Jude...

So I am a little late but my little boy turned 3 at the beginning of this month. How did it go so fast? I mean it seems like he was just a baby. There is nothing "Baby" about Jude anymore.

We had a McDonald's birthday party. It was okay. I am not much for loud, crowed places with lots of kids running around. But it was for Jude not me. I had prepped Jude for the event. I told him his friends would be there and he'd have a cake and candles to blow out. I told him people would bring gifts and he needed to be polite and thank them. Well, apparently he already has that ailment lovingly called "selective hearing" and all he heard was Gifts... When the Loomans came in Jude looked at his friend Jacob and said, "Where is my gift?". So it begins...

When I was pregnant and while Jude was a baby I had big IDEAS about parenting do's and don'ts. I promised my kids would not ever eat hot dogs, french fries, candy or the dreaded Chicken Nuggets. They aren't healthy. They are awful. I also said my baby would not sleep in my bed and I would NEVER think of using formula. I planned to make all my own baby food and used cloth diapers. I did most of these things and wish I did more of them for Elise. But I did say one thing that has really back fired in my face...I said NO CHARACTERS! Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Sesame Street, etc.. I wanted Jude to play with educational toys and wood blocks. Well, I realized early on it is a losing battle for a few reasons...1. Have you ever tried to buy kids clothing? It is crazy. Characters everywhere. 2. You can't control what other people buy for your kids. If you try to you will be labeled as a control freak. Hmmmmmm. So, it began when Jude was around 9 months old. He fell in love with Elmo. It was a mini obsession. It then moved to Cookie Monster. At least he was learning his ABC's, right? Last Christmas he watched to Wiggles Christmas special and he was hooked. He wakes up asking to watch the Wiggles (didn't I say no TV?) and goes to bed begging for the Wiggles CD! When Jude learned his colors he didn't call them by their name...he called them the name of the Wiggle that wears that particular color (i.e. Purple Jeff, Murray Red). But it didn't end there. He loves ALL characters. Sponge Bob, Batman, Spiderman, Dora, Higgley Town Heroes, Pooh, Elmo, Big Bird, Nemo, the list goes on and on. He hasn't even watched some of these shows before! Yet, he knows who they are. His latest obsession is Toy Story. He loves Woody, Buzz and the gang. I mean he really loves these guys. He watches the movie and has the toys. He acts out the movie with his toys. He dressed like Woody for Halloween and he asked for Woody for his birthday. He takes Woody to the grocery store and sleeps with him in his bed. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? It just did. I could make it stop but that would be so mean. I don't think there is any harm in it. I wanted him to be a little hippie that shunned all the comercial stuff but...that was before I actually had kids. HA.

Have a good day.