway, I really like how it turned out.  As with all rooms in my house, they are constantly being updated or changed, but this is a good start I think to transforming it for a preschooler :)

Update

Here is a little photo/update on Jude as of late.  Have I mentioned before that I love 2 year olds?  I seriously do.  He's so much more fun nowadays.  Plus, its lovely to be able to verbally communicate with him.  It's usually pretty funny too!

Here is Jude talking on the phone perhaps?  Can't remember.  Sometimes he just is adorable and rests his hand against his face.

Jude has started saying 'cheese' for the camera when he sees me trying to take pictures of him.  This is pretty cute.  I'm not sure when I taught him to say that.  He seems to pick up everything these days, even if it happens 1 time.  The problem is that he doesn't say cheese in a way that creates a smile.  I get this goofy teethy look.

At least its still cute :)

Jude is too cool.  Somethings he is into saying these days:

* ice berries, ice juice, ice fruit- if it is made of fruit, it will have ice in front of it

* surprise!

* love you too mom :)

* woo hoo!

* my belly screen (belly)

* singing twinkle twinkle little star, spider in the rain, bubble song from yo gabba gabba

* A couple days ago we went to look at some Christmas trains.  When I told Jude about it, he says "Wow! That-Is-Great!"  And then when I reminded him we needed to get ready to go see the trains he said, "ok! sweet!"

He's a lot of fun.  I think I could stop time right here and keep him 2 years old forever.  Think I'll get that for Christmas?

18 months

Jude Dylan turned 18 months this April.  It also marks the year anniversary of Michael and I separating.  Interesting year to say the least.  Anyway, I am happy to report that this greatest gift of a little boy is doing fabulously.  Everything checked out at the doctor's.  He got 2 shots (not the mmr).  He is in the 75th percentile for height, 20th for weight, and 60th for head.  Which I love because it soooo fits the stereotype for music lover.  Tall, skinny, long hair, music.  Time is proving that naming my child after a Beatles song was a brilliant choice.

* As far as current activities, he has 29 words, understands all of what I say, and is generally a mess.
* Things he finds funny: me jumping when I see a spider, me saying ouch when I bump my head, playing hide and seek.
* Things he is interested in: cars, balls, trains, music, dancing, drums
* Activity level: constant
* Number of days sleeping past 7: 0
* Weirdest obsession: wearing shoes, especially big people shoes

Overall, he's extremely silly, loving, cuddly, and active.  I heart him like woah.

15 months

Jude Dylan is 15 months old today.  We go to the doctor on Friday for the stats and a couple shots.  (Dtap and Polio).  I'm taking the day off in case he doesn't feel good afterwards.

Anyway, where did the time go?  Jude is such a toddler now.  He's completely weaned himself off all nursing except at night and early morning.  I'm hoping the rest of the weaning will go just as easily.  He is noisy, rambunctious, into everything, and has lots to say.  Some of it I can understand.  He's begun perfecting no, but hasn't started using it in defiance yet.

We had 2 temper tantrums today in the course of 1.5 hours.  They only lasted 30 seconds, but heaven help us when it gets worse.  He is such a crazy child.  He is always jumping and making noise just for the sake of making noise.  He is always climbing now too.  Or dancing.  Never still.  Always entertaining.

Quite a wild and interesting kid.  Childhood is most likely going to be a wild ride with this one.

14 months

Jude Dylan turned 14 months on December 19th.  If I had to pick any month in the toddler period in which I'd say Jude became a toddler, truly a toddler, I would have to say 14 months.  This is true in both good and bad ways.

It's awesome because he's learned so many new words!  Such as yes, woah, go, boom, water (I think), um, yea, and more I think.  If he doesn't know the word, he can come up with a few ways of getting his point across.  It's so nice to not have to guess as often!

He's also into pretend play.  He loves talking on the phone and any object can become a phone.  It's hilarious to listen to him carry on these in depth conversations.  Then he gives the phone to me for a little bit.  My favorite is that I must say umm a lot on the phone in this particular voice because he does this EVERY TIME HE USES THE PHONE WITH THE SAME INFLECTIONS.  Mommy officially needs to watch herself... Yikes.

He loves to GO GO GO... and announces his desire to do this often.  Go down the slide head first, go fast in the car (unfortunately I never speed), go over bridges.

Yesterday I danced for him to this sailing song on one of his toys.  Now he will push the button over and over through the other noises until it gets to this one.  Then he waits and watches me dance.  Then goes through the noises again until the sailing song comes on.  He could do this for hours.

The bummer is that toddler tantrums are starting.  Jude now knows what he wants.  He wants to figure out how things work, which means destroy them.  He does not like hearing no.  When he does, it results in a big huge whine fest.  This is not fun for either of us.  So I am trying to remember all that great child psychology I spent 4 years learning so that I can have the patience needed to help him understand how to accept when things don't go his way...

Parenting- lots of work, but the rewards are so so so worth it.

Scattered and moving

Well we are moving and so many things have been going on. I have been writing the blog posts without putting pics on yet and thus not publishing them. Result: many things are out of order. I am going to add links to the new blogs for those of you who do not check the blogs via facebook...

Jude's First Christmas

10 weeks old

Discoveries!!!

Mmm Aaah went the little green frog

Trial and Error

Let It Snow part deux